Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights | William Morrow, 2010 | Serves 4

“Whore’s pasta.” Was ever a name so perfectly suited to a dish? This is edgy, spicy, and just the right side of wrong, conjuring up visions of Neapolitan streets and dangerous women in tight dresses.–Sophie Dahl

LC Hurry It Up Already! Note: When time constraints scream for takeout, consider tossing together this weeknight-friendly pasta instead. The truly impatient should note that this quick recipe can be made even more quickly by relying on a pinch of red pepper flakes rather than a tediously chopped fresh chile and a smidgen of anchovy paste from a tube rather than the slippery real deal. There. That’s one supper situation solved. As for the rest of the week, we’d be quite happy to cook from this book every night, although perhaps that’s in part because we like how it uses the word “Voluptuous” in the title…

Active time: 5 minutes | Total time: 30 minutes

Pasta Puttanesca Recipe

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Real Cajun | Clarkson Potter, 2009 | Serves 12 to 16

Remember when you were a little kid and you would wake up early on Christmas morning feeling super-excited? That’s how I feel on Super Bowl Sunday. I jump out of bed, start my day with a cold beer, and begin making this seafood gumbo recipe. This particular gumbo, brimming with Louisiana bounty, is my favorite dish to make. In fact, you might say that this gumbo was the dish that made me want to become a chef. My mother always made seafood gumbo on Super Bowl Sunday, and I started doing the same when I moved out, going to Chinatown to shop for my ingredients.

 Spare no expense for this recipe. Get the freshest seafood you can find, and plenty of it, to extract all the sweet, briny flavors. The stock is key—it should be rich and full of flavor. (For an even richer stock, double the amount of shrimp shells, or add 3 to 4 pounds of fish bones. If you use fish bones, add them after you toast the shrimp shells.)–Donald Link

Author’s Reflections on Making Roux Note: According to author and Cajun cook Donald Link, the process of making roux can be hypnotic. It takes about an hour, and you can’t stop stirring or walk away from it. Watching the oil and flour mixture slowly change color and begin to take on its unique aroma gives you plenty of time to be alone with your thoughts. My roux is made with vegetable oil, not butter, because its neutral flavor really lets the seafood shine. Once the roux has reached its proper color, the chopped vegetables are added, which creates a near volcanic reaction of bubbling, steaming, and sizzling. The roux at this point is around 400°F (204°C) and the addition of cold vegetables causes an explosion of flavors and smells. Once I had to run to the store right after making roux and the lady at the checkout said, “Wow, something sure smells good.” I replied, “That would be me.” She laughed and I said, “No, really, I’ve been making seafood gumbo—it’s me you’re smelling.” “You’re right,” she said. “It is gumbo I smell.” That’s how powerful the aroma is.

Active time: 1 hour, 45 minutes | Total time: 5 hours, 15 minutes

Seafood Gumbo Recipe

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At Elizabeth's Table | Ecco, 2011 | Serves 4

Ground coriander, cumin and/or ginger can be combined with the cinnamon in this baked chicken recipe, or used in place of it, and the proportions can be increased or diminished according to taste. Make the cinnamon butter in larger quantities and store in the freezer, keeping a small jar in the refrigerator for current consumption. The butter also works well with pheasant. For a young bird of about 1 3/4 pounds, the timing and temperature are as for the chicken. But the pheasant should be wrapped in well-buttered parchment paper or foil. A simple green salad with a very light dressing is the best accompaniment.–Elizabeth David

LC Subtle Is As Subtle Does Note: Sometimes something subtle can have just as strong an effect as something that slams you in the face. Like this baked chicken, which takes its exceptionally nuanced–yet enthralling nonetheless–fragrance and flavor from a simple spice-infused cinnamon butter. Enough said.

Active time: 10 minutes | Total time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Baked Chicken with Cinnamon Butter Recipe

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John Gregory-Smith | Mighty Spice Cookbook | Duncan Baird, 2011 | Serves 4

I learned how to make this classic Chinese dish in Beijing. On a snowy winter’s morning I took a cab to a traditional Chinese home in the north of the city to do some cooking. The taxi driver dropped me off and I walked along the narrow streets, shivering, looking for the right house, which turned out to be a few tiny rooms around a courtyard. So in a freezing kitchen, my host, the cooking teacher Cheng Yi, and I made a superb lunch, including this fiery, warming chicken. A good meal in China is always followed by tea, so after we’d eaten we sipped on a lovely hot brew and watched the snow fall thickly in the stone courtyard outside, like a scene from the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.–John Gregory-Smith

LC Kung Pao or Gung Bao? Note: Okay, here’s how we understand the relationship between Gung Bao and Kung Pao chicken, aside from the fact that they rhyme. The former is an authentic Szechuan recipe, a classic stir-fry consisting of chicken, chiles, Szechuan peppercorns, and peanuts. The latter is the bastardized, er, Americanized rendition of the former containing less spice but more vegetables and beloved by “Chinese” takeout mavens across this country. This recipe is–you guessed it–the former.

Active time: 25 minutes | Total time: 35 minutes.

Gung Bao Chicken Recipe

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Ellie Krieger | Comfort Food Fix | Wiley, 2011 | Serves 4

In Cincinnati they heat things up with heaping bowls of chili cooked until practically melted, with additions such as warm spices like cinnamon, cocoa powder, allspice, and cloves, and a touch of sweet molasses. Served over spaghetti and topped with hearty beans, cheese, and onion, it’s like no chili you have had before, but definitely one you’ll make over and over again.–Ellie Krieger

LC Three Way, Four Way, Five Way, Oh My! Note: Are we all familiar with Cincinnati-style chili? This unique and saucy take on chili is traditionally and ubiquitously plopped atop spaghetti and, if you please, glopped with Cheddar cheese, red onions, and/or beans. Mind you, there’s proper Cincinnati chili terminology to describe exactly how you like yours…

Two Way: Chili plopped on spaghetti

Three Way: Chili plopped  on spaghetti and smothered with cheese

Four Way: Chili plopped on spaghetti and smothered with cheese and diced red onions or beans

Five Way: Chili plopped  on spaghetti and smothered with cheese, diced red onions, and beans

One last thing. While this rendition is made with ground turkey, which is hardly traditional, you can’t really tell the difference. Honestly. We’re not going to stop you, though, from making it with ground beef. As if we could stop you…

Active time: 30 minutes | Total time: 2 hours, 45 minutes.

Cincinnati Chili Recipe

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Melissa Clark | Cook This Now | Hyperion, 2011 | Serves 6

Like most little kids, my daughter Dahlia loves macaroni and cheese, and I‘ve made it for her in many guises, running the gamut of techniques. My aim is always the same — to make the dish quickly with a minimum of fuss, and to use a maximum of vegetables that she will tolerate and not pick out.

This is one of both our favorites. It’s comforting, crusty topped, soft centered, and very cheesy – but not at all sophisticated. Just simple, kid-friendly, homemade food with the added grown-up appeal of lots of healthful carrots tossed into the mix. I got the idea from a chef’s recipe in a glossy food magazine. I decided to come up with my own simplified and ultra-Cheddary version. It was a huge hit with the under-three crowd and their parents, too. It’s a straightforward recipe that comes together without much fuss, other than having to grate some carrots. But to make up for that, I’ve eliminated the need to make a cheese sauce on the top of the stove. Instead, I toss the hot pasta with grated cheddar, butter, sour cream for creaminess, and eggs to hold it all together. The grated carrots get boiled along with the pasta, so cooking them isn’t an extra step. And the tiny orange shreds look so much like the cheddar that your kids might not even notice they are there. Dahlia certainly hasn’t, and while I’ve never lied to her about their inclusion, I might have left out the word carrot in the dish description — accidentally, of course.–Melissa Clark

LC Getting By With A Little Help From Your Friends Note: There’s not always room in a recipe for all the tricks and tactics that a cookbook author has come to learn in making a recipe over and over and over again. Fortunately, cookbook author and recipe conjurer Melissa Clark  also considers herself a friend to readers, so she has has these additional tricks, tactics, and tips to share:

–This is one of those macaroni and cheeses with an eggy custard base that puffs as it cooks and is cut into squares, like a casserole, as opposed to that gooey, creamy, stove-top béchamel sauce version. I know some people have strong opinions about what constitutes a proper mac and cheese–I’m an equal opportunist myself, but thought I’d let you know what you’re getting yourself into before starting the recipe.

–If grating the Cheddar cheese in a food processor, you don’t need to clean it before grating the carrots–or vice versa.

–You can vary the cheese to give this rather plain (if tasty) dish more personality. Gruyère, aged Cheddar, pecorino, and aged Gouda will all add a sophisticated allure that will raise it above mere kids’ food.

–Feed this dish to the kids as is; grown-ups should indulge with a squirt of fiery Sriracha or other hot sauce all over the top.

Active time: 20 minutes | Total time: 1 hour.

Mac and Cheese with Carrots Recipe

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Whitney Miller | Modern Hospitality | Rodale, 2011 | Serves 6

Who doesn’t love a homemade bowl of warming, stick-to-your ribs chili? I like to make this recipe on a Saturday or Sunday during football season when the air turns crisp. A big pot of chili makes for a great tailgating menu item. When serving it at home, I like to set out little bowls of toppings so my guests can make their own creations.–Whitney Miller

LC Girling It Up With Game Day Chili Note: No one needs to tell you that chili is hardly just guy food. But it can seem even girlier, er, more ladylike than you’d ever imagined when you serve in diminutive, floral tea cups, just as in the photo above. We like to do this when serving it to guys, just to see if they’ll raise their pinkies as they tuck into it. Hee hee hee.

Active time: 35 minutes | Total time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.

Game Day Chili Recipe

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Easy Vegetarian One-Pot | Ryland Peters & Small, 2011 | Serves 4

Ideally, frittatas should be cooked slowly, only lightly colored, and still slightly moist when served. This frittata recipe flashes the pan under the broiler to set the top. Here tenderstem broccolini is partnered with potatoes. Use little waxy potatoes, which are creamy and yellow and sweeter than most larger varieties.–Editors of Easy Vegetarian One-Pot

LC An Anytime Answer Note: Breakfast. Brunch. Lunch. Dinner. Supper. Pretty much anytime you’re in need of a desperation dinner–you know, something that’s insanely quick, pantry-friendly, one-skillet, and uber-satiating–you can rely on this frittata recipe as your default answer. Switch things up from one week to the next by swapping in other veg or cheese as you please.

Active time: 15 minutes | Total time: 35 minutes.

Broccolini and Potato Frittata Recipe

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Diana Henry | Plenty | Mitchell Beazley, 2010 | Serves 8

A roast can seem dauntingly expensive if you’re trying to feed a crowd. But slow-roasted pork shoulder is one of the most satisfying dishes–so tender and, relatively, very cheap. It also looks magnificent. You can vary the stuffing by using dried fruit instead of mushrooms, or add grated Parmesan or wilted spinach.–Diana Henry

LC Back in the Day… Note: Once upon a time, pork roasts came with a lovely gilding of fat, both infused in the meat but also in a pure white layer an inch thick (or more) that was beauteous to behold–and even more beauteous to consume. Savvy home cooks across the land knew that this fat would cushion the underlying pork from the heat of a hot oven and bathe it during the long, slow roasting time required to coax the cheap cut of meat to supple, tender doneness. Then a darkness came over the land and people were afflicted with an obsessive and woefully misguided fear of fat.  Pork was bred to contain less fat, oh horror of horrors, and what fat did remain–ravishing, flavorful layers of fat beneath the skin– was hacked off by butchers who knew customers would shudder at the site of it. The people settled for bland pork that barely resembled its former self. Sadness reigned throughout the land. Strangely, though, the only enforcement for this bizarre behavior? Well, there really was none aside from needless and self-inflicted guilt. The only punishment for disobeying this overriding sentiment? An aromatic, fall-apart tender pork roast with flavor the likes of which most people no longer recall.

This recipe is a relic from back in the day, one that demands–and is best honored by–a proper cut of pork. Yes, a fatty fat fat pork roast can still be found by diligent searching at meat cases and butcher shops. There is no secret handshake or password that assures you the butcher is honorable and will do right by you, aside from taking a look at the pork prior to purchasing it to ensure it still has that stunning white sheath of fatty goodness. As for this tale, it has no ending, not yet. Go write your own. And don’t forget to thank your butcher kindly.

Special equipment: Kitchen string

Active time: 45 minutes | Total time: 3 hours, 30 minutes.

Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder with Stuffed Squash Recipe

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Urban Pantry | Skipstone Press, 2010 | Makes 1 tart

Puff pastry is a delicate, flaky pastry made by folding layers of butter between layers of dough. Puff is an excellent staple to keep in your frozen pantry, as it can be used for both sweet and savory dishes. I made it once (a very laborious process!), then decided that I’d rather save time and buy it from the freezer section of my local grocer. I consider it my lazy food: it’s quick-baking, takes little effort to embellish, and is a great shortcut for serving a crowd.

I serve this Onion Thyme Tart recipe as a complement to soup or salad or for an easy pre-dinner nibble.–Amy Pennington

LC Pretty as a Picture: We have a thing for simplicity. At least when it takes the shape of this stunning, conversation-stopping tart strewn with sweetly burnished onions and traces of fresh thyme. That’s not to say you can’t embellish this five-ingredient phenomenon from blogger Amy Pennington, whether with a crumbling of feta or goat or blue cheese, a splash of balsamic, maybe even…well, we’ll let you fill in the blank. Although speaking of perfection, why is it that the photos we snap of our dinner or other random moments of the day never turn out as lovely as the one above, taken by the talented Della Chen?

Active time: 20 minutes | Total time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Onion Thyme Tart Recipe

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