Hi Reader,

August is generous.
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Not just with tomatoes and corn and stone fruit, though it's generous with those. It's also generous with confidence. By now, you've grilled enough chicken that you don't need to check the thermometer every thirty seconds. You've made enough tomato salads to know when to stop adding ingredients.
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You've probably found one or two recipes this month that stopped you in your tracks.
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The temptation, at the end of a month, is to move on. A new cookbook on the coffee table. A recipe bookmarked weeks ago. An ingredient somebody has suddenly declared essential.
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Resist that instinct one more time.
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The first time you cook a recipe, you're reading every line twice. The fifth time, you're listening for the pasta water to boil while carrying on a conversation. The tenth time, you're teaching someone else.
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That is when a recipe finds its place in the kitchen.

The Recipes That Stay

Which recipe from this August will still be on your counter in October? For me, it comes down to a short list. The full August lineup follows this note: a roasted pork butt, creamy mussels in white wine and garlic, a spaghetti carbonara that never quite makes it to the plate before I've stolen a forkful. Which one will still be on yours?
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WHAT'S INSIDE...

• ​Roast Pork Butt​
• ​Mussels In A Creamy White Wine Garlic Sauce​
• ​Pasteis De Nata ~ Portuguese Custard Tarts​
• ​Spaghetti Carbonara​
• ​French Roast Chicken ~ Poulet Rôti​
• ​Portuguese Pork & Clams | Porco À Alentejana​
• ​New York Times' Chocolate Chip Cookies​

​Roast Pork Butt​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.79 from 450 votes

This roast pork butt, coated in a simple rub of brown sugar, paprika, cumin, and red pepper flakes, is an easy to make and yields enough pulled pork to feed a small army. Perfect for Super Bowl, weekend bashes, and weeknight dinners. Best of all, it can be roasted in the oven.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Mussels In A Creamy White Wine Garlic Sauce​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.8 from 93 votes

Mussels in a creamy white wine garlic sauce is such a quick dish, you almost won't believe that something so devastatingly delish is faster than takeout. Mussels, white wine, cream, lemon, and garlic are just about all it takes.

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​Pasteis De Nata ~ Portuguese Custard Tarts​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.82 from 328 votes

This pastéis de nata makes as-close-to-authentic Portuguese custard tarts with a rich egg custard nestled in shatteringly crisp pastry. Tastes like home, even if you're not from Portugal.

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​Spaghetti Carbonara​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.93 from 26 votes

Spaghetti carbonara, a pasta and sauce rich with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and guanciale, pancetta, or bacon, is a quick and easy dinner that takes just 25 minutes from stove to table.

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​French Roast Chicken ~ Poulet Rôti​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.75 from 16 votes

Poulet rôti, or French roast chicken, is a classic of the Franco culinary empire. And it's so simple: just season a chicken with herbs, place it on top of root vegetables, and, for extra flavor, baste it with plenty of butter. C'est incroyable, non?

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​Portuguese Pork & Clams | Porco À Alentejana​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.79 from 47 votes

This combination of Portuguese pork and clams, also known as porco a Alentejana, is a superbly comforting and oh-so-satisfying dish of marinated pork shoulder and briny clams in a white wine and red pepper sauce.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​New York Times' Chocolate Chip Cookies​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.88 from 147 votes

Say hello to the cookie that started an Internet craze and made bakers rethink how to make cookies. This originally appeared in an article I wrote for the New York Times on July 9, 2008. What makes them so damn special is the dough is refrigerated for 36 hours for a more complex flavor and greater variation in texture. Sea salt is the finishing touch.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​