Simple Cooking

This creamy soup, served in tiny cups and bright with chive oil, is easy to make and serve. Kids will like the little cups and the crazy green swirl. Adults will appreciate the healthfulness and the flavor.

Here's a traditional spice blend from Yemen, where it's called hawayil. Add to onions and celery when making chicken soup; sprinkle on carrots before roasting; or rub into steaks before searing.

This needs to set up overnight, so start one day ahead.

You will find that the garlic has been tamed in the cooking and acquired a delicious buttery quality. Serve with hot toast or thin slices of pumpernickel—to be spread with the garlic sauce.

A tartine is an open-faced sandwich usually composed of a slice of crusty artisan bread topped with a spread, vegetables, and sometimes meat or fish. They are usually served along with a soup or a salad to make a complete meal—definitely one of my favorites. In this recipe, figs, Serrano ham, goat cheese, and greens are piled on top of a savory hazelnut crust.

This is a very simple recipe for crêpes that can be filled with all kinds of savory ingredients or turned into a sweet dessert by omitting the herbs and black pepper and adding a touch of honey. I like them sweet-savory: Spread a little bit of sweetened yogurt over a Chestnut Crêpe, roll it, and drizzle with honey. It makes the perfect snack. If you cannot find chestnut flour, use a combination of 1/2 cup (70 g) superfine brown rice flour and 1/4 cup (35 g) buckwheat flour.

Chef Kris Wessel of Florida Cookery in Miami Beach, Florida, shared this recipe as part of a Palm Tree Christmas menu he created exclusively for Epicurious. It showcases Florida oranges and grapefruits, which are at their peak during December.

Omega-3 fatty acids in salmon may alter certain gene expressions in your body to tell it to melt fat, not store it. Eat up and burn, baby, burn!

You say potato; we say, Ahhh. The tubers help restock your magnesium stores; low levels can up mental stress.

Protein and B vitamins in chicken promote healthy hair. Stay gorgeous, girl.

Chef Kris Wessel of Florida Cookery in Miami Beach, Florida, shared this recipe as part of a Palm Tree Christmas menu he created exclusively for Epicurious. This dish was the traditional Christmas starter for Wessel's family during holidays spent at his Grandmother Esther's house in Miami Beach. "Some people put out foie gras pâté at Christmas as a starter, but in Miami, people will break out the stone crabs," he says.

Scallops only taste rich: A 4-ounce serving has just 78 calories, and the shellfish can cost less than a good cut of beef. Plus, they’re super easy to cook. See&151;and enjoy&151;for yourself!

Chef Kris Wessel of Florida Cookery in Miami Beach, Florida, shared this recipe as part of a Palm Tree Christmas menu he created exclusively for Epicurious. At Wessel family Christmases at Grandmother Esther's house in Miami Beach, the main courses were Florida-centric, but the desserts were not. This particular rum cake was often served by one of Wessel's aunts. "I think all the Irish side of our family loved it because it was loaded with rum," he says, joking that they'd often add more to the glaze than the recipe called for. The alcohol will burn off, but you can also omit the rum glaze and just serve with ice cream.

This flavorful ham is glazed with orange juice, bourbon, brown sugar, and apple jelly that's spiced with cloves, allspice, and ginger.

Chickpeas make this hearty dish even more gratifying. A half cup of the high-fiber legumes daily can cut your consumption of fatty foods.

The bell peppers in this dish work to keep your skin looking great. Their vitamin C helps build firming collagen and fends off damaging free radicals.

Chef Kris Wessel of Florida Cookery in Miami Beach, Florida, shared this recipe as part of a Palm Tree Christmas menu he created exclusively for Epicurious. Conch is typically sold cooked and frozen, so to make this salad, simply defrost the frozen conch and cut it into bite-size pieces. Look for conch that's white or off-white and not brown or yellow if you're buying it from your fishmonger, Wessel says. The lime juice and vinegar in the salad will further cook the conch slightly, like a ceviche.

Chef Kris Wessel of Florida Cookery in Miami Beach, Florida, shared this recipe as part of a Palm Tree Christmas menu he created exclusively for Epicurious.

Chef Kris Wessel of Florida Cookery in Miami Beach, Florida, shared this recipe as part of a Palm Tree Christmas menu he created exclusively for Epicurious.