Simple Cooking

Chinese five-spice powder, sprinkled throughout the layers of phyllo dough, and an orange–cream cheese filling give this dessert a wonderful aroma.

Make your own fizzy refresher using grapefruit peel for tons of floral flavor and grapefruit juice for just a hint of sweetness.

On January 1—the country's independence day—Haitians prepare soup joumou, a rich pumpkin soup with an even richer history.

This blend of onions, scallions, garlic, parsley, bell peppers, and other spices is the foundation for most Haitian dishes, and many Haitians have it in their refrigerator at all times. Even in recipes that do not call for it specifically, it can often be added. Basil brings a freshness to this version; you can also add thyme. In Haiti, a mortar and pestle is used to mash the ingredients together, but a food processor or blender makes it come together much faster. Make a big batch and use it to season meats, soups, rice, and more.

For a smaller batch and an easier time mixing the cereal, divide the recipe in half (but use an 8x8" pan).

These financiers are moist and nutty from the addition of brown butter and hazelnuts; in this recipe, resting the dough amplifies all of those flavors.

In this recipe, a few textured and vibrant toppings gussy up a tender, buttery, and ultrasimple shortbread.

Known as mendiants in France, these adorned chocolate bites are a holiday tradition.

Mix equal parts blue with red food dye to make purple.

Mix equal parts yellow and blue food dye to make green.

Natural dyes work best in royal icing or buttercream frosting, not cake batter.

This classic French preparation makes potatoes taste—and look—amazing. And yes, there's lots of butter involved.

Pleasantly bitter escarole adds balance to a rich vegetarian stew brightened with feta cheese and green Castelvetrano olives.

Instead of deep-frying the broccoli in this sesame noodles recipe, we used a high-heat roasting method.

The best way to tackle this duck recipe is to braise the legs and make the relish in advance, then cook the breasts and crisp the legs on party night.

In this hearty, velvety stew, chicken slowly braises in red wine with bacon, mushrooms, and a touch of enriching cocoa powder.

Flouring the fruit in this Bundt cake recipe helps keep it suspended throughout the batter, and using a serrated knife guarantees you won’t squash or shred the slices.

A warming stew of quick-cooking lentils, pearled couscous, and canned chickpeas topped with tangy lime yogurt, crunchy sliced almonds, and fresh herbs.

This sauce—developed for our #cook90 initiative—is a kitchen workhorse. Use it to marinate fish, season rice, top a pizza, stir into scrambled eggs, or to add a final punch of flavor to a soup.

No squash? No problem. This rice bowl—which was developed for our #cook90 initiative—can be made with all sorts of roasted vegetables (and, for that matter, any kind of grain).