Heavy cream—as if touched with a magic wand—takes on a riot of flavors, while maintaining its moon-white color. Simply boil it gently with whatever seasoning you prefer, such as mustard seeds and rosemary sprigs, then immediately remove it from the heat. After 12 minutes or so, it will be infused with the flavors of your desire. This is a technique I frequently use to make sauces even more elegant and velvety, as in this porcini pasta, which tastes of autumn.

This recipe, ultimately, is a simple one. Which is to say that the details really make a difference. First, is the lettuce. Properly cooked lettuce should still be brilliantly green with a crisp stem and slippery, silky leaves, which can only be achieved if blanched briefly in a large amount of salted water. Without enough water, the greens will take too long to come to temperature and then turn yellow. Without salt, the greens will taste bland.

Berry Cottage Cheese Skillet Cake from Samantha Seneviratne is a tender, tangy bake combining full‑fat cottage cheese, brown sugar‑butter batter, and juicy mixed berries. Finished with toasted almonds and sparkling sugar—delicious warm or room‑temperature, perfect for any time.

Welcome to Plus One, a column by Food Editor Emily Ziemski where small-but-mighty additions—ingredients, sauces, toppings—that instantly upgrade whatever’s on the table are the star of the show. Today, a way to combat Late Summer Erasure™.

Chinese Tomato & Egg Dough-Drop Soup (Geda Tang) is a cozy Northern Chinese dish with soft flour dumplings, silky egg ribbons, and sweet-tangy tomatoes in a savory broth. Finished with scallions or cilantro, it's simple, nourishing comfort food.

Even if you’ve never ordered a Shamrock Shake, its reappearance on McDonalds’ menus come February is a universal reminder that St. Paddy’s Day is near. Our riff on the minty green milkshake is just a wee more grown up. A fraction of a teaspoon of mint extract takes this cloyingly rich dessert and transforms it into something you might even call refreshing. The boozy whipped topping is at your discretion, of course. And a light hand with the food coloring can subtly (dare we say beautifully?) tint the shake, so it looks less like a Kelly green and more like a hint of spring to come.

Caesar dressing was one of the first things I learned to make from scratch. Before learning how to make it, I'd tried every brand on the supermarket shelf, eventually developing a fanatical brand loyalty for Cardini's by T. Marzetti. At the time, it was the only brand in the store that actually contained egg yolk. One day, Cardini's was out of stock, and I've been making my own Caesar dressing ever since.

You might already love these cookies. They take all of five minutes to make, without heating the oven (or you). They're well-loved across the U.S.—some call them preacher cookies, some call them poodgies. But there is an art to nailing the glossy tops and fudgy middles. This recipe includes the tips chef Scott Peacock has gathered over a lifetime.

30‑Minute Skillet Chicken Thighs with Crispy Garlic Chips are juicy, pan-seared thighs cooked to golden perfection in just half an hour. Topped with ultra-crisp garlic chips and finished with fresh herbs, this dish delivers bold texture and rich flavor.

Pāo de Queijo, Portuguese for cheese bread, are small chewy bites popular in Brazil and throughout South America. A quick blitz in the blender and a short bake at high heat yields a golden and airy bite that pairs perfectly with coffee or hot chocolate. Smoked mozzarella adds a lot of depth, but any melty cheese would work beautifully.

"We know this dish stirs up quite a controversy among foodies and traditionalists. Though some may gasp at the thought of squeezing a lemon into their beloved pesto, the ones who make it tend to never go back. This tangy twist turns it into the most mouthwatering pesto you will ever try."

This tilapia recipe is quick, easy, and just packed full of flavor!

No better way to ring it in than Beef ‘Chow haw fun’. This is a winner winner among any crowd, trust me.

This simple stovetop popcorn from actor and chef David Burtka cooks in rendered bacon fat and gets a good heap of crumbled bacon bits on top.

This simple stovetop popcorn from actor and chef David Burtka gets a good drizzle of flavorful curry butter.

Koreans have adopted donkatsu, a fast food favorite, from the Japanese. It’s typically made with pork pounded ultra-thin, then seasoned, breaded, and deep fried. I make mine with chicken, and skip the pounding—I don’t think it needs it, but you can make them thinner if you like—and I pan-fry it in a little less oil. You can serve these cutlets as a full meal, with boiled rice and a little shredded fresh cabbage, or kimchi, on the side.