Dairy Free

This is an impressive three-layered popsicle. Make sure each layer is completely frozen before adding the next, as it looks great when the layers are really well defined.

Use the whole mint sprigs, stalks included, for a good minty hit.

I encourage rolling up your sleeves and using your hands to mix these spices—it helps to capture a feeling of nostalgia for cooking.

Beef brisket is one of the hardest meats to cook correctly. In Texas, this dish is a benchmark for how good a cook or restaurant is, and everyone has an opinion about how to do it right. Good food takes time, and this recipe will help you through the pitfalls of cooking a brisket. Don't ever steam your beef; it dries the meat and makes it tough. Applying a dry rub is important with large cuts of meat. Our BBQ Beef Coffee Cure is a select mixture of seasonings paired with an earthy dark-roasted ground coffee that complements the brisket. The salt and sugars in the rub will cure the outer portion of the brisket, leaving a hearty flavor and the smoke, charred crust called "bark."

This is a great meal to help you clean out your fridge. Use whatever veggies you have on hand! A cast-iron skillet will help the rice brown and fry to a crispy coating at the bottom of the dish.

Bluefish is remarkably delicious and versatile. It is wonderful on the grill, its fatty richness complemented by the flavor of wood smoke. That richness ("oiliness" to the minds of some) causes many people to shun bluefish and other similar ocean brethren. All I can say is, oh well, more for me. Here orange zest provides an acidic tang that helps to balance the flavors, and the slow, low heat of the smoldering wood cooks the fish without drying it out.

This is one of my pantry staples; you'll find it in many of the recipes throughout this book. It makes for a super-easy sauce on its own, or you can mix it with lemon juice or vinegar to create a great dressing in less than a minute. Whenever almonds are on sale at the local store, I grab a few bags and make big batches, freezing some for future use. Each time you use this oil, make sure to grab an even proportion of oil to almonds so that you don't end up with a lopsided ratio.

This is simply one of my favorite dishes, and it has a legendary place in the history of my marriage. My wife was not a fan of the vegetable—or of any vegetable. Fan might not be the right word. It's not that she just didn't like them; she actively campaigned against them, prosecuting them, all guilty as charged, although on scant evidence. It was this simple dish that got her to at least begin to consider laying down her sword. The crisp texture, the smoky, charred burn, the transparency of the whole process got her to let her guard down. And now it is a staple. So you might say that this recipe is a gateway vegetable. Other kale varieties are fine for this, but lacinato is the only variety that crisps rather than wilts, allowing you to get great texture very quickly. This is wonderful with a little Chunky Almond Oil drizzled over the top.

I first tried this dish when I was looking for an interesting vegan option to put on my menus. While my restaurants were certainly vegetarian/vegan friendly, the focus of the menu was anything but. I wanted to present some options that were more than the usual, but I kept coming back to hummus, because it is so delicious. So I tried a few different ways to make it, and this one was a winner. Any type of thick-skinned autumn squash will do in this recipe. My favorites are kabocha, butternut, Hubbard, and regular old pumpkin. I prefer to serve this with baguette slices, but it's also good with toasted pita bread triangles or carrot and celery sticks.

Kick off your Independence Day bash with a patriotic take on homemade chips featuring baking potatoes, purple potatoes, and beets that are sliced and then fried into a hot, crispy red, white, and blue snack. Gather your ingredients and check out our tips on the dos and don'ts of deep-frying.

Butterflying the pork loin isn't difficult, but many butchers will do it for you.

If you don't have a punch bowl, do what van Boven does: "Use a big glass vase—it's nice and tall and doesn't take up too much space on your table."

Parcooking in vinegar water helps set the starches so the potatoes get crisp, rather than floury, when roasted.

Spicy Sichuan pepper, which delivers a numbing effect along with nuanced heat, will leave your lips buzzing. Use any leftover chili oil in dressings or marinades.

Gently heating chives— or almost any herb—in oil creates a concentrated, Technicolor elixir that's a favorite weapon of restaurant chefs: It's ideal for whisking into vinaigrettes and drizzling over fish, scrambled eggs, or ricotta crostini.

Letting meat rest ensures juiciness. Make even better use of that time by sprinkling the cutting board with chopped herbs dressed with oil and citrus zest before setting the meat on top, a trick we picked up from chef Adam Perry Lang. The cooked protein will soak up the herbs' aroma. Flavor bonus: Drizzle the herb-infused juices over the meat before serving.

The next time you're serving a salad, add some herbs. Think of them as you would any other green; toss handfuls of dill, mint, basil, and more into peppery leaves like arugula, mizuna, or mustard greens, all of which are assertive enough to allow the herbal notes to shine without overpowering the dish. Top it all off with grilled steak, pork, or chicken, and you've got a perfect summer supper.

Nuoc cham, the Vietnamese condiment that dresses this crunchy noodle salad, is made with lime juice, fish sauce, chiles, and sugar. The addictive mix of spicy, sweet, sour, and salty flavors is also great as a dipping sauce for grilled meats.

For the quick pickles, try using other crisp vegetables, such as radishes, celery, or fennel.