Eydie Desser, Recipe Tester

A list of all the recipes Eydie Desser has tested.

Eydie Desser

Eydie Desser is from deep in the heart of Texas—Beaumont, to be exact, where the air is so thick and the sun is so hot, it’ll melt your fat like butter. She inherited her passion for cooking from her mother, who loved butter so much that she wrote a family cookbook titled Just Add Butter. Desser took a hiatus from her advertising career to attend the French Culinary Institute, where she earned her Grand Diplôme in Culinary Arts. She and her husband live in Santa Monica, CA, where she works as a cooking instructor and happily tests recipes for Leite’s Culinaria (much to the delight of her family and friends).

A whole smoked turkey in a metal serving dish on a bed of fresh herbs and cranberries.

Smoked Turkey

It’s not just about how lovely a turkey imbued with smoke would be. It’s also about how lovely more space in the oven on Thanksgiving would be.

A individual huckleberry crisp in a white bowl topped with whipped cream and a spoon on the side.

Huckleberry Crisp

Sweetly tart and laced with spice, this huckleberry (or blueberry, if you’d rather) crisp recipe is gonna rock your world.

A white bowl filled with chili, with shredded cheese on top, and a spoon and two pieces of cornbread on the side.

Easy Chili

A stash of chili in the freezer is a simple trick that will rock your weeknight supper world. Imagine chili dogs as everyday indulgence!

A pile of cheese crackers on an old metal grater.

Cheese Crackers

Yup. We went there. To that homemade Cheez-It place. Go ahead. Admit it. You’re awfully glad that we did.

A white bowl filled with smoky gazpacho drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil, and a spoon resting inside the bowl.

Smoky Gazpacho

Sometimes a little unexpected tweak to tradition isn’t a bad thing. Nope. Not a bad thing at all…

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.

Ten spears of asparagus seasoned with salt and pepper and arranged in a row on a baking sheet.

Roasted Asparagus

Think a recipe for roast asparagus isn’t necessary? We thought so, too…until we tried this. Lovely spears time after time. Not at all mushy. And never tough.

Three glass bowls filled with scoops of strawberry cheesecake ice cream.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

This nifty little number has all the uber richness of cheesecake and all the luxe creaminess of ice cream but with barely any effort. No ice cream maker required.

A grilled Thai beef salad with lettuce, thinly sliced beef, shallots, and cilantro, on a green plate.

Grilled Thai Beef Salad

Spicy. Sweet. Tangy. Irresistible. Just what we want in something that’s hot off the grill and destined for dinner. Not to mention an easy way to get your greens down.

A white bowl filled with carrot and lentil soup and a wooden bowl of cooked rice beside it.

Carrot and Lentil Soup

“Beautiful.” “Filled with flavors.” “A tad spicy.” “Simple.” “Perfect!” That’s just a taste of what our testers are saying about this soup. Sort of makes you want some, doesn’t it?

A blueberry crumble in a glass pie dish with a basked of blueberries and several spoons next to it.

Blueberry Crumble

Need to bring something to a backyard bash when all you want is mad crazy gratitude and an empty dish to take home? This blueberry crumble with a crumbly oatmeal cookie topping is your answer.

A blue and white plate topped with a deconstructed chicken Caesar salad with baguette round croutons.

Chicken Caesar Salad

This take on the classic contains no raw egg, so make it for everyone you love—even the old, the young, and the preggers.

Tray of classic dinner rolls glazed with butter, bowl of melted butter with a brush

Classic Dinner Rolls

Practically instant gratification with its blink-and-you’ll-miss-it rise and its straightforward mixing method. And oooooh the taste!