Alex Lau
Staff Photographer Emeritus
Alex Lau is the former staff photographer at Bon Appétit. Born and raised in New York City, Lau moved to San Francisco at the age of 12 until returning to the East Coast to attend Emmerson College in Boston, earning his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. Lau is currently represented by 2D Creative Artists. His clients include Boylston Trading Company, Nylon Guys, Esquire, and more. He has shot both food and travel photography for countless cookbooks—and he takes photographs of other things sometimes as well.
Recipes & Menus
Fully Loaded Black Bean Nachos with Red and Green Salsas
You might have more of the salsas than you need; serve them on the side for dipping. This is part of BA's Best, a collection of our essential recipes.
Recipes & Menus
Indian-Style Nachos with Warm Spices and Tamarind Chutney
Indian grocers sell prepared tamarind chutney, which you can easily substitute for the homemade version here.
Recipes & Menus
BA's Best Buffalo Wings
Two key steps ensure extra-crisp wings: letting them sit at room temperature evens the cooking time, and the cornstarch dredge transforms into a crunchy shell when fried. If you like your wing sauce super spicy, increase the amount of cayenne in our best hot wings recipe. This is part of BA's Best, a collection of our essential recipes.
Recipes & Menus
Pork Nachos With Red Cabbage and Wonton Chips
Coat seared ground pork in a Thai-inspired glaze, then scatter over fried wonton wrappers, and pile on the nacho treatment with two kinds of cheese, pickled jalapeños, and a shredded cabbage and cilantro salad.
Recipes & Menus
Chestnut Mousse
The gelatin in the mousse stabilizes it, so you can make and fill the roll a day ahead without worrying about it weeping or deflating.
Recipes & Menus
Chocolate Buttercream Recipe
Two things can go wrong with buttercream: the mixture will curdle if it gets too cold; and it will sink if it gets too warm. Just keep beating—it’ll all come together.
Recipes & Menus
Rustic Pork Rillette
The effort-to-impressiveness ratio doesn’t get much better than this, people. Go ahead and double (Triple! Quadruple!) this recipe and you’ve got hostess gifts, emergency entertaining fodder, and quick, decadent snacks for days.
Recipes & Menus
Holiday Rum Sparkler
You’ll have enough honey syrup that you can easily scale up this cocktail for a crowd. Created in partnership with Chef Watson.
Recipes & Menus
Tempura Green Beans with Mushroom Salt and Shallot Dip
When you get right down to it, very few people actually really and truly want a green bean casserole. Lacy fried green beans with an addictive shallot dip? That’s another story, and a great way to use up any leftover beans.
Recipes & Menus
Dark Chocolate Bread Pudding
So easy a kid could do it. No, really, let your kid do it.
Recipes & Menus
Thanksgiving Butterball with Spicy Honey
If you like it hot, this one's for you. Adjust the heat to your liking, or use another finely ground chile in place of the cayenne.
Recipes & Menus
Thanksgiving Butterball with Chai Spice
Warm spices without the sweetness work on biscuits and rolls, mashed potatoes or green beans.
Recipes & Menus
Thanksgiving Butterball with Salt and Maple
This is especially good on tomorrow's cinnamon toast.
Recipes & Menus
Thanksgiving Butterball with Lemon and Pepper
The zest cuts through the richness of the butter (and the rest of the Thanksgiving meal). Try this one tossed with roasted vegetables—your green beans, your brussels sprouts–just before serving.
Recipes & Menus
Stuffing Cookies
We were inspired to use traditional stuffing flavors in a sweet and savory shortbread with sage and anise. Put these out next to the pumpkin pie.
Recipes & Menus
Melting Olaf
A clear cocktail for those parents who have seen "Frozen" exactly 14 times too many, and will get their fill of miniature Annas and Elsas come Halloween night.
Recipes & Menus
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
When it comes to tasty pumpkin seeds, it's all about the seasoning—don't go crazy, but do be a little creative.
Recipes & Menus
Pumpkin Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
When we're done with this pumpkin cake recipe, we like to serve it with a drizzle of maple syrup over the frosting.
Recipes & Menus
Pumpkin Bread with Toasted Coconut
Make sure your eggs and coconut oil are at room temperature for this pumpkin bread recipe: Cold eggs can make the oil seize, making the batter uneven.
Recipes & Menus
Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
Grinding half of the walnuts into the streusel makes for extra tender, buttery muffin tops.