Making homemade corn tortillas is actually almost ridiculously easy, once you get the hang of it. All you need is masa harina corn flour, water, a tortilla press (You can use a rolling pin, but a tortilla press is helpful.), and a hot griddle surface. What Is Masa Harina? You’ll need a special corn flour called masa harina for making the tortillas. Masa harina is corn flour that has been treated with calcium hydroxide or “lime” which makes it more nutritious and easier to digest by releasing the niacin in the corn....

These BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes are a meal unto themselves. They’re loaded with tender, shredded barbecue chicken, then topped with gooey, melty cheese. This all-in-one Instant Pot dish is one of my slam-dunk dinners, and the single-serving leftovers are so easy to pack for lunch, too. Quick Weeknight Dinner in the Instant Pot I love making this dish in an electric pressure cooker for a few reasons: It’s a whole lot faster than using the oven—by about half the time....

Why use an Instant Pot to make collard greens? When you’re cooking different dishes for the holidays or a big meal, the Instant Pot frees up your stovel. It’s also super easy and quicker than the traditional method, cutting your cooking time by half. Plus, you don’t have to worry about making the traditional boiled broth prior to adding the vegetables.It usually takes about extra minutes to make this broth the traditional way, requiring you to boil stock with spices and the smoked meat to infuse the broth with flavor....

The method is very simple—you sauté the vegetables with chicken and sausage, add the rice and liquid, and then cook everything under pressure for just ten minutes. That’s it! Ways to Adapt This Paella Paella is such an adaptable dish, especially in the Instant Pot. If you prefer white meat chicken, dice up some tenders in place of the chicken thighs. If you can’t find classic Spanish chorizo, use andouille or another spicy, cooked sausage....

I’ve made many iterations, and my favorite always include a tart component, like lemon, to counter the rich cheesecake. The Secret to Truly Lemony Cheesecake The lemon in this cheesecake is two-fold—it’s in the batter in the form of zest and also on top of the cheesecake in the form of bright, smooth lemon curd. When I serve this cheesecake, before cutting it, I like to pipe dollops of curd on top that I then smash-n-drag (technical term) with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to create the flower burst effect you see here in the photos—I always have to be extra!...

Unfortunately, with all the heat we’ve been having around here lately, my experiments took a hiatus for a couple of weeks. Who wants to turn on the oven when the AC is struggling to keep the house below 80°F? In California we’ve finally had a break in the hot weather (my apologies to those of you on the East Coast who are getting it now) and I got up early this morning to bake these muffins....

First, there was the disastrous lemon tart from the New York Times, described so well by Deb of Smitten Kitchen. We had a similar inedible result. Then, there were my several attempts to make a Meyer lemon confit over pastry dough crust. Still way too tart. Finally we chanced upon a Chef Charlie Palmer recipe with a fabulous lemon filling, but his cornmeal crust tasted like baked polenta. It just didn’t work with the lemon filling....

The drink itself though is a refreshing, subtly spicy cocktail—or not so subtly, if you’re drinking the red-hot ginger beer or ale version—featuring ginger and lime juice at the forefront, with the vodka relegated to the background, although its effects will be felt eventually. However, if you replace that vodka with mezcal—the agave-based liquor from Mexico—the drink takes on a whole new character: lively, earthy, smoky. Then you have a Mezcal Mule!...

Lately he’s been bringing a few dozen with him when he comes to visit. The oyster eaters among us gather and have quite the feast when he arrives. What Is Mignonette Sauce? My favorite accompaniment to fresh, raw oysters is this mignonette—a piquant sauce made with vinegar and shallots that you sprinkle on top of the oyster, much like a squeeze of lemon juice. It’s a lovely balance to the briny, somewhat creamy oysters....

For this recipe, I brine the pork chops and elevate a few pantry ingredients from basic to brilliant. Whisk sweet peach preserves, pungent Dijon mustard, rosemary, and sage for a bright, herbaceous, sweet, and tangy sauce that is spread over the pork chops. A grill pan or a skillet is all you need for this simple Southern-inspired supper. What Cut of Pork Should I Buy? For this recipe, get bone-in center-cut rib pork chops because they are less likely to dry out....

I have found that the single thing that makes the biggest difference for making perfect creamy, heavenly potatoes is the type of potatoes you use. Yukon Golds Make the Best Mashed Potatoes Most people use starchy Russets for mashed potatoes. With their high starch and low water content, they’re good for baking, for making French fries, and for mashing. Here’s my secret though—even better than Russets for mashing are Yukon Golds....

Kulfi is a South Asian frozen dessert traditionally made from a base of slow-cooked sweet milk and spices reduced into a thick liquid. Tres leches cake is a moist milk-soaked sponge cake of Latin American origin (though the exact origin is often debated!). A Tres Leches Cake Inspired By Kulfi Given their similarities, I thought it would be fitting to create a tres leches cake using typical Indian spices and flavors from kulfi....

Then you add some white wine and brown sugar, and cook the chicken in its marinade. It’s great with our Spanish rice! The recipe comes from one my mother clipped decades ago from the Sacramento Bee.

I am the quesadilla queen! (At least in my own mind, having held that title since college where I regularly cooked up massive quesadillas on burrito sized tortillas with tons of add-ins for myself and friends.) So when a friend recently mentioned the idea of a quesadilla pie, I didn’t even wait for the recipe, I knew what to do. The two basic ingredients of a quesadilla are cheese (queso is cheese in Spanish) and tortillas, either flour or corn, though usually in the U....

I never did get her recipe, but I love rabbit, and love mushrooms, so here is my take on a dish I imagine Chef Crenn might like. This dish celebrates the onset of cooler weather. The combination of rabbit (you can easily substitute chicken if you are unable to find rabbit) mushrooms, butter, stock, and roasted garlic are as wonderful as that first crisp day when leaves are falling, schools are back in session, and football is on the TV....

What is Salara? Salara (also known as red roll, coconut roll, or red bread) is one of the most popular breads of Guyanese cuisine. A soft, but slightly dense bread dough is rolled up with a sweetened and spiced coconut filling, then baked until golden brown. The coconut is colored using red food coloring for a vibrant feel. It is the visual hallmark of the dough. Many Guyanese people would even say Salara isn’t Salara if the coconut isn’t red!...

Thankfully for mom and dad, the arrangement goes both ways. They stopped by the other day when we had just finished up cooking this salmon chowder, and happily packed half of it to take home with them. The verdict the next day? Raves. It’s rich, smoky, and comforting. It’s our left coast answer to New England’s clam chowder. Enjoy! Cook until lightly browned and the fat mostly rendered out of the bacon, about 5 to 6 minutes....