Chocolate cupcakes with a hidden cream cheese and chocolate chip filling baked right inside. An old-fashioned cocoa batter with vinegar for extra tenderness, topped with crunchy pecans.
Tom's Oysters Rockefeller: oysters baked under a rich green sauce of pureed spinach, scallion, celery, and parsley, seasoned with anchovy, anise, and Tabasco. The classic New Orleans baked oyster, done right.
Homemade manicotti with fresh pasta dough, ricotta and mozzarella stuffing, and meat sauce. Rolled, filled, and baked for a classic Italian comfort meal.
Mexican style pizza trades marinara for a chili-spiked bean sauce, piled on homemade yeast crust with mozzarella and cheddar. Half pizza, half nachos, all flavor.
Savory lentils soaked overnight and simmered tender with sauteed onions in olive oil or bacon fat and a dash of hot sauce. A simple, hearty side dish with just 5 ingredients.
Pan-simmered fish fillets with fresh tomato, basil, dill, and lemon juice in butter. A light, quick seafood dinner with just 8 ingredients, ready in 25 minutes.
Fudgy brownie cakes steamed in canning jars inside a slow cooker. Rich cocoa buttermilk batter with walnuts, unmolded and served warm with ice cream.
Pecan rum bundt cake made with cake mix and pudding mix, soaked in a buttery rum sugar glaze. Dark rum in the batter and the glaze for double the boozy flavor.
Pecan rum bundt cake made with cake mix and pudding mix, soaked in a buttery rum sugar glaze. Dark rum in the batter and the glaze for double the boozy flavor.
Star-shaped chocolate sandwich cookies cut from a chewy cocoa-and-chip sheet bake, then filled with sweet cream cheese frosting. A festive holiday cookie that looks fancy but skips the rolled-dough fuss.
Cranberry honey pecan crunch pie with a tart cranberry-orange puree filling and a caramelized honey-pecan topping. A stunning holiday pie with bright fruit and buttery crunch.
Green bean and garlic soup with ten cloves of garlic, fresh thyme, and a beaten egg ribbon for body. A simple Mediterranean-style soup that comes together in 30 minutes.
Olive bread with Kalamata and oil-cured olives, bread flour, wheat germ and dried thyme, built on a grape sourdough starter. Artisan-style two-day rustic loaf with deep flavor.
Pate sucree is the classic French sweet shortcrust pastry for tarts, with butter, sugar, egg, and flour. A buttery, slightly crisp shell that holds custards, fruit, and chocolate beautifully.
Minted fruit salad tossed in a citrus syrup of orange juice, lemon, and a whisper of mint extract. Make-ahead friendly, the fruit drinks in the syrup as it chills, turning ordinary fruit into a brunch centerpiece.
Homemade water bagels with the proper boil-then-bake method: shaped, chilled, dropped into sugar-water, then baked until shiny and golden. The classic dense-chewy bagel texture, made from scratch.