Simple Cooking

Using chorizo in place of beef means this cheater’s Bolognese is ready in less than 15 minutes (but still packed with flavor).

Crispy oven-roasted fish gets a healthy upgrade with quinoa flakes instead of bread crumbs.

Feel-good greens and creamy comforting coconut come together in less than half an hour for a weeknight dinner you can really get behind.

You’re going to want to make this simple seasonal pasta all summer long.

With a sprinkling of spice, these simple broiled salmon skewers make an impressive appetizer.

The secret to this simple fluffy egg recipe-simply whisk I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® spread into the eggs!

Walnuts add a bitter, earthy element to this simple dessert—and a scoop of vanilla ice cream wouldn't hurt.

Don't let the humble name fool you. These little cookies are bursting with flavor. They're reminiscent of those fig cookies you had as a kid-raised to the third power. The cream pastry is tender and flaky, and the honey-kissed filling, just sweet enough, is deepened by plump Medjool dates. They're also bite-size and adorable.

Fair warning: spicy honey is about to become your all-time favorite pizza topping.

High-quality hard apple cider—not the overly sweet stuff you might have had—is one of fall's greatest beverages. Cognac only makes it better.

Blanching fresh basil leaves before blending is the key to this vibrant, ultra-herby pesto. Perfect for pasta, it also dresses up pizza, scrambled eggs, and more.

A warm, richly spiced oil turns a bowl of mixed olives into elegant party fare.

Earthy and rich without being heavy or filling, this creamy vegetable dip is just the thing to whet the appetite without ruining it before a big holiday meal.

Nutty caraway adds a pop of flavor to this sweet combination of apples, beets, and carrots.

When I traveled to Sicily, I must have eaten no fewer than ten versions of eggplant caponata, and I never got sick of it! I also learned about the agrodolce—or sweet and sour—flavor profile that's so predominant in this dish, and in lots of Sicilian cuisine. My version of caponata is really flexible—serve it with crostini as a make-ahead appetizer, or even as a side dish. The addition of the briny capers, anchovies, and acidic vinegar help cure the eggplant and other veggies, so this dish only gets better in a tightly sealed container in the fridge, where it will last for up to a week.

Bone-in turkey breasts are easy to find, and as impressive as a whole bird when you roast them in butter and herbs.

You can always buy barbecue sauce that's to your taste-there are so many kinds on the market now-but this is the one I've come up with over the years, and it's what we use when we make our barbecued St. Louis spareribs at Sweetie Pie's.

Appalachian apple stack cake is communal cooking at its finest. Originally, each layer was baked at home by individual cooks, likely in cast-iron skillets, then brought together and assembled for church suppers and gatherings. Instead of the spongy cakes we're used to today, these layers are more like cookies—firmer, so they slowly soften beneath liberal applications of apple butter and cooked apples. This recipe stays mostly true to those principles. Instead of individually baking the layers one skillet at a time, though, use a cake pan to trace a pattern on parchment paper and trim circles of rolled dough to fit it. Bake two layers simultaneously (more if you have a convection oven). The edges of the cake layers won't be as perfectly neat as if you'd baked them in skillets or cake pans, but that's all right. This is a rustic cake.

This pizza dough recipe can be made with storebought active dry yeast or fresh yeast. It makes enough for two 12-inch pizzas. For the best flavor and texture, be sure to stash the the dough in your refrigerator for at least 24 and up to 48 hours before using.