Tamales can be filled with almost anything from meat or poultry to fruits and nuts. To create variations on this traditional recipe, simply replace the pork with the ingredients of choice. Tamales are traditionally served covered with red or green chile sauce–but use both for red and green "Christmas" tamales.

Tandoori chicken, a famous Indian dish, is also one of the tastiest. The word tandoori refers to any food cooked in a tandoor, which is a giant, unglazed clay oven. The chicken in this recipe is marinated twice, first with the lemon juice, then with the yogurt mixture. You can approximate a tandoor by using a charcoal grill or gas broiler, but the food won’t achieve the exact flavor. The taste is hard to duplicate since the tandoor reaches such high temperatures, up to 800 degrees F, but even if the chicken is not strictly traditional, it’s still flavorful. Those who are watching their fat intake, will like cooking chicken in the tandoori-style, since the skin is removed from the chicken before it is cooked. And, by using a low fat yogurt in the marinade, the fat is reduced even further. This chicken is traditionally served with cooling mint chutney. Note: This recipe requires advance

Tapado often contains a wide variety of seafood: squid, crab, shrimp, red snapper, sea bass, or even shark. If you have access to fresh, reasonably priced crab meat, add 1/2 pound of it to this dish!

Okay, okay, we borrowed a Texas technique and changed the rub to reflect our chilehead tastes.

Okay, okay, we borrowed a Texas technique and changed the rub to reflect our chilehead tastes. For years we have been perfecting recipes using a smoker known as an Oklahoma Joe’s. It is a horizontal, cylindrical smoker about three and a half feet long and about fourteen inches in diameter. It has an attached, dropped fire box that allows smoking with fairly cool smoke because the fire is separated a bit from the smoking area. Because smoking is so time consuming, it makes sense to smoke several things at once. In addition to brisket, we also smoke a turkey breast. Some cooks use the basting sauce as a mop during the smoking process and eliminate the long marinade at the end of smoking. Leftovers, if there are any, make the best barbecue sandwiches when served on a crusty hard roll with your choice of sauce from chapter 3.

Pork is a preferred meat in China and Southeast Asia, so it is not surprising to find it combined with chiles and traditional Asian seasonings. The marinade is also excellent with chicken and fish. Serve the grilled pork steaks with jasmine rice, sweet and sour vegetables, and a green papaya salad.

This signature but simple Thai dish is delicious with prime rib meat. Note the name, which shows the influence of Malaysia's Penang Island. Serve this curry over jasmine rice accompanied with grilled eggplant. Look for kaffir lime leaves, curry paste, fish sauce and coconut milk in Asian markets and gourmet food stores.