Emily Olson, Recipe Tester

A list of all the recipes Emily Olson has tested.

White bowl of beef chili with grated cheese, tortilla chips, and lime wedges on wood

Beef Chili

A chili that you can dress up or down, whether you need something really impressive for game day or relatively inexpensive for Tuesday night dinner.

A beige bowl filled with creme fraiche potato salad.

Crème Fraîche Potato Salad

A British take on potato salad that’s both simple and sublime, this summery staple draws on the tart richness of crème fraîche and the pucker of lemon.

A plastic container filled with vanilla bean ice cream with a metal ice cream scoop resting in it.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Sometimes it’s nice to just let your spoon sink into something that tastes pure as the driven snow. Indulgently rich, sigh-inducingly creamy, vanilla-enhanced snow.

A table with four canning jars filled with easy rhubarb jam

Easy Rhubarb Jam

Making preserves was never so easy or gratifying as with this foolproof old-fashioned recipe. Just four ingredients and an occasional stir. No prior canning experience required. Swear.

A plate of warm arugula salad -- caramelized red onions, arugula, shaved Parmesan, and toasted pine nuts with a balsamic drizzle.

Warm Arugula Salad

Caramelized red onions. Pancetta. Pine nuts. A dribble of balsamic vinegar. Peppery arugula. Convinced yet?

A red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting on a cake stand

Red Velvet Cake

We’re hearing that this red velvet cake recipe with its mascarpone and cream cheese frosting surpasses all other renditions. Judge for yourself.

A close view of swirled cream cheese frosting.

Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese frosting is adored for both its creaminess and cream cheesiness. This lighter-textured version even doubles up on the cheese factor. Get ready to lick that bowl.

A lamb burger on half a bun topped with grilled Spanish onions.

Lamb Burger ~ Bifteki Arniou

Definitely a nonconformist, this beauty of a burger melds lamb, pork, grilled onion, mustard, parsley, dill, fennel, cumin, lemon, and scallion. We dare you.

A light-blue gravy boat filled with svelte green goddess dip

Svelte Green Goddess Dip

This evocatively named dip isn’t the same as the one of yore. It’s got the same sumptuous taste, the same creamy texture, the same luminous color, just not the same calorie count.

A small bowl of cinnamon gelato with cinnamon sticks next to it on white marble surface.

Cinnamon Gelato

Cinnamon is the solo act in this sophisticated but simple gelato. Creamy, indulgent, and complex tasting, this gelato is sure to become a new favorite.

An open face egg salad sandwich on toasted whole wheat.

Open-Face Egg Salad Sandwich

We know. You already have an egg salad sandwich recipe. But trust us, it’s nothing like this one, which is whoppingly old school in taste, blissfully healthful in every other way.

A pretty saucer and teacup filled with game day chili, and topped with scallions, Cheddar, and sour cream.

Game Day Chili

With apologies to the politically correct, the froufrou, tea party-like semblance of this recipe is just a guise. Trust us. It’s an unfussy, hearty, stick-to-your-ribs kind of chili.

Squares of care-package brownies on parchment paper.

Care Package Brownies

Designed to maintain their just-out-of-the-oven loveliness for days, these are ideal for sharing something sweet with the ones you care, whether via the USPS or porch delivery. Or save ’em all for yourself.

Slices of glazed nutmeg pound cake on a white cutting board

Nutmeg Cake

This spice cake is soaked with rum syrup, making a lovely, albeit slightly boozy, gift when wrapped in parchment and tied with a bow.

A cast-iron skillet filled with chilaquiles on a wooden cutting board with a block of queso fresco and half a jalapeno beside it.

Chilaquiles

Essentially eggs scrambled with chips (or day-old tortillas) and salsa, chilaquiles is equally enticing in the a.m. as the p.m., with a cup of hot joe or a bottle of cold cerveza.

A chipped ceramic dish filled with buttermilk drop biscuits nestled in a striped tea towel.

Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

“The best biscuits I’ve ever had!” is what we’re hearing from many, many, many folks who when they first try these easy no-rolling-required biscuits. Amen to that.

Three resealable plastic bags filled with freezer tomato sauce.

Freezer Tomato Sauce

1. Turn your glut of garden tomatoes into this sauce. 2. Stash it in the freezer. 3. Thank yourself come winter.