Scalloped potatoes or turnips often make an appearance here, and some years, a gratin of fennel was the star. This year my gratin of choice is a creamy Brussels sprouts gratin, with sprouts that have been blanched and then baked in a sauce with pancetta, shallots, and Gruyere. Smaller ones are more tender and sweeter. They are good for cooking whole. Larger ones are easier to work with when cutting them in half, especially since we blanch them in advance of baking in this recipe....

Butternut squash can be a challenge to cut raw. It’s so much meatier than mostly hollow pumpkins. But these days you can easily find pre-cut squash at the market. Tip: Make Butternut Squash Soup With Apple My favorite trick for a memorable butternut squash soup is to include a chopped tart green apple with the squash. The tartness of the apple enlivens the squash and balances its natural sweetness....

If you’d like to freeze eggs with the hope of extending their shelf life even further, you’re in luck! Chicken eggs can be frozen, as long as you freeze them the right way. Here’s everything you need to know. Type of Eggs You Can Freeze Raw whole eggs, eggs whites, and egg yolks can all be successfully frozen and will last up to a year. Cooked eggs can also be frozen, though they do best if the whites and yolks are whisked together before they’re cooked....

Growing up in a traditional Indian home, chicken was served maybe a couple times a week. Although those meals would be a treat, chicken curry was mainly what my mom cooked. Kormas are for very, very special occasions, like weddings or grand parties, and rightfully so! They are so rich and luxurious. Pieces of chicken are gently simmered in a rich, creamy sauce with layers of sweet and spicy flavors....

The richness from the butter and olive oil is balanced by the acidity of the lemon juice and white wine. You also get a punch of garlic, a hint of heat from the red pepper flakes, and some freshness from the parsley. How To Make a Creamy Chicken Scampi Sauce The most important thing to remember with this recipe is to reserve some of the pasta cooking water. It helps to make a luscious sauce that brings all of the ingredients together....

Spicy, filling, and doesn’t break the bank. The recipe is slightly adapted from a recipe by my friend Ann Martin Rolke, who, with a young child underfoot, is always looking for easy-to-make nutritional meals that taste great. Enjoy! Serve the curry in bowls over rice. Great accompanied with plain yogurt.

This recipe pairs cheesy goodness of macaroni and cheese with the onions, tomatoes, and spiced ground beef of a pot of beef chili. The result is the ideal meal to keep you warm on a chilly night. Video: How to Make Chili Mac and Cheese The Chili Mac Sauce For the sauce, I used a Mexican cheese blend that consists of Monterey jack, cheddar, asadero, and queso quesadilla cheeses, but a sauce made with just cheddar cheese would work just as well in this recipe....

Uh huh. You too? Yep, can’t escape it. The cowboy bean scene in Blazing Saddles. I only watched that movie once and even I remember that scene. (Of course at the time I would never admit to my scatologically obsessed brothers that I found it remotely funny, lest it encouraged them to be even more obnoxious.) Humorous cultural references aside, cowboy beans are actually good, and an excellent accompaniment to summer barbecues....

These chicken skin tacos are evil. And the fact that we are telling you about them, and that you might get the crazy idea to make them too, means that we are definitely up to no good. Except that these tacos, made with crispy fried chicken skin as the star ingredient, are really really good. If they weren’t, we certainly wouldn’t risk ridicule and disdain by sharing them. But they are worth it, my friends....

Layer potatoes, snap peas, and tomatoes in a foil packet, top with salmon fillets, and slather it with spicy harissa mayonnaise. The flavors of the harissa mayonnaise combined with the salmon and vegetables infuse the whole dish with bold, spicy flavors. Hallelujah! Dinner is done! What Is a Foil Packet? Foil packets are a great way to cook salmon (and many other things) to yield a tender and juicy texture....

Edamame are like bar nuts—they’re salty and go great with beer. Turning Edamame Into a Dip Now that edamame have become popular in the States and you can usually easily find them frozen, both shelled and shell-on. They are rather tasty beans, so I thought we would make a simple bean dip with them. So good! This edamame dip includes cilantro, lime juice, yogurt, and a whole avocado. Also just a little bit of Tabasco and dark sesame oil for some sparkle....

I love to cut small fingerling potatoes into slices, and then sauté them with onions, red peppers, spinach and scallions. Pour in some eggs and you have an easy, tasty meal. When you prepare the potatoes, slice them down their length. This shows off their shape and gives the frittata more heft. Make sure to slice them thinly to ensure that they cook evenly. I’ve also added ground turmeric to this frittata for its unique earthy flavor and the beautiful golden color it gives the frittata....

Beef, butter, garlic, thyme, rosemary and shallot are life-long friends. Make this prime rib for dinner and you’ll see why. Garlic and shallot gives a roasted sweetness and fullness of flavor, while thyme and rosemary provide a woodsy and floral background note. Prime Rib with a perfectly roasted exterior browned and glistening; its interior reflecting the rosy red of a movie star’s lipstick, and an aroma that pulls everyone to the table and beckons, “Let’s eat!...

And though I love gingerbread cookies, often I need a hit of gingerbread without the fuss of cookie cutters. That’s where gingerbread cookie bars come in! They’re easy to make in one big pan, yet still have the classic gingerbread flavor that everyone expects during the holidays. What Kind of Molasses Makes the Best Gingerbread? Molasses, a bitter, earthy, and sweet syrup, is a key ingredient in gingerbread cookies. It’s a dark and rich sweetener that is a byproduct of making granulated sugar....

What Kind of Fish Should You Use? Any firm, white fish works for this recipe, like halibut or cod. White fish generally has a pretty mild flavor which makes it a great base for the gremolata. You could use skin-on or skin-off fish, but I prefer skin-off. Unless you’re cooking your fish on a cast iron skillet, I never feel like the skin gets crispy enough. What Are Calabrian Chilis? I’ve been obsessed with Calabrian chilis ever since I started traveling to Italy....

Grilled onions only take a few minutes of preparation and are a delicious pairing for your patties. The grill turns these onions into the perfect match for a well-seasoned burger and fresh bun. Onion rings are incredibly easy to grill and are transformed from its usual astringent self to something sweet and smokey. The change is so profound, I have friends who will only eat grilled onions, greatly preferring them over their raw state....

I admit that given a choice between chocolate and vanilla, I will almost always raise my hand for chocolate. That said, nothing goes better with a slice of hot apple pie than a cold scoop of vanilla ice cream, right? And if you are going to make vanilla ice cream, you may as well go all in and make French vanilla ice cream. What Is French Vanilla Ice Cream? “French” vanilla actually has nothing to do with the variety of vanilla bean, but instead refers to the classic French method of making a custard....