Onion

Whenever the weather begins to get cold, I begin to fantasize about that perfect bowl of French onion soup. The top is golden and crisp, the cheese has blistered and fallen and is completely melted, and gooey bits are stuck to the outer sides of the bowl. When I cut through the cheese, the bread is slightly crisp, but mushy at the same time. I fill my spoon with the rich, full broth crammed with soft, sweet, smoky onions. Here's my fantasy in a bowl.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Irish Traditional Cooking by Darina Allen. Although this dish is eaten less frequently nowadays in Ireland, for Irish expatriots it conjures up powerful nostalgic images of a rural Irish past. Originally it was a traditional Easter Sunday dinner. The beef, killed before the winter, would have been salted and could now be eaten after the long Lenten fast, with fresh green cabbage and floury potatoes. Our local butcher corns beef in the slow, old-fashioned way which, alas, is nowadays more the exception than the norm.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Irish Traditional Cooking by Darina Allen. One of the best-loved ways of cooking potatoes was (and is) to mash them with boiling milk, add chopped scallions or chives and serve this creamy, green-flecked mixture with a blob of yellow butter melting in the center. Leeks, nettles, peas and brown crispy onions are all delicious additions.

Serve as a side dish or a vegetarian main course. Look for bouillon base in the market’s soup section or order it from amazon.com.

Possibly the most versatile of condiments, pickled vegetables meddle their way into most every culinary tradition, from giant kosher dills at the deli and ume plums in Japan to German sauerkraut and French cornichons. Because they keep indefinitely, a good batch of pickled red onions will wake up Chinese leftovers or act as a companion to a luscious grilled cheese sandwich with pulled short ribs . I first served this particular recipe to temper the richness of a refined duck pâté. Easy, cheap, fast: What better combination?

Long, slow cooking turns a supermarket chuck roast into something gloriously tender, flavorful, and aromatic. Leftovers are delicious shredded, heated in the sauce, and served over egg noodles.

Cutting up a whole chicken is both economical and easy. (For a video of food editor Ian Knauer cutting up a chicken, visit gourmet.com.) Here, the pieces are simply tossed with spices and sweet onion before going into the oven.

Inspired by Vietnamese pho (pronounced "fuh"), this soup creates its own broth as meaty short ribs and beef shank simmer with ginger, garlic, chile, and the sweet spice of star anise and cinnamon—supermarket ingredients that come together with slippery rice noodles to produce a wonderfully fragrant and authentic-tasting dish. It’s a great choice for a party, because everyone gets to customize their bowl to their own taste with a spritz of lime, some fiery Sriracha sauce and sweet hoisin, and a scattering of mint and cucumber.

Up until the late 1950s, crawfish was eaten only by the fishermen who caught the crustaceans in the Atchafalaya Basin. Now, crawfish is king and is much sought after by both visitors and locals alike. This étouffée is a classic Cajun-style dish.

This recipe is one of the simplest and most delectable recipes in the book. The flavor of the mussels pairs beautifully with the unique flavor that the saffron imparts to the broth. You will find yourself making this recipe again and again.

Editor's note: This recipe is from chef Wolfgang Puck. Braising is a great way to coax tenderness from tough cuts of meat. The term applies when the main ingredient is a relatively large cut and the amount of liquid is relatively small. The moist, gentle heat gradually breaks down the meat to melting softness while releasing the big flavor that hardworking muscles develop. Beef brisket is one of my favorite candidates. The cut comes from just under the first five ribs, behind the foreshank. Large and stringy, brisket is usually sold cut into halves, one relatively square and the other tapering to a point. Both are delicious, but the point cut, as it is known, has more flavor because it is slightly fattier. Here I braise the meat in a combination of beef broth and red wine, with aromatic root vegetables and dried apricots, a popular Eastern European flourish.

The peppery watercress and tangy onion are balanced by the sweet richness of the braised figs. It takes eight hours to pickle the onion, so be sure to plan ahead.

Most recipes for steamed mussels call for crusty bread on the side. Here, slices of bread are baked right on top of the mussels. To be sure everyone can enjoy the delicious juices in the bottom of the pans, serve this entrée straight from the cast-iron skillets (use trivets to protect the table).

A fragrant and exotic dish.

Bison meat is very lean and is best served rare or medium-rare.

Anna Di Bene, Oltranti's grandmother, never let anything go to waste in her kitchen in Lucca, Italy. Whenever she cooked chicken, she saved the livers for this delicious antipasto. Spicy red-pepper flakes and salty capers cut through the richness of the topping.

Incorporating tender slow-roasted pork into a sugo (sauce) brings out its fullest potential.