serves 4
You might need to buy:
  • vegetable oil
  • low-sodium chicken broth
  • minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
  • chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • lime juice
  • Salt and pepper
You might need to buy:
  • Kosher salt and pepper
  • anchovy paste
  • minced fresh thyme
  • chicken broth
  • soy sauce
  • all-purpose flour
  • Tbsps chopped fresh parsley
serves 4
You might need to buy:
  • salt
  • sugar
  • water
  • Pepper
  • all-purpose flour
  • butter
  • drained capers
  • low-sodium chicken broth
  • white wine
  • fresh lemon juice
serves 4
You might need to buy:
  • chopped onion
  • tomato paste
  • minced garlic
  • vegetable oil
  • dried oregano
  • Salt and pepper
  • red pepper flakes
  • heavy cream
  • grated Parmesan cheese
  • chopped fresh basil
ready in about 35 minutes; serves 4
You might need to buy:
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil
  • dried oregano
  • red pepper flakes
  • heavy cream

Serves 4 to 6
The amount of bacon you can cook at one time will vary depending on the size of the bacon slices and the size of your baking sheet.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
No breakfast is complete without a side of crispy, salty bacon, but to easily cook a whole pound at once (and salvage our stovetop), we decided to make use of the oven. Low heat rendered the fat but didn’t crisp the bacon strips, and they burned before rendering if the oven was too hot. 400 degreed turned out to be the sweet spot. Lining the baking sheet with aluminum foil before cooking makes for easy cleanup.

You might need to buy:
  • bacon

Serves 6
The toasted flour in step 1 should be slightly paler than a brown paper bag. You can find fish sauce with the other Asian products at most grocery stores. Since the salt content of fish sauce varies from brand to brand, taste the finished gumbo before seasoning it with salt. Serve with rice.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Cajun food isn’t known for its healthfulness, and gumbo is no exception. Toasting flour in a dry pan and mixing it with the aromatics allowed us to slash the amount of fat needed for the “roux” while keeping the deep, toasty flavor. Lean breast meat replaces chicken thighs, but we use bone in to maximize the flavor while reducing the calories and fat. Fish sauce enhances the seafood flavor of lean shrimp, and just 4 ounces of andouille adds meaty richness and spice.

You might need to buy:
  • all-purpose flour
  • vegetable oil
  • minced fresh thyme
  • cayenne pepper
  • low-sodium chicken broth
  • fish sauce
  • Salt and pepper

Serves 4
To minimize flare-ups, trim excess fat and gristle from the steaks before grilling.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
In order to achieve a respectable crust, the exterior of our Char-Grilled Steaks had to be dry. After trying numerous drying-out methods, including salting and aging, we considered the freezer. The freezer’s intensely dry environment sufficiently dehydrated the steaks’ exteriors, and since we were only freezing them for a short time, the interiors remained tender and juicy.

We rubbed the steaks with a mixture of salt and cornstarch before freezing. The salt assured they were well-seasoned, and cornstarch—a champ at absorbing moisture—allowed us to cut the freezing time in half.

You might need to buy:
  • salt
  • cornstarch
  • Pepper

Serves 4
We skewer the onion slices with a toothpick to keep them from falling apart on the grill. You won’t need an entire red onion for this recipe; you can use the remainder to make Pico de Gallo (see related content).

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
This chain-restaurant favorite combines honey-mustard chicken breasts, bacon, and melted Monterey Jack cheese. For a grilled version, we butterfly boneless, skinless chicken breasts to provide more surface area for tasty char, and we marinate them in a simple mixture of honey, Dijon, salt, and pepper. While the chicken cooks on the hotter side of the grill, we let red onion slices—basted with the reserved fat from cooking the bacon—soften on the cooler side of the grill. To finish, we slide the chicken away from the fire and top it with the smoky onions and a mixture of cooked diced bacon and spicy shredded pepper Jack cheese.

You might need to buy:
  • Dijon mustard
  • honey
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2-inch-thick slices red onion
  • Lime wedges

SERVES 4
This chicken can be served with a simply prepared vegetable for a light dinner. It can also be used in a sandwich or tossed with greens for a salad. The chicken should be marinated no less than 30 minutes and no more than 1 hour.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Our perfectly grilled chicken breast recipe had to produce moist, tender chicken whose flavor could stand on its own. We discovered that placing the breasts on the cooler side of the grill and covering them with a disposable pan trapped the heat and kept the breasts moist while cooking. To finish our grilled chicken breast recipe, we gave the breasts a quick sear afterward on the hot part of the grill for color and true grilled flavor.

You might need to buy:
  • sugar
  • Salt
  • Ground black pepper
  • water
  • Vegetable oil for grill rack
  • LEMON-PARSLEY VARIATION
  • Dijon mustard
  • fresh lemon juice
  • olive oil
  • minced fresh parsley leaves
  • CHIPOTLE-LIME VARIATION
  • minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
  • fresh lime juice
  • olive oil
  • minced fresh cilantro leaves
  • ORANGE-TARRAGON VARIATION
  • Dijon mustard
  • fresh orange juice
  • grated orange zest
  • olive oil
  • minced fresh tarragon leaves
  • FOR CHARCOAL GRILL