Serves 4 to 6
Any combination of split breasts and leg quarters can be used in this recipe.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
To save time and boost flavor, we ditched the original marinade and made a paste of the prunes, olives, capers, garlic, and oregano, which we spread on the chicken and caramelized into the sauce. To boost meatiness and complexity, we added anchovies and pepper flakes and browned the chicken skin in a skillet before baking it through.

Serves 4
Leftover turkey works great here.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
These open-faced sandwiches are made from toasted white bread topped with sliced chicken or turkey, smoky ham or bacon, and a rich, cheesy white sauce. Vegetables often show up in this hefty sandwich as well, and we opted for tomato and sautéed mushrooms in our version. After it’s assembled, the whole thing is passed under a broiler until it’s golden brown and bubbly. We used sturdy, thick-cut bread to stand up to all the toppings and made the sauce extra thick so it stayed put under the broiler.

Serves 6
Trim the slices of meat and cheese as necessary to fit neatly on the bread.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
We loved the idea of preparing a retro Monte Cristo sandwich recipe at home for the whole family, but the traditional method of pan-frying them wasn’t practical since it only allowed us to make them one (or, at the most, two) at a time. For a Monte Cristo sandwich recipe that can feed the whole family, we toasted the bread before the dipping the sandwiches in sweetened egg batter to jump start the browning and keep the bread from turning soggy. And for a sweet and spicy mixture that our tasters love, we spread the bread with strawberry jam swirled with Dijon mustard.

Serves 6

The creamy flavor of part-skim ricotta is important in this tart; do not use fat-free ricotta.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Both zucchini and tomatoes are heavy with water and release a significant amount during the cooking process. Simply layering them on top of the cheese yielded a wet filling and soggy crust. We realized we needed some way to purge the excess water from the vegetables before cooking. Precooking our vegetables left us with mushy vegetables with lackluster flavor once the tart was baked. Our solution turned out to be salting. We simply salted the vegetables to draw out excess water and then patted them dry before adding them to the tart. This technique yielded a crisp, flavorful tart with fresh-tasting, perfectly cooked vegetables.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/bake-it-better/2013/04/secrets-to-olive-oil-tart-crust/

Makes one 9‐inch crust

If the dough becomes too soft to work with when pressing it into the tart pan in step 3, let it firm up in the refrigerator for a few minutes.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: We wanted to come up with a way to make a healthier tart crust. First, we swapped in 6 tablespoons of olive oil for the 8 tablespoons of butter a tart crust typically contains. Furthermore, we substituted whole-wheat flour for a portion of the all-purpose white flour, which gave the crust not only a healthful boost, but a heartier flavor as well. The dough is soft and cannot be rolled out, so we pressed pieces of the dough right into the tart pan. A sprinkling of Parmesan cheese over the crust admittedly doesn’t cut calories or fat, but it does add important flavor and provides a moisture barrier to a variety of savory fillings.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/bake-it-better/2013/04/secrets-to-olive-oil-tart-crust/

Serves 4
We prefer this dish with whole-milk yogurt, but low-fat yogurt can be substituted. If garam masala is unavailable, substitute 2 teaspoons ground coriander, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon ground black pepper. It is important to remove the chicken from the oven before switching to the broiler setting to allow the broiler element to come up to temperature. Serve with basmati rice and a few chutneys or relishes.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
We weren’t going to let a 24-hour marinade or the lack of a 900-degree oven keep us from turning this great Indian classic into an easy weeknight dinner. We set out to reinvent this traditional dish as a recipe that could be made year-round in the oven.

Traditional tandoors produce moist, smoky meat because the fierce heat allows protein molecules on the meat’s surface to cross-link and contract, trapping moisture inside. Juices fall on the coals along with rendered fat, creating smoke that flavors the food. Trying to mimic the tandoor by cooking chicken in a very hot oven gave us disappointing results. Instead we turned to a technique we use to preserve the juiciness of thick-cut steaks. We baked the chicken in a low-temperature oven until almost done, then gave it a quick broil to char the exterior. To get flavor into the meat, we turned to a salt-spice rub made with garam masala, cumin, and chili powder bloomed in oil with ginger and garlic. We massaged the rub into chicken pieces to lock in juices and infuse flavor, then left them to sit. Following a dunk in yogurt flavored with the same spice mix, the chicken was ready for the oven. The results? Juicy, lightly charred, well-seasoned meat with just the right degree of tenderness.

Serves 4

You can substitute low-sodium chicken broth for the vegetable broth. Serve over steamed white rice with sliced red or green Thai chiles, lime wedges, and cilantro.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: This curry recipe uses a variety of vegetables and gets all the bright flavors it needs from the green curry paste cubes, which stand up well to the coconut milk and can be made well in advance and stored in the freezer.

Serves 4
To minimize flare-ups, trim excess fat and gristle from the steaks before grilling.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
In order to achieve a respectable crust, the exterior of our Char-Grilled Steaks had to be dry. After trying numerous drying-out methods, including salting and aging, we considered the freezer. The freezer’s intensely dry environment sufficiently dehydrated the steaks’ exteriors, and since we were only freezing them for a short time, the interiors remained tender and juicy.

We rubbed the steaks with a mixture of salt and cornstarch before freezing. The salt assured they were well-seasoned, and cornstarch—a champ at absorbing moisture—allowed us to cut the freezing time in half.

8 to 10

If you cannot find challah, firm, high-quality sandwich bread may be substituted.

Makes one 8-inch square cake, serving 8 to 10

This cake packs potent yet well-balanced, fragrant, spicy heat. If you are particularly sensitive to spice, you can decrease the amount of dried ginger to 1 tablespoon. Guinness is the test kitchen’s favorite brand of stout. Avoid opening the oven door until the minimum baking time has elapsed. If your cake pan has thin walls, you might want to wrap it with premade cake strips or make your own from cheesecloth and foil. This extra insulation will help ensure that the edges of the cake don’t overbake. Serve the gingerbread plain or with lightly sweetened whipped cream. Leftovers can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for 2 days.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Most gingerbread recipes that are moist also suffer from a dense, sunken center, and flavors range from barely gingery to spice overload. Focusing on flavor first, we bumped up the ginger flavor by using ground ginger and grated fresh ginger and accented the ginger with cinnamon and fresh-ground pepper. As for the liquid components, dark stout had a bittersweet flavor that brought out the caramel undertones of the molasses. Finally, swapping out the butter for vegetable oil and replacing some of the brown sugar with granulated let the spice flavors come through. To prevent a sunken center, we incorporated the baking soda with the wet ingredients instead of the other dry ones, which helped to neutralize those acidic ingredients before they were incorporated into the batter and allowed the baking powder to do a better job. And vigorous stirring gave our bread the structure necessary to further ensure the center didn’t collapse.