Simple Cooking

The creamy flavors of cheesecake meet the fall flavors of pumpkin pie in these indulgent bars.

This elegant little fall galette is studded with whiskey-soaked cranberries.

Serve this creamy and garlicky spoonbread hot out of the oven for a cozy cold-weather side.

A mix of roasted and raw veggies and a poppy seed dressing bring a pleasing variety of textures to this holiday side.

Love beef stew and braised short ribs? Consider giving oxtails a try. These surprisingly meaty cuts contain a ton of collagen, which melts into the stew to create an ultra-rich, ultra-silky texture and flavor. In fact, you might end up needing to thin the finished stew with water before serving.

Yes, you can eat butternut squash raw: Thinly shave it into ribbons and marinate it in a zesty dressing and it’s a refreshing and fun new side for your fall table.

If you can’t find corona or gigante beans for this stew, use smaller white ones like cannellini. Keep in mind that they’ll cook a lot faster, so give the ham a 30-minute head start.

Roasting Italian sausages on a bed of sliced fennel and red onion is two kinds of genius: sausage drippings flavor the vegetables and you only have one pan to clean when dinner is done.

Slow-roasting provides the best insurance for moist, super-flaky fish without the need for much tending—which means you can direct most of your attention elsewhere this Valentine’s Day.

Top this sweet and spicy hash with eggs for breakfast or fold it into tortillas for a taco with some sour cream and hot sauce on top and you’ve got dinner.

This super-easy recipe is a perfect canvas for punchy, crunchy toppers like toasted coconut and mustard seeds with turmeric oil and a zingy chutney. The dal is vegan but full of hearty protein thanks to the chickpeas, lentils, and coconut milk.

If you have the time, season the chicken with salt the night before and chill uncovered so the skin will dry out a bit. Doing this helps the chicken take on a nice golden finish.

The recipe calls for parsley and basil, but consider this dish a canvas for whatever tender herbs you have kicking around: cilantro, dill, tarragon, sage, chives, fennel fronds. Mix and match at will.

Applying the classic steakhouse butter-basting technique to slabs of butternut squash turns it into a hearty vegetarian main.

Adding silken tofu to the base of this dressing both enriches it with a little added protein and lends it a satiny texture. You can adjust the amount of water added to create something thicker and dippable for crudités or thinner and drizzly for tossing into salads.

If the raw honey you find is solid at room temperature, warm it in the microwave or in a saucepan over low heat to bring it back to a liquid state before using.

This spicy-tangy-funky condiment is delicious on grilled fish, grain bowls, braises, and stews—basically anything that needs a touch of acid and heat.

Think of this as an all-purpose garlic sauce. Once you get the hang of making it, try swapping cashews or blanched hazelnuts for the almonds.

You can spread the cloves on grilled bread, marinate olives and feta with the garlicky oil, mash cloves into store-bought mayo, or stir into mashed potatoes.

W. C. Whitfield’s original Kitty Highball recipe—equal parts red wine and ginger ale over ice—goes contemporary. In this deconstructed version the ginger ale is replaced with ginger syrup and soda.