Alex Lau

A little oil in this bûche de noel helps keep it pliable even when cool—perfect for rolling the Yule log shape.

Our favorite carrot cake recipe gets a crunch from toasted walnuts and a boozy punch from rum-plumped raisins, which are optional but recommended.

Oven-roasted broccoli is exceptionally versatile. Once you master the basic recipe, you can finish it with any number of sauces or toppings.

This simple bok choy recipe, flavored with shallot, garlic, and soy sauce, is ideal for when you’re short on time and ingredients.

A deep, dark, molten chocolate cake recipe with a liquid chocolate center thanks to a spoonful of ganache, which melts as the cake bakes.

Basil is a mere garnish in this nutty, cheesy, peak-season pesto sauce.

The secret to layered, flaky, chewy-crunchy Chinese scallion pancakes? It’s all in the roll (and the spin, and the re-roll).

This easy guacamole recipe is best made in a Mexican mortar and pestle called a molcajete, but a bowl and a fork works fine. Just don’t rush to get it on the table. It takes a while for the avocado to absorb all the flavors you add to it. 

Firm yet tender veg is simply a matter of getting the quantity, time, and temperature right—and this roasted sweet potato recipe has all three.

If you don’t have an ovenproof skillet for this shakshuka recipe, just cook everything in a medium skillet and transfer to a 2-quart baking dish before cracking the eggs.

You will think this pasta recipe calls for an absurd amount of kale, but it will shrink a ton when cooked.

Don’t sweat rolling this into a perfect omelet; just top the cooked eggs with mushrooms and ricotta, and fold like a taco.

You can serve this addictive chutney alongside roasted meat (rotisserie chicken); it’s also good on a sandwich with deli cold cuts. 

Quaker brand grits work really well in this recipe, and they are distributed very widely. If you can’t find them, use any other white, medium-grind, long-cooking grits.

If you’re not following our weekly meal plan and not making the Grilled Cheese (though you really should; it’s delightful), which you need wheat bread for, use country loaf or sourdough bread, crusts removed, for optimal breadcrumbs for this chicken stew recipe. Check out step-by-step photos here.

A half a cup of olive oil may seem like whoa, too much, but that's the key to crisping up the chicken.

As you’re crisping the rice for this chicken salad recipe, the leeks and carrots may look very dark. Don’t be scared or angry at us; the veggies aren’t burnt, they’re just deeply caramelized and will add lots of flavor to the final dish. Check out step-by-step photos here.

It’ll take a couple of hours to make the homemade broth and cook a whole chicken (your house will smell amazing) for this soup recipe. If you’ve had a long day, use 2 quarts store-bought broth and shredded meat from a rotisserie chicken. Whatever method you choose, use the chicken breasts to make this amazing salad with crispy rice. Check out step-by-step photos here.

This is going to seem like a lot of oil, but you really need it to a) crisp up the rice and b) make it seem like fried rice and not a rice pilaf. To that end, you can’t use freshly cooked (meaning, still warm and moist) rice for this recipe. If you do, it will get gummy in the pan and won’t crisp. Day-old rice is ideal, or you can quickly dry out a just-made batch. Spread rice on a sheet tray and put in a low oven 5–10 minutes. Let air-dry for about 1 hour and up to 5. Seems nitpicky, but worth .…

This Dutch baby is great for breakfast, lunch—or really any time.