One of the pillars of great cooking is ensuring that each dish features ample textural contrast, an element as important as flavor. Once you strike the balance of sweet, salty, acidic, bitter and savory, it’s crucial to consider creamy, crispy, chewy and more. But incorporating different ...

With bold, exciting flavors and speedy cooking, savory Asian noodles are ideal for weeknight meals. But what happens if all you have in the pantry is spaghetti? No problem. Though the dish won’t be traditional, Italian noodles can make a good stand-in for Asian noodles if that’s what you ...

If you associate chicken with dry, bland childhood dinners, you probably were eating boneless, skinless breast. It does the job, but it’s inherently flavorless and easy to overcook. That’s why we often call for boneless, skin-on chicken thighs. Not only is darker meat juicier and more ...

If you think seafood and cheese don’t mix, these incredible shrimp tacos will change your mind. Tacos gobernador, or “governor’s tacos,” are a modern Mexican classic. A blend of shrimp and melty cheese is tucked inside tortillas that then are folded and cooked like a quesadilla. The ...

Soup season in Tuscany doesn’t end once spring begins, but it does mean the soups start to take a different tone. Garmugia, for example, a specialty of the city of Lucca, bridges the seasons by marrying a hearty backbone of pancetta, meat stock, and ground beef or veal with freshly picked ...

In Indian tandoori cooking, much of the flavor comes from the ripping-hot temperatures, up to 900 F, which send spice and smoke sizzling out the top of barrel-shaped clay ovens. The meat, usually chicken or lamb threaded on skewers, chars beautifully. But why does it emerge from the oven ...