Roast

Salty-tart and just-sweet-enough ponzu sauce is a great back-pocket finisher for everything from salads to roasted vegetables, especially when you are tired of your everyday vinaigrette.

Make a double batch of the tahini-honey sauce at the beginning of the week to use on salads, as a dip for crunchy vegetables, or drizzled over seared salmon.

Roasting at a lower temperature means that no part of the chicken is likely to overcook and get dry when the leftovers are shredded, making it ideal for using throughout the week.

Starting the chicken skin side down in a cold skillet lets the fat render slowly and results in the crispiest skin imaginable. It also yields a pan of flavorful schmaltz, aka liquid gold.

Toasted sesame seeds can often be found in the Asian sections of some supermarkets, sometimes labeled Gomasio. If ever there was a time of year to keep a big jar of them on hand, pre-toasted and ready to go, this is it. They are the perfect crunchy topper for everything from salads to soups and roasted vegetables.

Think of this as the weeknight version of a classic Italian porchetta—it's not traditional, but it sure is delicious.

Because you need more butter-roasted things in your life.

A roasting trick for weeknight chicken yields juicy meat and golden, crispy skin.

The ultimate comfort food. Make this recipe your own depending on what you’ve got in the house. 

Size matters. This isn't the time for a mammoth Oven Stuffer, nor do we want some petite poussin—a 3½–4-lb. bird has the proportions we're after. When the breasts are roasted to perfection, all that dark meat is on-the-nose-done too.

If you want to stuff the roast as pictured, ask your butcher for a butterflied leg, not tied. Double the ingredients for the rub recipe and smear half onto lamb, then roll and tie it, and smear with the rest of the rub before roasting.

This is how vegetables can crisp and caramelize, and not slowly steam and turn to mush.

Feel free to use store-bought jelly, and avoid the temptation to add oil to the pecans when pulsing. They have plenty of natural fat if you just blitz them long enough.

Harissa, a spicy North African paste of chiles, garlic, and spices, is available in many large grocery stores and Middle Eastern markets—some brands come in tubes, others are sold in jars. If you can’t find it, though, substitute by mixing together your favorite hot sauce, tomato paste, a pinch or two of ground cumin, and a drizzle of olive oil. Keep playing with the ratios until you have a medium-spicy paste.

These super-flavorful, no-fry chicken wings turn out best when they’re seasoned ahead of time. You can do this as little as 1 hour in advance, but letting them hang out with salt and those spices overnight is a complete game changer.

"Beer marinade"? Don't mind if I do.

If you don’t want to go all out with a big variety of dried fruits and nuts (they can get expensive), you can limit yourself to two of each. Just be sure to include the salted roasted chickpeas; they’re addictive and provide a little hit of protein in this mix as well.

Lapsang, a black tea from China, may taste too strong and smoky when you sip it on its own, but it will mellow out as it marinates with the fish.

Mashing peas with the back of a spoon just won’t cut it. Think potato masher + elbow grease if you want to bring out their natural creaminess.

Sabich, a popular Israeli street food, is a pita-busting combination of a bunch of great appetizers.