Alcohol

(Lamb with Saffron, Sardinian Style) Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Giuliano Bugialli's book Foods of Sicily & Sardinia. We've also added some helpful tips of our own, which appear at the bottom of the page.

One fall afternoon, my sons and I decided to tailgate out at Randall's Island. This is a unique tailgating experience. Randall's is one of two islands off Manhattan (Ward's Island is the other) devoted to ball fields of all kinds. I cooked this lamb at one of the grills the city provides there, and we ate on an adjacent picnic table overlooking the East River. We then wandered around the more than two dozen fields, watching intensely played games of soccer, baseball, cricket, flag football, and the tail end of a rugby match. Only in New York.

There are many variations of the classic Dry Martini, and this mix was created in the 1940s for Charles Dana Gibson, a US illustrator, and presumably a ladies' man, too — the two cocktail onions are said to represent the breasts of his female admirers! As far as the mix goes, the onions take the biting edge off the gin and add their own layer of complexity.

Harmony is achieved in a dish when contrasting flavors combine to create balance. In this dish, the black pepper and bourbon add a real jolt of flavor that's miraculously mellowed by the cream and butter.

Editor's note:
This recipe is adapted from chef Joseph Poon. He also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Poon and Cantonese cuisine, click here. Chop suey is an Americanized Cantonese dish that dates back to the late 1800s, when it was served in Western mining camps and in San Francisco's Chinatown. The usual components are bean sprouts, sliced celery, onions, meat, and water chestnuts, all stir-fried with soy sauce. Chef Poon updates and lightens the dish by using a sophisticated array of vegetables and tofu instead of meat, and blanching the ingredients instead of frying.

ARNI GEMISTO ME HORTA KE FETA Editor's note: This recipe is excerpted from Aglaia Kremezi's book The Foods of the Greek Islands. To read more about Kremezi and Greek Easter, click here. This recipe comes from Andros, and it is one of the most delicious ways to cook a whole Easter spring lamb or kid. The various spring wild greens on the island, seasoned with fennel, mint and other aromatic herbs, together with the local slightly sour fresh cheese, are used to make the stuffing. In my version, instead of a whole tiny lamb, I use a shortened leg of lamb (shank half) partly boned, to make room for the stuffing. The result is quite different but equally enticing. Serve with Roasted Potatoes with Garlic, Lemon, and Oregano.

This is a ridiculously easy soup to make. It's tasty and durable, and it gets even better overnight.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon. This recipe originally accompanied Basic Oven-Baked Marinated Tempeh and Lentil Croquettes. White wine, Dijon, miso, good vegetable stock — the flavors in this are incredibly good and fly in the face of anyone who thinks that something vegetarian and low-fat cannot be intensely delicious. Instead of the fat-intense roux technique that is typical of gravy making, the thickeners are buzzed in the food processor with some of the liquid. Countless entrees and entree plates would be sparked by this sauce — basic baked tempeh or tofu, for instance, with a grain side dish and some steamed broccoli.

Happily, we found that the only word which rhymes with Clicquot was a tasty white rum.

Lewis Rossman of Half Moon Bay, California, writes: "I'm a chef, and Mediterranean is probably the best way to describe the kind of cooking I do at my restaurant, Cetrella. There's an emphasis on seafood, plus several dishes inspired by places I've visited like Provence and Catalonia. This is one of my favorite recipes from the menu. It also happens to be the thing I make at home all the time." Serve with crusty bread to dip into the tomato-anise sauce.

Fresh apple juice and Calvados, a dry apple brandy, make the sauce something special.

Begin the morning with the beautiful, festive (and easy) drinks.

Fill a glass pitcher or punch bowl with this fun, fruity wine-based aperitif.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Rack of Lamb and Roasted Cabbage with Cauliflower and Date Purées .

Irish stouts produce a thick head when poured, so chill the can or bottle well before measuring to reduce the foam.

A healthier fish stick (the secret is in the skewer!)
Feeling Zen at Tao, the trendy Asian eatery in New York City, is a major challenge — even with the center-stage 16-foot Buddha. The movie theater turned hot spot packs in hundreds of diners each night (and it's a favorite of P. Diddy and the New York Giants). But executive chef Sam Hazen's miso-marinated sea bass satay may be as close to inner peace as you can get while you're sitting at a dinner table. And let us enlighten you: This delectable lowfat dish is packed with protein, vitamin A and folate.

Watermelon is a lycopene star — 1 cup has nearly 7 milligrams of the cancer fighter. Riesling adds a refreshing crispness.

Tip: Replace the cream (but keep the flavor) with 2 percent milk.

We recommend using a good-quality California or Spanish sparkling wine for this punch. Both are widely available and less expensive than Champagne.