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With Sahni's recipe you're only 45 minutes away from an outstanding chicken tikka masala. And by preparing it at home, you get the added bonus of a kitchen suffused with intoxicating aromas. If you prefer a spicier version of chicken tikka masala, Sahni recommends swapping out some or all of the paprika for cayenne.

If you don't have a punch bowl, do what van Boven does: "Use a big glass vase—it's nice and tall and doesn't take up too much space on your table."

Gently heating chives— or almost any herb—in oil creates a concentrated, Technicolor elixir that's a favorite weapon of restaurant chefs: It's ideal for whisking into vinaigrettes and drizzling over fish, scrambled eggs, or ricotta crostini.

Some leaves deserve to infiltrate the dessert menu, like lemon verbena, infused here in a whipped cream that can be spooned over just about anything.

Named for Amatrice, a town northeast of Rome, this pasta is traditionally served with a long noodle like bucatini, but we like how shorter penne captures the spicy, meaty bits of sauce inside the tube.

Serve unsweetened tea with this syrup on the side.

Spiced tea and sweetened condensed milk are the keys here.

Since the fruit is tart and acidic, the taste for sour cherries right off the tree is an acquired one. When tamed with sweeteners, like sugar or honey, this fruit becomes a natural for liqueurs, preserves, and syrups.

Reminiscent of your favorite sundae sauce, but better! A sip of soda made from this deep, dark, intense brew is like chomping down on a chocolate bar.

Pea shoots are the young, tender tips and vines of the snow pea or the sugar snap pea plant. Once your plants are established and producing an abundance of pods, clip off leaf and tendril sections about 4 inches (10 cm) long. If you don't have your own plants, look for these tender shoots at farmers' markets or Asian grocery stores. Sambal oelek is an Indonesian chile paste, and tart, citrusy makrut lime leaves are used in Southeast Asian cooking.

Radishes are routinely part of the salsa and condiment spreads available at the best taquerias. Here, I use them as part of a fresh topping for earthy chicken tostadas that is anything but routine. Achiote paste, a popular Yucatecan seasoning made from ground annatto seeds, is available at Mexican stores.

When Chris Lilly is at the grill and says to you, "Come on back and have a bite when this is ready," he's not making polite idle talk. Take him seriously. Ask him when it will be ready and make a point of being there. Chris, with father-in-law Don McLemore and the Big Bob Gibson competition barbeque team, has brought home so many contest cooking and sauce awards to his hometown of Decatur, Alabama, that we've lost count. Chris has honed his culinary skills to reach far beyond the basic superb down-home flavors of Alabama barbequed pork and chicken. This grilled flank steak recipe is a perfect marriage of authentic Asian flavors and grilling techniques. If you've ever enjoyed grilled meat skewers at an Asian farmers' market—Guangzhou, for example—this dish will put some good memories and wow in your mouth. Chris's version is second to none!

Spicy harissa, a hot pepper sauce, plays off sweet raisins perfectly. —Murphy

This recipe is excerpted from Cooked by Michael Pollan and is recommended as an option to serve with his Pork Shoulder Barbecue recipe. Read more in our interview with Michael Pollan.

This recipe comes from MariaElena Sikolas-Toledo and her mother, Kathy Katevatis Sikolas, who has been cooking since she was 12 years old and, reports MariaElena, she "continues to titillate the taste buds of those lucky enough to sit at her kitchen table." According to MariaElena, dried cod fish pie is exclusive to the Greek Island of Cephalonia, where Kathy Sikolas was born and raised. Cephalonia is the largest of the islands in the Ionian Sea and "has a rich, varied cuisine." While the dish is not difficult to make, the recipes is a bit time-consuming, especially if you make your own phyllo dough, which MariaElena insists "is worth the extra elbow grease." If you don¿t want to make homemade phyllo dough, use one package (two sheets) of frozen puff pastry. When using puff pastry, don¿t oil the baking dish and rather than oiling the top of the pie, brush it with an egg wash, which is one egg, lightly beaten with a splash of water. The time commitment required for this recipe is also due to the fact that the dried cod needs to be rinsed, soaked, and poached before you can make the filling. Keep in mind that brands of salt cod can vary in their degree of saltiness so while 24 hours may be sufficient for some, the full 36-hour soak will be required for others. To test the cod, simply taste a small piece after one day—it should be pleasantly salty but not overwhelming.

Editor's note: Use this recipe to make Milk Chocolate Cup-of-Fluffs . Milk chocolate's flavor, while less powerful than that of dark chocolate, is just as precious. Choose a premium brand with 38 to 50 percent cacao.

When cooked just right, the potatoes will be tender but should still hold their shape.

Serve spooned over roast chicken, steak, or pan-fried pork chops. And, of course, pancakes.

"This spicy butter has a built-in garnish; it turns into a sauce as it melts over your steak, leaving the herbs on top for looks and extra flavor." —Brad Leone, test kitchen assistant