Favorite Classic Recipes

Photo by Annabelle Breakey

Cioppino

Great dishes are often born of memory and whatever ingredients happen to be on hand. Such was the case with cioppino, the emblematic fish stew of San Francisco. During the mid-1800s, the city's immigrant Italian fishermen used what was left of the day's catch to cook a thick purée of fish and vegetables, much as they had in their home port of Genoa. They called it ciuppin, dialect for "little soup." Over time, Sicilians replaced the Genoese on the fishing boats, and in their cooking pots cioppino, as it came to be called, acquired peppers and tomatoes, and the fish was left in chunks. Today cioppino is a sumptuous, garlicky, tomatey stew brimming with several different kinds of available fish, shellfish, wine herbs, and olive oil—transcending its origins as a poor man's dish.

Recipe

Classic Cioppino: This tomato-based seafood stew takes its inspiration from the communal feasts Italian fishermen created on San Francisco docks

Fried artichokes

In 1920, Sunset’s first cooking column, “Home-in-the-West Recipes,” debuted and included a recipe for fried artichoke hearts. That’s still the classic way to eat them in Castroville, on the central California coast, where 75 percent of America’s artichokes grow.

Recipe

Sesame Fried Artichokes: With a couple of simple seasonings, you can give the Italian classic an Asian twist

Photo by Iain Bagwell

Pesto

Back in 1946, when authentic Italian food was still exotic in this country, Sunset ran its first recipe for pesto, the traditional Genoese sauce of basil, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan cheese, and olive oil.

Recipes

Classic Basil Pesto: Catering to modern tastes, we've reduced the amount of olive oil while keeping the flavors true

Parsley Mint Pistachio Pesto: A rich variation featuring farmers' market-fresh ingrdients

Uova Benedetto (Poached Eggs on Polenta with Pesto and Crisp Prosciutto): Eggs Benedict's robust Italian cousin

Photo by Thomas J. Story

Guacamole

In 1936, the Sunset All-Western Cook Book ran 28 avocado recipes, but no guacamole. It debuted in our pages in 1942 (spelled "Huacamole"). Besides avocados, tomato, and garlic, the recipe called for a little mayo and salad oil, and a touch of sugar. By 1970, we we'd moved beyond the expected uses, proclaiming in one story, “It’s a dip, a sauce, a dressing, a spread. It’s guacamole.” Still, in 2012, most of California’s 460 million pounds of harvested avocados became, yes, guacamole.

Recipes

Gabriel's Guacamole: Here's the Mexican-style classic

Indian Guacamole: Bring out the pappadums to scoop up this South Asian version of guac

Photo by Karen Steffens

Enchiladas

"A church fair almost anywhere in the Southwest is apt to be accompanied by an enchilada supper, served always by pretty dark-eyed señoritas," wrote Sunset in January 1922, introducing the magazine's first recipe for enchiladas.

Recipes

Acapulco Enchiladas: This recipe is beautifully simple and true to its roots

Mexican Enchilada Sauce: Sure, you can buy canned sauce, but cooking your own from dried chiles is easy and it has fantastic flavor

Photo by Dan Goldberg

Fish tacos

On an elemental level, the fish taco can be reduced to a very simple equation: Fish + tortilla = fish taco. From this perspective, there is little question that people have been eating fish tacos in the coastal areas of Mexico—and in Southern California, for that matter—for an awfully long time.

Recipes

Baja Fried-Fish Tacos: These fast and fresh SoCal classics are served with a crisp cabbage-cilantro slaw and an an addictive chipotle tartar sauce

Baja Light Fish Tacos: The flavors of the classic, but grilled instead of deep-fried

Photo by Leo Gong

Chiles rellenos

A 1935 Sunset story extolled the “many tempting possibilities” of red and green “sweet” chiles. Today chiles infuse our cooking styles from Southwest to Southeast Asian, and our markets sell chiles by name, with a wide range of heat levels and uses. Flavorful, square-shouldered poblano chiles are top of our list, especially for making chiles rellenos.

Recipes

Baked Chiles Rellenos: All the traditional flavors, in casserole form

Chiles Rellenos and Eggs with Tomato Jalapeño Salsa: Put an egg on the classic, individually battered and fried chiles in this recipe from a popular Santa Fe restaurant

Roasted Shrimp-Stuffed Poblanos: Three kinds of cheese, plus shrimp, go into this version of baked chiles rellenos

Tamale pie

Given the many recipes for tamale pie in Sunset's pages over the decades, Westerners love the flavors of traditional, individually shaped tamales, but not the time it takes to make them. Versions from the '30s and '40s of what's essentially a glorified casserole lack a little authenticity by modern standards, calling for corn meal mush instead of corn masa; a 1940 recipe for Lenten Tamale Loaf was even baked in a ring mold. In 1980 we published our first tamale pie that was actually from Mexico. Made with real masa and plenty of lard, it fed an army.

Recipe:

Giant Tamale Pie: This lower calorie version, from 1999, uses masa for the the authentic flavors of tamales, but oil instead of lard

Photo by James Carrier

Taco salad

As Mexican food became part of mainstream Western dining, creative cooks began incorporating elements of popular dishes like tacos into salads. Sunset reported on this development in 1954 with Mexican tostadas—"open-face sandwiches that serve as salads." By the 1970s, taco salad had grabbed the West's imagination, and during that decade we published nearly a dozen versions. This one is from 2001.

Recipe

Taco Salad with Tortilla Whiskers: Skinny strips of tortillas, baked until crisp with a little oil, chili powder and salt, are the "whiskers"

Photo by James Carrier

Caesar salad

Tijuana, Mexico, July 4, 1924, Caesar's Place. As the restaurant fills with holiday diners, Italian-born chef and restaurant owner Caesar Cardini runs short on ingredients for the day's salad. He improvises with what's on hand: romaine leaves, parmesan cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, a raw egg, Worcestershire sauce, and croutons (anchovies came later). The salad is a hit with the Hollywood set who frequent Cardini's restaurant, and they take their reverence for Caesar back home. Served plain or topped with everything from grilled chicken to fried ginger, the salad becomes a hallmark of California cuisine.

Recipe

Stacked Caesar Salad with Parmesan Rafts: This version of the classic dressing has loads of flavor but no raw egg

Photo by Thomas J. Story

Chinese chicken salad

Historians point an uncertain finger to California for the first public appearance of Chinese chicken salad. Chef Lee of the New Moon Restaurant, which opened in Los Angeles in 1950, claims to have brought the recipe from Hong Kong. And in San Francisco in the early 1960s, Cecilia Chiang served Chinese chicken salad at the Mandarin. Sunset's first recipe for it, published in 1970, came from Ming's of Palo Alto. Former owner Dan Lee reported that the restaurant started serving the top-selling dish sometime between 1958 and 1970. "We based it on a Chinese dish called finger-shredded chicken," he recalled. Not matter its specific origin, it's gone on to become an American classic.

Recipes

Best-Ever Chicken Salad: Asparagus, oranges, and avocado team up with the traditional dressing, cabbage, and yes, chicken

Sesame Chinese Chicken Salad with Asian Greens: Here's a take using farmers' market produce and fried won ton wrappers

Four-Crunch Chinese Chicken Salad: A hot mustard dressing and crispy deep-fried noodles make this salad special

Photo by James Carrier

Cobb salad

Late one night in 1937, a hungry Bob Cobb, manager of Hollywood's Brown Derby, wandered into the restaurant's kitchen. Scrounging from the refrigerator, he created what would become the Derby's signature salad—or so the story goes. Theater promoter Sid Grauman, who was with him that night, liked the greens topped with chopped chicken, roquefort cheese, and bacon and soon began requesting it. The Cobb was added to the menu and became a huge hit with customers. The original restaurant (a conspicuous Bunyan-size domed hat) is now closed, but the salad lives on at restaurants across the country.

Recipe

Cobb Salad: When you're looking to make a meal of salad, look no further

Photo by Lisa Romerein

Goat cheese salad

At Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, California, the signature goat cheese salad, served since 1980, is all about good ingredients. The dish comes from a time when America was eating mostly iceberg lettuce, and a plate of tender just-picked lettuces and herbs, local fresh goat cheese, and top-quality olive oil and vinegar was a revelation. It still is today.

Recipe

Baked Goat Cheese with Spring Lettuce Salad: If you start the cheese marinating a day ahead, you'll get the maximum flavor

22 classic Sunset recipes

Cioppino

Fried artichokes

Pesto

Guacamole

Enchiladas

Fish tacos

Chiles rellenos

Tamale pie

Taco salad

Caesar salad

Chinese chicken salad

Cobb salad

Goat cheese salad