Recipes & Menus

Béchamel, a cream sauce bound by a roux of flour and butter, holds up well in the freezer, maintaining the same gooey, melty texture that the freezer too often destroys in other dairy. It’s pivotal for casseroles, such as lasagna (page 126) or the green bean dish (page 125) that falls on so many Thanksgiving menus. It’s the halfway point to sausage gravy (page 122) or cheese sauce. Long story short, béchamel helps bridge the gap when thinking about foods that freeze well. Just like duct tape, you should never be without it.

Carrot cake, but with beets—and the dreamiest frosting of all.

Once you master a basic aioli, you’ll find yourself adding different flavors (you can mix in herbs, spices, chilies, etc.) to suit the needs of so many savory dishes.

This classic yeasted recipe produces waffles that are wonderfully crisp outside, and creamy on the inside.

These mini cakes are dressed in a variety of glazes for a simple—yet sophisticated—springtime snack. Including sweet rice flour and rich sour cream means they’re plush, tender, and wonderfully moist.

Doubling down on proteins in recipes shows sophistication and speaks to a hallmark of Soul cuisine—utilizing the entire animal. Chicken hearts are an underutilized part of the chicken. They provide an earthiness to dishes that allows fattier, delectable morsels of food to stand tall. You can find this same quality in mushrooms, but I think hearts are a fun way to explore new techniques.

Want deviled eggs, but don't want to *make* deviled eggs? This rich and flavorful spread uses the same base ingredients—boiled egg yolks, mayo, and Dijon mustard—for a smooth spread that's perfect for slathering onto toast.

Smoked oysters are succulent and salty with a creamy texture that pairs beautifully with bright, acidic flavors. The egg spread provides another layer of richness. These may seem like disparate components of a menu, but each one brings something to the meal in terms of flavor, texture, aroma, and appearance to create a memorable experience.

With this shelf-stable homemade pancake mix ready to go in your pantry, you’re always minutes away from an exceptional pancake breakfast.

This makes enough strawberry glaze for one full recipe of gem cakes; you can halve the recipe if you’d like an assortment of flavors.

These chocolaty pastries have the attributes of a gloriously flaky croissant on the top, a sticky bun on the bottom, and a rich chocolate-studded brioche in the middle.

This makes enough green matcha glaze for one full recipe of gem cakes; you can halve the recipe if you’d like an assortment of flavors.

This rum cocktail is a tropical riff on a gingery mule. Pomegranate gives it a lovely tartness, and there’s a refreshing bubble from the soda.

This makes enough milk tea glaze for one full recipe of gem cakes; you can halve the recipe if you’d like an assortment of flavors.

An easy press-in Nilla wafer crust cradles a silky layer of fresh banana cheesecake, which gets topped with a light and fluffy sour cream whip.

Lightly spiced and flavored with caraway seeds and crystals of sea salt, these yeast-bread muffins are satisfying without being heavy.