This recipe my mother adapted from Adelle Davis when mom was teaching herself to cook in the 1960s. Like so many of those early recipes, mom has modified them to her taste and style through the years. This one, she rarely does exactly the same way twice. She’ll use a different set of herbs and seasoning, depending on what strikes her fancy looking through the spice cabinet. Whereas my father is a stickler for details and exact ingredient measurements, mom usually can’t be bothered, She keeps things simple and improvises as she goes along....

Even if you know nothing about cocktails, chances are you’ve at least heard of an Old Fashioned. Made with just four ingredients – whiskey, sugar, Angostura bitters, and an optional (but recommended) orange peel or Luxardo cherry garnish – the Old Fashioned is up there with other cocktail greats like the Manhattan, Negroni, and Sazerac. It’s super simple to make, too, as is appropriate for a cocktail designed to highlight its main ingredient: whiskey!...

And while I would never be without at least two of those pans (I currently have three), not enough love goes out to the half sheet’s smaller sibling, the quarter sheet pan ($22/2 pack). This is the sheet pan for small batch cooking and for cooking for 1-2 people. This is the pan I pull out when I want to toast some nuts in the oven or roast just a couple sweet potatoes or beets....

This is a rustic tart, using Bosc or Bartlett pears (great cooking pears) that have been pre-baked with ginger, sugar, and butter, giving them a wonderful caramelized flavor in the tart. Their buttery sweetness offsets the crisp tartness of the whole cranberries. I got the idea from a pear crostata recipe in The Boston Globe. That recipe, which I made and is fabulous, uses pear halves and layers the pears and cranberries on top of frangipane....

These bright red globes hang from the tree like ornaments, sometimes bursting open to reveal hundreds of juicy crimson seeds. But what to do with them? You can eat them straight (be careful, the juice stains), juice them, or in this case, make pomegranate jelly with them. How Many Pomegranates for 1 Cup of Juice? Good question! It depends on the size and juiciness of your pomegranates. For the big ones we grow, they can produce about 1/2 cup of juice each....

Potatoes au gratin is a decadent but easy-to-make dish to serve alongside roast, turkey, or prime rib. Sliced potatoes layered with onion, thyme, and a little Gruyere cheese are baked together in cream until meltingly soft. You can make quick work of the recipe by slicing the potatoes with a food processor slicing blade, then blanch the potatoes in cream, load them into a baking dish, and pop them in the oven!...

However, sometimes it can be fun to cook your own takeout menu favorites at home! These ten recipes will get you cooking something that’s arguably better tasting and better for you than what you’ll find on your average takeout menu. Plus, you can tailor the ingredients and spice level to your preference, which is a bonus. What takeout favorites would you like to make at home?

Risotto has a reputation of being finicky and tricky, but in reality it’s not difficult when you’re working with the right ingredients. Here, asparagus roasted in extra-virgin olive oil and coated with a balsamic glaze is the star of the show with only a few supporting cast members: good stock, peas, onions, lemon, Parmesan, and of course, rice. Comfort in a bowl awaits. Video: How to Make Risotto With Balsamic-Roasted Asparagus Which Rice Should I Use?...

You could roast just a couple turkey legs if you like dark meat. If you prefer white meat, stuff and roll a turkey breast. Stuffed Turkey Breast Roast: A Winning Recipe The following recipe is for just that, a turkey breast, pounded thin, spread with a stuffing of breadcrumbs, bacon, porcini, shallots and dried cranberries, and rolled up into a roulade and roasted. Now, the only issue I see with cooking just the breast, is that you end up with scant drippings for gravy....

Brussels sprouts are still one of my favorite fall vegetables, though these days I prefer them roasted instead of boiled. Here I’ve paired roasted Brussels sprouts with a sweet and tangy pomegranate-balsamic glaze. This makes a great side dish for Thanksgiving or any fall meal. Don’t be intimidated by making the glaze. You just combine pomegranate juice and balsamic vinegar and let it simmer until it reduces to a thick, syrupy glaze....

I scoured the Internet looking for a recipe but only came up with some German sites that mentioned sherry potatoes, but no recipe. We have, however, finally arrived at a method that works, and recreates the divine potatoes we enjoy so much at the cafe. It’s very simple, baking sliced potatoes in butter and dry sherry, salting generously, and sprinkling on a little parsley. The dry sherry truly enhances the flavor of the butter....

But after I asked if he wanted a bite of my slice, he proceeded to eat the entire piece, which was not part of my initial offering! Thankfully, I had more pie left. I took a sip of coffee, cut myself another slice, and made sure not to offer him anymore bites off of my plate. What Is Shoofly Pie? This uniquely-named pie is sometimes lumped together with other “desperation pies” like chess pie, vinegar pie, and sugar pies....

This Chinese-style cucumber salad with bits of shredded chicken (or tofu!) takes almost no effort to prepare and makes a fantastic light summer meal. This salad is one of my favorite ways to use up leftover chicken. Shrimp is also great if you have it, and tofu is excellent option for a meatless meal. A few keys to success when making this salad: Use thin-skinned cucumbers like English, Persian, or JapaneseMake sure your ingredients stay nice and cold right up until you toss the salad together and serve....

After flipping through the pages of Cooking with Scraps by Lindsay-Jean Hard I was inspired to use uneaten apple cores as a way to further reduce food waste in my kitchen. Lindsay-Jean Hard simmers apple cores with sugar and water for a syrup to use on pancakes. Apple syrup! Sounded great, but I’m not much of a pancake eater. I do love using simple syrup as a sweetener for cocktails, though....

At home, the eldest girl dresses up in robe, sash, and candle crown, and delivers coffee and lussekatter, or S shaped saffron buns to her parents for breakfast. This was all explained to me the other day by a young Swedish woman named Lisa Persson in college here in Sacramento, a long way from home. She spoke of these saffron buns with such nostalgia, I just had to make some....

Recently I started adding strawberries to my breakfast oatmeal and thought the combination would make a pretty good muffin too. Several experimental batches later I now have a strawberry oatmeal muffin that I’m proud to share with you. Here’s the deal, you don’t just want to toss some chopped strawberries into an oatmeal muffin batter. You can if you want, but they won’t turn out as well as they could....

You can do a lot of the work in advance—marinating, stuffing, and rolling—and just put it in the oven about 45 minutes before you want to serve it. How to Butterfly Steak To prepare the flank steak so that you can roll it up, you’ll need to butterfly it (or have your butcher do it) so it opens up like a book. Butterflying flank steak takes a little bit of finesse, which is why we usually have our butcher do it for us....