A rectangular baking dish with a block of cooked feta in the center, surrounded by halved figs and tarragon leaves.AppsBraised pork with red wine sauce in a Staub Dutch oven.MainsAn apple and celery salad in a creamy dressing, garnished with mint leaves in a yellow scalloped bowl.SaladsA loaf of no-knead Cheddar-chiles bread on a kitchen towel on a wire rack with two slices cut from it and knife resting beside it.BreadsBaked spiced pecans on a sheet of parchment that is resting on a wooden serving board.SnacksA square of Edna Lewis's apple cake with caramel glaze on a white plate with a fork.Dessert

Easy Authentic Recipes Fully Tested

The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Pumpkin Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

An impressive dessert, created by David himself, gets an autumnal lilt from pumpkin purée in the batter and maple syrup in the frosting. One of our most popular cakes.

1 hr 15 mins

Autumn Recipes

Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese

This skillet full of pumpkin macaroni and cheese awesomeness ranks off the charts in its indulgence-o-rama rating.

1 hr 30 mins

Autumn Foods

Caramel sauce drizzled over a slice of apple pie on a white plate.AppleA pear and cardamom caramel upside-down cake on a carved wooden plate, on a green wooden table.PearTwo plates each with four pumpkin spice whoopie pies with cream cheese filling stacked on them.PumpkinA metal roasting pan filled with roast squash, feta, and pistachios on a wooden table with pistachios scattered around it.SquashA plate of roasted Brussels sprouts with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar splashing down on itBrusselsAn inside-out sweet potato coated in corn flakes, with a marshmallow center.Sweet potato
A picture of the writer David Leite.

Hey, I’m David Leite

I’m a three-time James Beard Award-winning food writer, cookbook author, memoirist, podcast host, and publisher. I created this site in 1999 to help you find simple, quick, and wicked flavorful recipes. For the past 24 years, I’ve been cooking, teaching, and writing about all types of food, including those from my Portuguese heritage. Let’s eat! Vamos comer!

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These are the most popular, most loved, and most made dishes over the past 27 years.

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

We’re bewitched, thanks to this aged cookie dough—yes, aged COOKIE DOUGH—that indulges us in an adult cookie with notes of rich butterscotch and bitter dark chocolate.

1 d 12 hrs

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Portuguese Recipes

Portuguese Carne Assada

A traditional Azorean dish that boasts meltingly tender oven-braised beef, potatoes, chouriço, and onions. It’s a rustic, homey, Sunday supper sorta dish from my VERY Portuguese mom.

6 hrs 30 mins

More Portuguese Recipes