Year's Best: Fast Recipes from the F&W Test Kitchen

This tangy, luscious soup is an excellent make-ahead dish: Simply puree everything except the garnish, then chill. For a milder version, scale back on the serrano.

Marcia Kiesel loves the numbing heat of Sichuan peppercorns. Inspired by dan dan, the Sichuan noodle dish, she seasons flank steaks with a simple but potent blend of the peppercorns and store-bought Chinese black bean-garlic paste.

For a farro salad inspired by New York City's Gramercy Tavern, F&W's Grace Parisi braises radishes in raspberry vinegar.

Using sausage in burgers is a smart shortcut, because the meat is already seasoned.

With walnuts, mayonnaise, apples and grapes, this recipe is a riff on classic Waldorf salad.

This vegetable chili, thick with kidney beans and hominy (dried, hulled corn kernels), is deliciously smoky and spicy.

This is a fairly classic take on teriyaki—broiled or grilled slices of marinated meat or fish. The small amount of sugar in the soy-based sauce caramelizes in the heat, creating a deliciously sticky glaze.

This delicious recipe from F&W's Grace Parisi goes well with wine (Rosé), cocktails (Sazerac) or beer (Lambic)—making for a sublime pairing free-for-all.

This recipe is a nod to the pickled vegetables (giardiniera) in the Gramercy Tavern salad. Grace Parisi quickly soaks baby cauliflower in vinegar and sugar, then combines it with snap peas, white beans, ham and sunflower seeds to create a unique main-course dish.