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
Beef and barley soup is a comfort food classic, but the amount of time it takes to transform tough cuts of beef into shreddy morsels makes it far from a weeknight affair. (Think: Three to four hours.) Enter: This quick, truly weeknight-friendly version of the winter staple that goes from pot to bowl in a … 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
Sticky toffee pudding recipes first appeared in English kitchens and cookbooks in the late 20th century. It became a signature of Cumbria, England, and proudly sits alongside plum pudding and other classic British desserts. However, some sweet tooth scholars believe the cake recipe originated in Canada. As one story goes, a WW II–era Canadian Royal … Read more
There are hundreds of weeknights in a year. That’s a lot of dinner! Test kitchen editor Kendra Vaculin is here to help. In her series Speedy Does It, she shares whoa-worthy meals you can get on the table like *snaps fingers* that. Buldak, or fire chicken, is a spicy, saucy Korean dish that practically begs … 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
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
This green curry coconut cod features one of my favorite techniques for cooking a protein: poaching in a vibrant sauce, this time one made from curry paste, spinach, and coconut milk. It’s a gentle cooking method that keeps the fish tender and flaky, and it dirties just one skillet (plus a blender) in the process. … Read more