[Photo credit: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

Porcine Dreams: With his usual food wizardry, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt teaches us how to make carnitas crisp and juicy, without a bucket of lard. Here's the recipe. You're welcome.

Cake Cushion: Jesse Oleson of Cakespy cooks up a reverse Whoopie pie recipe. Think: supersize Milano cookie.

In a Pickle: Caroline Russock cooks the books with a Szechuan beans recipe that takes a pickle to the seasonal vegetable.

Black and White: Looking as beautiful as a mosaic, dbcurrie's black and white sweet roll recipe makes quite a showpiece.

Bell Jar: Sylvia Plath's salad dressing? HeartofGlass does an inspired remake that ends up as Avocado grapefruit salad with a balsamic vinaigrette.