Jess Bender, Recipe Tester

A list of all the recipes Jess Bender has tested.

Jess Bender

Jess’s love of food (and everything associated with it) comes from her early days baking Linzer tarts and perfecting her grandmother’s meatloaf recipe. Her culinary horizons may have expanded significantly since her childhood—ask her about her favorite Ethiopian and Thai haunts in New York City and she’ll happily give you a list!—but she still finds immense joy embracing the classics she grew up with. That being said, she’s always willing to take a risk when it comes to trying new recipes and utilizing one of her new spices from her Burlap & Barrel Spice Club membership. 

Much of her professional career has also revolved around her passions. From writing restaurant reviews to playing an editorial hand in Zagat’s 40th Anniversary Edition, she now currently works at a prominent morning show as a senior commerce editor. She currently resides with her partner and an inappropriately-large cookbook collection.

A white oval serving platter filled with carrot ribbon salad and garnished with cilantro leaves.

Carrot Ribbon Salad

We’re declaring this easy, healthy salad of carrots, cilantro, and toasted cumin vinaigrette your summer go-to salad.

Paleo pork Normandy garnished with thyme, in a cast-iron pan with two serving forks, surrounded by burlap, apples, and thyme.

Paleo Pork Normandy

An exceptional combination of autumnal flavors in a paleo dish that will make everyone happy. Apples and pork are a match made in heaven.

Pieces of yogurt and spice marinated salmon on a piece of parchment on a baking sheet with cilantro, onion, and lime wedge garnishes on the side.

Yogurt and Spice Marinated Salmon

“11/10!!!” “Ridiculously fast! Ridiculously good!!” “Where has this recipe been my whole life!?” “The flavors, the simplicity.” That’s what we’re hearing about this quickie of a salmon supper.

A green bowl filled with scrambled eggs and green pieces of zucchini on a tile tabletop, with a fork.

Zucchini and Eggs

An easy-peasy breakfast (or anytime) that’s full of veg. Zucchini adds some greenery to your basic scrambled eggs.

A sheet pan with 9 chicken thighs covered in a deep reddish sauce, blackened in spots.

Pomegranate Sumac Chicken

A sticky, sweet, and lightly spiced platter of roasted chicken thighs sounds pretty fantastic, doesn’t it? Let us assure you, it really is.

A dark bowl with handles full of Swiss chard Caeser salad and croutons on a dark background.

Vegan Swiss Chard Caesar Salad

Vegan Caesar salad that might even pass as the real deal. This Swiss chard-based beauty is chock-full of good-for-you ingredients. It tastes so good, you won’t even mind.

A large pot of pasta and chickpea soup, with a full white bowl next to it and a plate of shredded white parmesan.

Pasta e Ceci

In an hour, you can have a hearty, healthy, and incredibly tasty pot of this traditional Roman soup—or stew, if you prefer. Blended chickpeas get thick in an instant.

A sliced rib eye on an oval platter with anchovy butter drizzled over the top and a fork resting on the side.

Rib Eye with Anchovy Butter

Summer is for steaks—big beefy steaks. Grill one to perfection then top with a lemony and salty pat of life-changing magic. Seriously. You’re going to slather it on everything.

Five individual servings of easy apple crumble in different bowls.

Easy Apple Crumble

An apple crumble is the ultimate in comfort food. It subs in for breakfast or takes the place of a much fancier dessert. It’s the triple threat of sweets—fruit, oats, and sugar. What else is there?

A silver bowl of mujadara -- cooked rice and lentils, topped with caramelized onions with a silver spoon on the side.

Mujadara

Comfort food at its finest and, perhaps, easiest. Made with rice, lentils, and caramelized onions, it’s as good room temp as it is warm and goes with almost anything. Full of flavor yet also frugal.

A skillet filled with shrimp with chorizo and toasted bread slices on the side.

Shrimp with Chorizo

What did our discerning testers say about this recipe? “Wildy satisfying.” “Zesty.” “Quick and tasty.” “A marriage made in heaven.” “A stunning nosh.” And they should know.