Meal Prep

You'll be amazed that anything this simple could taste so good, not to mention that all this garlic—yes, two heads, not two cloves—can produce such a seasoned, mellow taste.

Editor's note: The recipe below is adapted from Elizabeth Karmel's Web site, girlsatthegrill.com .

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are adapted from Elizabeth Karmel's Web site, girlsatthegrill.com . Once you understand the technique of grilling chicken pieces, it will be easy for you to add your favorite rubs, marinades, and sauces. I recommend grilling chicken pieces over an indirect heat so that the chicken is cooked on the inside and golden brown on the outside at the same time. Cooking over direct heat can create a raw interior and a burned exterior—especially if you put the barbecue sauce on too soon.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Aroma: The Magic of Essential Oils in Food and Fragrance by Mandy Aftel and Daniel Patterson. This is an incredibly useful and versatile stock. It has a sweet vegetal flavor that can be used in many different ways—as a base for sauces and soups, adding richness and depth without changing the essential flavor of what it is paired with. It keeps in the refrigerator for one week, or you can freeze it indefinitely.

Salad dressing has derailed at least seven of my diets. Fat-free varieties are either bitter or icky sweet, so I end up skipping salads altogether. The spa version uses thickened nonfat vegetable stock, which uncannily resembles emulsified olive oil, as a base. Soon you'll be buying greens in bulk and jeans in a smaller size.

For this pasta dough, we used a mixture of cake and all-purpose flours. It's too delicate when you're making noodles, but it's great for filled, double-edged pastas like ravioli.

Rich, aromatic rouille is a classic lily-gilding for French fish soups; this one has an extra something special: saffron. Even if you love saffron, though, don't be tempted to add any extra threads. This is just the right amount to really flatter, not dominate, the soup.

This simple apricot-based condiment tastes as bright and sunny as it looks. Spread it on toast like a homemade jam, stir some into yogurt or a vinaigrette, or use it as a filling for white or génoise layer cakes.

This is a time-honored way to sweeten mint juleps , lemonade, and iced tea.

In the discussion of preserving fruit By canning versus freezing, why doesn't this technique ever come up? Peacock credits the late Edna Lewis for teaching him to mix mashed fruit with sugar for a sort of jam that he says keeps for a year when refrigerated. (We only tested up to one month, but so far, so good.) "It's a very old-fashioned method," he says. "The flavor is fresh and intense and delicious spooned onto hot Buttered Buttermilk Biscuits or Yeast Rolls ." Try it with raspberries or strawberries, too.

Edna Lewis trained Peacock's palate to detect the metallic undertones that commercial baking powders can impart, and he's never looked back. Here's their formula.

There is nothing like a homemade piecrust. It's hard to say exactly why it's so amazing—it just is. This classic recipe calls for butter, for flavor, and shortening, for flakiness. Once you get the hang of it, you'll find that people will walk over hot coals for a piece of your pie.

Confiture is the sweet version of confit, in which sugar acts as the preservative.