Cheese

Don't worry about getting too much color on your pears--they will gain more caramel flavor the market they go. This unusual dessert is a play on flavors--savory alongside sweet--and textures.

This ricotta gnudi recipe is delicious with pomodoro sauce, or try them with brown butter and sage. Think of them as cheesy dumplings.

Skip a step when making mac and cheese by not precooking the pasta. Instead, mix the dried pasta with a thinner-than-usual bèchamel sauce, and it will bake perfectly in just 30 minutes.

You can't have a great Caesar Salad without a great Caesar dressing. Oh, look: Here's one!

A malfatto (Italian for "badly made") is a tender dumpling with rustic character. (Think gnocchi, but bigger.)

The secret to making grilled cheese for a crowd? Turn on the oven (the standard skillet method is too labor-intensive). Encourage guests to customize their sandwiches with the cheeses, breads, and fixings you’ve set out. Then simply pop them on a baking sheet and cook.

These one-ingredient lacy cheese crackers are more impressive than any cheese board.

Can’t find Treviso, the long, thin variety of radicchio? Substitute endive or any other member of the bitter chicory family to play off the sweet citrus dressing.

Chef Nate Hamilton at Harvest in Madison, WI, says: “Sometimes I sit and watch baseball and eat pistachios out of the can, but they’re better as a topper for pasta.”

Olive oil–enriched mashed potatoes enclose a layer of zesty braised kale in this savory cake, which then gets topped with crispy breadcrumbs.

Saganaki, a traditional Greek preparation named after the pan in which it’s prepared, is best served straight from the skillet, with plenty of toasted bread for scooping up the savory tomato sauce. If you can find them, wild American shrimp and high-quality Greek feta really make this dish special.

Pack this main dish into single-serving containers the day before travel. The flavor will improve overnight (and sturdy kale won't wilt). We like to keep meals cool with disposable ice packs, which we throw away just before security; the salad will be good for a couple of hours at room temperature. Don't forget the plastic forks!

A recipe for dates and Parmesan in a relish over roasted squash? Don't knock it till you try it.

Spinach and feta arrive in tiny puff-pastry packages.

Greek yogurt lends an unexpected tanginess to this light no-bake cheesecake. 

This stuffed chicken breast is elegant enough for a dinner party.