"When my Uncle Joey visits Nonna Romana, he has one request: “Make me pork chops and peppers!” This pork chop dish is a fixture on many red-sauce Italian restaurant menus in my Brooklyn neighbor- hood, but Nonna Romana has spent the better part of fifty years perfecting her own version. The briny flavor of the cherry pepper vinegar makes the entire dish, so don’t skip it." —Reprinted with permission from 

Cooking with Nonna: 130 Italian Recipes for Sunday Dinners with La Famiglia

 by Rossella Rago. Copyrighted material, property of Harper Horizon. 

To hear more about how Nonna Romana makes her tangy pork chops, listen to Food52's podcast,

Pork With Vinegar Peppers

Pecan Orange Galette des Rois

If you spent any time growing up in India and traveling its length and breadth by train, you'd have likely grown up with this omelet sandwich—on the train, and on platforms of obscure towns. To call it the most perfect omelet would be to acknowledge its imperfections. It's too flat, too thin, too floppy, and has more vegetable and spice in it than egg. But it's all those things that make it the perfect candidate for an omelet sandwich, thrust between two slices of buttered white bread (or Indian pav). I make a version in my Brooklyn kitchen. I usually add a few drops of milk to the mix, sometimes a grated cheese (usually a sharp cheddar), and will occasionally swap in seasonal greens and other vegetables. But I always "toast" the bread in the grease of the pan. It's the perfect Sunday brunch, and the perfect distillation of childhood nostalgia. Now that I live so far away from India, I spend a lot of time thinking about how nostalgia shapes memory—food memory, especially. And it makes me wonder about my outsized fondness for the railway omelet sandwich. Of course I know it isn’t just about the omelet. It’s about straddling two homes as an immigrant, and wanting to preserve the past so that I can cling on to a sense of belonging. Or maybe I just miss the simplicity of travel in those days, when travel, well … took its time. We travel faster and farther now, but we rush about it, hating it all, and complaining endlessly. And whoever rhapsodizes about an airport meal? But on those leisurely 40-hour journeys, we were armed with only a vague sense of destination. So we read voraciously, slept a great deal, woke up to exquisite dawns and stared out at unexceptional towns. And as the train trundled on, piercing through the heart of India, the spicy, greasy, often cold omelet sandwich kept us company. 

This recipe was featured on our new cook-along podcast 

. Listen as Arati chops, whisks, and flips her way through this recipe, offering tips and backstory along the way.

Indian Railway Omelette Sandwich

Before this recipe, I considered pancakes junk food. Now I eat pancakes for breakfast most days of the week. Buckwheat groats, the foundation of this pancake, are not to be confused with buckwheat flour. The groat is the whole seed of the buckwheat plant, most often sold “hulled” to remove its bitter outer layer. Buckwheat flour on the other hand, is ground with the bitter hull of the seed included, and while it has its place, I find it far too earthy to make crowd-pleasing pancakes. Besides being delicious, buckwheat groats are rich in protein, fiber, and a variety of antioxidants. They have a low glycemic index and they are gluten-free. If you have a sourdough starter and you’re looking for a place to use the discard, add a spoonful to the batter and blend before cooking. 

Reprinted from Arty Parties: An Entertaining Cookbook by Julia Sherman. Photos by Julia Sherman. Published by Abrams.

Gluten-Free Buckwheat Groat Pancakes

Red wine and chocolate combine to create a decadent brownie cookie that is rich, fudgy, and as full bodied as a cookie can be. Since the wine is reduced, you can use any type of dry red wine you have on hand, including the cheap stuff—or even mix a few varieties to use up your almost-empties. The cookies end up with a bold red-wine flavor and a super-satisfying chewy texture. 

Red Wine Brownie Cookies

Cranberry Salsa Macha

Maybe you call it a sub, or a submarine, or a hoagie, or a grinder—whatever the name, it’s as good as a desk lunch gets. Or if it’s a weekend, even better; take it to the park for a picnic or the beach for a post-swim reward. Where I live in New Jersey, there is no shortage of good delis, and thus no shortage of good Italian subs. Depending on the shop, these feature an assortment of cured meats, provolone cheese, all the crunchy fixings (lettuce, onion, and tomato), plus mayo and an oregano-y vinaigrette—this version takes a plant-based spin. 

My fridge is never—truly never, ever—without tempeh, which has an inherent, awesome umami. And once you snag an already-seasoned tempeh, like Lightlife’s Smoky Tempeh Strips, any flavor-boosting is already accomplished. It’s an effortless swap for ham and salami. Just like the original, this sub is delightfully messy to eat. Have napkins at the ready. 


Plant-Based Italian Sub

“Weeknight Cassoulet” is kind of a misnomer. Technically, cassoulet is a dish that can take days to make, not counting lead time to procure the specialty beans (tarbais), various pork products (ham hocks, skin, salt pork, et al,) and less-than-readily available poultry (duck or goose). A few years ago, my husband and I made cassoulet for New Year's Eve. It seemed an appropriately cozy dish for two bleary-eyed new parents to make on a cold holiday night in. When I posted something on the internet about it taking two days, one friend was like 

Only two? When did you confit the duck legs?

 Sheesh! It was delicious, hearty, heady, and soul-filling. And literally fed us for at least a week. But at this stage of my life (plus another kid, a cookbook, a cookie company, etc.) I don’t really have the time or energy to spend days on anything, let alone something that will ultimately end up in my stomach. So I stripped the recipe down to its simplest parts and rebuilt this almost effortless weeknight version. Though it differs by region, a traditional French cassoulet was a peasant dish, making use of whatever was bountiful and available nearby. In my house, that means beans, standard aromatic vegetables, some kind of sausage, and Ritz crackers. In just 30 minutes, these simple ingredients add up to a deeply satisfying, warming meal that I am as happy to eat off my lap in front of the TV as I am at a nicely set table with a crisp glass of lightly chilled Syrah. And it’s forgiving. Like most of the recipes I write, I try not to be too prescriptive. That’s because home cooking, especially 

 cooking, doesn’t look the same in every kitchen. We all have different equipment and unique staples at the ready. I call for Italian sausages because I like to keep them stashed in the freezer for grilling, roasting or ragu-ing. But if you have Bratwurst, Kielbasa or heck, hot dogs, toss ‘em in. Whatever links you like will infuse the rest of the dish with salty, pork-flavored undertones, no ham hocks necessary. For the next layer, I call for onion, celery and garlic—what I likely had on hand when I went to cook it the first time. But feel free to make adjustments depending on what’s in your crisper: got one lonely carrot laying around? Chop it up and stir it in. Half a fennel bulb? Great idea! I’d even take a green bell pepper, though I think I’m the only person I know who likes them. The beans (pre-cooked!) make the bulk of the dish, so no matter which you choose, make sure they’re a type you like. I usually have some canned white beans ready to go, as well as some simmered-from-dry Rancho Gordo options. (Hot tip: One pound of dried beans, cooked, yields just about the same amount as four 15.5-ounce cans. Once tender, divide and store the beans accordingly so you can swap them in for a can wherever called for). I’ve made this recipe a bunch of times with a variety of beans. Using brothy options I cooked myself offers the finished dish more long-cooked flavor, of course, but shortcuts are welcome here. When I use canned beans, I like to include the bean jus as well. That liquid is pre-seasoned and tastes like, well, beans, adding far more flavor than plain water. The real motivation behind this cassoulet recipe is an excuse to consume a golden, crunchy topping. Use whatever crumbs you have. Italian-style (oregano and basil—yum!), panko (wonderful crunch) or, my favorite: buttery golden Ritz crackers, pulverized. Because they’re engineered to be delicious on their own, packaged crackers (or crushed pita chips or even pretzels) can make super simple recipes like this one really sing. I was nervous to call this a “cassoulet” at all, seeing as it eschews traditional ingredients, methods, and even the vessel for which the dish is named. But it does offer a similar saucy bean experience, complete with an irresistible breadcrumb topping, in a fraction of the time and without any advanced planning. A win in my book for holidays—or any day. Should I have called it “Brothy Beans With Sausage and Breadcrumbs?” Maybe. But I’m not going to worry about it now. It’s ready to eat. 

Weeknight Cassoulet

Sweet, tangy, spicy, and bright in flavor, this apricot-glazed tempeh is a wonderful way to incorporate satisfying plant-based protein into any weeknight dinner. 

The steps to make this recipe are really easy: steam the Lightlife Original Tempeh, prepare the marinade, marinate the tempeh for at least 30 minutes, sauté the tempeh for 10 minutes, and serve it alongside your favorite sides. You can skip the steaming step and jump right into marinating the tempeh if you’re short on time, but I personally like this method best. Having experimented with tempeh quite a bit, I have found that steaming the tempeh before transforming it in any way yields the best results. 

Similar to tofu, tempeh is an excellent vehicle for allowing other flavors to shine. That's why I decided to marinate it in a mixture of apricot jam, lime juice, tamari, and fresh ginger. This marinade pairs wonderfully with the naturally savory, nutty flavor of the tempeh. 

When choosing your apricot jam, you can go two ways: choosing a more traditional jam that is higher in sugar or opting for a jam that is reduced in sugar. I prefer the second option, because it results in a dish that is a little less sweet and slightly more balanced.

What's great about this recipe—apart from the unique combination of flavors—is the fact that you can make this in advance. I love to cut up my tempeh, steam it, and drop it in the marinade before my workout, right before dinner. That’s also when I usually get all my sides ready. That way, when I am done with my workout, all I have to do is sauté the tempeh and dinner is ready—in just 10 minutes.

If you have any leftovers, store them in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for up to 3 days. 

Spicy Apricot-Glazed Tempeh

All the flavors of a Caesar salad are here: garlic, anchovy, Parm, and olive oil, in quite outgoing proportions. The difference between this and a more textbook Caesar is not only that I’ve swapped out the romaine for fantastically crunchy celery, but also that this dressing is more of a free-flowing vinaigrette that coats every slice. Instead of croutons, there are tender, salty olives and vinegary peppers. 

Reprinted from That Sounds So Good by Carla Lalli Music. Copyright © 2021 by Carla Lalli Music.Photographs copyright © 2021 by Andrea Gentl and Martin Hyers. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

. Listen as Carla Lalli Music makes her way through this recipe, offering insider tips, ingredient substitutions, and backstory along the way.

Sorry, I Like Celery

I know what you’re thinking. This is just avocado toast, um, with tuna. And you’re right. It is. But it’s also not. Because when you add tuna—in all its meaty, oily, umami-y glory—the whole picture shifts, like an optical illusion. It’s avocado toast, but with way more flavor, way more oomph, way more, “Yeah, I can make it through my afternoon of meetings!” At the same time, it’s tuna salad toast, with the decadence of a homemade mayonnaise, without all the work of a homemade mayonnaise (thank you, buttery avocado). It’s the best of both worlds. Make this once, and I have a hunch you will never need to visit this recipe page again. But that’s okay. That’s good. That’s great. Because my favorite recipes are the everyday ones I make over and over and over, until I forget where they even came from, almost like they were always part of my messy life. I hope that happens to you, too. Psst: If you want a more avocado-y situation, you can use a large avocado, then stretch this to 3 to 4 slices of bread. I like a dense, seedy, grainy loaf here, but anything works. 

Tuna Avocado Toast

Shrimp scampi is delicious—but shrimp is expensive, and so is wine. So when I want to channel those buttery, garlicky flavors on a budget, I turn to big beans, which, once cooked, are almost the size of a shrimp. Not to mention they make their own super savory broth as they simmer (so then I can 

 my wine instead). The name of the game here isn't to feel like we're missing out and "can't" buy seafood, but instead to get confident making vegetarian swaps, because they're almost always cheaper and, yeah, just as delicious. Still, to achieve that, for lack of a better word, 

, I do add a bit of briny-sweet fish sauce to the pasta—you can skip it if you’re vegetarian, but otherwise do try it, even if you think you don’t like fish sauce. You’ll start with 8 ounces of big dried beans—corona, gigante, or large lima all work. They’ll run you about $2, depending on the bean and brand. If you’re pressed for time, use 2 cans of butter beans (or smaller cannellini if that’s all you can find) and 1 cup of vegetable broth; this costs more and the broth is slightly less rich, but the meal total will still be under $10. Boil the beans with olive oil, a bit of garlic (you’ll use 8 cloves total—$0.30) and lemon zest (the whole lemon, $0.50, gets used), and just enough water to make a concentrated, deeply flavorful broth. To channel the tanginess of wine, stir in a bit of white wine vinegar. Next up: pan-toasted, lemon-zesty panko ($0.40), for some much-needed crunch. Make the sauce with bean broth, more garlic, onion, and butter ($0.50), plus red pepper flakes and fish sauce to wake it up. And don’t forget the pasta (1 pound of your favorite long noodles, $1.30), cooked until just shy of al dente. Finish cooking the pasta directly in the sauce, along with the beans and a mountain of chopped parsley (leaves and all the stems, $1.20). Grand total: under $7, for a truly Strega Nona–sized pot of pasta. 

. Listen as Rebecca Firkser cooks her way through this recipe, offering insider tips and backstory along the way.

Big Bean Sorta-Scampi With Linguine

Salty, nutty, and a little bit sweet, these bars are here to shake up your snack routine and set you up for any daily schedule. Whether you're working from home, commuting, or traveling, these bars will be there for you. Not only are they deliciously flavorful and moreish, they’re also packed with protein and nutrient-dense fats. Oh, and they last weeks—which means they really do save you whenever you need something you can grab and go. The savory flavors are thanks to the addition of dukkah—a scrumptious Egyptian condiment made from seeds, nuts, and spices. Although it’s pretty easy to purchase, when made fresh, dukkah is intensely flavorful and possesses the ability to transform anything with just a sprinkle. Included here is my favorite way to make it, with hazelnuts, black pepper, sesame, coriander, cumin, and fennel. The dukkah recipe also gives you some leftovers to play with, so I’m hoping this is the nudge you need to spend a little time making it first. The bars are held together and very lightly sweetened with brown rice syrup. Made from boiled and fermented brown rice, it looks a little like honey, but this mild sweetener tends to have a less dramatic effect on blood sugar levels than many others. You’ll also find it used in all my granola recipes, as it adds a malty flavor and wonderful crunch when baked. Note: It can take up to 10 minutes to blend the nuts and seeds into a liquidy nut butter. The exact amount of time depends on the sharpness of your food processor blade. Just be sure that the nut and seed mixture is smooth, shiny, and quite loose before continuing with the recipe. You can use almost any pan you have on hand for these bars. Using different-shaped pans keeps things interesting. Here are the pans I like to use and the yields they will give you: 8-inch (20-centimeter) round cake pan: 20 (1-inch) wedges 8-inch (20-centimeter) square cake pan: 16 (1¾-inch) squares 5x9½-inch (13x24-centimeter) loaf pan: 18 (½-inch) slices 13x4-inch (33x10-centimeter) rectangular tart pan: 18 (1½-inch) wedges 

. Listen as Amy cooks her way through this recipe, offering insider tips and backstory along the way.

Hazelnut Dukkah Bars

Over the years, we've made this pasta with shrimp, with bacon, and with both shrimp and bacon, and, when the tomatoes and corn are at peak sweetness, it practically shouts summer. Which is to say, it's easy, fresh, and hist notes that you can get only a few weeks a year. I worried about making an entirely plant-based version of it, but then I learned a trick from 

 Chris Morocco: If you caramelize red onions at a low heat (for about as long as it takes to boil water and then cook the pasta), they take on a richness that rivals bacon. Add that to late August corn and tomatoes, and you've got a surefire crowd-pleaser. 

Reprinted from The Weekday Vegetarians. Copyright © 2021 by Jenny Rosenstrach.Photographs copyright © 2021 by Christine Han. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House.This recipe was featured on our cook-along podcast 

. Listen as Jenny slices, boils, and caramelizes her way through this recipe, offering insider tips and backstory along the way.

Tagliatelle With Corn, Tomatoes, "Onion-Bacon" & Basil

This recipe highlights end-of-summer ingredients such as sweet corn and smoky hatch chiles. A variety of wild mushrooms are also coming into season across the U.S. Chanterelles, lobster, or oyster mushrooms are my favorite picks for this recipe as they are less earthy than other varieties and aren’t overpowering. These savory browned mushrooms are finished with a squeeze of lime and it complements the grits and soft boiled eggs so wonderfully. Trust me, this is a meal you’ll want to make over and over again! A note: If you can’t find roasted hatch chiles, you can substitute with roasted poblanos or use canned green chiles instead. 

. Listen as Danielle cooks her way through this recipe, offering insider tips and backstory along the way.

Sweet Corn Grits With Wild Mushrooms & Jammy Eggs

During the summer before my senior year of high school, my friends and I would wake up early every Saturday in June to pick blueberries. As we drove to the blueberry farm in East Feliciana Parish, familiar suburban fixtures melted into endless rural landscapes under the Louisiana sun. Armed with a repurposed gallon milk jug with its top cut off, which I tethered to my denim short-all’s belt loop, we’d head into the fields in search of the plumpest blueberries. I reached both hands high over my head to pluck blueberries so dark they were ashy. I always filled my belly before the makeshift bucket. One of my oldest friends, Grace, shared this recipe with me after one morning of blueberry-picking. I have since made this one-bowl buckle countless times. The admirers of this crave-worthy dish either love it or learn to love it. If you’re not swooning the first time you try it, the buttery and caramelized edges of the cake that rise over the plump, juicy berries will have you hooked by the second time. Be sure to serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream—the perfect creamy, cold complement to the syrupy, warm berries. This recipe uses self-rising flour, a staple in most Southern pantries that contains leavening and salt. If you don’t have any on hand, just add 1½ teaspoons baking powder and an additional ¼ teaspoon salt to the flour. You can refrigerate the buckle, covered, for up to 3 days. 

by Vallery Lomas (Clarkson Potter, 2021).This recipe was featured on our new cook-along podcast 

. Listen as Vallery cooks her way through this technique, offering insider tips and backstory along the way.

One-Bowl Blueberry Buckle 

This recipe is a classic Parsi breakfast; this iconic dish is creamy, soft scrambled eggs with a little bit of heat, bright and fragrant. It's easy to make, minimal prep and tastes great on toasted white bread (in a tortilla, potato chips, whatever you want!). 

. Listen as Meherwan slices, dices, and scrambles his way through this recipe offering insider tips and backstory along the way.

Meherwan Irani's Akuri 

If you only knew the things I’d do for a Cae Sal. Or perhaps you already do. To call it my brand would be to grossly underrepresent what this salad means to me. It is the Greatest Salad of All Time (GSOAT). I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about, talking about, eating, considering, and developing what I believe is the platonic ideal of a Caesar salad—crisp, cold romaine hearts, a thick peppery, garlicky dressing, lots and lots of Parmesan cheese, homemade croutons, and enough lemon to make it all pop. And while technically you are going to have to make a mayonnaise from scratch in preparing this dressing, it’s actually super-duper easy and not as prone to failure as you might think. Trust. 

Reprinted from Cook This Book. Copyright © 2021 by Molly Baz. Photographs copyright © 2021 by Taylor Peden and Jen Munk. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House.This recipe was featured on our new cook-along podcast 

. Listen as Molly cracks, whisks, and tosses her way through this technique, offering insider tips and backstory along the way.

Molly Baz's Cae Sal

"This salad is perfect at a summer barbecue, great alongside all sorts of grilled meats and vegetables. Make the couscous, onion, and raisin mix 1 day in advance, if you like, and keep separately in the fridge—just bring back to room temperature before serving." 

A Simple, Make-Ahead Menu from Ottolenghi’s Latest Cookbook

, by Yotam Ottolenghi with Tara Wigley and Esme Howarth, with permission from our partner Ten Speed Press.This recipe was featured on our new cook-along podcast 

. Listen as Arati Menon cooks her way through this recipe, offering insider tips and backstory along the way.

Ottolenghi's Couscous, Cherry Tomato & Herb Salad

Every cook needs a good dessert recipe that can be whipped up anywhere -- especially when you're away from your kitchen and its mixer and rolling pin and comforting gadgets. This peach tart is that recipe for me. To make it all you need is a knife, a bowl, and some kind of pan. 

A tart pan ideally, but I've even made it on a baking sheet with one side shored up with aluminum foil. And when I've been without a bowl, I've even mixed the dough right in the pan. The dough is made with oil, milk and almond extract, and is pressed into the pan. There is no blind baking nonsense. You just top the dough with the peaches, and then shower it with a sugary, salty crumble and send it on its merry way into the oven. 

I got the original recipe from my mother, who uses all vegetable oil in the crust. I use half vegetable oil and half olive oil. She neatly peels her peaches. Lazy kin, I do not. Hers is probably better, but you are stuck with me. I can promise you, however, that whoever you serve this to will not mind. 

. Listen as Amanda cooks her way through this recipe, offering insider tips and backstory along the way.

Peach Tart

No one can resist a chubby udon noodle, and this recipe is no different. I've already shared my love for 

, which I always have at the ready in the freezer. You're never far from a quick meal when these pre-cooked noodles are around, as they need less than a minute in a hot water bath before being resuscitated to chewy goodness. This recipe for spicy udon noodles is how I like to off-road family-favorite carbonara (which I acknowledge this dish certainly is not!) when I'm in the mood for something with a kick. The dish takes inspiration from the Korean pantry, Japanese-style wafu pasta, and the saucy technique from beloved Roman carbonara. As with all stir-fry recipes, the key to success here is to have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go as it all comes together very quickly. First, bacon chunks, chopped scallions, and garlic get sautéed before meeting gochujang and udon noodles. Gochujang is in a class of its own in terms of flavor. While it lends spice and heat, there's also an inherent smokiness, slight sweetness, and umami that is highly addictive. Outside of Korean cuisine, I like to experiment with gochujang in recipes that might call for tomato paste to help give a nuanced layer of heat in the background. By all means, add a bit more in this recipe if you prefer it more spicy. The whole thing gets even better after being combined with eggs and Parmesan, helping to mute some of the heat and give the noodles a silky richness. The heat from the noodles will be just enough to emulsify the cheese and egg yolk mixture, creating a beautiful, thick sauce that you can loosen a bit with the addition of the udon cooking water. These chubby, silky noodles are just the ticket for zapping you out of your weeknight dinner doldrums. 

Looking for more customizable noodle recipes for an easy weeknight meal? Check out this episode of 

, where Peter J. Kim makes instant ramen carbonara.

Stir-Fried Udon With Bacon, Parmesan & Gochujang

I had incredible Italian Taggiasca olives in Kuwait (the chef I worked with was from Northern Italy, where the olives are sourced). Sicilians love their green Castelvetrano olives. I could go on. Here’s what to remember: Whichever olive you choose will be the main character of this pizza, but most any will work because they’re paired with the sweetness of onions. Both the onions and the olives sink into the dough, which will be light and fluffy in places and dense and chewy where the moisture of the olives and onions is trapped. This is a nostalgic pizza for me. It could become one for you. 

. Listen as Anthony stretches, folds, and tops his way through this recipe, offering insider tips and backstory along the way.

Onion & Olive Bread

I grew up in a household that was both Italian American and Portuguese American. My mom’s side of the family is Portuguese, and I was lucky enough to eat her delicious Portuguese food throughout my entire childhood. She was not alone; all of my many tias (aunts) were very active in the kitchen, and when the whole family got together, the feasting was unparalleled. (Please don’t tell anyone on the Italian side of my family that I said that, okay?) 

One of my favorite dishes that Mom made was her Portuguese rice. Variations on this dish exist throughout Portuguese cuisine, and like most things, everyone adds their own special touch. The star ingredient here is linguiça, which is a smoked pork sausage flavored with paprika and garlic. It’s a perfect one-pot situation and very much a “mom” recipe, which is probably why we ate it so often. 

I recently got together with my mom, and we embarked on the journey of re-creating her Portuguese rice recipe, which, of course, was never written down, like so many of the best recipes. We called a few tias and got their takes on it, and then set a course recipe-testing together. We didn’t stop until we were transported back in time to our kitchen table, enjoying a meal together as a family, my face covered in rice and hers covered in a smile. 

. Listen as Dan Pelosi cooks his way through this recipe, offering insider tips and backstory along the way.

Mom’s Portuguese Rice 

The most controversial and acclaimed dish at the Black family cookout is, hands down, the potato salad. If invited to a family function, you are bound to be prompted with the question, “Who made the [fill in the blank]?” A handful of dishes complete that question, but most commonly, you’ll hear it filled with potato salad. So why is potato salad so important to Black culture? According to this article exploring its origins, Jeffrey Strickland explains that 19th century German immigrants and enslaved African Americans “enjoyed relatively positive social, economic, and political relations during the mid- to late-nineteenth century.” This openness of exchange set the scene for the potato salad as popular southern staple. Over time the dish has evolved by including ingredients that help stretch the plate and the wallet. Over time the dish has evolved by including ingredients that help stretch the plate and the wallet. There is no denying that Black people take their potato salad very, very seriously. It’s so coveted that to make sure it is made right, it is assigned to a tried-and-trusted elder for family get-togethers. Everybody knows you don’t eat just anybody’s potato salad! Depending on the region you are from, we may disagree on minor details like the type of mayo, relish variety, or the inclusion of onions. [If you’re from the South, you’re probably loyal to Duke’s plus a sprinkling of sugar; while contentious, I like Miracle Whip, which brings its own subtle sweetness. But some things are musts all around: Southern potato salad should be a blend of chilled, fork-tender potatoes, dressed in a creamy and tangy sauce made of mayonnaise and mustard, loaded with hard-boiled eggs, and doused with a hefty sprinkle of paprika. Southern Potato Salad is a crowd-pleaser. Precept upon precept, this cookout-approved version here follows all of big mama’s guidelines 

 a few extras: a little bit of hot sauce for a kick of spice and color, celery seed to add an earthy freshness that brightens up the salad, chopped celery for crunch and contrast, and a sprinkle of green onion on top (because that’s what my family prefers). While sometimes contentious, the battle of the potato salad is as simple as its ingredients. At the core, it’s all about ingenuity—making something out of nothing—and showing the people you love how much you care through your food. 

. Listen as Meiko boils, whisks, and folds her way through this dish, offering tips and backstory along the way.

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