Dawn Perry

Starting the chop in a hot pan lets you get a good initial sear; lowering the heat gives you control while it cooks through.

As the pork cooks, the fat will gradually render, basting the roast.

Make extra grains on Sunday and use them for this lightning-quick weeknight dinner.

We can't stress it enough: Pack the mixture as tightly as possible into the loaf pan. This is essential for the slices to hold together when cut.

The batter for these fritter-like cakes is pretty dry, but that's what yields crisp results. Pressing them flat in the pan also helps maximize the crunch factor.

This salad's secret? Combining raw and roasted beets delivers two textures from one ingredient.

Harissa is a great shortcut ingredient to flavor, but no two jars (or tubes) are the same. Taste first—if it seems very spicy, use a bit less. You can always stir more into the chickpeas when the dish is finished.

A steak sauce good enough to rival the most popular brand makes this steak (or any, really) even more delicious.

My elementary school grapefruit, all grown up. I like the low notes of the dried chiles and rosemary against the sweet-tart citrus.

With slices of celery root and chefs' new favorite cheese, scamorza, pizza night just got a lot more fun.

Preserved lemons add a wonderful salty-sweet hit to these simple potatoes, but if you don't have them on hand, you can use regular lemons instead. Thinly slice the peel of one lemon, then toss with the potatoes before roasting.

Use this syrup in vinaigrettes, to glaze meats, and in place of grenadine in cocktails.

Compound butter is a great way to get flavor into a roast chicken. Here's a North African-inspired version

Compound butter is a great way to get flavor into a roast chicken. Here's a Turkey-inspired version

Compound butter is a great way to get flavor into a roast chicken. Here's a Thai-inspired version

Compound butter is a great way to get flavor into a roast chicken. Here's a Russian-inspired version

This compound butter uses many of the warm spices—turmeric, cumin, cardamon, etc.—found in many Indian curries, and adds a lot of flavor to roast chicken.

No endless simmering and stirring for this garlicky pasta sauce. Here, canned tomatoes are oven-roasted, which intensifies their flavor while cutting down on fuss.