Recipes with bay leaves

A loaded spaghetti sauce simmered uncovered for 6+ hours with ground sirloin, porterhouse steak, leeks, mushrooms, peppers, and a heap of herbs. Thick, meaty, and worth every minute of the wait.

Vegetarian tofu chili: a hearty meatless chili with browned tofu chunks, kidney beans, and a from-scratch spice blend of pure ground chiles, cumin, and oregano.

Red pepper and lentil pasta sauce braised in red wine with garlic, onion, and basil, then pureed silky smooth. A hearty vegan sauce packed with plant protein and bold flavor.

A hearty Greek stew of tender veal cubes braised low and slow with whole pearl onions, tomatoes, red wine vinegar, cinnamon, and cloves. Sealed in a casserole and baked until meltingly soft, this stifado fills the kitchen with the warmest spiced aromas.

Cozy winter turkey chili: a lean, hearty chili with cooked turkey, kidney beans, tomatoes, green pepper, and warming chili-cumin spices. The lighter alternative to beef chili that doesn't taste like a compromise.

Nothing fancy here, just a scrumptious dish that will satisfy both your hunger and tastebuds.

Homemade cream of mushroom soup built on a butter roux with 4 to 5 cups of fresh sliced mushrooms, celery, and onion, finished with half-and-half. No canned soup compares.

Hearty vegetarian lima bean stew with fresh fennel, mushrooms, and white wine creates a rustic Mediterranean one-pot meal.

Kartoffelsuppe is the German farmhouse potato soup: sliced potatoes, onion, and celery sauteed then simmered until tender, mashed back into their own broth and finished with milk and butter. Rustic, ribbon-thick, comfort in a bowl.

Thick, creamy Argentinean chicken stew loaded with chunky potatoes, carrots, and corn on the cob. Roasted chicken and a silky egg-cream finish make this South American comfort food unforgettable.

Velvety carrot bisque built on a base of crispy bacon, mushrooms, scallions, and fresh thyme, simmered in chicken broth and finished with heavy cream. Silky, savory, and deeply warming.

Classic Coquilles St-Jacques with a curry twist. Poached scallops in a creamy curry-mushroom sauce, piped into shell dishes with buttery mashed potato borders, then broiled golden. Old-school French elegance.

Classic Coquilles St-Jacques with a curry twist. Poached scallops in a creamy curry-mushroom sauce, piped into shell dishes with buttery mashed potato borders, then broiled golden. Old-school French elegance.

Fish escabeche features fried fish fillets bathed in a hot vinegar marinade with peppers, onions, leeks, carrots, and garlic. A make-ahead Spanish dish that gets better overnight.

This isn't cream of garlic soup, but it has a creamy texture. As Julia says, "Because the garlic is boiled, its after-effects are at a minimum, and its flavor becomes exquisite, aromatic and almost undefinable."

Bafla are Rajasthani wheat dough balls boiled in spiced moong dal, then baked until cracked and golden. Break them open, drizzle with ghee, and pour the aromatic dal right over top for a soul-warming vegetarian meal.