Frisée

Bacon does double-duty in this nuanced version of Cobb salad: the crispy slices add flavor and texture, and the rendered fat becomes the base of a warm vinaigrette.

This satisfying seafood dinner comes together in as little as 20 minutes. Cooking the fish, then making the warm, herby mustard dressing in the same skillet also means cleanup is a breeze.

Share one double-cut pork chop with the whole family and you get bigger, juicier slices of pork for everyone.

What makes this salad so good? A secret ingredient we like to call "flavor flakes."

The herbaceous and tangy blend of spices in za'atar lend a unique bright flavor to this colorful frisée salad that makes good use of shallot, lemon zest, lemon juice, pistachios, and green grapes. 

Buying slab bacon rather than sliced allows you to cut it into the perfect size and shape.

Feel free to adapt this fruit salad as the seasons change; aim for a mix of juicy fruit (like melon), stone fruit, and berries.

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.

We love making this salad with mâche instead of traditional frisée.

Using these exact vegetables is not the point; choose whatever's in season and can stand up to being charred. The genius coffee dressing brings it all together.

Made creamy with sieved egg yolk, this dressing is also especially delicious when spooned over sliced beets or boiled and cooled asparagus, green beans, or cauliflower.

A grilled split turkey, golden brown as it comes from the parrilla, is one of my favorite dishes. Salt and pepper are all it needs. Such a simple preparation wants an equally uncomplicated but flavorful side dish. Chicory, which I learned to love when I worked in Italy as a young man, does the trick for me every time. Brushed with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and grilled to crispness, it is as good as the turkey that it graces. If you are lucky enough to have acquired some chanterelles or other wild mushrooms to sauté, they make the crowning touch. Their color is like the caramelized crust of the chicken. I butterfly my turkeys differently than most butchers: I split them through the breastbone instead of the back, leaving the backbone in instead of discarding it. I think you get a juicier turkey this way, and an extra fun bone to pick.

Super-healthy and really light, this beautiful salad is bright-looking and -tasting. These days it's not too difficult to find great-quality raw salmon. If you ask your local market for sushi-grade salmon, its freshness will be guaranteed. Once you have found the salmon, the hard work is done.

I love the crimson glow of juicy little pomegranate morsels. Mix with fresh winter lettuces, serve it European style after the entreé, and enjoy.

This is a heretical bastardization of salade niçoise and salade aux lardons, whole-grains style. I like the cracked green wheat called freekeh here because its faint grassy, oceanic aroma complements the tuna so well, but regular cracked wheat or, really, any other whole grain would work well too. Instead of bacon lardons (if I'm making a salad, it very often means I don't want to have to cook anything fresh), I use similar-size strips of sun-dried tomatoes, whose texture, when softened a bit in the dressing, at least vaguely recalls that of lardons.

If you've never bought kohlrabi before, here's a great reason to try it.

Marinated white anchovies bear little resemblance to the pungent salted brown ones packed in oil. They're plump, vinegary, tender, and addictive when paired with the crisp frisée and chewy bread in this sandwich.

This dish has a French feel. You can enjoy it morning, afternoon or night, and you'll definitely want to. -Mendelsohn

Add Sherry vinegar right to the baking dish to turn the juices from the roasted vegetables into a simple, vibrant vinaigrette.

Fruit, cheese, and nuts are a winning combination. This bright vinaigrette is also excellent on a salad with apricots, goat cheese, and pistachios.