Condiments, Sauces & Pastes

Bake this festive spice cake in your favorite Bundt pan or pudding bowl, or feel free to use an 8" springform pan. You can top the cake with Luscious Chocolate Icing (see recipe) or simply dust it with powdered sugar.

Drizzle this gingery-sweet beauty over crisp lettuces, avocado, grain salads, or grilled tofu.

Why is this peanut butter cake recipe "fun?" Well, you'll just have to make it to find out.

This pad Thai recipe is not the dish from the neighborhood take-out joint. "It ain't made with chicken," says Ricker, whose traditional take—pleasantly funky with fish sauce and preserved radish and a touch sour from tamarind—is meant to be eaten in the evening as a stand-alone dish.

This Japanese eggplant recipe is all about that umami-rich miso glaze. Can't find long, skinny, Japanese eggplants? The glaze is good on all varieties of eggplant (and hey, carrots, too).

This delicate cheesecake is cooked in a water bath and steamed for a supremely light texture. To make sure the homemade-gingersnap-cookie crust stays crisp, wrap the cake pan inside and out with heavy-duty, 18"-wide aluminum foil.

“At home I don’t even want to use a knife and fork,” says chef Nick Johnson of 43 North in Madison, WI. This sandwich, with store-bought rotisserie chicken, obliges.