Recipes with water

A from-scratch chocolate layer cake made with cocoa, buttermilk, cake flour, and both white and brown sugar. Creamed butter method for a velvety, tender crumb. Frost with your favorite icing.

A fizzy, citrus-bright champagne punch made with orange juice and limeade concentrates, two bottles of bubbly, and sparkling water over crushed ice. Serves 36 and comes together in 10 minutes flat.

Family tree cookies are giant chocolate cookies shaped like trees with branches for piping family names. A fun baking project with kids using cocoa dough, chocolate chips, and royal icing.

Family tree cookies are giant chocolate cookies shaped like trees with branches for piping family names. A fun baking project with kids using cocoa dough, chocolate chips, and royal icing.

Mexican frijoles from scratch: dried pinto beans soaked, then slow-simmered with smoky salt pork or ham hock, onion, garlic, chili powder and cumin until thick and creamy. The classic pot of beans.

Sauteed crawfish tails with honey in a fresh tomato-dill sauce, served over rice or pasta. A Southern-meets-Mediterranean crawfish dish with a sweet-savory twist.

Potato focaccia with paper-thin red potato slices, Parmesan, rosemary, and anchovy paste baked into a soft, pillowy dough made with mashed potatoes for extra tenderness.

Steamed mussels in a smoky chipotle-garlic broth with orange juice, topped with a homemade orange mayonnaise and fresh cilantro. An elegant seafood dish ready in 35 minutes.

Ratatouille bread bakes the classic Provencal vegetables (zucchini, summer squash, bell pepper, tomatoes, basil, garlic) into a savory bread machine loaf. A Mediterranean-flavored sandwich bread.

Lemon-marinated shrimp and thick mushroom slices threaded on picks with a tangy tarragon-Dijon dressing. A low-fat party appetizer ready in 15 minutes.

Tender beef chuck pot roast slow-simmered in a tangy homemade barbecue sauce with ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, and Worcestershire. Fork-tender and packed with smoky-sweet flavor.

An heirloom-style tarte tatin from Orléans with handmade laminated pastry and apples slow-simmered in butter caramel in a cast-iron skillet. Flip it, slice it, serve with ice cream.

Sybil Carter's homemade barbecue sauce starts with bacon drippings and builds layers of tangy tomato, brown sugar sweetness, mustard bite, and hot pepper heat. Doubles easily and keeps in the fridge for weeks.

Saucy fudge pudding that bakes its own chocolate sauce underneath a cakey top. Made with banana, soy milk, rum extract, and whole wheat flour with a crunchy Grape-Nuts topping.

Light linguine tossed in a tarragon-shallot sauce with thinly sliced sea scallops and tender asparagus. A spa-cuisine pasta that delivers restaurant flavor without the heavy cream.

White gazpacho is the Spanish ajo blanco-style cold soup with almonds, cucumber, green pepper, and bread. No tomatoes, just creamy almond-cucumber refreshment for hot summer days.