Starter

Here’s a master recipe for a vegetable soup that you can make just for yourself when you have the urge, on a cold day, or when garden greens are in abundance in the summer.

This is a good way to use that extra pumpkin or squash you may have roasted. It makes an unusually pleasing soup.

Creamed soups are often used as a base ingredient in casseroles, and cream of chicken is among the most popular of choices. Trust us when we say that making this soup from scratch and using it in recipes will really make a huge flavor difference by highlighting the freshest ingredients and doing away with preservatives and artificial colorings. This soup is fantastic as a ingredient in recipes, but don’t be afraid to make it as a stand-alone dish as well.

There are some exceptions where homemade just makes good common flavor sense. This recipe boasts a lovely, woody mushroom flavor that doesn’t compare to the canned variety. It’s perfect for adding to your favorite recipes, such as our Oh Boy! Broccoli Casserole, page 131.

Sandy doesn’t even like cornbread, and yet this is one of her favorite dishes. If you weren’t one before, we’ll make a cornbread lover out of you, too. This dish is extremely easy to make and works great when paired with our CQ’s Royal Cottage Pie (page 38) or our Shrimply Delicious Shrimp and Grits (page 54). It also can stand proud all on its own, making a great appetizer or a replacement for the rolls in your bread basket!

Firm polenta serves as the base for a delectable shrimp sauce made with tomatoes, garlic, red pepper flakes, and crisp pancetta crumbles. Once seared, the polenta is perfectly crisp on the outside and velvety on the inside. You’ll need to make the polenta a couple of hours before serving, since it needs time to cool and set before you can sear it. Luckily, it can be made ahead of time.

We actually got this brilliant idea from our World’s Greatest Chicken Pot Pie recipe (page 48), borrowing some of its staple flavors to create an entirely new dish. The mild flavors of the tarragon and white wine sauce complement the leek mixture in this new creation. Baking the salmon en croute keeps the fish moist and seals in its natural flavors. When you find a flavor combination you love, experiment and find new ways to make it work for you!

These gnocchi are also called malfatti (which translates to “badly made”) or gnudi (which means “nude”) because essentially these are ravioli without the pasta—they’re naked! No matter what you call them, I ADORE these delicate little cheese dumplings. They’re little bundles of spinach and ricotta sitting on top of melted Fontina mixed with heavy cream, mascarpone, and egg yolks. A little bit of this dish goes a long way—right to my booty usually!

After culinary school, I spent a year in Italy learning to cook Italian food the way the Italians do, the right way. That year was probably one of the most important of my education; I learned a ton from the chefs I worked for—techniques and methods I still rely on every day. I also learned how to make this dish—which is a total showstopper. Uovo means “egg,” and that’s what this dish is all about: a lovely golden egg yolk nestled in a bed of creamy ricotta cheese all wrapped up in a tender blanket of pasta. Cut these lovelies open and the yolk flows out of the center. It’s an incredibly sophisticated and sexy dish, but deceivingly easy to make—the only catch is you have to cook the raviolis in batches. I realize this may seem like a pain, but it’s really the best approach as these ravs are very fragile (and they do cook really quickly, so it’s actually not that big a deal). I promise it’s worth it, because this recipe will make you a rock star!

When I’m in the mood for tomato sauce, Amatriciana is my go-to. It’s all about onions, spicy tomatoes, and pork products. Guanciale—cured pork jowl—is the key here. It has a sweeter, more interesting flavor than bacon. In a pinch, pancetta can be substituted, and in a double pinch bacon will suffice (though it does add a smokier flavor, so be warned). What else can I say? This sauce makes me want to dive into the bowl head first with my mouth wide open!

I love beans—any time, any way. And while my preference is to cook my own beans (see page 55), I’m the first to admit that sometimes a can of beans is a lifesaver. For this recipe in particular I have no problems using canned beans, and you shouldn’t either. Having a few cans in the pantry means whipping up this dish is easy—it’s one of my very favorite things to make when I want something super comforting to slurp up and stick to my belly while sitting around watching TV on a Sunday afternoon.

I’ve had a lot of bad gnocchi in my life. You know the kind I’m talking about: You eat three and suddenly your belly expands and you feel like balls of bread dough are rising in there. Gnocchi should be light and airy, like clouds! Over time I’ve perfected the secrets to great gnocchi and if you follow this recipe, even as a beginner, you will be successful EVERY time.

I call these my little Parmigiano puddings and when I say they are easy to pull together, I’m SOOOOO not kidding. They’re also easily made ahead of time—in fact, I recommend doing so—and they’re a huge crowd pleaser at a party. Just put them in a 300°F oven for 5 to 7 minutes to take the chill off before serving.

Chicken soup is so comforting on so many levels, and it’s a cinch to whip up a pot of your own rather than opening a can (which is not that healthy, by the way). And here’s a tip: If you’re going to make a little, you might as well make a lot and toss the leftovers in the freezer.

I love sugar snaps because they’re crispy, they’re crunchy, and they’re snappy! Just blanch, shock, and cut them into little slivers to enjoy the full sugar snappy experience. To keep things interesting, toss in some minty fresh deliciousness and some salty, crispy prosciutto! Now that’s what I call a summertime salad.

I love this soup because it’s my favorite color and the garnishes bump up the fancy factor! It’s also totally seasonal—what could be more autumnal than a pretty pumpkin soup with spiced whipped cream and crispy leeks?

This dish is SOOOOO titillating. When you eat these oysters you almost don’t know which direction to turn. The intertwining flavors, textures, and temperatures come together to create a flavor explosion in your mouth. This is one sexy dish.

I’m a bean lover but chickpeas are my favorite, so I make them the star of this spicy, satisfying rustic soup. I top off this bowl of comfort with some crispy, crunchy croutons and a drizzle of big fat finishing oil, and it takes me right back to Tuscany!

I am a huge fan of eggs—and I especially LOOOOOVE them when they’re served at a meal other than breakfast (though I love them for breakfast too!). There’s something elegant about putting an egg on a salad—and this particular salad combines the earthy meatiness of porcini mushrooms and the runny yolk of an egg, a combo that I think makes this a super-sexy appetizer or a lovely lunch.

I love the charred flavor of grilled pizza. You can top it with anything, of course, but this version is one of my favorites. It’s crispy and crunchy, kind of like a grilled cracker. Whenever I eat pizza I always give it a sprinkey-dink of crushed red pepper—it’s just better with a little kick! That’s why I make this infused oil for my pizzetta. It’s an amazing way to get a big flavor bump, and while I love this chili oil on pizza, it’s great on lots and lots of things.