Andrew Carmellini

"I love the word fricassee," Andrew Carmellini says. He garnishes his with celery leaves.

Andrew Carmellini serves fresh pappardelle with a ragù of house-ground lamb shoulder cooked in lamb stock. He finishes the dish with fresh ricotta and chopped mint. For a simpler version, use store-bought pappardelle, ground lamb and chicken stock, then top the dish with fresh ricotta and mint.

Most restaurants make pork fried rice with generic pieces of barbecued meat; Andrew Carmellini uses both seared ground pork and sweet, aromatic Chinese sausage in his playful version. As an alternative to Chinese sausage—which is now available at many Costco stores—substitute thick matchsticks of lean maple-cured bacon.

Prosciutto and bacon add richness to this juicy meatloaf. The loaves stay tender when baked in a spicy tomato sauce blended with prepared hummus.

One of the most popular cured meats on restaurant charcuterie boards, soppressata is a hard salami from southern Italy. Andrew Carmellini's family grinds their own meat to make it, but much easier is buying Italian sausages and removing their casings. To give the fresh soppressata extra spice, use hot sausages instead of sweet ones, or increase the amount of crushed red pepper.

Store-bought gnocchi is delicious with a topping of Parmesan cheese and truffle oil.

Andrew Carmellini learned to make posole with veal head; this recipe calls for chicken.

Andrew Carmellini's dish is a mix of two beloved salads: shrimp-avocado and shrimp-citrus. He throws in a few surprises, too, like the hot sauce in the dressing. He recommends a fruity one from the Caribbean made with habaneros: "Habaneros are crazy," he says.

This sweet-potato pie looks like a pumpkin pie, but the filling is actually made with sweet potato.