Gourmet

No offense to salsa, but come on, who doesn't love a gooey, cheesy bean dip, bubbling hot like lava from the broiler? If you're a chile head, you'll probably want to up the number of chiles and leave the seeds in. If your friends are more, ahem, delicate, then stick with one chile and remove the seeds and ribs.

Orzo is the Italian word for barley, and the slender, grain-shape of orzo pasta makes for a no-fuss, neatly consumed salad, particularly if you are balancing a plate while perched on the edge of a sofa or standing around the TV watching the Super Bowl. Although the salad makes for a great accompaniment to the Stuffed Sliders Your Way, your vegetarian friends will thank you for providing them with an option they will really enjoy as their main dish.

Consider this recipe a double whammy. Not only do you end up with a dreamy, cheesy bread pudding, but you also get the recipe for an excellent loaf of Irish soda bread. The bread is so easy to make—there's no yeast involved—don't be surprised if you find yourself baking a loaf often. It makes excellent toast. Many Irish cheeses are now sold in our supermarkets, but you'll have good results with any sharp Cheddar. Buried in the recipe is a nifty trick: Adding a bit of Parmesan to the mixture helps amplify the flavor of the Cheddar.

Every Super Bowl spread needs a refreshing salad to counterbalance the array of must-have dips, cheesy snacks, and meaty mains. Because the elements of this are all chopped, it's a salad that's easy to toss, easy to serve, and best of all, easy to eat.

The Irish are famous for their smoked salmon, so it's a natural for a St. Patrick's Day party. Of course, you don't have to use Irish smoked salmon for these toasts; any cold–smoked salmon will work well, but if you're feeling flush, you will be treating yourself to salmon that is super–silky in texture with a distinct smokiness that comes from spending time near smoldering hardwoods such as oak and beechwood. If topping your salmon with anything other than a gentle squeeze of lemon seems like heresy, don't knock our tangy–sweet malt vinegar syrup until you've tried it. You just might get hooked.

There's no reason why you can't have your Guinness two ways at once: Enjoy as the day's beverage of choice, and while devouring one of our favorite nuggets of meat—lamb rib chops—which we bathe in an intriguing glaze made from the very same stout cooked down with coriander and black peppercorns. Be sure to look at the Cooks' Notes for more information about Guinness, the spices and the lamb chops.

Move over cupcakes: You've had your time in the limelight but we've moved on. Sweets are far easier to eat when the frosting is between the two thin cake layers, not on top. It all comes down to proportions: whoopie pies exemplify the perfect ratio between cake and frosting. These pies, in particular, straddle the cake/cookie line. There's the slightest bit of crispness on the outside, which then gives way to impossibly tender cake and a perfectly balanced cream cheese filling. We bet you can't eat just one so you might as well make two batches (don't double the recipe).

Colcannon, a classic Irish combination of mashed potatoes with cabbage or kale, is standard winter fare. If that sounds, well, boring, trust us, this version is anything but that. We freshen it up by cooking the potatoes and cabbage separately, then we make it easy to serve for a party by adding an egg and baking it in a pie pan, so that you can cut it into wedges.

On their own, roasted mushrooms are golden, buttery, and delicious, but we've gone a step further and jazzed them up by showering them with a blanket of crunchy, chile-flecked breadcrumbs.

This crisp, colorful salad is a refreshing accompaniment to any meal, whether you serve it after, before, or with the main course. The slightly sweet nature of fennel pairs well with radicchio's mild bitterness. The lemony olive vinaigrette and herbs keep the salad vibrant.

Who can resist mashed potatoes, particularly with steak? You'll love this twist on the classic, with just enough horseradish added to give these creamy spuds a fun kick.

Nothing says CELEBRATION like blinis and caviar. These quick, buckwheat pancakes, made with baking powder (unlike the traditional yeast-based ones) are brightened with the addition of lemon zest. Use whatever caviar you prefer and your budget will allow. We are quite enamored of the trout caviar made in North Carolina (see Cooks' Notes). The roe is a beautiful pale orange with a delightfully firm texture that pops in your mouth. Better yet, it's much more affordable than imported or domestic sturgeon caviars (see Cooks' Notes).

This is part of the recipe Chicken Wings Five Ways.

This is part of the recipe Chicken Wings Five Ways.

This is part of the recipe Chicken Wings Five Ways.

This is part of the recipe Chicken Wings Five Ways.

Forget marinades—who has time to think ahead anymore? The easiest, fastest, and, yes, we're calling it, best method for adding some pizzazz to your grilled chicken is to toss it quickly in a sauce after it's been cooked. Come on, guys, it's the secret behind Buffalo chicken wings! Everybody loves wings, so alert your friends to come on over for a backyard wing feed. Make as many sauces as you'd like, and let each person embellish their wings the way they want. Each sauce makes enough to coat all 9 pounds of wings, so if you make all five sauces, you might want to downsize them, or make the full amount and use them in other ways. The vinaigrettes would be terrific as salad dressings, and the rest would punch up grilled or roasted pork or beef and do absolute wonders for tofu.

Buffalo-style chicken wings have long ruled the roost, but there's a spicy new upstart poised to challenge their spot at the top of the game-day menu: Korean wings. With their balance of salty, sweet, and spicy, Korean wings are packed with delicious flavor, but they also come with a lengthy ingredient shopping list. By fusing the best elements and techniques from Korean and Buffalo-style wings, we've come up with a dynamite wing that's—dare we say it?—better than the sum of its parts. In this version, the iconic Frank's RedHot Original sauce (which can still be slathered as liberally as you wish) is balanced by the sweet-and-sour tang of rice vinegar and soy sauce. Gone is the hefty dose of butter; instead, a very light coating of rice flour keeps the wings super-crispy, even a day later.

This is part of the recipe Chicken Wings Five Ways.

A beef tenderloin roast is a boon for the host and a treat for family or guests during the holidays. Many big-box stores sell them at a reasonable price, and when trimmed, there's no waste—just solid meat. Cooking the roast doesn't tie up your oven for long, and once it's done, it couldn't be easier to carve. Between the green of the rosemary and the red of the grape tomatoes, the sauce is festive with color and loaded with bright flavor.