Herbs & Spices

Editor's note: Chris Hanna suggests serving her French Lentil, Prosciutto, and Pepper Salad alongside the pan-seared duck. The first time I made duck, I prepared traditional Peking duck using two enormous birds special-ordered from the butcher. After three days of painstaking preparation, every surface of my kitchen was covered in duck fat, and the ducks had shrunk down so much I only had a few ounces of meat to serve the six people walking through my door for dinner. Duck breasts are the answer! You can find them in the freezer section of your market if you can't find fresh, or you can special-order them from your butcher. They're much less fatty than duck legs or thighs, and they don't shrink much at all. In this recipe, the sear on high heat gets the skin nice and crispy. Aromatic five-spice powder gives the duck an exotic flair. An easy pan sauce results from deglazing the pan with wine and balsamic vinegar. Duck and Pinot Noir are meant for each other. An elegant Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is a perfect match, and stands up to the aromatic spice rub.

This pesto if very simple, and its mild, herbaceous flavor makes it the ideal companion for just about any of the meatballs. While many pesto recipes call for pine nuts, we prefer the flavor (and lower price) of walnuts. Try finely chopping them and adding them right at the end for a nice, crunchy texture. We also love this as a healthy party dip, especially because it has no raw garlic—your guests will thank you too! Just cut up some carrots, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, and celery and you're ready to go. You can swap arugula for spinach if you prefer. Pesto freezes well and will keep for up to three months in the freezer.

Even the girl who has it all could use an energy boost. Walnuts' protein will keep her going strong.

Here's a nondairy vegan alternative. Delish.

My client and friend Jeff Valko, whose personal chef I've been for years, loves this French toast. Being health-conscious and an exercise nut (like me), he likes to start his day with a protein boost. The apple topping is also delicious served over ice cream or frozen yogurt.

"I love mint Oreos," says owner Mindy Segal. "This is my take on that combination." The smooth pots de crème are offset by a chocolate brittle that's so addictive and simple to make, we serve it on its own for a quick dessert fix.

This mash gets a punch of flavor from freshly grated horseradish. Use a combination of potato varieties to add more texture.

Drizzle this fragrant honey over your favorite cheese, or use it as a condiment on prosciutto panini.

Spread this creamy, smoky spread on toasted pumpernickel, flatbread, or bagel chips.

Use a triple hit of ginger—fresh, ground, and crystallized—and blackstrap molasses to lift your ginger cookies to the next level. The dough is rolled in raw sugar for a sparkly effect.

Use to liven up Bloody Marys, or stir into sour cream as a sauce for roast beef.

Skip the bottled ranch; make this dressing all winter long to add a tangy kick to salads and crudités.

People often think of turnip soup as bitter and thin, but this one, made with young delicate turnips, is creamy and sweet. Blanching the turnips first removes any bitterness, and the sharpness of the greens makes a delicious counterpoint to the sweetness of the turnips.

We've rarely gone out for Indian food without including aloo gobi among our selections. It's a vegetarian/vegan standard. This rendition comes together quickly, and the tofu mimics paneer, the bland, soft cheese found in some Indian dairy dishes.

This is the best fried chicken, ever. There I said it. If it's not, then I want to try yours. I started paying attention to fried chicken in a serious way when I began work on the book Ad Hoc At Home. Ad Hoc is Thomas Keller's Napa Valley restaurant devoted to family meals. It offers one family meal each night, and everyone eats it. The fried chicken is so popular that it is served twice a week. Chefs Jeff Cerciello and Dave Cruz have tried all kinds of methods, mainly centering on the best crust. They decided that the trio of flour, buttermilk, and flour is best, and I agree. But the key here is the brine. Salt keeps the chicken juicy and seasoned, and also helps pull the rosemary deep into the flesh. So even after the rapture from eating the crust has passed, the flavor of the chicken holds you. This brine, like all brines flavored with aromatics, is best when you bring the ingredients to a simmer in all the water. But if you're like me, sometimes you'll be caught short and need to hurry things along. If you have a scale, you can bring half the water to a simmer with the other brine ingredients, let the aromatics steep for 20 minutes. Measure the remaining water as ice and pour the brine over the ice. Or simply combine the brine with cold water. Because so few people make fried chicken at home, I like to serve it to friends. Happily, it's a great do-head dish; the chicken will keep well for a couple of hours. You can fry it and then keep it on a rack in a 250°F/120°C/gas 1/2 oven until you need it. If you have a convection oven, use that feature to keep the crust crisp. The thighs will become delectably tender given the extra time in the low heat. Serve on a platter garnished with branches of deep-fried rosemary and grated lemon zest.

This was on the bar at every establishment in New York City during the holidays in the Gay Nineties.

Chef Todd Aarons of Tierra Sur at Herzog Wine Cellars in Oxnard, California, shared this recipe as part of a Hanukkah cocktail party menu he created exclusively for Epicurious. These potato and Jerusalem artichoke latkes fry up quickly and are best served immediately, but if necessary, they can be held briefly in a warm oven. If you can't find Jerusalem artichokes—also known as sunchokes—Aarons recommends substituting parsnips or celery root.

This one is Italy, pure and simple. Which is precisely what Italian cuisine is all about: Get yourself fresh, pure ingredients in season, plus some fine, real condiments and seasonings, and put it all together without a lot of fuss, and ecco! A simply superb meal, as healthy as they come and as good as eating gets. It's also beautiful on the plate. Note that scampi does not, in fact, mean shrimp, as many people think, but rather refers to the popular lemon, garlic, and oil preparation for shrimp in so many red-sauce Italian joints.

Homemade ginger juice lends complex flavor to this squash purée.