Main Dish Recipes

Competition-style smoked pork ribs with a paprika-heavy dry rub and a from-scratch vinegar-molasses BBQ sauce aged 2-6 weeks. Low and slow over hickory for 5 hours.

Easy calzones use refrigerated pizza dough cut into squares, folded over a sausage-mushroom or ham-spinach filling, brushed with egg, and baked golden. Six personal-sized handheld pizza pockets ready in 25 minutes.

Chicken with apples: a Normandy-style braise of browned chicken flambed with brandy, then baked with apples, onions, cider, and tarragon sour cream. A French country dinner for four.

Low-and-slow smoked beef brisket with pecan wood, wrapped and basted with tangy BBQ sauce. Texas pitmaster technique, backyard results.

Butter-seared shrimp with fennel and lemon, topped with a tangy pineapple-ginger sweet and sour sauce. A 30-minute seafood dinner that bridges Italian scampi and Asian flair.

Beef with canned beans that's quick, easy, and delicious. A bachelor recipe.

Slow cooker Southwestern beef and pinto beans with salt pork, red chili, cumin seeds, and tomato paste. Set it and forget it for 9-10 hours of hands-off cooking.

Spicy Sichuan-style pork with peanuts, a fast wok stir-fry of cubed pork tossed in a fiery soy, rice wine, and chili sauce with toasted peanuts and dried chilies. Big heat, deep crunch, restaurant flavor at home.

A tasty yet nutritious week-day meal that's easy to put together.

Stuffed artichokes in olive oil: trimmed artichoke hearts filled with fava bean and dill rice, then slow-braised in lemony olive oil. Classic Turkish 'zeytinyagli' meze served cold.

Mom's macaroni with steak is a one-pot pressure cooker dinner: tender round steak strips and elbow macaroni cooked right in a paprika-spiced tomato sauce, then finished with melted sharp cheddar. Hearty weeknight comfort.

Italian veal rolls (involtini) stuffed with prosciutto and Grana Padano, browned in butter, and braised in white wine with tomato paste. A classic Northern Italian secondo.

Slow cooker salmon bake made with canned salmon, croutons, cheddar cheese, and beaten eggs. Hands-off comfort food that turns pantry staples into a savory, casserole-style supper with no oven required.

Hearty beefy quiche loaded with browned ground beef, onion, and eggs bound with tomato soup in a flaky pie crust. A rustic, no-cream quiche that serves up old-school comfort.

Confetti chicken and pepper rice with tri-color bell peppers, honey Dijon chicken, and green onions. A colorful one-pot dinner ready in 30 minutes.

Salmon en papillote steamed in parchment with seared zucchini, crookneck squash, onion, merlot, lemon butter, and Grand Marnier. A 7-minute oven finish for restaurant-style presentation.