Bang Bang Burger Egg Rolls
Ground beef browned with onion, mixed with cheddar, mayonnaise, and sriracha, rolled into egg roll wrappers, and fried until the outside is deeply golden and crisp. All the flavors of a spicy smash burger inside a crunchy shell. They disappear fast at any table they appear on. Two things to…
Marinated Flank Steak Pinwheels
Flank steak sliced thin and against the grain, marinated for 24 hours in a soy-honey-garlic blend, rolled into pinwheels, secured with toothpicks, and grilled at medium-high for about five minutes. The presentation looks like more work than it is. The flavor is all from the marinade — the honey caramelizes…
Sicilian Grape Must Pudding (Mostarda di Uva)
This is harvest season cooking — the kind of recipe that only exists because, for a few weeks each autumn, freshly pressed grape must is available. In Sicily it has many names: mostarda di uva, farinata d'uva, mosto cotto. Four litres of fresh red wine must, reduced by half over…
Cottage Cheese Zucchini Waffle Fritters
No flour, no fuss. Grated zucchini mixed with cottage cheese, egg, mozzarella, and Parmesan — spooned into a hot waffle iron and cooked until the cheese crisps and the edges are deeply golden. High protein, low carb, done in under 20 minutes. Pull them apart and dip in Greek yogurt…
M&M Rice Crispy Squares
Marshmallows and butter melted together, rice krispies stirred through until coated, pressed into a tin, covered with melted milk chocolate, and topped with M&Ms. No baking, no complicated steps, sets in an hour in the fridge. This is the thing you make when you need to bring something to a…
Classic Chocolate Layer Cake
This is the chocolate cake I've made more times than I can count. Sift the dry ingredients, whisk in the wet, add boiling water last — the batter will be very thin, almost like chocolate milk, and that's exactly right. It bakes into two moist, flat layers that keep beautifully…
Almond Croissant Cinnamon Rolls
Four components, one extraordinary result. A tangzhong-enriched dough gives these rolls a soft, cloud-like crumb that stays fresh longer than standard cinnamon rolls. The filling is frangipane — butter, almond meal, brown sugar, and cinnamon — the same filling that makes almond croissants worth eating for breakfast every day of…
Blueberry Greek Yogurt Muffins
Greek yogurt makes these muffins noticeably more moist and tender than a standard butter-and-milk version — the yogurt adds richness and a slight tang that makes the blueberry flavor brighter. Sweetened with honey, no refined sugar. The two-temperature bake (5 minutes at 425°F, then dropped to 350°F without opening the…
