Simmer

Thanks to ginger and cardamom, these glazed carrots have a quietly exotic aroma and flavor.

Simmering in milk coaxes the very best out of celery root, giving this silky puree a flavor that's both mellow and full.

These are also great tossed into a salad of bitter greens, over a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or as a garnish for crème caramel or panna cotta.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Amy Sedaris's I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence. For Sedaris's tips on throwing a Halloween party, click here.

This syrup is an ingredient in Audrey Saunder's Madeira Martinezand Tim Lacey's mint limeade. It may be used in place of simple syrup in many cocktails.

This soup combines two separate recipes attributed to the agriculturalist and linguist Varro. As a remedy it could be drunk to aid the digestion, and it also served as a soup with the chicken included. I choose to leave the meat in, to give some texture to the soup. The dish is quite unusual in not using fish sauce. The sweet/savoury balance is surprisingly good.

A beautiful bright orange, this soup has the sweetness of carrots and the aromatic nuttiness of caraway.

Audrey Saunders, owner Pegu Club, in Manhattan, uses this grenadine in several cocktails, including the Jack Rose, which was featured as a Cocktail of the Month.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Greg Case's and Keri Fisher's One Cake, One Hundred Desserts. To read Epicurious's review of the cookbook, click here. One of the best things about this mousse is that it's very simple, with only a handful of ingredients and a few steps. Yet the mousse is so versatile—not to mention so tasty—you'll soon find yourself whipping some up to fill a graham cracker crust for chocolate mousse pie, or to serve on its own, topped with some fresh raspberries for an elegant dessert. Or you could just eat it right out of the bowl with a soupspoon, as we do. Be careful when combining the chocolate and the whipped cream. Whipping the cream adds lots of air and volume to it, and overworking it when adding to the chocolate will allow all that air to escape (and then you'll have chocolate sauce, not mousse.

Get two of your daily fruit servings with this diet-friendly dessert from Annie Clemmons, pastry chef at Cyrus in Healdsburg, California.

You can serve this soup hot or cold, says Carl Schroeder, chef at Arterra in San Diego. It's loaded with beta-carotene and is wonderfully rich.

Instead of pairing shrimp with sausage, we've taken this spicy gumbo in a more sophisticated direction by adding duck meat.

No need to trouble yourself about presentation with these tapas-style hors d'oeuvres. Simply toss steamed mussels in a vinaigrette with piquillo peppers, toasted almonds, and serrano ham, then nestle them back into their shells. They're lovely on the plate—and easy to eat.

The addictive topping, a potent mix of pork belly, mushrooms, and Chinese rock sugar, takes some time to cook, but you'll love the result.