Make Ahead

Much more interesting than plain mashed potatoes, this purée gets an earthy boost from celery root and chervil and an amazing smoothness and richness from a generous amount of cream.

An incredible frozen treat that doesn't require an ice cream maker. Serve with crisp butter cookies.

Sweet-tart pomegranate adds intriguing depth to this braise. It can be made with boneless or bone-in meat. If using boneless, buy a half pound less lamb.

Texture and flavor contrasts make for an addictive side dish or starter.

Neal Fraser, Executive Chef and co-owner of Grace and BLD in Los Angeles, shared the recipe for this elegant pasta dish with Epicurious: Fresh pasta shells are tossed with lobster, peas, rich Mascarpone cheese, and fresh herbs. It's one of the best-selling dishes at Grace. It's best to use fresh or thawed, frozen cavatelli, which the sauce will really cling to, but other fresh pasta shells or, in a pinch, dried pasta could be substituted.

Until quite recently, Italian restaurants in the U.S. served just one version of gnocchi: the potato kind. But gnocchi made from semolina (such as this one from the James Beard Award-nominated, industrial-chic Osteria in Philadelphia) is equally authentic.

A Sicilian combination—artichokes and beans—becomes another creative variation on crostini at Cinghiale.

Most burrata—cream-filled fresh mozzarella—is made in just two places: Puglia and Southern California. But this addictive cheese is catching on. Chef Nancy Silverton combines it with leeks and breadcrumbs at her (and Mario Batali's) Osteria Mozza in Los Angeles. Look for burrata at Italian delis and cheese stores.

If there isn't a salumi plate, it can't be a modern Italian restaurant. Chef Frank Bonanno at the Osteria Marco in Denver takes the trend one step further, adding house-made relish and fluffy fried dough.

Coconut milk adds surprising body and richness to the mint-lime mixture. If desired, reserve the lobster shells for stock.

A delicious balance of tangy, sweet, and spicy.

Fresh leaves give the classic lamb and mint sauce pairing a new twist. Great with jasmine rice and bok choy.

Jumbo Shrimp tails make good handles at a picnic!

Each squeezed lemon yields about 1/6 cup of juice.

Find mung bean sprouts in Asian grocery stores and supermarkets.

Polynesian-Style Hors d’Oeuvres A blend of crisp, soft, and chewy textures combined with a parade of flavors—sweet, salty, beefy—makes this playful platter an irresistible hit at parties.

The trees of Hansel and Gretel's forest surely had bark like this, sparkling with sugar crystals and tasting of sylvan honey. Though the biscuits pair wonderfully with blueberries in gin syrup, they also make an excellent accompaniment to a cheese course—particularly with a nice triple-crème.

A pickle-like blend of ingredients called balchao, is crucial to many of Portuguese Goa's meat dishes, and usually incorporates Goa's other passion, feni, a potent alcoholic brew made from either cashew nuts or palm fruit. Also omnipresent in Goan dishes is the highly acidic feni vinegar, which reduces the potency of dried red chiles—as does tart tamarind, another key element in this layered, complex, and fiery-hot paste that peppers its way into many of Goa's curries. Unfortunately, neither the alcohol nor the vinegar is available outside of India (maybe even outside of Goa), and so my offering is devoid of both. Nonetheless, it is very flavorful, with cider or malt vinegar standing in as a perfectly acceptable substitute.