The Gourmet Test Kitchen

A kitchen torch makes easy work of melting sugar into the crackly topping for classic crème brûlée. And once you have one, you’ll come up with all kinds or ways to use it (like coffee crème brûlée, and coconut crème brûlée, and pistachio crème brûlée…).

"There is a dish that originated in Charleston called Hoppin' John," Edna Lewis writes in In Pursuit of Flavor, "which we had never heard of in Virginia." This (along with the fact that she found black-eyed peas a little dull) goes a long way toward explaining why she decided to gussy up its scrupulous simplicity—virtually unchanged through the centuries—with tomatoes. Well, nobody's perfect. Here you'll find the real thing, traditionally eaten on New Year's Day for good luck. Serve it with extra black-eyes and their pot liquor on the side to add more moisture, as well as a platter of Simmered Greens .

Charring the tomatillos, chiles, and garlic under the broiler before puréeing them concentrates their flavor and sweetness and gives the finished salsa a smoky essence.

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 3 hr.