Make Ahead

Shelled raw peanuts are easy to find at Asian markets, health food stores, and other specialty food stores.

Whipping an egg into the filling of these simple, folded dumplings makes them fluffy and moist—and a double hit of soy amps up the umami.

By coarsely mashing, seasoning, and storing the squash to use later in the week, you've got an ingredient that'll yield more types of dishes than would be easily available to you if you were to have cubed and roasted leftover squash. It's a spread, a sandwich filling, sweet component of a frittata, the starting point of an easy appetizer. 

Toasting the pine nuts until they’re properly golden brown to the center and not just on the surface is key in coaxing out maximum flavor. That said, pine nuts are expensive and can burn, so keep a close eye on them as they cook.

This big batch of jalapeño-spiced orange-lime juice keeps in the fridge for a couple of days. Pour it over ice and top it with seltzer for a refreshing alcohol-free pick-me-up.

A holiday-spiced grenadine syrup, club soda, and a twist is a grown-up Shirley Temple we can all enjoy. For the adults who want to imbibe, a splash of Scotch fits just right.

This recipe assumes you have fresh or leftover cooked plain pasta in the fridge, but if you happen to magically have leftover pesto pasta, throw that in (no extra sauce required).

Massage kale and brussels sprouts in a sweet, tangy dressing of rice vinegar, soy sauce, and honey, then serve it with creamy hummus and jammy eggs.

This savory granola will magically boost the flavor, protein, and crunch factor of any dish. Sprinkle it over a plate of whipped ricotta and crispy broccoli for an easy, veggie-centric meal.

It’s a vodka martini—properly called the Kangaroo—gone savory with peaty Scotch and olives four ways.

Pairing the tangy fruit with Scotch—plus oolong tea that’s been steeped forever—gives a whisper of smoke and a bitter, malty edge to the drink.

While brandy is the traditional partner for fruit cake, you could also try using a dessert sherry such as Pedro Ximénez. It’s an intensely sweet, dark sherry made from the Spanish grape variety of the same name. Perfect in festive cakes, puddings and custards, you can find it in liquor stores.

This velvety Vietnamese rice porridge gets a deep flavor from soaking overnight in chicken or vegetable broth before simmering with fragrant ginger and scallions.

These bite-size mashed potato croquettes are filled with smoked trout, mozzarella, Parmesan, and chives.

Like many long-simmered sauces, this one, perhaps the most delicious of all the Italian meat sauces, is more flavorful and balanced the following day.

A make-ahead gravy that doesn’t rely on turkey drippings or a roux. The gravy’s depth of flavor comes from roasted poultry bones and—surprise!—a sprinkle of MSG, which has an umami-to-the-max effect.

Tender, sweet and well-spiced stewed meat topped with cheese-encrusted creamy mashed potatoes…need I say more?

This dish is triply aggressive, with sweet, sour, and spicy tastes strung together in an intense interplay. To make it your own, experiment with the balance of those three elements—you might make it more sour, or very, very spicy, depending on your palate and preferences.

These are similar to classic shortbread, but with the warm, slightly nutty flavor of einkorn and rye. These little-used flours also make a great choice for baking due to their naturally lower gluten profile, which is exactly what you want in a sandy-style cookie for a tender crumb. 

In Amy Chaplin's salads, the vegetables are in the dressing. This is just one version of the raw beet dressings from her book Whole Food Cooking Every Day, where she combines sweet beets with cashew butter and red chiles to create a rich, creamy sauce.