Arugula

Last night’s steak, whatever it is, will do. Rib eye, porterhouse, flank, and strip are all excellent the next day.

Bitter and bossy seeks warm and sweet: This robust dressing is capable of standing up to—and slightly softening—acerbic greens like dandelion or arugula. (Maybe it’s the bacon….)

Here's how to buy, store, and cook with arugula, in season in June.

When not using this pesto to dress this very green salad, you could schmear it on just about any sandwich, or stir it into scrambled eggs.

If you don’t feel like making aioli, use prepared mayonnaise and season it with mustard and garlic.

No need to buy preflavored vodka; we got great results making our own.

At Rioja, in Denver, half of the bacon is replaced with ground fatback, a step that makes this excellent burger even better.

Name a more iconic trio than beets, quinoa, and goat cheese!

This salad was inspired by the classic French bistro salad, in which sturdy winter greens are laced with crisp lardons of bacon and a silky poached egg. We’ll never begrudge you a bit of bacon, but here vegetables are roasted to give the salad a leaner form of texture, flavor, and color.

Baking citrus at a high heat caramelizes the sugars and adds depth. It’s just the thing to bring intrigue to salads.

Parsnip, a vegetable usually roasted or puréed, is crunchy, sweet, and delicious raw. Who knew? Plus, learn how to master the mandoline.

Chef Naomi Pomeroy prefers to serve salad at the end of the meal; with this one, you get a bit of a cheese course at the same time.

Use a very sharp cheddar to make this—it’s the difference between pimiento cheese and cheesy mayonnaise.

Does Tosca’s roast chicken recipe take work? Yes, but the results—from the drippings-soaked sourdough toasts to the glossy pan sauce—are transcendent.

The best blue cheese for this is salty but creamy, not too sharp or funky.

This dish is a bold mix of salty, sweet, and acidic components. Crunchy slabs of melon and sharp greens keep it fresh; meaty chops provide depth.

Grilling the bread dries it out a bit, so it can absorb more dressing.

Chicken thighs are appealingly fatty, but this can sometimes cause flare-ups when grilling. Bank the coals before igniting so that you have a cooler side, and move the chicken there if needed.

The dressing for this salad is on the less acidic side: Once the tart pickled vegetables are in the mix, it will be perfectly balanced.

A blend of chiles, arugula, mint, and lime, this dressing brightens up everything from salads and grains to fish and meat

The honey and vinegar will temper the bite of the greens; check the vinaigrette by dunking a piece of lettuce in it and tasting everything together.