Peden + Munk

Every culture has a tradition of one-pot meals, and Japan’s donabe happens to be one of the tastiest and most elegant ones on the planet. The word refers both to warming combinations of simmered-together ingredients and to the beautiful earthenware pot they’re traditionally cooked in (we love the gorgeous mushi nabe from Nagatani-en). And while most one-pots are long-cooked, our favorite donabes are kitchen-sink compositions that are ready in minutes. In this particular recipe, chicken, seafood,.…

Roasting the bones develops rich, long-cooked flavor and lends a dark golden color.

All the rejuvenating powers of your grandmother’s chicken stock, plus a head-clearing kick of chile. Reserve chicken for Spicy & Healthy Chicken Soup or another use.

This light-bodied broth is a mélange of scraps that you can collect and save as you cook during the week—use whatever you have. For a meal to make with this, go to Chorizo and Shrimp Paella.

The clams give up all their essence in this rich coconut-based stock. It’s great for curries, in this red snapper recipe, or use it as the liquid base for a pot of steamed mussels or littleneck clams.

Chicken soup is the ultimate comfort food. This healthy version packs spicy flavor, thanks to jalapeño. The squash and cabbage greens are bright and seasonal, but you can add whatever veggies you like.

Rather than being cooked in salted water, the pasta is treated like risotto—simmered in stock and stirred until cooked and creamy—which gives it plenty of time to pick up meaty flavors.

The fennel seeds turn into an aromatic, crunchy crust on the skin.

Our slice-and-bake technique is easier to manage than shaping a crescent version—a touch of sanity during holiday baking madness.

Caramelized white chocolate forms the base of this rich ganache confection; the snowballs are more like truffles than cookies.

This inspired spin on the classic rainbow cookie could make any gingerbread man cry.

The dramatic two-tone look takes a little frosting finesse but isn’t hard to achieve.

Make any kind of shape you’d like. The cookies can be rounds instead of rectangles, and you can use any smaller cutter for the cutouts.

The butter cookie recipe you'll come back to year after year. Pro tip: Using chilled butter and freezing the cookies before baking encourages clean, tidy edges.

Make sure the vodka cooks for a full minute or two to evaporate all the booziness.

This potent New Orleans nightcap is as much about the aromatic absinthe rinse as it is the Cognac and rye.

Of this take on a martini, James Bond quipped, “I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold and very well-made.” What he said.

When in doubt, add soda. The resulting highball (about 2 oz. of any booze filled to the top with soda) is refreshing—and impossible to mess up.