105 master recipes

Mediterranean shrimp pizza on a mint-and-garlic-scented pizza dough, topped with feta, garlic, and mozzarella. Bread machine, food processor, or hand methods all work.

Chocolate butter cookie dough adds melted unsweetened and semi-sweet chocolate to a master holiday butter cookie recipe. Roll, cut, and shape it into pinwheels, classic cut-outs, Linzer sandwiches, or sugar-coated crescents.

Basic pastry pie crust: four-ingredient single crust from flour, salt, vegetable shortening, and cold water. The simplest flaky pastry to master for homemade pies and tarts.

Master method for cooking duck: first steam to render fat and tenderize, then roast at moderate heat for crisp skin. The two-stage technique pros use for perfectly rendered, crackling-skinned duck.

Polenta pasticciata layers firm cooled polenta squares with porcini-spiked beef ragù, plum tomatoes, and grated pecorino into a rustic Northern Italian bake. Lasagne, but with cornmeal instead of pasta.

Basic cooked beans in a pressure cooker: master method for transforming any dried bean into tender, flavorful beans in about an hour. No canned cans required, batch-friendly, freezer-ready.

Barb's special sweet bread dough Part I. A laminated yeasted dough folded with butter in three turns, the master base for danishes, kringles, and filled pastries. Family recipe from 1850s tradition.

Nut butter cookie dough folds toasted, finely ground pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, or almonds into a master holiday butter cookie base. Shape it into Linzer cookies, Viennese crescents, cut-outs, or thumbprints.

Turkey wings simmered until fall-off-the-bone tender with celery, onions, and green pepper in a rich, homemade gravy thickened with flour. Old-school comfort food that fills the house with the most incredible aroma.

This recipe is very easy and fun to make. And it’s a kid friendly recipe. Try it.

This was the side-dish my mother-in law made for Easter dinner, and my favorite. Freshly homemade pasta was mixed with basil pesto, sun-dried tomato, arugula and chunks of fresh mozzarella cheese. It was so delicious and flavorful. Here it is...

Cwikla is a traditional Polish pickled beet relish with horseradish, cloves, and vinegar. A staple on the Easter and Christmas table.

Chocolate-dipped coconut macaroon Easter eggs made with egg whites, unsweetened coconut, pecans, and brown sugar. A homemade holiday candy project.

Crescia: Italian onion focaccia from Le Marche, with slow-caramelized onions on a tender yeasted dough. Regional Easter and harvest specialty.

Roast stuffed leg of lamb rubbed with garlic and rosemary, finished with a red wine pan sauce of tomatoes and olives. A centerpiece roast for Sunday or Easter dinner.

Eccles cakes pack currants, mixed peel and warming spice inside flaky rough puff pastry, glazed with milk and crunchy caster sugar. Classic Lancashire teatime pastry from northwest England.