The latest recipes - page 492

We designed these bold, crunchy croutons to toss into Caesar salads, but they’d be right at home in any simple salad of mixed greens, or scattered on top of an assertive soup.

In this quick, healthy recipe for porridge adapted from Food & Wine magazine, quinoa simmers with dried figs, maple syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Milk and a sprinkling of chopped, toasted pecans and halved figs complete this nourishing breakfast.

Digestifs are boozy after-dinner drinks said to tame the effects of a rich, heavy meal. They’re ridiculously easy to make: Just add citrus peels or herbs to grain alcohol and steep, then strain and mix with simple syrup. Digestifs keep forever (we store ours in the freezer so they’re pre-chilled), ready whenever you want a nightcap or a cocktail mixer. This recipe relies on the peel from pomelos to create a wonderfully aromatic liqueur.

A quick and easy mustard recipe to serve with sandwiches, especially corned beef, both traditional and slow-cured. A little mustard powder, a little Worcestershire sauce, 10 minutes to develop flavor, and you’re done.

Mustard plus mayo yields mustardaise, a sharp, creamy condiment perfect as a sandwich spread for ham or corned beef, both traditional and slow-cured. In this version, a bit of chopped pickled jalapeños gives it extra bite.

This pesto gives a nice little unexpected punch to pizzas, pastas, and steamed vegetables. Spoon it on baked tofu or fish tacos, or fold it into scrambled eggs—it even elevates a plain old salami and cheddar sandwich.

This alternative to basil and pine nut pesto is great on pizza, pasta, or straight from a spoon.

Polenta, writes Chez Panisse’s Cal Peternell in Twelve Recipes, is “more ratio than recipe.” The standard is 4 parts water to 1 part polenta, simmered for 30 minutes. Be careful to add the polenta to the boiling water in a slow, steady stream with one hand as you whisk with the other—this will prevent lumps from forming. (If you end up with a few lumps despite your best efforts, don’t sweat it; it’ll still taste delicious.) Enriching it at the end with butter and cheese isn’t strictly necessary.

Frothy, cinnamon-scented Mexican hot chocolate is delicious for breakfast (with or without churros for dunking) or on chilly evenings before bedtime. If you’d like to skip the milk, go ahead and substitute the same volume of water.

A bright-tasting variation on traditional chicken salad, with a flavor profile inspired by Mexico. Greek yogurt, cilantro, jalapeño, and lime juice yield simple but striking results. Use as a sandwich filling, or pile on top of a simple green salad for a healthy lunch.

For this quick and easy chicken pho recipe, you’ll need rice vermicelli noodles, shredded meat from a rotisserie chicken, chicken broth, ginger, Asian fish sauce, basil, cilantro, mung bean sprouts, hoisin sauce, and Sriracha.

The Blood and Sand first appeared in Harry Craddock’s classic The Savoy Cocktail Book of 1930. What to buy: Heering Cherry Liqueur was created by Peter Heering in Denmark in the early 1800s. It is viscous and sweet with an intense dark-cherry flavor.