Rick Martinez
Senior Food Editor, Emeritus
Rick Martínez is a former senior food editor for BA and currently hosts the companion video series to his debut cookbook Mi Cocina and Sweet Heat, both on the Food52 YouTube channel and Pruébalo on the Babish Culinary Universe channel. He cohosts the Borderline Salty podcast with Carla Lalli Music, is a regular contributor The New York Times, and teaches live, weekly cooking classes for the Food Network Kitchen. He currently resides in Mazatlán with his dog, Choco, where he cooks, eats, and enjoys the Mexican Pacific coast. rick-martinez.com
Recipes
Fruity Rum Bundt Cake
Flouring the fruit in this Bundt cake recipe helps keep it suspended throughout the batter, and using a serrated knife guarantees you won’t squash or shred the slices.
Recipes
The Layaway
This cocktail recipe inspired by Black Friday madness would also be tasty with regular dark rum and ginger ale, but we like the kick you get from using the spicier versions of each.
Recipes
Fruity Rum Bundt Cake
Flouring the fruit in this Bundt cake recipe helps keep it suspended throughout the batter, and using a serrated knife guarantees you won’t squash or shred the slices.
Recipes
Hard Cider Gravy
Hard cider is really wonderful to cook with: It adds a bit of sweetness, acidity, and a hint of apple. And the leftovers are great in an autumnal cocktail. Check out step-by-step photos here.
Recipes
Pumpkin Spice Icebox Cake
If a tiramisu, a pumpkin spice latte, and an icebox pie had a baby, it would be this make-ahead dessert recipe. Some things are better from a can or a box—pumpkin purée and graham crackers are two of those things.
Recipes
Cranberry-Hazelnut Green Bean Salad
The freshness of the blanched green beans and crisp apple cider vinegar help cut through a heavier meal.
Recipes
Schmaltz-y Mashed Potatoes
The game-changer in this mashed potatoes recipe is the schmaltz, which lends chicken-infused richness to the world’s greatest side dish. If you can’t find it, substitute duck fat, rendered bacon fat, or just good ol' butter.
Recipes
Stuffing-Fried Turkey Tenders
We combined two great Thanksgiving traditions in this recipe—deep-fried whole turkeys (which requires an outdoor cooking vessel and a scary amount of hot oil), and the flavors of stuffing, which are worked into a crunchy coating for these tenders.
Recipes
Grilled Pimiento Cheese Sandwiches with Apple–Cherry Chutney
You can serve this addictive chutney alongside roasted meat (rotisserie chicken); it’s also good on a sandwich with deli cold cuts.
Recipes
Shrimp and Pimiento Cheese Grits
Quaker brand grits work really well in this recipe, and they are distributed very widely. If you can’t find them, use any other white, medium-grind, long-cooking grits.
Recipes
Rotisserie Chicken Stew with White Beans
If you’re not following our weekly meal plan and not making the Grilled Cheese (though you really should; it’s delightful), which you need wheat bread for, use country loaf or sourdough bread, crusts removed, for optimal breadcrumbs for this chicken stew recipe. Check out step-by-step photos here.
Recipes
Crispy Thai Chicken Salad
A half a cup of olive oil may seem like whoa, too much, but that's the key to crisping up the chicken.
Recipes
Chicken Pot Pie with Acorn Squash
Sauerkraut is our new secret flavoring weapon. It adds a little bit of acid and funk, and this chicken pot pie recipe proves there are so many other uses for it than a hot dog topping. Check out step-by-step photos here.
Recipes
Ginger Cashew Chicken Curry
Instead of chicken, this curry recipe is really good with boneless pork chops. Cut into ½" pieces and proceed as written. Check out step-by-step photos here.
Recipes
Lemony Chicken and Rice Soup (Avgolemono)
It’ll take a couple of hours to make the homemade broth and cook a whole chicken (your house will smell amazing) for this soup recipe. If you’ve had a long day, use 2 quarts store-bought broth and shredded meat from a rotisserie chicken. Whatever method you choose, use the chicken breasts to make this amazing salad with crispy rice. Check out step-by-step photos here.
Recipes
Minestrone Soup with Acorn Squash
If you don’t happen to have or particularly enjoy pastrami, bacon or pancetta would be a delicious substitute for this minestrone recipe. Check out step-by-step photos here.
Recipes
Spicy Pasta with Shrimp and Tomatoes
For a hearty vegetarian version of this pasta recipe, use squash, mushrooms, or eggplants in place of shrimp.
Recipes
Butternut Squash Cacio e Pepe
Think of this butternut cacio e pepe recipe as pasta cacio e pepe...with sausage. It’s comfort food-y, so it could use some fresh greens and/or veggies to help balance it out. Check out step-by-step photos here.