Roast

Baby turnips and the season's first onions are some of the BA Test Kitchen's favorite spring ingredients.

Brining the chickens tenderizes the meat and keeps it moist. The flavorful pan juices are used to make croutons and a robust dressing for the peppery watercress.

If using skin-on hazelnuts, rub them inside a clean kitchen towel after they've been toasted—the skins will slip right off. Serve the fish with a lightly dressed butter lettuce and herb salad.

Meatless doesn't mean dainty. When making a veggie-centric sandwich, load up on aggressive flavors and contrasting textures, and be sure to add something substantial to sink your teeth into, like roasted vegetables, sliced hardboiled eggs, or mashed beans. This vegetarian powerhouse from Brooklyn's Saltie balances salty feta and olives with a salad-like mix of fresh herbs. Plenty of pickled, vinegary ingredients (this one uses capers and pickled beets, but any pickled veg would work) keep the full-flavored components bright.

The pork for this Southern-inspired pasta sauce is studded with garlic, which infuses the meat while it roasts.

Serve the salmon with raita, which gets a peppery twist from the addition of grated daikon radish.

You need only a small amount of beer to flavor the sauce. We trust you know what to do with the rest of that bottle.

"I love the crisp texture of this addictive bar snack; the bacon fat is an obvious bonus." —Alison Roman, assistant food editor

Ask for the smallest lamb your butcher has (like those from New Zealand), or buy a 3 1/2-4-pound piece of a leg.

This dish is a perfect side for roast chicken; or crumble feta on top for a vegetarian lunch. Quinoa freezes well, so cook a big batch, let cool, and freeze in resealable plastic bags until ready to use.

November weeknights are for simple pan-seared pork chops and roasted squash.

Jarred kimchi delivers flavor and color in this roast chicken dish.

This zesty mayo dip would also go well with sliced red bell peppers and celery sticks before dinner; it's amazing how many vegetables kids will eat when they're actually hungry.

The lamb roasts on a bed of thyme to infuse the meat.

Burning the leek in this recipe lends an aromatic charred note, adding balance to the raw and poached cauliflower.

Onions become meltingly soft and improbably delicious after dry roasting.

Nothing says Christmas quite like a standing beef rib roast. For starters, it's got good bones. And those bones give it stature—there's nothing petite about this hunk of beef—so it is a commanding presence on your holiday table. That other holiday favorite, beef tenderloin, can't begin to compare in brawn or beefiness. The rib meat has the most marbling in the steer, and it's that marbling that gives the roast its deep, minerally essence. The Pinot Noir jus condenses a bottle of wine into a richly hued and nuanced sauce that not only complements the roast but cuts through its richness. And while the beef rests after its turn in the oven, a minor amount of its marvelous rendered fat anoints carrots and potatoes, which helps goad them toward their own golden goodness. Editor's Note: This recipe is part of Gourmet's Modern Menu for A Christmas Classic. Menu also includes Green Beans with Caramelized Pecans and Tiramisu Yule Log .

Watch out, potato chips. Kale chips are this year's latest craze in the snack department. Suddenly they seem to be everywhere, and for a hefty price. You won't believe how easy these crisps are to make at home for a fraction of the cost, and the Parmigiano and freshly ground pepper seasoning complements the kale beautifully. Bet you can't eat just one! Take it from us: When it comes to kale chips, curly kale beats Tuscan kale. Editor's Note: This recipe is part of Gourmet's Modern Menu for A New Years' Eve Pasrty. Menu also includes Turkish Spiced Meatballs with Pomegranate Yogurt Sauce and Bite-Size Chipotle Chicken Soft Tacos (tinga de pollo) .

When the opportunity arises—as it did with this salmon—we can't resist a little trompe l'oeil, a chance to have some harmless fun with our food, because, well, food is fun. And with Hanukkah being a particularly kid-friendly holiday, we know children and adults alike will get a big kick out of the edible potato "scales" that top these individual slabs of salmon. Your budding young chefs will love arranging the scales on the fish. Editor's Note: This recipe is part of Gourmet's Modern Menu for A Hanukkah Feast. Menu also includes Swiss Chard with Horseradish and Apple Fritters with Orange Glaze .

Try something new this year. Slivered almonds and sun-dried tomatoes add a delicious twist to this stuffing recipe that’s the perfect pair for a moist roasted turkey.