Buttermilk

Though good with any fresh vegetable, this sharp, creamy feta dip, smoothed with a little buttermilk, is exceptional with crisp spring radishes. Much as in the combination above, salt and fat mellow any heat from the raw radishes. Cheesemaker Mary Rigdon of Decimal Place Farm has been brining her goat's milk feta to order for us every week since Miller Union opened. If you have a local farmers' market that sells fresh cheeses, look there first for good-quality feta. I love the little pink, purple, or red garden variety radishes for this dip.

As any deli aficionado will tell you, shredded lettuce—especially iceberg—is a glorious thing.

Yes, the dough is buttery, but replacing the brown sugar with pureed dates is a nutritional game-changer.

Because it contains more essential oils, whole grain rye flour can spoil quickly. Store the unused portion in the fridge or freezer.

These zesty chicken fingers get their flavor from a tangy buttermilk marinade and a breading spiked with smoked paprika.

I've worked on my fried chicken for many years, researching every recipe that I could lay my hands on, from early antebellum instructions to the Kentucky Colonel's secret technique. This recipe uses five fats, and each one contributes to the flavor of the result. To do the chicken right, you need an old black cast-iron skillet with a lid. Sure, you can make it in a deep fryer (like we do at the restaurant), but I prefer the old-fashioned way, which is nearly impossible to pull off in a restaurant. The skillets take up so much stove space that you can't make more than ten orders at a time. So this isn't the fried chicken you're going to eat at Husk. This is the way grandmas cook fried chicken in the South, and it's the way everyone should be making fried chicken at home. This recipe takes a lot of time and attention, way more than most conventional approaches (the chicken must be brined for 12 hours, so plan ahead). But it's good. Be sure to ask your butcher for the chicken skins to render for fat and to save the cooking fat, which makes mighty fine gravy. I've thrown that recipe in here too, to complete the meal just like my grandma would have.

For perfectly browned tops, cook one pan at a time on the topmost oven rack.

This bread is also perfect with chili.

Parsnip, a vegetable usually roasted or pureed, is crunchy, sweet, and delicious raw. Who knew?

Fried chicken is one of my biggest weaknesses, so naturally I've been perfecting this lighter version for years. I've managed to achieve the same crispy golden texture you get from frying from my oven. Yep, it's skinnier, easier, quicker, and (bonus) there's no greasy mess to clean up. Soaking the chicken overnight (sometimes two nights) in a buttermilk bath is a must for meat that's moist and juicy. To easily remove the skin from the drumsticks, use one paper towel to grasp the joint end and a second one to pull off the skin.

Since these pancakes already have a fair amount of melted butter in the batter, there's usually no need to cook them in additional butter if you're using a nonstick pan. If you're not, feel free to brush the pan with melted butter before you cook each pancake.

Straight talk: This is the greatest sandwich bread a person could ever hope for. And you absolutely need a stand mixer to make it.

Says Headley of these crisp, buttery-sweet biscuits, "Serving them hot is all that matters."

How does fried chicken achieve No. 1 status? Brined, boneless thighs are responsible for incredible dark-meat flavor, and the dredge technique creates an insanely crunchy coating.

David Chang's buttermilk dressing is our kind of ranch. Use the freshest beans possible: You want that tender snap.

Cakey on top, pudding-y on the bottom, tart all the way through.