Cheese

Start by serving this big pot of polenta as a soft, creamy side dish when it is freshly made, then divide the rest into baking dishes to use later in the week as polenta croutons and polenta crust.

This is my adult version of cheesecake, full of togarashi. I use it a lot in savory recipes to add spice, but here it gives the cake a sharp, spicy note that helps balance the denseness.

In this easy pantry pasta, make-ahead lentils add heft, while bacon lends a deep, savory flavor to the sauce. It’s a hearty and comforting dinner that's perfect for cool fall evenings.

The texture is delightfully soft, almost cake-like, and sweetened with a quick-and-easy lime glaze. These cookies make great holiday gifts.

We tend to favor pickles that are bright with acid and low on sugar; anything labeled “half-sour” usually fits the bill. If using sweeter pickles, add a bit more vinegar and salt.

The salad works best with strips of Persian flatbread, but plain tortillas work just as well. The addition of golpar, with its citrusy aroma, really lifts this dish, accentuating the sweetness of the pomegranates and adding a wonderful depth of flavor, so try and track some down if you can.

These hamantaschen are filled with a celebration of seeds set in chewy-soft caramelized honey. While poppy is traditional, we threw in sesame, sunflower, and pumpkin as well for variety and crunch.

The Italian word for the ideal risotto texture is all’onda—literally, “like a wave.” Risotto should spread and move and undulate. If you can stand a spoon up in it, it needs more liquid.

You may not mistake these jammy-crisp, slow-cooked onions for bacon, but they are truly exceptional as a stand-in, giving a huge blast of umami to create a truly satisfying breakfast sandwich.

One bowl and one baking sheet is all you need to achieve sweet, creamy squash, crispy pita chips, and chewy, charred cheese. Fresh mint and a splash of vinegar perk up the final dish.

This may sound like some ancient Alpine classic, but it's rather more modern than you'd expect.

This simple appetizer is a hit every time due in large part to the vast appeal of warm cheesy things.

Nachos can stand an ingredient riff, but to make sure that the cheese is melted throughout and that each bite has the requisite combination of tastes and textures, follow this plan.

Hindus consider cows and all their milky produce—cream, butter, and cheese—sacred. I can’t argue with that. Traditionally, this dish would be made with a few large slabs of golden butter; here I've swapped out that butter for cubes of paneer. 

Here’s a familiar Indian takeout staple—saag paneer—but with the ingenious substitution of large cubes of feta for paneer.

This one-skillet meal is ideal for both chilly evenings and weekend mornings when hot melted cheese and comfort is all you want. Leave a handful of chips undressed to tuck into the skillet at the last minute. Their salsa-free points add the perfect layer of crunch.

The meatballs are tender and juicy, and once covered in a nice cozy blanket of tomato sauce and melted mozzarella, they’re pretty hard to resist.