Great list, and I've already got them all in my head in one form or another. Except granola. I prefer my oatmeal cooked :-)

Another go-to recipe I use frequently is for left-over roast chicken. We call it "chicken spaghetti". Soften a pile of sliced garlic cloves (the more the merrier) in olive oil with salt and pepper, and crushed red pepper if you want some heat. Add a splash of white wine (1/2 cup?), any left-over chicken gravy, and some canned chicken stock, enough to give you a good amount of sauce. While that heats to a simmer, roughly chop the chicken, and get some spaghetti cooked and drained. Toss it all together with a few handfuls of freshly grated parmesan (again, the more the merrier). Divine.

When you're sick, it's imperative to know the recipe for Chicken Soup. For me, it's all about the dumplings.
http://www.careyonlovely.com/2013/01/chicken-and-dumpling-soup.html

Stovetop chocolate pudding! 1 c milk, 1 T cornstarch, 1 T sugar, 1-2 T cocoa powder. Simmer over low heat until thick, then pour into little cups to cool. Very important recipe to have filed in your noggin in case of chocolate emergency.

Crepes! Though I have since doctored it slightly under the influence of a French person, for years my go-to was 3 eggs, 1 c flour, 1.5 c milk, dash vanilla, pinch of salt. Never fails. Easy to increase in 1-egg increments for larger crowds.

Hummus and rice pudding are two recipes that I have down pat, just because they are so darn easy. I'm still amazed that people buy this stuff readymade in the grocery store.

Dutch baby (breakfast, lunch or dinner): whisk two eggs, half cup of flour, half cup of milk. Set the oven to 475 and put an ovenproof pan in with 2-3 Tbs butter. When the butter has melted (it will be before the oven hits 475), swirl it around, add the batter, and cook for 13 minutes. A big puffy souffle-like pancake-- dust liberally with powdered sugar and squeeze fresh lemon juice all over.

Every cook should know chicken adobo. It has chicken, garlic and equal parts apple cider vinegar and soy sauce.

fried rice is the top of my list too, also a pasta carbonara, chicken stir fry, simple quesadilla filling, tuna salad - really most of the "by heart" stuff is really more of a "use what you have" kind of thing - a basic template and using whats in the fridge/pantry

I wonder what the vegan version of this list would be...

For me, it's pancakes.

Anything I cook more than twice is stored there in my head except the most famous dish from my country (Iraq) which is called dolma ,I always need to go to the book and read the full recipe plus whatever notes I wrote to the side .
Here's the recipe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClbGb1hgluc ,I dont fellow this exact one ,I have developed a special spices and herbs mixes,and I use smaller vegetables and more greens (grape leaves and swiss chards),also I cant stand lamb meat ,so I go with ground beef,and for rice I use sushi rice, but main recipe is the same

Madeleine Kamman's / Wednesday Chef's adapted Chicken Legs Roasted with Mustard.
Eric Ripert's recipe for Tomatoes Provencal.------Both are made in the toaster Oven.........

Chicken and Ginger Congee in made overnight in the slow cooker---Doesn't get easier than this.....
Jools' Pregnant Pasta from Jamie Oliver
Lastly, from Kerry Saretsky at Serious Eats a quick marinade for Grilling Tuna using ginger Jam, soy sauce and sesame oil ( I also use it for Salmon).........

PS. The Ginger Jam also works well in Sesame noodle recipes

For us, it's pork belly. It's flavor-packed and so cheap! We usually grill it and then wrap it with lettuce, green pepper and bean paste. But, this weekend, I marindated it with green tea, wine & oil. Oh my. I got another staple in my kitchen! It was so tasty!! http://7th-taste.com/2013/02/16/pork-belly-marinated-with-green-tea-wine-ancho-chili-olive-oil/

There are many recipes I make over and over, but I can't seem to commit any of them to memory. I cook some dishes without recipes, but if there's a recipe involved, I have to look at it. I always wonder how other people have that ability.

SueBee I was thinking the same thing...Baked tofu, curry, lasagna, enchiladas, hummus, as well as most of the original the kitchen "know-by heart" recipes veganized- chili, pancakes, marinara sauce, salad dressing, fruit crumble..

Would you add things like cashew cream, vegan sour cream, cooked dried beans, and things like that? To me, those things are things I usually need to have on hand to make any of the things on your list, but I don't know that they count as "recipes to remember", since some people actually have access to pre-made versions. But, to your list, I would definitely add chickpea cutlets, vegan fried "chicken", and some version of vegan mac and cheese.

Greek roasted chicken breast, buttery white sauce on cauliflower, buttermilk pancakes, quick-pickled cucumber salad, marinara with meatballs, barbecue meatloaf, pork chops with pepper pilaf, shredded brussel sprouts with caraway seed, stir-fried chicken and vegetables in ginger-soy sauce on rice, macaroni and cheese, scalloped potatoes, stir-fried fresh vegetables and scallions, fudge "wacky" cake, apple pan dowdy, blueberry buckle, walnut baklava with lemon and honey - you always remember the good stuff because you make it over and over. But it's always nice to add new favorites, too! Just started to make mint sprinkle for fruit salads, and tried Watershed chocolate chip cookies - they were big hits for my family, so I'll probably have them memorized soon.

I'm not good at remembering recipes that depend on exact ingredients, but I've memorized vegan chocolate muffins, crepes, and carrot pancakes. I can improvise quiche and thai peanut noodle dishes and other savory recipes that don't require exact quantities.

a great impromptu desert to have in your back pocket is homemade applesauce (w/brown sugar and cinnamon) spooned warm over vanilla ice cream, you don't even miss the crust!

Everyone needs to know a breakfast recipe by heart. It can be pancakes, waffles (for me personally), omelettes, or even a scramble.

As a vegetarian, three-bean chili is definitely on my list. (Though as a newly gluten-free eater, I'll need to revise my memorized cornbread recipe to go with it!)

Andrea—I'm drooling over that simple dessert idea! Maybe with toasted oats and crushed nuts sprinkled over the top if you really want to go wild.

Coconutandberries, when you mention enchiladas, Guatemalan enchiladas came to my mind. You could look up this recipe, and turn it into a vegan version. Very good, if you´d like to try something different.

Thanks so much for this. I needed some inspiration to cook!

I have been cooking so long, I guess I've become an intuitive cook. Anything stewy or saucy most definitely does NOT reqiure a recipe, be it pasta sauces in all of their variations to curries(Japanese, Thai, Indian, Indonesian) to soups and stews. More precise productions of the baked variety are projects I like to complete with recipe in hand. That being said, i have two recipes handed down from my great-grandmother, a kind of oral history, that I have Committed to memory and make quite often: "yankee style golden corn bread" which ironically is full of green chiles, pinon nuts and cumin--a testament to my east coast ancestors settling in territorial New Mexico, and "spicy allspice banana bread" which would knock your socks off if you ate a slice. Hmmm...please excuse me, I'm going to step away and do some cooking now!

@Maureen.milwaukee: Wacky Cake! Love it, my school served this every Friday along with fish sticks...thanks for the memories!!! Would love the recipe...this cake was made with cocoa powder and lots of oil, right?

http://www.cooks.com/rec/search?q=wacky+cake

Thank you so much for this site and article. I've written a book to help improving family budget during Alya in Israel and demonstrated that making an organized menu allows 20% saving on food budget thus thekitchn.com is to the point to help familyfight against crisis. These 10 recipes are also easily adaptable to kosher food, thank again.
http://alyareussie.fr

Tiramusu! I learned this last fall at a cooking class in Rome, andthe authentic Italian version is surprisingly simple, though definitely a make ahead dish. A fruit galette is another good one, for when you need a dessert in 30 min.

That's it...I'm off to the grocery store to get some of these ingredients. I was JUST going to make this the other (had the rice boiling and everything) then realized that the frozen bag of veggies in the fridge were only peas!! I've been craving this ever since ;-)

Speaking as someone who rarely follows a recipe exactly, these are the ones I would 'just cook':

White (bechamel) sauce
Macaroni cheese (using white sauce)
Cauliflower cheese (replace the macaroni with steamed cauliflower)
Tomato sauce
Bolognese sauce (based on tomato sauce)
Lasagne (bechamel, bolognese)
Chilli con carne (based on the above)
Soups (thin soups, thickened soups, chunky soups, avgolemeno, minestrone)
Stew of any type of meat (but I might look up a specialised version, such as Boeuf Bouguignon)
Baked fish in parcels (any kind of fish, any kind of veg/aromatic)
Stir fry (usually this is a 'what I have on hand' dish)
Thai green curry (but I do buy the paste)
Dhal
Kasha (barley with egg, mushroom and bacon)
Fritatta
Risotto
Yorkshire pudding (or Toad in the Hole)
Full English breakfast (timing is the thing for this one!)
Pan Haggerty (sliced potatoes and onions with cheese, cooked in a frying pan)
Rice or pasta salad
Pesto
Salad dressings
Salsa
Fruit crumble
Flapjacks
Trifle (but I don't have the recipe for Creme Anglaise by heart - yet)

I rarely make breads, cakes or puddings, as you can tell.

This is a great list! My top winter go to recipe is ratatouille. So easy and yummy! I can't wait to learn how to make that buttermilk quick bread!
http://beanafoodie.com/blog

What a great round up of favorite recipes! These should be bookmarked by everyone. Great go-to list! Thanks for sharing!

Roasted Chicken! Wait is that a recipe? :)

Love this. I hope this becomes a series. Printing these and giving these out. Honestly, you got me at Fried Rice.

Great substitution for making pizza dough is making pita pizzas! So yummy and you can put any toppings to create a personalized pizza. For me it's BBQ sauce, chicken, and cheese. Any extra pita shells can also be used for...pitas haha. Easy Peasy :)
Thanks for this list!

While pasta is cooking...dice fresh tomatoes, finely chop Italian parsley (lots) and one small clove of garlic.
Drain pasta, cook garlic in olive oil, add tomatoes parsley, pasta, and parmigiana cheese.
Salt and pepper, toss, and serve.
That's my scrumptious, fast and easy, committed to memory, recipe.

I was thinking the same thing!

I am also an American-born Chinese. I look forward to trying this recipe because it's very different than what I do.

My tips are to use bacon or lap cheong (or any salty greasy meat will do) instead of cooking oil, or in addition to if you please. I use chopped yellow onions and no garlic/ginger. Fried rice is a leftover dish so add anything in the freezer/fridge. If the ingredients are available I use peas, fresh carrots and a mushroom variety. Just one of those ingredients would still make a fine dish.

After sauteeing the onion/bacon first, adding veggies and then adding rice, I make a hole in the middle, add a dab of butter, and scramble the eggs in the middle, eventually folding them into the rice to ensure the rice is nicely coated.

No soy sauce is needed but do add a pinch of salt and for many Chinese, we add a pinch of sugar.

Roast chicken, stir-fried bok choy & eggplant with spicy fermented black bean sauce, and a wonderful vegan pasta with mustard-rosemary sauce and pine nuts I memorized from a Vegetarian Times recipe from about 20 years ago.