Entertainment
8 Readers Share the Recipes They Know by Heart


My friends and I make Alison Roman’s squash and lentil soup so often that in our group chat we’ve taken to referring to it as “our soup.” As in: “I’m making our soup tonight,” or “Sorry you’re sick! Can I drop off our soup this afternoon?” We may not have written the recipe but it’s ours now! Inspired, we asked Cup of Jo readers to share the recipes they’ve made a million times. Here, eight readers recommend their tried-and-true dishes…

“Our” Alison Roman soup — the recipe calls for acorn squash, but I’ve been making it with honey nut squash from my garden.

“Everyone has their favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I swear by the one my mom always made from my grandmother’s The Best of Country Cooking cookbook. I have the recipe memorized, and I also add a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg. When I made these cookies for a friend, she could not believe I made them ‘out of my brain.’ Now it’s my favorite way to describe knowing a recipe off the top of my head.” — Katie

“I make Dan Pelosi’s non-alcoholic Negroni on repeat. Basically, you steep half a box of Red Zinger tea with orange peel, sugar, cloves, and black peppercorns, then serve it with tonic (and grapefruit juice if you have it, but I usually don’t). It’s a nice treat to sip on while putting dinner together. My husband and I like it so much that there’s usually a big jar of it in our fridge.” — Sarah

“Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce is pure kitchen magic. I’ve made it so many times that I no longer need the recipe. It seems too rudimentary to be special — just tomatoes, butter, and whole onions — but somehow the result is truly exquisite. My girls have always loved it — they’re busy teens now and still get excited when they come home and smell tomatoes simmering. They call out from the doorway, ‘It’s a tomato sauce day!’” — Ashley

“On vacation in San Francisco, I ate a revelatory sandwich from Golden Gate Market Deli & Liquor, a bodega right next to the Presidio. Ever since, I have dedicated myself to perfecting my sandwich game. My latest is good sourdough, French Dijon, garlic aioli, Jarlsberg and smoked Gouda, an entire avocado, red onion, cucumber, perfectly ripe tomatoes (with salt and pepper, of course), wilted spinach, and a whole lot of sprouts. It takes a half hour to make but it is so, so worth it!” — Elizabeth

“We make a kale Caesar with poached eggs all the time. The key is to tear the kale into strips and massage them for at least a minute. Then, add lemon juice, a glug or two of olive oil, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and lots of freshly grated Parmesan. Toss it all together. The leaves should be acidic, salty, and a tad spicy. Sometimes we make homemade croutons from a fresh loaf of bread. Finally, poach eggs and put them on top! Dinner is served in 20 minutes. The salad is super nourishing but also finger-licking good.” — Becca

“Hands down, my go-to recipe is Smitten Kitchen’s confetti cookies. As Deb Perelman says, they’re the best because you can pull ingredients straight from the fridge without waiting for them to come to room temp. We call them ‘rainbow cookies’ in our house, and they’ve become my signature. My eight-year-old just made them all by himself for the first time, and I was so proud!” — Laura

“For several years, I’ve made ahead a batch of buffalo chicken meatballs to freeze and pack for lunch. I’m a high school math teacher, mom of three, and short on time, so I value the consistency. I like to pair these with roasted sweet potatoes. Never disappoints!” — Andrea

“A simple meal that my teenagers will always polish off is Melissa Clark’s cheesy white beans. I serve it alongside green salad and sliced baguette, and the whole thing takes 25 minutes, all in. We even had it over Christmas break, and Lulu and my dad approved, as well.” — Joanna
Now, it’s your turn to shout out your go-to recipes! What dishes have you made so many times you know them by heart? We want to add them to our list.
P.S. 11 (more) readers share their go-to recipes, and what are five recipes in your arsenal?
(Sprinkle cookie photos by Deb Perelman; tomato sauce photo by Christopher Testani for The New York Times; meatball photo by Chrissa Benson.)
Entertainment
Pennsylvania is suing Character.AI for allegedly practicing medicine without a license
Pennsylvania has taken the unusual step of suing an AI company for practicing medicine without a license.
In a lawsuit filed May 1, the state is targeting Character.AI after an investigator found a chatbot on the platform posing as a licensed psychiatrist and providing what the state characterizes as medical advice.
According to the complaint, filed by the Pennsylvania Department of State and State Board of Medicine, a Professional Conduct Investigator for the state created a free account on Character.AI and searched for psychiatric characters. He selected one called “Emilie,” described on the platform as a “Doctor of psychiatry.”
The investigator told Emilie he had been feeling sad, empty, tired, and unmotivated. The chatbot mentioned depression and offered to conduct an assessment to determine whether medication might help.
When pressed on whether she was licensed in Pennsylvania, Emilie said she was and even provided a specific license number. The state checked and found that the number doesn’t exist.
The complaint also states Emilie claimed she attended medical school at Imperial College London, has practiced for seven years, and holds a full specialty registration in psychiatry with the General Medical Council in the UK.
Mashable Light Speed
In a similar case, 404 Media reported last year that Instagram AI chatbots were pretending to be licensed therapists, even inventing license numbers when prompted for credentials by the user.
Pennsylvania is seeking an injunction ordering Character.AI to stop allowing its platform to engage in the unlawful practice of medicine. The company has more than 20 million monthly active users worldwide and hosts more than 18 million user-created chatbot characters, according to the complaint.
In an email to Mashable, a Character.AI spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit. Further, they added that “our highest priority is the safety and well-being of our users. The user-created Characters on our site are fictional and intended for entertainment and roleplaying.”
The spokesperson added that the company “prioritizes responsible product development and has robust internal reviews and red-teaming processes in place to assess relevant features.”
A much bigger legal battle looms over AI health
The Pennsylvania lawsuit lands in the middle of an already messy legal debate over what AI is actually allowed to tell you — and whether any of it is even admissible in court.
As Mashable’s Chase DiBenedetto reported, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has publicly advocated for “AI privilege,” arguing that chatbot conversations should be afforded the same legal protections as conversations with a therapist or an attorney. Courts have so far been split, with two federal judges reaching opposite conclusions on the question within weeks of each other earlier this year.
The stakes are high on both sides. Legal experts warn that sweeping AI privilege protections could effectively shield companies from accountability, making it harder to subpoena chat logs and internal records when something goes wrong. Meanwhile, health AI is booming — $1.4 billion flowed into healthcare-specific generative AI in 2025 alone, according to Menlo Ventures — and much of it operates outside of HIPAA protections.
Pennsylvania is one of several states to have introduced an AI Health bill this year, following a trend of states that aren’t waiting for Washington to act.
Entertainment
How to watch Bayern Munich vs. PSG online for free
TL;DR: Live stream Bayern Munich vs. PSG in the Champions League for free on RTÉ Player. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
Bayern Munich vs. PSG would have made an amazing Champions League final, but we should be happy that we’re getting two matchups between these electric teams. The first leg finished 5-4 to PSG. We’re not expecting the same again, because that was probably one of the best games of all time. If we get half that level of entertainment in the second leg, we’ll be delighted.
Expect more of the same from the likes of Michael Olise and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as these teams battle it out for a spot in the showpiece event. The winner will meet Arsenal at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest.
If you want to watch Bayern Munich vs. PSG in the Champions League from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
When is Bayern Munich vs. PSG?
Bayern Munich vs. PSG in the Champions League kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on May 6. This fixture takes place at the Allianz Arena.
How to watch Bayern Munich vs. PSG for free
Bayern Munich vs. PSG is available to live stream for free on RTÉ Player.
Mashable Top Stories
RTÉ Player is geo-restricted to Ireland, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Ireland, meaning you can unblock RTÉ Player to stream the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world.
Live stream Bayern Munich vs. PSG for free by following these simple steps:
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Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
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Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
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Open up the app and connect to a server in Ireland
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Visit RTÉ Player
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Watch Bayern Munich vs. PSG for free from anywhere in the world
$12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee)
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of the Champions League without actually spending anything. This obviously isn’t a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Bayern Munich vs. PSG (plus more Champions League fixtures) before recovering your investment.
If you want to retain permanent access to the best free streaming services from around the world, you’ll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPn for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.
What is the best VPN for RTÉ Player?
ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on RTÉ Player, for a number of reasons:
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Servers in 105 countries including Ireland
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Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
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Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure
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Fast connection speeds free from throttling
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Up to 10 simultaneous connections
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30-day money-back guarantee
A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).
Live stream Bayern Munich vs. PSG in the Champions League for free with ExpressVPN.
Entertainment
AI stocks are cooling — this ChatGPT trading tool keeps delivering
TL;DR: A ChatGPT-powered investing platform that helps you find and manage stocks with clearer signals—lifetime access for a one-time $54.97.
Credit: Sterling Stock Picker
The AI trade has seemingly had its moment — big runs, big headlines, big expectations. The AI fun is not over by any means. But now that things are settling, the real question is what comes next?
Instead of chasing whatever’s trending, Sterling Stock Picker leans into a more grounded approach: using a ChatGPT-powered assistant (Finley) to help you understand what’s actually happening inside a stock. You can ask questions about companies, sectors, or your own portfolio and get explanations that are tied to real data — not just surface-level summaries.
Mashable Deals
It also handles the heavy lifting most people avoid. The platform analyzes financials, growth metrics, and risk, then surfaces signals like whether a stock is worth buying, holding, or avoiding. There’s even a “North Star” system that simplifies that call into something actionable.
Mashable Trend Report
If you’re building from scratch, there’s a done-for-you portfolio builder that aligns with your risk tolerance. If you already have positions, it can suggest adjustments based on your portfolio’s performance.
One thing that stands out is how it balances guidance with transparency. You’re not just handed picks — you can see the reasoning behind them, which matters if you’re trying to build a repeatable process.
Have a lifetime way to pressure-test your judgment — especially in a market that’s moving past hype and into something more selective.
Get lifetime access to the ChatGPT-driven Sterling Stock Picker while it’s on sale for a one-time $54.97 payment (reg. $486) through May 10.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
