Stock

This micro stock makes a great base for tomato soup, either hot or cold. It can also be used for soaking or finishing pasta, poaching fish or vegetables, or making Bloody Marys. The hoisin and hibiscus flowers (available from tea companies and gourmet supermarkets in the specialty tea section) round out the natural flavors of the tomatoes and give the stock that little something extra that makes the difference between good and great.

Mushrooms are well known for their meaty flavor. They are rich in natural umami elements and we enhance that here with the addition of soy sauce and sherry. The finished stock has a rich flavor that can be used for vegetarian soups and sauces or to enhance meat dishes. You can easily turn this into a rich mushroom soup with the addition of some sautéed mushrooms and a touch of cream.

Beef bouillon was not served only at times of mourning. It was and still often is a base for matzo balls, it is served with noodles, and it is perfectly delicious as a broth, served hot, or cold as consommé gelé (aspic), at the beginning of any meal.

Chef Daniel Rose starts his day in the kitchen at 7:30 a.m. He begins with the chicken broth, first browning chicken wings, then adding a wine reduction, and then water, leeks, and other aromatics, but never carrots. “This isn’t the way my grandmother would have done it,” Daniel told me. “But we don’t want so much sweetness in our soup.” He doesn’t bother with a bouquet garni: “I just stick the herbs in the pot.” Freeze any broth that you don’t use right away.

Always have this on hand.

Sip this beefy, faintly sweet broth as is, or, to make it even heartier, simmer diced root vegetables and/or little pastas in it.

A spectacular gravy begins with pan drippings, but the true flavor base comes from a good stock. The real selling point of this stock is that you can make it way in advance of Thanksgiving. And any leftovers of the stock will enhance the soups and sauces that follow the big feast.

Editor's note: Use this recipe to make Black Rice with Squid .

• Fish stock can be made with a mixture of any white fish and crustaceans, and crabs are a very good addition.

Look no further for a go-to recipe when making vegetarian stews and gravies. The stock here gets its deep flavor and color from roasting the vegetables and then deglazing the pan with red wine.

The stock would also make a good base for turkey soup.

The vegetable stock is best fresh but it can be refrigerated for 2-3 days, or even frozen. It is prone to absorbing other flavors in the refrigerator so ensure the container is airtight.

Beef, veal, and pork bones are hard to come by, so ask your butcher to save any he removes for you. Take them home and freeze them for later use in stock. These days, the scarcest of beef products has to be the bones! In the old days, the butcher had plenty of bones to spare, but today's precut meat means fewer bones at the retail level.

Dashi is a traditional Asian stock. The recipe is simple—the only ingredients are dried kelp (seaweed) and flakes of dried bonito, a type of fish. However, both ingredients are packed with flavor, creating a rich, aromatic broth.

This time-honored example of kitchen thrift is ready when you are: Have it simmering away while you tend to another meal or are puttering around on a Saturday morning. Just looking at it in the refrigerator or freezer will make you happy, secure in the knowledge that you can put a terrific meal on the table in no time at all.

There really isn't a lot of work involved in making chicken stock—you pretty much drop everything into a pot of water and let it simmer. What you do need, though, is time and patience to let the chicken, vegetables, and herbs transform the water into a golden, savory liquid that will make all the difference in soups and sauces.