Simple Dishes from Avant Garde Chefs

These effortless dishes include olives stuffed with almonds, anchovies, and peppers and a classic mac and cheese.

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BLT Fried Egg-and-Cheese Sandwich

Thomas Keller's scrumptious recipe combines three of the world's most popular sandwiches—bacon, lettuce and tomato; fried egg; and grilled cheese.

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Grant's Mac and Cheese

You would expect Grant Achatz's macaroni and cheese to have some chef tricks, but it doesn't. He uses a white sauce, elbow macaroni and cheddar cheese, just like the rest of us. His personal touch: a tablespoon of paprika (to enhance the color of the sauce) and lots of smoky, crisp bacon bits.

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Tangy Tomato and Mango Salad

In Jean-Georges Vongerichten's version of a dish that his friend Maya Gurley serves at her St. Bart's restaurant, he dresses plump tomatoes and sweet, juicy mango slices with red wine vinegar, just a little olive oil and plenty of sliced fresh basil.

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Superfast Salt-and-Sugar Pickles

In Japan, salt pickles are a staple. David Chang serves his right after seasoning, while they're still vibrant and crunchy.

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Olives Stuffed with Almonds, Anchovies and Peppers

"For me there is no better tapa than a really good stuffed olive," José Andrés says. He strongly recommends homemade stuffed olives over the store-bought kind, which he proclaims are "usually terrible." Plus, if you stuff them yourself, you've got a million options: "If you love almonds, use good marcona almonds. If you love anchovy, use good Spanish anchovies. If you love peppers, use peppers; I like the wood-roasted piquillo peppers from Navarra. Or if you are like me, you use all three."

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Rotisserie Chicken with Dried Fruit and Pine Nuts

A long-simmered stew made with dried fruit and nuts is typically Catalan. Ferran Adrià's version starts with a store-bought rotisserie chicken—the ones in Spain are superdelicious—finished with a quick fruit-and-nut sauce that uses the flavorful poultry drippings.

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Simple Dishes from Avant Garde Chefs

1 of 6

BLT Fried Egg-and-Cheese Sandwich

1 of 6

2 of 6

Grant's Mac and Cheese

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Tangy Tomato and Mango Salad

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Superfast Salt-and-Sugar Pickles

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Olives Stuffed with Almonds, Anchovies and Peppers

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Rotisserie Chicken with Dried Fruit and Pine Nuts

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Simple Dishes from Avant Garde Chefs

1 of 6

BLT Fried Egg-and-Cheese Sandwich

1 of 6

2 of 6

Grant's Mac and Cheese

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3 of 6

Tangy Tomato and Mango Salad

3 of 6

4 of 6

Superfast Salt-and-Sugar Pickles

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5 of 6

Olives Stuffed with Almonds, Anchovies and Peppers

5 of 6

6 of 6

Rotisserie Chicken with Dried Fruit and Pine Nuts

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