To make this bistro classic in my kitchen, I use a cast-iron skillet or grill pan that I get really hot, and then I sear the steak on both sides, cooking it medium-rare, which is the way I like it. My preferred cut is entrecôte, or rib-eye, and I ask the butcher to cut it into steaks that aren’t too thick since I like lots of surface area on my steaks. I rub them with chipotle chile powder to give them a bit of a smoky flavor.

Unlike their more casserole-y cousins, these bright, make-ahead-friendly green beans from Maricel Presilla’s opus Gran Cocina Latina will take 5 minutes in one skillet on the stovetop on Thanksgiving Day (no oven hogging!). Despite their speed, they develop loads of flavor fast, thanks to a quick three-allium sofrito and a surprisingly simple splash of milk to hug the beans at the end. (Bonus: Nondairy milks are very welcome, too.)

This salad's genius starts with a double-duty dressing-slash-marinade (that you don’t have to let marinade, or even wipe off before cooking), but doesn't stop there. It's fitting that in her new cookbook, I Dream of Dinner, Ali Slagle called this Not Just Another Caesar Salad, because it redefined what I want in the classic—and gave me a crunchy crouton trick that means I'll never skip making them again.

Eggplant can be a mystery. Will it brown handsomely or stick to the pan? Will its flesh relax or stay stiff and chewy? Will it be sweet or bitter? Is it a boy or a girl? (This last one is a red herring. See the tip below for what you should really be looking for.)

This egg salad takes less time than boiling an egg. And better yet, none of it is spent pulling off stubborn shards of shell. Because once again, Aki and Alex at Ideas in Food have changed how we'll cook forever with their warm, crispy, magical Fried Egg Salad.

As Erin writes in Savory Baking, "My mom was both a nurse and a very good cook. So when I was sick as a kid, I was taken very good care of— including a regimen of her chicken noodle soup, sometimes complete with homemade noodles. While the real remedy was surely to be found in the broth, the thing I remember are those wonderfully chewy noodles. You can whip up these noodles in less time than it takes for your favorite soup to simmer to flavorful perfection. These are also delicious boiled until tender, then sautéed in butter (I top mine with grated Parm and black pepper for the ultimate comfort food snack)."

If you're looking for a no-hassle summer snack or antipasto, this pan-fried gnocchi pairs perfectly with creamy burrata and melt-in-your-mouth tomato and garlic confit. Top with flaky salt, cracked black pepper, and fennel pollen for a little something extra. Best eaten with a spoon!

"Both of my parents are from the Caribbean, so I’ve grown up appreciating the magic that happens when sweet and savory ingredients come together. The combination of smoky mushrooms, sweet pineapple salsa, coconut undertones, and supporting acidic and savory pops of flavor is what makes this bowl so divine. And don’t you dare skip out on the cilantro aioli—it is cooling, creamy, and simply the real deal."

Another avocado toast recipe? We hear you. But this isn't anything like your run-of-the-mill avocado toast. Apollonia Poilâne's avocado tartines with banana and lime are the unexpected breakfast pick-me-up you had no idea you needed. For one thing, the pairing of banana and avocado is surprisingly perfect, with the sweetness of the banana and the greener flavor of the avocado bouncing off of one another.

Over the past 30 years, avocado toast has been the subject of culty obsession, disbelieving derision, and often both at once. This mashed-fruit-on-bread has turned into an edible example of Instagram culture, and culinary appropriation and gentrification. A brief history: Avocado toast became a thing in 2011, thanks to Jessica Koslow’s all-day Los Angeles café, Sqirl. Koslow had adopted the toast (and good vibes) from another all-day cafes in Australia. And before all this, avocado glut plus tortilla was so ubiquitous a snack in pre-colonial Mexico (bread was introduced by European colonists during the 1500s), that it seemed silly to call it a trend, let alone develop a recipe.

My boyfriend and I have been making this simple yet extraordinarily delicious pasta for almost a decade. It's especially perfect during the summer when tomatoes are juicy and ripe, though I've been known to make it in the dead of winter when I need a kick of bright, fresh flavor. To this day we still don't know exactly who invented the recipe, but it was likely inspired by a Jamie Oliver dish (old Naked Chef episodes are regularly rewatched in this house). The magic comes from the balsamic vinegar and a single sheet pan: the tangy acidity of the balsamic sweetens as it caramelizes the tomatoes and onions, while the aluminum foil-wrapped garlic softens and mellows as they all roast together in the oven. In fact, this recipe is one of the few reasons to turn on your oven during the hottest months of the year—you just can't get that same level of sticky-sweet goodness on the stovetop. (The easy cleanup doesn't hurt either.)

Reprinted with permission from Carla Lalli Music's Where Cooking Begins| New Window: "The magic thing about [this] green sauce is that it works seamlessly with any combination of tender herbs, so you can tweak it to your preferences, or for the herbs you happen to have on hand. Spin it with: two oil-packed anchovy fillets for the capers, or Parmigiano for nutritional yeast."

These pancakes will taste richer, more buttermilk-y, and more complete in any side-by-side taste test—all thanks to one little ingredient switcheroo. Despite what you might expect from the mochi in the name, Cynthia Chen McTernan explains, “Interestingly, a bit of sweet rice flour mixed with all-purpose flour results in pancakes that aren’t dense and chewy like pure mochi is,” she writes. “Instead, they’re just the slightest bit softer and more tender, with a faint milkiness I like.

A simple, extremely versatile 5-minute salad for dumping together and taking to work.

Search for “pasta salad” on the internet, and you’ll see a rainbow of ’sta-lads out there. To Anna Billingskog, our Italian-American food stylist with very strong feelings on Italian-American food, pasta salad means “corkscrew pasta, cubed deli meat butts, and a red wine vinaigrette.” To Trevor, my partner, it requires mayo and diced hard-boiled eggs. To me, it means all of my favorite things in one bowl: buttery olives, salty meat ribbons, bouncy bocconcini, and leafy parsley.

Pastry chef Jami Curl wanted the simplest possible vanilla cake to stir together at home—one that, without a mixer, you could be eating warm from the oven in under an hour. Her latest cookbook Baking Gold has lots of ideas for dolling it up with fruit and glazes and crunchy bits (pictured here: jammy strawberries and butterscotch whipped cream). And in Genius trick news: It keeps well days longer than your average cake—so you can try lots of them. Sprinkle fruit on top or stir it through before baking (Jami loves frozen blueberries, and says blackberries would also be good, but will bring a bit of extra moisture). After baking, top it with anything you’re in the mood for: Buttercream and sprinkles for a birthday cake. Toasted coconut, grated chocolate, spiced nuts. More sour cream, fresh fruit, and a sprinkle of brown sugar. And ice cream would never be a bad alternative (or addition!) to the whipped cream.

In Isan, a region in northeast Thailand, “zab” is used to describe a Captain Falcon–strength jolt of flavor to the mouth. Toasted and ground sticky rice (khao khua) is a common ingredient Isan cooks call in for a what’s-the-word-for-this crunch on minty salads or puckery, porky laap. So that I don’t lose any of that volatile roasty-toastiness, I toast and powder only what I plan to use that day. For a finger-sticking dust worth its salt, I add a tiny squeeze of lime, pinch of chile, and just enough sugar to bring you back for more. Massage the lime zest in with your fingers, and hover—if you dare—for a zab-zab punch to the face. Use to dust popcorn, roasted fish collars, or fried chicken wings.

When the house chef takes the night off, resist your go-to takeout and toss together this powerhouse one-bowl dinner instead. Yes, it’s a salad, but it stars bacon, salami, ham, turkey and cheese, which makes it an easy sell to the under-15 crowd, as well as a fun and filling meal.

Obatzda, a traditional Bavarian cheese spread from Classic German Cooking by Luisa Weiss, blends ripe Camembert, butter, onions, and spices into a creamy, savory dip—perfect with pretzels and beer, especially during Oktoberfest.

This little green sauce that goes with every grilled or roasted protein in your repertoire. I like to add this to tuna salad, vegetable-based soups, and brothy beans, and spoon it over fried or hard-boiled eggs, too. You could also use it as the dressing for a grain salad or put it out with roasted, boiled, or steamed potatoes (any type, including sweet potatoes).