Here’s what our editors and writers are making in their own kitchens.
1. Southern Tomato Pie
2. Creamy Avocado Pasta
3. Apricot Upside-Down Skillet Cake
4. Eggplant With Buttermilk Sauce
Jesse Szewczyk
I cannot tell you how many times I've seen a picture of this recipe — AKA the cover star of Yotam Ottolenghi's cookbook Plenty — yet I had never made it myself. Let me tell you, that was a mistake. The recipe is super simple, just a few ingredients casually thrown together to make something that's both rustic and fancy.
It starts with eggplant that's roasted with olive oil, then gets dressed in a super savory buttermilk sauce that gives it a nice tang. It gets finished with pomegranate seeds and za'atar to make it both beautiful and flavorful. I picked up za'tar at my local spice shop, but you can also make your own. For someone who is not the biggest fan of eggplant, I can confirm that this recipe is a banger. — Jesse Szewczyk
Here's the recipe.
5. Ricotta-Stuffed Squash Blossoms
Kiano Moju
It's the season where squash blossoms are everywhere and I couldn't help myself when I saw them at my local farmers market.
I love them on simple pizza with garlic, ricotta and olive oil, but my favorite way to make them is to stuff them with a tangy ricotta filling and fry them up. I use a really light batter, so they still remain light and delicate. It's the ultimate summer treat! — Kiano Moju
Here's the recipe.
6. Pasta alla Puttanesca
Marie Telling
Whenever I'm feeling like pasta but don't want to spend hours in the kitchen prepping a sauce, I make pasta alla puttanesca. Ready in about 20 minutes, the tomato-based dish gets its unique flavor from a combo of olives, anchovies, and capers. So this is maybe not for everyone and if you're usually not a fan of these flavors, you won't fall in love with this. But if you are an anchovy and olive lover, you're in for a treat. — Marie Telling
Here's the recipe.
7. Salted Caramel Ice Cream
Scott Loitsch
I love making homemade ice cream, and this has to be one of my favorites. Typically I find salted caramel ice cream to be a bit too sweet, so I added an espresso fudge swirl* to this to cut some of that sweetness with the bitterness of dark chocolate and espresso. It was so good.
This was a little scary to make because you have to pour a milk mixture into some 400˚F caramel. So just be SUPER careful at that stage and make sure you're making the caramel in a pretty big pot so it doesn't boil over. But it's all worth it in the end! 10/10 would recommend. — Scott Loitsch
Here's the recipe.
*To make the fudge, add 1 tbsp espresso powder and 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips to 1/2 cup very hot heavy cream (I microwaved it for about one minute). Stir until smooth and then cool before layering over the ice cream when you transfer from the ice cream maker.
8. Buttermilk Biscuits
Jesse Szewczyk
Let me start by admitting that I don't know how to make biscuits. I'm a bad Midwesterner and I literally don't know where to begin. There are just so many variables, techniques, and processes that it legit overwhelms me — but I decided I must learn.
This recipe was the first recipe of my biscuit-making journey. It was pretty simple, just a few ingredients, and came together in no time. To make the layers, you take your dough, cut it into four pieces, and stack them on top of each other. When you roll it out again, all of the butter layers laminate it and give you those beautiful, flaky layers. I brushed mine with butter and salt and was pretty darn happy with the results.
Next time I want to try my hand at drop biscuits! — Jesse Szewczyk
Here's the recipe.
9. Broccoli Rubble Farro Salad
Marie Telling
A friend of mine made this recipe and posted a picture on Instagram, and it looked so good that I decided to make it the very next day. It's not the quickest recipe. You have to par-boil the broccoli, cook the farro, chop the broccoli and then sauté it with some garlic, pepper flakes, and lemon zest.
You then mix it all up in a bowl and top it with a lot of grated Parmesan. It probably took me about 45 minute to an hour to make it but it was so worth it. The garlic and lemon flavors are delicious but what makes this dish extra special is the metric ton of Parmesan you can put on top.
It made for a lot of food so I ended up eating the leftovers over the next couple of days and it was still amazing. — Marie Telling
Here's the recipe.
10. Heirloom Tomato Ricotta Tart
Jesse Szewczyk
If you read food blogs, chances are you've ended up on What's Gabby Cooking — and if you follow cookbooks (I'm essentially just describing myself at this point) you know she recently came out with one.
Her book has sat on my desk for a while now, and the cover has a stunning tomato tart on it. After weeks of saying I was going to make it, I finally did — and let me tell you, it was totally worth it. Although the tart looks pretty complicated, it's actually quite simple. The only thing you have to cook is the crust, then everything else is just tossed together and thrown in.
The filling is made with ricotta and cream cheese, and the topping is just simply seasoned tomatoes and some other small things. I went crazy with garnishes, but a simple sprinkling of salt and pepper would be just as nice. — Jesse Szewczyk
Here's the recipe.
11. French Crêpes
Marie Telling
Like many French people, crêpes were one of the first things I learned how to cook and I've been making them for as long as I remember. Throughout the years, I've tried many recipes and learned some very useful tips here and there. Since I moved to the US, I've seen so many crimes committed against crêpes that I finally decided to share my recipe and tips in a step-by-step tutorial on my Instagram.
This is not a short process. Prepping the batter correctly takes some effort. Then you then need to let the batter rest for at least and hour, and then it's time to cook the crêpes, which is a pretty long a repetitive process in itself. But this is how you get the best crêpes and once you finally enjoy one with some Nutella, you know it's all been worth it.
To get a little extra, I served mine with a peach compote I had made on the stovetop by cooking a couple peaches in a pot with a bit of sugar and water. I served this hot, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was amazing. — Marie Telling
Here's the recipe.