Brett Anderson

Brett Anderson · NYT Cooking

The chefs Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski serve this gumbo regularly at Cochon, their Cajun-Southern restaurant in New Orleans. Its ingredients depart significantly from traditional New Orleans restaurant gumbos, which almost never feature pork, legumes or greens, although those norms have changed in recent years, in part due to Cochon’s influence. As a rule, when seasoning gumbo, Mr. Link uses just 75 percent of the suggested spice portions at first, then adds the rest as desired according to taste. Since this recipe can produce varying results, depending on whether you’re using smoked pork butt from a local barbecue joint or a store-bought variety, home-cooked black-eyed peas or canned, braised collards or mustard greens, Mr. Link’s seasoning approach is particularly useful. Brett Anderson

Brett Anderson · NYT Cooking

Marc-Olivier Frappier developed this coleslaw recipe for Rôtisserie La Lune, in Montreal, hoping to capture the best qualities of two slaws — one vinaigrette-based, the other creamy — served at St-Hubert, the rôtisserie chicken chain omnipresent in Quebec. It’s an unlikely source of inspiration for a chef whose other restaurant, Mon Lapin, is perhaps the most highly regarded restaurant in Canada. But La Lune is an homage to the humble restaurants Quebecois call rôtisseries or barbecues, and coleslaw is an essential rôtisserie dish. Adding the egg yolk means you’re essentially making your own mayonnaise while you’re whisking the dressing. It’s an ingenious trick Mr. Frappier said is common in Quebec.

Brett Anderson · NYT Cooking

Jordan Ruiz cooks a version of the seafood gumbo his mother and grandmother made when he was growing up in New Orleans’ Gentilly neighborhood. It contains fin fish, which is rarely seen in restaurants in New Orleans, where seafood gumbos tend to contain shrimp and crab. Gumbo filé, made of dried and ground sassafras leaves, is used both as a thickening agent and for its flavor. Mr. Ruiz’s gumbo can be found at the Munch Factory, the New Orleans restaurant he owns with his wife, Alexis. Brett Anderson

Brett Anderson · NYT Cooking

Arvinder Vilkhu is chef of Saffron Nola, the New Orleans Indian restaurant he owns with his family. Mr. Vilkhu developed this gumbo recipe over the 30-plus years he’s lived in New Orleans, incorporating curry leaves, fresh ginger and other ingredients and spices from his native India. At the restaurant, Mr. Vilkhu places the black pepper, cilantro and scallions in the bottom of the bowl to serve, and the pours the gumbo over them, which he believes keeps the flavors of the ingredients sharp. Brett Anderson

Brett Anderson · NYT Cooking

Haitian-American chef Gregory Gourdet developed this dish for Kann Winter Village, the pop-up restaurant he ran in Portland, Ore., in 2021. The temporary restaurant served as a preview of Kann, the Haitian restaurant he opened in August 2022, which landed on The New York Times’ list of America’s Best Restaurants. Beef is not nearly as prevalent in Haitian cuisine as chicken, pork and seafood, said Mr. Gourdet, whose family is Haitian, but the flavors in the dish — including the Haitian epis seasoning — are “very Haitian. It tastes like my family’s food.” Brett Anderson

Brett Anderson · NYT Cooking

Epis is a foundational ingredient used to flavor a wide array of Haitian dishes. Gregory Gourdet, a Haitian-American chef, uses it to marinate everything from fish to chicken thighs to beef short ribs. He encourages home cooks to make extra to use as a marinade or to flavor stews, soups, vinaigrettes, sautéed vegetables or even meatloaf. The chunky, spicy purée keeps in the refrigerator for one week, and in the freezer for two months. Brett Anderson

Brett Anderson · NYT Cooking

I came up with this idiosyncratic recipe during the years that Oscar, our oldest son, was a pescatarian. It’s so good that it remains a weeknight staple, even though Oscar eats meat again. Most of the prep can be completed while the oven is heating. I like to serve it with a simple coleslaw, which I often have premade in the fridge, and store-bought Mexican salsa verde.

Brett Anderson · NYT Cooking

At Spoon and Stable, his Minneapolis restaurant, Gavin Kaysen cooks a version of his grandmother Dorothy’s pot roast using paleron (or flat iron roast), the shoulder cut of beef commonly used in pot au feu, as well as housemade sugo finto, a vegetarian version of meat sauce made with puréed tomatoes and minced carrot, celery, onions and herbs. This recipe uses a chuck roast and tomato paste, both easier to find and still delicious. Brett Anderson

Brett Anderson · NYT Cooking

This roasted eggplant was adapted from a recipe from the Phoenix chef Chris Bianco, who regularly showcases Arizona eggplant as an antipasto at his restaurants Pizzeria Bianco and Tratto. But it works just as well with thick sliced conventional eggplant, and tomato sauce or sweet peppers substituted for the heirloom tomato. The succulent roasted eggplant comes together with the comforting flavors of the thyme, garlic and tomato. Serve as a side, or pair with polenta or fresh bread to round out a main course.

Brett Anderson · NYT Cooking

At Burnt Bean Co. in Seguin, Texas, you’ll find what you’d expect to find at a traditional Texas barbecue restaurant, including smoked brisket, sausage and potato salad. You’ll also find dishes inspired by co-owner Ernest Servantes’ childhood in Uvalde, west of San Antonio, like menudo, barbacoa tacos and this elotes-flavored corn pudding, one of the restaurant’s most popular side dishes. “It’s like Mexican street corn and cornbread had a baby,” Mr. Servantes said. Don’t worry if the finished pudding has a few cracks in the top — it will still be moist and light within. Brett Anderson and Genevieve Ko

Brett Anderson · NYT Cooking

This one-pan dinner, like the tomato-based seafood dishes puttanesca, cioppino and Louisiana-style court-bouillon, eats like a stew, with a sauce substantial enough to qualify as its own side. In fact, there’s enough sauce for you to add another ½ pound of fish without changing the amount of the other ingredients. Serve with crusty bread or thick-cut toast to sop up the sauce, or over grits or polenta.

Brett Anderson · NYT Cooking

This toum recipe comes from Marjayoun, Lebanon, where Sameer Eid grew up eating it with shawarma. Samy, Sameer’s son, learned how to make it after he started working at Phoenicia, the family’s restaurant in Birmingham, Mich. “It took me more attempts than any recipe in my life to get it right,” he said. The key is to be patient during Step 1, to be sure the garlic breaks down enough to later become a creamy, fluffy condiment. Toum is called “garlic whip” on Phoenicia’s menu. It’s served with roasted chicken and kebabs; some customers even request it with babyback ribs. It’s versatile, and also great drizzled over roasted vegetables and avocado toast. Brett Anderson

Brett Anderson · NYT Cooking

Chefs dating back to Upperline restaurant’s opening in New Orleans, in 1982, have contributed to the development of its famous duck-andouille gumbo. Miguel Gabriel, a longtime Upperline “soup chef,” has been responsible for the dark-roux brew since 2010. The recipe also works if you substitute chicken stock for duck stock — and buy the roast duck from your local Chinese restaurant. Brett Anderson