This zucchini linguine is a panoply of summer abundance with summer squash and herbs crowding out the usual pasta sauce suspects. No complaints here.
Melissa Maedgen, Recipe Tester
A list of all the recipes Melissa Maedgen has tested.
Melissa Maedgen owes her passion for cooking and gardening to her parents. Like her mom and dad, she’s fond of improvisational cooking with a focus on fresh produce from her garden or from local farmers. She enjoys cooking outdoors, sometimes in a particularly rustic manner—she once roasted a goat on a spit (actually just a piece of rebar) over a fire in a field in Texas. Maedgen was raised to be a DIYer, so she often makes her own tofu or beer. She’s been following Leite’s Culinaria since 2001, when she was studying Portuguese and developed an interest in Brazilian and Portuguese food. She became a tester in 2009 and loves that she gets to cook foods she might not otherwise make.
Chicken Karaage ~ Japanese Fried Chicken
You haven’t lived until you’ve had chicken karaage, which is Japanese-style chicken that’s marinated in soy and fried twice until crisp and oh so nice.
Sweet Pickle Relish
So long, Vlasic. Once you try your hand at making your own sweet relish, you can cross one more condiment off your shopping list.
Cheese Enchiladas
Got chile sauce? Corn tortillas? Cheese? Sour Cream? Limes? Fantastic. Then you’ve got the makings for some of the easiest enchiladas ever.
Eggplant Kebabs
A healthy, veggie-packed dinner that’s most magnificent during the height of summer. No turning on the stove required.
Spicy Bourbon Barbecue Sauce
The secret ingredient to this spicy sauce? Nope. Not bourbon. We said secret. It’s smoked ketchup. (Yup. You heard correctly.) Bacon, too.
Greek Salad
As easy and traditional as classic Greek salad. But with a subtle twist that’s gonna have you coming back to this recipe again and again and again.
Grilled Portobello Mushrooms
Juicy and umami-rich, we might even dare say these super savory mushrooms are meaty in texture. They made a terrific side or even sub in for a burger patty.
Blueberry Frozen Yogurt
No sugar. No creepy preservatives. Nothing but blueberries, plain yogurt, honey, lemon juice, purple smiles, and requests for seconds.
Mean Shandy
What, pray tell, is a mean shandy, you ask? Think of a regular shandy with a spirited streak. There you have it.