Sharpen Your Knives: 5 (Slightly Crazy) Recipe Challenges

Just because the chefs can pull it off doesn't mean you can...or can you? This weekend, up the ante: Reserve a four-hour block dedicated to cooking and cooking alone (plus the ritual doing of the dishes — we're respectable cooks, not barbarians). We've got expert-level recipes from some of our favorite chefs that will yield some of the most impressive food you've made in ages. This goes without saying, but you'll need a sharp knife, a serviceable cutting board and an oven whose temperature actually is what it says it is.

Dale Talde's Shrimp Boil Shu MaiThe Sussman Brothers' Brisket and Cornbread Patty MeltsLudo Lefebvre's Braised Veal Shank With HoneyCharles Phan's Chive CakesMario Batali's Stuffed Italian Meatloaf