I'm a sucker for guacamole. I can eat a whole bowl of it myself: with chili, with chips, even on top of an omelet. This is my basic whip-up-some-quick recipe – I mix it right in the serving bowl with a fork.

We make big batches of this chili on the weekends in the fall and bring the leftovers to work as lunch all week. Like any chili, it only gets better as it sits in the fridge. The chicken thighs are rich and smooth – a great foil for the spicy chipotles.

This chicken really is phenomenal. The skin is crispy and brown. The flesh, both the breast and the dark meat, is moist and perfumed with lemons and herbs. Sure, you have to make the brine the night before, but that's a small price to pay for the best roast bird you've ever eaten.

We invented this cocktail one hot summer afternoon when we realized we'd forgotten to buy ice for the barbeque! The frozen berries cool the drink down and then slowly melt, dying the margarita pink.

Family legend has it that Aunt Peggy got this recipe from Dom Deluise, but I doubt he makes it as well as she does. The meatballs are bite-sized and surprisingly light – eat them smothered with sauce and parmesan over spaghetti or on a crusty bun topped with provolone cheese (melted in the broiler of course!)

This is a great appetizer for an Asian menu. The thinly sliced meat makes a dramatic presentation. Put the infused oils out on the table so your guests can have fun flavoring their own portions.

Pair with a chilled sake -- it will bring out the drink's fruity characteristics.

Hot red pepper oil can be drizzled onto almost anything to add a little touch of heat.

Lime oil delivers the flavor of lime without the sourness – it can be used to enhance desserts and sauces, or can be drizzled over finished dishes.

This is a version of the classic sauce that can be made using ingredients typically available in American markets. True ponzu is made using a Japanese citrus fruit called yuzu, instead of lemon and lime juice.

The common blue violet is rich in vitamins A and C and makes a great spring salad garnish.

The most important and confusing instruction in any recipe, "season to taste" is where most cooking goes wrong. At its most basic, proper seasoning involves not just salt, but a balance of salt, acid, and spice. Achieving this balance requires understanding and a lot of practice, but mastery of seasoning is what separates great cooks from everyone else.

Whenever I make mashers for dinner, I throw an extra potato or two in the pot so we can have these fried beauties for breakfast the next morning with some over-easy eggs. (…and if that's wrong, than baby, I don't want to be right!)

For me the best part of this meal is using a crusty piece of bread to sop up every last drop of the delicious tomato-fennel broth left in my bowl once all the shellfish have disappeared. (Oh yeah, and the scallops are tasty, too.)

This sauce can be stirred into soups (especially fish soups) at the table or eaten on toasted bread. Some people use the term to refer to any red pepper mayonnaise, but I think only the original breadcrumb-thickened version should be called rouille.

These are irresistible! They were often on the menu as appetizers during last year's wedding season and we'd always have to bring a few extra racks for ourselves. There is nothing finer than standing in a tent on a beautiful July day looking out at the Green Mountains knowing that you're about to eat an entire rack of lamb pops by yourself, as soon as they come out of the oven.

This is one of my favorite recipes! The cumin in the curry powder takes away all the "cabbage-y" smell of the cauliflower, accentuating instead the vegetable's sweet and crunchy side. The pickles make a fabulous snack or a great garnish for Indian food.

Wild rice will pop just like popcorn. The result is super-crunchy and has a great nutty, roasted flavor. It's delicious on its own as a quick snack. Or, try it as a crunchy garnish for a salad or grain dish, such as a risotto or pilaf.

This is a great condiment for roasted meat (especially lamb), lentil stews, vegetable soups, and all sorts of Indian-inspired dishes.

This is a great way to use up leftovers from roasting a whole chicken, which we often do on a Sunday night to give ourselves a meal shortcut for the next few days. Leftover pork, shrimp, lamb or tofu would work just as well, I imagine.

Imagine the ideal fried egg: the white just set, without any browned or hard edges, the yolk perfectly liquid. Now imagine that you could cook perfect eggs every time without even watching them – no more worrying about the bottoms sticking to the pan, no more breaking the yolk when you try to flip them over. Brilliant!

Gastronomica has a fascinating article about the traditional Sumo soup: "Chankonabe", complete with a recipe so you can try it yourself.

These easy and addictive nuts are great as a snack or a dessert garnish. Try not to eat the whole bowl before your guests show up!

What is chicken (or veal or halibut) French? Unless you live in Rochester, NY, you are unlikely to know. (Although NYC apparently has a pretender called "chicken Francese" – sounds like they’re putting on airs if you ask me.)

One of the drawbacks to living in Vermont is the almost complete absence of ethnic food. If decent pickled ginger isn’t available at the market, however, it is easy to make at home.