Edison Cummings

If you are like any of the Serious Eats editors, you probably have a half-eaten tub of ricotta in your fridge. While we'd happily eat the Italian cheese on its own, we also love to incorporate it into our cooking: Thick, creamy ricotta helps counter heavy doses of acid, salt, sugar, or spice, and can be used in both sweet and savory dishes. Below, you'll find our favorite uses for the cheese, including velvety cheesecake and comforting baked ziti. And if you don't have any ricotta on hand?

[Collage photographs: Morgan Eisenberg, J. Kenji López-Alt, Emily and Matt Clifton, Vicky Wasik] Despite being more flavorful and versatile, chicken thighs remain far behind breast meat in popularity, at least within the US. Here at Serious Eats, though, we recommend chicken thighs for all sorts of preparations: braising, stewing, baking, frying, skewering/grilling.