15 Recipes Bon Appétit Staffers Could Make in Their Sleep
We love learning new recipes here at Bon Appétit—but there are some recipes so tried and true, we (humbly) consider them mastered. Everyone has that one recipe that he or she could make blindfolded—here are 15 of ours. (Tell us yours in the comments below.)
Victor Schrager1/14Brown Butter Raspberry Tart
“I’m a brown butter master. Or at least, I am when it comes to Bon Appétit’s brown butter raspberry tart. I’ve made it if not 1,000 times, then 999. It’s picture-perfect every time, thanks to the no-fail crust. My secret to keeping it fresh: I just fill it with whatever fruit’s in season—the best version I ever made had plums and Thai basil!” —Rochelle Bilow, staff writer, BonAppetit.com
2/14Carnitas
“Pork shoulder w/ jalapeño slaw for some boss tacos. Total Ron Popeil set-it-and-forget-it style.” —Mike Ley, deputy art director
Ture Lillegraven3/14Roast Chicken
"I know I'm not breaking any molds here, but I could knock out a roast chicken at a moment's notice. And so could you, too, probably. It doesn't take more than a good slathering of butter and a generous amount of [seasonally appropriate] herbs and you're good to go. Easy or not, if there's anything The Seasonal Cooks have taught me, it's that of all the recipes, this is one (of three) to have in your arsenal.” —Joanna Sciarrino, assistant editor
4/14Cobbler
7/14Smoked Trout Dip
8/14Steak
“We tend to cook a lot of steak at my house: ribeye, hanger, skirt. And not to toot my own horn, but I rock it. Consistently. On the barbecue outside or in my cast-iron grill pan. Picture-perfect medium rare. Well-charred. Well-rested. Finely sliced across the grain. Dusted with Maldon salt. Once I was grilling two of the thickest ribeyes ever, and after sunset, when I couldn't see a damn thing, could only hear and smell, and when I lifted them onto a platter, let them rest 10 minutes, and finally cut in, they were perfect. Next time I'll try it with my contacts out.” —Matt Gross, editor, BonAppetit.com
9/14Pancakes
“I make these pancakes for my son at least 2x a week for the past two years so I've had plenty of time to memorize the recipe.” —Carla Lalli Music, food and features editor
Alex Lau10/14Carbonara
“Carbonara is awesome because it's classic Roman Italian. It seems tricky but only takes as much time as it takes the pasta to cook. The key is good eggs, good guanciale or pancetta, or—hell—even bacon works. Oh, and a ton of cheese. I mix Pecorino with Parm. And go nuts on the black pepper. I mastered it after many lunches at the Lupa bar after it opened up at the end of the '90s. And it tastes amazing. Always. Unless you leave the heat on the pan when you're mixing in the eggs. Then you have scrambled eggs pasta, which is still not horrible.” —Scott DeSimon, deputy editor
