No food magazine would be complete without a few recipes. We asked The Daily staff for some of their favorites — whether they be family traditions, fun to cook or just plain tasty — and compiled them here.

Lumpia (Filipino spring roll) — Alexa Gold

This is my mom’s recipe for lumpia, a Filipino spring roll. My mom immigrated to the United States at the age of 10, where she was met with criticism of the fragrant Filipino foods she would bring to the cafeteria at school. If only those kids could taste this recipe she’s perfected over the years — bigotry is no match for flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 pound ground pork
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• ½ cup minced carrots
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 30 spring roll wrappers
• 2 cups vegetable oil for frying (or as needed)

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add pork; cook until no longer pink. Remove pork from the pan and set aside. Drain most of the grease from the pan, leaving just a thin coating.

Add garlic to the pan; cook and stir until fragrant. Stir in the carrots, bean sprouts and cooked pork. Season with pepper, salt and soy sauce. Remove from the heat, and set aside until cool enough to handle.

Assemble the lumpia.

Place approximately 3 tablespoons of filling near opposite corners of a lumpia wrapper, leaving 1 ½ inch space at both ends. Fold the 1 ½ inch ends along the side of the filling. Roll the wrapper neatly and tightly. Continue rolling until there is only about an inch of the wrapper left at the top. Using your fingers, wet the top of the wrapper and seal the roll.

Cooking

Heat ½ inch of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat.

Place 3 to 4 lumpia (depends on the size of the skillet) into the hot oil with the seams facing down. Fry, turning occasionally, until all sides are golden brown. Transfer vertically to a paper towel-lined bowl to drain oil. Fry remaining lumpia. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce such as sweet chili, sweet and sour or soy sauce.

Grandma and Oriana’s Apple Pie — Oriana Riley

This pie is what my grandma and I make every Thanksgiving. We sneak off to her house across the street from my aunt and uncle’s while the rest of the family makes turkey and side dishes. We listen to music and eat chunks of apple covered in cinnamon and brown sugar. We’ve recently let my youngest cousin join the team; it’s a big deal. We are the bosses of Thanksgiving. It’s pie or bust.

Steak au Poivre — Theo Baker

This is my favorite recipe to make when I’m cooking for someone for the first time! I often make it when I go over to people’s houses and am invited to cook — it’s a fantastic show for not all that much effort. I usually pair with a frisée salad and roasted potatoes, and I almost always follow up with homemade lava cakes or soufflés (the difference in effort is… significant).

Don’t be intimidated by flambéing, it’s really pretty easy! As long as you have a long match or torch, you can keep your hands safely out of burning distance; as a beginner, there’s really no need to handle the pan while the alcohol is burning off, just make sure the pan is off the flame when you add the alcohol, set ablaze and voila!

Ingredients

• 4 boneless New York Strip or Ribeye (~1 ½ inches thick)
• Kosher salt
• 3 ounces (roughly a full container) whole black peppercorns, plus more as needed
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 thyme sprigs
• 2 medium garlic clove (smashed, skin removed)
• ½ large shallot (about 1 ½ ounces; 40g), minced
• 2 tablespoons brandy or cognac
• 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Directions

1. Season the steaks on all sides with kosher salt and push into skin. Let rest at room temp for 30 minutes minimum.
2. Use a mortar and pestle to roughly crush the peppercorns (you definitely want some big chunks still, like a half or quarter of the size of the peppercorn). If you don’t have one, place the peppercorns in a Ziploc and use a heavy skillet or hammer to crush.
3. Preheat oven to 350. You’ll finish cooking your steaks in here if necessary while prepping the sauce so go ahead and get out a wire-rimmed baking sheet.
4. Press steaks into the peppercorns, coating each side evenly and placing on wire-rimmed baking sheet. You want it to be pretty covered! Go ahead and mince the shallot and prep the garlic if you haven’t.
5. In a heavy skillet — preferably cast iron — heat the vegetable (or other neutral) oil. Please don’t use olive oil!! It has a low smoke point and everything will start to burn. Once the oil is shimmering, add the steaks to the pan. 
6. Cook for about three minutes (or until there’s good color) before flipping steaks. Then add butter, garlic and thyme to pan and baste until you have good golden color.
7. Remove steaks and put on wire-rimmed baking sheet. If they’re at 125, leave them to rest, they’re done. Otherwise, finish off in oven to your preferences.
8. Pour off most of the fat in the pan and remove garlic and thyme. On medium heat, add the shallot and cook until tender (roughly two minutes).
9. Flambé! Remove pan from heat and add brandy/cognac. There are different ways you can light it; I tend to angle the pan away from me so the liquid collects and use a torch to get it to burn.
10. Once alcohol has burned off, add in your stock and bring to a simmer, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up the fond. Add in your cream and simmer, stirring frequently, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in mustard and add salt as necessary.
11. Rest and slice your steak and serve!

Matzo Ball Soup — Carolyn Stein

Whenever I think of home, this recipe is one of the first things that come to mind. Whenever I was sick growing up, I would ask my mom to make this dish. Now, when I get sick at Stanford, all I think about is how much I wish I had my mom’s soup to keep me warm.

The soup itself is light but the matzo balls make it hearty. Pro tip: get a slice of challah bread and dip it in the soup — it’s a game changer!

Chicken Soup

• 1 roasting chicken, 5-6 lbs., cut up into parts
• 2 large yellow onions, peeled and scored
• 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into thirds
• 4 stalks celery, cut into thirds, and a handful of celery leaves
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Put all ingredients in a stockpot. Fill the stockpot with cold water until the ingredients are just covered. Bring to a boil and skim off the foam and fat that rises to the surface. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 1-1 ½ hours, periodically skimming off the foam that appears. You’ll know the soup is done cooking when the chicken meat falls off the bone and the kitchen is filled with the delicious smell of chicken soup.

When the soup is done, remove the chicken from the pot. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the meat and discard the bones and skin. Strain the soup through a colander into a separate container. Return the strained broth to the stockpot. Cut up the carrots, celery and onions into small pieces and add, along with the shredded chicken, to the broth. Warm the soup, season to taste with salt and serve with cooked egg noodles and matzo balls.

Matzo Balls

• Ingredients
• 4 large eggs, lightly whisked
• 4 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup matzo meal
• 4 tablespoons chicken broth

Lightly mix together the oil and the eggs in a large bowl. Add the salt and matzo meal and mix together until just combined. Lightly mix in the chicken broth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes until firm. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wet your hands and form matzo balls by gently rolling the mixture into balls the size of golf balls. Carefully drop the matzo balls into the boiling water. When the water returns to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer and cover the pot. Cook for 30 minutes. Add matzo balls to chicken soup and enjoy!