Elizabeth Cecil

This is an overstuffed, saucy little sandwich, but our pita trick in this recipe ensures that the pocket won’t implode while you’re eating it.

A cozy, stick-to-your-ribs porridge that soothes as it nourishes.

Traditional Greek skordalia is mostly garlic and olive oil with some potato or nuts added to thicken it. We flipped the ratio in this recipe: more potato, less garlic. Serve as a dip, or thin out with lemon juice and olive oil and use as a sauce for fish.

Stuffing salad still counts as salad, right? In this recipe, it does.

After a heavy Thanksgiving meal, we look for recipes that double as a palate cleanser, with spice, zing, freshness—and vegetables that, you know, still have some crunch.

You know how the cheese sometimes oozes out of a grilled cheese while it’s cooking and gets all brown and crunchy when it hits the skillet? Well, this open-face sandwich recipe is dedicated to making that happen on purpose.

Adding fresh puréed tomato at the end of this long-simmered pork ragù lends this bowl of deliciousness acidic brightness along with depth. Unbeatable. This recipe is from Oberlin, one of the Hot 10, America's Best New Restaurants 2016.

Granted, this is a bit of work for a salad, but that’s how to transform vegetables into brag-worthy ingredients. To simplify, you could char the beets and greens in a dry cast-iron skillet. This recipe is from Oberlin, one of the Hot 10, America's Best New Restaurants 2016.

This is made with house-pickled herring at Oberlin, but smoked trout is equally delicious as an ­anchovy alt. If you can’t get kohlrabi, try this same scenario on romaine. This recipe is from Oberlin, one of the Hot 10, America's Best New Restaurants 2016.

Don’t be tempted to disturb the gnocchi when browning—the hands-off approach is key to letting them develop a deep brown color on one side. 

You can finish this carbonara with other seasonal vegetables, such as shredded brussels sprouts or Napa cabbage. This recipe is from Oberlin, one of the Hot 10, America's Best New Restaurants 2016.

The dressing also makes a great dip for crudités.

A dead-simple shellfish dish that is pure Erickson: ocean-adoring, dairy-rich, fun to eat.

Chef Erickson has access to the best seafood anywhere; when it comes to sardines, she goes with Matiz sardines in olive oil.

In this otherwise straightforward chicken dish, cashews are transformed into a creamy sauce, and candied spiced walnuts are used as a crunchy topper.

If you can’t find Little Gem, use any other small crunchy green, such as romaine hearts.

This all-in-one brunch dish is both luxurious to eat and easy to make.

At Kindred, this dough is used to make the pan of warm pull-apart bread that’s gifted to each table, in addition to the house’s burger buns, split-top rolls, and sandwich bread. It’s as versatile as it is forgiving.