Steak

A quick marinade brightens the steak, so it combines perfectly with the dish's Southeast Asian notes.

Why you'll make it: Because it's special enough for company but easy enough to pull off any night of the week. Start the spice rub at least four hours ahead.

Serving flank steak (a favorite for the grill) Korean style is always a hit — guests make lettuce-leaf bundles with rice and thin slices of the meat and do the garnishing on their own.

It's made from one of the hottest chiles on earth, so heat seekers can slather the salsa all over their rib eyes with bravado; but those with refined taste buds will appreciate how the peppers' sweet fruitiness cuts through the rich, meaty steaks.

There are plenty of steak-and-onion salads, but none with a dressing like this one. Worcestershire sauce has just enough acid to balance the vinaigrette's oil.

These unusual inside-out tacos have an avocado filling and a meat sauce.

Barbecue sauce from the bottle pales beside the 15-minute stovetop version here. We've paired it with a tender flatiron steak that may just become your favorite new cut of beef.

Sink your teeth into a ssäm, Korea's answer to a burrito. This recipe from David Chang, co-chef at Momofuku Ssäm Bar in New York City, trades tortillas for crisp lettuce to save calories and fat.

In this dish, inspired by Cuban cooking, hints of clove and cinnamon whisk a standby cowboy steak to the Caribbean.

You will need to buy eight beets for their greens, but you'll use only four of the roots.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from The Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate by John Scharffenberger and Robert Steinberg. Contributed by Arnon Oren. An authentic Mexican mole calls for more than two dozen spices, added in a particular order. This marinade, based on the flavors of those spices, adds a wonderful savoriness and spiciness to beef. The thin slices of flank steak are wonderful on their own, with a basket full of warm tortillas, or served on top of a green salad. Start this recipe the night before you intend to serve to allow it to marinate overnight. To retain the steak's juiciness, be sure to let the meat rest before slicing, and remove the steak from the heat while it is still a bit rare, as it will continue to cook as it rests.

The mash is named for Spanish Harlem's historic market street where Martinez's grandmother would buy malanga, a knobby tuber. Hanger steaks are sold in doubles (two steaks attached by connective tissue). Ask the butcher to separate and trim them.

Nuevo cubano: This is Rodriguez's riff on vaca frita, slow-cooked shredded meat that's then sautéed with onions. Rodriguez likes to serve the steak whole, with an onion mojo on the side. (Mojo usually refers to a marinade made with citrus, olive oil, and onions, but here the mixture has been transformed into a condiment.) What to drink: A selection of Latin beers like Corona Extra, Hatuey, Negra Modelo, Dos Equis, and Tecate.

You may never go back to roast beef sandwiches after trying the bold flavor of steak with creamy, garlicky Boursin.

Usually broiled or grilled, flank steak is cooked on the stove here, then topped with a garlicky rosemary and mushroom ragout.

An Eastern-inspired spiced butter makes filet mignon even juicier than usual. Artichokes and haricots verts, cooked separately and then baked together, taste luxuriously rich in a way that complements the meat nicely.

Rib eye or filet mignon would also work well in this recipe.

The sauce for the steaks is an earthy and spicy combination of shiitake mushrooms, Gorgonzola cheese, and chipotle chiles.

Rustic, tangy salmoriglio is the Italian equivalent of chimichurri, the popular Argentinean herb sauce.

What to drink: Stick with beer — choose a dark, medium-bodied lager with a hint of sweetness, like Shiner Bock from Shiner, Texas ($6 per six-pack).