Nut Free

Homemade stock made from a whole bird has two upsides: You get a rich, balanced liquid for the gumbo, and plenty of tender poached chicken meat.

Set this up in advance and serve it at room temperature. The cheese will be soft enough to scoop with a cracker-and will taste better, too.

Cream of tartar is optional, but it keeps the sugar from crystallizing, making this caramel foolproof.

The keys to achieving razor-edged triangles: Let the sandwiches cool slightly, then slice with a serrated knife.

I have such fond memories of helping my mom make lasagna as a kid. I was in charge of layering the noodles, sauce, ricotta and mozzarella. Today, my lasagna is a bit lighter than my mom's. Rather than making it as a large tray, I prefer to make them into rolls—which I load up with vegetables—for better portion control. And here I swap tomato sauce for a wonderfully savory Butternut squash sauce with shallots, garlic, and Parmesan cheese.

For a dish that's easy to eat (and still has that classic barbeque-shrimp presentation), peel the shrimp, leaving the heads and tails on, before adding them to the sauce. If you leave the shrimp out, then you have a great New Orleans barbeque sauce recipe. Try substituting poached oysters for the shrimp.

Shishito peppers give a mildly spicy kick to this old-school breakfast classic. If you can't find them at your farmer's market, use any chile pepper with a similar heat level, like poblanos or pimentos de Padron.

It's easier than you think to make homemade sausage for this Vietnamese take on the egg sandwich. No need to mess with casings; just mix ground pork with seasonings, form into patties, and pan-fry.

Though this recipe calls for a raspberry garnish, feel free to swap in caramelized apples or toasted pistachios. When working with phyllo dough, make sure to keep the unused phyllo sheets covered as much as possible, as they tend to dry out quickly.

Though 4 pounds of brisket may seem like a lot, remember that this cut of meat loses some weight in cooking; one advantage of leaner first-cut brisket is that there's less shrinkage, but remember you'll pay more for the privilege.

Wrap a mixture of spiced ground lamb and raw jasmine rice in layers of onion and bake in a low oven until the onions are fragrant and tender.

No need to fear this layer cake: It's made with a simple stir-together method using just two pans. The frosting is dead easy, and the whole thing keeps well. A go-to cake for birthdays, Easter (with chocolate eggs on top), or any time you need a nice piece of good old gooey chocolate cake.

Pasta, lush tomatoes, and a pool of ricotta lend this dish all the flavor of a lasagne—without the heaviness.

The popular side makes a great toast topper.

To give this velvety vegan soup a tiny bit of crunch and extra visual appeal, chia seeds are stirred in after the soup is pureed.

Instead of tossing all of the ingredients together in this healthy, mayonnaise-free take on potato salad, the potatoes are served on a bed of the creamy avocado-chia dressing. The contrast of the purple potatoes against the green dressing is a real showstopper. If purple potatoes aren't available, this recipe also works well with red-skinned potatoes.

Chia gel replaces eggs in this recipe, helping keep these chicken meatballs light and fluffy. The sauce is creamy and lemony, a combination that simply melts in the mouth. As an option, try spinach linguine, which pairs nicely with the flavors in this dish and looks beautiful.

Although this sweet-tart cheesecake is great with a homemade graham cracker crust, which you can whip up pretty quickly, to make this easy cheesecake even easier, use a 9-inch ready-to-use all-natural graham cracker piecrust. If you like a limier flavor, add a teaspoon of lime zest to the batter (which you can sample before cooking because, thanks to chia, there are no raw eggs to worry about).

Since these pancakes already have a fair amount of melted butter in the batter, there's usually no need to cook them in additional butter if you're using a nonstick pan. If you're not, feel free to brush the pan with melted butter before you cook each pancake.