Herbs & Spices

If you read Edna Lewis's cookbooks, you will come to understand that southerners do not boil their vegetables to death. They cook them until they are perfectly, magnificently tender—and there's a big difference. Try this versatile side and see: It's absurdly easy and full of deep, sweet flavor.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Rick Tramonto's book Fantastico! I unabashedly love beef tartare and yes, this is my favorite crostini, particularly because I gild the lily with a drizzle of truffle oil! Steak tartare has been around for a good long time, and according to legend, its name refers to the Tartars, the nomads who roamed eastern Europe, for a time under the leadership of Attila the Hun. Fierce and bloodthirsty, the Tartars purportedly ate raw meat for strength. Tartars were Huns, but "beef hun" just doesn't have the panache of beef, or steak, tartare. If you've never had beef tartare, try it my way; then make it your way by omitting what you may not like such as capers, Worcestershire sauce, or anchovies. But don't fool with the beef. Buy the best you can from a reputable butcher. I use prime beef when possible, but because it is sometimes hard to find, I may turn to high-quality choice beef instead.

Oven-baking this rice pudding eliminates a lot of stovetop stirring while still producing a delicious, creamy dessert.

Espagueti Frutos del Mar Hearty with shrimp, mussels, squid, and octopus, this flavor-packed pasta dish gets an extra boost from a bright basil purée drizzled on before serving. True, there's some effort involved in making it, but you can prepare the various elements in stages, and the drama and deliciousness of the result will more than compensate your efforts.

Creamed spinach often gets a dash of nutmeg. With the rest of this meal, you'll be happy to have a lighter (meaning creamless), more basic sautéed spinach, but the nutmeg remains, for a sense of something special.

Food editor Paul Grimes credits his cooking-school teacher chef Fernand Chambrette of école de Cuisine La Varenne, in Paris, with teaching him how to waste nothing and how to coax flavor even out of scraps. But this is not just an exercise in virtuosity, since the butter carries every last drop of sweet sea essence rendered from the shells. Keep any extra in your freezer and scoop some out whenever you want to punch up a seafood dish.

Trompe l'oeil as much as hors d'oeuvres, these rolls use carrot where nori would usually be at a sushi bar and boneless beef top loin instead of tuna. The pungent mustard sauce is an artful counterpoint to the sweet carrot.

You don't need an endless supply of ingredients to create a flavor-packed stir-fry. Here, flank steak and fresh Napa cabbage come together without fuss, thanks to a Chinese sauce that requires little work.

Thanks to Simon and Garfunkel, the fresh herbs in this dish are forever linked. But the folk duo probably never knew how good they are on top of al dente bucatini, a thicker-than-spaghetti hollow noodle.

Café au Lait Pain Perdu Perfumed with sweetened espresso and baked to an eggy, custardy consistency, this take on French toast is one of those magical dishes that work just as well for dessert as they do for breakfast.

Rosemary and garlic give these succulent pork chops Mediterranean flair.

This soup, served hot in a shot glass, is wonderfully warming, and the spicy heat from the chiles will wake up your taste buds. It's a great way to kick-start some festive conversation.

Is there a child in this world that doesn't love applesauce? This pink-hued, cinnamon-spiked version is just the right topping for the latkes.

The overnight marinade means you just have to pop these deliciously sticky drumsticks in the oven when you're ready. It also means that they're packed with classic Asian sweet-and-sour flavors that appeal to younger palates.

Whether you dunk them in milk, pry them apart, or devour them whole, sandwich cookies are irresistible. These, with their crisp chocolate wafers and ganache filling made from fine-quality white chocolate, are so much better than that supermarket version.