M.K. Morgan, Recipe Tester

A list of all the recipes M.K. Morgan has tested.

A skillet filled with pan seared scallops cooked in butter.

Pan Seared Scallops

Perhaps the easiest and most elegant dinner conceivable. Here’s how to cook your pricey (and worth every penny) sea scallops to perfection.

A white plate with 3 shredded beef enchiladas covered with melted cheese and diced onions, with a knife and fork.

Shredded Beef Enchiladas

Shredded beef and gooey cheese and a pretty mild sauce. Just 20 minutes in the oven, then compliments all around. Thanks, Homesick Texan.

A brown and white pottery bowl filled with bucatini all'Amatriciana, topped with pecorino and parsley.

Bucatini all’Amatriciana

All’Amatriciana—go on, roll that “r” like they do in Italy—means a spicy pasta sauce of tomatoes and pancetta or bacon. Prego.

Oven Roasted Chicken Thighs

“Simple.” “Perfect.” “The moistest chicken with the crispiest skin we’ve ever had.” That’s what folks are saying about this crowd-pleasing, weeknight-friendly chicken trick.

A metal pie plate with two slices of roasted tomato quiche, some crumbs of crust and a fork.

Roasted Tomato Quiche

A soulful and satiating quiche that goes perfectly with chilled wine at supper. Or with even more wine at brunch.

Tray of roast chicken pieces with pancetta, olives, and garlic cloves

Roast Chicken with Pancetta and Olives

“One of the best chicken recipes ever!” “Crisp-skinned.” “Juicy.” “Aromatic.” “Easy.” “Gorgeous.” “Heavenly.” That’s what we’re hearing from folks who’ve tried it.

A white serving bowls filled with smashed potatoes and garnished with thyme sprigs on a wooden board.

Smashed Potatoes

Before you roll your eyes and mutter, “Do I need another mashed potato recipe?” we suggest you try these simple, sinful, pleasingly chunky smashed spuds. The answer, you’ll find, is yes.

A loaf of Irish soda bread on a brown plate with a chunk cut out and smeared with butter.

Irish Soda Bread

A sweet nuttiness, a dense crumb, a crunchy crust, and bags more flavor than normal bread. Whatcha waiting for?

A cast-iron skillet filled with a cooked sweet potato cornbread with two pats of butter on top and a dish of butter pats beside it.

Sweet Potato Cornbread

We could blather on and on about this surprising (and stealthy healthy) riff on a Southern classic that everyone is swearing is the best cornbread they’ve ever had.

A bowl of Cuban black bean soup with a wooden ladle next to a yellow plate filled with white rice.

Cuban Black Bean Soup

This Havana-style black bean soup is gonna surprise you with just how intensely flavored it is despite calling for inexpensive everyday ingredients.

Several Spanish olive oil tortas in a bowl lined with a lace linen cloth.

Spanish Olive Oil Tortas ~ Tortas de Aceite

We’ve been wobbly in the knees for these sweet and shatteringly crisp little Spanish olive oil tortas. And now that we know how to make them at home, we can’t decide if that’s a good thing or not…

A bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin with a few slices cut from the end and a knife resting beside.

Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin

Easy. Economical. On the table in 45 minutes. And essentially pork wrapped in more pork and roasted until crisp outside and juicily tender inside. Comfort food for when you need it.

A tray of s'mores brownies with a spatula resting inside and several brownies missing.

S’mores Brownies

Chewy, gooey, and chocolatey, these crackly topped brownies buried beneath slightly charred marshmallow are the ideal balance of cakey, fudgy, and nostalgia-inducing messiness.

A white plate topped with beet salad with goat cheese and honey and watercress leaves.

Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Honey

Roast beets until sweet enough to be considered dirt candy. Plonk on a place with tangy goat cheese, peppery greens, and a generous drizzle of honey. Lunch is done.