5 Ingredients or Fewer

Here it is: the recipe that started it all. And once you've made it, you'll know why. It serves up the kind of home-cooked goodness that no restaurant meal can top. The chicken's crispy skin is drenched in herb-infused juices (don't forget to pour the pan dripping back over the chicken before serving or, alternately, to drizzle them over individual pieces on the plate), and the trick of turning the chicken 15 minutes into cooking keeps the meat uniquely moist. Any simple sides will work with a main course this splendid. You can go with either white wine (in which case a Riesling would be nice) or red (try pinot noir). Happy cooking-and an even happier future to you and the lucky person you've deemed worthy of this dish.

Editor's note: Chef, nutritionist, and cooking teacher Lourdes Castro shared this recipe from her cookbook, Latin Grilling. It's part of a festive Cuban party menu she created for Epicurious. Plantains, ripe or unripe, are a staple of Cuban cooking. And while everyone loves the ripe ones (maduros), no one ever wants to make them. Typically deep-fried, they are a mess to make and never seem to come out with that candylike coating you get at good restaurants. This recipe solves the problem: simply grilling very ripe plantains and basting them with a butter-sugar glaze is all it takes to re-create the good stuff. These are a must at all my family cookouts.

Editor's note: Chef, nutritionist, and cooking teacher Lourdes Castro shared this recipe from her cookbook, Latin Grilling. It's part of a festive Cuban party menu she created for Epicurious. Salad greens are hard to come by in Cuban cooking. But an avocado salad—simply made by topping sliced avocado with red onion slices, olive oil, and vinegar—is both traditional and refreshing.

Brief high-heat roasting mellows a radish's peppery flavor and turns it into a whole new root vegetable. Using the green radish tops adds color and amps up the radish flavor. Be sure to rinse the green tops thoroughly before using them. This would be a great side dish for roasted pork loin or leg of lamb.

Prime rib, or standing rib roast, has long been a mainstay at the holiday table (where it is often paired with Yorkshire pudding, a British specialty made from the pan juices and a simple batter of flour, eggs, and milk).

These potato chips will intrigue your guests. As the chips bake, the anchovy melts into the potato for an intense one-bite amuse. While no one would want to eat a bowl of these chips, a single one packs a flavor punch. I was inspired to make these by David Bouley, the brilliant chef-owner of Bouley Bakery and Danube in New York, who was a guest chef at Tru soon after it opened in 1999. He wove an anchovy between potato slices and fried them. I was hooked and had to develop my own method, which is to thread a white anchovy through slits in a potato slice and then bake the chips in a hot oven until lightly browned. If you can't find white anchovies, use the familiar dark anchovies instead.

These little warm onion tarts are lovely amuse and get any winter meal off to a good start. Vary them with different kinds of onions. Julia Child has commented that cooking would be in a sorry state indeed if it weren't for onions. I agree!

The Deli's mashed potatoes aren't very complicated. Each pound of potatoes serves about 3 people.

This recipe is a great one to impress guests at your next cocktail party (though you'll have to multiply it). It's really quick and simple, yet it looks very decadent and time-consuming. To make the roll-ups extra elegant for entertaining, wrap the roast beef close to the bottom of the spears, then stand them on a platter.

This dish is exceptionally easy to make and worth every second. That said, there is one thing to note: Be careful when checking the chicken for doneness. The tomatoes will likely drip into the chicken. If you cut into the chicken or poke it with a fork to test for doneness, be sure it’s not the liquid from the tomatoes making the chicken look pink even if it’s not.

Editor's note: Chef Roberto Santibañez, the chef/owner of Fonda in Brooklyn, New York shared this recipe as part of a festive taco party menu he created for Epicurious. He recommends serving this salsa with his Carnitas or Carne Adobada Tacos . The Spanish name for this salsa means "rooster's beak," and originally referred to a salad of jicama, peanuts, oranges, and onions. But today, whether you're in Minneapolis or Mexico City, if you ask for pico de gallo, you'll get the familiar cilantro-flecked combination of chopped tomato, onion, and fresh chiles. This tart, crisp condiment (also known as salsa Mexicana) has become so common on Mexican tables that it seems like no coincidence that its colors match those of the national flag. Besides finding firm ripe tomatoes and seeding them, the key to this salsa is adding plenty of lime juice and salt, and not skimping on the chiles. Because without a burst of acidity and heat, you're just eating chopped tomatoes.

An omelet can be as delicious plain as filled with an almost endless array of cooked vegetables, cheeses, herbs, smoked meats, fish, and more. Look in your refrigerator and utilize leftovers such as grilled asparagus, cooked broccoli, or spinach. I always garnish the omelet with a sauce, salsa, or herb that complements the filling.

A nice thick bone in steak is our favorite kind of splurge. Uncle Bubba loves to gnaw on a steak bone, so we came up with this simple recipe for steak rubbed with brown sugar and spices especially for him. Rib eye is Bubba's favorite cut, but you use this rub on your favorite cut, too. It's also great on grilled chicken.

Bobby loves biscuits soaked in gravy, and he loves cake soaked in berry juice, so you can bet he’s always loved Mama’s shortcake. Our version ups the ante with some fluffy pink strawberry whipped cream that is so pretty that you just know it’s going to taste like heaven.

This salt is great for rimming a tasty Srirachelada or a frosty margarita. I also like to put a few flakes on my steaks just before serving for added punch. Try sprinkling some over popcorn, French fries, fresh avocado, hard-boiled eggs, or edamame. Or, if you're feeling really adventurous, dust a couple of grains on top of decadent chocolate truffles.

Two years before I was asked to teach a class at De Gustibus Cooking School in Macy's Times Square, I did the backroom kitchen work for two different chef friends who were teaching there. The head assistant, Amaral Ozeias, who during his long tenure has seen every great chef and TV personality pass through the doors of that kitchen, quietly motioned for me to come into his office. He pulled out the prettiest little yellow truffle and proceeded to recite the recipe, one of his all-time favorites. This kind gesture was the most delicious favor he could have done for me.
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Non-gebrokts

People think of truffles as such a luxurious item, yet they couldn't be easier to make. Pop one in your mouth for a mid-afternoon snack or serve as a small delicious bite at the end of a large meal. There is so much buzz out there lately about the good effects of chocolate—hey, think of it as health food!