Salmon Rillettes
While training at the Los Angeles Culinary Institute, Anna Zepaltas learned that French cooking doesn’t have to be intimidating or fussy. “Making rillettes is a way of showing my girlfriends that it’s really not hard,” she says. For her rillettes, inspired by a similar dish at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon bistro in the Napa town of Yountville, Zepaltas blends fresh salmon and butter with hot-smoked salmon to give the rich spread extra-rich flavor. You can pour melted butter over the top—as Keller does—to seal in freshness. Slideshow: Recipes from Thomas Keller