Pommes à la boulangère is a humble French potato gratin that turns a few basic ingredients into a satisfying side dish. We embellish our version with smoky, salty bacon and a few cloves of garlic. To prevent the potatoes from oxidizing, prep them while the onions cook, so the slices don’t wait around long enough to discolor. A mandoline or a food processor fitted with the thin slicing disk makes quick work of the potato prep. This recipe can be halved and baked in an 8-inch square baking dish; bake covered for 45 minutes, then uncovered for 30 minutes.

This recipe melds the best qualities of two Middle Eastern–style cauliflower dishes we tasted at two restaurants in London—Berber & Q Shawarma and The Barbary. We start by steam-roasting a whole head of cauliflower until tender, then slather it with a mixture of tahini and spices that caramelizes under a hot broiler. Grated fresh tomatoes and a pungent garlic-chili oil finish the dish, along with parsley and toasted pine nuts. To serve, cut into wedges as if serving a cake.

In the state of Sinaloa on the western coast of Mexico, aguachile, or “chili water,” is a popular ceviche-like combination of fresh seafood and a sauce of chilies, lime and water that gives the dish its name.

Try this creative, delicious way to use up your Thanksgiving leftovers. This recipe shows you how to make tostada shells from corn tortillas. Think of a tostada as an open-face taco: a crispy corn tortilla smothered in toppings.

While shelf-stable pesto will work here. we prefer the fresh flavor and more vibrant color of refrigerated pesto. Look for it in the refrigerated section of your supermarket, near the fresh pasta and marinara sauce.

Be sure to use bone-in chicken here--it enhances the flavor of the broth, and the bones are easy to remove after cooking. This healthy chicken soup can be made in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker.

One of the many joys of a trip to Portugal is trying a pastel de nata, the famous Portuguese tart made from puff pastry and egg custard. Unlike other custard tarts (like the British or French varieties), pasteis de nata are baked at a very high temperature, which turns the pastry a deep golden brown on top while maintaining a flaky and buttery texture. The egg custard even souffles a bit in the oven before sinking once cooled, yet the filling remains creamy and smooth because of the addition of a little cornstarch. With just a hint of lemon and cinnamon, these tarts are best eaten the day they’re made

Spanakopita, the famous Greek phyllo pastry or pie filled with spinach and feta, might be made as small triangular parcels for special occasions or baked in large trays for serving a crowd. This version, baked in and served from a 12-inch cast-iron skillet, is doable for a weeknight dinner, yet is impressive enough for a holiday brunch. For the filling, we combine baby spinach with baby kale, which has a bolder, greener flavor that pairs well with the salty, briny feta. Phyllo is packaged either as 9-by-14-inch sheets or larger 13-by-18-inch sheets. The former can be used as is; the latter should be halved crosswise (use a chef’s knife to simply cut through the stack). You will need a total of eight phyllo sheets. As you make the filling, keep the phyllo covered with a sheet of plastic wrap then a damp kitchen towel to prevent drying. If the sheets tear as you work with them, not to worry. Scrunching them to create a pretty ruffled effect hides flaws.

People commented they upped the spices in filling. Homemade crust always tastes best, but it isn’t always easy to work with. Luckily, incorporating sour cream and egg into the dough made it remarkably malleable and easy to handle. Using rotisserie chicken streamlined the process of making the filling because it was already cooked and full of flavor and needed only to be shredded into the filling. Cutting the vegetables small allowed for the filling to be made in one pot in less than 20 minutes. We also found that letting the finished double crust chicken pot pie sit for 45 minutes before slicing it gave the filling time to set up.

Fresh black cod (aka sablefish) is the star of the show in this recipe that applies a simple technique—marinating in miso before broiling—to achieve excellent results. Also known as butterfish, black cod is exceptionally rich and mellow-tasting, making it the perfect foil for this salty-sweet, acidic marinade. A marinade composed of miso, sugar, mirin, sake, soy sauce, and sesame oil ensured flavor penetration and better browning. It also drew out excess moisture, firming the fish and resulting in plump, juicy filets that flaked easily. Broiling the fish 8 inches from the heating element allowed the fish to caramelize and cook evenly at the same time.

We wanted a fresher, more vibrant take on the average sweet potato side. We started by peeling and cutting the potatoes into bite-size pieces. Cooking them in a hot oven (450 degrees) developed a golden exterior while the insides baked up fluffy and tender. We let the roasted potatoes cool down (to protect their structural integrity) before tossing them with a vinaigrette made with scallions, jalapeño, lime juice, garlic, and warm spices. We finished the dressed sweet potatoes with fresh cilantro plus toasted almonds for a nutty crunch, making a great salad to serve alongside any fall-favorite main dish.

Sisig is a traditional Filipino bar snack with sharp flavors and contrasting textures. Our version is inspired by the one made by Jan Dela Paz and Bobby Punla in Oakland, California; read about our visit here. Marinating slabs of pork belly and pork butt in a mixture of cane vinegar and soy sauce lent brightness to the rich meat. We grilled the pork to add smokiness and light char before chopping it and combining it with a mixture of mayonnaise, chiles, and onions. Finally, a quick stint in a furiously hot cast-iron skillet crisped the bits of pork while the garnish of fresh eggs, chicharrones, and more fresh onion and chile rounded out the dish.

Teriyaki (translating roughly as “shiny grilled” in Japanese) describes both the sauce and the cooking style in which it's used: Meat is marinated in a thin but potent mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and a sweet Japanese wine called mirin and then quickly grilled or broiled. In our version, which is inspired by the teriyaki served at Toshi's Teriyaki Grill in Mill Creek, Washington (read about our visit here), we made a traditional sauce of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin. We pureed a portion of the sauce with garlic and ginger to use as a marinade for boneless, skinless chicken thighs, which stayed juicy and tender when grilled. After letting the thighs marinate, we grilled them over a hot fire until they were slightly charred and caramelized, and then we sliced them and served them with white rice and the reserved teriyaki sauce, just as they do at Toshi's.

At Tzuco, in Chicago, the French onion soup arrives to the table piping hot, topped with a bubbling layer of Gruyère cheese. Hiding under the blanket of cheese, a thick slice of baguette soaks up a soup suffused with flavor from a mountain of jammy onions, balsamic vinegar, and bay leaves. French onion soups can lean quite beefy, but chef Carlos Gaytán uses a gentle base of chicken broth that allows the allium flavors to truly shine. Poblano chiles add a mild, vegetal heat and slight charred flavor. To ensure even caramelization, keep the onions in an even layer while they cook.