A person holding a spoonful of aligot potatoes over a copper pot.

Aligot ~ Pommes Aligot

“By far, the best potatoes I’ve made and eaten in my life.” That’s the kind of thing we’re hearing from those who’ve tried this showstopper of a recipe.

A white dinner plate filled with strapponi pasta with porcini mushrooms and mint.

Strapponi Pasta with Porcini Mushrooms

For those who think that preparing fresh pasta is difficult, start by trying this recipe. Actually, you may stop here as well given how many folks have deemed it “perfect.”

Six homemade English muffins in tins on a baking sheet and four empty tins.

English Muffins

Far easier to make than you might imagine. And unspeakably more flavorful than anything you can find that’s store-bought.

Roasted potatoes with dill on a baking sheet.

Roasted Potatoes with Dill

A handful of cheap ingredients. The exact perfect temperature and timing. And a little patience, please, while spuds are elevated from simple to stellar.

A round glass baking dish filled with peach nectarine cobbler and a spoon on the side.

Peach Nectarine Cobbler

Sorta rustic, sorta refined, sorta irresistible. That’s what we’re hearing about this nuanced cobbler from Tanya Holland with its cakey biscuits and subtly cinnamon-inflected fruit filling.

Three fried chicken and biscuits sandwiches on a baking sheet with a bowl of honey beside and drizzled around the sandwiches.

Fried Chicken and Biscuits

Classic fried chicken is reimagined with a shatteringly crisp, delicate crust that usurps the usual thick breading. Flaky, buttery biscuits are requisite. Honey and pickles strongly encouraged.

A metal bowl with handles filled with seasoned perfect French fries.

Perfect French Fries

We’re not kidding about these being perfect French fries. We’re also not going to lie to you. Perfection takes time. We swear it’s worth the wait.

Three and a half quick dill pickles, dill seed, and a sprig of dill on a decorative white plate.

Quick Dill Pickles

Or, as we like to say, quickles. And we mean quick not just in terms of how little time they take to make. But also in terms of how quickly they’ll disappear as you’re blissing out on them.

Several cooked papo-secos on a wire rack.

Papo Secos ~ Portuguese Rolls

David explains how to make classic Portuguese papo secos, the stuff of everyday eating, that essentially look like cherubic little baby buns and have a taste that’s also divine.

A man holding tongs in front of a skillet making southern pan-fried chicken, which is bubbling in the pan.

Southern Pan-Fried Chicken

This recipe from the late, great Edna Lewis turns out skillet-fried chicken that’s perfectly seasoned, extra-crisp, and gosh darn beautiful in every way.

A plate of roasted Brussels sprouts with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar splashing down on it

Balsamic Brussels Sprouts

“They will make converts of Brussels sprouts haters and Brussels sprouts lovers will scarf them down like candy!” That’s what we’re hearing about these lovely little crucifers. We couldn’t agree more.

A few tahini chocolate chip cookies on a torn piece of parchment paper.

Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies

As easy as the classic Toll House recipe but a lot more memorable, these beauties boast ample chocolate chunks, a subtle nuttiness from the tahini, crackly edges, and oh so soft centers.

Two pouches of baked mushrooms in foil packets with a bowl of greens and another bowl of quinoa on the side.

Baked Mushrooms in Foil Packets

Embarrassingly easy. Enticingly aromatic. And unbelievably satisfying in terms of that beguiling umami-ness that defines mushrooms. Curious? You should be.

Wood bowl with tequila-lime chicken tacos, charred limes, radishes, sour cream

Tequila Lime Chicken Tacos

Chicken gets a little tipsy after being doused with tequila but is then given a cold shower in the form of a squeeze of lime and a cooling cilantro-chile mayo sauce.

Meatball lasagna, with one piece missing, in a large baking dish beside a spatula.

Meatball Lasagna

A playful riff on an Italian comfort food classic that calls for bite-size meatballs standing in for the usual meat sauce. Yet all the cheesy goodness of traditional lasagna remains unchanged.

A white plate of skillet-charred broccolini.

Skillet Charred Broccolini

A simple side that comes together quickly, only messes up a single pan, and will earn you accolades from most (if maybe not all) the folks at your table.

A paper bag filled with loaves of pane Francese.

Pane Francese

Looks like a baguette, tastes like a ciabatta. This northern Italian bread is crusty and chewy and all sorts of incredible.