Onion

Known as a festive, regal dish in India and Pakistan, biryani is packed with flavor. Don’t be scared off by the long list of ingredients. The dish really is quick and easy to prepare.

This comforting steak casserole is slightly sweet and savory at the same time.

For a delicious Italian dinner, serve this flavorful combination of portobello mushrooms, bell peppers, and plum tomatoes with brown rice or on your favorite whole-grain pasta.

This basic stir-fry recipe gives you many options. You can choose between the Asian and Italian flavorings (see Italian Stir-Fry on page 147), and you can vary the meat by replacing the chicken with round steak, pork chops or tenderloin, firm-fleshed fish, bay scallops, or tofu. Save even more time by using precut vegetables or frozen mixed vegetables (no need to thaw before cooking). Even if you make only half this recipe, you’ll probably want to make the entire amount of sauce.

Rich-tasting, thick, and so flavorful—no one will miss the meat in this stew.

Layers of mushroom slices, red bell peppers, and cheese, all seasoned with a sweet-and-sour onion mixture, combine to create a unique sandwich.

Turn leftover roast beef such as from Tuscan Braised Beef (page 172) into a taste adventure by adding Thai-style dressing.

Flavors of the Mediterranean are blended in this simple, easy-to-love salad. Serve it as is or on lettuce.

This versatile Asian-flavored slaw can be as mild or as spicy as you like. Use it as a salad, or add chicken and serve over rice for a main dish (recipe on page 65).

Use leftover turkey from the holidays for this festive soup, or for a grilled turkey version, use leftover turkey from the Grilled Turkey Cutlets with Pineapple—without the pineapple (page 162).

Caramelized onions are a great accompaniment to many dishes, but I never order them out because they’re almost guaranteed to be doused in oil or butter. Here, I make them much lighter but still get that to-die-for flavor I love so much (and you likely will too).

This is another recipe where caramelized onions work well. Though they’re not actually moist, they ensure you’re not eating a dry, bland dish. And if you make them ahead (see page 225), you can reheat them in a flash to turn what would otherwise be an ordinary meal into a restaurant-quality one.

I recently ate dinner at the home of a couple who are producers-turned-friends, Barry and Jen. They work in food TV, so they’re all about great-tasting food. When I showed up, they were making a huge pan of caramelized onions that looked unbelievably good. They were serving them with almost everything that night, which I was happy about because I love onions. I have to admit I was surprised when I saw them piling the onions on grilled salmon. It was not a combination I’d ever considered. But because when in Rome you’re supposed to do as the Romans do, I dug in. It was delicious! I came home and figured out how to make caramelized onions that didn’t need a lot of fat or hands-on time. This dish is now a favorite among many I’ve served. Although salmon is high in fat, it’s good-for-you fat when eaten in moderation. Wild salmon has 12 fewer calories and 1.5 grams less fat per ounce than farm-raised, so I always try to buy that. But it is more expensive and tougher to find. So if you choose farm-raised, it will add 47 calories and 5 grams of fat per serving to this dish.

I love using tiny potatoes and baby carrots, which makes this recipe insanely easy. That said, sometimes tiny potatoes cost a minor fortune. If that’s the case, save money by using larger boiling potatoes. You’ll have to spend time cutting them into cubes, but it might make sense. You don’t have to use the nonstick foil here if you have a really good nonstick roasting pan, but it makes cleanup almost nonexistent, so I swear by it.

When I was a child, we went to Chuck E. Cheese’s for our birthdays. In addition to all of the cool games and the characters, I loved that they cut their pizzas into squares instead of wedges. Not only could you get more crust or less crust as you like (I’m a less-crust girl), I got to eat a number of pieces, since they’re petite. Here, I’ve cut the flatbread into squares to distinguish it from other pizzas . . . and because it just feels more decadent. If you’re making this pizza on a charcoal grill, heat the coals until they are hot and covered with gray ash. Then place the pizza on the grill about 5 inches from the coals for best results. Cover and grill for 3 to 4 minutes.

The key to this sandwich is perfectly cooked chicken. Because this sub is jam-packed with grilled chicken, it’s important that the chicken isn’t dry or the sandwich will be dry. Just follow the directions for Basic Grilled Chicken (page 219), and you’ll be well on your way to prepping a delicious sub for the entire family. I love making the chicken on Sunday so I have it to use in recipes like this one over the next few days.

Pat: In Memphis, barbecued meats are ordered either “dry” or “wet. “Dry” meats are coated with a dry spice rub before they’re cooked, and often sprinkled with those seasonings when they come off the grill. “Wet” meats are slathered with barbecue sauce. Folks who crave a double dose of flavor, like me, order foods “wet and dry,” meaning that the meat is sprinkled with dry rub before being cooked, then slathered with sauce afterward. This Memphis pit tradition has found its way into the repertoire of home cooks as well. The application of a dry rub works for meats cooked on the grill or, as our mothers are fond of doing, in the oven. In this recipe, we douse our chicken with a dry rub and then bake it in barbecue sauce. The result is moist, flavorful, falling-off-the-bone tender chicken. We serve this saucy chicken with steamed rice or hot buttered rolls to soak up all the tomatoey goodness, and the accompanying vegetables on the side. It’s no wonder the Neely boys became so good with the grill when Momma was feeding us dishes like this from her kitchen oven.

Pat: Don’t even think about servin’ me fried eggs and toast unless they come with a side of crispy, golden hash browns. We make ours with salty browned smoked ham. I’ve been making them this way for years. My girls love ’em, and if my girls love ’em you know they’re good. Sometimes I’ll use a food processor to shred the potatoes coarsely; other times I’ll cube them and fry them up until they are golden brown and crispy. And if I really want to go overboard, sometimes I’ll top each serving with a slice of American cheese.