Magnificent News: Recipes! Quesotacos With Peppers and Onions, Hush Puppies, Cherry-Bourbon Glazed Ribs

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What to cook during the week ahead, from Post Food editors.

By Ann Maloney

In May, I happened by the Food Lab at The Post when Joe Yonan was testing Fresh Asparagus With White Beans and Crispy Cheddar, a recipe from Lukas Volger's "Snacks for Dinner."

I was stopped in my tracks by a plate of broken sheets of crisped, golden cheese. I snagged a few small pieces, and then later tasted the smoky crunchiness on top of this light, fresh salad. As Joe explained: "The special touch is a cheddar frico, a flavorful crisp that you make by cooking shredded cheese until the oil separates and it lightly browns, magically firming up into a disk as it cools." (Joe tested to be sure you could make the frico with vegan cheese as well.)

Fast forward to a few weeks ago and, once again, I was in the Food Lab when the scent of frying cheese drew me to the stove. We were photographing Quesotacos With Peppers and Onions, a recipe featured in Daniela Galarza's latest Eat Voraciously newsletter.

In her story, Daniela described all the ways in which fried, crisped cheese can be used in making tacos. It can be a crunchy topper, it can be melted onto a tortilla, or the rounds of fried cheese can actually replace the tortilla. Talk about your cheesy taco! So good.

Since then, I've found myself frying shredded cheese to crispy perfection and then sprinkling it over scrambled eggs, bowls of beans and salads for a boost of flavor. It's quick, easy and now a part of my repertoire. Try it.

Tasting is one of the perks of this job. As such, Aaron Hutcherson almost had to cut me off as he was testing his Hush Puppies recipe. The deep-fried balls of cornmeal are so crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I couldn't resist them. (I like them made with coarse cornmeal, which is an option he gives!)

And, those hush puppies would go great with Allison Robicelli's Cherry-Bourbon Glazed Ribs. Not into ribs? Hang onto the recipe for the sweet-tart glaze, which would be delicious on any of your favorite proteins.

Happy cooking!

If you have questions about any of the recipes we published this week or just need general cooking advice, join Aaron and Becky Krystal for their weekly Q&A on food each Wednesday at noon (ET). Post questions in advance here. Find all of our Q&As at washingtonpost.com/live-chats.