If you don't have a private chef in your kitchen but want every meal to taste like you do, you've come to the right place.
Chef Reilly Meehan, who is known on social media for giving followers a behind-the-scenes look at his work as a private chef, joined "Good Morning America" and "GMA3" on Tuesday to share recipes from his new cookbook, "A Little Bit Extra: 100 Recipes That Serve Up Something Special," in which he reveals the secrets he relies on to impress clients meal after meal.
On "GMA," Meehan demonstrated how to make cauliflower brown butter pasta with garlicky croutons and bacon-y frisee.
For "GMA3," Meehan shared his recipe for achiote-marinated shrimp and pineapple skewers and poppy-seed Meyer lemon buttermilk cookies with strawberry frosting.
Find these recipes below, and try making them at home in your own kitchen.
"Yes, this pasta is delicious by itself, but the super crunchy, garlicky chunks of bread lift it to another level," Meehan writes in "A Little Bit Extra," alongside this recipe. "This dish works so well because of the balance of its ingredients; nutty brown butter and warm cauliflower play well together, while Pecorino’s bite and a little zip of lemon ties everything together for your secret-weapon cozy weeknight dinner. Pair with some simple grilled chicken for a more substantial supper, or if you’re feeding a larger group."
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup 1/4 inch cubes day-old bread, or 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
4 garlic cloves, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
Ingredients
Kosher salt
1 pound dry mezze rigatoni or other pasta shape of your choice
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
1 small head cauliflower (about 1 pound), cut into small florets
1 large shallot, sliced into rings
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Make the croutons: In a small skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat until it ripples. Add the bread and stir well to coat with the oil. Cook until the bread starts to turn a very light golden color, then add the garlic and season with salt and pepper. (If you're using panko instead of bread, add the panko and garlic to the pan at the same time, as panko will toast more quickly.) Cook until the bread is toasted and crispy and the garlic is slightly brown, 3 to 4 minutes, then remove from the heat and let cool. Sprinkle with the parsley.
Make the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for 1 to 2 minutes less than the package directions for al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain.
Meanwhile, heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat for about 1 minute. When the pan is ripping hot and smoking a bit, add 4 tablespoons of the butter and swirl the pan as it melts. Cook until the butter smells nutty and takes on some color, then reduce the heat to low and add the cauliflower and shallot. Cook, stirring frequently, until the edges of the cauliflower and shallot are browning, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the pasta and reserved cooking water, increase the heat to medium, and cook until the pasta looks glossy and most of the liquid has evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, and remaining 2 tablespoons butter, then season with salt and pepper. Stir well to coat, then taste and adjust the seasoning one last time as needed, before transferring to a serving bowl.
Top the pasta with the croutons and a bit more parsley, and serve immediately.
Tips
1. Pasta water is your best friend for a dish like this! The starch from the pasta thickens and coats the noodles for a light, well-bound sauce.
2. Texture is your friend! Those croutons give it that extra special feel.
3. Don't be afraid to let that butter brown! You'd be surprised at how much flavor you get with a deep, amber butter.
4. Don't skip the herbs and lemon! They complete the dish and give it a lightness that you need.
"When I can find frisee, this is the first thing I want to make," Meehan writes. "It’s super quick and packs tons of flavor into minimal ingredients. When serving, make sure the eggs and the dressing are still slightly warm. When contrasted with the cool, crisp frisee, it creates something special."
"I like to serve it with some crusty baguette and Brie cheese or a nice pasta dish like the DBG Rotini (page 104)," he adds.
Serves 2 to 4
Ingredients
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 high-quality large eggs
4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium shallot, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon stone-ground or whole-grain mustard
1 teaspoon sugar or honey
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 or 3 heads frisee, cut into 1 to 2-inch pieces (4 to 6 cups)
3 or 4 French breakfast radishes, thinly sliced
Directions
Bring a medium saucepan of water to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water boils, sprinkle in the baking soda (this makes the cooked eggs easier to peel). Carefully add the eggs and cook them for exactly 6 minutes, maintaining the rolling boil for the entire cook time. (This will give you the perfect runny center.) Drain the eggs, then roll them around in the pan to crack the shells a bit. Run the eggs under cold water for about 30 seconds, then peel them.
Place the bacon in a cold large skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until crisp and browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, leaving all the fat behind in the pan.
In the pan with the bacon grease, combine the shallot and garlic and cook over medium-low heat just until softened and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, then whisk in the vinegar, olive oil, mustard, and sugar. Season with salt and pepper, and keep the dressing warm until ready to serve.
Arrange the bacon and frisee together in a shallow bowl or on a serving platter, then sprinkle the radishes over the top. Drizzle the dressing all over. Cut the eggs in half and season with salt and pepper, then tuck them into the frisee and serve immediately.
Tips
1. Follow the recipe to a T for the perfect jammy eggs! You need them to mix with the dressing for an unctuous finish!
2. Remember just to use the nice crispy, yellow/green insides of the frisee. The outside green leaves will wilt and don't offer a lot in the way of texture.
3. Make sure to dress it with warm dressing! the contrast of crisp cold frisee is great with the warmth.
4. This is a great side for so many dishes from a perfectly cooked New York, to a roasted piece of fish.
"The iconic Mexican flavors of 'al pastor' come together to flavor these shrimp and pineapple skewers," Meehan writes. "The intensely flavorful marinade, after a brief stint flavoring the shrimp, gets boiled to become a finishing glaze for the dish. Given the amount of acid from the pineapple and the lime, be sure not to let the shrimp marinate too long or they’ll get mushy on you."
He continues, "I like to pierce the shrimp at two points: through the tail first, then again at the head, so they stay flat and cook evenly. Remember, if you’re using bamboo skewers, you’ll want to give them a soak for a few hours! This goes great with Tomatillo Arroz Verde (page 127) and some charred corn tortillas."
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
3 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 2-inch pieces
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
5 or 6 whole cloves
1 cup pineapple juice
Juice of 2 limes
1 tablespoon achiote paste
1 tablespoon neutral oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds large (16 to 20 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 pineapple, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Nonstick cooking spray
Flaky sea salt
Lime wedges, for serving
Directions
Open up a window or turn the exhaust fan on (the fumes from the chiles can be strong!). Place the chiles, garlic, peppercorns, and cloves in a cold large saute pan or cast-iron skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently as the pan heats up and everything begins to toast, until the mixture is very fragrant and the chiles have begun to turn light brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat and transfer the mixture into a blender. Add the pineapple juice, lime juice, achiote paste, oil, oregano, and a good pinch of kosher salt. Blend on high speed until the marinade is super smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the shrimp and the achiote marinade and stir well to coat the shrimp. Let the shrimp marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours in the fridge.
Heat a grill to medium-high.
Thread the shrimp and pineapple onto skewers, alternating them until each skewer is full -- usually 3 or 4 shrimp and 2 or 3 pineapple pieces per skewer. You’ll have 8 to 10 skewers total.
Pour the leftover marinade from the shrimp into a medium pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes, until sauce turns a deep red color, then remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro.
Coat each skewer with a touch of cooking spray, then grill until the shrimp are opaque white all the way through, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. You want some good charring on both sides, but don't overcook the shrimp.
Place the skewers onto a serving platter and spoon over a bit of the marinade. Finish with a sprinkling of flaky salt and serve with lime wedges alongside for squeezing.
Tips
1. This is a take on the flavors you get with al pastor tacos! A little bit easier to make at home.
2. Best served with the tomatillo arroz verde in the book!
3. Don't marinate the shrimp too long, they get rubbery or break down.
4. Soak your skewers in advance so they don't torch up on the grill.
5. There's really no substitute for the achiote paste! But be careful -- it stains.
"My grandma Shirley passed down two recipes to my mom that we baked all the time growing up -- her lemon poppy seed cake and her buttermilk sugar cookies," Meehan writes. "This mash-up of the two recipes is my greedy attempt at cramming all the luxuriousness of the two recipes into one single Frankencookie."
"The Meyer lemon tree outside my childhood home is an absolute machine and produces fruit year-round, so it was easy to snag a few lemons right off the tree whenever I needed them for my baking projects," he continues. "If you can't get your hands on Meyers, conventional lemons will do the trick, and I find making your own strawberry jam (recipe follows) will give the frosting the best flavor and color!"
Makes 16 to 18 Cookies
Cookie Dough
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Zest of 1 Meyer lemon
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup poppy seeds
Frosting
Ingredients
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons strawberry jam, homemade (recipe follows) or store-bought
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Directions
Make the dough: Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the granulated sugar, butter, vanilla, and lemon zest. Beat on medium-high speed for 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, then beat on medium-high until the mixture is fluffy-looking and pale in color, 1 minute more. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for 1 minute after each addition. Scrape the bowl down again and beat for 1 minute more, until well combined and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl, then add the flour mixture. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly drizzle in the buttermilk and mix just until the flour and buttermilk are fully incorporated.
Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a log roughly 3 inches in diameter and 10 to 12 inches long. Very lightly flour the dough as needed to prevent sticking, but try to avoid using too much, and brush off any excess. (The dough should be soft but easy to work with -- if you find it's not cooperating, cover it well and refrigerate for 30 minutes before finishing the shaping.)
Lay out a piece of parchment paper that’s long enough to wrap the log and sprinkle it with the poppy seeds.
Roll the log in the poppy seeds, lightly pressing them into the dough as you roll, until the log is completely covered. (If the seeds aren’t sticking, there may be too much flour -- dust off any excess and try again.) Tightly roll up the log in the parchment and freeze for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight.
Make the frosting: In a large bowl, combine the powdered sugar, jam, butter, and vanilla. Use a sturdy spatula or wooden spoon to incorporate. If the frosting looks too thick, thin it by adding water 1 tablespoon at a time, fully incorporating each addition before adding more. The finished product should have the consistency of canned frosting. Cover the bowl while you bake the cookies.
Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into rounds about 1/2 inch thick, then place them on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them evenly. If you cut off the butt ends, you should end up with 16 to 18 cookies.
Bake for 12 minutes, then swap the positions of the pans on the racks and bake for 6 to 8 minutes more, until the cookies are pale, soft, and just barely set to the touch. Let cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely, 15 to 20 minutes.
Dollop 1 to 2 tablespoons of the frosting onto each cooled cookie and use a spoon or offset spatula to spread it evenly. Let the frosting set for 30 minutes before enjoying. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container or zip-top bag at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Tips
1. These are a mash up between my mother's iconic sugar cookies, and my grandma's lemon poppyseed cake.
2. If you're feeling a little bit extra, there's a recipe to make your own strawberry jam!
3. The dough is a bit tacky -- rather than add more flour, best to work with it chilled.
4. The key is a perfect bake! You want them chewy in the middle but crisp on the edge to hold up to the frosting.
5. They always remind me of those store-bought cookies (which I have a soft spot for!).
Makes about 1 1/2 cups
Ingredients
2 cups diced very ripe strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
Directions
In a small pot, combine the strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, and 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the mixture down to a nice thick, syrupy consistency, 12 to 15 minutes. The jam should be glossy and vibrant red in color.
Scoop the jam into a heatproof airtight container, cover, and refrigerate until cooled completely before using, about 30 minutes. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Recipe reprinted with permission from "A Little Bit Extra" by Reilly Meehan © 2026. Published by Union Square & Co., an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group. Photography by Erin Scott.
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