Side

This is not your average breakfast muffin. Imagine a fudgy brownie—chocolatey, rich, ringing every bell—and then picture yourself dancing around your kitchen, exuberant with the knowledge that these are sweetened with just bananas, applesauce, and cocoa powder. That’s something to get up for in the morning! And I’ll say what I want to say without saying it: Fiber never tasted so good.

Any side dish or salad that includes corn is pretty, but fava beans and striking-looking breakfast radishes—with their elongated shape, rosy red color, and creamy-looking root ends—make this dish more appealing and appetizing than most. Like most chefs, I love favas, but if you can’t find them or think they are too much trouble, replace them with lima beans.

Believe it or not, watermelon and feta make a great pairing. Toss in some hot chili peppers and cilantro and you have a salad to delight everyone who tries it. Buy seedless watermelon for this—you won’t be disappointed when you try it.

Calico beans are a satisfying cross between chili, baked beans, and a sloppy joe filling. Full of a homemade barbecue-style sauce, these calico beans are meaty, tangy, salty, and deliciously perfect for any barbecue, picnic, or potluck you are heading to!

I have a love of potatoes that is unlike any other love. I grew up eating them often as a kid—almost every day—so now I’m always looking for new ways to incorporate this versatile vegetable into my everyday life. There’s just something so special about biscuits loaded with shredded potatoes, cheddar cheese, and chives. I can’t put it into words, but I feel like I don’t have to because you get it. It’s the baked potato you never knew you wanted . . . in biscuit form.

Turn any vegetable into a flavorful, spicy pickle with this simple kimchi technique.

I love crunchy fennel and peppery arugula dressed with a slightly sweet dressing made from Meyer lemons—a fresh-tasting pick-me-up. Meyer lemons are only available in the wintertime, so if you can’t find them, use regular lemon juice and replace a third of it with fresh orange juice.

The key to cooking this yeast-risen, yogurt-enriched Indian flat bread at home is a hot cast iron skillet.

This spin on the home cooking favorite is a nod to a classic Southern combination: iced tea and cornbread. Here, the tea makes a sweet and shiny glaze and the delicate sweetness of fresh corn kernels balances out the buttery bread. Muffins are perfect for grab-and-go breakfasts, but you could also make it in a cast-iron skillet and serve family style. Beware, your overnight guests may never leave.

Think of dal as similar in use to gravy—in other words, not a side dish or its own course. It is eaten on rice or with flatbreads, or with dry curries, and vegetables; it is meant as part of a meal.

If the dough starts to soften as you form these, pop it back in the fridge for ten minutes to firm back up.

At the height of summer, this is exactly the kind of simple, flavor-packed salad we want for dinner.

Japanese eggplants are smaller, sweeter, and faster-cooking than other types. If using globe eggplants, slice them into half-inch rounds.

A classic steakhouse-inspired rub and sauce turn grilled mushrooms into a decadent, meaty meal.

The Jersey Shore Cookbook author Deborah Smith adapted this recipe for crispy pork-studded pancakes from The Chicken or the Egg, a restaurant in Beach Haven, New Jersey.

As long as you don’t mess with the ratio of vinegar, sugar, and salt, you can experiment with other spices, like fennel and coriander seeds, in this brine.