Simple Cooking

Crisp pickled vegetables go brilliantly with cocktails (or with sandwiches, a hunk of cheese, a juicy steak...the possibilities are endless). Fresh ginger and dried chiles give them a bracing boost and orange juice plays up their natural sweetness.

A simmer and soak in sugar syrup glazes kumquats and liquifies their interiors so they taste like delicious shots of marmalade.

This spicy Ethiopian dipping sauce is made from whisking berbere spice blend honey wine, beer, arak, or even just a mixture of water and honey.

Great pimiento cheese is all about spice. Red peppers and hot sauce are essential to cutting through the richness of the cream cheese and cheddar.

Essentially rows of buttery shortbread encased in a rich chocolate ganache, we suggest having a slice of this dessert by the fire with a strong cup of coffee.

Who says oatmeal needs to be sweet? Prepare the oats as you traditionally would, but instead of adding berries and sweeteners, toss in greens and kimchi, then top with an egg, hemp seeds, and avocado.

Serve this easy-to-make “toast” just as you would traditional toast and top it with your favorite toppings, such as avocado, a poached or fried egg, microgreens, tahini, fresh berries, hemp seeds, a nut butter, bananas, or strawberries.

Butternut squash is one of my all-time favorite ingredients. It has a beautiful orange color, is very filling, is great for heart health, and perhaps best of all, it’s great for healthy skin and eyes. An ingredient that’s beautiful and makes you beautiful? Yes, please!

These cookie bars are studded with the best parts of traditional fruitcake (orange zest and dried fruit) and spiced up with lots of fresh ginger.

This prep-ahead dinner can be served layered in bowls or deconstructed for picky eaters with the ginger, scallions, and cilantro sauce on the side.

Crunchy tender carrots tossed in a tangy-sweet dressing meet soft and blackened dates for literally everything you want in one bite.

Blanching the chopped orange in boiling water before cooking it with the cranberries removes any bitterness from the peel and pith.

The most labor-intensive part of this recipe involves coring and separating the leaves of each brussels sprout—a perfect activity for those lazybones watching the game. Delegate!

Removing the seeds from one of the chiles lessens the punch. If you like more heat, leave them in. If less, scrape out seeds from both chiles.

You can make and chill these mashed potatoes up to two days before the big night.

Choose shallots that are all about the same size so that they soften evenly as they cook. And if spicy is not your thing, skip the Fresno chiles.

How do you get anyone (really, anyone) to eat kale and mushrooms? Layer them with toasted bread cubes and cover with Gruyère and Parmesan.

Figs bring a touch of sweetness to this bright, chutney-ish sauce and nicely offset the sharpness of the vinegar.

This savory wild rice dish is the ultimate gluten-free stuffing—basically a holiday-appropriate grain salad with lots of fresh herbs.

Arugula adds a fresh, peppery bite to this simple sausage and roasted vegetable pasta.