A cookie that could pass for pastry, sour cream twists have beautiful, delicate layers that melt into richly flavorful bites. The easy-to-mix dough has no added sweetener, but picks up plenty when rolled out on a countertop heavily sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. In the oven, that sugar caramelizes to create the lovely layers. This cookie hails from The Old Country, but we’re not sure which Old Country. Some say Sweden, some say Germany. We found this recipe in our favorite collective cookbook—and perhaps our favorite baking book—From Manna to Mousse. In the early 70s, the Sisterhood of Congregation Beth El in New London, Connecticut, published this classic compilation of Jewish heirloom recipes. Since Mrs.…
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Moroccan Zaalouk (Eggplant and Tomato Cooked Salad)
Moroccans love their cooked salads. And although it starts with “z,” zaalouk ranks high on their list of favorites. Eggplant, tomatoes, spices and herbs mash up into a richly flavored, umami-packed side dish or dip that just needs some crusty bread or (even better) pita chips to complete it. Even though “zaalouk” means to mash or puree, leave it a bit chunky to show off the lovely eggplant and tomatoes you picked up at the farmers’ market. Moroccan zaalouk also ranks high with Len and Miriam Discenza, who gave us this recipe with an enthusiastic you’ll-love-this recommendation. Even if you’ve got a go-to eggplant appetizer like baba ganoush or Grandma Annie’s Romanian Eggplant Dip,…
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Baked Tortilla Crackers and Chips
Sometimes you just want a simple, pita-style cracker for hummus or cheesy spreads. But today even supermarket crackers go for cheese-shop prices. So look no further than the humble store-bought flour tortilla for a quick and inexpensive way to a delicious crunch. With a touch of olive oil, paprika and salt, you can bake up crispy flour tortilla crackers for happy dipping and snacking. They cost way, way less than boxed crackers. And what better use for stale or leftover tortillas? Go crazy and sprinkle on chili powder, Italian seasoning, Parmesan cheese, or whatever you like to flavorize these little cuties. But they taste great plain. And you can bake corn tortillas into crisp…
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Pressure-Cooker Boston Baked Beans
Pea beans (aka small white beans or navy beans) are the Cinderella of dried beans. They start out bland and plain. But dress them up in molasses-rich sauce and they turn into glossy brown, gorgeously delicious Boston baked beans. And with an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, you can make this iconic New England dish in just a couple of hours—from bag to serving bowl. What makes these Boston baked beans?Molasses. Lots of it. Boston wouldn’t be Beantown if it weren’t for molasses. (See The Great Molasses Flood and Mighty Molasses Clove Cookies.) In fact, if you don’t have pea beans, try other white beans like pinto, Great Northern, or cannellini beans. They will fall…
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Basmati and Wild Rice with Chickpeas
Basmati and Wild Rice with Chickpeas, from award-winning British cookbook author and chef Yotam Ottolenghi, has “Middle East” written all over it. It’s a Sephardic relative of the classic Arab lentil-rice dish Mujaddara. Crispy fried onions, spiced chickpeas, tiny currants, and fresh herbs make a taste explosion. All those textures, flavors and colors form a striking side dish or vegetarian main course. The one ingredient that takes it beyond the Middle East is wild rice. A close cousin to rice, it grows primarily in the Great Lakes region, far from the land of milk and honey. Native Americans lived on it, and yet it wasn’t until the late 1950s that this chewy, nutty grain…
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Tomato Pudding
It beats me why this North Carolina sweet-and-savory classic never swept the rest of the country. Maybe it’s because the name sounds too much like dessert. And while it may be distantly related to bread pudding, tomato pudding identifies as a side dish. Perfect for a holiday dinner or barbecue, it dresses up any meal. Nobody has to know it’s embarrassingly easy. A neighbor in Raleigh introduced me to the joy of tomato pudding and gave me her “recipe”: Mix stale bread with a can of stewed tomatoes and bake. I realized later she’d forgotten to mention the butter—the universal secret ingredient. And yet the whole thing tastes far better than its parts. As…
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Punjab Pasta with Chicken or Chickpeas
This one-pot wonder couples Indian masala with Italian pasta, a fusion made in heaven. Known in India as Masala Pasta or Desi Pasta, it’s a popular street food and a favorite quick meal for families. Dan, Recipephany’s Chief Name Generator, calls it “Punjab Pasta.” And what do you know, the dish actually comes from that northwestern region of India. This tomato-rich Italo-Indian hybrid packs a punch of Punjab flavor into a hearty, comforting pasta bowl. Just open a couple of cans and a box of pasta and you’re halfway there. Chicken gives Punjab Pasta a richness, and chickpeas make a perfect vegetarian dish and cut the prep time to nearly nothing. The pasta cooks…
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Pasta e Ceci (Pasta with Chickpeas)
We’re big fans of the ancient chickpea, that protein-packed morsel whose sweet, nutty taste stands out from other beans. And its charming round shape complements specialty pastas. So it’s no wonder that Italians created pasta e ceci (pasta with chickpeas), a beloved comfort food made in a simple, classic Italian style. Recipephany’s Italian-in-Residence, Dan, makes the quintessential pasta e ceci using traditional ingredients and techniques. He gets so many requests for his version I’m embarrassed it has taken me so long to post it. “I love this as a pasta dish,” Dan says, “but it also doubles as a soup when you add more broth.” Both ways qualify as true Italian pasta e…
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Apple Crisp, Gluten-Free and Vegan
Capture all the spiced apple goodness you love in a pie—but without the crust. This gluten-free, vegan Apple Crisp teams up two of our favorite recipes: Apple Pie and Meri’s Berries. Fortunately, baking with wholesome oats makes it gluten-free. And while you can use an egg, it’s easy to stir up a flaxseed “egg” to turn it vegan. Mix up the sweetly spiced apple filling and then pour it right into a greased pie plate. Then sprinkle it with Meri’s crumbly oatmeal dough for a crisp, cookie-like topping. This quick and easy gluten-free Apple Crisp has all the flavor and comfort of America’s favorite pie. Who says you can’t please everyone? Filling Topping
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Cakey and Sweet Cornbread
This soft and sweet cornbread tastes cakey, but you probably wouldn’t mistake it for dessert. Its tiny cornmeal crunch and golden crust make it the perfect all-American side to soups, stews, chili and barbecue. And instead of going all crumbly, it stays moist and fluffy for breakfast or snacking the next day—in the unlikely event you have any left over. So where does this cornbread fit in geographically? Northern or Southern? We first snarfed down cakey and sweet cornbread at the Hangin 8 BBQ restaurant in Eufaula, Oklahoma. So we’d say it comes from right smack in the middle of the country. Our version, adapted from Allrecipes, hits the same cakey chords. The…
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Braided Bread with Pesto (Treccia al Pesto)
Got basil? Whirr it into pesto and swirl it into an elegant braid of Italian bread. You won’t believe how easily this Braided Bread with Pesto (Treccia al Pesto) comes together into a fragrant, flavorful appetizer. And as a side bread, it can spruce up an everyday meal. The twisted braid idea comes from our son-in-law Gordy. His “crown bread” filled with tapenade and blue cheese (from Nadiya Hussain of the Great British Baking Show) blew us away. With its dark filling and gorgeous layers, it got mistaken for dessert when he took it to a party. We simplified the bread recipe and substituted pesto because our garden basil has gone berserk. And…
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Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Nothing celebrates the fall harvest like Curried Butternut Squash Soup. Its velvety blend of sweet squash and orchard-fresh apples makes us feel so cozy. And the bright Indian spice adds just a touch of extra warmth. Serve it as a show-stopper opener for your holiday event, or just curl up with a bowl and some crusty bread for a comfy weeknight dinner. And all that rich, complex flavor comes from an easy-to-prepare vegetarian (or vegan) soup. Roasting the squash adds a syrupy caramelization—and simplifies prep. Cook the squash ahead, then store it in the fridge until you’re ready to make the soup. We based this Curried Butternut Squash Soup on a recipe by Sheila…
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Chocolate Shell for Ice Cream
What would a Klondike bar, a Dove bar, or any self-respecting ice-cream-bar-on-a-stick be without a chocolate coating? Just everyday ice cream. In fact, it’s those little melt-in-your-mouth shards of chocolate that turn it into a treat. So why not punch up your favorite ice cream with a crisp, ready-to-crack chocolate shell? This chocolate sauce mimics Smucker’s popular “Magic Shell,” hardening seconds after it hits the ice cream. And yet—not surprisingly—this homemade shell has a deeper, richer flavor than the commercial squeeze-on topping. It comes together in no time with only two ingredients: chocolate and coconut oil. Virgin coconut oil (which solidifies at room temperature, so it looks more like shortening than oil) makes the…
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16 Bean Soup in the Pressure Cooker
Creamy chickpeas. Glistening black beans. Buttery limas, nutty black-eyed peas, earthy lentils, and plenty more. They all swirl together into one big pot of delicious, hearty 16 bean soup. And it’s easy and lightning-fast in your pressure cooker or Instant Pot. Just start with a bag of colorful 16 bean soup mix from the dried bean aisle at the supermarket. And what a bargain—it costs little more than any bag of dried beans. Then dress it up with a few extras to make a spectacular multibean soup. Yes, a bag of 16 bean soup mix contains at least 16 different varieties of dried beans. The bean types can vary from brand to brand, bag…
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Classic Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Like cozy jammies and a binge-worthy TV show, these Classic Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (CCORCs, for short) take us right to our happy place. Satisfyingly delicious oats and raisins, with a spark of cinnamon and molasses, make us feel good all over. And with this recipe, we have finally achieved that crisp-on-the-outside and chewy-on-the-inside texture that has eluded the Recipephany Culinary Research Institute for so many years. The very first oatmeal cookie recipe appeared in 1896 in the Fannie Farmer Cookbook (then called The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book by Fannie Merritt Farmer). Quaker Oats put a version on its cardboard cannister and called it “Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.” It’s now the home baker’s gold standard—and…
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Steamed Broccoli in the Microwave
For perfectly tender yet brilliantly green broccoli, nothing beats the microwave. And while it may seem obvious to some, microwave-steamed broccoli has not made it onto our radar (pun intended) until recently. We’ve always used a stovetop steamer with haphazard results, finding it hard to catch that moment of exact doneness. Yet with the microwave, we can reach that moment as quickly as 3 minutes after pressing “start.” Miraculous. We picked up this tip from our son-in-law Gordy Stephenson. Now, he creates deliciously spicy and saucy dishes that take simmering and care, including the world’s best saag paneer (curried greens with cheese). But when our little grandsons clamor for dinner, he delights them with…
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Beet-Dyed Deviled Eggs
It’s fun to color hard-boiled Easter eggs. But why not punch up the insides, too? Here’s an easy way to turn the whites a lovely magenta by simply soaking the peeled eggs in juice from canned beets. Beet-dyed deviled eggs turn a classic crowd-pleaser into a centerpiece. As they say, we eat with our eyes. Beet-dyed deviled eggs first bowled us over at Lulu’s, a cozy restaurant in Allston, Massachusetts known for draft beers and comfort food. They turned the humble deviled egg downright seductive, with the vibrant color and a caper-studded sweet-and-tangy filling. And to add to the allure, Lulu’s presented the eggs on a kind of porcelain pedestal. They cut eggs crosswise—so…
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Broccoli-Cheddar Soup
This soup hits the spot when I want a simple, quick, yet indulgent way to enjoy my all-time favorite veggie. It captures the bright taste of broccoli sweetened by aromatics and smoothed out with melted sharp cheddar. The real recipephany here is a bit of magic. Instead of turning olive drab—as broccoli likes to do after a few minutes of cooking—this soup stays vibrant green. How? A few handfuls of spinach do the trick. So it looks as fresh as it tastes. Crusty bread makes it a meal. Don’t confuse this with the thick, cream-laden broccoli-cheddar soup made popular by Panera restaurants. Our favorite cream alternative, bouillon, rounds out the flavor so you get…
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Kathleen’s Canadian Oatmeal Molasses Bread, AKA Maritime Oatmeal Bread
This high-rising oatmeal bread features a smack of molasses for a deep color and bright flavor. Who’d guess that a multi-grain loaf could be this fluffy and taste so luscious? Canadian Oatmeal Molasses Bread dresses up a sandwich, makes gorgeous toast, and feels like an indulgence when spread with butter. We snapped up the recipe from our friend Julie’s mom, Kathleen, when we visited her decades ago in the historic seaside town of St. Andrews, New Brunswick. We always figured this bread was just another of Kathleen’s many specialties. Now we learn it’s a traditional bread from Canada’s Maritime region, often called Maritime Oatmeal Bread or Oatmeal Brown Bread. Rich in molasses and often…
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Apple-Raisin Chutney
We love that sweet and sour zip that a good mango chutney brings to curry. But with the high cost of a small jar, wouldn’t a homemade alternative make sense? When Adam Jaffe (of Double Chocolate Sorbet fame) served a lively apple chutney, we realized our orchard-picked Cortlands, simmered with pantry and fridge basics, could do the job. Wouldn’t you know that Adam, an economist, would offer this thrifty solution? We don’t feel so bad forsaking mango chutney, anyway, since we no longer can find our favorite brand. The original Major Grey’s Chutney, invented by Merwanjee Poonjiajee & Sons Pvt. Ltd. and sold under the “Sun Brand” label, has disappeared from the shelves. As…
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Tante Marie’s French Sorrel Soup from Charlotte Turgeon
If you could cross baby spinach with lemon, you’d get something like sorrel. It brightens salads, sauces and omelets, but best of all makes a marvel of a soup. And nothing captures the flavor and simple pleasures of the French countryside like this dish: French Sorrel Soup. Remarkably fast and easy to make, this elegant, tangy soup goes from zero to the table in less than 15 minutes. No potatoes, no aromatics, no cream. An egg yolk swirled in at the end adds a bit of richness, and some toasted bread served in the bowl gives it depth. The hardest part might be finding the main ingredient. Popular throughout Europe, sorrel is rarely seen…
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Emily Adair’s Best Biscuits from Sue Aldrich
For as long as we’ve known Sue Aldrich—from way back in the Dark Ages—we’ve loved her light, flaky biscuits. They’re simply the best. She credits Emily Adair, her great-grandmother and namesake—middle name—for this classic recipe. As Sue tells it, “My paternal grandmother, Ora McKim, was a teenager in Michigan when her father came home with a new wife—Emily—after a brief trip to the city. The ‘city’ was probably Cass City, Michigan, population around 1,200 in 1915.” Emily raised Ora and her sister Cecil, who were barely younger than their new mother. “I’m sure everyone loved Emily—except of course Ora, who saw her as competition,” says Sue. She adds that Ora turned into a bit…
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Basic Yeasted Flatbread
Is it Indian? Israeli? Italian? All of the above. With a dough this universal, Basic Yeasted Flatbread passes for all sorts of nationalities. It scoops up curry just like naan, dips into hummus like pita, and doubles as perfect pizza dough. Soft, chewy and heavenly when served warm from the griddle, it reminds us why we love our daily bread. This recipephany came from Mollie Katzen, a hero ever since her 1977 Moosewood Cookbook. In Sunlight Cafe: Breakfast Served All Day, she confessed her special relationship with this flatbread. She always had dough in the fridge, and made flatbreads all hours of the day. And we can see why—it has proved itself a loyal friend…
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Gluten-Free, Vegan Hermits
To get a really great gluten-free vegan cookie, start with a really great cookie. One that plays well with gluten-free flour and won’t miss the eggs. In this case, it’s Dick’s Hermits. Crisp on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, these classic New England molasses-spice cookies make the mouth tingle with delight. My mother-in-law Dorothy, nicknamed “Dick,” (see Dick’s Coffee Cake for that story) spoiled her kids with these cookies. With a little culinary sleight of hand, we now can spoil just about everybody. It doesn’t take much—just gluten-free “1-1” flour (from Trader Joe’s or King Arthur Baking Company, for example) and a little ground flaxseed. The flour swaps cup-for-cup for all-purpose…
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Chickpea and Vegetable Tagine
Like “casserole,” “tagine” refers to both a type of cookware and the meal you make in it. Tagine gets its name from a Moroccan pot that looks like an oversized piece from the Sorry! game. But you don’t need an authentic tagine to make this warmly spiced chickpea and vegetable stew. A dutch oven or large frying pan will do the trick. We call it a tagine, but with all the Indian spices it tastes like a curry. In fact, we suggest optional curry powder for an extra blast of flavor and heat. Let’s just say that this falls into the “dishes without borders” category. So you can serve it with couscous, basmati rice,…
