The hot pot is a Japanese culinary tradition: fresh ingredients poached in their own flavorful liquid in one simmering, delicious pot. Perfect for comforting weeknight meals to stave off the cold, hot pots can accommodate a variety of ingredients, although they are most gratifying when prepared with the flavorful stocks of Japanese cuisine. Chef Ono and food journalist Salat offer a primer on the building blocks of hot pots, from umami-rich stocks to hot-pot specific cooking tips. Recipes include extra information on lesser known Japanese ingredients and techniques, ensuring that even the unacquainted cook will produce a hot pot worthy of the tradition.

In Tom Valenti's Soups, Stews, & One-Pot Meals, Valenti and coauthor Andrew Friedman dish up the flavor that we've come to expect from a celebrated New York chef, without any of the fuss. Here are realistic recipes for the home cook--most made in a single vessel--all based on the fact that the right ingredients, left alone cooking in one pot with virtually no intervention from the cook, will steadily build glorious flavor. This is make-ahead food that gets better a day or two later, this is dinner party food, holiday food, food that's made on the weekend and savored throughout a busy week.