925 spring recipes

A party-sized potato salad platter with Dijon mustard, artichoke hearts, and curry-spiked deviled eggs arranged around the edge. Five pounds of potatoes feed a crowd in style.

Chilled peach soup blended with sour cream, tropical fruit juices, and dry sherry, garnished with fresh mint. A no-cook cold soup inspired by The Greenbrier resort, served as a first course or dessert.

Traditional meat dolma: small green bell peppers stuffed with seasoned meat and rice, gently simmered over parsley stems until tender. Served hot with cool yogurt on the side.

Beef daube with shiitake mushrooms is a Provencal-style red-wine braise of chuck roast, salt pork, and dried shiitakes, served over small pasta with parmesan. Overnight marinade builds deep wine flavor.

Use fresh rosemary, if possible (many supermarkets carry it). The flavor it imparts to the lamb will be far superior to that of dried. If you like, white potatoes may be substituted for the sweet potatoes, and turnips for the parsnips. You can also flavor lamb by covering it with lemon slices before roasting.

Tender eggplant meets the salty bite of ricotta salata in this rustic Italian pasta that brings together roasted garlic, fresh rosemary, and sweet cherry tomatoes for a weeknight dinner with soul.

Cajun seafood gumbo with shrimp, lump crab, ham, and okra built on a dark cocoa-colored roux. Finished with file powder for authentic Louisiana flavor and body.

Traditional Melton Mowbray pork pie with hand-raised hot water crust pastry, seasoned diced pork shoulder, and pork bone jelly. A classic British cold pie served chilled.

Tomato rarebit with mature cheddar, Worcestershire sauce, and cayenne on toast with sliced tomato, grilled until golden and bubbling. A 10-minute British classic.

Classic boiled corned beef and cabbage simmered with whole peppercorns and cloves, served with a tangy sour cream horseradish sauce. The traditional Irish-American dinner done right.

Fresh cucumber rounds hollowed out and filled with roasted eggplant paté blended with almonds, garlic, and parsley. A cool, elegant vegetarian appetizer that looks as good as it tastes.

Pasta and broccoli tossed in a garlic-chili oil with briny capers and parsley. Both the florets and stems cook right in the pasta water for a one-pot Italian weeknight dinner.

Master chef's chicken stock simmered slow with backs, necks, carcasses, and classic mirepoix for clean, golden, gelatin-rich broth. The pro-kitchen foundation that beats any boxed stock.

Pasta with zucchini and fresh mint sauce blends grated zucchini, cream cheese, Parmesan, and garlic into a silky, herb-bright sauce. A summer vegetable pasta that comes together in one pan.

Ink-stuffed squid seared over campfire coals with garlic, lemon, paprika, and rice. Inspired by a Catalina Island beach cook from Jean-Michel Cousteau. Rustic, bold seafood.

Potatoes Nicoise: layered casserole of sliced potatoes, red onion, and peeled tomatoes with parsley, tarragon, and basil, baked until tender with a cheesy top. A rustic Provencal side dish.