Root Vegetable

Make sure the butcher cuts the marrow bone in half for you.

Got some burned bits? Great job! The natural sugars in the root vegetables, along with the brown sugar, will caramelize, giving you a little bitterness to counter all that sweetness.

You don't need a bowl or even beaters for this treat. Just mix all the ingredients in your food processor, then bake—so clever! I can never turn down an excellent cream cheese frosting either, and this is one of the best.

Make this elegant meal for two your next date-night-in.

Steak and chips is an Australian institution, and my take on this classic involves perfectly crisp Jerusalem artichokes sprinkled with a punchy mustard salt. They're the perfect partner for the robust T-bone.

Mustard seeds give these steak house-style wedges great flavor and crunch.

Chicken potpie is a dish many of us crave when we want to conjure up the warmth of home and hearth, and chef Ashley Christensen, owner of Poole's Diner in Raleigh, North Carolina, is no different. "This potpie is inspired by my mother's kind of cooking: dishes that shout out the classics, but with clean flavors and crisp textures," she says. Christensen grounds the pie in colder-month offerings of sweet potatoes and rutabagas and tender leaves of kale instead of the usual carrot and celery combo. Adding another bit of Southern flair, the chef uses a small amount of cornmeal in the crust, which provides a nutty, toasty flavor with an echo of sweetness to match the filling. "Though some potpies are encased in crust, I like the "island" approach, letting the gravy bubble up around the pillow of crust," Christensen says. "Crust is potpie's defining moment, no matter how delicious the filling."

Our version of classic Italian agile e olio (garlic and oil) pasta is given extra flavor and crunch with toasted breadcrumbs.

Beets are typically prepared with sweet and sour flavors. In this recipe, roasting brings out the sweetness and a balsamic glaze adds the piquant notes.

The combination of melon, marjoram, and sweet moscato vinegar in this delicate salad tastes like summer to me. When I serve guests this dish, I like to watch them take their first bite and enjoy a moment of pure bliss as the melon juices run down their chin.

This dish, featuring many Indian flavors, is a little unusual. Instead of calling for lamb as the base, I use beef, which is not so common in Indian cuisine. But I find it goes very well with the cardamom, cinnamon, and curry leaves that make up the aromatics in the pot. It's a fragrant dish, not spicy-hot, but very flavorful. Since you can make it in advance, it's perfect for when you are having a lot of friends coming over and you want to be able to spend time with them. Like many of the recipes in this book, it will braise while you socialize.

This onion tart recipe evolved from the apfel wehr, my Swiss aunt's recipe for a traditional Swiss apple tart. Chilling the tart shell in the fridge for 2 hours before blind-baking will help prevent the pastry from shrinking.

A quick blanch helps take away the bitterness in the kale for the pesto. A bit of lemon brightens it up and help the pesto retain its bright, green color.

Bursting with fresh corn and a hint of spice, these summery fritters take inspiration from the Southern classic shrimp and grits.