We've chosen recipes that deliver big flavor without much work.
Recipes
Spiced Pecans with Rum Glaze
Pita Chips
Creamy Spinach Dip
Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce
Beef Satay
Equipment Corner
Tasting Lab
Have you ever been tempted to prepare a restaurant recipe only to be disappointed with the results? The recipe sounded great, but once you got to work you realized it was never tested in a home kitchen.
Recipes
Quick Chicken Stock
Chicken Noodle Soup
Pasta e Faigoli
Equipment Corner
Soup for supper is an appealing concept, especially on a cold, snowy night. But for soup to work as a main course, it better be hearty. A light, clear broth simply won't do.
Recipes
Quick Cheese Bread
Hearty Lentil Soup
Equipment Corner
Tasting Lab
On occasion local dishes become so popular that they transcend their region. Gumbo is a taste of Louisiana in a big old bowl. Its distinct aroma and flavor are like a quick trip to the bayous outside of New Orleans.
Recipes
Creole-Style Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo
Cincinnati Chili
Equipment Corner
Tasting Lab
It sometimes seems like the simplest recipes suffer the worst fate in modern cookbooks. Maybe it's because no one really cares enough about these dishes to get them right.
Recipes
Stuffed Pork Chops
All-Purpose Gravy
Glazed Carrots
Despite its apparent simplicity, roast chicken is a hard recipe to get right.
Recipes
Crispy Roast Lemon Chicken
Chicken Under a Brick with Roasted Potatoes
Equipment Corner
Dinner in less than 20 minutes is the holy grail of weeknight cooking. Many recipes make good on this promise, but most ultimately reflect the minimal effort exerted on the part of the cook. They are fine in a pinch but rarely worth making again. But it doesn't have to be this way.
Recipes
Chicken Paillard
Pan-Seared Shrimp with Garlic Lemon Butter
Equipment Corner
Tasting Lab
Cooking for a family isn't as easy as it was once. In Norman Rockwell pictures, the entire clan (with aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents) is gathered around the table with a dozen different dishes in front of them. No one has soccer practice or is working late. No one is on a weird diet, and the kids seem to eat the same thing as the adults.
Recipes
Sweet and Tangy Oven-Barbecued Chicken
Classic Macaroni and Cheese
Equipment Corner
Tasting Lab
Have you ever been tempted to prepare a restaurant recipe only to be disappointed with the results? The recipe sounded great, but once you got to work you realized it was never tested in a home kitchen.
Recipes
Flambéed Pan-Roasted Lobster
In Texas, good beef ribs are the secret handshake between experienced grillers.
Recipes
Texas-Style Barbecued Ribs
Southern Cornbread
Equipment Corner
Tasting Lab
We don’t part easily with money, but we will on occasion break the bank and buy a beef tenderloin. The tender, buttery interior is the big draw, and the combination of a healthy dose of seasoning and the flavor from the charcoal grill is a perfect solution to a rather mild-tasting (boring) piece of meat.
Recipes
Grill-Roasted Beef Tenderloin
Salsa Verde
Broiled Asparagus
Equipment Corner
Even expert grillers can get in a rut. They make the same four or five recipes over and over again. Sure, the steaks are great, but isn’t there something a bit more exciting?
Recipes
Thai Grilled Chicken with Spicy, Sweet, and Sour Dipping Sauce
Grilled Salmon with Maple-Soy Glaze
Equipment Corner
There's a significant disconnect between real Mexican food (as prepared in Mexico) and the food served in "Mexican" restaurants in the United States.
Recipes
Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chili Sauce
Mexican Rice
Equipment Corner
Pasta is usually quick, but all too often quick pasta dishes taste like little time or effort was expended during their preparation.
Recipes
Farfalle with Tomatoes, Olives and Feta
Campanelli with Asparagus, Basil, and Balsamic Glaze
Pasta with Three Pestos
Tasting Lab
Indian food has a reputation for being spicy (most of it is not) and hard to prepare at home (tell that to one billion Indians). However, it is true that many recipes require a long list of spices and other ingredients.
Recipes
Chicken Biryani
Mulligatawny Soup
Tasting Lab
Pissaladière is Provençal street food, a fragrant, pizza-like tart prized for its contrast of salty black olives and anchovies against a backdrop of sweet caramelized onions and thyme.
Recipes
Equipment Corner
Baking stones
Pizza cutters
In the test kitchen, we enjoy authentic Italian dishes such as pasta all'amatriciana (episode 18-Italian Classics) and osso buco and polenta (episode 19-Winter Supper). But we also like to prepare Italian-American dishes.
Recipes
Eggplant Parmesan
Pasta with Chicken and Brocoli
There seems to be an endless supply of "classic" Italian dishes. Just when we think we've mastered the canon, we realize there are more seminal Italian dishes to learn-recipes as important as pesto, steak fiorentina, or pasta with garlic and oil.
Recipes
Pasta all'Amatriciana
Mushroom Risotto
Equipment Corner
Tasting Lab
Stew and starch is a familiar and comforting winter combination. Stew-and-starch pairings include everything from beef stew and mashed potatoes to chicken paprikash and egg noodles. Our favorite Italian stew-and-starch combo is osso buco and polenta.
Recipes
Osso Buco
Basic Polenta
Tasting Lab
Who doesn't like bistro food? It offers the panache of fine French cooking but in a casual setting. The dishes are rustic, hearty, and satisfying.
Recipes
Baked Goat Cheese Salad
French Onion Soup
Equipment Corner
Tasting Lab
Sticky buns are things of breakfast-time debauchery. In bakeries, they are often plate-size buns, warm and glistening, heady with brown sugar and spices. In our opinion, anything less than a great one is not worth its calories.
Recipes
Equipment Lab
Tasting Lab
Every afternoon around three, editors come sniffing around the test kitchen looking for cookies fresh from the oven. Given how many cookies we make, our test cooks appreciate bar cookies.
Recipes
Classic Brownies
Congo Bars
Equipment Corner
Tasting Lab
Making cookies is a favorite holiday activity. Many people who bake infrequently during the year throw themselves into marathon cookie projects.
Recipes
Glazed Butter Cookies
Walnut Cresent Cookies
Equipment Corner
Cakes baked in Bundt pans and tube pans are popular for a variety of reasons.
Recipes
Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake
Angel Food Cake
Equipment Corner
Pumpkin cheesecake stands second to the traditional pumpkin pie as a holiday dessert. Those who suffer from pumpkin pie ennui embrace pumpkin cheesecake as "a nice change," but the expectations are low.
Recipes
Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake
Brown Sugar and Bourbon Cream
Tasting Lab
When our test cooks eat in restaurants, they always come back to the kitchen and talk about the dessert. Dramatic and artful presentations rightfully garner a lot of attention.
Recipes
Chocolate Volcano Cake with Espresso Ice Cream
Caramelized Pears with Blue Cheese and Black-Pepper-Caramel Sauce
Equipment Corner