Sarah Kenney, Recipe Tester

A list of all the recipes Sarah Kenney has tested.

A baking sheet lined with parchment and covered with easy roasted carrots and onions with burnt edges.

Easy Roasted Carrots

Four ingredients and one simple technique that will leave everyone asking—maybe even demanding—you for more. A keeper of a side dish.

A large rectangular pan with bacon cornbread in it and a large knife.

Bacon Cornbread

There’s cornbread. And then there’s cornbread enhanced with bacon, corn, and good ol’ bacon drippings. Just as God intended, folks who’ve made it have been saying.

Pumpkin crunch in a glass bowl beside a glass bowl of mixed nuts and cranberries.

Pumpkin Crunch

A sweetly spiced upgrade to trail mix, this snappy little snack is perfect for autumn eating. Serve as an appetizer or just a little pick-me-up.

2 hands holding a pale green bowl filled with creamy mushroom soup, topped with olive oil yogurt, and hazelnuts. Salt and pepper shakers, and a spoon sit next to it.

Creamy Mushroom Soup

Sometimes, a creamy, comforting soup is all you need, especially if you can make it vegan. Topped with yogurt and hazelnuts, it’s superb.

A white bowl filled with peach, burrata, and basil salad.

Peach, Burrata, and Basil Salad

Peachy keen takes on new meaning with this little stunner of a starter or, if you’re like us and have a hard time restraining yourself, your entire dinner. Summer personified.

Two bowls of polenta with greens, topped with grated Parmesan and crispy bread crumbs.

Polenta with Greens

Comfort food at its finest—creamy polenta, packed with leafy greens and Parmesan. Full of nutritious veggies and on the table in 45 minutes. You’re welcome.

11 birthday cake cookies covered in white frosting and colored sprinkles

Birthday Cake Cookies

All the good stuff from a birthday cake–sprinkles and a creamy buttery frosting–incorporated into soft, tender sugar cookies. That’s something to celebrate.

Three bowls of minestrone soup with a small bowl of pesto on the side.

Old-Fashioned Minestrone Soup

An updated Italian classic made with all the usual suspects along with an unexpected drizzle of pesto that turns a frugal veggie-bin catch-all into something truly astounding.

Three homemade Larabars.

Homemade Larabars

We got nothing against the Larabars we’ve been noshing for years. Save for the crazy price tag. Here’s a less expensive, more customizable alternative.

Halved slow roasted tomatoes on a piece of parchment with drops of oil and flakes of salt.

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

With their intensified flavor, these candy-like tomatoes make an astonishing addition to all sorts of dishes.

An overhead view of a single, perfectly baked snickerdoodle.

Snickerdoodles

A childhood classic perfected. Includes advice depending on whether you prefer cookies that are thin and flat or thick and puffy.

Mini Staub skillets filed with kale shakshuka--eggs, kale, and spices

Kale Shakshuka

This is definitely not your classic shakshuka. But with its lilt of lemon, its hearty braised greens, and it sprinkling of za’atar, it’s not something we’d kick out of bed.

Two best gougeres on a cocktail napkin with a lipstick print on it and a glass of Champagne

Classic Gruyère Gougères

Essentially fancy-sounding blobs of pastry with grated cheese, these chichi French lovelies impress everyone yet barely take any effort.

Two fillets of lemon sole oreganata topped with a Parmigiano-Reggiano breadcrumb mixture on a baking sheet

Lemon Sole Oreganata

Dinner dilemma? Enter this delicate baked fish with crisp seasoned bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese with a white wine pan sauce that’s proven to be surprisingly popular with kids and adults alike.

Three plates filled with shredded beef tacos--braised beef brisket, Cotija cheese, napa cabbage, sour cream, red onions, and cilantro on charred corn tortillas

Shredded Beef Tacos

Not your typical tacos, these beauties comprise gently spiced braised brisket that’s smattered with cabbage, pickled red onion, Cotija cheese, lime, and cilantro. Not your typical tacos. And boy are we thankful for that.

Several cranberry pistachio biscotti cookies tied together with raffia

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

Cranberries add a chewy, sweet-tartness and pistachios bring a buttery tasting richness to these biscotti, making them a must-make for Christmas.

A pottery plate filled with roasted butternut squash and apple salad made with watercress, sweet apples, and topped with Parmesan

Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Salad

Unexpected, easy, eye-catching, and impressive as heck. That’s what we think of this lovely autumnal juxtaposition of tastes and textures that’s gonna upend the way you think about salads.