How to Boil Water
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We get that cooking right now can be overwhelming, so we’re going back to the basics with this, our new series. Every Tuesday through Friday, we are sharing a fundamental cooking technique and an easy way to use it through a story and accompanying recipe here and an Instagram Live session at 6 p.m. (PDT) when you can ask us cooking questions in real-time. You can also email us (at [email protected]) or DM us on any of our social media channels.
- 1
Ground beef, a can of beans and good spices are all you need to make a quick bowl of chili for weeknight dinner.
- 2
Quarantine baking means lots of banana bread. This whole-wheat banana muffin recipe with buttered pecans on top is another way to use overripe bananas.
- 3
Fast and easy, this pantry-staple waffle recipe includes an ingredient you already own to guarantee crispness: oil.
- 4
Lamb shanks make for a cheaper and better-tasting braise, especially when paired with spiced, sour tamarind.
- 5
Ripe bananas, cooling vanilla pudding and crunchy cookies, homemade or not, makes for the best summer dessert for backyard barbecues and picnics.
- 6
This homemade whole-egg mayonnaise recipe uses only four ingredients and takes minutes to come together. It will make everything from potato salad to BLTs way more delicious.
- 7
Caramelized lemon and feta cheese add flavor to ground turkey meatballs, the ideal preparation for the lean meat.
- 8
This easy yogurt lemon loaf cake recipe includes orange blossom water, which gives it a lovely floral fragrance.
- 9
This homemade chili crisp recipe inspired by Lao Gan Ma Chili Crisp is the best condiment. It’s savory, crunchy, oily, spiced but not too spicy.
- 10
A few small tweaks to the classic salted caramel-chocolate tart make it easier to execute for beginner home bakers with no equipment but lots of ambition.
- 11
For grilling season during quarantine, this easy carne asada recipe uses pantry ingredients and offers substitutes for different cuts of steak.
- 12
A chicken that’s been butterflied roasts more evenly and has crispier skin, which is the best part.
- 13
Making these tomato soup and grilled cheese recipes is easy. They require few pantry ingredients and just a little patience.
- 14
Brown butter warms up a generous amount of ground cinnamon for the crunchy topping in this spin on a classic crumb cake.
- 15
This buttery, silky scrambled egg recipe comes together in five minutes and uses chopsticks to make cooking easy.
- 16
Lots of crunchy vegetables and an assertively seasoned vinaigrette breathe new life into pasta salad.
- 17
This classic Caesar salad recipe includes whole romaine leaves, homemade croutons and a coddled egg, but with an option to use mayonnaise instead.
- 18
Just a few simple tweaks are all it takes to make a classic meatloaf more appealing than its name gives it credit for.
- 19
Scallion pancakes are a savory Chinese stovetop bread that can be a fun cooking project. They use a dough that doesn’t require yeast.
- 20
Leftover berries, sugar and a few slices of old-fashioned white sandwich bread turn classic summer pudding into a warm-weather breakfast treat.
- 21
This coronavirus quarantine dessert recipe is surprisingly simple. The easiest chocolate souffle recipe has only three ingredients and is ready in less than 30 minutes.
- 22
An unseasoned steak browns faster and keeps smoke to a minimum, the perfect combination for cooking chops at home.
- 23
Coronavirus quarantine comfort foods can include fresh, light meals like this chopped salad recipe with a bright lemon soy sauce dressing.
- 24
Fluffy and hot all at the same time, diner-style pancakes are the best breakfast for two.
- 25
This easy pound cake recipe relies on the classic formula of equal weight ratios of butter, sugar, eggs and flour for a fine-crumbed cake that keeps and packs well.
- 26
For the best flavor, lightly char the outside of a whole cauliflower, then drench it in a bright lemon-tahini sauce.
- 27
Brown butter, which is simply butter cooked until toasty in smell and taste, enriches this easy mac and cheese recipe with a crunchy top.
- 28
The secret to cooking salmon to get an extra-crispy skin? Don’t touch it.
- 29
This comforting take on an Italian-American favorite is a base recipe for garlic butter that can be made ahead and spread on bread to enjoy anytime — with a cheesy option too.
- 30
Packed with carrots, this vegan version of carrot cake, complete with tangy whipped frosting, is just as good as the original.
- 31
For a quarantine baking treat, this flourless fudgy brownie recipe uses only six ingredients and comes together quickly.
- 32
Egg-thickened custard ice cream is thick, rich and the perfect treat to keep stocked in your freezer.
- 33
For coronavirus cooking, this simple fried rice recipe uses up leftovers from the fridge to ensure no waste in the kitchen.
- 34
Simple to make and better to eat, Southern-style buttermilk biscuits are the best thing to keep in your freezer for a last-minute weekend breakfast.
- 35
This basic crepe recipe is easier to make than pancakes but feels more special. They can be prepared ahead, and they work for breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert.
- 36
Boiled then shallow-fried in the oven, perfect English roast potatoes are fluffy inside and exceedingly crunchy outside.
- 37
This fried egg technique results in sunny side up eggs with runny yolks and crisp, crackly browned edges around the whites.
- 38
Making gnocchi, plump potato dumplings, is as easy as making your own pasta.
- 39
These tips for perfectly cooked pasta will give you the best pantry meals, including this easy spaghetti carbonara recipe with only three ingredients.
- 40
The best blueberry muffins are loaded with more berries than batter and are ready in under 45 minutes.
- 41
Ideal for coronavirus cooking, this one-pan chicken recipe braises the meat until tender and juicy. The basic formula requires only five ingredients and minimal prep time.
- 42
Breading and shallow-frying chicken cutlets is a quick way to bring restaurant-style cooking to your kitchen.
- 43
This simple formula for stir-fried vegetables uses only three ingredients and doesn’t require a wok. It’s an ideal base technique for any stir-fry dish.
- 44
Create your own smashburgers at home to get that beginning-of-the-weekend feeling at home.
- 45
During coronavirus, this basic cooking technique of how to roast vegetables will provide the basis for easy meals made from long-lasting ingredients.
- 46
Onions, garlic and some seasonings are all you need to transform canned tomatoes into a hearty marinara sauce for pasta.
- 47
This tutorial will give you the best oatmeal recipe for a comforting breakfast routine.
- 48
Learning to make vinaigrette for salad will help make eating your greens that much tastier.
- 49
In this daily series of basic cooking techniques, here’s a lesson in how to saute onions to make them tender and sweet. Sauteed onions are a versatile cooking base.
- 50
Cooking a plain pot of rice is an essential skill to learn for getting dinner on the table every night with ease.