Recipes with salt

Indian chicken pies with flaky lard-and-margarine pastry wrapped around garam masala-spiced chicken, mushrooms, and corn. Handheld curry-pot pies worth the weekend effort.

Festive holiday chicken coated in matzo meal and braised in a honey, pineapple-orange marinade with apples, onion, and celery. Finished with a bright honey-lemon-Dijon glaze and fresh pineapple. A natural for Passover.

Chili-glazed tofu over asparagus and rice with a sweet-salty soy-ginger sauce. A 30-minute one-skillet vegetarian dinner using boil-in-bag rice to clear weeknight dinner in under half an hour.

Fluffy apple pecan pancakes with separated eggs, brown sugar, and cinnamon, served with apple spice syrup. Beaten egg whites fold in for extra-light, soufflé-style flapjacks.

Peaches and cream bread machine loaf: dried peaches and peach yogurt fold into a soft, lightly spiced bread with cinnamon and nutmeg. Sweet enough for breakfast toast, savory enough for sandwiches.

The crisp, densely chocolaty cookies, with an unusually long baking time, were an annual favorite among the 20-plus recipes that Susan Couchman of Hartland remembers were made each year by her mother, Gloria Kuchler.

Daube glace: the classic New Orleans cold beef aspic from Louisiana Creole tradition. Shredded pot roast suspended in jellied savory consomme with celery, lemon, and Tabasco. A summer Creole appetizer.

Green lasagna layers spinach pasta with a ricotta, spinach, and nutmeg filling plus cubed mozzarella and Parmesan. Vegetarian Italian classic served with tomato sauce on the side.

New Mexican pork and green chile stew simmers pork shoulder with roasted Hatch chiles, garlic, onions, and potatoes. The Southwestern chile verde that defines Santa Fe cooking.

Spicy shrimp and fish patties with ginger, cilantro, mint, and cayenne, coated in breadcrumbs and dipped in a chickpea flour batter before frying golden. South Asian-style seafood kebabs.

Homemade caramel nut corn with walnuts, pecans, or almonds coated in a brown sugar and corn syrup caramel, then baked low and slow until crunchy. Addictive snack for gifting.

Indian-spiced potatoes and green beans with turmeric, asafetida, dried chiles, and ghee, boiled then charred on the bottom for a crispy, smoky crust.

Pan-sauteed chicken breast with a lemon-caper sauce and fanned avocado slices. A light, Mediterranean-style chicken dish with bright, tangy flavors and no heavy cream.

Santa Maria-style bean soup made from soaked dried beans, onion, carrot, celery and tomato simmered in olive-oil-rich broth with cumin and bay. A rustic peasant soup that improves overnight.

Fig Star Cookies feature a maple-scented shortening dough wrapped around a homemade dried fig filling with lemon and nuts. A vintage holiday cookie worth the effort.

Chicken breasts pounded thin and stuffed with a buttery walnut, raisin and bread crumb filling, then baked under a banana, orange liqueur and dark corn syrup glaze. A retro special-occasion dish.