Cheese

Legend has it that the tuna melt was accidentally invented in the 1960s at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Charleston, S.C., when the cook didn’t notice that a bowl of tuna salad had tipped over onto a grilled cheese. We may never know if this story is true, but there’s no doubt that the tuna melt has become a classic American diner food. This recipe adds chopped cornichons and whole-grain mustard for a satisfying crunch and vinegary element.

No need for a giant 13 by 9-inch casserole dish (not to mention endless leftovers). These scaled-down enchiladas come together in a single pan. We created a smoky, gravy-like sauce by combining chili powder, tomato paste, shallots, flour (for thickening), and broth for some sweet and earthy flavors. We made the sauce in the skillet, set aside a portion of it, and then built the whole dish on top of the remaining sauce, nestling cheese-filled tortillas into the thick, spicy goodness.

Our pasta cacio e uova, or pasta with cheese and eggs, comes together quickly. We gently heated crushed garlic cloves in lard while the water for the pasta came to a boil. And while the fat became infused with the garlic's flavor, we stirred together Pecorino Romano, Parmesan, eggs, salt, pepper, and parsley. We drained the pasta and tossed it with the oil, which provided a subtly sweet, nutty toasted garlic flavor, as well as 1 tablespoon of the pasta cooking water and the egg-and-cheese mixture.

Barley makes a nutty, toothsome risotto-like dish when cooked with the right amount of liquid. For flavor and to make the grain into a satisfying meal, we use sautéed cremini mushrooms as a base, wilt in baby kale (or spinach or arugula) at the end, then top it all off with a pungent cheese. To make prep go a little quicker, look for sliced cremini mushrooms in the market.

This recipe, inspired by Stouffer’s macaroni and cheese, delivers the best of all worlds: creamy, saucy comfort, with a consistency that’s slightly more set than a stovetop version, thanks to a final bake in the oven. It stays voluptuous and molten as a result of a higher ratio of sauce to noodles, which are cooked completely so they don’t soak up as much liquid. The Velveeta is necessary here, as it has sodium citrate, which prevents the sauce from separating in the oven. Elbow macaroni works fine, but cavatappi is an especially fun shape to eat with its telephone-cord bounciness.

In the time it takes to make boxed macaroni and cheese, you can have a homemade version that’s creamy with lots of sharp Cheddar, studded with broccoli and doesn’t require making a roux. Instead, the sauce is thickened by the pasta’s starch: As the noodles cook in milk, the milk thickens to the consistency of cream and the pasta absorbs the seasonings. Here, that’s garlic powder, but you could also use mustard powder, ground cayenne or grated nutmeg like in traditional mac and cheese.

Yee’s recipe for a bang-up grilled cheese includes an Emmy-worthy tomato jam, something you can use to pump up a multitude of dishes, including turkey burgers and cheese plates. 

In an attempt to liven up grilled cheese, some add so many ingredients that the cheese is an afterthought. Our grown-up grilled cheese sandwiches start with flavorful aged Gruyère to which we add a small amount of wine and Brie. These two ingredients help the aged cheddar melt evenly without becoming greasy. A little bit of fresh chives increases the sandwiches’ complexity without detracting from the cheese, and a smear of mustard butter livens up the bread.

Claudia Lucero has a special power: she can make cheese in one hour. Mozzarella, ricotta, paneer, goat cheese, queso blanco and more.

Those are simple cheeses that are relatively easy to make, says Lucero, who runs Urban Cheesecraft in Portland, Ore. To do it, she says, you just need practice, not superpowers.

Lucero has mastered many quick cheeses, but cheddar wasn't a natural candidate for a one-hour method, she explains. Cheddar ages "anywhere from two months to 10 years to make it sharp," she says. "I don't have that kind of time — I've got one hour!"

My mom used to make breakfast for dinner every Thursday night when I was growing up and I always looked forward to it. Really, is there anything better than a big plate full of cheesy eggs, pancakes with melted butter and maple syrup, and fruit salad? I would love to continue this tradition with Apolinaras, but unfortunately, he isn’t a fan. I think it’s partly because he actually gets up early enough to make eggs every morning, while I prefer to savor every last minute of sleep and usually end up just having cereal.