Of all the joys associated with the Great British Bake Off — the lovable cast of bakers, the chemistry between new hosts Noel and Sandi — it’s the actual bakes that trump the rest.

Watching the bakers’ creations unfold is somehow both therapeutic and suspenseful. There’s only one downside: As beautiful as their baked goods might look, and while I completely trust Paul and Prue to be honest about the taste, I always end up wishing more than anything that I could try one of those beautiful cakes, and I mourn the loss of all the leftovers that must get wasted once the judging is over. Thanks to former contestant (and runner-up) Kim-Joy, we now know that all the baked goods that aren’t sampled by the judges do find a loving home.

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In cooking there are few dishes that lend themselves to what cooks wistfully wish after, which is cooking without a recipe. The romantic cook in us all wishes to cook like a grandma or a trained chef — by sense and feel and grasping after a taste you know you can achieve through instinct alone.

But cooking like that doesn’t come out of thin air. You learn it like jazz, memorizing a pile of old standards to then riff and play and tinker in your own voice until making something old feels so new that it is yours.

Soup and stew are like this; learn a few formulas and you can soup on forever without cracking a book. But there are so many other dishes as well, and pasta casserole is perhaps my favorite of all.

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Here’s the plan: On those nights you really don’t want to cook (you know the ones where all you want to do in sink into the couch with Netflix, after that horrendous commute home), put down the takeout menu and reach for your Instant Pot. I can tell you from experience that this appliance is the secret to low-effort, big-reward dinners you can pull off anytime. These 10 easy Instant Pot recipes were made for moments like these.

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We’re big believers in the fact that you can never have too many 30-minute meals in your kitchen arsenal. At the end of a long day at work or school, we often want delicious food fast — and that’s where these recipes come in. The thing they all have in common is that none of them take long to make, but they all still deliver on flavor. Basically, they’re the perfect thing to reach for when you don’t want to spend forever in the kitchen — but you still want to eat well. These 10 recipes are our most popular 30-minute meals from the year.

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Were you the lucky recipient of a shiny new stand mixer over the holidays? Or maybe you bit the bullet and invested in one so you can finally make bread, cookies, and meringues with ease? No matter how you finally got one, a stand mixer is a great kitchen investment that, with proper care, will last for years (if not decades).

Stand mixers are heavy-duty machines and, like all machines, tend to need a little tweaking and adjusting in order to run properly. Here are some things you should know about your stand mixer to ensure you run and maintain it like a pro!

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If I’m drinking hot chocolate, I’m going all in — a packet of hot cocoa mix stirred into hot water certainly won’t cut it. No, I want something rich and over-the-top, with an intense chocolate flavor from both cocoa powder and chopped chocolate. My mug should be overflowing with mini marshmallows and drizzles of chocolate syrup. And that’s exactly what this brownie batter hot chocolate delivers.

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Why do we drink eggnog? The question vexed me for years. Eggnog? The weird yellow Yuletide drink featuring eggs and sometimes booze? The mysterious stuff that retired people in movies swill by the fireside on frozen nights? The creamy concoction that comes in cartons where corn syrup is known to bat second or third in the ingredient lineup? A drink where 50 percent of the letters are g?

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If you’ve never met a loaded baked potato you didn’t like, you’re about to meet your new favorite dinner casserole. It’s inspired by loaded potatoes, but calls for roasted cauliflower as the base. The florets are drenched in a creamy cheddar cheese sauce, mixed with plenty of crispy bacon bits and chopped scallions, and baked until bubbly and golden.

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If you haven’t had quiche lately, it is time to remedy that situation. I could eat quiche for breakfast, lunch, and dinner without ever growing tired of it, but quiche is an especially good dish for a big brunch or other casual gathering. You make it the day ahead, slice it just before serving, and then pass out the plates. This foolproof recipe has yet to disappoint.

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There’s a reason I’ve been living in the same apartment for nearly five years. My studio apartment is in a great location, has plenty of storage for all my stuff (read: two closets!), and even boasts a cute outdoor space, which I admittedly don’t use as much as I should.

I love my apartment, but of course, no home is perfect. My space has a bulky, built-in media center and a mini fridge instead of a full-sized one (really). But perhaps my apartment’s biggest offense is its lack of a dishwasher.

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