Alex Lau
Staff Photographer Emeritus
Alex Lau is the former staff photographer at Bon Appétit. Born and raised in New York City, Lau moved to San Francisco at the age of 12 until returning to the East Coast to attend Emmerson College in Boston, earning his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. Lau is currently represented by 2D Creative Artists. His clients include Boylston Trading Company, Nylon Guys, Esquire, and more. He has shot both food and travel photography for countless cookbooks—and he takes photographs of other things sometimes as well.
Crispy Potato Salad with Chiles, Celery, and Peanuts
Thai seasonings add punch to this vibrant and herby salad; peanuts and celery keep it crunchy.
Smashed Potato Salad with Chorizo, Aioli, and Scallions
This paprika- and chile-spiked potato salad is equally delicious served warm or room temperature.
Potato Salad with Old Bay and Potato Chips
Potato on potato action here—the chips add welcome crunch to a refreshingly mayo-free salad.
Potato Salad with Lox and Everything-Bagel Spice
A dinner-friendly riff on a bagel with lox and cream cheese. If you’re not feeling the smoked salmon, simply omit it.
Summer Greens with Mustardy Potatoes and Six-Minute Egg
Who said potato salad had to be boring? Or egg salad, for that matter! This deconstructed salad combines the best of both worlds, and is versatile to be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Skirt Steak With Preserved Lemon Butter and Sesame Cauliflower
Skirt steak is one of our favorite cuts of beef—it’s flavorful, affordable, and quick-cooking. That said, it’s imperative to slice it thinly against the grain for the best texture.
Masa Shortcake With Macerated Strawberries
Masa harina is a ground corn flour, commonly used to make corn tortillas, and is not the same thing as cornmeal. Maseca brand is fairly ubiquitous in grocery stores; other types can be found and ordered online.
Fava Bean and Asparagus Salad
Green beans! Green asparagus! Green pistachios! ... You get the idea—this salad is a celebration of spring. If you can’t find fava beans, substitute English peas or sugar snap peas instead.
Hibiscus, Orange, and Vanilla Agua Fresca
True, this concoction is slightly more complex than lemonade. But so are most relationships.
Summer Rolls
You can substitute any crisp vegetables and small pieces of protein, just make sure not to overstuff or the wrappers will split.
Apple-Rhubarb Crumble
This simple process works for practically any fruit; gauge how much sugar to use based on the fruit’s sweetness, and try cardamom or ginger in place of cinnamon.
BA’s Best English Muffins
The dough will seem fairly wet when shaping into rounds, but the high hydration is key to forming those trademark nooks and crannies. This is part of BA's Best, a collection of our essential recipes.
Direwolf Bread
Re-create Hot Pie’s iconic farewell gift to Arya in honor of your favorite show, Game of Thrones. Be sure to print out the wolf template on an 11x17" sheet and see other GoT-inspired recipes!
Sansa's Lemon Cakes
Sansa Stark made these desserts one of the most recognizable in Game of Thrones. She deserves a sweet treat after all she’s endured, and so do you. For a Dark Sansa version, pour syrup over the cake, then top with black sesame seeds. And be sure to check out our other GoT-inspired recipes!
Ceremonial "Pigeon" Pie
For a real taste of Joffrey’s gamey pigeon pie, use squab instead of chicken. Have a sword handy for slicing into it! Also check out our other GoT-inspired recipes.
Chopped Spring Salad
This dressing is also great as a dip, and most of the vegetables listed here can be left in bigger pieces and treated as crudités instead.
Hand Salad With Buttermilk, Grapefruit, and Mixed Seeds
These snaggable, snackable wedges have more in common with a bowl of party mix than any perfunctory salad.
Candied Carrot Coins
These will be sweet and chewy when done and are the perfect decorations for BA's Best Carrot Cake Recipe.
Iced Turmeric Latte
This super-flavorful drink, also known as golden milk, is a sweeter, dairy-free take on traditional Indian Haldi Doodh (Turmeric Milk).
Bacon, Mushroom, and Spinach Pierogies
To make this vegetarian, omit bacon and add 4 Tbsp. olive oil for browning mushrooms.