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Caramel Crackle

The most elementary sauce, candy, or candy coating comes from cooking sugar, which hardens when it cools. But beware: This gets extremely hot and can cause bad burns, so resist any temptation to stick your finger into the hot sugar or lick a coated spoon until you’re absolutely sure it’s cooled. You’ll need a candy thermometer. The main recipe makes a crunchy caramel that works as a candy coating or decorative garnish; for caramel sauce, see the variations.

By Mark Bittman Published July 22, 2024

Rich Chocolate Torte

For those of you keen on molten cakes (I’m ambivalent, to be honest) try this simple alternative. Then either dust it with confectioners’ sugar, or gussy it up (whipped cream, anyone?).

By Mark Bittman Published July 18, 2024

White Pizza

Pizza bianca—white pizza, pizza without sauce—is the mother of all pizzas. This may seem spare, but I urge you to try it and experiment with some of the possible additions and tweaks that follow, because it’s among the best pizzas you’ll ever eat.

By Mark Bittman Published July 18, 2024

Lemon Squares

People—especially me—just love these layered squares for their tart sweetness, delivered via a gooey top and sandy crust.

By Mark Bittman Published July 18, 2024

Lemon Curd

You may as well call it lemon pudding because you’ll want to just eat it with a spoon. Instead smear it on morning toast, between layers of cake, or sandwiched between cookies for a midnight snack. And yes, you can also make this with other citrus.

By Mark Bittman Published July 18, 2024

Fresh Berry Tart with Vanilla Pudding Filling

I prefer a berry tart topped with a “salad” of macerated berries rather than fussily arranged and glazed fruit. The other surprise here is vanilla pudding, which is a lot like traditional pastry cream. You won’t need all of it, leaving you with some extra for snacking—or freezing and eating that way.

By Mark Bittman Published July 18, 2024

Baklava

Buttery and nutty, sticky-sweet and crunchy, this is one of the most wonderful, foolproof, impressive, and delicious desserts on the planet—and it feeds a crowd. Follow the nuanced directions in the recipe steps: They come from the food stylist at our photo shoot, Victoria Granof, channeled from learning at the elbow of her Turkish grandmother. The results are flakier than any you’ve ever had.

By Mark Bittman Published July 17, 2024

Vanilla Custard Ice Cream

The ultimate level of richness. A couple technical notes: To get you closer to a less rich ice milk, reduce the number of yolks to four or even three. The cornstarch variation has a surprising and wonderful texture, by the way; try it at least once.

By Mark Bittman Published July 17, 2024

Granita

Granita is a no-special-equipment-needed, minimal-effort dessert that can be made of almost any juice or other liquid imaginable. Use any strongly flavored liquid, or any sorbet recipe or variation; figure about 2 cups total before freezing. Add a splash or 2 of vodka or rum to this or any other granita and it becomes a frozen cocktail.

By Mark Bittman Published July 17, 2024

Greek-Style Watermelon Salad

It’s not an immediately obvious combination – watermelon, cucumber, olives and feta – but one bite will leave you convinced that this savory-sweet summer salad is something truly special. The astringent punch of the olives and feta provides a sophisticated counterpoint to the watery mellowness of the melon and cucumber. With a hunk of bread, it’s a lovely light lunch; with practically any grilled meat or fish, it’s an ideal summer supper.

By Mark Bittman Published July 17, 2024

Farro and Watermelon Salad

If the farro is already cooked, this recipe takes all of 5 minutes to put together. Other grains, like quinoa or even rice, can be substituted.

By Mark Bittman Published July 17, 2024

Food with Mark Bittman: René Redzepi and Matt Goulding

Chef René Redzepi and journalist Matt Goulding talk to Mark and Kate about their new Apple TV+ show, Omnivore, and some of the shocking revelations that came from it with regards to how we feed ourselves; the evolution of Noma and what the way forward in fine dining looks like; the commonalities between chile eating, horror movie watching, and riding roller coasters; and why they’re optimistic when it comes to food in general.

By Mark Bittman Published July 17, 2024

Watermelon Granita

A few lazy stirs as this granita sets up in the freezer is really the only tricky thing about this easy and refreshing dessert. It’s also a perfect midafternoon cooler for a vacation house full of children.

By Mark Bittman Published July 17, 2024

Sweet Tart Crust

Tart crust contains more butter than piecrust, plus an egg yolk, which makes it extra-rich and almost like shortbread—think of it as a large cookie. Be sure to check out the variations too.

By Mark Bittman Published July 16, 2024

Pasta with Broccoli Raab and Anchovies

I was eating orecchiette with broccoli raab and sausage at Manducatis Rustica in Queens with some old-time buddies, and one of them said, “You know, the broccoli raab thing is arguably even better with anchovies and garlic than it is with pasta — and that’s how everyone made it when they couldn’t afford sausage.”

By Mark Bittman Published July 16, 2024

What Is Food?

Eaters have a food problem, the problem of equal or universal access to good food, the problem of growing food with poisoning the air and land and water, and so on; but corporate producers have a different food problem, and that is making money off of food, and they’re succeeding at that, perhaps more now than ever. They have no interest in “fixing” our “broken” food system, because for them it isn’t broken. Somehow we must force them to, or take control of it away from them, or – most likely – a combination of both. 

By Mark Bittman Published July 11, 2024

A Project That Made Me Feel Like a Kid Again

Mark stands by this: the sooner you can get your kids into the kitchen, the better. “I did that with my girls to a certain extent, but maybe not enough. Increasingly, though, I hear from people whose kids love to cook.” These conversations are what inspired his new book, the latest in the How to Cook Everything series, ​How to Cook Everything Kids​ – here’s a sneak peek, plus some recipes.

By Mark Bittman Published July 10, 2024

Whipped Cream

Whipping cream is so easy—even by hand, with a whisk and a bowl—please promise me you’ll never buy the canned stuff. All you need is cold fresh cream with no additives, a clean metal or glass bowl, and a balloon whisk or a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. See the following list for some flavoring ideas to add after the cream starts to take shape.

By Mark Bittman Published July 9, 2024

Shiny Edamame

These sort of crunchy beans look like green peanuts and taste a little nutty. They’re actually young soybeans. You’ll find edamame with frozen vegetables either out of their pods or still in them. The variation gives the steps for cooking them in the shell—and eating them with your fingers.

By Mark Bittman Published July 9, 2024

Fruity Crisp

There’s so much to love about crisps. Juicy, soft fruit underneath a cookie-like crust that you can and should eat warm. And whatever fruit you like, go for it. I put apples in the main recipe since they’re good all year round. The variations tell you how to use special summer fruits like the nectarines in the photo.

By Mark Bittman Published July 9, 2024