Ground Beef

Look for the frozen artichoke bottoms—a flat cup variety from Egypt—in Middle Eastern stores. There are about 9 in a 14-ounce package. Serve the dish hot with Vermicelli Rice (page 304).

This dish is complex and requires time, but it has dramatic appeal and it is quite delicious with layers of different textures and flavors. I like to add two ingredients that are optional: pomegranate molasses (see page 7), which gives a brown color and sweet-and-sour flavor to the tomato sauce, and tahini (see page 7), which gives a nutty flavor to the yogurt. Look for small eggplants, 4 to 4 1/4 inches long, which can usually be found in Middle Eastern and Asian stores.

This is truly exquisite. Quinces are now available for quite a long period in Middle Eastern and Asian stores. In this recipe, the fruits are stuffed with a meat filling and served hot. Quinces are hard and take a long time to cook in the oven before you can cut them up and stuff them, but you can do this in advance—even the day before. I used very large quinces because those were the ones available at the time, but you can use 4 smaller ones, in which case the baking time will be less. Serve hot with rice pilaf (page 193) or rice with chickpeas (Variation page 193).

These eggplants stuffed with ground meat—their name, karniyarik, means “slashed belly”—are served as a hot main dish with rice pilaf (page 193). Use a good-quality tomato juice.

This is a mainstay of Turkish kebab houses, where it is often dramatically served in a dish with a dome-shaped copper lid, the type that was once used at the sultan’s palace. I serve it in a large, round, clay dish, which can be warmed in the oven. This is a multilayered extravaganza. There is toasted pita bread at the bottom with tomato sauce poured over. This is topped with yogurt and sprinkled with fried pine nuts. Grilled ground meat kebabs or shish kebab (see above), or both, are laid on top. It requires organization and must be assembled at the last minute as the pita should remain a little crisp. The tomato sauce and meat should be very hot while the yogurt should be at room temperature.

These individual pies are tasty, elegant, and very easy to prepare. They make a perfect light meal, accompanied by a salad.

In Morocco, men are masters of the fire, in charge of the brochettes, the small kebabs threaded on little wood or metal skewers, which are traditional street food. The ground meat kebabs are deliciously aromatic—full of fresh herbs and spices. The meat is usually pressed around skewers and cooked over dying embers, but it is easier simply to pat the meat into sausage or burger shapes and cook them under the broiler or on a griddle. There should be a good amount of fat (it melts away under the fierce heat), enough to keep the meat moist and soft. Otherwise, work 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil into the paste. Bite-size keftas can be served as appetizers at a party, but en famille burger-size ones, accompanied by a salad, represent a main dish.

In Morocco, these briwat bil kefta are made with warka (see page 29) and deep-fried, but it is not only much easier to use fillo and to bake them, but the result is very good. See the note on fillo on page 9. I used sheets measuring about 6 inches × 12 inches. It is very good finger food to serve at a party.

Anyone can grill a piece of meat and call it a hamburger, but creating a masterpiece takes a little bit of imagination. Mixing horseradish and chives into burgers will transform you into the Greek god of grilling right before your friends’ eyes.

This is the old-school lasagna that you find in the Italian restaurants in Brooklyn. Fuggedaboudit! You can assemble the lasagna ahead of time … and it’s great for leftovers.

There is no denying that meatloaf is the king of comfort food. Everyone loves meatloaf but is afraid to admit it. Trust me, before heading out the door your guests will be asking you for your recipe. This is my dad’s recipe, and I’ve been using it for years. This meatloaf was also one of the biggest hits at Cafeteria Restaurant in New York, where I was the chef. Serve this with Garlic-Chive Mashed Potatoes (page 237).

Meatballs baked in the convection oven are cooked as quickly as a pan of cookies—no greasy smells or mess. I bake meatballs for kids this way. This isn’t a fancy meal—just serve them over mashed potatoes, or in a bun or a wrap.

You can use any dried lasagna noodles in this easy no-boil method, just be sure that the noodles themselves are completely covered with the filling and sauce.

Most of you have made meatloaf on occasion; you may even have a family-favorite recipe that you make frequently. Well, I want to introduce you to the Marchegiano style of meatloaf, with ricotta added to the mix, which renders the loaf tender and tasty—not heavy and dense, as they so often are. Another textural delight in this loaf are cubes of mozzarella, oozing and moist when the meatloaf is served hot and fresh from the oven. However, if you plan on having extra meatloaf to enjoy the next day—I think it is almost better that way—omit the mozzarella, because the cubes harden and won’t melt again. In this case, use an additional cup of ricotta in the loaf mix.

In a traditional Ragù alla Bolognese (page 382), the ground meats are slowly cooked with tomatoes and red wine and stock, developing a velvety texture and deep, rich flavor. This “white” ragù streamlines the process and omits most of the tomato, producing a lighter and more delicate sauce with much of the complexity of the classic Bolognese. (And if you want to make it even lighter, you might use ground rabbit meat or turkey or chicken in place of the chopped beef.) Typically used to dress fresh tagliatelle, ragù di carni bianche is also delicious as a sauce for other pastas, lasagna, polenta, and gnocchi. This recipe makes enough sauce to dress two batches of my fresh tagliatelle; use half the sauce for one dinner, and freeze the rest for a great meal to come.

Treat this recipe as a basic template from which to have a blast mixing and matching different meats with different cheeses. The Parmesan is a must and not an option to switch out; it's the magic ingredient that will make the meat more savory and any cheese you stuff in your slider taste cheesier.
The recipe can be halved or doubled easily, so if there are a lot of kids in your crowd, you might want to cut back on the number you make. If a bunch of your drinking buddies are on their way over, however, you'll likely want to do 1 1/2 times the recipe, or even double it.
We've given you suggestions for toppers and meat-and-cheese combinations, but those are just ideas to get your imagination going. If the weather is cooperative, fire up your grill, but if you are grill-less, the broiler does a fine job. Any which way you do it, you can't help but have fun!

Here they are—the top sellers at The Shop and sure to be a big hit at home. Most traditional meatball recipes call for Parmesan or pecorino cheese. While we're big fans of these stronger cheeses, we prefer ricotta. It's our secret weapon. The mild and creamy consistency of this fresh cheese gives the meatballs a unique light texture. Beef has a subtle flavor, and the ricotta is a great way to add fat and moisture to the recipe without the overpowering flavor of a sharper cheese. These are quick to prep, and baking rather than frying makes this a fast comfort food even during the busiest of weeks.

It's good news for America that grass-fed beef is increasingly available in supermarkets. Cattle were meant to eat grass, and they are efficient at converting that green goodness into nutrient-dense meat, rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids as well as vitamins A and E, to say nothing of environmental benefits. Because grass-fed beef is leaner than grain-fed, it's not quite as tender. So turning it into a meatloaf is a great—and economical—way to make a meal of it. A little ground pork adds the bit of richness that all meatloaves need, and if you can persuade the butcher to grind some pork shoulder for you, all the better. Meatloaves look naked without some sort of topping, and bacon is the obvious trendy choice to entice finicky eaters; feel free to aim for high-end bacon from heritage hogs. Editors' Note: Kemp Minifie reimagined the foil tray frozen dinner for Gourmet Live. Her updated menu includes: meatloaf made from grass-fed beef, scalloped potatoes, lemony green veggies, and your new favorite brownies for dessert.

Condiments deliver flavor but often a lot of calories. A light yogurt sauce supplies healthy zip.