Winter

The technique is a game-changer.

We've got the secret to fluffy and dense matzo balls.

The foolproof recipe is inspired by two greats: Ina Garten and Julia Child.

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.

Warm and comforting soup is my favorite thing to eat this time of year, but it’s not always enough to make a complete meal. Your side dish of choice is going to depend on the type of soup you’re making. If you have a relatively smooth soup, like creamy tomato soup, you might want garlic bread or a soft milk bread bun for dunking. If you have a creamy mushroom soup, then maybe you want a side of roasted potatoes. That’s where these 46 sides for soup come into play.

The best thing to happen to egg noodles.

It’s the ultimate comfort food.

Yes, it’s really that good.

Such a catch.

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.

If you love creamy mashed potatoes, you’ll love colcannon, a traditional Irish dish. Keeping with tradition, we didn’t mess with the potatoes or cabbage, but swapped the plain melted butter that is typically served in a pool on top for fragrant browned butter. We just couldn’t help ourselves! The nutty browned butter is a wonderful warm contrast to the sharp green onions that get scattered before serving, giving this dish an easy, elegant twist.

It’s all about the bubbles.

If you’re skeptical about cabbage, this is the recipe that will turn you into a believer. And if, like me, you already adore cabbage (and are always looking for cabbage recipe ideas), this simple side will deepen your love. Simply put, Southern-style fried cabbage will forever change the way you think about this basic cruciferous vegetable.

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.

If you’re new to cooking with cabbage (or steadfast skeptic), I encourage you to give this kielbasa and cabbage one-skillet dinner a try. Watch the crunchy crucifer turn tender, golden, and buttery alongside smoky sliced sausage and a sprinkle of caraway seeds, and you’ll be hooked. And since apples and mustard are classic accompaniments to both kielbasa and cabbage, finish this 30-minute meal with a splash of sweet and tangy apple cider vinegar and whole-grain mustard.

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.

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

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

The perfect weekend project.

Store-bought biscuits for the win.

It’s a comfort-food classic.

King cakes are made around the world as part of the festival of the Epiphany, but in New Orleans, king cakes have truly taken on a life of their own. From the start of Carnival on January 6 through Mardi Gras at the beginning of February, you’ll find one of these sweet, color-splashed king cakes just about everywhere. Did you get “the baby”? That means you bring the next cake — and we have just the cake you’ll want to bring.

Peppercorn sauce is a creamy, spicy, and lightly smoky pan sauce made from beef stock, peppercorns, shallots, brandy, and cream. Originating from the French dish steak au poivre, it’s traditionally created from the fond (the brown bits and residue) left behind from the seared steaks, which are packed with flavor. Peppercorn sauce is a delicious accompaniment to a variety of proteins and vegetables — not just steak. To make it more versatile, this recipe doesn’t rely on fond.

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.

Consider yourself a pork chop person from now on.

"This maque choux beats others I’ve had in Louisiana."

Even better, it’s also simple to make.

This one’s for all the chocolate-lovers out there.

Get your baguettes ready.

I’ve never really met a chicken wing that I didn’t like. No matter the type, though, crispy skin is a must. Getting the skin nicely browned and blistered isn’t difficult at all. It just requires a little time and a staple pantry item: baking powder. Baking powder is the secret ingredient that makes the best crispy chicken wings for your next game day party or weeknight dinner. We bake them in the oven here, but you can also cook the chicken wings in your air fryer.

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.

I love everything about chocolate-covered strawberries. I love the crunchy, melt-in-your-mouth shell and the cool, sweet strawberry beneath. I love giving them as homemade food gifts, and I love receiving them equally as much (especially for Valentine’s Day dessert!). But what I love most is how easy they are to make at home. It’s an afternoon fun cooking project with a result that looks fancy no matter your candy-making skills (or lack thereof)!

This Chocolate Martini Is Made For Chocolate Lovers

Meet your new favorite party recipe: slow cooker baked beans. Long loved for their sweet, tangy flavor and tender, creamy texture, baked beans for backyard barbecues, summer cookouts, and game day parties used to mean heating up the whole house to slowly cook the dried beans for hours upon hours. Here the slow cooker saves the day by doing all the work and keeping you cool at the same time.

One of the ingredients is in the soup aisle!

You just need six ingredients and 15 minutes.

And there isn't even heavy cream.

You might have it in your pantry.

While it may feel like kale has overstayed its welcome in the food scene, the hype over the leafy green is very much still alive. And knowing the right way to cook it is a total game-changer. (Don’t miss our in-depth kale guide to learn about the different types of kale and more! )Mastering this method will convert kale-haters, yes, but it will also inspire kale fans who feared they’d never be able to get it right at home.

Like the classic, only cuter.

Spicy! Crispy! Saucy!

It all starts with store-bought gnocchi.

They've got everything you want — and more!

It's the most comforting thing you'll cook this winter.

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.

Join the ‘goon squad!

There are plenty of days when we’re fired up and eager to begin a baking project. Unfortunately, those moments don’t always line up with when our chocolate dessert cravings hit. More often than not, we start wanting a warm, fudgy homemade brownie right as we sit down to relax in front of the television, perfectly content to not move for the rest of the night. Unfortunately, we can’t just snap our fingers and have a brownie appear.

Bon appétit!

You might adore Olive Garden for the unlimited salad and garlic breadsticks (our copycat recipe is seriously legit!) or the ultra-comforting creamy pastas, but for me, it’s all about the luxuriously creamy chicken gnocchi soup. Just thinking about it, I can smell the herb and black pepper-flecked broth and feel the warm, satisfying comfort it brings to my belly.

And it makes your kitchen smell amazing.

It doesn’t use any canned milks.

All the cooking happens in the oven, so you barely need to stand in front of the stove.

This will be your new favorite side.

So much better than chicken noodle.

Often, when I don’t feel like cooking, I’ll make a dinner salad, a plate of scrambled eggs and toast, or a quick beans-and-greens sauté and call it a night. But come winter I crave dinners that are way more comforting than that. When I’m looking for something to warm me from the inside out — something that is as hearty as they come — I turn to these recipes.

Three words: crescent roll crust.

There's nothing more comforting on a cold winter night.

Bonus: It's super easy.

The ultimate winter dinner.

Irish coffee is one of our favorite St. Patrick’s Day treats — though we also enjoy it on Black Friday (staying home, skipping shopping) and on both Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. So when Sheela Prakash shared her uncle’s rules for making the very best Irish coffee I had to give his method a try. It turns out, just a few key points make for a better Irish coffee that is perfect for celebrating the everyday.

Give this gift to yourself.

Our favorite way to eat cauliflower isn’t as a cauliflower pizza crust or cauliflower rice, it’s an extremely creamy mash. But before we designate mashed cauliflower as just a lighter version of mashed potatoes, let’s consider why it is a side dish with merits all its own. You can’t over-mash or over-whip cauliflower the way you can potatoes. Without potato’s starch to contend with, you can purée the cauliflower all day with no risk of gumminess.

In my world, fondue is just another word for fun with food. I mean, poking food onto sticks and dipping it into something melty suddenly makes the meal way more interesting. Proof of this is how much my daughter’s eyes light up whenever I mention chocolate fondue. While a smooth pot of melted chocolate surrounded by a full spread of dippers may look fancy, it’s way, way easier than making a cake, pie, or cookies — and everyone gets to choose their own dessert adventure.

Think Pocky stick, but peanut butter.

Fondant potatoes look like a dish you’d order in a fancy restaurant. But don’t be intimidated by their appearance — they take less than one hour to make and use humble ingredients you might already have on hand. They also come together using just one pan, making cleanup a breeze. Serve them with seared steak or roast chicken for a restaurant-quality dinner at home. Or serve them alongside prime rib for an impressive holiday meal.

Hosting a holiday gathering means planning the menu, music, and atmosphere. I always include a festive appetizer to make the evening feel more celebratory and buy a little extra time to finish last-minute preparations once the doorbell starts ringing. Cranberry jalapeño dip is a play on the crowd-pleasing classic: pepper jelly and cream cheese. With its vibrant red hue and sweet-tart flavor, this cranberry jalapeño dip is a must-make this holiday season.

It's the coziest thing you'll cook all winter.