Homemade whipped ricotta

NY Times Cooking: July 28, 2025

^{Can serve as both a dip and a spread. It’s also a cinch to make, transforming the grainy, dense cheese into something light and airy. Delicious on sandwiches or with crackers or raw vegetables, it’s especially welcome as part of a charcuterie board.}

Ingredients

• 1½cups/about 12 ounces whole milk ricotta, drained if needed
• ¾teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
• Extra-virgin olive oil or honey, and cracked black pepper, for garnish

Preparation

Step 1: In the bowl of a food processor, combine ricotta and salt, and purée until light and fluffy, scraping down the side of the bowl every so often, about 2 minutes.
Step 2: Transfer to a serving bowl, drizzle with olive oil or honey, and garnish with cracked black pepper.

Stuffed Mushrooms

NY Times Updated Nov. 13, 2025

Pop one of Kay Chun’s small stuffed mushrooms into your mouth, and you’ll be reminded of the buttery, garlicky flavors of escargot. The mushrooms are juicy and meaty, while the bread crumb topping adds satisfying crunch. 

Bacon-Wrapped Dates

NY Times Cooking Updated Dec. 1, 2021

A bacon-wrapped date is sweet, smoky, squidgy and crisp, all in one bite-size package. The trick is getting the bacon to cook before the date burns, and you can do that by starting in a cold oven so that the bacon slowly renders its fat and evenly crisps. While this appetizer was en vogue in the 1970s and 1980s, it has never gone out of style. In fact, it dates back to Victorian England, when bacon-wrapped oysters or prunes (also known as angels or devils on horseback) were eaten before or after a meal. (“Horseback” referred to their being served on toast.)