Nut Free

I began making frittatas regularly when our family transitioned from the pancakes-or-waffles-every-weekend phase into more "grown-up" breakfasts. As in much of my cooking, I believe I first learned to make a frittata from Julia Child, in one of her books or her television shows. You can whip up a frittata for any meal: for a weekend breakfast, or with a green salad for lunch, or supper. The frizzled leeks are inspired by a dish served at Union Square Cafe in its early years. It was the first time I saw the word "frizzled." "Fun word," I thought, and asked Danny Meyer where it came from. "My grandmother. Louise Meyer used to serve mashed potatoes with fried onions on top," he said. "When we opened Union Square Cafe in 1985, we substituted rutabaga for the potatoes, and leeks for the onions. That became our 'Mashed Turnips with Frizzled Leeks.' To avoid using the word 'fried,' I landed upon 'frizzled.' After that, frizzled leeks found their way onto everything from mashed potatoes to scallops, an omelet, red snapper, and just about everything except for ice cream." If you don't have leeks, then thinly sliced onions, pan-roasted asparagus tips, crisped bacon all work fine. Concerning culinary substitution, I think of the Russian proverb that my grandpa Jan would trot out about many things in life: "If no fish, then lobster will do." Apparently, lobster prices under the czar were less steep than they are in present-day America, but I took his point. As I noted earlier, Parmesan cheese has a lot of umami, which contributes to the high FPC of this recipe, especially when I top the finished frittata with some cherry tomatoes charred at high heat and pepped up with crushed red-pepper flakes.

Ready in no time, this chunky and spicy soup requires very little cleanup.

SUPERFOODS: Broccoli, Edamame, Eggs, Kale, Mushrooms, Olive Oil Step away from the take-out menu! This dish delivers weight loss by calling on supersatiating soy protein, nutritious veggies, and whole-grain brown rice, which all help keep your blood sugar and insulin levels steady—and your body burning calories.

These crunchy, addictive chips will have your whole family begging for more kale. They are wonderful served alongside sandwiches, on their own as an afternoon snack, or crumbled atop salads.

My invites to tailgate parties usually come with a condition. I absolutely have to show up with this casserole in hand. Since I can whip it up in about twenty minutes flat using only a skillet and a baking dish, this is one condition I'm only too happy to comply with. Most of the time I make it with lean ground turkey. But you can also swap out the turkey and use lean ground beef. This cheesy baked casserole is packed with Mexican flavor, from the spice of the taco seasoning and tomato salsa right on down to the creamy black beans and sweet corn tortillas. It's seriously tasty, seriously easy, and seriously, it's good for you.

The key to tender, delicious fried chicken is a good long soak in buttermilk. As it turns out, the same holds true for this roasted version of fried chicken. What you'll end up with is moist, delicious chicken on the inside, with a crunchy, crispy coating. That's exactly what I look for when I'm craving fried chicken.

Why do I love roast winter vegetables? For starters, because they are fresh, local, and seasonal. Unlike summer produce, they keep for a long time without losing most of their flavor. They feel like winter food: hearty, substantial, rib-sticking. Francis Mallmann quick-roasts them at very high heat in a wood oven until they almost burn. A home oven doesn't put out that kind of thousand-degree heat, but when something as simple as slices of Delicata squash are coated with a little bit of olive oil, sprinkled with kosher or coarse sea salt, and then roasted, they come out of the oven chewy, nutty, sweet, and savory. Part caramelization, part umami, and part Maillard. This dish is a slight adaptation of a recipe in Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty, which I came across when I was asked to be a judge in Food52.com's "Tournament of Cookbooks." In case you don't know Yotam Ottolenghi's work—you'd never forget such a fun name—he is a London-based Israeli chef who writes a vegetarian column for the Guardian. He is not a vegetarian himself, which makes me trust his recipes even more. In other words, he is neither ideological nor moralistic about it: his only aim is food that tastes great. Caramelized and well-seasoned winter vegetables are fine by themselves, but the maple-mustard vinaigrette lifts the flavors enormously. We made this recipe for a New Year's Eve dinner, and afterward I received ooh-and-aah e-mails from people about "the best vegetables ever!" For sure, the company, the wine, and the other food had something to do with the reviews. But, taking all that into consideration, tell me, honestly, how often are people moved to praise a parsnip? A few years ago I would have said you need your own roast tomatoes for this recipe, but now I find that Desert Glory or similar deeply flavored cherry tomatoes, though they don't hold a candle to real summer tomatoes, are fine when caramelized.

SUPERFOODS: Artichokes, Broccoli, Mushrooms, Olive Oil, Parmesan, Whole-Grain Pasta Boxed mixes may be slightly faster to prep, but they can't compete in taste and fat fighting. This recipe packs a trio of creamy cheeses, fat-whittling fiber, and hunger-beating protein into every bite.

This is a winning-contestant recipe from Season Four of FOX's MasterChef.

Harissa, the basic flavoring agent in Tunisian cuisine, is extremely versatile. Use it as a condiment for grilled meat or fish, add it to roasted vegetables, or stir into stews and soups. We particularly like it with couscous or rice. Adjust the amount of heat by increasing or reducing the number of chiles. Just remember, it is meant to be hot!

The olive oil gives this cake extra depth and intensity. The complex flavors mature over time, so consider wrapping the cake in plastic wrap and refrigerating it, ready to ice and serve, for up to 3 days. Somewhat less festive (and less calorie laden), this is still very satisfying without the maple icing. Just dust lightly with confectioners' sugar.

Mograbiah, a large variety of couscous made from semolina, is common throughout the Arab world. It is also known as pearl or giant couscous and, in North Africa, as berkukis. It is more difficult to find than ordinary couscous. We buy it from Green Valley, the luscious Middle Eastern supermarket just off London's Edgware Road. If you can't get hold of it, try to find the Sardinian equivalent, fregola, which is stocked by some Italian delis. If all this leads you nowhere, use couscous only (increasing the quantity below up to 1 pound / 500 g). You will lose out a little on the interesting combination of textures but still enjoy the explosive mix of flavors. The dried tomatoes are a great pantry ingredient. Keep them immersed in oil if you want them to last a long time. The caramelized onion is also handy to have in the fridge. It will keep there for at least five days and makes a great addition to omelets, quiches, bruschetta, pasta—anything, really.

Labneh is an Arab cheese made by draining yogurt so it loses most of its liquid. Use natural goat's milk yogurt, or, if unavailable, natural full-fat cow's milk yogurt, but not the Greek varieties. This recipe takes at least 48 hours to make. If this is all too much, you can buy labneh from Middle Eastern grocery stores. Store the labneh in the fridge to use as a spread, like any cream cheese. A more labor-intensive option is to roll it into balls and then preserve them in a jar of oil. The jar will look beautiful, the cheese keeps for weeks at room temperature, and the balls will create a special visual effect when used, as they are, in salads and legume dishes (Couscous and Mograbiah with Oven-Dried Tomatoes ).

Cuban Sandwich Directly inspired by the cubanos served at Latin American Cafeteria, the Cuban sandwich on the menu at Garces Trading Company is my way of bringing one of the treats of Little Havana to Philadelphia. It took some doing, since the essential Cuban bread is not to be had outside of Miami, but we found a bakery that follows a legit Cuban recipe to make it for us to order. All of the other ingredients are house-made from the roast pork and cured ham to the pickles and mustard. To approximate the cubano at home, follow the recipe to make the absolute key ingredient: the marinated, moist, and deeply flavorful roast pork. (Note: plan for several hours marinating time; you'll end up with enough pork for a second round of sandwiches or the main component of another meal.) For the next-best thing to the real deal pan cubano, get some good crisp-crusted bakery rolls with a light, airy texture. Pick up some best-quality domestic ham, along with Dijon mustard, Swiss cheese, and dill pickles, and you will have yourself some amazing sandwiches.

Peruvian Doughnuts These doughnuts were inspired by the ones at Bolivar, the restaurant in New York City where I got my first professional experience cooking Peruvian food. The picarones at Bolivar were made with sweet potato and served with an anise-scented syrup; at Chifa we use pumpkin purée and serve them with a fragrant infused honey that features star anise as well as bay leaf and cinnamon. Any leftover honey can be used anywhere you would use regular honey; store it in an airtight container at room temperature.

Guava-Chile Butter At Chifa, my Peruvian-Asian restaurant, the pan de yuca with this delicious sweet-spicy-salty spread is a the hit among our customers. It would also be tasty on crusty bread, toast, or savory scones.