Fennel

Also known as the “cooked to hell” method, this braise renders the greens meltingly tender.

Toasting the seeds and nuts in oil forms the base of a complex vinaigrette.

The mix of lettuces and crisp vegetables is up to you (and we recommend a mandoline for slicing).

Here's how to buy, store, and cook with fennel, in season in October.

How to pull off an elegant, effortless date night? Seafood soup. Make the broth for this rich seafood stew recipe the day before, then sear a couple pieces of fish and reheat the stew during the cocktail hour.

The type of fish you use is less important than its quality. Black bass, striped bass, and fluke all translate well; ask your fish guy for what’s freshest.

The sauce makes the meal—serve it alongside any combo of crunchy peak-season veg you please.

Consider the crunch: You want to choose a vegetable that’s naturally firm, like fennel. The fresher it is, the crisper it will stay.

Slightly underripe plums? Add a touch more honey.

You know what most chicken salads are missing? Crunch. Not this one!

The surface scoring used here helps to create a cutlet that will be evenly thin when pounded out. Try it on beef or veal, too.

This sandwich gets better and better the longer it sits (okay, to a point); assemble it after breakfast and eat it when you’ve worked up an appetite.

Poaching the shrimp with their shells on locks in their flavor.

Because it’s so delicate, the flesh can break down when marinated first, sometimes causing the fish to fall apart. A post-grill bath delivers flavor without compromising texture.

What you really want to do with this granola is make the be-all, end-all of yogurt parfaits.

Feel free to adapt this fruit salad as the seasons change; aim for a mix of juicy fruit (like melon), stone fruit, and berries.

For this pork chop recipe, to get a true reading on the meat, make sure the thermometer is dead in the center and not too close to the bones, where the temperature will be higher. Learn how it's done here.

This caponata uses a technique called a "cold fry." Instead of frying the vegetables in preheated, hot oil, you combine the vegetables and room temperature oil in a pot and heat them up together. The benefit of this method is that you use less oil than you would normally use when you "hot fry" and there is very little splatter because the food and oil are always at the same temperature. And, like "hot frying," you still get a golden crispy exterior and soft, creamy interior but with no mess.

When you toss hot clams right off the grill with some flavored butter, the butter melts and mingles with the clam liquor, creating an irresistible combination.

Customize this chai recipe blend by adding a crushed cinnamon stick or big pinch of grated fresh ginger to the first step.

This squid pasta with fennel recipe is made for breezy summer evenings. All that's missing is the beach house.

Okay, fine, you’ve never heard of baobab—but that’s about to change. (Remember when no one knew how to pronounce quinoa?) You’ll find the powder from the tangy superfruit stocked at the health food store.

Yes, you can use regular oranges, but don’t you just love the color you get from blood oranges?!

Our favorite reader-requested cocktail is a refreshing, drinkable spin on one of our favorite salads.