Nut-Free

This slow-roasted pork shoulder comes out of the oven before it collapses into a shreddable texture; it will be succulent and tender but easy to slice.

A palate-cleansing fennel salad to balance rich pork and hearty sides.

Gigante beans have a nutty, buttery flavor and creamy texture, and hold together when cooked.

It’s just as tasty without booze but only as good as the chocolate you use, so shop accordingly.

A fun first course to serve to guests in the kitchen. By the time one batch has been devoured, the next one will be coming out of the fryer.

For a slightly more virtuous quick bread—more like breakfast, less like dessert—reduce the amount of granulated sugar to one cup. 

Jaew is a tart, smoky dipping sauce from Thailand, usually served with grilled meats and sausages. Hot Joy chef Quealy Watson takes it to a Tex-Mex place in this eggy, cheesy rice dish that might remind you of nachos (it works). Watch the step-by-step video here.

The intensely flavored soffritto is the foundation of this rich pasta; double the ingredients and freeze half for next time.

Onions are loaded with umami flavor, as are anchovies, mushrooms, and Worcestershire sauce. Together, they make this dip especially hard to resist.

This amazing soufflé from Måurice Luncheonette is cakey on top, pudding-y on the bottom, tart all the way through.

Chorizo adds smoky flavor to this vegetable-heavy frittata; use bacon if you prefer.

The caramelized milk jam makes for a decadent little sandwich, but these cookies from Måurice Luncheonette are amazingly good simply eaten on their own.

There are as many stromboli fillings as there are pizza toppings. Feel free to improvise, but don’t use too many wet ingredients in this stromboli recipe, or the dough will be gummy inside.

Think of this pasta from Tosca as a carbonara, but with tomatoes in place of the eggs.

We’re now obsessed with this snail-shaped pasta (which is made from scratch at Tosca).

Bright, herbal, and sharp, this comically simple condiment is just what you want alongside braised meat.

Because the dough for this pita bread recipe has a relatively short rising time, it can be made while the lamb braises. Turn up the oven and bake the pita while you’re reducing the braising liquid on the stove-top; the timing will come out perfectly.

A cooling, slightly garlicky spread that’s great with braised lamb tonight and possibly even better when added to a lamb sandwich tomorrow.

Lamb shoulder has great fat content and rich (not gamey) flavor, which makes it ideal for this sweetly spiced, Mediterranean-inspired braise.

Hot Joy chef Quealy Watson, who’s from Louisiana, grew up on his mom’s dirty rice; that dish helped inspire this bastardized fried version. The chicken-liver base tastes very concentrated and intense on its own, but becomes nicely balanced in the finished dish. Watch the step-by-step video here.

The broiled onion needs to be really black, all the way through, so that it’s dry enough to turn into powder to mix in this compound butter from Rose's Luxury. Things get smoky—open a window first!

Rose's Luxury chef Aaron Silverman combined his buttermilk biscuit recipe with his sous chef’s to create what he says are “the best biscuits I’ve ever tasted.”

Charred to a crisp: Not a statement usually associated with salads, but delicious nonetheless in this Mexican-inspired romaine number from Rose's Luxury.

This is the greatest potato bread recipe you'll ever encounter. And you absolutely need a stand mixer to make it.