Jessamyn Waldman, founder of Hot Bread Kitchen, grew up in Canada eating challah, the Jewish Sabbath bread. Unlike the eggy challahs of the Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe, this version comes from the Sephardic Jews of the Mediterranean, who flavored their challahs with caraway and anise. Many challahs are braided, but this one is twisted into a round, turban-shaped loaf.

The trick to these crisp, chewy bagels is the poolish, a fermentation starter (also known as a mother dough) made with bread flour, yeast, and water. It is quickly assembled the night before the bagels are made.

Sour cream, cocoa powder, and melted butter take this from breakfast banana bread to a decadent dessert chocolate banana cake.

At Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, New York, chef Dan Barber prepares this soup with seasonal chicken (raised in late spring, summer and fall), using wings, backs, necks and feet. His recipe yields almost eight quarts of broth, so there's plenty to freeze. He likes serving the soup with fluffy matzo balls laced with rosemary.

Fromage fort is the ultimate way to use up leftover cheese.

Lobster shells from the tail, claws, knuckles, and legs are full of flavor and, when very gently simmered in water, yield a clean-tasting, briny stock. Seasoned with mirepoix, sherry, and herbs, this classic bisque is thickened with fragrant jasmine rice. Serve it hot or cold for a knockout lunch or simple supper.

This wonderfully versatile dish that Tim Cushman at Covina in Manhattan pairs with a juicy Sicilian Nero d'Avola from Tamì can be served as a main course or a reimagined pasta salad. Key to the mixed mushroom topping is a splash of balsamic vinegar, which adds both tang and subtle sweetness.

Almost any leftover spaghetti will work for this fast recipe, lending its own character to the final dish. Some of our favorites to use here are pasta carbonara, pesto or a simple marinara.

"My friend Natalie's mother, who lives in Amsterdam, brings me aged Gouda each year," chef Barbara Lynch says. "I wanted to serve it as a fondue instead of on its own as an hors d'oeuvre." For those without an overseas cheese connection, Lynch suggests buying an eight-month-aged Gouda — "Nothing too smoky; just a beautiful, salty Gouda."

These radish and turnip-topped tartines are a great way to use up radishes and turnips with their greens attached. The radish and turnip greens whipped with sweet butter, garlic, and lemon zest create a delicious, silky spread for the tartines, while the spicy, paper-thin radishes and turnips make the perfect topping. Finished with crunchy sea salt, these make a great appetizer or light lunch.

The incredibly crunchy and refreshing iceberg wedge salad is served with a satisfying tahini green goddess dressing.

This fresh pomegranate salsa combines charred onion and peppers, fresh herbs, and a tart sherry vinegar reduction in flavorful balance. With a nice crunch from the pomegranate arils and chopped pistachios, this salsa is equally suited for serving with chips or for spooning over chicken or fish.