Dairy Free

Chopped walnuts nicely complement the rich walnut oil in the dressing.

No one will fault you for seasoning brisket with salt and pepper, braising it in beer, and calling it a day. But follow chef Lee's method—which calls for a bath of stout, bourbon, and soy sauce; a glaze made with peach jam; and a side of easy homemade pickles if you'd like—and you're on the path to savory-and-sweet nirvana.

Puttanesca isn't just for pasta. Anchovies and olives punch up a sauce hearty enough to stand up to meat or fish.

A&M: Teresa wrote: "Seems to me beets and oranges are a classic winter salad combination that you see everywhere." But this is no run-of-the-mill beet and orange salad. Teresa explained, "My friend Sophie's dad, Jim Broderick, gave me the idea that really makes this salad great: fennel and orange rind in the dressing." She's right: this trick gives her winter salad lift and fragrance and makes you want to keep eating it.

A&M: This may be the most thoughtful sautéed greens recipe we've ever encountered. Beet greens (we agree with Marissa Grace that they deserve more attention in the kitchen) are usually wilted in hot olive oil with a little garlic, and they're delicious this way, but Marissa Grace plotted out ways to amplify the greens’ sweetness while tempering it with chiles. She has you brown garlic with shallot and red pepper flakes, then layer in sugar, black pepper, and salt before adding the greens and wilting them. Just before serving, you splash the beet greens with sherry vinegar, which electrifies the whole dish. The key here is the sugar, which caramelizes with the garlic and tightens up the sauce, so by the time the greens are cooked (and beet greens really should be cooked), it wraps them in a cloak of sweet and fiery sauce.

I can't imagine anything more appealing on a blustery day than a big serving of this ambrosial stew. It's great for potlucks and outdoor get-togethers because it's easily transportable and there is nothing to add.

This tasty chili, which has just a hint of heat, is perfect for family get-togethers. Add a tossed green salad, sprinkled with shredded carrots, and whole-grain rolls.

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.

Venison shoulder is the perfect cut for this dish because its lean meat and tough but tasty muscles respond perfectly to a slow braise. If you have difficulty finding a shoulder, use venison shanks instead. They'll need to cook perhaps 30 minutes longer, but they're delicious and worth the wait.

This is part of the recipe Chicken Wings Five Ways.

This is part of the recipe Chicken Wings Five Ways.

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.

Editor's note: Chef Donald Link of New Orleans restaurants Cochon and Herbsaint, shared this recipe as part of a special Mardi Gras celebration he created for Epicurious. Use the spice mix to make his Link Family Crawfish Boil. When I'm at home and want to cook something quick and easy, I love having this blend in my cabinet so I don't have to fish out a bunch of spices. There is no salt in this mix, so be sure to add salt to whatever you are cooking. (I do the salt separately because some food needs more of it than others.) I use this mix for everything from fish fillets to jambalaya.
For the record, I let a few people call me Donnie—my cousin Billy Boy, Richard Reddington, Grandma Hammack, and my coauthor, Paula. It was the latter who named this recipe.

This all-purpose bread makes great sandwiches and toast and is the basis for the Apple Caramel Monkey Bread . It was inspired out of necessity, for who among us doesn't need a great sandwich bread? This is a staple in my kitchen.

Based on the classic pâté à choux or cream puff pastry from my culinary school days, this elegant and easy appetizer can be made ahead. It can be prepared dairy-free, too, but egg substitutes won't work as the eggs are necessary to help create the structure of these bite-size treats.

Editor's note: Chef Donald Link of New Orleans restaurants Cochon and Herbsaint, shared this recipe as part of a special Mardi Gras celebration he created for Epicurious. Crawfish boils are the greatest outdoor cooking events in southern Louisiana, and they epitomize our way of life. These giant parties for adults and kids are all about having a good time, being with friends and family, and eating local food.
To boil crawfish you need to have the proper setup—namely a propane tank, a stand to put the pot on, and a very large pot (crawfish are sold in 40-pound sacks). The pot needs to be fitted with a basket so you can pull the crawfish out and add more.
My cousin Billy's crawfish are, hands down, the best I've ever tasted. When it comes to cooking crawfish, though, we aren't in total agreement. I like to soak the crawfish in their spicy cooking water; Billy doesn't. Some people prefer to drain the crawfish after they've been soaking in the spicy water for just 5 minutes, then dump them into an ice chest, and season the outside of the crawfish shells heavily. This method keeps the meat from getting overcooked, but the spices end up on your hands, not in the meat. To my mind, "marinating" the cooked crawfish in their cooking liquid allows more of the spice and salt to be absorbed by the meat and creates more juice in the heads. (Sucking the juice from the head before you eat the tail is the proper way to eat boiled crawfish.)
Though no self-respecting party in Cajun Country would cook fewer than two or three sacks, I've given a smaller recipe here.

This recipe is all about the eggs, so use the best you can find; farm-direct pastured eggs are ideal (though even commercial eggs are delicious deviled this way). Deviled eggs tend to disappear the second you serve them, so it’s always good to make more than you think you might need. This recipe can easily be doubled. If you’re bringing these to an event, it’s best to prepare the components ahead of time and assemble the eggs on site. It’s much easier to transport that way.