One-Pot Meals

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 1 hr

Serve with: Warmed tortillas and steamed, buttered summer squash. Dessert: Key lime pie from the bakery.

This is fantastic with coleslaw and warm biscuits. What to drink: A not-too-oaky domestic Chardonnay or a white Burgundy, such as one from France's St.-Véran region.

Chef Tory McPhail writes: "I was 19 years old and just out of culinary school when I first started at Commander's Palace. Despite my training, nothing prepared me for the pressures of working in a fast-paced kitchen, or in a restaurant of such high quality. I think my success came down to sheer effort and a lifelong passion for cooking. Even as a kid I loved playing with cookie and pie dough. "After a seven-year absence, which I spent working abroad and opening a new Commander's Palace restaurant in Las Vegas, I came back to New Orleans last year. Since returning I've enjoyed cooking for my friends. On the weekends we'll go fishing, and then I'll grill our catch and serve it along with a fresh salad. That meal combines the two best things about living in the South — lots of fishing and great fresh produce." Serve these creamy grits with fried eggs for a southern-style breakfast. Andouille, a spicy pork sausage, is available at specialty foods stores and some supermarkets.

"When autumn comes to Chicago, I love going to Lucca's to enjoy a big bowl of pumpkin soup while sitting outside on the patio ," writes Tom Cove of Chicago, Illinois. "Can you get this terrific recipe?" A medley of exotic spices plus coconut milk and banana add complexity and rich flavor.

Hominy was as common on the table when I was growing up as rice is today. It is not used too much anymore but is still readily available in some regions, particularly in the south. You can buy it in cans or loose, sold in bulk, and sometimes you can find it in health-food stores and packaged alongside the other grains in the supermarket. The brand I buy is Monte Blanco or Goya. I have found that Spanish brands are more tasty. After you have opened the can, wash the hominy 3 or more times with cold water and drain well. This removes the taste of the liquid it soaked in. Hominy is dried, hulled whole kernels of corn; grits are finely ground hominy. Usually hominy is boiled and served hot for breakfast, plain or with gravy. Because I think it is a little like tiny dumplings, I like to cook it with sautéed chicken so that the juices from the chicken and the vegetables can mingle with the hominy.

"I've been cooking since I was twelve, and my husband, Bruce, picked it up during a 'Mr. Mom' phase after our second daughter was born," writes Renee Davis of Cadiz, Ohio. "Although we've since returned to more traditional roles—I usually cook on the weeknights, and he grills on the weekend—we also have a great time coming up with recipes together. Bruce devised this spicy garlic butter to keep lobster tails moist as they cook on the grill." When you want to splurge, this is a sensational and simple dish with assertive garlic and hot (but not too hot) chili flavors.

This hearty soup is served at Belvedere Mansion in Staatsburg, New York.

What to drink: Sauvignon Blanc or a dry rosé, such as a French Bandol.

This recipe was inspired by a dish that a group of our food editors enjoyed at Chez Maître Paul, a Paris bistro. As the name suggests, poulet à la fermière contains a farmwife's bounty—chicken, cheese, vegetables, and herbs.

H.F. Lippincott of Montgomery, Alabama, writes: "The chicken marengo at O'Briens Bistro, in Pensacola, Florida, is delicious. I'd love to have the recipe."

Ground almonds create texture and thicken the sauce of pollo almendrado—our homage to New York's large Mexican and Central American population.

Poblano and jalapeño chiles, tomatillos, and cilantro account for the recipe's title. Serve with: Mexican beer, warm tortillas, green salad, and lemon sorbet.

Here is an almost effortless soup. Everything goes into the pot at once, and the finished dish is just the thing on a cold winter day.

There's a lot of liquid here, so be sure to use a very large pot to prepare the stew.

A fine version of a hearty classic.

(Chicken with Preserved Lemons and Olives)

Spicy peperoncini peppers cut the creaminess of the sauce on this salmon. Serve Artichoke Bruschetta as a first course, rice and asparagus as side dishes.