150 mock recipes

Loaded black bean soup pureed silky-smooth with smoky ham hock, sherry, lemon, and a finish of sour cream and fresh dill. Steakhouse-style classic that elevates the humble bean.

Pan-broiled steak with whiskey sauce sears peppercorn-crusted steak on rock salt in a hot cast-iron pan, then spoons over a whiskey-butter sauce. Steakhouse dinner made at home.

A whole chicken and ham steamed with ginger and sherry, chopped Chinese-style, and served with stir-fried broccoli under a glossy rock sugar glaze. An impressive traditional Chinese banquet dish.

Cantonese salt-baked chicken buried in six pounds of blazing rock salt with ginger, garlic, and scallion stuffing. Hakka-style whole chicken technique that gives you impossibly juicy meat and silky skin.

Cuban-style black bean soup simmered with ham hock, scotch bonnet pepper, and a splash of dark rum stirred in just before serving. Rich, smoky, and deeply satisfying.

Spicy black bean soup with eight jalapeños, smoky ham hock, cumin, and a final splash of tequila stirred in off heat. Half-pureed for body, garnished with sour cream.

Fit for Life Pizza: a dairy-free, cheese-less pizza on a whole wheat and white flour crust, topped with roasted eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, and onions over pesto, finished with sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and fresh basil. Hearty, Mediterranean-style vegan pizza night.

A slow-simmered minestrone built on beef bone and ham hock broth with kidney beans, broken lasagna noodles, cabbage, and crumbled blue cheese. Rich, meaty, and deeply satisfying.

Cuban-style black bean soup with ham hocks, green pepper sofrito, cumin, and red wine vinegar. Brothy and chunky rather than pureed, garnished with sieved hard-cooked egg in classic Havana fashion.

Salt-smothered chicken buried in a bed of red-hot rock salt with ginger, tangerine peel, and Szechuan peppercorn marinade sealed in the cavity. An ancient Cantonese technique that steams the bird to silken tenderness.

Red beans and rice from the Pink Adobe restaurant with ham hock, tomato sauce, Tabasco, and sausage. Soaked overnight, simmered for hours, with mashed beans stirred back in for creamy richness.

Everyone loves this simple yet savory dish that can now easily be made in your crockpot.

Slow-simmered black bean soup with a smoky ham hock, fresh thyme, and a splash of dark rum stirred in at the end. Garnished with chopped egg, parsley, and lemon slices.

Hearty smoky lentil soup simmered with a ham hock, Roma tomatoes, cabbage, carrots and Italian herbs. A thick, stick-to-your-ribs bowl that's built for cold weather.

Pressure cooker black bean soup made from dried beans with no soaking, ready in well under an hour. Smoky or vegetarian, thickened with bulgur, and finished with cilantro and a splash of sherry.

New Orleans-style red beans simmered with smoked ham hocks, kielbasa, the holy trinity, and a kick of Tabasco. Thick, smoky, and good enough to make on a Monday or any day.