When I was just starting to put some ideas together for recipes that I wanted to be included in this book, I had a conversation about lightened whipped cream with my friend and mentor Maida Heatter. She suggested that I try a recipe of hers called Cream Ooh-La-La, which she uses to top strawberries macerated with sugar and Grand Marnier, in Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever (Random House, 1990). It's basically sweetened whipped cream with the addition of some sour cream and whipped egg whites. I've transformed it a little by substituting reduced-fat sour cream and a cooked meringue. This results in a whipped cream with overtones of crème fraîhe and an exquisite lightness.
This classic 15-minute sauce is your secret weapon for homemade mac and cheese, chowder, lasagna, and more.
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
Round out these autumn greens with tart pomegranate seeds, crunchy pepitas, and a shower of Parmesan.
The silky French vanilla sauce that goes with everything.
Caramelized onions, melty Gruyère, and a deeply savory broth deliver the kind of comfort that doesn’t need improving.
An extra-silky filling (no water bath needed!) and a smooth sour cream topping make this the ultimate cheesecake.
This pasta has some really big energy about it. It’s so extra, it’s the type of thing you should be eating in your bikini while drinking a magnum of rosé, not in Hebden Bridge (or wherever you live), but on a beach on Mykonos.
Crispy tots topped with savory-sweet sauce, mayonnaise, furikake, scallion, and katsuobushi.