When I first started cooking professionally in 1979, even getting fresh button mushrooms was exciting. These days, portobello mushrooms, and any number of other exotic varieties, are practically an everyday item. When it comes to portobellos (which, mercifully, have remained fairly inexpensive), you can buy just the caps, but I like to buy whole mushrooms so I can use the stems to “beef up” the stuffing. Any favorite stuffing recipe will work here, but this spicy Italian sausage mixture is my favorite because it provides the perfect counterbalance to the earthiness of the mushrooms. Serve this with a simple tomato sauce, lemon butter, or just a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar. Sautéed broccoli rabe and a twirl of angel hair pasta turn it into a complete meal. Bring on the chianti!
This classic 15-minute sauce is your secret weapon for homemade mac and cheese, chowder, lasagna, and more.
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
Round out these autumn greens with tart pomegranate seeds, crunchy pepitas, and a shower of Parmesan.
The silky French vanilla sauce that goes with everything.
Caramelized onions, melty Gruyère, and a deeply savory broth deliver the kind of comfort that doesn’t need improving.
An extra-silky filling (no water bath needed!) and a smooth sour cream topping make this the ultimate cheesecake.
This pasta has some really big energy about it. It’s so extra, it’s the type of thing you should be eating in your bikini while drinking a magnum of rosé, not in Hebden Bridge (or wherever you live), but on a beach on Mykonos.
Crispy tots topped with savory-sweet sauce, mayonnaise, furikake, scallion, and katsuobushi.