Easy Authentic Recipes Fully Tested

Eat Me

An onion and blue cheese tart cut into wedges with crispy onions scattered around it.StartersA fork holding a single garlic butter steak bite with a platter of steak bites nearby.MainsA whole roast chicken on a platter with a bowl.ChickenA large white platter filled with halved various colored cherry tomatoes, labneh balls, olive oil, and a sprinkle of spices.SaladTwo English crumpet on a white plate, each topped with a pat of butter.BreadsA slice of Hershey's chocolate cake with chocolate frosting on a yellow plate, with the remaining cake on a stand in the background.Desserts
A bag of Leite's Culinaria Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix.

The viral NY Times cookies

They’re back! The viral sensation from the article I wrote for the New York Times. Now, you can make them at home with the very hard-to-source couverature chocolate as the original. All you need are melted butter and an egg!

Order now for timely holiday shipping!
Get yours now

And Speaking of Cookies…

More Cookies

Alfajores ~ Dulce de Leche Cookies

We know many who’ve fallen for these dulce de leche-filled shortbread cookies while in Latin America. Few have recovered. Rightly so.

7 hrs

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

These peanut butter cookies are filled with a creamy milk chocolate filling for a taste that takes you back to childhood. The cookies are easy to make and can be filled later.

1 hr 10 mins

Windowpane Cookies

Wowsers! (We can’t really think of anything else to say about these stunning cookies, except they’re far easier to make than you’d expect.)

40 mins

Classic Shortbread Cookies

Tender and delicate and buttery and spectacularly simple, just as classic shortbread cookies ought to be.

1 hr

Homemade Milano Cookies

Forget Pepperidge Farm. Where’s the satisfaction in just ripping the bag open? Where’s the longing that comes with anticipation? Right here with these homemade Milanos.

4 hrs

Linzer Bars

Buttery and crumbly in the best possible way, these crazy easy bars have all the taste—but none of the fuss—of the classic linzer tart.

1 hr 30 mins

Congo Bars

Better known as seven layer bars, this bewitching stack of graham cracker crumbs, sweetened condensed milk, chocolate, coconut, and nuts just may exceed your childhood memories.

2 hrs 40 mins

Brown Sugar Cookies

These beauties aren’t unlike classic sugar cookies in terms of ease and appeal. They’re just a little richer and a lot less expected.

45 mins

Compost Cookies®

The curious name of these insanely can’t-stop-eating-these sweet and salty cookies hints at how you toss in whatever this and that you have on hand to create awesomeness.

2 hrs

Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happiness can be found in this recipe that ended our search for the perfect small-batch chocolate chip cookie. Insanely perfect for when you need—need, not want—just a dozen.

25 mins

Winter Ingredients

A caramelized onion and Gruyère galette with a rye crust and sprigs of thyme.onion+Five small tarts filled with orange curd and topped with candied orange slices on a cooling rack.CitrusNine colorful braised carrots on a white platter.Root VegA ceramic bowl filled with mashed kabocha with a spoon resting in it.SquashStuffed mushrooms with chives and black pepper on a white plate, garnished with chopped cashews.MushroomA bowl of white beans and Tuscan kale, sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese, with a spoon.Beans+
David Leite

Hey, I’m David Leite

I’m a three-time James Beard Award-winning food writer, cookbook author, memoirist, podcast host, and publisher. I created this site in 1999 to help you find simple, quick, and wicked flavorful recipes. For the past 24 years, I’ve been cooking, teaching, and writing about all types of food, including those from my Portuguese heritage. Let’s eat! Vamos comer!

Read More About Me

Most Beloved Recipes

These are the most popular, most loved, and most made dishes over the past 25 years.

Find a New Recipe

Pasta with Butter and Parmesan

Whether you’re five or fifty-five, sometimes nothing is more satiating than a plate of spaghetti with butter and cheese.

20 mins

Julia Child’s Coq au Vin

Coq au vin, aka chicken soused in wine, is a French classic that exists in countless incarnations. This rich, soulful riff is from Julia Child.

1 hr 30 mins

Coca-Cola Brisket

This heartachingly tender brisket draws on just four ingredients, including a can of Coca Cola. Tasting is, truly, understanding.

3 hrs 25 mins

Applesauce Bread

Comfort finds us in unexpected ways. Thank goodness for that. And thank goodness for this not-too-sweet, subtly apple-y, kid-friendly quick bread.

1 hr 30 mins

Portuguese Recipes

come mais

Portuguese Coconut Custard Tarts

Sweet custard flecked with flakes of coconut are what you can expect from pasteis de coco, a dessert classic from Portugal.

45 mins