Herbs & Spices

We helped our snickerdoodles get party-ready by upping the spices and adding texture with toffee, cornflakes, and a sparkly finish.

Bath duck in a spiced (nutmeg, allspice) and spicy (habanero) marinade, stick it in the oven, ignore it for five hours, then serve it with fixings for build-it-yourself tacos.

This hearty, meaty, sauerkraut-braised dinner takes only 25 minutes in the oven.

Finally, a creamy, buttery risotto without all of the stirring. Just pop it in the oven and roast some mushrooms alongside to top off the finished dish.

Meet your new favorite, cold-weather one-pan salmon dinner. It’s warm and creamy with coconut milk and just spicy enough with green curry paste, ginger, and garlic.

Cutting leeks into large pieces gives them a presence equal to disks of potato, while cooking the vegetables separately before combining—the leeks are braised in butter, the spuds are simmered in milk and cream—preserves their distinct flavors.

A standing rib roast combines deep beefiness with marvelous tenderness and, naturally, has a price tag to match. But don’t be intimidated. It’s still a roast, after all, and that means it’s easy to cook.

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.

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.

Adding ground coffee to both the cookie dough and the filling turns these cookies into something deeply more interesting than your average holiday spice treats.

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.

Boneless chicken thighs cook in an apple-thyme sauce until they’re tender, then get served on top of a crispy, large-format potato pancake. You’ll finish it off with a squeeze of lemon and fresh herbs.

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.

Cubing and lightly toasting the cornbread preps it for maximum flavor absorption without compromising its sturdiness.

It’s hard to know if a parsnip will have a woody core, but generally speaking, small ones are tender throughout. Worst case scenario? Trim the tough centers before cooking.

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