Baked egg custard is the little black dress of dessert recipes. It’s simple and elegant—ready to be dressed up with fresh berries, chocolate syrup, or whipped cream, but it’s also astoundingly good all by itself. Custard, in various forms, has been made for centuries: set into creme brûlée, flan, mini egg custard tarts, or a savory quiche; frozen into … Read more
The combination of coconut milk, sticky rice, and sweet ripe mango has been a popular Thai dessert for centuries. Stateside, people are more likely to order mango sticky rice (or khao niaow ma muang) from their favorite Thai restaurant, but it’s incredibly easy to make at home. The base ingredient is glutinous rice (often labeled … Read more
This oversized crème brûlée is the centerpiece your dinner table is begging for. Whip one up for the holidays, a special anniversary, or Valentine’s Day. It’s served in one big ole dish—no need to fuss over individual ramekins that only see the light of day once a year. It’s perfect for sharing: Just grab a … Read more
While a whole roast duck might seem like a special-occasion dish—something you’d serve for Christmas dinner or order in certain Chinese restaurants—it’s actually very simple to make. If you can prepare a Thanksgiving turkey (or even a roast chicken), you can cook a whole duck. In some ways, cooking duck is even easier than cooking … Read more
Hot take: Crispy smashed potatoes are the ultimate form of potato. Sure, mashed potatoes get all the glory, but there’s something about these creamy-in-the-center, crisp-on-the-outside twice-cooked spuds that can’t be beat. The two-step cooking method is key to any good smashed potatoes recipe: Boiling the potatoes fluffs up their interior and gets them soft enough … Read more
Wassail means different things to centuries of people. Used as a noun and verb, the word derives from waes hael, a 5th-century English toast meaning “good health,” or something apple farmers recited to encourage a bountiful spring harvest, depending on which historical account you believe. The term also pops up in Beowulf—and later in song … Read more
Cooked hot and fast, thinly sliced brussels sprouts become crisp-tender and lightly wilted, a happy Goldilocks option between roasted and raw. The golden raisin agrodolce is a tangy foil, its sweetness cutting through the sharpness of the brussels sprouts. Make sure your pan is ripping hot so the sprouts have every chance of developing blistered … Read more
In 1936, agriculturalist George Washington Carver published two versions of glacéed sweet potatoes in a farmers bulletin. Forty years earlier, legendary chef Fannie Farmer included her recipe for candied sweet potatoes in what would become her eponymous cookbook. This is to say, The dish most often known as “candied yams” has a long history on … Read more
We won’t sugarcoat it. This old-fashioned fudge recipe will test your willpower. First, it has no modern tricks to hide behind—no sweetened condensed milk or marshmallow fluff to make easy work of it. Second, you’ll have to beat it with a wooden spoon for about 6 minutes; not long in the grand scheme, but eons … Read more
Few can resist the lure of tender, herby Greek lemon potatoes. Often cooked in the drippings of a roasting leg of lamb or whole chicken, Greek potatoes don’t require a big roast for big flavor. Here, the lemony side dish gets its punch from a bit of chicken stock, plus plenty of garlic, oregano, and … Read more