Mixed Grains Bowl With Beet-Ginger Dressing
The heartbeet of this bowl is the vibrant, earthy dressing. Trust us: You’ll want to make extra to keep in the fridge.
Kitchen Hero: Puff Pastry
Cinnamon-Sugar Cookies
Buttery puff pastry forms the base of these simple cookies, which feature a cinnamon-sugar pecan swirl throughout each bite. Getting that perfect spiral is surprisingly easy. The key is rolling the topped pastry into a tight log, and then giving it a quick freeze before slicing. This ensures that your knife will cut clean rounds, rather than denting the dough. Once you’ve got the hang of it, this recipe lends itself well to personalization. A thin layer of raspberry jam with pistachios instead of pecans would taste great, as would a grating of chocolate over the filling before rolling.
Pizza Croissants
Puff pastry meets pizza in these clever croissants, which layer the most delicious pizza ingredients onto flaky puff pastry dough. The butter in the pastry adds a level of richness that standard pizza can’t reach. For a vegetarian version omit the pepperoni or add cooked sliced mushrooms that have been patted dry to absorb excess moisture. Pro tip: Placing the croissants tip-side down keeps them from unrolling in the oven. Serve with extra napkins, and perhaps don’t tell your friends.
Five Easy Dinners
Spicy Chicken and Polenta
Chicken dinners can get a little tired. No longer, thanks to this delicious combination of spicy, bone-in chicken thighs with garlicky green beans and luxurious polenta. For a quick shortcut to flavor, you’ll coat the chicken thighs with Berbere, which is a deeply flavorful spice mix from Ethiopia. Though the exact proportions vary, the mix generally includes chilies, garlic, paprika, and fenugreek, along with other common baking spices like ginger, coriander, and cinnamon. A few mint leaves on top help cool off the heat from the seasoning, so don’t’ skip them if you’re sensitive to spice.
Slow Cooker Pork With Peppers and Olives
Ropa vieja is a classic Cuban dish that features braised meat (usually beef) alongside peppers, beans, and rice. This version swaps in pork instead, which you’ll make meltingly tender in the slow cooker along with a tomatoey bell pepper and onion sauce. Along with pimiento-stuffed olives, generous amounts of oregano, cumin, and garlic are the key to the deep flavor in this recipe. You’ll serve the pork and vegetables with black beans and white rice to soak up every last bit of the delicious sauce.
Speedy Linguine and Clam Sauce
Seafood lovers rejoice: The clam pasta to end all clam pastas is here. Two cans of clams and a bottle of clam juice come together in this quick pasta recipe, which features a generous amount of garlic and just enough broccoli rabe to make a bowl feel virtuous. Along with the rabe, parsley also brings a pleasant bitter note to balance the briny clams. You’ll finish the pasta with water saved from the pot, which is the key to a luscious sauce that slicks every noodle evenly. Serve with white wine or a light beer.
Carrot and Red Lentil Soup
Great soups don’t have to be complicated to be deeply delicious and satisfyingly hearty. Case in point: this simple lentil soup, which is fragrant with spices and just-spicy-enough thanks to fresh ginger. The key to building concentrated vegetable flavor is giving the carrots and shallots enough time to release water before adding the cumin, turmeric, and ginger. Coconut milk adds both creaminess and silky body, resulting in a jewel-toned soup that tastes as wonderful as it looks.
Smoky Beef Sliders
Spiced patties served on warm flatbread and tzatziki? Yes please. The patties include smoked paprika, cumin, and garlic in addition to the standard salt and pepper, which means each bite is deeply flavorful and can stand up to the tangy dill-yogurt sauce, which takes inspiration from classic Greek tzatziki. To make it, you’ll first squeeze the water out of grated cucumber, which keeps the yogurt from splitting. Pro tip: Squeeze the cucumbers over a cup and stir together with vodka, sparkling water, and simple syrup for an easy cocktail.
