When I don’t have the energy to tackle the tricky original, which entails deep-frying fritters of battered sweet potato sticks with whole shrimp attached, without things falling about, I make my streamlined workaround: these delicately crisp sweet potato pancakes. I blend grated sweet potato with grated carrot. Seasoning with green onion and fish sauce imbues the pancakes with some of the pungency and umami depth of the original. They come together handily with little fuss....

That said, I promise you: This is the easiest omelet you could ever make. You don’t need a culinary degree (or any fancy cooking skills) to whip one of these up, though your friends and family will probably think you’ve been taking cooking classes in your spare time. Enjoy a Denver Omelet Any Time of Day The diner-favorite Denver omelet is a simple, beginner-friendly egg dish that’s undeniably impressive, super customizable, and just as delicious for a quick lunch or dinner as it is for an un-fussy breakfast....

Didn’t grow up digging into dirt cakes? Dirt cakes are a dessert often served in individual cups. Crumbled Oreos made to resemble dirt are layered between fluffy chocolate pudding. Gummy worms always go on top. They are often served at birthday parties and school events because of their wow factor and convenient single servings. Plus, they are a no-fuss, no-bake, easy dessert. Where Did Dirt Cakes Originate? Dirt cakes are believed to be a spin on the Mississippi mud pie, a popular chocolate dessert from the 1960s....

That’s why I love this dough recipe. A No-Knead Pizza Dough That Works With Your Timeline You can make it and let it rise, then use it—or change your mind and leave it in the fridge for the next day. Or even the day after that. Or even freeze it for a few weeks. It’s a very forgiving dough! And if that weren’t enough to sell you on this pizza, you don’t have to do a bit of kneading....

But sometimes you want something super quick and a little lighter than a hot, gooey dip. Put this easy spinach dip out for a nibble while the turkey roasts on Thanksgiving, in between meals with cocktails, or on game day. Because it’s cold, you can make it ahead and it travels well, too. Frozen or Fresh Spinach? Thawed chopped spinach is easy to use, but you do need to give it a squeeze to eliminate excess liquid and avoid a runny dip....

One quick and easy recipe that I played around with this week is to simply grill the tomatoes, cut side down, and season with olive oil, salt, pepper, and sliced basil. It’s so good! When you are working with garden-fresh tomatoes, sometimes doing less is more, because the produce is so good to begin with. Do you have a garden that is full of tomatoes? What are your ways of using up the bounty?...

Rectangles of halloumi are dusted in semolina or cornmeal, sautéed until crisp, drizzled with a warm, thyme-infused honey, and topped with crunchy pomegranate seeds. This recipe is inspired by a dish I kept returning to at the Loxandra restaurant in Nicosia, Cyprus and is one of the most popular mezze dishes that I make for my friends at home. Let’s be honest, you can never go wrong with fried cheese....

What is Steam-Frying? Using this method, you quickly stir-fry vegetables to develop some color, and then steam them until tender. Steam-frying uses less oil than a regular stir-fry, but the vegetables still quickly cook through. The veggies also pick up a little browning from the stir-fry step and some flavor from the liquid used for the steaming step, making them more exciting than plain steamed vegetables. You can use this technique to cook just about any vegetable in the fridge, from cauliflower to green beans....

These BBQ ribs—cooked in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker and finished under a broiler— are exactly that. They’re ready in about an hour (from start to finish!) and will knock the socks off even the most seasoned rib eater. Why You Should Make Ribs in the Instant Pot Normally, ribs take a long time to cook. My former approach to cooking ribs was to use the 3-2-1 method. Each of those numbers represents HOURS so the total time involved was—you guessed it—six hours....

And you know what? You can. Using a pressure cooker, like the Instant Pot, you can make tender, deeply flavorful brisket with a thick, rich gravy in about half the time! (New to the Instant Pot? Check out our post How To Use an Instant Pot: A First-Timer’s Guide.) Video: How to Make Instant Pot Beef Brisket Keeping It Kosher If you’re making this brisket recipe for Passover, be sure to buy a kosher brisket, along with “kosher for Passover” brands of red wine and ketchup....

This stew is so adaptable and easy to love. It’s gluten-free and vegetarian as written, and easily made vegan/dairy-free by subbing in vegan feta cheese for the dairy kind. I sometimes make my own (there’s a recipe for almond feta in my vegan Instant Pot book), but now that I am kept busy by two young children, I am grateful for store-bought options, too. My favorite vegan feta is the one from Trader Joe’s―it has all the brininess and tang you expect from the real thing....

I recently needed some pesto for a recipe and thought I would pick some up ready made at the market. Oops! I forgot, basil is a warm weather plant, and it and its pesto are hard to find around here in winter. No problemo. It’s easy enough to make pesto from scratch with kale. Like its basil pesto cousin, kale pesto is terrific with pasta, potatoes, sandwiches, and with any and everything which calls for pesto....

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake From Scratch For this bundt cake, I wanted to make a cake that was reminiscent of a pound cake with a fine, buttery crumb that had lots of lemon flavor and a generous crunch of poppy seeds. To achieve that texture I wanted, it ultimately came down to the amount of butter. I tested the cake with 1 cup and 1 1/2 cup of butter, and more butter was definitely better....

These loaded baked potatoes are pretty much exactly what I want for dinner on a chilly winter day or cool spring evening, but they run right up against one of my biggest struggles when feeding my kids: It’s intimidating to see big piles of food. Most kids I know struggle with it, and I know mine do. No worries! We can solve it! Normally, baked potatoes are seen as a side dish, but these are so stuffed and have so much going on that they are essentially a meal in themselves....

This guide to make ahead Mother’s Day brunch recipes includes ideas that are quick and easy or easy to make ahead so you’re not in the kitchen for hours and can spend more time with mom. Breakfast casseroles (of all kinds), baked egg dishes, and pancakes are all solid choices. French toast casseroles are similar to bread pudding in taste and texture—you’ll have a custardy middle and golden edges. Make sure you give Mom her favorite piece and you can top it with fresh fruit, powdered sugar, jam or maple syrup....

We have recipes that are both ultra-traditional and excitingly different. Not a baker? Try a savory cherry salsa with a kiss of balsamic. Churn up a batch of cherry frozen yogurt or make your first-ever jam — in the microwave! Discover a whole new side of cherries this season and you’ll be itching to scoop up more before you know it.