The rounds don't come out stunningly golden-brown, but the squid is so tender and light that it's really not an issue. They tasted like no squid I've ever had. In fact, they're so good, the marinara isn't really needed even if it does work. I chose to use it simply because it's how I grew up eating the dish. Some aioli wouldn't be bad. But honestly, with a nice squeeze of lemon and a sprinkling of salt, these are set. More

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Take the meat from a good burger, the caramelized onions off a slider, the buttery toast from a grilled cheese made with the rye bread from a good deli sandwich, and top it all with the melted Swiss from a Reuben, and you've got yourself one hell of a sandwich. More

Potatoes, garlic, and goose fat. Could three things ever come together more beautifully than this peasant-hardy, stick-to-your-ribs, perfect potato dish? I live for potatoes sarladaises. More

I probably could have come up with this recipe on my own up to that point, until I noticed its stroke of genius: the butter used to coat the bread is mixed with ground coriander, ginger, and pumpkin pie spice. As the butter foams and melts in the skillet, the spices toast, and the fragrance is marvelous. The almost Christmas-y aroma plays off the sweetness of the pear and the ham perfectly. More

I have a thing for hash browns. I love the crisp edges and the deep oniony bite. This recipe adapted from Gourmet tosses in some Spanish chorizo for some extra meatiness, and some smoked paprika to really bring things home.... More

What do you do with an excess of fresh ricotta? I had picked it up for some random recipe, but had kind of forgotten about the package before running into it in the fridge. Pancakes are always an option, but I was thinking about something a little more savory. I didn't want a pasta, and after searching for a while I ended up with this solution. More

It was a rich but simple spread that finally convinced me to seek out eggplant instead of merely tolerating it. I put this eggplant caviar out with bread and deviled eggs for guests to nibble with drinks a couple of times before realizing that I could happily skip dinner after the supposed snack. With good bread and a thoughtfully dressed green salad, the combination becomes a real meal (and a downright luxurious one, if you ask me). More

Normally my equipment posts focus on comparing a few of the top contenders for a single product. This week, instead I'm going to present you with my new spatula. I love my new Due Buoi Wide Spatula ($36) almost as much as I love the beautiful smashed burgers I'm going to create with it. If you are partial to smashed burgers or do a lot of heavy-duty grill or griddle work, I'd suggest you add one of these to your arsenal immediately. More

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Order In-N-Out's Double Double (two patties, two slices of cheese) Animal Style and the Double Double is brought to a whole new level: The onion slice gets replaced with a dollop of a sweet, darkly caramelized chopped onions, an extra stack of pickle chips goes underneath the tomato, and the patties get fried with mustard directly on the griddle. But while I've had my share of regular In-N-Out burgers, I've never had them Animal Style. That's something that needed to change, and stat. More

You only need to follow a recipe once or twice when making tzatziki before the process becomes almost automatic. Thick tangy yogurt; crisp, sweet cucumber; pungent garlic and dill; sunny lemon. The formula, a staging ground for countless dip platters and a condiment for the thousands of gyros dished up daily, is as familiar to us now as salsa and ketchup. And its preparation is about as intuitive—recipes matter less than solid ingredients and a willingness to dip a tasting finger along the way. More

Ricotta is one of the easier cheeses to make at home—it's especially tasty when fresh from the cheesecloth. The single step that makes cheese is adding acid to the milk, be it from lemon juice, vinegar, or buttermilk, in varying proportions. For this recipe you will need a big ol' pot, a non-reactive stirring spoon, a colander lined with cheesecloth, paper towels, butter muslin, or a very clean flour sack dish towel, and a reliable thermometer. It's pretty simple, and you get to call yourself a cheesemaker after. More

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Once you understand the fairly simple anatomy of a cabbage, shredding it is an easy task—all it requires is a sharp knife, and a willingness to perform a whole lot of repetitive motion. Just keep thinking "coleslaw coleslaw coleslaw," and you'll be through it in no time. More

At Good Stuff Eatery in D.C. Spike has a variety of wedge options but I think the Classic Wedge is the best place to start the iceberg comeback. Basically a quartered head of iceberg lettuce, the Classic Wedge is topped with a fantastic Blue Cheese Dressing, chopped red onions, crumbled bacon, and even more blue cheese. We all know that adding bacon is an easy way to amp up the deliciousness factor but in this case it's the homemade blue cheese dressing that really makes the salad. More

Short of being born a woman in Italy and waiting for your daughter to have a child, nothing makes you feel like an Italian grandmother more than slowly and deliberately stirring a lazily simmering pot of ragú with a wooden spoon. More

With the Upper West Side's long tradition of neighborhood Chinese restaurants threatened with extinction, perhaps it is time for a new model for success. Perhaps that of Canteen 82, whose awning says it all: Espresso, Noodles, Dumplings. The blackboard inside adds to the intrigue: "Join Us For Breakfast," which features omelettes and Texas French Toast. All these foodstuffs can make it difficult to get one's bearings, but my desire for a solid Chinese restaurant on the Upper West Side led me to the Chinese items on the menu. More

Spike Mendelsohn's Farmhouse Bacon Cheeseburgers from The Good Stuff Cookbook possess all of the elements of my holy grail burger— thin patty, squishy potato bun, American cheese, iceberg lettuce, tomato, pickle, red onion, and a secret sauce, oh, and bacon. Spike's concept throughout the book is to keep it simple. And I went into the kitchen with fingers crossed, hoping that not over-thinking it would lead better burgers. More

When eating at Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo's Frankies Spuntino, not ordering the meatballs is really a crime. They are by far the best meatballs I've ever had in a restaurant, and possibly my life. Perfectly textured, not at all dense but not falling-apart crumbly, with just the right amount of egg, bread crumbs, garlic, and cheese throughout. But what really makes these meatballs special is the addition of raisins and pine nuts. More

As one might expect, in a book called Pig: King of the Southern Table there's a lot of talk about barbecue. But for those of us who live outside the realm of real barbecue, and might not even have the luxury of an outdoor space to grill James Villas has kindly shared this recipe for Smoky Oven-Roasted Spareribs. Yes, they are oven roasted, and no, they are not real barbecue but, for coming out of a conventional oven these ribs are pretty spectacular. More

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To celebrate Cinco De Mayo, executive Chef Ivy Stark of Dos Caminos showed us how to make guacamole. She recommends using the freshest possible ingredients and advises that California Haas avocados make the best guacamole, because they have a buttery texture and denser form. Here's a recipe and step-by-step slideshow. More

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True, making breadcrumbs from scratch is nothing fancier than pulverizing, toasting, and maybe seasoning old bread. The real charm of the homemade stuff: A spare half a loaf could inspire new dinner ideas on the spot—if you know how to use it. Read on for tips on custom-making crumbs to suit your meatloaf, pan-fried cutlets, baked chicken fingers, mac and cheeses, and other meals. More

I used to think that in order to deep-fry, you needed a deep-fryer. Not so. To do it at home, just grab a stockpot, wok, or deep-walled saucepan, and a candy or deep-fat thermometer, and go to town. Here are some tips on what oils to use, how hot they should get, and the importance of drying. More

Sometimes re-imagining traditional ingredients in new ways can yield very high returns. This pasta has the earthy flavor and texture of multigrain pasta and bay leaf and thyme paired with the sweetness of caramelized onions and the salinity of olives and anchovies. It's pissaladière in a bowl. More

Although you hardly hear the word anymore—it's even hard to find in classic Italian cookbooks—battuto is basically an Italian (and much more fun to say) term for finely chopped aromatics (apparently, the words translates as "beaten"). Usually it's a combo of onions, celery, carrots, garlic and parsley cooked in fat such as lard or, more recently, butter or olive oil, and it can sometimes includes a meat like pancetta, bacon or prosciutto. But almost always it's the first element of a dish to hit the pan, and the one that makes you close your eyes and hum after taking the first bite later on. More