Easy Authentic Recipes Fully Tested

A person holding a platter of fried pork dumplings and bowl of dipping sauce.AppsA cut sheet pan taco bake in a rimmed sheet pan topped with pico de gallo and sour cream.MainsA citrus fennel salad assembled on a white and blue serving platter, topped with fresh herbs.SaladA round dish filled with Ukrainian garlic bread rolls, topped with garlic-parsley oilBreadsA pile of cheese crackers on an old metal grater.SnacksSeveral chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter buttercream frosting piped on top.Dessert

The One’s Meal of the Week

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Velvet Mashed Potatoes

No mere mash, this creamy potato purée owes its uber velvetiness to truly indecent amounts of butter and cream. And we mean that in the best possible way.

35 mins

Butter Lettuce with Maytag Blue Cheese

Forget that wedge of iceberg beneath a glob of bottled blue cheese dressing. This lovely little salad is creamy yet sharp, rich yet acidic, classic yet blissfully unconventional.

15 mins

Easy Shortbread Cookies

If you’ve been intimidated by shortbread, this recipe really is easy. The addition of cornstarch keeps it flaky and light. Give them a try, they’re superb.

1 hr 45 mins

Winter Ingredients

A caramelized onion and Gruyère galette with a rye crust and sprigs of thyme.onion+Five small tarts filled with orange curd and topped with candied orange slices on a cooling rack.CitrusNine colorful braised carrots on a white platter.Root VegA ceramic bowl filled with mashed kabocha with a spoon resting in it.SquashStuffed mushrooms with chives and black pepper on a white plate, garnished with chopped cashews.'ShroomsA bowl of white beans and Tuscan kale, sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese, with a spoon.Beans+

Winter Braises

Jamie Oliver’s Beef Bourguignon

This hearty meal gets its flavor from an overnight soak in red wine, a slow braise until tender, and the addition of plenty of mushrooms and bacon.

1 d 5 hrs 45 mins

Cupcake Recipes

Black Bottom Cupcakes

These chocolate-y devil’s food cupcakes boast a creamy cheesecake-y addition. You may never go back to plain chocolate.

45 mins

Vanilla Cupcakes

These simple yet superlative little cakes are quite mind-blowing in their poundcake-like loveliness. Go on. See for yourself.

1 hr 15 mins

Coconut Cupcakes

Kids can’t resist these sweet little somethings. That includes the kid in all of us.

1 hr 15 mins

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!

Read More About Me

Portuguese Recipes

come mais

Bacalhau a Gomes de Sa

Marcel Proust had his madeleine. David Leite has his Portuguese salt cod, potato, and egg casserole.

2 hrs 10 mins

Portuguese Deep-Fried Green Beans

In Portugal, deep-frying beans is a long-standing tradition. Serve these peixinhos da horta as a starter, snack, or, as the Portuguese do, a side dish.

45 mins

Pastéis de Nata ~ Portuguese Custard Tarts

Not Portuguese? Not a problem. It won’t lessen your appreciation for these little lovelies with the shatteringly crisp pastry cradling ridiculously creamy custard.

2 hrs 30 mins

Most Beloved Recipes

These are the most popular, most loved, and most made dishes over the past 25 years.

Find a New Recipe

Roast Pork Butt in the Oven 

This roast pork butt, coated in a simple rub of brown sugar, paprika, cumin, and red pepper flakes, is an incredibly easy recipe to make and yields enough pulled pork to feed a small army.

10 hrs

Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese Sauce

Is anything more soothing than standing before a burbling pot of Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese sauce? (Hint: Our answer is absolutely not.)

6 hrs

Batter-Fried Chicken

Proof that it doesn’t take buttermilk or an insufferably long overnight brine to make insanely tender, crazily crisp, gosh darn perfect fried chicken.

1 hr 30 mins