Root Vegetable

If you love fried calamari, you’ll really like having a new way to serve squid. The soup is thicker than a cioppino but not quite a chowder, and it’s nice and light. My husband, Todd, loves this soup because it’s spicy and the calamari gives it a meaty quality. Don’t add the calamari until right before you’re ready to serve, though, or it will become rubbery.

I love the versatility of cannellini beans. I’ve puréed them to make a dip and have used them as a thickener for soups. They’ve made many appearances in salads and even pasta dishes. This time, though, the cannellini bean is the star, offering a creamy, buttery texture for the base of the soup, which perfectly absorbs the flavors of the aromatics.

I made this for an après-ski menu on Everyday Italian. It is quite hearty and the beans give it nice body without making it too thick. The whipped cream garnish is beautiful and becomes even more fragrant as it slowly melts into the soup.

If you think stuffed mushrooms are bland, you’ll find these a welcome change of pace: the flavors are quite robust. These are equally good right out of the oven or at room temperature, and they make a nice hors d’oeuvre option for non-meat-eaters.

Toss this seasoning mix with French fries for a perfect side dish to Mediterranean-influenced dishes or use it as a spice crust for burgers; I especially like it on turkey burgers. It also complements simply grilled chicken and fish.

This spice and herb blend is great for seasoning beef and turkey burgers, but I especially like it tossed with hot French fries; they are addictive! The turmeric gives fries a gorgeous golden color.

If you’re looking for something to accompany an Asian-inspired burger, look no further. Whether used on French fries, potato chips, or onion rings, this seasoning blend infuses your dish with an Asian flair. Ultimately savory, it achieves a balance between the spicy and sweet flavor components that I love. Five-spice powder is a Chinese blend of spices incorporating the five basic flavors of Chinese cooking—savory, sweet, bitter, sour, and salty. It is available in the spice aisle of most supermarkets.

Pickled onions such as these are most often used as a garnish for tacos, burritos, and guacamole in Mexican cuisine. I think they are just as delicious on most of the burgers in this book, and they add a level of intrigue that raw onion slices could never do. The fresh lime juice is essential for its fresh, clean flavor as well as its acidity. If you want to pump up the volume on flavor and add a bit of heat, try adding a few whole jalapeño or serrano chiles to the mix.

As a New Yorker, I have ready access to some of the best dill pickles out there. Even so, I still like to whip up a batch of my own every now and then. It is really very easy to do, and you have total control over the flavor and seasonings. If you really like garlic, toss in a few more cloves; if you prefer your pickles on the spicy side, add a couple of pinches of red pepper flakes. This is a basic recipe and you should feel free to experiment with other spices, too, such as cumin or fennel seeds. One note: though light on labor, this is not a last-minute recipe. The cucumbers need to “pickle” for at least 24 hours to get the best flavor.

I created this barbecue sauce to top the Dallas and Cheyenne burgers (pages 37 and 39), but it’s also an ideal dipping sauce for Perfect French Fries (page 86). After you’ve made this quick and easy sauce once, you’ll want to slather it on grilled chicken, steak, pork chops . . . you might never go back to the bottled stuff.

Sometimes an onion ring is all about the sweet, tender onion, and sometimes the coating is given the chance to share the spotlight. Well, if you are looking for an onion ring that falls into the latter category, this is the one for you. Beer acts as a leavening agent, making for an extremely tender batter, and the deep malt flavor of dark beer makes this delicious to boot.

Even people who think they don’t like onions will fall for these onion rings, which are crispy on the outside and have a sweet, soft interior. Double dipping the onion rings helps to give them that extra-crunchy coating. I love the extra-sweet taste of Vidalia onions, but if you can’t find them in your market, any other sweet variety or even good old yellow onions will work well, too.

I never turn my nose up at potato chips out of a bag—what’s not to like? But there is something incredibly satisfying about making your own, and eating them when they are hot. Considering how easy homemade potato chips are to make, there’s no reason to deny yourself this pleasure. Just make sure that the potatoes are uniformly cut into thin slices and that you salt them as soon as they come out of the fryer. Now I like these chips just plain out of the fryer, but I love them dipped into warm, tangy, gooey Blue Cheese Sauce (page 110).

Thin and crispy, shoestring potatoes are like a cross between a French fry and a potato chip. Because the potato is sliced so thin, these cook in a matter of seconds and you won’t need to soak them or cook them twice as you would regular French fries. Unless you have an incredibly sharp knife and your knife skills are borderline masterful, I suggest using a mandoline to cut the super-thin slices of potato. You can of course season these with any of the spice mixtures on pages 117 to 119, but if you really want to be decadent, try them with a drizzle of white truffle oil and some shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano—delicious!

I happen to love sweet potatoes and think they are great fried. One thing that you have to keep in mind when making this recipe is that sweet potato fries will never, ever be as crispy as fries made with regular potatoes; blanching them in oil or extending the soaking time won’t change that. Sweet potatoes are very high in sugar and this keeps them from getting crisp. Their sugar content also makes them darken faster than standard potatoes, so don’t walk away from the pot when making them! I prefer my sweet potato fries with the skin on, but if that’s not to your liking feel free to peel them. For an extra hit of flavor, try seasoning the hot fries with a few tablespoons of either the Barbecue Seasoning (page 117) or the Mediterranean Seasoning (page 118).

Rich and buttery Yukon Golds are my potato of choice when making these substantial fries, but you can definitely use Russets if you’d rather. Should you decide to season the oven fries with one of the seasoning mixes, do so before roasting. The flavor of the spices will deepen with baking and give the fries a really great texture.

These aromatic fries are often seen in bistros, where they accompany anything from steak to mussels to . . . that’s right, a burger. These are garlicky to be sure, but not overwhelmingly so because the heat of the hot fries gently cooks the chopped garlic when the two are tossed together. Flecks of parsley bring a touch of bright color and flavor to the finished dish.

It’s nice to have the option to deliver a full meal straight off of the grill, fries and all. Though not as crispy as the deep-fried variety, these hearty grilled steak fries are every bit as satisfying. It’s vital to grill the potato slices with the skin on; the skin not only provides an extra textural dimension, but also keeps the potatoes from falling apart on the grill. You can simply season these with salt and pepper or use any of the seasoning mixtures for fries (pages 117 to 119), if you so desire.

The name pretty much says it all: these are everything you could want from a French fry. They are great as is, but if you are looking for a change of pace, try tossing the fries with any of the seasoning mixtures on pages 117 to 119 or serving them with any of the condiments on pages 107 to 112.