Side

This simple almond-shallot topping goes with just about any simply cooked vegetable, but it tastes best with green beans. Instead of simply blanching the beans, I char them until they develop a smoky richness.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are often derided as dry and bland. But I love pounding them and then grilling them until juicy. Their subtlety makes them perfect for a range of flavors—especially in salads. This is one I eat throughout autumn as a complete meal.

This is one of the most requested dishes in my home, especially when we have children over. Instead of making a béchamel sauce, Marja simply blends her ingredients and bakes them into a rich custard that suspends the pasta. Her blend of five cheeses creates layers of flavors in this homey casserole. Marja’s always happy to bake it for a crowd, and everyone’s always happy to eat it.

I could eat bowls and bowls of this. By blending a reduced cream mixture with a fresh one, this pasta tastes ultrarich and light at the same time. The best part of this dish: It’s incredibly fast.

This is the type of salad my mom used to make—unfussy and delicious. It’s best with fresh spring potatoes and onions, but it hits the spot any time of year. While I love drinking dry white Alsatian whites, I enjoy making this salad with a good Sancerre.

My wife, Marja, counts this simple dish as one of her favorites. The meaty mushrooms are great with the nutty grains and creamy cheese.

This is easily one of my favorite fall salads. The creaminess of avocado and sour cream is amazing with the spiced zing of the carrots and the toasted, nutty seeds.

I crave Greek salad year round, so in the winter, when tomatoes don’t taste great raw, I make it with roasted beets instead. This began as a home lunch, but I decided to try it out at some of my restaurants, too, and it’s turned out to be one of our most popular salads.

This is something I grew up with, a dish my grandmother and mom always served family-style. For me, this combination—a fluffy, snowy mountain of shaved Gruyère with sliced sweet-tart tomato—is home. In Alsace, we sometimes mixed wine vinegar with honey and spices for the dressing, but sherry vinegar has a similar nuanced sweetness that works very well here.

I’m always looking for inspiration when I shop at farmer’s markets. The heirloom varieties of summer squash, like Goldbar, Paddle, and 8-Ball, are among my new favorites. To highlight their subtle flavor, I splash them with a simple lemon dressing, then surround them with sharp cheese and peppery greens.

Tangy goat cheese makes a perfect salad dressing for wax beans (haricots verts work well here, too). To balance the creamy cheese, I toss the sweet tomatoes with a bright, acidic vinaigrette. Together, they make an amazing summer salad.

When I compose a salad, I like to pair buttery flavors with bright ones. Here, creamy avocado is offset by the mustard vinaigrette and peppery radishes. I especially like making this in early spring, when the first radishes appear at the market.

My go-to salad for the fall, this simple combination tastes great with just about everything. Fresh, toasted poppy seeds release a delicious, complex nuttiness into the dressing. You can also add avocado and shrimp or chicken to turn this salad into a complete meal.

At my restaurant, we make our own yogurt, carefully culturing milk at 93°F for hours. At home, I pop open a container of good whole-milk yogurt from the store. Just be sure to stir that creamy top layer into the rest of the yogurt before using it. The richness and tanginess pair perfectly with sweet beets. While I prefer boiled beets in this dish, roasted beets work well, too.

If a meal I’m making needs a little protein boost, I must admit that the first thing I think of reaching for is tofu. But since we already use plenty of soy foods, I try to remind myself to consider beans instead. Beans of all kinds are inexpensive and delicious nutritional powerhouses—in short, a food category that deserves daily attention.