Simple Cooking

Mark our words: This is the easiest pie you’ll make all summer. The graham cracker crust gets filled with a simple mixture of sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice, and it gets topped with a golden-brown crown of meringue.

This dish is the embodiment of a chowder-style Southern fish stew, packed with shrimp, scallops, potatoes, corn, and more.

No cocoa means this red velvet cake is a vibrant magenta. To finish: a classic cream cheese frosting and a scattering of chopped pecans.

You can personalize these tea cakes if you like, substituting a pinch of cinnamon, allspice, or mace for the nutmeg or sour cream for the buttermilk.

The tender sweetness of summer-fresh strawberries paired with chunks of cherry-red rhubarb creates our favorite sweet-and-sour dessert.

If vodka and cream and coffee are among your favorite things, this cocktail may be your jam.

Marinate shrimp in a sweet-spicy mixture of apricot preserves, lime, habanero, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger—then throw them on the grill for dinner in 15 minutes.

Since the crunchy apple and kohlrabi are so refreshing, it would make the perfect palate cleanser between heavier courses at dinner, but most often I eat it for a light lunch.

Running out of Thanksgiving pie is the biggest drag of the holiday season. Console yourself by making these cookies with oats, chocolate chips, dried fruit, and nuts.

Mix the batter with a fork until it just barely comes together. A lumpy batter now means a light and tender waffle later.

The key to these juicy steaks is to flip them often, so the fat renders evenly without overcooking the meat. And don’t sleep on that herb salad—it adds freshness to the sticky-salty-sweet pork.

Starting the wings in a cold oven allows the fat to render slowly so they get even crispier. Pour off the infused fat and save for stir-fries or cooking crispy eggs.

The smoky charred peppers play well with the cool cucumbers and lemony ricotta. If you can’t find Italian frying peppers or just aren’t feeling them, grilled eggplant or zucchini would also pair well here.

Furikake, the Japanese seasoning and condiment, comes in many store-bought styles. This streamlined homemade version has just five ingredients and is equally versatile on fish, steamed rice, or roasted vegetables.

This one-pot dish, called khichdi in some regions, is made from rice, yellow lentils called moong dal, which are split mung beans without skin, and black pepper and cumin seeds fried in ghee or butter. The lentils and rice cook together, making a creamy, rich dish resembling risotto.