Melinda Hamby, Recipe Tester

A list of all the recipes Melinda Hamby has tested.

Three personal pan lasagnas in glass dishes.

Personal Pan Lasagna

This loosely defined “lasagna” is an easy little cheat of a recipe that relies on store-bought ravioli, jarred sauce, and shredded cheese. Shhhhhh.

A green bowl filled with sautéed bacon, mushrooms, and lentils with a whole piece of bacon on top.

Sautéed Bacon, Mushrooms, and Lentils

It may seem criminal to bathe the walloping nutrition of lentils and mushrooms in anything but wholesomeness, but there’s something to be said for quality of life. Hello, bacon!

A New York–style cheesecake in a springform pan on a wire rack with a dirty bowl, spoon, spatula, and paddle attachment lying beside it.

New York–Style Cheesecake

How do you define a true New York-style cheesecake? A sweetly crunchy graham cracker crust cushioning a rich, creamy, moan-inducing filling with a slightly lemony lilt. In other words, this recipe.

A cast iron skillet filled with baked macaroni and cheese.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

This toss-it-together-and-shove-it-in-the-oven casserole is exactly what macaroni and cheese ought to be—easy, cheesy, crumb-topped, and knee-wobblingly indulgent.

A trussed classic roast chicken on a rack, set inside a skillet.

Classic Roast Chicken

Succulent. Crisp-skinned. Simple. If that’s what you seek in a roast hen, your search stops with this ooh- and aah-inducing technique.

A three-layer hummingbird cake with a cake server beside it.

Hummingbird Cake

This Southern classic is an oh so sweet and charming stack of pineapple, coconut, bananas, and pecans slathered with cream cheese frosting.

Two whole chickens and whole garlic heads in a cast iron pan

Skillet Roast Chicken

This sassy roast chicken gets its moist meat and ultra-crisp skin from the two-step process of searing it in a skillet then sliding the whole thing in the oven. Simplicity.