Blender

Mayonnaise is a breeze to make when the blender is enlisted to do most of the work. For more about mayonnaise and other salad dressings, see our Homemade Salad Dressing Primer. Note that raw eggs are not recommended for infants, pregnant women, the elderly, or those with a compromised immune system. To avoid the risk of salmonella infection, use pasteurized eggs instead.

This is a winning-contestant recipe from Season Four of FOX's MasterChef.

This is a winning-contestant recipe from Season Four of FOX's MasterChef.

This is a winning-contestant recipe from Season Four of FOX's MasterChef.

Roasting cauliflower with spices brings out the very best in this vegetable—the golden, crispy florets are irresistible. Like broccoli, cauliflower contains compounds that may help fight damaging toxins.

Steal chef Sean Rembold's restaurant move: Use one ingredient—carrots—two ways.

If you can chop tomatoes, you can make tomato water. The rose-colored liquid that releases from the cut fruit tastes like a super-concentrated, drinkable version of ripe tomatoes.

Two tips: To save time, you can buy 2 steamed whole lobsters or 2 cups of cooked lobster meat. And, when prepping the corn, save your cobs for corn stock.

"I totally ripped this off from my mom." —Allie Lewis Clapp, food editor

Corn husks can be transformed into a surprisingly flavorful oil. At Seäsonal, this vinaigrette is tossed with Bibb lettuce, radishes, and crisp pumpernickel croutons.

This riff on gazpacho gets unexpected sweetness—and great color— from the addition of cherries and a peach.

Chef Josh Keeler brings out the best in vegetables with…meat. He drizzles a vinaigrette made with cured soppressata over a rotating cast of seasonal produce, like okra and green beans. "It adds a bit of acidity, fat, and richness without overpowering the dish," he says. And it makes a strong case for using meat in a supporting role to veggies, not the other way around.

Editor's note: Use this sauce to make Myron Mixon's Smoked Whiskey Wings . I have heard people eating barbecue at festivals say that "the sauce makes the barbecue." It's not true. The smoke makes the barbecue. The sauce is a finisher. It's what you put on your meat after it cooks to enhance its appeal. It can add a great punch, but I've had plenty of delicious barbecued meat with no sauce at all. I've been around barbecue sauces of different stripes all of my life. My family's sauce recipe, which my parents were just beginning to market when my father suddenly passed away, is what got me into cooking competitive barbecue in the first place. We have always preferred a hickory-style sauce, meant to closely evoke and complement the flavor of hickory-smoked meats. It's world famous and a secret recipe, so the only way you'll taste the original is to order it from me, but if you insist on not giving me your business, here's a reasonable approximation that is still damn delicious.

For the record: Sherbets may contain some dairy, unlike sorbets, which do not.

If you have a metal baking pan, use it; it will chill the mixture faster than a glass one. And remove the granita from the freezer when you scrape it—too much cold air will escape if you do this while the door's hanging open.

A dollop of yogurt keeps these pops from being too icy, and we love the way the ginger adds a little spice.

Ryan Lowder, The Copper Onion, Salt Lake City: "The cantaloupes we get here are really sweet, so we counter that with savory flavors."