5 Ingredients or Fewer

Many find that just one of these biscuits isn't enough. Fortunately, this quick recipe can easily be doubled.

When the use of chocolate became common in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, chocolaterías opened in Madrid, serving hot chocolate to weary voyagers and the homeless. In Spain, the warming elixir is distinguished by the addition of spice, but especially by its rich, frothy texture, achieved by heating and beating it several times. Traditionally, a wooden hand mill called a molinillo is used, but a whisk works as well.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. The importance of vine-ripened tomatoes goes without saying, but don't compromise with the bread, feta, or olive oil, either. This delicious sandwich deserves the best.

These turnovers could be served for breakfast, with coffee and juice, or for dessert.

In this recipe we call for creamed honey, another name for the crystallized, or non-liquid, form of this sweetener.

(Salade Verte à la Vinaigrette) This is a basic recipe, one that should be part of every culinary repertoire. On the farm it is an everyday salad that changes according to the season, depending on what greens are fresh in the garden. In winter I am a slave to escarole, which I occasionally combine with Belgian endive. In spring and summer I mix greens, using green or red oak-leaf, mesclun (a fragrant mix of young greens), arugula, and fresh herbs.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

My grandmother made a great Friday night dinner in her two-story limestone in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. She might as well have run a restaurant. There was lots and lots and lots of stuff—kreplach, gribenes, gefilte fish, blintzes, homemade noodles, roast chicken, glazed carrots, egg barley with dried Polish mushrooms. In 1918 during an influenza epidemic my grandmother was 20 years old with two children. First her husband died and two days later her mother died. With eight younger siblings and two of her own, she took care of ten kids in the family. Then an aunt caught the flu and died leaving eight or nine children. My grandmother then married her uncle and raised 18 kids. The secret to her roast chicken was to cook it long enough to render the fat from the chicken and make it crispy. —Eddie Schoenfeld, New York restaurateur

(Poulet aux Echalotes de Mme. Lascourrèges) This is an interpretation of a recipe given to me by Denise Lascourrèges, whom our son christened "Madame Châtaigne." It was she who revealed to us the marvelous Gascon woods, which were so full of chestnuts we had to dodge those falling from the trees. Mme. Lascourrèges raises her own chickens and ducks, and the appear frequently on her table. At her house I found ways of preparing chicken that departed from the norm. This recipe, which relies on the sweet heat of shallots and the bite of vinegar, intrigued me most of all, and I've made it often since I returned from her farm. I use the oven most often, though occasionally I cook it on the grill, which is the way Mme. Lascourrèges usually makes it. In general, French farm cooks use a lot of shallots, which here turn dark and caramelized — some turn almost black — but they don’t get bitter. Instead, their flavor intensifies. The vinegar adds a pleasant tartness; the oil smooths all. At the last minute I like to add parsley, which scents the whole dish with its slight anise flavor. Consider it an option — it is my addition to Mme. Lascourrèges’s recipe. Try this with a lightly chilled dry red Bordeaux, or a Chinon. Watch how to cut a whole chicken into parts to use in this recipe.

This simple-to-make dish is a wonderful addition to any Spring time supper.

The key to this recipe is cooking the bell peppers until they’re meltingly tender, at least 15 minutes.

"There are three recipes I like for strawberry jam," says Caroline Bates. "My mother’s long-cooked one may be too much trouble for some people; the sun-cooked version is impractical for city dwellers ('First, find a sunny rooftop....'). But this soft strawberry jam (also my mother’s) is simpler and good, too." Its flavor depends on the berries' being fully sweet, completely ripe yet firm, and with not a trace of white near the stem. Such berries have less pectin than underripe ones, so the jam will be loose. Just spoon it out of a jar and dribble it on biscuits.

A longtime favorite of copy editor Brenda Koplin. They are great for parties and make lovely gifts, too. Brenda likes to pack them in pretty containers, with the recipe included.

If using young, small mustard greens, simply stir-fry as directed, omitting the water and additional cooking time.

Offer nuts, candy sprinkles and any other sundae toppings.

Dashi is a subtly flavored soup stock that is used throughout Japanese cooking.