Year's Best: Fast Recipes from the F&W Test Kitchen
Spicy Avocado-Cucumber Soup
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.
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Grilled Flank Steak with Sichuan Peppercorns
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.
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Warm Farro Salad with Braised Radishes
For a farro salad inspired by New York City's Gramercy Tavern, F&W's Grace Parisi braises radishes in raspberry vinegar.
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Italian-Sausage Burgers with Garlicky Spinach
Using sausage in burgers is a smart shortcut, because the meat is already seasoned.
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Blue-Cheese-and-Walnut Dip with Waldorf Crudités
With walnuts, mayonnaise, apples and grapes, this recipe is a riff on classic Waldorf salad.
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Winter Vegetable Chili
This vegetable chili, thick with kidney beans and hominy (dried, hulled corn kernels), is deliciously smoky and spicy.
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Fish Teriyaki with Sweet-and-Sour Cucumbers
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.
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Farfalle with Spicy Sausage and Butternut Squash
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.
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Giardiniera with Ham and White Beans
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.