58 second recipes

La sabana: a Mexican restaurant classic of paper-thin beef filet pounded to the size of a plate, flash-seared with lime, and served with refried beans and salsa. Four seconds on the griddle, no more.

Apple pie topped with halved marshmallows that brown into golden, gooey peaks under a slow second bake. Tart apples, just sugar and nutmeg, no top crust. The midcentury trick that turns weeknight apple pie into something special.

Fresh peach pie layers ripe sliced peaches under a glossy peach-and-nutmeg glaze in a pre-baked shell. No double crust, no second bake. The classic American summer fridge pie that lets ripe fruit do the talking.

Steamed fish and vegetables in stove-top papillotte: halibut and sugar snap peas steamed in plastic over diced tomatoes and basil. A clean, light, restaurant-style dinner in 20 minutes.

Raspberry Alaskas tuck fresh raspberries and vanilla ice cream inside crisp puff pastry shells, then cloak the whole thing in glossy meringue and flash it under high heat for a hot-and-cold dessert that hits the table the second it browns.

Two layers of chocolate-mint cheesecake on a crushed Thin Mint cookie crust, finished with peppermint chocolate ganache. Girl Scout cookie season just became a year-round affair.

Here are a couple of recipes for almond pudding. There are lots of variations of this dish some using dairy products, some using gelatin and some using agar agar and some combining them. It IS good! This first one is more "from scratch". The second uses almond extract.

This is the second recipe I'll post tonight--promised it to AH earlier tonight. My mother found this recipe 35 or so years ago in a magazine and it has become a family favorite. For years she only made it at Thanksgiving until I took over the baking reigns in the family; now she makes it more often especially when my brother, Lewis, is going to be in.

This smoothie packs a real superfood punch with a combination of wolfberries, hemp seeds, chia seeds, maca and spirulina. Wolfberries, hemp seeds, chia seeds and spirulina are all complete proteins. In addition, chia seeds and hemp seeds are rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Maca is a great hormone regulator and has traditionally been used to enhance fertility. Spirulina is one of nature's wonder foods and its GLA content (gamma linolenic acid, an important fatty acid) is second only to mother's milk.

Onion soup Provencal with 8 pounds of slowly caramelized onions, fresh tomatoes, red wine, herbs, and barley miso for umami depth. Topped with croutons and Emmentaler cheese.