American

FLAVOR BOOSTER Cooking rice in chicken broth instead of water makes a richer tasting dish, without adding much to the calorie count. Andouille sausage, a Cajun specialty, has a pronounced smokiness; a little goes a long way.

GOOD TO KNOW Puréed vegetables give soup the same sort of velvety consistency that cream does. Vegetables like sweet potatoes, because of their starch content, also lend body to soups and stews.

Dirty rice is a spicy Cajun dish typically made with sausage, chicken giblets, and vegetables—the meats color the rice and make it look “dirty.” There are as many versions of the dish as there are cooks. This one, contributed by Tanya Holland of Brown Sugar Kitchen, in Oakland, California, is spicy, light, and meatless.

I like ground chuck from grass-fed, pasture-raised beef for hamburgers because of its flavor and its ratio of fat to lean meat.

Crisps and cobblers are humble desserts, not too sweet, and full of flavor. A deep layer of fruit is baked under a crunchy topping or cream biscuits, much like a deep-dish pie with a top crust. Every season has fruit to offer: apples and pears in fall and winter, rhubarb and strawberries in the spring, and all the stone fruits and berries of summer. A crisp topping is a coarse mixture of flour, brown sugar, nuts, and spices, with butter worked into the flour mixture just until it’s crumbly. Crisp topping is as easy to make in large batches as it is in small batches, and it freezes very well for up to 2 months. It is a convenient staple to have in the freezer for a quick dessert for an unexpected occasion. Topped with biscuits, cobblers are less sweet than crisps and best made with juicy fruits. I make simple cream biscuits out of flour and butter worked together, leavened with a little baking powder, and moistened with heavy cream. The dough is rolled out on the thick side and cut into shapes. Once cut, the biscuits can be held in the refrigerator for an hour or two before baking. Crisps and cobblers work best when the fruit is piled high. For both desserts the fruit is cut into bite-size pieces (1/3-inch-thick slices or 1-inch cubes) and, like fruit pie fillings, tossed with a little flour and a little sugar. Use less sugar for crisp fillings because the crisp topping is so sweet. Tart rhubarb needs quite a bit of sugar, apples need less, and sweet fruits such as peaches need almost none at all. Taste the fruit while you are cutting it and again after it is sugared; you can always add more. The flour thickens the juices that would otherwise be too soupy. It doesn’t take much, a tablespoon or two at the most. A crisp or cobbler is served straight from the dish it has been baked in, so choose an attractive one. Ceramic dishes are best, as metal pans will react with the acid of the fruit. The dish needs to be about 3 inches deep to accommodate a generous layer of fruit. Place the dish on a baking sheet to catch any overflowing juices. Cook until the crisp is dark golden brown and the fruit is bubbling up on the sides; a cobbler’s biscuits should be cooked through and golden. If the crisp topping is browning before the fruit is done, place a piece of foil over the top to protect it. Lift off the foil for the last few minutes to recrisp the topping. Serve right away or put back in the oven to warm for a few minutes before serving. Cobblers and crisps are delicious on their own but are even better served with a little cold heavy cream or whipped cream.

A steak is perfect for the grill; tender, well marbled, cut thin and flat, it is tailor-made for searing over a bed of hot coals. A properly grilled steak is mouthwatering: brown and crisp on the outside, pink and juicy on the inside. Is there an easier, less complicated dinner than a grilled steak with a green salad? And, agreeably, the cleanup is practically effortless. Most any cut of steak will do. The classics are rib eye, New York, fillet or tenderloin, and porterhouse. There are others that are more economical, but every bit as tasty. Flatiron from the chuck, skirt steak, hangar steak, and bavette are all flavorful cuts, as are flank, top sirloin, and tri-tip. Steaks can be grilled as single portions, or larger steaks can be grilled whole and sliced for more than one. When bound for the grill, a steak is best cut 1 to 2 inches thick. Any thinner and the inside will be overdone before the outside is properly seared; any thicker, the outside starts to char before the inside is ready. Trim off all but a 1/4 -inch layer of fat; the less dripping fat, the fewer flare-ups. While seasoning a steak simply, with only salt and fresh-ground black pepper, is enough, I especially like an herb crust. I chop lots of fresh herbs together—thyme, oregano, and marjoram, in any combination, but always with rosemary—and mix them with coarse salt and fresh-ground black pepper. This is rubbed onto the steak with a bit of olive oil an hour or so before grilling. For even cooking, steak should be taken out of the refrigerator and allowed to come to room temperature, which takes 30 minutes to an hour. Prepare a hot fire and preheat and clean the grill with a wire brush. You should not be able to tolerate the heat for more than 2 seconds when you hold your hand over the grill. Oil the grill and put on the steak. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes and if you want to make nice crosshatched grill marks, rotate the steak a little over 90 degrees. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes and then turn the steak over. (If the steak has a border of fat, turn this onto the grill, holding the steak up with tongs, to sear the fat for a minute or two before grilling the other side.) Cook the other side for 2 to 3 minutes and rotate a little over 90 degrees. Start checking for doneness after another 2 minutes, pressing your index finger or the back of the tongs into the meat. It will still be soft when rare, a bit springy when medium-rare, and quite resilient when well-done. You can verify this by cutting into the steak, but keep testing by pressure—after a few steaks, you will be able to judge without cutting. Take the steak off the grill when it is a little less done than you want; residual heat will continue to cook the meat while it rests. A 1-inch steak will be grilled rare in about 8 minutes, and grilled medium in about 10 to 12 minutes. Monitor your fire while the steak is cooking, moving the coals to make the fire hotter or cooler as needed. If the fire flares up, move the meat out of the flames right away or the fire will burn the meat, forming an acrid, black crust. After you take a steak off the grill, let it rest a few minutes before serving to stabilize the internal juices so that they don’t run out excessively when the steak is cut into. If it’s not to be served right away, cover it loosely with foil to help keep it warm; but don’t seal it tightly or it will continue to cook.

Dates were always around the house for snacking when I was a kid. Now I absolutely love to use them in both sweet and savory dishes. Large, dark-skinned Medjool dates are grown in the United States, Jordan, Israel, and now in Baja! I think they add a whole new dimension to an otherwise classic crème brûlée.

This is one of those recipes where success relies on the freshness of the ingredients. Use the best-quality Gorgonzola you can find, be it a mild domestic version or the more pungent Italian variety. Either one will pair nicely with the chile oil, which enlivens this classic recipe. This makes for a beautiful presentation on a platter, but you can easily divide the beet slices among individual plates and serve it that way.

If you don’t want to go through the trouble of baking the puff-pastry tart, just serve this wonderful chutney alongside the goat cheese for your guests to spread on crackers. I always have the chutney on hand to stir into hummus or to slather onto a piece of grilled chicken. The creamy goat cheese is the perfect counterpoint to the smoky-sweet chutney.

To create these vegetarian egg rolls I use wonton wrappers, which can be found in the refrigerated section in well-stocked supermarkets. You can use store-bought prune sauce in place of the California Chile–Prune Sauce; just mix some ground California chiles into the prune sauce. Either purchased or homemade, spicy prune sauce is the perfect counterpoint for fresh avocados.

Cuitlacoche is a fungus that makes corn kernels swell to ten times their normal size, turning them an inky black color. Its smoky-sweet flavor is a cross between corn and mushroom. I grew up eating cuitlacoche stuffed in a quesadilla or in a squash blossom. It’s a delicious, earthy addition to everything from quesadillas to empanadas. If you can’t find canned cuitlacoche in your local Latin market, substitute sautéed wild mushrooms for an equally delicious result.

I never really had waffles growing up in Italy, but Todd loves them, so when we got together I knew I had to find a way to incorporate them into our breakfast routine. The result is an impressive-looking brunch dish with all the elements I think a great waffle should have: these are salty, sweet, and crunchy in every bite.

I’ve given an American Southern staple an Italian spin with the addition of Parmesan. The cornmeal makes these biscuits sturdy enough to pack on a picnic, and you can stuff them with smoked salmon (my fave), sliced turkey or ham, or even grilled veggies. Hot out of the oven, they are pretty terrific with just a bit of lemon butter.

Only the mascarpone and the ladyfingers in this lemony dessert give a nod to a traditional tiramisù, but my California spin on this beloved dessert is just as addictive. I think lemon makes everything taste a bit lighter (so I can eat more without feeling weighed down!), and the hazelnuts add a delicate flavor and lots of crunch. So while no one will mistake this for the original, I promise it will make anyone you serve it to very, very happy.

Pound cakes may not be the flashiest cakes in the baker’s arsenal, but when you are craving something rich and satisfying, few things can beat them. Raspberries make this one special, with a tart tang and lovely flecks of fuchsia when you slice into the loaf. I dreamed this up for my husband, who is particularly fond of raspberries in his desserts, but now it’s become a year-round favorite with us both. Try the vin santo cream on poached fruit or even in a cup of strong coffee. It’s unusual but delicious.

Most of my desserts are fairly low-maintenance to assemble, so I hesitated to include the recipe for these in this book. But they are so incredibly irresistible and delicious—imagine a homemade candy bar with a chewy caramel center—that I decided it would be unfair not to. Take care not to overcook the caramel, so it stays soft and chewy and doesn’t become hard and brittle. Investing in a candy thermometer takes away the guesswork and ensures a perfect outcome.

I dare you to stop after just one of these light and airy little treats; they melt on your tongue, leaving just a kiss of mocha flavor behind. Wait for a cool, dry day to attempt these, as humidity ruins the texture of meringues, making them grainy and gummy.

When I was little my grandfather used to spread fresh ricotta on a slice of bread for me and top it with a thick layer of sugar. I loved it then and I still love these flavors together. This is a somewhat healthier version of that childhood treat. The bread now plays a starring rather than supporting role in the form of sweet, crunchy croutons paired with ripe berries and creamy cheese—sooo good. Serve it for breakfast if you are feeling decadent.

I love the look, flavor, and textures of this delicate and pretty dish. It’s a perfect way to spotlight the flavors of spring, when fava beans are in season. Other times of the year you can substitute frozen lima beans for the favas; either way the purée is bright from the mint and satisfies your starch cravings. Just be careful not to overcook the beans, as they can turn an unattractive gray. Red snapper, with its pinkish hue, is a quite flavorful white fish that works perfectly with the fava beans. Finish it off with a drizzle of really good-quality extra-virgin olive oil.