Linda B., Recipe Tester

What to bring to a backyard bash when all you want is mad crazy gratitude and an empty dish to take home.

• 15 M
• 50 M
• 45

If you’re going to splurge on brownies, you may as well, you know, SPLURGE on brownies. But not in terms of effort or expense. Just taste. These brownies handle it splendidly.

• Quick Glance
• 10 M
• 45 M
• 4

“The best scrambled eggs that I have ever made!” “Light, fluffy, slightly moist.” “Perfect.” That’s what folks are saying about this recipe.

• Quick Glance
• 5 M
• 25 M
• 2

Everyone who’s made this little lovely is lauding it as the airiest, most perfect puffed pancake they’ve met.

• 5 M
• 30 M
• 61

Perfection. That’s what we think of this simple yet exquisite melding of pork, butter, salt, and pepper from chef Gabrielle Hamilton.

• 10 M
• 20 M
• 4

Baguette slathered with goat cheese and baked to toasty perfection with a can’t-mess-it-up vinaigrette and salad. Easy peasy.

• Quick Glance
• 15 M
• 15 M
• 0

Bathed in buttermilk and spiced ever so slightly, this Cajun-style fried hen is memorably moist inside, superlatively crisp outside, and gosh darn perfect through and through.

• 35 M
• 35 M
• 21

In this inspired Italian creation, traditional lasagna noodles are supplanted by polenta. Trust us, you’ll feel no guilt nor regret over forsaking custom.

• Quick Glance
• 20 M
• 2 H
• 12

Forget Robitussin. This fragrant infusion not only makes a run to the pharmacy unnecessary, but it goes down with far, far more ease than that syrupy medicinal stuff.

• 5 M
• 15 M
• 12

This bourbon-imbued after-dinner drink, a variation on classic Irish coffee, is guaranteed to make everything alright.

• Quick Glance
• 10 M
• 10 M
• 2

Tender and crumbly like shortbread, yet subtly flavored and sweet like cookies, these beg the question, which are they?

• 20 M
• 45 M
• 32

An effortless, elegant side that fancies up the form as well as the flavor of two enduring entertaining icons: the stuffed mushroom and Thanksgiving stuffing.

• 25 M
• 1 H, 10 M
• 14

What we adore most about roast chicken? The fix-it-and-forget-about-it-ness of it. That and the countless ways to fancy it up. Here, one of our fuss-free favorites.

• 35 M
• 1 H, 55 M
• 19

Roasted pumpkin with Parmesan is simply roasted winter squash with a little bling in the form of Parmigiano-Reggiano. So simple. Even sorta sophisticated.

• Quick Glance
• 20 M
• 1 H, 20 M
• 0