Sage

Pork loin is a lean, mild cut of meat. I like to add flavor and keep it moist by stuffing it with a mixture of chopped herbs and garlic. Simply make a small channel in the center of the loin with a knife, then poke the stuffing in. The meat will be flavored and basted from within while it roasts.

These dumplings have a light texture, thanks to the addition of fresh ricotta cheese. Drain the ricotta in a sieve for two hours before starting the recipe.

At Rioja, half of the bacon is replaced with ground fatback, a step that makes this excellent burger even better.

Babylonstoren's chef Maranda Engelbrecht uses exotic tamarillos. If you can get them, great. If not, tomatoes are your best swap.

The Zuni roast chicken depends on three things, beginning with the small size of the bird. Don't substitute a jumbo roaster—it will be too lean and won't tolerate high heat, which is the second requirement of the method. Small chickens, 2-3/4 to 3-1/2 pounds, flourish at high heat, roasting quickly and evenly, and, with lots of skin per ounce of meat, they are virtually designed to stay succulent. Your store may not promote this size for roasting, but let them know you'd like it. I used to ask for a whole fryer, but since many people don't want to cut up their own chickens for frying (or anything else), those smaller birds rarely make it to the display case intact; most are sacrificed to the "parts" market. But it is no secret that a whole fryer makes a great roaster—it's the size of bird favored for popular spit-roasted chickens to-go. It ought to return to retail cases. The third requirement is salting the bird at least 24 hours in advance. This improves flavor, keeps it moist, and makes it tender. We don't bother trussing the chicken—I want as much skin as possible to blister and color. And we don't rub the chicken with extra fat, trusting its own skin to provide enough. But if the chicken is about method, the bread salad is more about recipe. Sort of a scrappy extramural stuffing, it is a warm mix of crispy, tender, and chewy chunks of bread, a little slivered garlic and scallion, a scatter of currants and pine nuts, and a handful of greens, all moistened with vinaigrette and chicken drippings.

Though it may seem like a counterintuitive practice, extra flipping is the secret to the golden brown crust on these chops.

This is a true weekend-long project—and that's a good thing. Seasoning, cooking, and crisping the meat over the course of three days mean you don't have to spend hours in the kitchen the day you're hosting a big meal. In fact, the extra time your pork spends in the refrigerator only improves the taste. This is the perfect-for-a-party pork that gives you plenty of time to drink a beer and watch (or play) a game or two before grilling up crispy, tender slabs of pork shoulder for a crowd.

There's marrow in those bones! Scoop out the cooked marrow and whisk it into the braising liquid, or eat it on a crust of bread with salt. You earned it.

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

This recipe—a rhapsody for sweet, bitter, and salty—is based on one from Ruth Reichl, published in Gourmet Today.

Does Bloomfield's roast chicken recipe take work? Yes, but the results—from the drippings-soaked sourdough toasts to the glossy pan sauce—are transcendent.

A great way to make use of a glut of summer herbs, this mix suits any grilled meat.

Sugared, roasted lemons are edible from rind to flesh and give this salsa-like mix a bracing jolt of sourness.

Serve this over a bed of soft polenta for catching the juices, with a simply dressed salad on the side.

Kabocha squash is made for purées.

"Creamy squash and cheese crisps only make you think you're off the diet cliff!" says James Beard award winner Laura Werlin, author of Mac & Cheese, Please! and The All American Cheese and Wine Book.

I think "pumpkin pots" might just be one of my new word combinations. Pumpkin pots. Pumpkin pots. Pumpkin pots. It just makes me happy the way the words flow together. It also makes me happy the way the flavors of the pumpkin, sausage, herbs, and eggs come together in this perfect little side dish for fall feasts.