Shallot

Begin the meal with a salad of endive, pear and watercress with a blue cheese vinaigrette. The lamb is wonderful with the onion-potato gratin and boiled haricots verts; Côte-Rôtie is the right wine. A French apple tart from the bakery topped with some sweetened créme fraîche makes a nice ending.

"I love to go out for Indian and Thai food, but my attempts to re-create the dishes at home never turned out very well," says Juliet Hardesty of Bloomington, Indiana. "It wasn’t until I began experimenting with curry paste and ginger that I realized having the right ingredients makes all the difference. This single-dish chicken dinner blends some of my favorite flavors."

On a recent trip to California, Susan Livingston of Marblehead, MA had a caramelized garlic and onion bisque at the Edna Valley Bistro in San Luis Obispo. It was so unique and outstanding that she made a point of complimenting the chef, Herbert Norton. Active time: 50 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

Mimosa in Los Angeles uses coconut milk in this version of a Breton classic.

Corsica's finest dishes feature fresh seafood. Here's an uncomplicated and delicious example.

Mark Taylor of West Hartford, Connecticut, writes: "I started cooking out of necessity when I first graduated from college, since I couldn't afford to eat out. Having grown up watching my mother cook for our large family, I used her recipes. She was always trying new dishes whenever we had guests and sharing her adventurous attitude toward eating. These days, even though my wife and I both work, we still cook several times a week. Now I tend to rely on recipes I've picked up from restaurants and friends. I enjoy experimenting with different ingredients and figuring out new ways to improve a recipe, as I've done with the one here." Serve the fish and sauce over couscous.

Most Southeast Asian soups, salads, or fried rice dishes call for a sprinkling of Crisp-Fried Onions. To make them at home, I suggest you use Asian red onions or shallots. They become crisp more quickly than ordinary onions and do not need to be floured before frying. If you do not want to make your own, you can buy them at Asian supermarkets.

Here's a quick and elegant entrée for spring.

This quick shrimp stir-fry pairs earthy turmeric with a plethora of dill for a flavorful and fresh dinner that comes together in a flash.

A creamy Comté foundation is the perfect pairing for verdant asparagus and crisp endive in this simple-yet-elegant salad that celebrates the season.

This vegetarian main highlights roasted carrots two ways: glazed as the center of the Wellington, and blended to form the tender filling.

Our best Salisbury steak recipe takes the nostalgic dish up a notch thanks to caramelized shallots, mushroom gravy, zippy mustard powder, and lots of parsley.

This quick one-pan recipe combines sweet dates, savory shallots, and caramelized lemon with crispy-skinned chicken for an impressive yet easy weeknight dinner.

Large pieces of roasted broccoli make a great side for a party, particularly when doused in a bright, savory, funky sauce made of dill, citrus, and fish sauce.

Gribiche, the classic French sauce made of hard-boiled eggs, mustard, and herbs, is tossed with snappy summer beans for a simple but substantial salad.

This savory and spicy dinner takes less than 30 minutes to make.

Cozy, rich but not heavy, and it doesn’t require a box of broth. Is this your dream soup?

This cheeky chicken recipe crams all of the iconic flavors of a dirty martini—olive brine, vodka, vermouth, and all—into a savory one-pan meal.

A classic vinaigrette takes notes from sweet-and-sour Italian agrodolce, featuring tangy raisins and lightly pickled shallots.