Simple Cooking

Finishing your cookies with a delicate, flaky salt like Maldon brings out the chocolate flavor and tempers the sweetness, creating the ultimate sweet and salty snack.

A dollop of this romesco sauce improves everything from steak to roasted cauliflower.

Here, a coarse sea salt like fleur de sel or sel gris plays a few important roles: It tempers and cuts the richness of the nuts and butter, it adds a concentrated crunch— and it makes the brittle look divine. Break this vibrant green pistachio brittle on top of ice cream or crumble it over rice pudding. Or, do what we do, and eat it straight off the baking sheet.

Don't bother peeling the onions; their skins add a nice, rich brown color to this vegetable stock. If you'd like, remove the skins for use in dishes when a lighter color is preferred, such as in risotto or cream sauces.

Buy thinly sliced beef at Korean markets, or ask your butcher to cut it for you.

Harissa is typically made with hot chiles and served with couscous. This herb-based spin is great with roasted vegetables, or as a rub for fish.

Psilakis uses fresh sheep's milk ricotta, but fresh cow's milk ricotta works, too.

WHAT: White wine infused with cardamom and star anise, as well as the more traditional triumvirate of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, and amped up with pear brandy.
HOW: A slice of Asian pear is added to each drink as a garnish—the pear softens slightly as it absorbs the warm booze and makes for a yummy treat once you've sipped the last of the wine.
WHY WE LOVE IT: Like a delicate warm sangria, this drink is the perfect accompaniment to a cozy evening indoors.

Delicate, crumbly little thumbprints that are the perfect combination of sweet and savory—a cheese plate wrapped into one crunchy little morsel.

WHO: Midge lives in Boston and is a journalist specializing in travel. She says, "Cooking, especially baking, is my way of winding down after a long day." WHAT: A rich pudding that has just the right balance of bitter and sweet. HOW: Starting the water bath with cool water, rather than hot, cooks the pudding very gently, giving it the most incredibly silken, glossy structure. WHY WE LOVE IT: Puddings thickened with cornstarch make great comfort food, but Midge's luxurious caramel custard, which uses egg yolks as its only setting agent, elevates pudding to dinner party fare. As with any egg-enriched custard, the key is careful tempering. As for the caramel, be sure to brown it as far as your nerves allow. Midge says: "So far, one of the best parts about living in Boston is my proximity to Toscanini's burnt caramel ice cream. I'm not even that into ice cream, but this flavor, with its slight bitter edge to cut the richness, is cracklike. I attempted to capture it in a pudding, and after incinerating a lot of sugar, I think I finally got it."

"Batido." This pretty little word is well known all over Latin America and to many in South Florida as well. A sweet and frothy fruit milkshake, it's as varied as the currently available fruits in season. Guanabana, mamey, atemoya, coconut, cherimoya, banana, tamarind and many others—all contributing their gorgeous colors and enticing fragrances! Put the pulp of any tropical fruit or fruits in an electric blender with a little ice, a splash of milk and hit the blend button. Moments later, in a frosty glass, a delicious, healthy, delectable fruit smoothy is waiting for you. The buttermilk is my own addition. If you like the tangyness of sour cream ice cream or crème fraîche you will like this as well. If not, you can omit the buttermilk and go the standard batido route. It's all good.

I can't believe I'd never heard of this recipe until I was halfway through writing this cookbook and then only because my good friend Fran McCullough, a primo New York cookbook editor now retired and living in the historic town of Hillsborough just north of Chapel Hill, e-mailed one morning full of enthusiasm: "Have you ever heard of Atlanta Brisket?" She'd eaten it for the first time the night before at some local "food do" and was blown away by its flavor and succulence. A quick online search turned up this shocker. Eli N. Evans, my across-the-hall Gramercy Park co-op neighbor for nearly 20 years, is an aficionado of Atlanta Brisket. Who knew? President Emeritus of The Charles H. Revson Foundation of New York and like me a born-and-bred Tar Heel, Eli is the author of three acclaimed books: The Provincials: A Personal History of Jews in the South, Judah P. Benjamin: The Jewish Confederate, and The Lonely Days Were Sundays: Reflections of a Jewish Southerner. The irony here is that I'd hand recipe "tests" across the hall to Eli and his family, never dreaming that he knew a thing about cooking.

"Hey. Hey. I'm Frank, the Conch Salad Man. I'll sell you the world's best conch salad!" He was holding a huge white pickle bucket brimming with his conch salad. With no more explanation than that, he reached in and gave me a paper cup full. I tipped back a mixture of finely diced conch, tomatoes, red onions, Scotch bonnets, bell peppers, celery, citrus juices and herbs. The flavors of the sea were in there, too. Living in Key West was my culinary university; I never needed more formal training. The place was filled with honest, in-your-face flavors that came from the Cuban, Bahamian and African-American residents and wanderers who passed through. I didn't move to Key West to re-invent the cuisine—I came to find a home. In the process, I found a path to both. In this recipe, you will taste the foundation of each.

Pico de gallo, also known as salsa Mexicana, has become a common sight on tables in the U.S. and it's easy to see why. The mixture of raw, chopped ingredients improves just about any meal with its lively acidity, lip-tingling heat, and crisp texture. This version is a riff on the classic that swaps lemon for lime to great effect. Whenever I take a bite I have a heretical thought: This is so delicious that maybe we Mexicans should use only lemons!

This is the Mexican equivalent to the American grilled-cheese or turkey sandwich, an everyday treat you throw together with what's left in the fridge. In Mexico, that's beans, cheese, and salsa. Though molletes are available in restaurants, they're definitely best made at home, when you can make sure to properly butter and toast the bread, add the right amount of beans and cheese, then melt that queso under the broiler.

Another fantastic substitute for soupy beans, these pack a punch, which is just the thing for tortas. The chile powder should be reduced by half if serving these beans as a side dish.

Virtually every tortería serves this torta, split hot dogs griddled and tucked inside bread. Instead of ketchup and relish, you dress your dog with all the typical torta condiments. Good old yellow American cheese provides another melty flavor and texture. It's not diet food, that's for sure, but it sure is delicious.

The sunny yellow color of egg bread adds a visual warmth to classic bread stuffing. This stuffing, interspersed with nubbins of sage-laced breakfast sausage and studded with tart cherries and toasted pecans, is so memorable, we guarantee it will be talked about wistfully long after the turkey carcass has turned into soup. Editor's Note: This recipe is part of our Gourmet Modern Menu for Thanksgiving for 2 or 20. Menu also includes: Citrus-Sage Roast Turkey with Gravy (whole turkey or breast ); Roasted Butternut Squash Ribbons with Arugula, Pancetta, and Hazelnut Salad; Mashed Potato and Cauliflower Gratin; Cabernet-Cranberry Sauce with Figs; and for dessert, Apple Crostata with Spiced Caramel Sauce .

Do you love apple pie, but feel stuck in a classic-pie rut at Thanksgiving? Bake outside the box this year with the Italian version, known as crostata. Unlike typical American pie pastry, crostata pastry is similar to cookie dough, so instead of being flaky, it bakes up like a crisp, chewy sugar cookie. Drizzle slices with warm spiced caramel sauce, and you just might count yourself among the crostata converts. Editor's Note: This recipe is part of our Gourmet Modern Menu for Thanksgiving for 2 or 20. Menu also includes: Citrus-Sage Roast Turkey with Gravy (whole turkey or breast ); Roasted Butternut Squash Ribbons with Arugula, Pancetta, and Hazelnut Salad; Mashed Potato and Cauliflower Gratin; Cabernet-Cranberry Sauce with Figs; and Challah, Sausage, and Dried Cherry Stuffing .