Kitchen Tools

Costco shoppers are devoted to the warehouse’s bakery department — their cheesecake is a staple on holiday tables and their rosemary Parmesan bread has made me a member for life. Last month, a new sweet treat appeared: a 4 1/2-pound peanut butter chocolate pie.

While other mothers begged their kids to eat broccoli, my mom steamed artichokes with garlic. She lifted the beautiful globes, cooked to tenderness, into shallow bowls for sharing. Today, the mild climate in the Salinas Valley in California proves ideal for growing artichokes and millions are harvested each year.

In an island nation colonized by Japan for 50 years, many Taiwanese have learned the Japanese language and their style of cooking. Katsu — Japanese-style breaded and fried cutlets — are one of most popular foods in Taiwan’s modern food scene, which means you can find them everywhere — from convenience stores to high-end restaurants.

When you picture a scone, you probably think of a sweet wedge studded with chocolate chips or fruit. But have you ever had a savory scone? Speckled with sliced scallions, this tender cream cheese scone has a sharp, somewhat peppery allium bite that’s perfect at tea time. You can even split one, stuff it with eggs, and call it breakfast.

Berries and cream go together, well, like peaches and cream. One of my favorite ways to serve fresh spring berries is to mix them together, spoon into glass dessert bowls and cover with drifts of whipped cream. The essence of Seriously Simple.

This delicious frittata is loaded with a medley of colorful vegetables. Start cooking the vegetables on the stove and finish them up in the oven with the egg mixture. To serve, top with avocado slices, grape tomatoes and a touch of sriracha.

Sweet, flaky halibut is a true dinnertime luxury. Because the white fish doesn’t come cheap, I like to save it for special occasions. When I do splurge, I want the halibut to be the star. In this recipe, I simply dress pan-seared fillets with a warm lemon caper butter sauce — it’s understated elegance that tastes like a fancy restaurant meal.

The time has come to welcome our backyard patio into its delightful role as dining room. Entertaining outdoors, with smoky smells wafting from the grill, reduces the anxiety of more formal situations. Friends, sparkling aperitif in hand, relax easily into conversation around the grill.

These homemade lemon cupcakes have a delicate, moist crumb that’s infused with the bright flavor of fresh lemons. Finish these tender cakes with just enough of a perfectly (not-too) sweet lemon buttercream, and they’re ready for birthday parties, bake sales, and year-round holiday celebrations.

This much-loved Greek dish is essentially a slightly more elaborate version of baked beans. In this version from our book “Tuesday Nights Mediterranean,” which features weeknight-friendly meals from the region, we use canned butter beans for ease and speed. And since we’re using canned beans, we can keep all the cooking on the stovetop using just one pan.

Chaat — derived from the Hindi word chaatna, which translates as “to lick” or “to taste” — is a popular category of street food found in stalls, carts, and food malls across South Asia. It is characterized by an array of flavors and textures: salty, sour, sweet, tangy, creamy, crispy, and crunchy. Papdi chaat, also known as papri chaat, is one of the most beloved forms of chaat across India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan, as well as the South Asian diaspora.

This pudding is particularly light and has a great bitter depth with the addition of the fresh coffee grounds. It’s not going to replace a morning coffee habit, but it’s a fabulous addition to the breakfast in bed tradition for any coffee-loving Mama.