Fennel turns meltingly tender and oh so sweet when slowly, slowly, slowly braised in cream, cheese, and butter. One more reason to be enamored with the holidays.
- 10 M
- 1 H, 45 M
- 12
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.
Wild Rice with Roasted Chestnuts and Cranberries
This Christmas and Thanksgiving dish of wild rice is combined with freshly roasted chestnuts, cranberries, and apricots then baked in the oven. The sweet and savory notes hit just the right spot with guests.
- 1 H, 15 M
- 3 H
- 2
Vegan Apple Cake with Maple Chai Glaze
Perfectly spiced. Simple to make. Welcome any time of day or night. And so lovely no one will EVER guess it’s vegan. Swear.
- Quick Glance
- 30 M
- 1 H, 20 M
- 0
Pasta alla Norma
We’ve tasted a lot of pasta alla Norma recipes in our day, and we gotta say, after trying this one, we’re calling it quits on our search for the perfect recipe. Because this is it.
- 25 M
- 1 H
- 14
Spiced Pecans
“Super easy.” “Great with beer.” “Disappear fast.” “Yummy!” That’s what folks are saying about this recipe that’s a little sticky, a little sweet, a little spicy, and incredibly stunning.
- 10 M
- 40 M
- 2
Sweet Potato Cornbread
We could blather on and on and on about this surprising and stunning (and stealthy healthy) riff on a Southern classic that everyone is swearing is the best cornbread they’ve ever had. But you best experience it for yourself.
- 15 M
- 50 M
- 53
Skillet Eggs with Chorizo and Vegetables
This godsend of a quick weeknight recipe can be twerked, er, tweaked any which way—which is to say, your way.
- 30 M
- 45 M
- 8
Grilled Portobello Mushrooms
These grilled portobello mushrooms are topped with butter, garlic, rosemary, and soy sauce for an incredible and indescribable umami savoriness.
- Quick Glance
- 15 M
- 30 M
- 0
Adobo Marinated Pork Chops
We teach you how to make your own homemade adobo and then wield it to make your weeknight meals exponentially more enticing.
- Quick Glance
- 15 M
- 1 H, 30 M
- 0
Homemade Sriracha Sauce
The traditional and incendiary Thai condiment has incited quite the following. Here’s how to save yourself a trip to your local Asian market.
- 5 M
- 7 D
- 58
Tomatoes Provençal
Is there anything as sweetly satisfying as heirloom tomatoes eaten raw over the sink? Probably not. But when you tire of that, there’s always this deeply satiating tactic.
- 10 M
- 40 M
- 14
Johnnycakes
Make no mistake, pancakes they are not. Johnnycakes are lighter and crunchier and grittier and arguably best drenched in butter and maple syrup.
- Quick Glance
- 15 M
- 45 M
- 2
Spinach, Tomato, and Mushroom Burger
“A keeper.” That’s what people are saying about this portobello mushroom burger piled high with garlicky spinach and marinated tomatoes.
- Quick Glance
- 30 M
- 1 H
- 0
Buttermilk Onion Rings
Crisp on the outside, sweet and tender on the inside, these buttermilk onion rings are going to ruin all over onion rings for you.
- 30 M
- 40 M
- 4