Susan Bingaman, Recipe Tester

A list of all the recipes Susan Bingaman has tested.

Susan Bingaman

Growing up, Susan Bingaman might have been deemed the pickiest eater this side of anywhere, but the pages of her grandmother’s copies of Gourmet and Bon Appetit changed all that. There was more to life than American cheese sandwiches with only yellow mustard on white bread, after all. She went on to become a Food Scientist fulfilling a dream of working in a test kitchen. Since then, Susan’s been a Leite’s Culinaria tester since June 2004 and was part of the team of testers for David’s cookbook, The New Portuguese Table.

She works for a major midwestern grocery store chain figuring nutrition facts for prepared foods. She lives in central Iowa with her husband and son where she hopes to break the chain of picky eating. There’s always a batch of Banana Bread Muffins in the freezer and, she’s quick to slather Cream Cheese Frosting on most everything, except when they are having Bucatini all’Amatriciana or Char Siu Pork for dinner.

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 cast-iron skillet with four cooked chicken apple sausages inside.

Chicken Apple Sausage

Seriously, it’s so easy to make your own sausage. Insanely easy. And holy heck, does it taste phenomenal. No meat grinder required.

A cranberry scone with white chocolate drizzle on a red plate, which is set on a white plate on a red background.

Cranberry Scones

Got leftover cranberries? Then you’ve got the fixings for these incredible scones that balance tart berries with sweet white chocolate and knee-wobblingly flaky pastry.

A metal skillet filled with easy skillet lasagna and garnished with basil leaves.

Easy Skillet Lasagna

Those days when meal planning goes south and weeknight weariness looms, simple salvation can be found in this easy skillet lasagna made with store-bought ravioli.

A round baking dish filled with scalloped potatoes and two stacked white plates topped with a serving of the scalloped potatoes.

Scalloped Potatoes

Essentially creamy easy cheesy side dish awesomeness., these are as welcome on weeknights as they are on holidays.

Three slices of pear bread on a white plate with a cut loaf in the background.

Pear Bread

Quick bread. Tea cake. Spice bread. Whatever you call it, this recipe has pedigree–and you don’t need to know its geneology to know this. One taste tells all.

A giant peanut butter cup on a plate, cut into 15 wedges.

Giant Peanut Butter Cup

If you’re a peanut butter cup lover (and really, who isn’t?), then this is the dessert of your dreams. Creamy peanut butter filling is encapsulated by a milk chocolate shell. Enough said.

A wedge of white pizza on a piece of parchment.

White Pizza

We find this lovely, albeit subtly flavored, little number to be one of the simpler pleasures in life. We think you’ll concur.

Four scoops of blueberry frozen yogurt in a wooden bowl with a spoon resting beside it.

Blueberry Frozen Yogurt

No sugar. No creepy preservatives. Nothing but blueberries, plain yogurt, honey, lemon juice, purple smiles, and requests for seconds.

A bowl of easy queso dip with a person dipping a chip into it

Easy Queso Dip

Whether you prefer to dip, dunk, scoop, or smother, one thing is for certain. This is the dip you want to do it with.

A blue plate with a serving of creamy French chicken stew served over rice and garnished with parsley.

Creamy French Chicken Stew

This simple chicken stew, which is chock-full of vegetables, chicken, and served in a light cream sauce, feels decadent but is surprisingly virtuous.

A bowl of creamy pork and egg noodles

Creamy Pork and Egg Noodles

This umami-rich bowl of creamy comfort requires only one pan, is on the table in just 40 minutes, and utilizes a genius hack for creating a stroganoff-esque sauce.

Brown butter snickerdoodle cake cut into six pieces on a piece of parchment paper, with a serving knife nearby.

Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cake

A terrifically tasty cake, one that’s reminiscent of cinnamon rolls and snickerdoodle cookies. What are you waiting for? Your new favorite awaits!

Quick cacio e pepe in a large black serving bowl beside a bowl of shredded cheese and a bowl of black pepper.

Quick Cacio e Pepe

Dinner doesn’t get any easier or more elegant than pasta tossed with butter, olive oil, Parmesan and pecorino Romano cheeses, and dusted with lots of black pepper.

Cauliflower bacon gratin in a large green rectangular baking dish with melted cheese.

Cauliflower-Bacon Gratin

This cauliflower gratin recipe from Dorie Greenspan is French comfort food, yet it wouldn’t be out of place on a distinctly American Thanksgiving table.