14 Recipes That We've Actually Tried and Loved This Month

"I don't really like meatballs, so I was a little concerned about this recipe, but I do LOVE banh mi and lemongrass, so I figured why not. And you guys, these meatballs are amazing. They're so delicious and moist and with a bunch of cilantro and Sriracha (I opted for just Sriracha rather than making a Sriracha mayo, though I'm sure that'd be delicious as well), some quinoa, some peanuts, and did I mention pickled carrots?

"This was a great Sunday night recipe that I made for myself, packed into containers, and ate throughout the week for lunches and dinners. It was super filling as well and actually pretty damn healthy. In all I think it lasted me for about four meals and, unlike a lot of things that I make in big batches to eat during the week, it didn't get boring. Eat this. Now." —Sarah Mimms

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"Healthy-ish quinoa casseroles freeze so well, which is basically the only way I can get myself to cook. Definitely use fresh basil (it makes the whole dish) and use so much more cheese than in the recipe." —Julia Reinstein

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"I've baked dozens of cake recipes since my mom decided I was allowed to use the oven, everything from box mix and soda to fancy whipped egg whites and expensive flour. But before last weekend, I hadn't made one that required melting butter, water, sugar, and chocolate (I used 85% cacao fair-trade bars) in a pot, adding dry ingredients, and pouring into pans...and now, this is the technique that I'm going to return to over and over, especially for chocolate cake. It doesn't take very long to throw together, it's unexpectedly moist without feeling soggy, and even my friends who claim they don't really like cake ate a second slice.

"A word of caution: Make sure you allow your melted chocolate mixture to cool enough before you add the eggs — otherwise they'll scramble, and no one wants chunks of that in their cake. I went overboard and waited until the chocolate was room temperature, which definitely isn't necessary, but... just be careful.

"The biggest modifications I made were to the icing: It's a two-ingredient wonder of melted chocolate chips and sour cream, which I enjoyed but knew pickier eaters would reject. I still went with the base recipe, substituting dark Ghirardelli chips (which I <3 the most) for the Nestle, but I also added 2 tsp of vanilla extract, 2 tsp of Cointreau, 1 tsp of vanilla bean paste, and 1 tsp of maple syrup — essentially, 3 teaspoons of vanilla-ness and 3 teaspoons of something sweet. Then, I also roughly chopped up a few chocolate bar squares and mixed those in, for texture. Next time I make it, I will probably fill it with raspberry jam instead, and coat it in this cream cheese buttercream (substituting melted chocolate for the lemon zest and juice)." —Natalie Brown

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"Bon Appétit pointed me to a perfect lazy meal recently: a riff on the socca, a garbanzo flour/egg crepe. It's delicious, comforting, and healthy. It's fast and simple to make, and most of the ingredients are flexible, so you can make it differently each time depending on what produce and spices you have on hand.

"You'll need garbanzo flour, water, eggs, turmeric, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, and/or any herbs you like + whatever vegetables you have and goat cheese, yogurt, or some kind of cream to complement the other flavors. After I made it and tasted it last week, I thought: Where has this recipe been all my life?" —Samantha Oltman

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"This tart has been a favorite of mine for several years now. It makes for a great appetizer on its own or a main served with a salad. I love the soft ricotta flavor, which is perfectly complemented by the thyme and the spicy chorizo.

"The original recipe calls for spring onions but I usually make it with leeks (both are great!). David Lebovitz links to a pie crust recipe that's excellent, but really any pie crust will do the trick, as long as you make sure to leave the sugar out." —Marie Telling

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"This is my mom's chicken pho. When you're battling sideways precipitation (snow/rain/wet crap) and vitamin D deficiencies, there's nothing better to bring together a bunch of people than a big old pot of pho. This was one of my favorite meals to share with my family and became a way to regularly coax my friends out of their apartments and into mine during the worst winter months. Plus, you can feed a dozen people for under $20." —Lam Vo

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"This rules. I know many people find tofu bland, but this will, in the words of His Royal Highness Guy Fieri, take you on a quick trip to Flavor Town, mostly thanks to a literal metric ton of butter and black pepper.

"It's pretty customizable and doesn't necessarily require a trip to the store, if you have tofu and shallots and ginger and green onions and some basic pantry items around. We swapped flour for the cornstarch and jalapeños for the red chiles, only used one kind of soy sauce, and cut the butter by two thirds, and it still tasted bomb.gov. Also: If you cook the shallots and tofu in different pans simultaneously, you cut cook time in about half." —Ellen Cushing

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"By the end of most days, I'll have had it with news, emails, and Twitter, so I usually think of a dish that will occupy me for at least an hour or more in the kitchen. This was one of those days. The dish is simple when you think of it, but it will require some labor and patience. Have you ever peeled chickpea skins?

"I put on Thievery Corporation on my Spotify and carried on. An hour and a half later, I ended up with tender lamb and chickpeas, with rich aroma of saffron and a perfect kick of chili. It made me happy. It will make you happy, too." —Anup Kaphle

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"I made a really simple chicken soup, aka 'Jewish penicillin' that I've had the pleasure of eating at shabbat dinner with friends but never tried to make myself. It was supremely easy, and the key is basically simmering a whole chicken for a while, removing it from the pot, shredding the meat, and returning it to the pot.

"The broth was flavorful and clear and light and it knocked out a lingering cold, for good measure. No matzo in mine, but that would have been equally delish."

—Shani Hilton

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"This recipe is like magic. You put the ingredients in a heavy duty bag, seal it, put it in the sous vide for a while, and then poof! you have perfect juicy carnitas and basically no cleanup. I chose to do this at the median temperature — 165 degrees — and left it in for 24 hours.

"When it came out the meat was falling off the bone and very easy to shred. I put the shredded meat under the broiler for about 15 minutes, tossing it once, to get nice and crispy brown on the tips. The only pitfall with this recipe is that it doesn't call for a specific amount of salt, so you've got to be careful and make your best guess. I under-salted for the cooking, but was able to fix it before broiling.

"We made tacos with the carnitas and dressed them with Homesick Texan's recipe for Ninfa's green sauce. I've been proselytizing about this recipe and the wonders of sous vide cooking ever since."—Otillia Steadman

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