7 Anne Burrell Recipes to Help You Own Your Kitchen

"Who doesn't love a grilled cheese sandwich? I've eaten a ton of them in my life, and I still love them. But now everywhere I go restaurants feature 'comfort food,' trying to re-create the familiar grilled cheese on white bread we all grew up eating with canned tomato soup. Been there, done that (BTDT)! So I came up with this upscale grilled cheese: stinky Taleggio, crisp apples, smoky bacon, spicy Dijon, and some crunchy bread sliced not too thick, but fat with flavor. THAT, my friends, is comfort food." — Anne Burrell

Recipe: Taleggio Grilled Cheese with Bacon and Honey Crisp Apples

"Everywhere I go these days I hear 'kale, kale, kale!' It's the new superfood, so I thought I'd join the bandwagon — but with a twist. Often with raw kale salads there's a lot of chewing involved, which isn't that delightful, so I decided to treat the kale more delicately. I cut out the rib and slice the leaves thinly so they're almost dainty. Drizzle these lovely green ribbons with some super-acidic dressing and this salad doesn't taste like it's good for you — it just taste good! You'll want to hoover this salad down all day long!" — Anne Burrell

Recipe: Kale Caesar Salad

"This is Hawaiian hangover food... or pretty much anywhere hangover food. When you've been out all night at the karaoke bar and had a few more mai tais than you planned, there is nothing like diving headfirst into a bowl of perfectly fried rice topped with a runny egg and a ton of hot sauce. It's a great way to set yourself straight — and to use up leftover takeout rice." — Anne Burrell

Recipe: Fried Rice with Sunny-Side Up Egg

"I love BIG MEAT and I'm a sucker for anything with an egg or cilantro in it. Go and put any of those things between two slices of good bread and I'll eat it. So naturally, when you put them all together — a steak sandwich with egg and chimichurri — that's a combo right in my wheelhouse. Woo-hoo!" — Anne Burrell

Recipe: Steak Sandwich with Onions, Camembert, Fried Egg, and Chimichurri

"I was first introduced to harissa by Mario Batali during an Iron Chef battle. He helped open up the world of flavors and spices to me and showed me that it's not all about Italian ALL the time. The heat of harissa — which is a North Afican chili sauce — is made for the luscious flavor of lamb. Sure, lamb is already yummy, but when you accent it with the deliciousness of this spice paste, it's like putting makeup on a beautiful woman — it just enhances the whole thing. There are lots of commericial version of harissa, but it's easy to make it yourself, and in my opinion, way better. Whether you use it on this lovely little rack of lamb, add it to a stew, or toss it in a pita, it's a super secret-flavor weapon from the Mediterranean I'm sure you'll be happy to become acquainted with." — Anne Burrell

Recipe: Rack of Lamb with Harissa

"As I've said, my style of cooking is to take classic dishes and put my Anne Burrell thumbprint on them. These cookies literally have my thumbprint on them! But clearly, in your kitchen, they will have your thumbprint on them. Once you make the cookie, you can fill the center with jam, chocolate, caramel, whatever you want. Create your own thumbprint — it's fun!" — Anne Burrell

Recipe: Almond Caramel Thumbprints

"I first tasted this pudding when I went to London (I've never understood why the Brits call all desserts "pudding"). I remember being so full from dinner that I though I couldn't eat another bite. Then this pudding (it's really cake) came to the table, drizzled with luscious toffee sauce, and I was suddenly hungry again. I LOVED the little pot of toffee sauce that was served next to the pudding — almost more than I liked the cake. The next thing I knew, I looked down at my plate and it was clean! The moral of the story is: There's always room for sticky pudding!" — Anne Burrell

Recipe: Sticky Toffee Pudding