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aiweirdness · 3 years

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A big neural net reviews a smaller neural net's recipes

I’ve used various neural networks to generate recipes, to varying degrees of success. My earliest recipes were generated with char-rnn, which had to learn everything - spelling, punctuation, words - entirely from scratch. Its recipes were terrible (Swamp Peef and Cheese, anyone? Or Chocolate Chicken Chicken Cake?). Later when I started using GPT-2, I was using a neural net that had already seen a lot of recipes online during internet pre-training, and its recipes looked a lot more realistic (although not entirely realistic - there was that recipe for Black Forest Cake that suggested pouring the batter into a toaster, or the jello recipe that starts with “remove all internal rinds”).

GPT-3, an even more powerful text-generating neural net, has seen so many recipes during its internet pre-training that its recipes are boringly plausible. Bake its Black Forest Cake recipe and you’d probably actually get cake at the end, even if it’s not the best cake in the world. Its recipes aren’t funny at a glance, which is why I haven’t posted any of them - until internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch suggested that, rather than have GPT-3 generate its own recipes, I have it rate char-rnn’s recipes. Readers, it worked.

I prompted GPT-3 with two example recipes from allrecipes, each followed by 3 of their human-written reviews. Then, for the third recipe I inserted one of char-rnn’s recipes:

Chocolate Chocolate Cake

1 cup sugar 1/4 cup butter 1 cup margarine 1 cup cocoa 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup margarine 1/2 cup pecans, chopped 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 egg yolk 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup chopped pecans 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup cocoa 1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, salt, and salt in a large bowl. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and stiff peaks form. Add milk and cook until mixture is completely melted. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Spread in batter. Sprinkle with pecans.

Yield: 1 servings

And then I let GPT-3 add reviews. Would it mention the excessive lakes of vanilla? The complete lack of flour? The foolhardy reliance on the heroic efforts of a single egg yolk to hold things together?

oxtailsandturnovers Rating: 5 stars 03/04/2007 delicious chocolate recipe!!! and the perfect balance between cocoa and chocolate. and they sure were LONGNECKS! big time rave here. lazy w birthdays w friends and family, try this recipe for something chocolate sweet the ppl will talk about over and over.

AKEMIYUNA Rating: 5 stars appraisal 12/03/2008 Excellent for the kids Halloween party. Everyone got so thrilled by seeing something new on Chocolate in sponge. He even likes nuts separately but it will taste good..

BYOMFYABF Rating: 2 stars 10/01/2008 I could only give it a 2 as I had to make changes to it due to ingredients I had. First, I used Dove Dark Chocolate cocoa instead of Hershey's, no nuts, and the mashed bananas and caramel topping were a must. I did use coffee instead of the hot water, and dark margarine instead of regular, therefore I could not use light whipped cream, but I made homemade whipped cream. It had WAY too much flour in it, but i guess it could have been me measuring heavier than I should have. I also only used 2 cups of flour. it was my first bundt cake, so it was huge!!!

Here’s another batch of reviews, this time of a more chaotic char-rnn recipe:

Simple Soup Alaborate Soup Pie

6 each chopped white perserves; ** (optional but ring) 1/2 cup chopped fresh marjoram 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1/3 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup thinly sliced onion 1/4 cup onion (chopped) 1/2 teaspoon garlic; minced 2 small carrots 6 can dry white wine 1 tabasco sauce 1 tablespoon sugar 1/2 cup flour, whipped topping 2 tablespoon chili powder

Marinate: Serves 4. Whip and short under boiling. Add the sliced mushrooms and peppers and stir to coat. Stir the sugar and carrots. In large bowl, beat the egg to make a 1 1/2 tablespoons of the flour. Add shanks and stir it well. Spoon into a frying pan before serving.

Recipe By : DonajehLi Koubmanda

Yield: 8 servings

JEFFREY97389 Rating: 2 stars 03/03/2006 Even though everyone said this was great, I thought it was just 'OK!' The perserves gave a strange flavor to the sauce.

MATTJANDTRACER Rating: 2 stars 01/02/2009 This recipe sounded good. When it came out it tasted a bit like a casserole and not a stew. I used venison instead of deer and pork. I liked the way it turned out, but it wasnt very French.

Hammy Rating: 5 stars The g iving this as a gift as it takes about 10 less minutes but using American cheese and not blended with parsley flakes, lime-flavored gelatin, which is my husband's favorite dish from SuperValu. Just happens to be the creamy sauce. Don't worry about a pie crust.

In fact, the more chaotic the char-rnn recipe, the more chaotic the reviews tend to be, as if GPT-3 has picked up on the chaos and is trying to somehow produce reviews that could plausibly be written by whatever weird humans are visiting this mangled recipe website.

Geilded Peanuts & Crabmeat Basil

3 beef, boneless chops, or thyme, 1 lamber and flince of fresh diced in diagonal 1 parsley 2 large leeks (for garnish) 3/4 teaspoon sesame oil, seeded and peeled 1 any jeans'l-tortilla 1 pepper or cinnamon 1/4 cup baesly pinto beans. (Crushed and thawed; minced fine you recipe) 1 tomato base 1 fat in the last 5 inch plates 1 garlic clove; crushed 1/4 cup dijon mustard

In a large bowl set aside. Remove the sides from the heat and saute with a fork and cover and cook on Low for 6 to 6 hours.

Yield: 6 servings

Morales Rating: 0 stars 03/30/2008 I had high expectations for this recipe, but it was an outright flop. I don't know if the measurements were somehow incorrect or what, but I ended up with a watery mess that certainly wasn't crab salad. My girlfriend, who is a new chef liked it fine, but I really wish that the recipe didn't claim that it made six servings when it really made enough for one, if that's what we were going to call it.

Carole Rating: 5 stars Glorious sobs! This recipe will be delicious for a minumum of 1½ Hours to maximum 2½ hours Time to bring lots of fresh sized potatoes in the house or grow in the age may become quite famous

Amanda Rating: 3 stars 11/13/2009 My friend is having a birthday party and will celebrate with Camping. She's in charge of the dishes and wanted to serve food at the campfire. I'll 10th grade, my easy information for her party. It will not sound strange anyway test this task with a note to work rationally.What to take trees, portable tables for chairs, the main meal, food. I personally love the taste of it but has anyone seen a shepherd (wasn't any spices), oysters. It is sufficient

It does kind of make sense that GPT-3’s recipe reviews aren’t directly complaining about the utter weirdness of char-rnn’s recipes. Probably very few of the recipe reviews in GPT-3’s training data involved baffled complaints about nonexistent or repeated ingredients, or apocalyptic levels of recipe failure. So GPT-3 has learned that even the critical reviews tend to fall within a certain sentiment range. It’s interesting that it tries to emulate char-rnn’s primitive neural net glitchiness - I’ve noticed before that GPT-3 seems to be capable of pretending to be a much simpler neural net.

Subscribers get bonus content: After generating a few reviews, GPT-3 would sometimes go on to generate new recipes (such as “BBQ Cheeseburger Salad” which contains lime jello, whipped topping, and sliced black beans). It may have been deliberately trying to make them terrible to fit in with char-rnn’s recipes.

Speaking of AI-generated recipes: there are some absolute disasters in my book on AI, You Look Like a Thing and I Love You: Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Indiebound - Tattered Cover - Powell’s - Boulder Bookstore

#neural networks #gpt-3 #char-rnn #recipes

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cuppatealove · 4 years

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Some Home Crafts to try if staying at home is a novelty for you

From a SAHM for whom it really very much no longer is ;-)

These are all things that don’t take a lot of actual time, but need to be attended to briefly every couple of hours, or need to have someone home to keep an eye on them. That sort of thing. Any questions, please feel free to ask and I’ll do my best.

Homemade Stock. I swear, nothing has transformed my cooking as much as learning to make my own stock. It is a flavour BOMB, and it’s virtually free! Save up all your bones from the meals you eat in a bag in the freezer until you have a decent amount (roasting a whole chicken is a good way to get a lot of bones). Alternatively, you can sometimes buy chicken carcasses or soup bones from the supermarket. Chuck them in your biggest pot with a couple of carrots, an onion and some celery, all chopped up into chunks. Also some fresh herbs if you have them, a bit of salt and some peppercorns, and a dash of vinegar. Fill up with water and simmer ALL DAY, as long as you can. The longer you go, the richer the flavour. Keep the lid on so you don’t lose it all as steam. Strain, and freeze in ice cube trays! Then you can have a bag of easy-to-grab stock cubes to glitz up your next sauce. You can keep the stock in the fridge as each tray sets, and each morning freeze another batch. It may go solid in the fridge - that just means you’ve made AWESOME nutrient-dense stock.

Grow some herbs. This was the second greatest discovery that transformed my cooking. If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, now’s a great time to throw some herbs into your garden or some pots on the windowsill. I recommend rosemary, thyme and oregano, because they grow into woody little shrubs that survive perennially and need very little attention. You can buy seedlings, or if your supermarket sells living herbs just plant those. They may need a little love and tending now (which, conveniently, is when you’re at home all day), but once they’re established they are very hardy. I basically ignore mine, and they grow faster than I can use them, and I am NOT in a climate anywhere near as hot as their native Italy. You will be amazed how much flavour fresh herbs add to pasta, casseroles and soups - and, again, it’s basically free!

Yoghurt. You can buy cultures to make yoghurt (depending on how locked down your country is), or you can just make it from the last spoonful of your store-bought yoghurt (if it has live cultures). It’s hard to make it seriously from leftover yoghurt (I usually found I could only perpertuate it through a couple of batches before it seemed to lose strength), but it’s a fun thing to say you’ve done :-D Here are some ways to keep the fermenting yoghurt warm if you don’t have a yoghurt maker.

Kefir. Even easier than yoghurt, if you can get your hands on it, is milk kefir grains (different from water kefir grains), because it sets at room temperature, so you don’t even need a warm place! It is VERY tangy but a lot of fun to play around with, as you can add different flavours. Lots of good info videos here.

Make a sourdough starter. Yep, that finnicky little hungry pet on your kitchen bench that the hipsters love to brag about! If ever there was a time to give it a go, it’s now. All you actually need for a sourdough starter is flour and water. And patience. And maybe a sense of humour. (When it goes wrong, it does it spectacularly!) Myself, I’ve found I like to use strong bread flour and add a bit of rye and a bit of wholemeal, just because they seem to have a bit of oomph. These guys have an amazing, no-frills approach and will get you started in no time! And, for the record, YES you can bake sourdough in a boring old tin! You don’t have to make fancy artisan loaves that are free-standing. Darn it, I want my slices to be all the same size and fit in the toaster!!

Start a ginger beer bug with sugar and ginger. Recipes abound on the internet. If you are using fresh ginger, my favourite tip is to FREEZE THE GINGER. It will grate like a dream! I always have some ginger root in the freezer, which apart from anything stops it growing furry blue friends when you haven’t used it for a while. Get some GOOD quality brewing bottles. Explosions happen.

Water kefir is another fermented fizzy drink that I’ve had a lot of fun with. The kefir grains (again, not to be confused with milk kefir grains) are something you probably won’t get at the supermarket, but I actually think it’s lower maintenance than ginger beer. And you can always add ginger to it. Instructions here. I know all the Cool Kids go on about Kombucha, but I think water kefir is much yummier and much less life-consuming ;-) I used to have a great rhythm where I had it producing one glass for myself every two days, which was just enough to still be special.

Dabble in cheesemaking. Some great beginner cheeses that require no special equipment or special-order ingredients are whole milk ricotta and mozarella. If you want to buy some cheese culture but maybe not an expensive cheese press, try a soft cheese like quark, which you simply strain through a cloth. Flavour it with a pinch of salt and some chopped chives, and slather them on these ridiculously easy and tasty knackebrot crackers, and I promise you will wow your friends when you see them again!!!

Pin Curls. This idea’s a little different, but why not give it a go when no one can see you? I think something that puts a lot of people off is having to wear the pins overnight, but if you’re home all day you can totally do it in the morning and let them down in the afternoon. They just need at least 6 hours. The key is having your hair just damp, not wet. I follow the general principles in this tutorial, but to get a more subtle, modern, wavy look, I use far fewer pins (around 20). This means there’s more hair in each pin, so the curls won’t be as tight and frizzy. I curl them around three fingers, which gives a pretty big diameter. I just use boring everyday hair gel when the hair is still very wet (don’t worry, it gets combed through enough that it won’t go crunchy). The brilliant thing about pin curls is that they last for DAYS. On the first day, I get a loose-ish version of a ’40s ’do. On the second day, I get lovely soft waves. On the third and fourth days, if you can believe it, the waves get more defined and it looks even better. Your family may think that you look like Nora Batty, but inside you KNOW you’re Peggy Carter XD Just...maybe don’t do it on a day when you have a video conference.

That’s all off the top of my head! Anyone care to add to my list? No stress or pressure or judgement if this sort of thing isn’t for you, but I encourage you to give something new a go if you feel inspired :-)

#home crafts #cuppatea's kitchen #quarantine fun #what's the worst that could happen #long post #blessed are the cheesemakers #home ferments #pin curls

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actfact2-blog · 5 years

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Vegan School Lunches (and work lunches) with Tips & Recipes! (oil-free, nut-free)

Note Find more vegan school lunch recipes in Plant-Powered Families, plus an entire chapter on packing lunches section. Flip to page 233… and breathe easy!

Does the thought of packing school lunches again make you cringe? Or work lunches?

It can be frustrating to plan and pack vegan school lunches, especially now that most schools require nut-free lunches. I’m here to help relieve some of that stress!

I’ve been packing lunches for our girls (and my hubby) for about ten years now, so I’ve learned some tricks and definitely have a school-year system.

One of my tricks is to rely on key recipes for vegan school lunches. Ones that are easy, quick, that my kids love, and that pack well for school lunches.

Today I’m sharing my top 11 recipes for vegan school lunches, along with tips!

Ready to take notes?

Class begins, now!

1. Chickpea Nibbles

I would be lost without our Chickpea Nibbles. For years I made Tamari Roasted Chickpeas (from ed&bv), and then I needed a recipe even easier. Enter Chickpea Nibbles from PPF.

I make double and triple batches of these. Seriously, my kiddos eat one batch in one sitting – easily. Sometimes I hide away extra for lunches in the fridge, just so they won’t eat them all straight away.

Chickpea Nibbles

Your kids will love nibbling on these tasty chickpeas warm out of the oven, or cooled for lunches and snacks.

Ingredients

2 14 / 15 oz cans chickpeas rinsed and drained

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 tbsp tamari

1 - 1 1/2 tsp pure maple syrup

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C). Toss all ingredients together and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 20-25 minutes, tossing chickpeas once or twice during baking, until marinade is absorbed but chickpeas are still a little moist (not dried out).

What to do with them beyond snacking? Add them as a side snack in lunches, or mix into pasta, or rice/quinoa. Mash into a sandwich with your kiddos’ fave condiments. FYI, other kids may also want them. I’ve had requests. 🙂

2. Hummus #hummusisafoodgroup

Hummus must be in your arsenal of vegan school lunch recipes!

Now that the hummus food group movement has officially begun, get started with my Hummus 101 from Plant-Powered Families (page 84)! If you don’t have PPF, try one of these recipes.

And, you know you can FREEZE hummus, right?

Yes, double or triple batch, then freeze in about 2-cup portions. It thaws beautifully, take it out the night before and pop in the fridge.

How to use in vegan school lunches? In sandwiches, slathered in wraps, as a dip for veg and rice crackers or pitas, on pizzas, as a spread for bagels or on pizzas, thinned out and mixed into pasta!

3. Easy, Nut-Free Baked Goods

It’s difficult to choose just one vegan school lunch recipe here! Some of my favorites are Best Banana Bread, Oatmeal Banana Bites, Apple Hemp Muffins, and Pumpkin Snackles. You can find most of those recipes here. Put 4-5 recipes in rotation, double-batch and freeze some if needed.

4. Simple Tofu Recipes

Vegans don’t have to eat tofu. But, yes, vegans often do enjoy tofu! For back-to-school recipes, keep your tofu recipes very easy and with a versatile seasoning.

For years I made my “Lemon Herb Tofu” (from Vive le Vegan). Then our girls went through a phase where they were fussy about the herbs. I created my Simplest Marinated Tofu for PPF, and that has since become my staple recipe.

5. Smoothies

Either before school or after school, they are a brilliant way to nourish and sustain your kiddos in a nutrient-dense drink.

Don’t just fill them up with fruit, balance with some greens and veggies if you can, and also add nutrient-rich hemp seeds, chia seeds, goji berries, or nut butters.

Need tricks for balancing the grassy tones in green smoothies? You can get the full green smoothie tutorial here.

6. Energy Balls

These Cocoa Cookie Dough Balls are sweet enough to be in the cookie category (see 10). Still, I think Energy Balls or squares need their own category.

These are so nutrient-dense and pack a nice burst of energy while sneaking in good stuff like seeds, dried fruit, and oats. A win-win for us and the kids!

The recipe for these Cocoa Cookie Dough Balls follows, but also see the squares linked above and the Protein Power Balls in PPF.

image credit: www.ucdintegrativemedicine.com

Cocoa Cookie Dough Balls

Psst, these are really health. No need to tell the kids, or anyone else, for that matter; just eat them up knowing they are filled with almonds (nut-free option included) and oats, and sweetened only with dates and raisins!

Ingredients

1/2 cup raw almonds see note for nut-free option

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp rolled oats

A few pinches of sea salt about a scant 1/8 tsp

1 cup pitted dates

1/4 cup raisins or more dates

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 tbsp nondairy chocolate chips or cocoa nibs optional

A few teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa powder unrefined sugar, or a combination of both, for dusting/rolling (optional)

Instructions

In a food processor, process the almods until fine and crumbly. Then add remaining ingredients and (except the optional chocolate chips) pulse or process. Once the mixture starts to become crumbly, process fully for a minute or two. It will appear as if nothing is happening at first, that the mixture is just whirring around in crumbs, but soon it will start to become sticky. When you see it start to become a little sticky, add the chocolate chips and process again. Continue to process until it forms a ball on the blade. Stop the machine and remove the dough. Take small coops of the dough (1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons in size) and roll in your hand. Repeat until you have rolled all of the dough. Toss or roll the balls in the coating, if using,, and refrigerate. Eat and repeat often.

Recipe Notes

Allergy-Free or Bust!: For a nut-free version, replace the almonds with just 1/4 cup of raw pumkin seeds, and add another 1/4 cup of rolled oats.

If This Apron Could Talk: Make a double batch and freeze half. They thaw very well.

Kid-Friendly: These are excellent to pack in school lunches, with a nut-free option for you if nuts aren’t permitted in your school. For a nut-free version, replace the almonds with just 1⁄4 cup of raw pumpkin seeds, and add another 1⁄4 cup of rolled oats.

Savvy Subs and Adds: Replace vanilla with 1/2 teaspoon almond extract or orange oil.

7. Nutritious Soups

Admittedly, soups don’t top my personal list of back-to-school recipes. But I know that so many of you love to pack nutritious, hearty soups so I must include a few.

Sniffle Soup (below) is one of our girls’ favorites, and I hear it’s popular with your families too! Make it for dinner one evening (keep on thicker side), and send it to school in a thermos for the kiddos another day.

Some other soups my girls love include this Sweet Potato Bisque, Tomato Lentil Soup, and this Smoky Bean Chili.

8. Cheesy Sprinkle

This unassuming little recipe with nutritional yeast transforms many of our school lunches from drab to fab. I add it to pasta, and “ta-dah!”, kiddos love it.

Sometimes I’ll use a basic marinara sauce, but more often I’ll do a simple slurry of apple cider vinegar, tamari, and maple syrup (just a touch) – mix it up to taste, toss into pasta, then mix in the cheesy sprinkle. Kids LOVE this for lunch. Add in some veg or beans (there’s those tamari roasted chickpeas again!), cubed tofu or tempeh, and it’s a very satisfying lunch.

I also sprinkle it into wraps for the girls, with things like cubed potatoes and hummus, and into quinoa bowls. Many possibilities! Note that the original version is nut-based, but I offer a nut-free alternative in the recipe. This is the one I use for school lunches, and the girls really haven’t noticed the difference.

9. Healthy Puddings

This may not be something you pack into vegan school lunches – though you certainly could, they are both nut-free.

If not packed, prep for after school. These puddings give a great boost of omega 3’s with chia seeds, and are delicious.

have Chocolate and Pumpkin Chia Chia Puddings posted, and a few more puddings.

10. Chickpea Salad

This chickpea salad mixture has become very popular with all of you. The recipe is in PPF, but you can also find it posted here.

Play around with the add-ins, using raisins instead of apples, omitting the celery or capers, and adding other chopped veg. It’s very versatile – and very delicious!

11. Cookies

With the school year comes school parties. Halloween, Christmas, birthdays… someone lost a tooth, someone has a new baby sister, it’s “party day”!

Yeah, I’m exaggerating a little. Still, school treats flow freely, and we need to have our cookie recipes at the ready for vegan school lunches.

My Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies are a classic. Also try my oil-free chippers from PPF (in this post), and the ever-popular nicer krispie squares!

Other Tips for Vegan School Lunches

– Pack lunches the day before. There is already enough chaos in the morning, so pack the lunches during lunch the day before, or the evening before.

– Also fill water bottles! Have them ready in the fridge ready to tote.

– Cook things in batches through the week and weekend. Hummus, tamari roasted chickpeas, muffins, as mentioned above. But also batch-cook potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, quinoa, beans, etc. All those staples can be used in wraps, sandwiches, added to soups, pastas, and more.

– Pack plenty of fresh fruit and make it EASY for them to eat. Yes, it feels a nuisance sometimes to peel those mandarins or cut oranges into bite-size pieces and pop into a container. Why not just pack the whole fruit? Because kids have very little time to eat in school, that’s why. So, make it easy for them to eat that fruit. Peel or slice or cut into small pieces and pack in a container along with a fork. They are far more likely to eat it.

– Pack occasional treats – seaweed snacks, baked chips, cookies, a few vegan gummy worms. They have very healthy lunches, let them find a treat once in a while!

– Have stock of different size containers (scroll down to ‘kitchen gear for kids and lunches). I have an entire cupboard with different sizes of containers. Some are ziploc, others are reused containers from nondairy yogurt or store-bought dips, etc. The smaller ones are great for fruit and snacky items, the larger ones for pasta, sandwiches, etc. One day I may reveal my crazy cupboard of containers and lids! If you prefer a bento box, this Planetbox gets top reviews.

– We all need shortcuts. You may not always get to making marinated tofu, making soup, or baking muffins. Get some Amy’s burgers or other veg burgers that you can easily heat and put in a sandwich, and pick up healthier granola bars or snack cookies. Try Amy’s baked beans in a wrap with rice (I always add about 1 cup or more of black or kidney beans to stretch it out) or Amy’s alphabet soup – amp up the nutritional profile by adding beans, cubed potatoes or sweet potatoes, or cubed tofu. Try a pre-marinated tofu which simply needs to be sliced or lightly heated. Keep some quick fixes on hand to avoid mama (or papa) food-prep burnout!

What recipes do you rely on regularly? And, what are your go-to snacks and meals to pack into lunches. Any terrific quick-fixes to share?

Other posts you may enjoy:

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jmuo-blog · 6 years

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New Post has been published on https://jmuo.com/what-were-cooking-this-fathers-day/

What We're Cooking This Father's Day

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[Photographs: Vicky Wasik, unless otherwise noted]

Father’s Day is many things—some of them sweet and sentimental, yes, but accompanied by a fair number of holy-crap-what-do-I-DO anxieties. I’m the only child of divorced parents, so making Father’s Day a special occasion falls squarely on my shoulders. And, let me tell you, Atlas ain’t got nothin’ on me. First of all, my dad’s birthday consistently falls in the same week as Father’s Day. Considering that he’s hard to shop for to begin with,* finding a way to treat him not once but twice in the space of a single week can be an overwhelming prospect. Which is why I try to go all out and whip up a master meal as a gift unto itself.

* If you’re having similar struggles, you may want to check out our Father’s Day gift guide.

I asked the rest of the Serious Eats team to share what they’ll be making for their fathers this year, and what I got was a pretty impressive array of options. Come Sunday, I know I’ll be putting more than a few of these recipes to good use, from a towering devil’s food cake to crispy risotto pancakes.

Papri Chaat

For as long as I can remember, the first thing my dad did after coming home from work, even before kicking off his shoes, was to throw together a quick chaat. It’d be a pretty impromptu endeavor; he’d toss in cereals and crushed-up tortilla chips, along with some fresh aromatics and herbs. His chaat changed day to day and depended on whatever was in the pantry. For Father’s Day, I’d like to make him a real-deal, homemade papri chaat. It’s a whopper of a recipe, with two chutneys, two fried things, and, of course, a chaat masala made with a laundry list of ingredients. But I think nothing would make him happier than an upgrade to his post-work snack. (Yes, my dad works on Sundays.) —Sohla El-Waylly, assistant culinary editor

Choucroute Garnie

One of the dishes my dad would make from time to time when I was a kid was a pot of sauerkraut cooked with pork chops. His dad grew up an orphan in Germany during World War I, wandering the streets barefoot and collecting scrap metal to sell for a few coins. When he emigrated to the United States as a 13-year-old, he brought very little of his early German life with him—understandably, the pressures to assimilate and leave behind any trace of being German were strong during that period. His habit of eating pork and kraut was one of the few traditions that survived. Sure, choucroute is technically French, hailing from Alsace, and sure, June isn’t the best time for such hearty fare, but it’s the most glorious version of that meat-and-cabbage combination I’ve ever tasted, and I think my dad would agree. —Daniel Gritzer, managing culinary director

Devil’s Food Cake

Back around Mother’s Day, I went on at length about the balanced, nourishing, vegetable-heavy dishes I like to make, or imagine making, for my recently vegan mom. With my dad, whom I actually may be cooking for IRL this Father’s Day, that’s all out the window. In food as in few other aspects of his life, my dad has a weakness for the rich (German chocolate, bacon, lasagna) that’s matched only by his love of the over-the-top (unreasonably hot chili peppers, perilously strong coffee, the brightest of all bright-orange cheese puffs). And moderation isn’t his strong suit: My dad is the sort of guy you could imagine eating so much that he pukes. Okay, maybe not these days, but I’m just positive this happened when he was a kid.

Of all the dessert recipes we have that could stand up to such an appetite, the devil’s food cake that originally appeared in Stella’s book is the most likely candidate. I’ve never made it before, but the combination of Dutch cocoa, chopped dark chocolate, brewed coffee, and a whole mess of butter—along with Vicky’s photos of those dark, brooding layers sandwiching fluffy chocolate buttercream—is enough to sell me. The biggest challenge won’t be making sure I have the right equipment on hand or that it’s cool enough in my parents’ Mississippi kitchen for the buttercream, but keeping my dad from stealing chunks of cake and spoonfuls of frosting while I work. —Miranda Kaplan, editor

Hi, my name is Tim, and my dad is a chocoholic. Think party-size bags of M&M’s at every gathering and Max Brenner sampler packs for Christmas. So this is really a no-brainer: three layers of dark, rich chocolate cake, smothered with a generous helping of chocolate Swiss buttercream, topped off with chocolate cookie crumbs. Plus, dark chocolate is good for Pops’ blood pressure, right? RIGHT?! We’ll keep telling ourselves that as we go back for seconds and thirds. —Tim Aikens, front-end developer

Extra-Crispy Fried Chicken and Buttermilk Vanilla Waffles

My dad isn’t much of a cook, but he is a great cheerleader. Ever since I started cooking, back when I was a kid, he’s been the ultimate taste-tester, a finely tuned human smoke alarm—his acute sense of smell detects the slightest hint of overdoneness well before the timer has gone off—and an inquisitive observer. He’s deeply interested in the hows and whys of recipe alchemy and history—sometimes to my chagrin when I’m elbow-deep in a marinade, peering over my shoulder to gauge if the butter on the stove is more nut brown than golden brown, and trying to remember to stop the stand mixer whirring on the counter before those soft-whipped peaks pass the point of no return.

Process and context have always been as important to him as the result, something that translates seamlessly from food to life and back again. Pairing Sohla’s honey butter–doused fried chicken with Stella’s buttermilk waffles would be the perfect multi-component project. Not only would the combo satiate his sweet tooth, it’d also hit that perfectly indulgent craving for pure fried goodness. They’re recipes I could tackle in parts throughout a weekend, with plenty of opportunities for him to sporadically poke his head into the kitchen for taste tests and long, spirited conversations that spin off in a dozen different directions. It’s rare that we get the time to do such things anymore, and, as a bonus, we’d get some stellar fried chicken and waffles out of it, too. Win-win-win. —Marissa Chen, office manager

French Onion Soup

My dad once, rather infamously, spent a great deal of time and money attempting to make a very fancy French onion soup. Unfortunately, the return on investment was pretty dismal, and we haven’t made French onion soup since. He still orders it whenever it’s on a menu, though, and waxes poetic on every caramelized, cheesy, toasty bite. One recipe that delivers all the hits and definitely won’t fail is Daniel’s French onion soup: It’s easy, relatively quick, and once we’ve made it together, my dad will be able to replicate it whenever a craving strikes. —Kristina Bornholtz, social media editor

Fresh and Creamy Lime Pie

My dad is decidedly Team Pie, and in the realm of pie, he’s particularly fond of meringue (although he wouldn’t turn his nose up at cherry or blueberry, either). To balance out the potential heaviness that often goes hand in hand with family cookouts, I’ll be serving up this light and fresh lime pie—seasonality be damned. It’s as cold and refreshing as a glass of limeade, and the perfect palate cleanser to end a summer meal. —Stella Parks, pastry wizard

A Thai Feast

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

My dad lives across the continent from me, so I’m pretty sure I won’t be cooking anything for him this Father’s Day, but if I were, I’d make a spread of Thai food (one of his two favorite cuisines). I’d start with this Spicy Chicken, Banana Blossom, and Herb Salad, packed with fried alliums and coconut. (You can sometimes find banana blossoms in Asian or Indian markets, but this salad will work just fine with shredded cabbage in their place.) Then I’d move on to some Pork Larb (a sweet and hot meaty salad flavored with toasted rice) and Phat Bai Horapha (stir-fried beef flavored with chilies and basil). Fred’s not so into rice, but I’d still whip up a batch of this easy Crab Fried Rice, if only for my own sake. It’s Father’s Day for me, too, after all. —J. Kenji López-Alt, chief culinary consultant

Crown Roast of Lamb

My dad is an incredible cook, and he always pulls out the stops when he has me over for dinner—I’m talking Moroccan pastilla, osso buco, vitello tonnato, and many other trademark concoctions. So I’m always on the lookout for new special-occasion dishes I can make to return the favor. This Father’s Day, I’m turning to a recipe I’ve had my eye on for years: Daniel’s crown roast of lamb, which is filled with a couscous stuffing and topped with a bright pistachio-mint sauce. It checks off all the boxes: some of my dad’s favorite ingredients, a stunning presentation, and guaranteed delicious results. —Niki Achitoff-Gray, executive managing editor

Risotto al Salto and Chili Crisp

My father and I have a somewhat contentious culinary relationship, in large part because, while he loves Serious Eats and makes our recipes regularly, he doesn’t ever seem to follow the instructions. It isn’t laziness, nor is it absent-mindedness; it’s usually because he thinks he knows better. Which is why I always dread receiving the email each week in which he announces his intention to make some new recipe or another. I can generally tell whether or not he’ll be successful, and it often has to do with how much attention to detail a recipe requires.

Case in point: Daniel’s risotto al salto, which, while straightforward enough, does require a little fussiness; you need to rotate the rice pancake in the pan to ensure even browning, and Daniel takes great pains to point out that flipping the thing is a relatively tricky endeavor. Of course, my father made his attempt, using risotto with rather large pieces of sausage in it (which, I SHOULD NOTE, Daniel specifically says to avoid the first time out), and sent me a picture of his failure, including the entirely unnecessary message “This recipe did not work for me.” Anyway, if I were making him a Father’s Day dinner, I’d make the flippin’ pancake, and I’d serve it alongside some of Sohla’s chili crisp, since my father has asked me why anyone would make it when you can buy the stuff in the jar at your local Chinese market. Because it’s better, Dad! —Sho Spaeth, features editor

Singaporean Chili Crab

When I was young, having crab at home was a treat, but still cheaper than eating it at a restaurant. I have memories of cautiously peering into the sink as my father handled the pinching crustaceans with force and speed. He’d stir-fry them Cantonese-style, or simply steam them with soy sauce on the side. This Father’s Day, it’ll be my first time making a crab dish (yikes!). But with a Serious Eats recipe and my dad’s guidance, I’m confident this Singaporean Chili Crab will be a hit. —Vivian Kong, product designer

Skillet Chocolate Cake

My dad loves chocolate cake. (It’s a love I have very much inherited.) For Father’s Day, I’ll be treating him to Stella’s skillet chocolate cake: The ganache frosting is super luscious and rich, and the cake (typical of Stella’s recipes) is perfectly moist and deeply chocolaty. And in the future, he can make this recipe for himself without much trouble. He already has the cast iron pan, and the whole thing comes together right in it. I can only hope that he’ll think to return the favor and make it for my birthday. —Ariel Kanter, marketing director

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