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.)

I'm not much of a March Madness fan - in fact, sports are usually an excuse to eat junk food while ignoring the action going on in front of me. This week I channeled my non-athletic energies into making a warm, cheesy dip that probably contains so many calories your eyes would cross. Does it help that it includes spinach? This recipe is a spicy, baked rendition of the classic spinach dip sans the package of dried soup mix.  After crisping up some smoky bacon, cook onions and chipotles in adobo in the fat, and finish by mixing in spinach, cheese, sour cream, and mayo. Bake until bubbly, then try to wait just a few minutes before diving in so that you don't burn the roof of your mouth with molten dip. Serve with ice-cold beer or my personal favorite, a perfect margarita.  (Click "Read More" below for the full recipe.)

Since San Francisco experienced a polar vortex-free winter, we probably aren't as desperate as the rest of the country for spring to arrive. But it's still exciting to see daylight savings come and asparagus cropping up at the market. This easy soup recipe, a twist on Aida Mollenkamp's leek-and-potato version, is a great bridge between seasons and can even be served hot or cold. Simmer a bunch of asparagus, potatoes, broth, onion, and thyme together, then purée with cream. And if you're wondering if you can save some calories by not using the cream, I'm going to wave my recipe-testing finger at you and tell you to live a little - 1/3 cup of cream in 9 cups of soup is nothing, and your taste buds will thank you for using it. (Click "Read More" below for the full recipe.)

While I love a creamy chicken salad made with mayo as much as the next person, sometimes I'm in the mood for something lighter, something vibrant that wakes up my taste buds. This recipe is inspired by the noodle salad bowls served at Vietnamese restaurants, but I've kicked out the noodles to lighten it up. Toss shredded chicken, crunchy veggies, herbs, and scallions with a dressing of fish sauce, lime juice, ginger, garlic, and a Thai chile for some zing, then serve in crunchy lettuce cups with roasted peanuts scattered on top. These wraps make a beautiful (and messy!) first course or a low-carb lunch that won't make you feel like you're brown-bagging it. (Click "Read More" below for the full recipe.)