It’s no secret that Bon Appétit editors cook a lot for work. So it should come as no surprise that we cook a lot during our off hours too. Here are the recipes we’re whipping up this month to get dinner on the table, entertain our friends, satisfy a sweet tooth, use up leftovers, and everything in between. For even more staff favorites, click here.
September 13
Chili crisp sprinkle
There is no vegetable I get more fired up about at farmers markets than snap beans: Romano beans, wax beans, haricots verts. They have the kind of freshness that means they practically shatter when you snap them, as opposed to the bendy, weedy-looking ones in the supermarket year-round. These are the beans I love to simply blanch to temper their raw bite and pile on top of a densely flavorful dressing like tahini mayo or tahini ranch (which I made last weekend). As a final flourish, I have been dusting them with a liberal shake of Chili Crisp Sprinkle, a spice blend I developed in collaboration with Burlap and Barrel. It combines familiar elements from some of our favorite chili crisps, like warming chile flakes, a touch of smoked anise, and pungent fried shallots. I call it flavor fairy dust, ideal for pretty much any place you want an extra pop of liveliness. —Chris Morocco, food director
Stone fruit caramel
I had people over for dinner on Monday and went all out with the savory food (even made fresh pasta, which I never do), so I wanted to keep dessert easy. I sent my husband out for a pint of vanilla ice cream and turned the three ripe black plums on my countertop into Stone Fruit Caramel—a juicy, fruity sauce that feels so much more complex than it is thanks to the addition of vinegar. I used a fun-flavored one to punch up the base and double down on the produce angle. I’m already scheming about how to make this format work with fall fruit. —Kendra Vaculin, test kitchen editor
One-pot pasta
When my partner said he wanted to make pasta for a week’s worth of lunches, I sent him this gallery of one-dish pasta recipes, not expecting him to pick this one-pot number. Is it quick and easy? Yes. Delicious? Absolutely. A reheatable wonder? Not its strong suit. To compensate, I had him swap in short pasta for the spaghetti, which is less prone to clumping (rotini did the trick). We also threw in a handful of shredded rotisserie chicken (without it, I knew he’d come home hangry). I told him to slice the lemon and pack a wedge with each portion and break out the chili crisp when he was ready to eat—a little zhuzh can make anything taste fresh. —Joe Sevier, senior SEO editor
Focaccia for family
With family coming to town for the weekend, I wanted to have something special, impressive, and most importantly, complete before their arrival. I decided to make Claire Saffitz’s Classic Focaccia Bread. The recipe explained that the dough would initially look more like batter—and sure enough, when I left it to rest and do its bready magic, large air pockets bubbled up, signaling the yeast was alive and well. The focaccia turned out bouncy, chewy, and tangy—thanks to the overnight rest in the fridge. When my family came, we ate torn chunks of the bread with cheese and caponata, and there was even enough yield for sandwiches the next day. —Mallary Santucci, culinary producer
Basil fried rice
One of the many upsides to indulging in rice every chance you get is there’s a good chance (most times) there’ll be some leftover. This week I found myself with a quart of two-day-old white rice, a shriveling red chile pepper, and some scallions on their way out. On my way home from work, I grabbed a bouquet of fresh basil and knew exactly what to make: Basil Fried Rice. In 20 minutes, my dried-up rice transformed into a crispy, herbaceous weeknight meal. —Inés Anguiano, associate test kitchen manager
September 5
Gluten-free brownies
I am impressed by anyone who manages to cook dinner and make dessert for the same meal, and frankly, I do everything I can not to. If you are coming over, chances are I am serving dinner, with dessert little more than culinary sleight of hand: some fruit with whipped cream, or ice cream with a 2-minute hot fudge that distracts you from the fact that I barely tried. (I am convinced that s’mores were invented by a tired parent just trying to get their kids out of the house even if it meant letting them play with fire.) There is one dessert, though, that represents an ideal balance of effort and reward, even if you are throwing it together at the last minute. Tahini Brownies check virtually every box: fudgy, rich, gluten-free, and swirled with nutty tahini for extra complexity. They are fully makeable in about an hour (and they go great with ice cream and hot fudge as well). Then again, if you are coming over and want to bring dessert, I won’t stop you. Especially if you feel like making some brownies. —Chris Morocco, food director
Late-summer eggplant
I’m already cozying up to autumn in my mind. I’m ready for light jackets, real shoes, and hot coffee, but the market keeps reminding me that it’s definitely still summer. On the bright side, that means there’s still plenty of time to make test kitchen editor Kendra Vaculin’s Japanese Eggplant With Cashews and Chiles before the seasons change. I picked some gorgeous long and narrow eggplants. After a quick high-heat roast, their deep purple paper-thin skin easily gave way to an ultra-creamy interior, with barely any seeds inside. As luscious as they were, the topping is the real star here: crispy garlic oil (made with 10 cloves!), lots of buttery cashews, a couple of Fresnos for heat, and a splash of vinegar to wake everything up. I doubled the batch and covered most of my meals with it all weekend long. —Kelsey Jane Youngman, senior service editor
Ina’s hot-smoked salmon
It’s not summer in my family until we’ve made cedar-plank salmon on the grill and naturally, we decided to wait until Labor Day weekend to finally make it. We’ve followed this hot-smoked salmon recipe from Ina Garten for as long as I can remember. It’s a very simple rub of granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, salt, peppercorns, and lemon zest—and while it’s best slathered on the night before, the morning of shall suffice for last-minute preppers. Instead of grilling over smoked wood chips like Ina suggests, we adapt this recipe to grill it on cedar planks. The result is smoky, tender salmon that screams summer. It’s equally good the next day, but leftovers didn’t stand a chance this time around.—Kate Kassin, editorial operations manager
Marinated beans for lunch
When I had no idea what to make for lunch this week, contributing editor Amiel Stanek’s Marinated Mixed Beans came to my rescue. It’s a back-pocket dish, beloved among our staff, that feels bright and nourishing, even though it leans on a couple of cans that have probably been stashed in your pantry for months. I used all chickpeas (what was in my cabinet), with dill and parsley as my herbs of choice. I spooned the beans over juicy tomatoes—highly recommend while it’s still summer—and used a pizza crust to sop up every last drop of dressing. —Emma Laperruque, associate director of cooking
Back-to-school banana bread
With one last day before the start of the school year, the kids and I decamped to the kitchen to make use of four bananas in need of TLC. BA’s Best Banana Bread became a go-to during the pandemic to not just use those past-their-prime bananas, but involve the kids in the kitchen and keep them entertained. Hibernating meant making use of what was there. If not enough brown sugar, sub a little molasses. No walnuts? Try pistachios (my go-to nut). This time we actually had everything on the ingredient list. The eight-year-old owned measuring the dry ingredients. A week of cooking camp this summer has boosted her kitchen confidence. The five-year-old helped with the mixer. For both, dumping measured ingredients brought them great joy, and they teamed up to mash the bananas. A speedy exercise it was not. To their discontent, the bread wasn’t ready until after bedtime. But a slice for breakfast was a great propeller to quickly get ready for school. —Pervaiz Shallwani, associate director of dining and food culture
