Okra

"This is an easy way to bring height-of-summer cookout mojo to our favorite vegetables without fussing with a charcoal or gas grill," The Lees say. Cooking the corn and okra on the stove in a heavy skillet gives them a superb char.

Howie Velie dips okra into a cornmeal batter, then fries it until it's puffy, golden and crusty. Make sure to serve the okra right away since it can get soggy if it sits.

Okra and cashews are central to Brazilian cuisine; here the vegetable is lightly sautéed with slivers of garlic and tossed with the nuts for a great crunch.

Chef Way At Boston's Tupelo, chef Rembs Layman prepares rich gumbo with house-made stock and a jerk seasoning blend from Christina's Spice & Specialty Foods.

Easy Way Use store-bought rotisserie chicken, canned chicken broth and supermarket jerk or Cajun seasoning.

"If you don't stew it, you can't eat it," says Eric Ripert about cooking Brazil's tough but flavorful chickens. Here, he lightens a traditional chicken stew with lemongrass and ginger.

The usual Indian way of preparing okra is to cut it into rounds. But when Suvir Saran was seven, he insisted that the family cook slice the okra into wispy strips. The supercrunchy result was a hit and became a family legend.

Pairing Suggestion: It's been said that Gewürztraminer is the best match for curry, and we won't disagree. Try one from Alsace for its power and depth of flavor.

Peggy Markel saw okra (which in India is known as ladyfingers) at markets all over Rajasthan. To add complexity to a simple stewed okra-and-tomato dish, Soban Singh Bedla showed Markel how to cook whole cumin seeds, turmeric and chile powder in oil before adding the vegetables, which brings out the spices' depth of flavor.

Okra is a common ingredient in Singaporean cooking; Chris Yeo was thrilled at how easy it is to find in Atlanta. He sautés the okra pods in hot oil until theyâ??re browned and crisp, then stir-fries them with chile sauce and pungent dried shrimp (widely available in Asian markets).