Lunch

Two rimmed baking sheets and a hot oven mimic a giant panini press, making grilled cheese for a crowd a super quick and easy prospect.

A basket of unusual breadsticks will vanish in no time. The fact that you scatter the strips of dough on baking sheets rather like pick-up sticks results in great texture: they’re chewy where the strips overlap and crisp where they don’t.

Fuyu persimmons, which resemble tomatoes in shape, are best enjoyed while still firm and slightly crisp. The sweet, meaty wedges make a gorgeous counterpoint to the tangle of peppery greens.

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.

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!

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.

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.

A bright and spicy sauce works as both marinade for the shrimp and dressing for the citrus salad in these colorful rice bowls.

Any cooking oil or rendered fat will work for making these supremely crunchy potatoes. Bonus: The fluffy insides are perfect for sopping up gravy.

Broccoli stems are tender and delicious, but it’s important to cut away the dried-out base and peel the tough skin of thicker ones.

Simmer the bones of a rotisserie bird in water with a handful of aromatics and flavor-packed mushroom stems to make the umami-rich broth for this comforting soup.

This velvety lentil stew, brightened with shredded apple and fresh ginger, is the antidote to holiday excess.

This simple cornbread was designed for making stuffing—it’s easy to cut, not too sweet, and holds together.

Pale yellowish-white Castelfranco radicchio is usually tender and mild, but Chioggia (round) or Treviso (spear-shaped) varieties also work.

Beans and greens are great on almost every carb: in tortillas as tacos, over rice, on flatbread. But whenever crispy, skillet-fried toast is an option, you should probably take it.

Keep a jar of dukkha—a mix of spiced, salted seeds—in the pantry to add life to roasted winter squash or any other simply prepared vegetable.

You don't need to cut the finished star sheets into pappardelle—farfalle, lasagne sheets, or any other noodles on the larger side would also showcase this pattern well.