25 Staff-Favorite Recipes
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How We Picked
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Beef Daube Provençal
First Featured in 2004
The definition of a meaty stew: great today, even better tomorrow. We just love this recipe, and according to the online reviews, so do many of you. It's foolproof, surefire, an absolute winner. We wouldn't change a thing.
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Brioche Rolls
First Featured in 2010
When we retested these rolls (originally a recipe makeover) for this story, we were unanimous in our praise: They are perfect as is. Each roll has about 75% fewer calories and 80% less fat than classic brioche rolls, but all the flaky, buttery essence is thankfully still there. An overnight proof in the fridge builds depth and flavor; don't be tempted to skip that step.
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Crispy Fish with Lemon-Dill Sauce
First Featured in 2010
Crispy breaded fish is a weeknight favorite, and you can have it without reaching into the freezer case. What we love about this recipe is that you don't even need to pan-fry the fillets; they get breaded and go right under the broiler. Be sure to use a broiler pan; the air vents keep the fish from getting soggy. Our only change was to slightly decrease the amount of salt—it's still fantastic.
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Catalonian Pepper and Nut Sauce (Salsa Romesco)
First Featured in 2008
Making this recipe is time well spent: You'll be rewarded with lots of smoky-garlicky-peppery sauce, which keeps in the fridge for up to two weeks or in the freezer for a couple of months. There are lots of delicious ways to use it: Dip veggies or steamed shrimp in it, use it to flavor omelets, thin it with a little vinegar and water for salad dressing, try it as a sandwich spread, or smear it over pizza dough for a Spanish pie.
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Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
First Featured in 2006
This recipe received multiple nominations for its family-friendly appeal. It's lick-your-fingers good, with a sweet-spicy sauce draped over spice-rubbed chicken. We tweaked it just a bit to make it a little less sweet, and we love it even more.
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Pork Posole
First Featured in 2011
It's amazing how much flavor there is in such a humble (and, by the way, inexpensive) dish. The star of the soup is hominy, with its chewy texture and toasty-corn character; you'll find it with the Latin foods in the supermarket. Updates were minor: We simply omitted some oil and meat drippings for a cleaner broth.
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Grilled Stuffed Jalapeños
First Featured in 2011
With their cheesy bacon filling, these poppers are addictive. While we didn't want to futz with this recipe, we recognize that jalapeños vary wildly in heat level—sometimes incendiary and sometimes mild. So here's a suggestion: If you'll have guests who are sensitive to heat, try doing half the batch in jalapeños (for the chile-heads) and half in mini sweet peppers. That way, everyone wins!
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Fresh Pear Cocktail
First Featured in 2010
We adore this drink, with fresh pear juice (easy to make!) lending its unmistakable sweet flavor and fragrance. It still makes us swoon exactly as we first published it.
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Herbed Cheese Pizzas
First Featured in 2002
These pizzas were originally part of a story on Turkish street food, and boy did they steal the show: We talked about them for months. With a crisp-tender crust and savory-tangy topping featuring deliciously salty kasseri cheese, they're simply divine. The recipe makes eight individual pizzas, enough for an interactive cooking party. The original recipe didn't meet our current sodium and calorie guidelines, so we adjusted a few ingredients. Great news: The pizzas are still show-stealers.
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Brazilian Feijoada
First Featured in 2011
In our experience, slow-cooker recipes can sometimes be a little disappointing—flavors a bit exhausted, textures a bit too soft. Not so with this recipe, a standout in every way. It's a classic Brazilian dish (pronounced fay-ZWAH-da) that is pure porky perfection, one we'll happily enjoy whenever we get the chance. Serve over rice, and be sure to spritz with the orange wedge for a fresh, sweet finish.
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Saucy Chicken Marsala
First Featured in 2010
When we revisited David Bonom's 2010 recipe Chicken and Mushrooms with Marsala Wine Sauce, we loved it but wanted more of the earthy, wine-licked sauce. Our update keeps the soul of the original dish, but with more luscious, 'shroomy goodness. You simply must serve it over mashed potatoes, polenta, or spaghetti to catch all the sauce.
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Slow-Roasted Grape Tomatoes
First Featured in 2009
Though we adore the recipe these are based on (David Bonom's Aromatic Slow-Roasted Tomatoes from December 2009), we wanted a faster update. So in place of plum tomatoes went little grape tomatoes, which roast to concentrated sweetness in less than half the time. Serve as they are for a side dish, on crostini with ricotta for an appetizer, or tossed with pasta and oil for a main dish.
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Cumin-Crusted Sablefish
Round out the moneymaking sides at your New Year’s Day feast with a simple main of baked cod or sablefish. Fish is often seen at Jewish or Chinese New Year’s celebrations, a symbol of fertility, abundance, and—you guessed it—good fortune. This recipe uses just five ingredients, but the flavor payoff is huge, especially if you take an extra minute to toast and grind the whole cumin seeds.
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Chicken, Kale, and Quinoa Soup
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Chicken Enchiladas
First Featured in 2012
For many staffers, this is the go-to make-for-company dish—a sure bet. Once you taste the mix of spicy jalapeño, tangy salsa verde, tender chicken, and luscious cream cheese, you'll be as hooked as we are.
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Green Curry Fritters
First Featured in 2012
Talk about flavor! Green curry paste (found in the Asian-foods section) and chile paste impart tons of savory-spicy-fragrant hits to ground chicken. Only a tiny tweak to this recipe: Our fritters got a little too browned, so we reduced the cooking temperature from medium-high to medium and cooked them a little longer.
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Banana Bread with Chocolate Glaze
First Featured in 1996
Mom's Banana Bread, a recipe dating back to 1996, when it was submitted by reader Stacey A. Johnson, has been a consistent staff and reader favorite. The new chocolate topping makes it even more irresistible.
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Spinach-and-Artichoke Dip
First Featured in 2000
This has been a staff favorite ever since we first tried it 13 years ago. It's rich, savory, and supercreamy, with a nice hit of garlic. We made a few small tweaks—increased the amount of spinach and decreased the mozzarella to lower the sat fat to an acceptable level. Serve with tortilla chips.
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Whole-Wheat, Buttermilk, and Orange Pancakes
First Featured in 2002
Here we've updated Bill and Cheryl Jamison's fantastic Whole-Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes from 2002 with a little citrus zest. Allowing the batter to sit before cooking gives the leaveners a chance to work, creating light, fluffy pancakes.
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Fresh Lemonade Cake
First Featured in 2002
Lemonade Layer Cake, developed by Ann Taylor Pittman as a recipe makeover, has been loved by readers since it debuted in April 2002. When we retested it for this story, we felt we could make big improvements in the texture and flavor. Instead of using a lemonade product, we've made a concentrated fresh lemonade syrup that adds zippy citrus hits to the more-tender cake.
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Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie
First Featured in 2011
No changes here: We love the combo of deep, rich chocolate and the tingly pinch of cinnamon and red pepper. We also enjoy the ease and forgiving nature of a graham cracker crust, which is less fussy than pastry. If you can't find espresso granules with the coffee, look in the Latin-foods section (that's where we sometimes find them).
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Mocha Cake with Fluffy Meringue Topping
Since 2006, readers have professed their love for contest winner Anna Ginsberg's One-Bowl Chocolate Mocha Cream Cake, touting it as the moistest cake ever. We agree—the cake is incredible. But online reviews suggested that the topping could use some tweaking. Instead of the original "mocha cream" of whipped topping, marshmallow creme, and coffee, we now have a creamy, less-sweet meringue. We also replaced reduced-fat mayonnaise (yes, mayo—it's the secret ingredient that makes for a fantastically moist cake) with canola mayo, our current product of choice.
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Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Browned Butter
First Featured in 2001
We've adored this recipe for more than a decade. Something magical happens when asparagus picks up a little toasty flavor, then gets tossed in nutty browned butter with a splash of sweet balsamic vinegar: The vegetable outshines the entrée.
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Mashed Potato Casserole
First Featured in 2011
Give us this any night of the week—two types of spuds blended with cream cheese and crowned with a crispy, cheesy crumb topping. We changed the procedure from using a food mill to a ricer, but you can use either one, or a standard potato masher.
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Bistro Roast Chicken
First Featured in 2008
Boy, were we happy to rekindle our affair with this bird. Five ingredients (not counting salt, pepper, and cooking spray), and you have an absolutely delicious, moist, beautiful roast chicken. Fresh tarragon is crucial; don't leave it out. Our only update was to decrease the salt just a bit to bring the sodium within our current nutrition guidelines.