Creamy Giardiniera Dip and More Recipes BA Staff Made This Week

Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Thu Buser, prop styling by Gerri Williams

It’s no secret that BA editors cook a lot for work. So it should come as no surprise that we cook a lot during our off hours too. Here are the recipes we’re whipping up this month to get dinner on the table, entertain our friends, satisfy a sweet tooth, use up leftovers, and everything in between. For even more staff favorites, click here.

November 17

Game night samosa puffs

I hosted a Diwali game night with a spread of snacks like Chickpea-Potato Chaat, Vegetable Bhajia, and Paneer Tikka. My favorite: these Samosa Puffs by associate food editor Rachel Gurjar. Cheesy, warmly spiced, and buttery, they were the first to disappear as everyone was cackling over rounds of Taboo. During prep, I stashed away some of the potato filling when I realized I wouldn’t have enough time to fill and bake the whole batch. This turned out to be a blessing: I’ve been eating the leftover spiced potatoes in grilled sandwiches, Bombay Sandwich–style, this whole week. —Antara Sinha, associate cooking editor

Jammy eggs

Our digital director Sasha Levine has raved many a time about these jammy eggs from Lauren Schaefer. I finally got around to making them, and, honestly, what took me so long? Each egg is topped with a plop of paprika mayo, a ring of pickled pepper (I bought the presliced ones to save time), and a smattering of parsley. It’s an effortlessly chic appetizer-slash-snack. I even forgot the parsley, and everyone still raved. —Emma Laperruque, senior cooking editor

Jammy Eggs With Paprika Aioli

Banana pudding cheesecake bars

I’ve been eyeing the perfect lines of this potluck-ready dessert since it was first published. It starts with a vanilla wafer crumb crust (made in the food processor), then gets a layer of cheesecake enriched with sweetened condensed milk and bananas (which you can also whip together in the food processor—no need to clean it first). Finish it off with a silky topping made from whipped cream and sour cream, and then curse the gods of time as you wait an hour for it to set. The whole thing is creamy, tangy, tender, and rich; and it keeps in the fridge for a couple of days. —Joe Sevier, senior SEO editor, cooking

Dilly potato chips

When I was growing up, I found the flavor of the dill overpowering, and I tended to avoid it altogether. I’m now fully aboard the dill train. Having impulsively bought a bunch at the store (as I tend to do with herbs), I found two recipes to use it up: Onion-Dip Potato Chips and Spicy Lightly Pickled Cucumbers. I served these snacks as appetizers when I had friends coming over for dinner. The chips, which get baked before a bath in olive oil, dried spices, and fresh dill, were delightfully rich. That only made the vinegar-soaked cukes taste even brighter. Both were gone before the first glass of wine had been drunk, which is without question, the greatest compliment. —Carly Westerfield, recipe production assistant

Onion-Dip Potato Chips

Cornbread for now and later

The countdown to Thanksgiving is officially on, and I’m feeding a crowd of 30 this year. In the midst of pie dough prep and menu planning, it’s easy to forget that I still have to make dinner tonight. That’s why I’m batch-cooking cozy soups and stews that I’ll be more than happy to eat three nights in a row, like potato-leek soup and vegetarian chili. But it wouldn’t be chili night without cornbread, and this recipe from Emma Laperruque is the one I always return to. I’ve made a lot of cornbread, both from the box and from scratch, and this one strikes just the right balance of tender, crumbly, sweet, and savory savory. Bonus: I’ll freeze any leftover cubes to use in this Thanksgiving stuffing. —Zoe Denenberg, associate cooking & SEO editor

Tangy-savory giardiniera dip

My mom says she “thought of me” when she saw Kendra Vaculin’s Creamy Giardiniera Dip in our Thanksgiving issue. A big compliment! The food processor does all the work, and the ingredients list is wildly short: just cream cheese, sour cream, giardiniera, and Parmesan. Serve with Triscuits and celery sticks, and watch everyone ask for the recipe. (Any leftovers are also great on a bagel for breakfast the next day.) —Emma Laperruque, senior cooking editor

Creamy Giardiniera Dip

November 10

Fragrant banana cake

This banana cake! From associate food editor Kendra Vaculin, it is fragrant with cardamom, tangy from buttermilk, and effortlessly elegant. A stellar breakfast with coffee, afternoon snack with tea, or birthday present with a bottle of bubbly. I love the confident simplicity of a single-layer cake: Unlike a double- or triple-layer one, which demands structural integrity and good luck, nothing can fall over here. I made it multiple times in one week. —Emma Laperruque, senior cooking editor

Buttermilk Banana Cake

Famous apple cider loaf

This week I finally baked the Apple Cider Doughnut Loaf Cake that’s been on my list for years. Hundreds of readers swear by this recipe, and now I see why. Soaking the warm loaf in reduced apple cider keeps it extra moist; and coating it in cinnamon sugar completes the farm-stand-doughnut vibe. I accidentally doubled the amount of spices in the batter, which made the cake so flavorful and autumn-y, I can hardly call it a mistake. As for the rest of the jug of apple cider, I’ll be using it to make hot spiced drinks. —Zoe Denenberg, associate cooking and SEO editor

If you haven’t made the Sarah Jampel Apple Cider Doughnut Loaf Cake yet, consider this your sign. It’s got all the warm and toasty vibes you want from a fall treat. Sour cream keeps it moist and tender, even a couple days later. I replaced the nutmeg with a masala chai blend made by Burlap and Barrel and one of my favorite ice cream shops, Malai. Frankly, I feel no need to go buy apple cider doughnuts anywhere else when I can make this cake. —Ian Stroud, director of creative development

Apple Cider Doughnut Loaf Cake

Spicy salmon bites

Salmon fillets are one of my freezer staples, and with a few modifications, this Hot and Tangy Buffalo Salmon made for a stellar weeknight dinner. I skipped the blue cheese (not a fan), and instead of celery, served it up with baby sweet peppers left over from a farmers market haul. Cubed salmon is the way to go—it cooks up in a flash and turns out uniformly golden. —Antara Sinha, associate cooking editor

Chickpea pancakes with kale

I just returned from a whirlwind trip that involved plenty of beachside piña coladas, butter mochi, and coconut shrimp. When I came back my body was craving all things green and fibrous. These pancakes with lots of ruffly kale and sizzled chickpeas were just right to satiate that craving. Instead of za’atar I used a dab of harissa paste. And with no fennel on hand, I topped the whole thing with some frizzled onions. Savory, nutty, and incidentally plant-based. —A.S.

Chickpea Pancakes With Kale and Fennel

November 3

Snickerdoodle snacking cake

I know a lot of New Yorkers complain about not having enough counter space, but I really don’t have enough counter space, which is why I’ve been looking forward to Yossy Arefi’s new cookbook Snacking Bakes for months. With one-bowl, no-special-equipment, immediately actionable dessert recipes, it’s the ideal cookbook to have on hand when a craving strikes. I had all the ingredients (and space) to whip up Arefi’s plush, cinnamony Snickerdoodle Chocolate Chip Cake and it was an absolute delight. —A.S.

Snacking Bakes

$25.00, Amazon

Sweet potatoes with tahini butter

I accidentally set a dish towel on fire making these sweet potatoes—and they were still worth it. My tweaks: I scaled down the recipe from six servings to a singular sweet potato just for me. I don’t have a steaming rack, so I made a quick coil out of aluminum foil to put in the bottom of my pot to set the potato on top of, which worked remarkably well. Don’t skimp on the lime juice in the sauce here. Between the earthiness of the tahini and sweetness of the sweet potato, that brightness is crucial. And, um, pro tip: Keep your dish towel away from the flame. —A.S.

Spicy, tender pumpkin spice cake

I finally got around to baking this glorious crumb cake from senior cooking editor Emma Laperruque. It is half crumbly-crunchy pumpkin-spiced streusel and half tender ginger-flecked pumpkin cake. I planned on eating a slice while sitting on a deck overlooking the fall foliage of the Hudson Valley but was thwarted by the morning rain. Even without the view it was pure fall decadence. —Joe Sevier, senior SEO editor, cooking

Pumpkin Spice Crumb Cake

Bright, savory pumpkin pasta

This pasta was met with many oohs and aahs when associate food editor Rachel Gurjar debuted it in the test kitchen. I jumped on the recipe as soon as it was published. Think of it as an autumnal take on vodka sauce but with canned pumpkin in lieu of a tube of tomato paste. Bright, lemony, and spicy, it felt like such a treat after seeing so many iterations of the classic sweet-savory-nutty preparation of fall squash. —A.S.

I too made Rachel’s pumpkin pasta! It was a ripe excuse to finally try Sfoglini’s famous cascatelli shape. The ruffly waterfalls expertly held onto the pumpkin sauce—which, unlike the other pumpkin pastas of my life, was capital-s Savory. With onion, garlic, and lots of chile, this was nowhere near the nutty, sage-y, borderline sweet sauces that pop up each fall. I will have it on repeat-one until spring. —E.L.

Creamy Pumpkin Pasta

Originally Appeared on Bon Appétit