Cheese

At a time when anxiety felt inescapable, the cocktails and cheese boards my mom and dad made were my constant.

Top these creamy, beany enfrijoladas with a fried egg, chorizo or roasted vegetables, and queso fresco!

When you find yourself with more garlic than you know what to do with, whip up this extra-garlicky Caesar dressing, slather it on a chicken, and roast it to perfection.

It’s almost silly how easy this dish of impossibly delicious, ooey-gooey cheesy chiles is to execute. 

The one rule here is to use all of the cheese.

Easy, hearty, and it can stand up to hot summer weather—even if you make it ahead. 

This dish of saucy, seared paneer channels the flavors traditionally found in matar paneer—coriander, cumin, chile, and ginger—into a quick-cooking cherry tomato sauce that's packed with bright spring-y sugar snap peas. If you can’t find paneer, give this a try with another sturdy non-melty cheese like Halloumi or queso fresco. Or think of it as a simple sauce you can serve over any protein, like a crispy-skinned salmon fillet, seared shell-on shrimp, sliced feta, or even just a bed of salted yogurt. 

It defies all labels, which is exactly why I love it.

Swapping traditional ingredients like guanciale and pancetta for vegetable-based umami bombs (hello, garlic and smoked paprika) isn’t the only thing to consider when making a vegetarian carbonara. Many hard cheeses (including Parmigiano-Reggiano) use animal rennet, so if you want to seek an alternative, ask your cheesemonger.

If you’ve ever been intimidated by the thought of making fresh pasta at home, look no further. Ricotta gnocchi is simple to make, and it’s faster and more foolproof than its potato counterparts. The only tricky part is adding enough flour so that your dough is easy to work with, but not so much that it becomes stodgy or tough. If you don't want to make the buttery herb and pea sauce, use whatever you'd prefer, be it marinara, pesto, or sage and brown butter. 

The classic reconsidered: less pasta, more crispy-chewy strips of guanciale, and more silky creamy egg to hold it all together.

There’s a huge texture thing going on here with silky, smoky charred peppers and crisp, crunchy cucumbers.

Think of this as carbonara minus the eggs but still with massive amounts of flavor from guanciale, black pepper, and Pecorino.

The secret to the fudgiest, most chocolaty brownies is cocoa powder—not melted chocolate. We borrowed chocolate expert Alice Medrich’s technique, then added a cream cheese topping for tangy balance. Don’t overthink your camo design; the brownies will look even better when sliced.

A weeknight pasta that utilizes simple pantry ingredients in a luxurious way. 

Alison Roman couldn’t find a baked pasta she liked. So she made one she did. 

ATTN: Pickle lovers. We’re here for you.

Juicy pork al pastor and oozy quesillo are a brilliant combo in these crunchy fried tacos.

There’s something about that recipe that made it number one…or is it something else?

Deb Perelman’s fattoush-inspired, picky-eater approved salad with creamy squash, crispy pita chips, and chewy, charred cheese salad.

One of life's great mysteries, solved!

Here's a fun party trick: Ask your friends to guess how many pounds of greens went into this supremely cheesy gratin. Three huge bunches of kale (and/or chard) get drowned in garlic- and rosemary-infused cream, then blanketed in cheddar cheese and panko and sent into a hot oven, where they sizzle and shrink. 

The onions char on this pizza and sweeten in the oven and pair perfectly with sharp provolone cheese.

The most impressive appetizer to “casually” pull out of the oven when your friends come over (and it also happens to make a nice Thanksgiving snack for while the turkey rests—just sayin').