Unsalted butter

Four overripe bananas and brown butter. The loaf that actually improves every day for three days. Tested 14 times to get the crumb right.

Five pounds of onions, three hours, one transcendent bowl. The caramelization cannot be rushed. Anyone who says 30 minutes is lying to you.

3-2-1 method: 3 hours smoke, 2 hours wrapped, 1 hour sauced. Fall-off-the-bone but with bite. Competition ribs don't actually fall off the bone.

The extra step of browning the butter adds a toasty, nutty depth that elevates these from good to obsession-worthy.

Buttery sweet shortcrust shell filled with silky lemon curd. Sharp, bright, and not too sweet. The tart that I made for my pastry school final.

The crown jewel of Punjabi cooking. Black lentils slow-cooked overnight with butter, cream, and tomatoes. Do not rush this.

The upside-down apple tart that was supposedly invented by accident. The caramel is the whole point. Use a proper ovenproof skillet.

The original low-and-slow. Julia Child didn't invent this, she just made it approachable. Two-day version here — day one braise, day two it's perfect.

What if French onion soup was a pasta dish? Caramelized onions, sherry, beef stock, and Gruyere. Goes viral every winter for good reason.

Coconut cream replaces the heavy cream, vegan butter for the tadka. Casein-free. The lentils are the star anyway.

Same wine, same fond, 45 minutes under pressure instead of 3 hours in the oven. Weeknight bourguignon is a thing now.

For those who think the original isn't spicy enough. Green chilies in the tempering plus extra kashmiri chili. Not for the faint-hearted.