Quick

When using preserved lemons, scoop out the insides and only use the peel.

Store the finished nuts in an air-tight container to prevent stickiness.

Use a very sharp cheddar to make this—it’s the difference between pimiento cheese and cheesy mayonnaise.

Set this up in advance and serve it at room temperature. The cheese will be soft enough to scoop with a cracker—and will taste better, too.

It’s just as tasty without booze but only as good as the chocolate you use, so shop accordingly.

Cream of tartar is optional, but it keeps the sugar from crystallizing, making this caramel foolproof.

A fun first course to serve to guests in the kitchen. By the time one batch has been devoured, the next one will be coming out of the fryer.

These easy weeknight dinner recipes from 6 talented chefs turn up the flavor while saving you time in the kitchen.

Loaded with fresh herbs and sturdy kale and then set off by a bright and spicy dressing, this salad from Hot Joy is an ideal counterpoint to the more decadent dishes on the table.

In search of a classic tuna melt? This is the best we’ve tried. Palace Diner makes its own pickles, but of course you can start with store-bought.

Chorizo adds smoky flavor to this vegetable-heavy frittata; use bacon if you prefer.

Not that this pulled chicken recipe is hard, but you can make it even easier by using a store-bought rotisserie chicken instead of the breasts called for here.

Prefer a turkey, pork, or lamb sausage? By all means, use that instead.

Bright, herbal, and sharp, this comically simple condiment is just what you want alongside braised meat.

Hot Joy chef Quealy Watson, who’s from Louisiana, grew up on his mom’s dirty rice; that dish helped inspire this bastardized fried version. The chicken-liver base tastes very concentrated and intense on its own, but becomes nicely balanced in the finished dish. Watch the step-by-step video here.

The broiled onion needs to be really black, all the way through, so that it’s dry enough to turn into powder to mix in this compound butter from Rose's Luxury. Things get smoky—open a window first!

Charred to a crisp: Not a statement usually associated with salads, but delicious nonetheless in this Mexican-inspired romaine number from Rose's Luxury.

Considering that tomato is a fruit, the addition of strawberries isn’t that strange in this sauce from Rose's Luxury. The sauce should be quite spicy, which tempers the berries’ sweetness.

"The herbal notes of gin pair well with celery in this refreshing cocktail—and bonus points for the cool green color." –Claire Saffitz, assistant food editor

"I love this creamy soup so much, I'd bathe in it." –Brad Leone, test kitchen manager

Keep summer going just a little bit longer: Serve these with a pile of steamed, buttered corn.