Recipes

92 Cooking Projects to Keep You Busy and Extremely Well Fed

Steaming  soup dumplings, fluffy milk bread, and more cooking adventures to get fully consumed by. 
Pork wontons with sesame sauce
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Lillian Chou, prop styling by Beatrice Chastka

There’s nothing like cooking projects to focus the mind and put idle hands to work. Whether it’s throwing together a few big-batch recipes to set you up for the week or taking your time through one steppy, complicated dessert, following a recipe is one of our favorite ways to channel our energy into one time- and attention-hogging task. The one thing that makes it better than binge-watching an entire season of that show you heard about on Twitter? There’s actually something to show for it at the end. Whether you’re in the mood for a deeply comforting moussaka, a big flavor black-and-white concha, or a mesmerizingly beautiful squash and caramelized onion tart, these are the cooking projects to dive into when what you really want is something to do.

  • Image may contain Plant Food Vegetable and Cabbage
    Christopher Testani
    1/92

    Pork Soup Dumplings

    There's an art to eating soup dumplings: Nibble a bite, cautiously slurp the soup, then eat the rest.

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  • Bowl of Squash au Vin
    Photo by David Malosh, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Cindy Diprima
    2/92

    Squash au Vin

    Something very special happens when you give winter squash the coq au vin treatment.

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  • Samosa Recipe
    Photo by Laura Murray, food styling by Yekaterina Boystova
    3/92

    Amma’s Samosas

    These deliciously savory crispy fried samosas from Amma restaurant in New York feature a spiced potato filling packed with bright, lemony flavor.

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  • Caramelglazed apples baked on a rectangle of puff pastry.
    Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    4/92

    Glazed and Flaky Apple Tart

    If you're the type who prefers fruit desserts that go heavy on the fruit, this flaky, crunchy, juicy apple tart's for you.

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  • This image may contain Bowl Food Dish Meal Plant Soup Bowl Produce Soup and Vegetable
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Megan Hedgpeth
    5/92

    Slow-Cooked Chicken Stew with Kale

    A flavorful chicken stew that gets every iota of value from the chicken bones.

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  • This image may contain Food Bread and Breakfast
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    6/92

    Sweet Cinnamon Tamal

    Baking a single large-format tamal may not be traditional, but it produces a similarly tender, moist, barely sweet cake with pudding vibes.

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  • Image may contain Food Bread and Bun
    Photo by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones
    9/92

    Black-and-White Conchas

    Why have a chocolate- or vanilla-flavored concha when you can have both in this New York–inspired twist on the classic Mexican sweet bread?

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  • Bowl of Amiel Stanek's French Onion Noodle Soup
    Photo by Emma Fishman, food styling by Yekaterina Boystova
    10/92

    French Onion Beef Noodle Soup

    This super-savory dish draws inspiration from Taiwanese beef noodle soup, then gilds the lily with a Dutch oven’s worth of sweet, slow-simmered onions.

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  • Image may contain Food Sandwich and Burger
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Pearl Jones
    13/92

    Spicy Chicken Katsu Sandwiches

    The shattering panko crispiness of katsu-style cutlets plus the fiery heat of Nashville-style hot chicken, all in one sandwich.

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  • A shallow bowl filled with pappardelle Bolognese.
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Kate Buckens
    14/92

    BA’s Best Bolognese

    It doesn’t take a lot of ingredients (or a lot of money) to make a classic Bolognese recipe. What it does take, though, is patience!

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