Dutch Oven

Chili is the perfect party food. Just keep a pot of it warm on the stove, put out the fixings, and let everyone help themselves.

Radishes are routinely part of the salsa and condiment spreads available at the best taquerias. Here, I use them as part of a fresh topping for earthy chicken tostadas that is anything but routine. Achiote paste, a popular Yucatecan seasoning made from ground annatto seeds, is available at Mexican stores.

She-crab soup might just be this city's most overworked culinary icon—so much so that in restaurants of quality in Charleston, you can detect more than a few chefs assiduously avoiding it. But an expertly made she-crab soup is a rare pleasure at home, and should be a part of every cook's repertoire. When we were in our teenage years, the soup seemed extra special because it's seasoned with sherry and traditionally served with a cruet of the fortified wine, the latter to pass around the table in case you wanted to add an extra jolt. But she-crab soup isn't about the sherry (and in fact, we've come to realize that too often the sherry overpowers the crab), it's about the roe; and we don't think we'd ever truly reckoned with how important that roe is—coupled with the freshest crab meat you can find, of course—until the recent spring day we picked and cleaned an entire bushel of crabs (eighty, give or take) in a sitting. Since female crabs with roe inside are most prevalent in the spring, we found crab roe inside many of the adult females, called "sooks," as we cleaned them, after cooking. When you remove the carapace (or top shell) from the body of the crab, the crab roe—if it's there—will appear as a mass of bright orange in the middle of the body, and sometimes you may also find more roe tucked in the sharp left and right points of the carapace. The roe has an earthy-briny flavor, and adds a pale orange color to this soup. In our recipe, we blend it into the soup itself and also use a portion to garnish each bowl. Is it possible to buy crab roe alone? Unfortunately, no. So when we make this soup now, we buy picked crab meat and a half-dozen female crabs with roe from our local market. Any fish market that takes the time to sell hard-shell blue crabs will know how to spot a female with crab roe, because the roe makes the underside of the carapace appear light orange. It really is worth going to the trouble to find the real deal; you won't be disappointed! Regarding the sherry: recently we've taken to giving each guest his or her own shot glass full of fino sherry (one of the most delicate expressions of the fortified wine) to drink as a paired beverage, instead of sending a cruet around the table.

I didn't think it was possible to love artichokes more than I already did until I lived in Italy. There they harvest artichokes in both spring and fall, and that abundance graces their cuisine. Artichokes also enhance their health, as they stimulate the gallbladder to produce bile, which escorts toxins out of the body and also helps break down fats in the diet. Here, artichoke hearts are combined with chicken, chickpeas, and olives to create a rich, nourishing stew, seasoned with a potpourri of heady and healthful spices, including turmeric, cumin, coriander, and mint. For a wonderful pairing, serve it over Brown Rice Pilaf with Saffron and Ginger .

Buddha's Delight is traditionally served on the first day of Chinese New Year, a practice stemming from an old Buddhist custom of spiritual cleansing. In fact, the recipe's Cantonese name is simply jai, meaning "vegetarian food." Some ingredients, such as lily buds and bean thread noodles, may require a special trip to a Chinese market.

For this dish, balsamic vinegar adds the sweetness needed to balance the sharp flavor of red wine vinegar.

If you're trying to incorporate more dark leafy greens into your meals, Swiss chard is a great starter vegetable. It cooks quickly compared to kale and collards, and the stems are as delicious as the leaves. In fact, the stems are the prized portion of the plant in Provence, and that's not something kale or collards can brag about. We prefer green Swiss chard in this recipe because it cooks up a brighter green than red or rainbow chard and the stems are more tender, but if you can't find the green, don't hesitate to use other chards. Editor's Note: This recipe is part of Gourmet's Modern Menu for A Hanukkah Feast. Menu also includes Salmon with Potato "Scales" and Apple Fritters with Orange Glaze .

Epicurious member Benjamin Tevelow of Woodside, New York, offers this easy and delicious vegetarian chili, which will satisfy even those who live for bacon. To simplify the recipe, throw this hearty chili in a slow-cooker. Simply sauté the onion, garlic, and spices in a pot, transfer that plus the other ingredients to the cooker, and cook for four hours on medium heat. Green onions, cilantro, sour cream, and grated Cheddar cheese combine for a tasty garnish.

This hearty meal-in-a-bowl was recreated by Epicurious member Alisa Guralnick, from Encinitas, California, after trying a version of the divine soup at a restaurant in New York City. This recipe features sausage, white beans, spinach, pasta, and other veggies, making this a customizable recipe perfect for extra produce from community gardens, co-ops, or your own garden.

In this protein-packed vegetarian version of the French bistro classic, tangy leeks and a garlic-herb bread-crumb topping mean that you won’t miss the sausage and duck that you’d find in a traditional cassoulet. Best of all, this one-pot wonder takes considerably less time to assemble and cook than a meat-lover’s cassoulet. For an easy flavor boost, substitute vegetable broth for the water, and add a can of fire-roasted tomatoes.

Get a full serving of the Southwest with this bowl of beans, barley, and chicken from Epicurious member Mike Kubin. This hearty soup is perfect for midweek eating. If you prefer a meatless version, simply omit the chicken and substitute vegetable broth for the chicken stock. You can even bump up the bean count for additional protein—and extra fiber. Store any leftovers in the fridge, and take this soup to work for lunch.

Few comfort foods hit the spot like a good chili. Don’t forget the Cheddar shortcakes; the light, fluffy consistency of the dough pairs perfectly with this Tex-Mex staple.

Shrimp, scallops, crab, clams, and red snapper make up this 60-minute fish stew, a dish that sounds Old World Italian but most likely originated in the Italian-Portuguese neighborhood of San Francisco known as North Beach. Although the recipe may seem overwhelming at first, the ingredient list is in fact just made up of kitchen pantry staples and seafood. To cut costs, double up on the least expensive wild seafood and omit the priciest. Serve with a toasted baguette.

You will find that the garlic has been tamed in the cooking and acquired a delicious buttery quality. Serve with hot toast or thin slices of pumpernickel—to be spread with the garlic sauce.

Brothy Beans "Sólo la olla sabe de sus frijoles" states the wooden sign hung on the wall of a fonda in Veracruz. "It is only the pot that knows its own beans." In homes and small fondas throughout Mexico, beans simmer in large ollas, bulbous-shaped clay pots, their earthy aroma filling the air. Traditionally, a smaller olla filled with water placed on top of the pot serves as both a lid and a way to heat the water that occasionally needs to be added to the beans. Fuel is often scarce and this is a practical way to conserve precious wood. These brothy beans, cooked with lots of water and just a scattering of herbs, onion, and garlic, are the classic bean dish of Mexico. They are often served as soupy frijoles caldos, ladled into small bowls, the beans submerged in their broth, and offered toward the end of a meal so no one leaves the table hungry. Or, they are served as frijoles cocidos, the beans drained slightly to accompany grilled meats or tacos. No matter whether the beans are cooked in an olla, Dutch oven, or other heavy pot, the procedure will be the same. All that needs to be adjusted is the length of the cooking time. The fresher the beans are, the less cooking time is needed, but 2 1/2 to 3 hours is a reasonable estimate, although 4 hours or more is not unusual.

This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other Mediterranean classics, check out the video classes.

Editor's note: This recipe is part of a special Thanksgiving menu created by chefs Allison Vines-Rushing and Slade Rushing of MiLa restaurant in New Orleans. While traditional beignets are on the must-have list of every New Orleans tourist, we personally think flavor-wise they can be a bit one note. This version, however, is sweet and savory with a spicy dipping sauce. The addition on coconut and shrimp honor the Carribean persuasions of New Orleans cuisine.

If you prefer a smooth sauce, purée it in a blender. Serve with roasted potatoes and sautéed greens.

This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other Italian classics, check out the videos.

This recipe calls for a whole gutted fish. You can also substitute 8 (7-ounce) fish fillets, if preferred. Just be sure to reduce the cooking time to about 20 minutes. This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other Mexican classics, check out the videos.