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Its shape is like a grapefruit’s, but its aroma and taste combine elements of lime, mandarin and Meyer lemon. Grown primarily in East Asia, where it originated, yuzu has gained popularity more widely. Now, yuzu trees grow along the Mediterranean coast and in New Zealand and Australia. Thankfully, you don’t need a whole yuzu to cook, bake or mix a cocktail. For example, just-launched YUZUCO sells a cold-pressed, undiluted juice that delivers optimum freshness and flavor.

WHAT CAN’T chicken wings do? The key ingredient, nam yu (fermented red bean paste), delivers impressive funk, tang and heat. Ms. Lin marinates the wings for 24 hours, gives them a good char and serves them with a ginger-scallion sauce. Though she’s not a follower of football, her wings have become her signature Super Bowl contribution. “I think that’s honestly the best party food,” she said.

IF YOU LIVE in Pittsburgh, watching football is pretty much mandatory. “It was a big deal,” said Ms. Mistry, a chef now based in Sonoma, Calif. “To me this is what America is all about.”A dish that stood out: Super Nachos. Each tortilla chip was layered, individually and exactingly, with refried beans, melted cheese and other fixings. “She would sing this cute song in her Indian accent as she would bring the platter out: ‘Super Nachos, Super Nachos, coming, coming,’ ” Ms. Mistry recalled. Now that I’m all grown up, I prefer to add a bit of desi flavor to her original recipe.”

WHETHER IN THE CABINET or the veg bin of the refrigerator, onions are in every kitchen, right? I usually have a basket of them on my counter, ready to be chopped and sautéed and eventually stirred into whatever soup, stew or pasta dish is on my stove. For much of my career as a chef, I thought of onions as essential, yes, but not exciting—the backup singers of the food world. But several years ago, I had an epiphany that forever changed my thinking about the onion’s place on the plate.

ONE OF THE GREAT pleasures of going to a good bar is watching a cocktail get tailor-made to your liking—the pour, the shake, the bewitching glamour of it all. But with holiday parties approaching, I wanted to tackle the question of how to make this magic practical for a crowd. Hirsch, author of “Pour Me Another” (Voracious), came to the rescue. Mr. Hirsch has been posting a popular series of Instagram video tutorials on “freezer-door” cocktails: pre-batched drinks ready to serve to a thirsty group. As Mr. Hirsch explained to me, many of us keep vodka in the freezer.

CAN YOU IMPROVE on a classic? The answers to these questions are “Yes” and “Absolutely, when it comes to holiday cookies.” You want to hit the traditional notes and quell nostalgic cravings, but you also want to provide satisfying surprises. Since publishing “Rose’s Christmas Cookies” 32 years ago, I have authored 11 more cookbooks, but I haven’t devoted another one to the subject of cookies—until now. Published in October, “The Cookie Bible” is the sum of a lifetime of learning, testing and tweaking. My goal was to create the best possible version of all my favorite cookies, old and new, and to offer the easiest and best technique for making them.

My people have been pulling tendons, trimming fat and finding our way around the joint for generations. To cook meat well, you have to care about it, form a relationship with it. A good month before Thanksgiving, I like to take a hot cup of tea to a soft chair along with a half-dozen of my favorite cookbooks to start looking for turkey inspiration. I close the books feeling the full weight of the 12- to 14-pound traditional grande dame I will probably, inevitably, make. I tell myself that a big, brown turkey is what everyone wants—but is it just what they expect?

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