Cheddar

If you’re looking for the answers to your sandwich prayers, I assure you this is it. Okay, so it’s probably not a great combo for your PB&J, but your panini will definitely make a quantum leap up the yum scale from delicious to ridiculous.

The saucy mixture of Parmesan, cheddar, bell pepper, and sweet-tangy Peppadew peppers coats the pasta perfectly—and the panko topping adds just enough crunch.

Salt-and-vinegar chips and Guinness will turn this into a pub dinner.

Chef Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, Virginia, shared this recipe as part of a St. Patrick's Day feast he created exclusively for Epicurious. Armstrong says, "Kids go mad for this super-easy side dish"—so it's a great way to get your little ones to eat their veggies.

This may be the most decadent recipe in the entire collection—all good things baked into one dish so creative and rich that making it causes the cook to chuckle periodically at the luxury and process. Don't wait for Derby Day.

Along with shrimp puffs and the ubiquitous nut-coated cheese ball, some version of these tasty bites was all the rage at 1950s cocktail parties. They haven't lost their allure—just some fat and calories—in this slimmed-down incarnation that swaps reduced-fat hot dogs and crispy leaves of phyllo for the traditional fat-laden cocktail sausages and crescent-roll dough.

For ideas on what to serve with the macaroni and cheese, see "On the Side."

When you're an American in Paris, there's nothing more flattering than to have French people ask you to share your recipe for one of their national treasures. Of all the things I make for my French friends, this is the one that gets the most requests. The easiest way to describe gougères is to call them cheese puffs. Their dough, pâte àchoux, is the same one you'd use for sweet cream puffs or profiteroles, but when the pâte àchoux is destined to become gougères, you fold in a fair amount of grated cheese. In France, I use Gruyère, Comté, Emmenthal, or, just for fun and a spot of color, Mimolette, Gouda's French cousin; in America, I reach for extra-sharp cheddar, and sometimes I add a little smoked cheese to the mix. Gougères are made everywhere in France (and can be bought frozen in many stores), but their home is Burgundy, where they are the first thing you get when you sit down in almost any restaurant. In Burgundy, gougères are often served with the local aperitif, kir; chez Greenspan, where I serve them no matter what I'm pouring as a welcoming glass, my favorite sip-along is Champagne. I love the way Champagne's toastiness and gougères' egginess play together. Although you must spoon out the puffs as soon as the dough is made, the little puffs can be frozen and then baked straight from the freezer, putting them in the realm of the doable even on the spur of the moment.

Mcintoshes soften quickly when cooked. You'll love their slight sweetness with the savory melted cheese and turkey in this dish.

What makes this Mexican classic special is the Pico de Gallo, a fresh, chunky salsa that also can be used as a dip for vegetables, alongside grilled meats, and to garnish tacos. Cotija is a salty Mexican cheese that is also called queso añejo. It’s fine to use canned chipotles, which are actually dried, smoked jalapeños, for this dish. If you’re using dried chipotles, cover them with boiling water, let them sit for an hour, remove the stems and seeds, and purée in a food processor or blender. Discard the soaking liquid. Serve with a pitcher of Sangría (page 248).

Hungry guests still rubbing the sleep from their eyes will be delighted to encounter this satisfying spin on that old diner favorite, the Western omelet. But it's just as nice for dinner, served with some roasted potatoes and a salad. This frittata is a great one to have in your recipe arsenal when you're faced with some leftover breakfast sausage (from our Sausage-Stuffed Potatoes with Green Salad, for example).

The Original: Filling made from ground beef simmered in a spicy tomato sauce. Our Version: Tender pieces of pork simmered with roasted green chiles and salsa verde.

These are great for sandwiches. Just split them in half, slather with some Dijon, pile on thinly sliced ham, and add a lettuce leaf.

Known as the "caviar of the South," this pimiento cheese recipe can be used as a dip for a party, or spread it on a sandwich for the ultimate grilled cheese.

Too often crackers get short shrift as merely vehicles for a slice or smear of cheese. Not here. By incorporating cheese into the dough, along with the tiny crunch of poppy seeds, these crackers become crisp snacks that keep your fingers reaching for another and then another and, well, you know how it goes. In no time, they're history.

The bread basket just became a little more exciting. These savory muffins are made with white cornmeal—favored over yellow by many southern cooks—and strewn with corn kernels and shreds of cheese. Albin considered putting jalapeño into the muffins but prefers the fresher, more vibrant color and flavor it offers in the butter.

This quick soup, an American classic, makes a fine pairing with a grilled cheese sandwich or crisp romaine salad. Here the grilled cheese sandwich takes a different form—a souffléed Cheddar topping on a good piece of toasted sandwich bread. Use an organic brand of tomatoes, one that's thick with puree as well as chunks of tomato.

I named this for Lloyd Kramer, a regular customer and a onetime pretty famous reporter, now director, who's from a suburb outside Boston called Marblehead. Lloyd is on a healthy diet now, but before that, when he ordered what he wanted, this is what he ate. It has a ton of cheese in it. The frozen corn cools down the eggs, allowing me to cook them over a higher fire than I normally cook scrambled eggs and still have really creamy eggs.

This dish is a true Southern delight, our riff on Louisiana-style spicy shrimp combined with cheesy grits just the way we make ’em at The Lady & Sons. It’s amazing how easy this is to whip up. Make it for your family, and they’ll swear you spent all day tied to the stove.