Make Ahead

"This spicy butter has a built-in garnish; it turns into a sauce as it melts over your steak, leaving the herbs on top for looks and extra flavor." —Brad Leone, test kitchen assistant

Delicious alongside the buttermilk panna cotta , these nutty shortbreads can hold their own on any cookie plate.

Baking is a science. It's about ratios and chemical reactions and, over the years, I have learned where variations can be made and how best to modify a recipe to achieve my ideal. But I've also learned that sometimes a recipe is just too good to modify. There is a lot to be said for exercising restraint and knowing when a recipe wouldn't be improved with your fingerprints all over it. Rose Levy Beranbaum's Downy Butter Yellow Cake and White Velvet Cake are two such recipes. They are the foundations for the two most iconic works of art in this book, and I am happy to admit that I couldn't have invented a better recipe to use in these desserts. Wayne Thiebaud's painted cakes are classic, nostalgic, and all-American. They're not challenging in flavor—they're just simple cakes, like the type your mother might've made for your birthday. Rose's Downy Yellow Butter cake is the perfect recipe with which to create cakes commemorating Wayne Thiebaud.

Almost nothing makes me happier than buttercream at the perfect temperature, a small offset spatula, and a beautiful cake waiting to be frosted. There are different types of buttercreams, but I prefer the Italian-meringue version, perhaps because its consistency is very similar to thick oil paint, Thiebaud's medium in Display Cakes. If you're making one of the variations, ensure that whatever you're adding is at room temperature and incorporate it slowly.

When SFMOMA presented the first Francesca Woodman retrospective in the United States in over two decades, I was excited to immerse myself in the work of another influential female photographer whom I studied in college. I love Woodman's juxtaposition of textures, her way of placing soft and vulnerable human forms in withered, deteriorating environments. My plan was to base a dessert on a photograph with this type of contrast. Of all of the images in the show, the one of the artist wearing a Victorian-style floral coat and flowing dress while posing in a crumbling room was my favorite. At the time the Woodman retrospective opened, I had just returned from a vacation in Scandinavia where I would have been happy to live on only Norwegian hardtack, rye bread, soft cheeses, and smoked salmon. The combination of hearty rusticity and soft refinement of these foods were like elements in the Woodman photo: I saw the crumbling room as a cracker made with whole wheat and rye; her flowing skirt as soft cheese; and the pattern on her coat as beautiful, delicate edible flowers. To create a tender cracker with the heartiness of my Norwegian inspiration, I used two types of rustic flour and incorporated the butter using the same technique that's used to make flaky pie dough. A little bit of yogurt added tang and tenderness to the cracker. To slather onto the crackers, I wanted a soft-textured fresh cheese that was simple to make in our tiny kitchen. Ricotta cheese was just the type. A sprinkling of colorful edible flowers from Leah's garden and a touch of black Hawaiian sea salt perfected the rustic-elegant presentation of the Woodman Cheese and Crackers.

Nick Malgieri, the director of baking and pastry programs at The Institute of Culinary Education in New York City, created this recipe exclusively for Epicurious. The enriched yeast dough is a snap to make and even easier to shape into decadent, delicious cinnamon rolls. Best of all, the rolls can be baked ahead and reheated for a fresh-from-the-oven breakfast treat. For more on cinnamon rolls, including tips from Malgieri, see Classic Recipes: Cinnamon Rolls.

I use simple syrup for keeping cake layers extra moist. Plain simple syrup works perfectly well on its own, but when I have used vanilla bean pods on hand, I like to steep them into the syrup (feel free to keep them stored in the syrup indefinitely). It's an unnecessary step, for sure, but I always welcome a little extra pop of vanilla flavor in my cakes.

These wraps work well as a dinner party dish—either as a starter or as a main course with side dishes, such as warm potato salad or sautéed leeks with zucchini, alongside. You can assemble them beforehand and then bake them when your guests arrive, making for a more relaxing evening for you.

Whether you're preparing for a casual dinner party or snacks for the office, our Spicy Soy Nut-Pretzel Mix can be made in advance and kept covered with plastic wrap for up to a day. Truth be told, we don't think it will last that long at your house—this addictive snack tends to disappear quickly!

Nutritional note from Junelle Lupianai: "This bar is a perfect mid-afternoon snack to bring with you to work or for your children." The oats and cereal provide whole-grain goodness, and the nuts and seeds provide plant protein and fat. Flaxseed meal is included here for its nutritional punch, but it’s optional.

Adding whole wheat flour ups the nutritional value and adds a nice nutty flavor.

Meat Todd: I took the traditional Jewish braised brisket (see The Jewish Brisket, Modernized) and added techniques from my French arsenal to come up with a modern, elegant version of this beloved meat dish. It must be made a day before you wish to serve it, but there's an extra plus with that—it lets all the flavors fully develop and frees you for other things.

This recipe makes quite a bit of stock, but that's a blessing since it must cook for 24 hours. Freeze it in 1-quart containers (or smaller) so it's handy for later use. If you are pressed for time, by all means begin with a prepared version of demiglace (available in most grocery stores or online, such as Demi-Glace Gold brand), and dilute it with 2 to 3 parts water—this is a fine and practical option to making your own veal stock.

This dish is a perfect side for roast chicken; or crumble feta on top for a vegetarian lunch. Quinoa freezes well, so cook a big batch, let cool, and freeze in resealable plastic bags until ready to use.

"Using kombucha for tartness in this drink offers a flavor profile that we know and love in highballs like a Tom Collins, but with a different perspective." —Eamon Rockey; Aska, Brooklyn

Salting the potatoes ahead of time draws out some of their liquid and guarantees they're well seasoned.

This fun Brazilian street food is traditionally formed into the shape of a drumstick to represent the main filling ingredient: chicken. In fact, coxinha (pronounced co-SHEEN-ya) means "little chicken drumsticks" in Portuguese. We like to make them extra mini for snacking.