Autumn

On Thanksgiving, I don’t think any dish inspires quite as much love and jealousy as classic stuffing. Or, for that matter, technical debate over stuffing vs. dressing. Sure, if it’s baked inside the turkey it’s stuffing, and if it’s not, it’s dressing. But to me, it will always be stuffing — it sounds so much more satisfying than dressing, which brings to mind vinaigrette. And on my table, the stuffing is always some version of this classic sage and onion mix.

A big bowl of classic mashed potatoes make any meal a little better. Sadly, I come from a long line of mashed potato forgetters. A familiar cry heard each Thanksgiving was, “The mashed potatoes!” This could mean one of three things: Someone forgot to start them, someone forgot they were cooking, or someone forgot them in the kitchen and they were cold by the time they hit the table. This always bummed me out. I mean, we’re talking mashed potatoes here.

The sweet potato is arguably the most versatile veggie in the produce department. It can easily be the star of any meal, from pancakes for breakfast to the main event of dinner and can even do dessert. While baking sweet potatoes in the oven can take up to an hour, microwaving a sweet potato takes a mere five minutes. Here’s the very best way to do it, so that you can dig into your tender, steaming sweet potato ASAP. It’s lightning fast.

This old-fashioned recipe takes an unexpected turn.

Editor’s Note: If you’ve cooked this beloved recipe before, it might look a little different these days! We recently improved it to make it even easier to follow and more delicious.If you love apple pie, you’ve got to make these salted caramel apple pie bars. With three impressive layers, plus a double dose of caramel sauce, they are the dessert of fall.

Easier than apple pie.

Stay chill this spooky season.

Apple crisp meets cheesecake.

The secret ingredient comes from the freezer.

It tastes like childhood.

A thick layer of buttery, sweet crumbs crowns the top.

Sweet and tangy.

Plus, there's little to no clean up.

You don't even have to peel it!

Easier than apple pie.

Like the boxed stuff, but so much better.

You'll want to sprinkle it over everything.

It's loaded with apple flavor.

They have the most incredible soft, tender texture.

You don't even need any measuring cups for this recipe.

It's a game-changer.

Hot mulled cider is a must-have at all our fall and winter shindigs. It’s a great non-alcoholic drink option for holidays like Thanksgiving — guests of all ages never seem to turn down a mug, but grown-ups can also take the opportunity to do a little self-spiking and mix with their alcohol of choice. Slow-cooker mulled cider is the easiest way to serve a crowd.

Should we all just agree that we really go apple picking for the warm cider donuts and freshly pressed apple cider? Eating those fried donuts is one of my fondest food memories from the two years I lived on the East Coast, but unfortunately they’re harder to find now that I’m back in California. The best solution was to head into my kitchen and make a batch myself.

And you only need four ingredients.

If the hardest decision at your holiday table is choosing between desserts — be it a slice of pumpkin pie, a scoop of seasonal fruit crumble, or even a simple sugar cookie — these pumpkin pie bars are a sweet solution to your Thanksgiving troubles. These bars make use of smart grocery store shortcuts, like refrigerated sugar cookie dough and canned pumpkin pie mix. For the finishing touch, a buttery oat crumble is sprinkled over top.

Whatever regular ol’ butter can do, maple butter can do better. The touch of sweetness and caramel-y, toffee notes alter butter so magically that it’s hard to believe how simple it is to make. Because maple butter has so few ingredients, it’s essential to ensure those ingredients are good-quality. Here you’ll want real-deal maple syrup — sweet, smoky, and amber-colored.

You barely need a recipe.

The most delicious leftover sandwich starts here.

Seltzer, soda, and iced tea are refreshing, but let’s be honest — they get a little boring after a while. Sometimes you just want something a little more fun to sip on. And as we head into fall, we’re ready to trade the cool, refreshing drinks we leaned on all summer for fall mocktails with hints of warm spices, seasonal fruits, savory herbs, and deep, rich flavors that come with the season.

Now that the weather is getting cooler and it’s peak apple season, it’s hard not to want to crank up the oven and bake something warm and cinnamon-spiced. Bringing an apple dessert to the table — whether it’s apple pie, apple cake, apple crisp, or something else entirely — is just about the very best way to usher in autumn and all the cozy, sweater-wearing vibes that come with it.

Summer has given way to fall, and gone are the long days, trips to the beach, and perfectly ripe heirloom tomatoes at the farmers market. But there are some pretty great things about fall as well — there’s pumpkin, for example, not to mention all the apples, hearty greens, and root vegetables that start showing up at the market.

Save room for seconds.

Even if the arrival of PSL season has you rolling your eyes, there’s no denying the deliciousness of a pumpkin spice latte. But you can do better than Starbucks. Our homemade pumpkin spice latte is even better than what you can get at the coffee house chain. Here’s how to make an easy extra-frothy pumpkin spice latte at home. You’ll have enough to share with someone you truly love. Our homemade recipe is better than Starbucks.

Ruby-red tomatoes may be the crown jewel of summer, but I say that fried green tomatoes are the season’s unsung hero. Turn stubbornly unripe green tomatoes into a crunchy Southern specialty. You can make the ultimate fried green tomatoes by dipping in tangy buttermilk, coating in cornmeal, and then frying until golden. Once you taste them warm with a spicy remoulade sauce, you may never wait for tomatoes to ripen again. These fried green tomatoes are extra crispy.

The grill has the ability to elevate sweet, juicy peaches from over-the-sink snack to the most stunning dessert or a side dish with nothing more than heat. Grilled peaches are the kind of magic that happens in a hot grill’s twilight, when dinner is nearly done, and sweet fruit is the best pairing for the cold wine and ice cream destined for dessert. Here’s how to pull it off with grace and ease in only four simple steps. They’re incredibly easy to grill.

Picture this: You’ve got guests coming over for a cookout in less than an hour. What can you grill that will be both impressive and quick? The answer is almost always grilled pork tenderloin. Pork, especially the pork tenderloin, takes incredibly well to the smoky char of the grill. With just a smart dry rub of sugar, salt, and spices, pork tenderloin grills up with a thin, tender-crisp crust, while being incredibly juicy and, well, tender in the interior.

When the sun is shining and you’re contemplating grilling outside, don’t forget that easy grilled sweet potatoes can be a delicious addition to the summer dinner plate. All you have to do is toss thick slices with some oil and salt, and after just 10 minutes on the grill they’ll be sweet and tender with a hint of smokiness from the flames. To up the ante, toss the still-warm grilled sweet potatoes in a sweet-and-spicy dressing. Heat the grill.

Cool and crunchy, delightfully sour and capable of going from a quick snack to a crunchy addition to a hearty sandwich without a hitch — that’s what I call a good pickle. Did you know they’re a cinch to make at home? You don’t even need to set aside the afternoon; you can make a few pint jars in less than 30 minutes. Here’s everything you need to know to make your own batch of homemade dill pickles right now.

The humble banana gets the spotlight.

For all your potluck and BBQ needs.

This is our favorite method.

Given the opportunity, my 6-year-old would eat hot dogs every single day. And I can’t blame him. These snappy, savory sausages packed into squishy buns are satisfying and delicious. There are so many ways to cook hot dogs, too. While he and his neighborhood crew would settle for a boiled dog, I miss the sizzle of a skillet-seared, air-fried, or grilled hot dog. Now, when I’m feeding a crowd of hungry kids (and kids at heart!), I skip the simmer and click on the oven instead.

Despite being beautiful, delicious, and good for you, artichokes don’t get much play in the kitchen because — let’s face it — they’re a little intimidating. But with just a tiny bit of prep work, artichokes are surprisingly easy to pick, cook, and eat. The next time you’re at the farmers market or grocery store, pick up a few and give it a go. I’ll walk you through everything you need to know.

Brisket is a hearty cut of beef that requires time and technique to tenderize, making it one of the best cuts for braising and slow cooking. While you’ll see beef brisket served as corned beef in the spring and smoked down in Texas, the classic holiday beef brisket is typically braised in a sweet and tangy gravy. (To learn more about brisket and get tips for buying it, check out our brisket for beginners guide.

It takes just a little bit of time and patience with nearly zero effort.

It’s the ultimate comfort food.

This umami-packed, buttery glaze will make you love roasted tender carrots.

If you’re a savory breakfast person like me, a Scotch egg is a perfect food. The U.K. dish consists of a boiled egg that’s been peeled, covered in breakfast sausage, then breaded and deep-fried. It’s the perfect high-protein breakfast or snack. The roots of this dish are murky. Scotch eggs seem to have been around since the 1700s, with some claiming it was an Indian export due to its similarities to a dish called nargisi kofta.

Many of us turn to beans for our weekly meals. It’s a beloved pantry staple for hearty chili, winter stews, and comforting soups. Canned beans are no stranger to my pantry (there’s always a variety lining the shelves for an emergency), but over these past several months at home, I’ve become a dried bean convert.

Bubble and squeak, with its cutesy name, is a classic British day-after-holiday dish. It is incredibly versatile, as you can throw in any leftover vegetables or mashed potatoes into this comforting recipe — perfect for a relaxing meal after a hectic holiday. Usually made to use up leftovers after a Sunday roast dinner, or a major holiday like Easter or Christmas, bubble and squeak is quintessentially British and makes for a hearty breakfast, lunch, or even a quick weeknight meal.

Seed crackle is the new crouton.

Restaurants have a secret that they do not want to share, and it’s this: Cooking crab legs is one of the easiest meals you can make at home. It’s true. You can make impressive, restaurant-quality crab legs — boiled, broiled, or steamed! — in your own kitchen. Because most crab legs are sold already cooked and frozen, all you really have to do is reheat them, and that only takes about five minutes. Here are three ways to make impressively easy crab legs at home.

Serve a la mode.

“My husband ate more than half of the bowl.”

Chewy, nutty, chocolaty perfection.

All the pickle girls out there — this one’s for you.

It’s a comfort-food classic.

Lobster tails may seem like a fancy meal that should be relegated to a special night out, but they’re actually quite simple to cook at home. The tails come frozen and ready to cook, and their meaty texture and sweet flavor pair well with just melted butter and a squeeze of lemon. Of course, you can also chop up the meat to make a killer lobster roll , lobster ravioli, or lobster risotto instead.

The sauce is everything.

This vegetable jambalaya is faster and just as good, in my opinion, as traditional jambalaya (which typically has andouille sausage, chicken and/or seafood). With the “holy trinity” of vegetables, juicy tomatoes, and long-grain rice, this is a fantastic main dish (with some optional add-ins, if you want) or a hearty side dish to serve alongside your favorite main.

My husband is from New England and we go back to visit a few times a year, so I consider myself a part-time New Englander. We feast on a lot of whole lobster while we’re there — especially in the summer when the whole family’s together and a lobster dinner is both celebratory and fun. Although I’m partial to claw meat, most of the family loves tail meat, as the tails are meaty and easily come out of the shell in one piece.

This Chocolate Martini Is Made For Chocolate Lovers

Soup dumplings who?

A bowl of chocolate mousse is a decadent treat, but a layered chocolate mousse cake with a cookie crust is next-level. There are many varieties of chocolate mousse cake. Some have chocolate cake crusts rather than the cookie crust; others are chocolate cake layered with a mousse frosting. But we think our double-layered chocolate mousse cake is one of the best. This mousse cake is set in the refrigerator rather than baked and is served cold.

And good fortune!

And it makes your kitchen smell amazing.

Almost everything you need is in your pantry.

Oh, and it's done in 25 minutes flat.