Cut up a head of iceberg for a classic wedge salad, add blue cheese dressing, smoky bacon, and a few cherry tomatoes, and even the worst kitchen snobs will change their minds! What Is a Wedge Salad? Wedge salads go back to the early 20th century, when iceberg lettuce was simply dressed with a creamy dressing such as Roquefort, Russian, or Green Goddess before serving. Blue cheese and bacon became wildly popular additions in the 1950s, but then the dish fell out of favor as the trend faded and as leafier, more flavorful lettuces (like red and green leaf, oak leaf, and others) came into popularity....

Combine it with a bit of good olive oil and you have the ultimate condiment to dunk crusty bread or warm pita into. The once hard-to-find mixture is now becoming more and more popular in the United States — so much so that Trader Joe’s now even sells their own version! Here’s everything you need to know about this magical Egyptian mix and how to enjoy it in your own kitchen....

To give the salmon (I use skin-on fillets) an extra oomph, I coat it with another family favorite, dukkah, an earthy and rich spice blend with nuts. It’s a unique way to both flavor the salmon and give it a slightly crunchy crust. I serve the salmon with a delicately spiced pearl couscous with lemons. It’s embellished with golden raisins, and a drizzle of a simple mint yogurt sauce brings the whole dish together beautifully....

In my house, we like to eat quesadillas for breakfast (eggs and black beans and cheese; sometimes avocado if I have one that wants to cooperate) and lunch (black beans and cheese) and, of course, dinner. In the case of dinner, almost anything goes, and more often than not, it’s a fridge-and-pantry clearing exercise. One of my favorite combos is black beans and avocado. I almost always have a can of black beans in the pantry and tortillas in the fridge....

Plus, you can make it in about 30 minutes. Soup is on, right?! The Basics of Carrot Soup The key to carrot soup is, unsurprisingly, the carrots. If you can, try to get a few bundles of the smaller carrots with the stems still on. I find the bulk bags of de-stemmed carrots are less sweet. Ultimately, though, you can use any carrot—even purple or white ones—and I won’t yell at you....

This is true Mexican comfort food, what your mom made you for breakfast when she had some stale tortillas that needed to get used up. What Are Chilaquiles? Chilaquiles are basically corn tortilla pieces that are fried, cooked in salsa, and sprinkled with cheese. They are often served for breakfast with eggs and a side of beans or nopalitos. My mother grew up with her mother making them with green chile tomato salsa and grated longhorn cheese, a Tex Mex version....

The first time I put on my muffin hat and griddled English muffins, I wasn’t a fan. The sheer labor and logistics involved in making them weren’t fun. They’re not muffins in the “scoop batter and bake” sense. They involve yeast, proofing dough, and griddling each and every muffin. Instead of making individual English muffins, I started forming the dough into loaves that I could bake and then slice. Yes, some of the labor is still there, but it’s less finicky because you don’t have to worry about griddling the muffins in batches....

A daiquiri is essentially a mixture of rum, sugar, and citrus – anything after that is just gilding the lily. A frozen strawberry daiquiri, however, is the ultimate refresher for summer days spent poolside or with your toes buried deep in the sand. Video: How to Make Strawberry Daiquiris Fresh or Frozen Strawberries? Many strawberry daiquiri recipes use fresh strawberries, but personally, I find that frozen strawberries help thicken the drink (like a smoothie!...

My friend Arturo grew up near the beaches of Acapulco and learned a way of preparing the garlic shrimp classic with jalapeños and coconut milk. The layers of flavor in this dish are fabulous – chile, shrimp, coconut, lemongrass (or lime). If you get the timing right, this dish cooks up quite fast. What Shrimp to Buy Look for jumbo shrimp (about 20 count per pound) for this recipe. Fresh or frozen shrimp are fine....

What Are Giblets? Giblets are comprised of the heart, gizzard, liver, and neck of the chicken or turkey. They are often found in a small bundle inside the cavity of the whole bird. You can make gravy from the giblets of either a turkey or a chicken, though I think it’s more usual with a roast turkey. The giblets are bigger, and there’s more meat to put in the gravy....

An Allergy-Friendly Cake Everyone Can Enjoy I’ve projected this choice onto my son, Oliver, and have made it for each of his birthdays so far. (Of course when he’s old enough to request otherwise, I’ll happily make what he wants!) Because he’s allergic to eggs and lots of his friends have a handful of other allergies, I thought it’d be fun to develop a cake that everyone could eat, regardless of dietary restriction....

So, say hello to these Green Goddess Veggie Burgers! How to Make a Delicious Veggie Burger These burgers are packed with spices such as cumin and paprika and a few other ingredients to keep them together on the grill. I like to start the burgers with a chickpea base, which gives them a great mouth feel—that’s a fancy way to say they feel good, texture wise—and can handle the heat of a grill....

So, what to do? Grilled Chicken Breast: The Solution (Brine!) One method is to marinate chicken cutlets, or chicken breasts pounded to an even thickness, and quickly grill them on high heat. We use this method for our cilantro lime chicken and it works fine. Another way, which doesn’t require you to change the shape of the chicken breasts, is to brine the chicken first. VIDEO! How To Grill Boneless Chicken Breasts How Long To Brine Chicken Breasts All it takes is 30 minutes in a simple brine solution of 1/4 cup kosher salt dissolved in 4 cups water....

First posted in 2006, I’ve changed it over the years incorporating many of the ideas that commenters have given us after trying the recipe, plus a few ideas of my own. Chicken cutlets are marinated in a lime juice cilantro marinade for a couple hours. They are grilled quickly on a hot grill and served with a simple black bean sauce made with canned black beans, onions, garlic, and oregano....

This is not your basic side salad. It’s jam-packed with big flavors that start with spiced and grilled shrimp, plus grilled peppers and onions (I mean why not, the grill is already hot)—then all these grilled items get served on a base of romaine with lots of fresh vegetables and some Cotija cheese. A tangy cilantro vinaigrette then ties everything together. The salad is filling and light at the same time, if that makes sense....

Haitian cuisine, also known as Haitian Creole cuisine, originated during the colonial times where West African and French, Spanish and some Arabic people were brought together. Creole cuisine itself is composed of bold spicy flavors mainly influenced from the African people. When we speak about the bold and spicy flavors that are a must in Creole cuisine, we are specifically referring to seasonings that marry well together and are used to bring out all the flavors in a dish to make them bold....

True, there is some close competition from white bean and ham soup. Come to think about it, they’re both great! Video: How to Make Ham and Potato Soup Use a Ham Shank or Leftover Ham This recipe is for soup made with ham and potato. You can use either a leftover ham bone and some ham from a glazed ham, or you can use a meaty ham shank. You could even use a ham hock, but the hocks aren’t as meaty as the shanks, so if you use hocks, you’ll likely need extra ham....

It’s one of those feed-a-lot-of-people comfort food salads that makes you look forward to leftovers. How to Use Leftover Ham in Ham Salad Put it in a sandwich (or a slider bun!), eat it plain, or add it to macaroni. The basic components of our favorite ham salad are ground or finely diced ham, sweet pickle relish (sweet works better than dill for ham, in my opinion), and hard-boiled eggs....