Oven Bake

This is perfect to serve with some quinoa or wild rice as a main to a non-meat eater, or as a side with some roast chicken for the carnivorous. It's also good served warm the following day with a little grilled tofu added.

Isn't brunch! Stick this strata in the oven as guests arrive.

A handmade sausage mix takes the place of cocktail franks in this new party classic. A couple of these will keep those Manhattans you're swilling in check.

Sake-infused flounder fillets cook over a bed of pan-seared bok choy in this simple, one-skillet dinner.

A light and flaky puff pastry crust is what makes this pot pie the ultimate. It's a great way to turn leftover chicken and veggies into a whole new and delicious dish.

Blanching the mustard greens and kale ahead of time both softens them up and helps keep their color.

My mom, Betty Keller, was a creature of habit. She worked very hard at her job managing restaurants while raising five boys and a daughter as a single mother. She loved to have cookies on hand at the end of the day, and she especially loved the Keebler pecan sandie. It was part of my childhood, and it's a flavor combination, vanilla and pecan, that I associate with her. It was an adult cookie to me. There was always a bag of them in the cupboard. Or almost always. We were six kids, and we were voracious. That was a problem when it came to my mother's cookies. We had our own cookies, Oreos and Nutter Butters, but when we'd dispatched those, there would be that bag of Mom's pecan sandies, daring us. It was really hard. Those cookies were sacrosanct, but sometimes, guiltily, we ate her cookies, one by one, until they were gone. Mom had very few things she could call her own. She had no real luxuries. We didn't have winter family vacations; we didn't go to a cabin by a lake in the summer. She worked, and she gave us everything we wanted and needed. But we didn't appreciate it then. How could we know? How could I, youngest of the boys, know? But I do now. Day after day, year after year, Mom set an extraordinary example for me. An example of hard work, attention to detail, and an all-consuming love for our family that I still have today. Food is a powerful connecter of who we are to who we were, to our past, to our memories, and, for me, to a different and simpler time. Even the smallest thing—a cookie—can help us understand what we feel now while reminding us of what we once felt and who we've become versus who we were then. So much of who I am today is tied to who my mom was, the choices she made, the way she worked, and how she lived her life. What success I have today, I owe to her. All of which is why the pecan sandie is so important to me.

Creamy, tangy, cheesy, and easy, this time-tested recipe for a party dip from Epicurious member Kristen Warner of Stamford, Connecticut, might just be the reason pita chips were invented. But it’s just as delicious with salty tortilla chips, which stand up well to the chunky bits of artichoke and deliciously gooey spinach.

This fusion pizza was inspired by one that Wolfgang Puck created years ago. Traditional Asian ingredients—Chinese five-spice powder, hoisin sauce, scallions, and black sesame seeds—are an excellent change of pace from your usual pizza seasonings. Bonus: At fewer than 150 calories per serving, these mini pizzas, or pizzettes, are a low-fat alternative to traditional tomato and cheese pies. Just 3 inches across, they are designed to be canapés or hors d’oeuvres, but you can, of course, easily bake one large pizza for a family-style meal.

Can’t believe that bacon could get any better? Brown sugar and a pinch of cayenne add both sweet and hot components to the meat’s smoky flavor. As the bacon sizzles in the oven, the spicy mixture forms a glaze over each strip, packing even more flavor and crunch. Serve this traditionally, with scrambled eggs and an English muffin, or go rogue and pile this crispy treat onto a club sandwich with turkey and avocado for an extra-special lunch break.

Epicurious member Eileen La Mendola tells us that her husband’s family preferred their sweet potatoes roasted and topped with melted marshmallows. But it was her husband who inspired this revamped version of the family classic featuring bourbon and pecans. It’s been a hit ever since.

Layers of potatoes smothered in cheese and mushrooms provide cozy comfort at any winter or holiday meal. This side—rich and creamy on the inside, toasted and crunchy on the top—will definitely warm you on a cold night. Gruyère cheese, sweet and salty, affords this dish its smooth texture, while the mushrooms add a distinctive flavor that will keep the family asking for seconds.

This simple-to-prepare pot pie is a perfect excuse for all that leftover Thanksgiving turkey. The cheesy crust is so good that you’ll want to bake it as a stand-alone biscuit—use just a cup of buttermilk for a stiffer consistency.

Buttermilk-enriched cornbread combines with onions, apples, dried apricots, and prunes in this simple and versatile Thanksgiving stuffing. While prep is fairly minimal, take note: You’ll need to dry the bread overnight, so be sure to start this recipe the day before. And if you’d like to offer a vegetarian-friendly option, swap a high-quality vegetable stock for the chicken broth.

Whoever believes that bread-based stuffing is the only one worth eating hasn’t tried this wild rice version. Alongside perfectly cooked poultry, its blend of sweet and savory stands out as a great-tasting, healthier alternative to plain old stuffing. Pearl onions are sweeter than their larger cousins and they add a nice visual touch, so seek them out in the market’s frozen section. And to fortify nutrients, substitute with brown rice, which requires a little more cooking time than white.

There’s a lot to like about this classic American stuffing. Sweet Italian sausage has salty appeal, while the combination of tart green apples and dried cranberries delivers a one-two punch of tangy sweetness.

Equal parts comfort and sophistication, this torta toes the line between hearty main and delicate appetizer. Flaky crespelle pastry with a rich besciamella sauce and sweet Italian sausage produce a dish worthy of every minute of effort.

Transform plain chicken breasts into a new feast with this succulent take on the pot pie. Make the filling the night before, then get to work on the aromatic herb crust, stuffed with thyme and butter. The pie demands a fair amount of preparation, but efforts will be rewarded with high praise. Halve the measurements for a weeknight dinner for the kids, or make the whole recipe to serve a crowd of eager guests. And feel free to throw in whatever produce you have on hand.

Mountains of porcini and white mushrooms lend deep woodsy notes to this hearty vegetarian entrée, while a béchamel sauce offers all the richness of a meat-filled version. Use a food processor to finely chop the fresh mushrooms; they’ll cook more quickly. Members return to this recipe time and time again because its flavor far outweighs the fuss of assembling it. If you’re short on time, make just the filling or the whole dish a day ahead of time.

Meat lovers may smile politely and insist otherwise, but it’s the rare vegetarian lasagne that truly pleases the committed carnivore. In the case of this exceptional recipe, the meaty texture of the eggplant makes a luscious stand-in for Bolognese sauce. Choose your eggplant wisely: a younger, smaller one will yield the tastiest results. Try white or Asian eggplant for a more mellow flavor.