150 mock recipes

Oysters in champagne sauce: plump shucked oysters cloaked in a silky butter-champagne sauce, broiled just until golden on a bed of rock salt. An elegant appetizer for New Year's Eve or any holiday table.

Kare-kare is a rich Filipino meat and vegetable stew in peanut sauce, simmering pork hocks and stewing beef with eggplant, green beans, and annatto-tinted oil. Serve with rice and bagoong.

Hearty pinto bean soup simmered with smoky ham hocks, diced onions, celery, and tomato. Thick, warming, and ready in about 40 minutes for a budget-friendly weeknight supper.

Prime rib roasted in a rock salt crust that seals in every drop of juice, producing fork-tender, deeply seasoned meat. A showstopping Old English technique you crack open with a hammer.

Old-school navy bean soup simmered with smoky ham hock, celery, golden onion, and a dash of cayenne. Naturally gluten-free, high-fiber, low-fat, and built for a long, lazy stovetop afternoon.

Salt-roasted shrimp with a scampi beurre blanc dipping sauce. A showstopper appetizer where shrimp cook shell-on over a bed of rock salt and get served with a buttery white wine dip.

Southern-style dried lima beans slow-simmered with smoked ham hock skin, bacon drippings, and a pinch of sugar until creamy and tender. Simple, smoky, old-fashioned comfort food.

Old-fashioned white bean soup with navy beans and ham hock simmered low and slow with celery, onion, garlic, and parsley. Thick, hearty, and filling.

Smoky, spicy black bean pesto made with ham hock, jalapeños, garlic, and cilantro stems. A thick, spreadable paste for tacos, chips, or as a bold side dish. Makes 3 cups.

Slow-cooked chili beans with dried black beans and black-eyed peas simmered with a ham hock in chicken broth. Soaked overnight, then oven-braised low and slow. Serve on their own or add to chili.

Old-fashioned navy bean soup simmered with smoky ham hocks, carrots, celery, and onions. Partially pureed for a thick, creamy body. Soak overnight, simmer low for 3 hours.

Eastern European cabbage rolls stuffed with rice and sausage, simmered in sauerkraut with a smoked pork hock. Topped with paprika and sour cream for a true Old World feast.

Slow-simmered Spanish white bean soup with ham hocks, leeks, turnips, carrots, and fresh coriander. A rich, filling pot of soup that feeds 8 from dried beans.

Traditional Cherokee succotash with lima beans, fresh-cut corn, and smoky ham hocks simmered low and slow with bacon drippings. A hearty, soul-warming side dish.

Two easy fish brine recipes for smoking: a basic salt-and-sugar brine and a stronger brown sugar cure. Customize with garlic, dill, or tarragon for smoked fish that keeps up to a year frozen.

If you're one who enjoys cold soup, then this delicious dish will please your tastebuds in no time!