Gene C., Recipe Tester

A list of all the recipes Gene C. has tested.

A skillet filled with pan seared scallops cooked in butter

Pan Seared Scallops

Perhaps the easiest and most elegant dinner conceivable. Here’s how to cook your pricey (and worth every penny) sea scallops to perfection.

A brown and white pottery bowl filled with bucatini all'Amatriciana, topped with pecorino and parsley.

Bucatini all’Amatriciana

All’Amatriciana—go on, roll that “r” like they do in Italy—means a spicy pasta sauce of tomatoes and pancetta or bacon. Prego.

A metal sheet pan covered with 8 golden and crisp chicken thighs.

Oven Roasted Chicken Thighs

“Simple.” “Perfect.” “The moistest chicken with the crispiest skin we’ve ever had.” That’s what folks are saying about this crowd-pleasing, weeknight-friendly chicken trick.

A metal skillet filled with creamy pasta covered with shredded Parmesan and cracked pepper, with a large serving spoon. A bowl of Parmesan and a pepper mill sit beside it.

Cacio e Pepe

This crazy satisfying, ridiculously cheap, pantry-minded dinner consists of just pasta, cheese, oil, salt, pepper, and a nifty technique.

A jar of refrigerator sweet pickles with a fork holding two pickles lying beside the jar.

Refrigerator Sweet Pickles

A Scandinavian-style pickle that’s distinctly sweet, a little sour, and perfumed with dill. It doesn’t even require turning on the stove during the dog days of summer.

Two white bowls of Tuscan bean soup on a white surface.

Tuscan Bean Soup

A classic Italian vegetable soup that just happens to be loaded with so-called super foods such as kale. Seems Nonna’s known what’s best all along.

Two spoons with homemade harissa on them on a cracked enamel surface.

Homemade Harissa

In the words of one of our recipe testers, “If this sauce is what Moroccan food is all about, then I’m all in.” Us, too.

Four veal cutlets in a white wine lemon sauce with lemon slices and capers in a skillet for veal piccata.

Veal Piccata

“Everyone loved it, including the kiddos.” “Quick and easy.” “Perfect.” “As good as any restaurant piccata I’ve ever had.” That’s what folks are saying about this recipe.

A pepper and egg sandwich on a wooden table with pieces of pepper and onion falling out.

Pepper and Egg Sandwich

Just like mom made. That’s what we’re hearing from folks who grew up hoovering this classic, quick, easy, cheap Italian staple any and all times of day.

A wire basket lined with parchment and filled with sweet and spicy bacon with a glass of beer on the side.

Sweet and Spicy Bacon

When this sweet and spicy bacon is missing from your life, happiness is missing from your life. And if fulfillment can be found in brown sugar and spice, don’t you owe it to yourself?

Squares of chocolate fudge on a rimmed baking sheet with a knife resting beside them.

Chocolate Fudge

A no-fail chocolate fudge that’s easy to make and foolproof as can be. Although that’s not the only reason why we make batch after batch after batch and they each disappear.

A pot roast with potatoes and vegetables on a decorative platter with a serving fork on the platter and a napkin on the side.

Easy Pot Roast, Potatoes, and Vegetables

This classic, hearty, homey dish—just like something your grandma used to make but better—is an ideal one-pot meat-and-potatoes meal. Includes oven as well as slow cooker instructions.

A mini funnel cake dusted with confectioners' sugar.

Mini Funnel Cakes

Forget the state fair. You can have funnel cakes whenever you want. And as many as you want. Without asking your parents’ permission. And they’re as quick and easy as pancakes.

Seven pieces of gluten-free fried chicken on a paper towel-lined rimmed baking sheet.

Gluten-Free Fried Chicken

Because we believe awesome fried chicken is a birthright for all, we bring you this gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo-friendly bird.

Strips of homemade red wine pasta on a wooden surface.

Homemade Red Wine Pasta

When we say this intensely hued pasta is simply stunning, we mean not just that breathtaking to behold but that that it comes together so simply it stuns us.