Whenever we go back to Boston to visit family, I always look forward to lobster, old-school pizza, and ice cream. But there's one more thing: the Curry Chutney Apricot Cheese Spread from Wasik's Cheese Shop in my husband's hometown. This recipe is my attempt to recreate it using ingredients that are easy to find. Mix together softened cream cheese, jarred mango chutney, curry powder, and dried apricots into a sweet-savory-creamy spread to put on crackers or fancy up a turkey sandwich. While it's not quite the same as what Wasik's makes, this spread will staunch my cravings until our next trip. (Click "Read More" below for the full recipe.)

I love making deviled eggs because you end up with fancy-looking bites without a lot of effort. Plus, they're a blank canvas for whatever flavors you're in the mood for, and no one ever seems to turn them down. This spring-inspired recipe mixes feta, lemon, mayo, and parsley into the yolks, with the salty cheese balancing out tangy lemon juice and zest. Keep these deviled eggs in mind when you're faced with a surplus of Easter eggs in a few weeks!  (Click "Read More" below for the full recipe.)

Even though we frequently ate at Chinese restaurants, my family only ordered scallion pancakes at Shanghainese or Taiwanese ones. You know, the restaurants that serve bowls of fresh soy milk and those addictive steamed, then pan-fried, pork and ginger buns. It was a rare treat when my mom made those flaky, salty pancakes at home, usually for a party or when family came over, and I remember being fascinated with the process. It's not a difficult recipe, just a quick hot water dough and some elbow grease to roll it out, and Serious Eats has a great version. Then I came across a recipe using pizza dough from the Flour, Too cookbook by Joanne Chang, who owns one of my favorite bakery chains in Boston.

After playing around with her recipe, I came up with my own easy version. The hardest part of it is the patience to wait for the dough to rest for 2 hours before the second and final roll. This comes from the fact that you're using pizza dough, where the gluten has already been developed a lot. When I didn't let it rest, the pancakes were hard to roll out and fried up tough and chewy, so just make sure you plan accordingly for that resting period. These pancakes are a great way to use store-bought pizza dough, and now you don't have to trek out to a restaurant when the craving hits. (Click "Read More" below for the full recipe.)