Pasta recipes

Homemade mustard cooked with dry mustard, white wine, vinegar, and egg yolks. One base recipe, four variations: lime, tarragon, spicy, and tomato. Keeps a month in the fridge.

Stuffed flank steak rolled with a mushroom, herb, and bread crumb filling, browned in bacon fat, and braised in beef broth with a Dijon mustard gravy.

Crisp lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, bean sprouts, and tofu tossed in a rich peanut-coconut milk dressing with red curry paste. A crunchy, creamy Thai salad topped with potato chips for fun.

Italian-seasoned beef and sausage mixed with creamy ricotta and Parmesan, rolled in layers of buttered phyllo, and baked into a crispy golden strudel. A show-stopping dinner or appetizer.

Ambush your tastebuds with this savory chili made with succulent beef chuck, jalapeno peppers and red hot pepper sauce.

Otak otak: Southeast Asian fish mousse with a lemongrass-galangal-chili spice paste and coconut milk, wrapped in banana leaves and grilled. Each packet holds a shrimp inside a fragrant, spiced fish paste.

Louisiana crawfish etouffee with a dark roux, holy trinity vegetables, tomatoes, and cayenne served over rice. A Cajun classic built on a proper 10-minute dark roux.

Italian meatball sandwich: pork-and-beef meatballs simmered for an hour in a long-cooked red wine tomato sauce built on salt pork, garlic, basil, and marjoram. Piled in a crusty roll with Parmesan and roasted peppers for a proper Sunday sub.

Herb-loaded tomato barbecue sauce sweetened with honey and spiked with cumin, coriander, chili powder, and Tabasco. Simmers for 30 minutes and makes 5 cups of bold, versatile basting sauce.

Decadent amaretto chocolate cheesecake with an amaretti cookie crust, dark chocolate-almond filling spiked with liqueur, and crunchy amaretti folded into the batter. Italian-inspired showstopper.

Sweet and sour pork the proper way: marinated pork cubes battered and deep-fried crisp, then tossed in a homemade sweet-sour sauce with peppers, carrots and lychees. Crunchy, glossy and far better than takeout.

Red wine-marinated caribou simmered with paprika, red peppers, tomatoes, and caraway seeds, finished with sour cream. A hunter's take on classic Hungarian goulash.

Monkfish chili with kidney beans, bell peppers, and a bold spice blend of cumin, cayenne, and Cajun seafood seasoning. A seafood twist on classic chili with real depth.

Thick, high-fiber black bean chili simmered with dry sherry, honey, cilantro, and fresh vegetables. Topped with Monterey Jack and yogurt. Feeds 6 to 8 hungry folks.

Moroccan lamb stew with chickpeas, sweet raisins, slivered almonds, and warm spices (cinnamon, allspice, cayenne). Tender lamb simmered to spoon-soft over fluffy couscous.

Tomato-based fish soup with haddock, shrimp, leeks, and carrots in a homemade fish stock. The tomato paste and paprika give this hearty chowder its signature pink color.