Simple Cooking

This uncooked soup is quick to prepare but delivers deep, bright flavor. A range of toppings makes it even more visually appealing.

The secret to making grilled cheese for a crowd? Turn on the oven (the standard skillet method is too labor-intensive). Encourage guests to customize their sandwiches with the cheeses, breads, and fixings you've set out. Then simply pop them on a baking sheet and cook.

After we make a batch of this romesco sauce, we put it on things like eggs, grilled cheese, and turkey sandwiches. We find any excuse we can think of to dunk and cover stuff in the incredibly versatile and tasty romesco.

Here is a recipe I adapted from the cooking of Kurt Gardner, a New York theater man of great culinary passions who has been contributing the dish to our home for years, usually in proportions large enough to feed boroughs. Rare is the month where there is not a frozen bag of this stuff in our freezer, ready to be deployed.

John Willoughby, once the executive editor of Gourmet and, with the chef Chris Schlesinger, one of the great interpreters of live-fire cooking in the United States, once said that there are only 11 recipes in the world, and those of us who labor in kitchens spend most of our time re-inventing them.
As an example, here is my adaptation of the recipe for cornbread Schlesinger served in his East Coast Grill from the time he opened the place in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1985. The adaptation? I have added a few cups of frozen organic corn for texture. Those who wish to go further might add a fine dice of fiery chipotle peppers in sauce, or cook a few slices of bacon in the skillet before cooking the dish, and add the crumbled result to the batter. The fat left over in the pan would allow you to reduce the amount of butter you use by about 2 tablespoons.

Grilled meatballs, grilled bread, and a peppery arugula-walnut pesto make this sandwich one to remember.

Editor's note: This recipe is part of a special Thanksgiving menu created by chefs Allison Vines-Rushing and Slade Rushing of MiLa restaurant in New Orleans. This dish is a rice pilaf, where the rice is toasted in oil with onion before liquid is added to finish the cooking. The addition of chopped pecans adds an additional nuttiness to the toasted rice. Pilafs are usually made with a meat-based stock like chicken; if you want a vegetarian version, you can easily substitute vegetable stock or water. We like to serve this alongside our turkey at Thanksgiving.

Editor's note: This recipe is part of a special Thanksgiving menu created by chefs Allison Vines-Rushing and Slade Rushing of MiLa restaurant in New Orleans. Pecan pralines are one of the most celebrated candies of the South. They are made with pecans, sugar, and cream, which results in a unique crystallized and cloudy caramel that melts in your mouth. The European praline, however, is made simply with sugar and nuts, which results in a shiny hard-crack bitter-and-sweet candy. This Italian-style semifreddo (half frozen) uses the latter, which holds up well when frozen. However, we still use cream, but in a soft, fluffy base that cradles the crispy praline.

Rae: What I love about our updated version of this peasant soup is that it's based on an actual beet broth—not beef stock, as in a lot of Russian borschts, and not even vegetable stock to which beets have been added. This is a really beet-y, and surprisingly hearty, borscht. And it's completely vegetarian.

The pan-fried pizza move comes in handy during the summer when you don't want to turn the oven to 500°F.

For her holiday party one year, my friend Elizabeth served a row of meat loaves that were presented on her finest China platters and had been stuffed with spinach and cheese. I loved that, and occasionally follow her lead for just a regular Tuesday night meal. To stuff, place half the meatloaf mixture in the loaf pan. Using a spoon, make a well down the length of the middle, then add thawed frozen spinach and mozzarella cheese into the well. Cover with remaining mixture and proceed as directed.

I make tomato sauce often. I make a batch to use that same night, and freeze what is left over to pull out and cook with when I want to throw something together quickly, like a grilled pizza or a pasta. A ricer or food mill is an inexpensive piece of kitchen equipment and there are many sizes. This is the best way to puree this sauce.

If it's melon season, you have to make this. In Burma (Myanmar), gin thoke, meaning "ginger mix," is a blend of crispy fried garlic, sesame seeds, and ginger, and is eaten as a sweet digestive snack after meals. Although not native to the region, melons are a refreshing and delicious complement to this dressing, together making a perfect summertime side dish. The ginger is key to this salad. Ideally, the gingerroot should be so young that the skin is almost transparent and the roots are tipped with pink.

What could possibly be better than a strawberry milkshake? A strawberry cheesecake milkshake! The cream cheese, which has a tang of its own that's enhanced by the lemon zest, helps make this milkshake as thick as, well, concrete (the very apt Missouri term for a milkshake).
If the idea of frozen strawberries hits you as totally counter to your locavore sensibilities, know that they are another secret to a milkshake thick enough to eat with a spoon, and if you grow your own or buy them at the farmers' market, we urge you to freeze them for this shake. You'll find the directions in the Cooks' Notes at the end of the recipe. Editor's Note: This recipe is part of Gourmet's Modern Menu for Burger Bash. Menu also includes Bacon-Cheddar Burgers with Caramelized Onions and Homemade French Fries with Five Dipping Sauces.

Saffron threads and fresh garlic add a kick of color and flavor to this creamy mayo that's perfect for dipping or spreading.

Transform jarred roasted red peppers into a fresh and flavorful dip seasoned with cumin and a pinch of cayenne.