Steak Wrapped Potato Bites

There are appetizers that hedge, and there are appetizers that just hand you steak and potatoes on a toothpick. This is firmly the second category: a chunk of golden, pan-crisped potato wrapped in a thin strip of seasoned steak, secured with a pick, and baked until the beef browns and the whole thing sits in … Read more

Crispy Cheesy Potato Sausage Bites

Every party has a moment when someone spots the tray and asks what it is before they even pick one up. These are that tray. A round of smoked sausage sitting in a nest of shredded potato and melted cheddar, baked until the edges go dark, crackly, and almost lacy. They read as fussy and … Read more

Cheesy Pierogi and Kielbasa Casserole

There is a whole category of dinner that exists because someone stared into a freezer at 6 p.m. and made a decision. This casserole is the best possible outcome of that moment: a bag of frozen pierogi, a ring of smoked kielbasa, and enough cheese to fuse the two into something that comes out of … Read more

Baked Garlic Butter Parmesan Spaghetti

Some dishes earn their place at the table by being complicated. This one earns it by being the opposite: spaghetti, butter, garlic, and a serious amount of Parmesan, baked until the top turns into a golden crust you have to break through with the edge of a spoon. What makes it work is the contrast. … Read more

Cheesy Beef Mac and Cheese Bake

This baked mac and cheese is built around a proper stovetop cheese sauce, folded through pasta and browned beef, then finished under the broiler until the top blisters into golden and dark brown patches. It is the version that comes out of the dish in thick spoonfuls rather than as a dry, sliceable block. The … Read more

Baked Salisbury Steak in Creamy Onion Gravy

Salisbury steak is usually a skillet dish, and the skillet is where it goes wrong. Six patties crowded into one pan steam instead of browning, and the gravy gets thin from all the liquid they release. Baking solves it. The patties are browned quickly first, then finished in the oven under a creamy onion gravy … Read more

Crab-Stuffed Flounder Rolls (Baked in Garlic Butter)

Thin white fish fillets rolled around a crab and panko stuffing, stood upright in a dish, and baked in garlic butter until the tops turn golden. They look like something plated in a restaurant and take about twenty minutes to put together. Standing the rolls upright rather than laying them flat is what produces the … Read more