Artichoke

This lovely frittata can be served warm or at room temperature.

Here is a quick and tasty way to cook young artichokes: thin-sliced, slowly braised in a skillet in their own juices, and served with a shower of soft pecorino. The method is simple, and will yield delicious results even with the larger, more mature artichokes you'll find in the supermarket. This dish makes a great vegetarian sandwich, or, for a carnivore, a topping for a juicy hamburger. Artichokes prepared this way are also a great appetizer topped with a poached egg or a thin slice of prosciutto.

A bit of soppressata and cheese stuffed ingeniously between each leaf gives these artichokes a heartiness worthy of a special course. (Eat them as you normally would, scraping the leaf with your teeth—but in this case you'll get a mouthful of flavor-packed filling, too.) Using a pressure cooker speeds up cooking time and also results in incredibly tender artichokes.

For a quick defrost, microwave the veggies in bowls for one to two minutes on high.

Look to the frozen foods aisle for a quicker way to bring artichoke's spring flavor to buttery pasta.

These creamy potatoes would be a welcome addition to any meal. Leftovers reheat nicely in the microwave.

Using goat cheese and nonfat ricotta skims fat, not flavor.

This recipe was created by chef Ryan Hardy of the Little Nell in Aspen, Colorado. It's part of a special menu he created for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program.

Artichokes speak of indulgence, partly because preparing them involves a degree of fuss. Luckily, they can be cooked ahead of time.

An Eastern-inspired spiced butter makes filet mignon even juicier than usual. Artichokes and haricots verts, cooked separately and then baked together, taste luxuriously rich in a way that complements the meat nicely.

If you're going to take the time to make fresh pasta, you want to know the dish is worth your while—and these ravioli definitely fit the bill. They're even better with the bubbling sauce of cream, fresh plum tomatoes, and parmesan cheese.

Chicken thighs are a natural for braising because they stay nice and juicy. Plus, the dark meat is a good counterpoint to the sweetness of peas and the slight acidity of the artichokes.

Executive chef Michael Psilakis, at Dona in New York City, recommends piling leftovers of this dish over greens for an easy next-day salad.

Part of what makes this luxurious dish so delicious is that the spinach, artichokes, and oysters have a similar texture and the same soft, gentle flavors.

Provençal-inspired, this light, brothy seafood dish will have you wondering how something so delicious could be so easy to make.