Weeknight Meals

This barbecue sauce is delicious and can be made ahead and frozen. To save time, you also can use your favorite prepared barbecue sauce; if it's too thick, add a little cider vinegar.

Something green and crisp is in order, and this simple salad is just the thing. A tangy from-scratch honey-mustard dressing will make salad eaters out of even the youngest at the table.

Who knew? These two humble winter staples actually have a natural affinity, playing off each other's best qualities.

This is the perfect antidote to the Sunday blues, not least because there will be enough left over to pack sandwiches for Monday's lunch. A mix of beef, pork, and bacon ensures meatiness, with Worcestershire sauce, chopped prunes, and cider vinegar added for good balance and occasional suggestions of sweetness. Because the loaf is baked without a loaf pan, there's plenty of well-browned crust to go around.

Using lamb slashes fat; mixing a milk-soaked pita into the patty keeps it moist.

The tangy sweetness of cherry tomatoes contrasts nicely with the plump, smoky chops, while green-olive paste gives a briny edge to the white beans.

A shot of vinegar enlivens the concentrated sweetness of roasted parsnips—a perfect complement to simple roast chicken.

This filling meatless meal satisfies nearly a quarter of your daily fiber needs.

As you may know, orecchiette is Italian for "little ears." Their size and rounded shape are just right for holding chunky toppings—pancetta, pine nuts, and broccoli fit that bill nicely. Grating Parmigiano-Reggiano over the entire dish is always a good idea.

Miso soup and quick-roasted mushrooms give Pacific cod a meaty umami boost.

Food editor Lillian Chou, who is also gourmet's resident runner of marathons, swears by quinoa: "I have so much more energy if I eat it before a race!" And transforming this power grain into crisp cakes topped with a substantial rustic sauce and gooey softened mozzarella creates another compelling reason to love it—it just tastes so good.

We found ourselves craving this sun-dried tomato butter, not just spreading it on lamb chops but also tossing it with orzo and smearing it onto slices of toast.

Little bites of cauliflower add wonderful texture to this open-face omelet; salty-tangy feta gives it character.

Don't be intimidated. This is actually just a Southeast Asian twist on beef-noodle soup: steak, fragrant broth, and eminently slurpable noodles.

This potato soup recipe was brought over from Poland by test kitchen director Ruth Cousineau's grandmother.

Despite the exotic name of this sandwich, you can get all the ingredients right at the supermarket. Liverwurst stands in for the traditional pork-pâté filling—the meatiness works beautifully with the sharp-flavored vegetables and fresh cilantro.

Perfectly textured inside and out, these scones truly are the real deal. Just a touch of butter or your favorite jam is all the embellishment they need.

Don't worry if the fat seems a bit high—it's mostly the heart-healthy kind from the fish.