Flour

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 not-too-sweet loaf would also make amazing French toast.

Toast the cornbread for a nice crisp texture.

This bread is also perfect with chili.

Store-bought cornbreads can be very sweet; taste before using, or omit the sugar from your favorite recipe.

There are many stories about the origins of this cake, known as both Clichy cake and Opéra cake. Many believe that Louis Clichy was its creator because he premiered the gâteau, with his name written across the top, at the 1903 Exposition Culinaire in Paris. It became the signature cake of Clichy's shop on the Boulevard Beaumarchais. However, another pastry shop, Dalloyau, sold a very similar dessert, known as L'Opéra (in honor of the Paris Opera), and some claim that theirs was the original.

Gently spiced pecans and a salty caramel topping give this morning treat a savory dimension.

If you can find candied chestnuts, simply toss them in the cocoa with one tablespoon of brown sugar (no need to glaze them first).

Channel your inner nonna while making this stunning pasta. It's a project, but it's worth it.

Cooked summer squash can be mushy. Solution: Eat it raw. If you can't find buckwheat groats, use chopped toasted almonds instead.

If you don't want to heat up your house with the oven, you can bake any muffins on the grill but the lightly smoky flavor that the grill imparts is especially nice with corn-based ones. Because keeping the grill at a steady temperature can be tricky, the baking time can vary, so keep an eye on the muffins. For the best muffins, be sure that the entire pan is not set over direct heat (otherwise, the bottoms will burn).

Briefly baking the cornbread before adding the jam prevents the preserves from sinking to the bottom of the batter.

Semolina flour is ground from durum wheat and is usually used to make pasta; toasting it deepens its flavor, and its fine grain yields a tender, custardy cake.

The polenta crust needs to chill at least 2 hours before baking, so prep it the night before (or in the morning before you run to work—it's that easy).

Chocolate lover alert! These brownies are sensational: very chocolaty, moist, and delectable. It's not only their taste that is rich—they're also rich in healthy ingredients: whole-grain flour, chia seeds, walnuts, coconut oil, and I'll even include antioxidant-packed chocolate on this list. Once baked, you should let the brownies cool at least 30 minutes before cutting into them. At this stage they will be warm and gooey. These brownies taste even better the second day, so they are a great make-ahead dessert. If you plan on serving them on the day they're baked, refrigerate them for an hour or two before serving. — Myra

Editor's Note: Use this crust to make Allison Kave's Rhubarb Frangipane Pie . This crust has a more grainy, toothsome texture than a classic crust, and the natural sweetness of cornmeal makes a great accompaniment to summer pies such as blueberry or cherry. Use this when you want a truly rustic pie.

Connie McEvoy, Louth: Retired farmer and craft expert As the eldest of ten, from the age of 12 I would make several cakes of this wheaten bread every Saturday based on my grandmother's recipe. We always mixed it by hand and I still measure it by hand, using four large fistfuls of wholemeal flour and two smaller fistfuls of plain flour.