Oh, hello there! Were you just thinking you'd like a bite of cheesecake without the bother of water baths or a hot kitchen? One that would, perhaps, win you friends and earn you accolades at backyard picnics this summer? Why, me too! Great minds really do think alike. More

I can't begin to count the number of dinner parties I've had that have ended with ice cream as dessert. As much as I love to bake a pie or a cake or whip up something brûléed, sometimes the only way I can make a dinner party manageable on a busy schedule is to serve scoops of high-quality, store-bought ice cream for dessert. And so far, no one's complained! More

Around this time of year, slow cooker recipes start to diminish as more and more folks turn to cooking meals using fresh vegetables and barbecuing outdoors. But slow cookers can have it both ways. They are handy for hearty stews in the fall and winter, but can turn out surprisingly light fare in the spring and summer months. More

When norcalgirl21 put in a request for a Lava Cake recipe, the first thing I thought of was Nigella Lawson's Choco-Hoto-Pots, although I like to refer to them simply as chocolate pots. This is a classic Nigella recipe: simple, quick and outrageously decadent. Warm, gooey, chocolatey heaven! I have yet to serve these and not have the conversation come to a halt, leaving only the sound of spoons scraping against porcelain and the occasional sigh of pleasure. More

I am a visual learner. Never is this more clear to me than when I thumb through a cookbook like Ripe by Cheryl Sternman Rule with its incredible food photographs by Paulette Phlipot.

The fruits and vegetables practically jump off of the pages in 3D, and my brain understands their curves, colors, and yes, ripeness in a way that description alone could not accomplish. It's enough to make a gal hungry. More

Here's a trick when you need inspiration in your cooking-for-one routine — especially when you arrive home in the evenings and heating a pizza seems like the most expedient way to get some dinner into your belly. For about the same amount of time it would take for your oven to preheat and that frozen pizza to bake, you can put together a healthy, vegetable-intense dinner that tastes delicious and fills you up. What's the secret? Cook a pot of rice on Sunday night and use it throughout the week. More

One of my favorite ways to end a meal is with a sweet, rich glass of dessert wine. The concentrated fruit flavors of a moscato or sweet sherry are uniquely delicious — they transcend syrupy stickiness into a lush bloom of ripe fruit and fragrant aromas that linger on the palate. But I don't often want a glass of dessert wine and a dessert — too much! So I started thinking of ways I could have them both: the concentration of peach and strawberry, and the sweet bite of dessert.

Here's one way: An incredibly easy dessert — it needs only ingredient, and yet it has all the pleasure of ice cream, as well as the intensity of an after-dinner drink. More

Smoked pork has hogged the spotlight long enough. It's time bacon stepped aside and let smoked fish enjoy a little well-deserved attention. Smoked trout is my weekday lunch staple, but when it comes to weekend brunches or other special meals, I splurge on smoked salmon. In this recipe, pungent, smoky slices flavor a soft potato cake that is dredged in panko and cooked until crisp, then drizzled with an herbed crème fraîche. Bacon who? More

Since it's Potluck Week here in The Kitchn, I've been thinking a lot about portable foods. And whenever I think about a crowd-pleasing dish that's easy to make and easy to transport, I always come back to the Seven-Layer Salad. More

It's spring, the sun is shining, and that feels like reason enough to celebrate. It's just the right time to serve this bright, zingy lemon tart, a simple, no-bake dessert that combines Greek yogurt and bottled lemon curd in a tender pastry crust. It's a pretty, no-fuss sweet perfect for a sunny weekend brunch. More