Quick

We're partial to the grenadine from Jack Rudy Cocktail Co.

When in doubt, add soda. The resulting highball (about 2 ounces of any booze filled to the top with soda) is refreshing—and impossible to mess up.

Tamarind juice concentrate helps gives this riff on the popular Thai stir-fry its tangy flavor.

This rich 15-minute ragù turns pasta or polenta into a quick hearty dinner any night of the week.

Our version of classic Italian agile e olio (garlic and oil) pasta is given extra flavor and crunch with toasted breadcrumbs.

Cozy up to this easy, creamy, 15-minute pasta, brightened up with fragrant lemon zest and refreshing parsley.

An exciting twist on green beans, this dish features an easy sauce made with vanilla, white wine and butter.

Sweet-tart apples, pungent blue cheese and crunchy pistachios make an irresistible combination in this fall salad.

The combination of melon, marjoram, and sweet moscato vinegar in this delicate salad tastes like summer to me. When I serve guests this dish, I like to watch them take their first bite and enjoy a moment of pure bliss as the melon juices run down their chin.

Maybe you forgot his or her birthday, or maybe you didn't forget, maybe you never even knew, but jeez, it's today, really? This cake won't work for a kid's birthday—that calls for more...of everything—but if you just got home, dinner isn't even made, and it turns out it is someone special's day, you just have to bust out a cake, and this one is all from the pantry and requires minimal gear and cleanup. Send him out for a pint of ice cream or suggest she use the shower first-this cake can be in the oven before your celebrant gets back. Thirty minutes later and it's out and cooling on the counter. Fair warning: this cake is like that guy who never moves out of his parents' house—born there, no matter how ready it seems, it falls to pieces when you try to get it out. Cut into wedges and lever them out individually, then cover your tracks with vanilla ice cream or plain or chocolate whipped cream.

A raw creamed corn sauce takes the place of the traditional eggs in this silky, summer-fresh "carbonara."

Sweet and smoky flavors make this quick and easy pizza a new favorite.

Creamy ricotta cheese, herby pesto, and roasted cherry tomatoes give these French bread pizzas bright flavor and a fresh look.

Forget the freezer aisle! This classic is just as easy to make from scratch. Bonus: it's tastier, too.

Balsamic-marinated steak cooks over the broccolini and white beans in this sheet-pan dinner, flavoring them with its tasty juices.

The juices from cumin-rubbed chicken thighs soak into grapes, fennel, and squash as they all roast together in this simple, flavorful one-pan dinner.

Rather than pasta, this vegetarian version of the classic Southern Italian dish is tossed with spaghetti squash "noodles" for a delicious dinner that cooks entirely on just one sheet pan.

If king trumpet mushrooms aren't available, use shiitake caps, which will also take well to the sweet-salty glaze.