Category: What to Cook

5 Weeknight Dinners I’m Making Instead of Ordering Takeout (Again)

I moved into a new apartment a little over two weeks ago, and as anyone who’s ever moved knows, the process involves eating a lot of takeout—all your knives are in boxes, you don’t have any groceries, and you’re working in an unfamiliar, not-yet-home k…

I moved into a new apartment a little over two weeks ago, and as anyone who’s ever moved knows, the process involves eating a lot of takeout—all your knives are in boxes, you don’t have any groceries, and you’re working in an unfamiliar, not-yet-home kitchen. It’s a solid excuse for the first week or so post-move, but by now, I’m more or less settled into my new place. However, I’m still finding it hard to break the ol’ Doordash habit.

So, this week, I wanted to pick recipes that would get me cooking again. The main objective? Keep the stakes as low as possible: The recipes will be easy. The ingredients will be (relatively) few. Almost everything will be cheap, vegetarian, and rely on lots of pantry staples. I know these descriptors don’t sound exciting—that’s because they’re not—but they’re the kind of recipes that are ultimately the most reliable and comforting. Here’s what I'm making.

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Magical Candy Bars That Anyone Can Bake at Home

I’ve long sought a grown-up candy bar, and think I’ve finally found it. The Lübeck Marzipan on the dessert menu at Koloman, a French restaurant in Flatiron, has the scent of an almond cake, the crunch of brittle, the chewiness of a great macaroon, and …

I’ve long sought a grown-up candy bar, and think I’ve finally found it. The Lübeck Marzipan on the dessert menu at Koloman, a French restaurant in Flatiron, has the scent of an almond cake, the crunch of brittle, the chewiness of a great macaroon, and the waves of chocolate that say candy bar.

I asked Emiko Chisholm, the pastry chef at the restaurant, to come by our test kitchen to show me how to make this magical confection.

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40 Years Later, This Plum Torte Is Still the Best Ever

There’s never been such a humble recipe with so much gravitas as the Purple Plum Torte, a tender cake dotted with sunken soft sweet Italian plums. First published in The New York Times in 1983, the recipe, which came from Lois Levine and was written ab…

There’s never been such a humble recipe with so much gravitas as the Purple Plum Torte, a tender cake dotted with sunken soft sweet Italian plums. First published in The New York Times in 1983, the recipe, which came from Lois Levine and was written about by Marian Burros, became so wildly popular among Times readers that the paper published it annually for several years running, something they’d never done before or since. When I started working on the first edition of The Essential New York Times Cookbook in 2006, I surveyed Times readers for their favorite recipes, and the plum torte won by a landslide.

What is its secret? What has enabled it to hold up for decades, unscathed by food writers who love to iterate and tweak and transform classics? As I wrote in my book:

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The 3 Things You Need to Host the Ultimate Backyard Tailgate

We’ve teamed up with Zatarain’s® Smoked Sausage to make sure your game days are packed with flavor. From Blackened Seasoned Chicken Smoked Sausage to Andouille Smoked Sausage, their sausages add smoky depth and fiery zest to any dish at your tailgate.
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We’ve teamed up with Zatarain’s® Smoked Sausage to make sure your game days are packed with flavor. From Blackened Seasoned Chicken Smoked Sausage to Andouille Smoked Sausage, their sausages add smoky depth and fiery zest to any dish at your tailgate.

When I’m hosting a tailgate, I want my guests to be fed, relaxed, and informed. To feel all three things at the same time, it’s important to have the right snacks, cold drinks, plenty of seating, and a clear view of the game. Here’s everything you need for the perfect backyard tailgate.

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40 Thanksgiving Cake Ideas to Try This Year

If there’s anything Thanksgiving is known for, it’s pie. And we’re not complaining—we love Thanksgiving pies, whether they’re filled with a classic ingredient like apple, pumpkin, or pecan or something more unexpected, like matcha custard or tahini mou…

If there’s anything Thanksgiving is known for, it’s pie. And we’re not complaining—we love Thanksgiving pies, whether they’re filled with a classic ingredient like apple, pumpkin, or pecan or something more unexpected, like matcha custard or tahini mousse. That being said: We don’t think pies are the only dessert that can (or should) appear on your Thanksgiving table. The same flavors that are so delicious in this season’s pies—warm spices, caramelized sugar, tart fruit—work just as well in cakes.

Here, we’ve gathered 40 of our favorite Thanksgiving cake ideas in one place. We have tons of easy, simple recipes for those looking to make dessert as speedy and stress-free as possible, along with more involved options like layer cakes for those seeking a challenge. In either case, your dessert is guaranteed to be the highlight of the meal.

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38 Recipes Perfect for Your Rosh Hashanah Feast

Rosh Hashanah—the Jewish New Year—is one of the most important holidays on the Jewish calendar. Beginning this year on September 15 at sundown and lasting until nightfall on September 18, it’s a time to reflect, welcome the new year, and (of course) ea…

Rosh Hashanah—the Jewish New Year—is one of the most important holidays on the Jewish calendar. Beginning this year on September 15 at sundown and lasting until nightfall on September 18, it’s a time to reflect, welcome the new year, and (of course) eat delicious food with loved ones.

There are a few dishes one can expect to find on a typical Rosh Hashanah table, many of which carry symbolic significance. Apples and honey are a classic pairing, which represents a sweet year ahead. Challah, usually braided into a long rope, is baked into a round formation on the holiday, to signify the circle of life. Those are just a start: Pomegranates, fish heads, carrots, beets, leeks, and dates all carry symbolic meaning during the holiday.

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5 Weeknight Dinners to Make This Week, Family Edition

The Wall Street Journal just published a riff on the quiet quitting trend titled “Try Hard, but Not That Hard. 85% is the Magic Number for Productivity.” This is valuable advice (that I will probably never follow). But it leads me to wonder: If you giv…

The Wall Street Journal just published a riff on the quiet quitting trend titled “Try Hard, but Not That Hard. 85% is the Magic Number for Productivity.” This is valuable advice (that I will probably never follow). But it leads me to wonder: If you give even 85 percent of yourself at work, what does that leave for your weeknight meal game? In my home, it doesn’t add up to much.

On school nights, if my family of four can sit together at the table and actually eat the same thing two out of five weekdays, I consider that a win. The other nights, when practices and games and after-work drinks send us in different directions, I play short order cook or Doordash concierge. That means that the magic weeknight dinner effort in my household is at a measly 40 percent (though I often make up for lost time on the weekends).

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This Pantry-Friendly Meal Is Easy, Vegetarian & Endlessly Adaptable

Canned beans are some of my most reached-for pantry ingredients, and canned chickpeas, in particular, are extra versatile. I add them to pastas, soups, curries, and stews. I blend them into hummus. I toss them in olive oil and roast them until they’re …

Canned beans are some of my most reached-for pantry ingredients, and canned chickpeas, in particular, are extra versatile. I add them to pastas, soups, curries, and stews. I blend them into hummus. I toss them in olive oil and roast them until they’re crispy. However, as delicious as canned chickpeas can be, they can just as easily remain dry, tinny, and under-seasoned.

Is there a surefire way to avoid any of those unpleasant outcomes? Most definitely—just follow Joy the Baker’s lead and slowly braise your chickpeas in a generous olive oil bath, along with a host of other high-impact ingredients. While this version specifically calls for onion, capers, thyme, chile flakes, cured black olives, lemon, and some feta to finish, the beauty of this recipe is that you can truly adapt it to whatever you’ve got in your pantry.

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Our 10 Most Popular Broccoli Recipes, Ranked

Broccoli—the sixth most-purchased vegetable in the United States—will likely appear in your refrigerator sometime in the next few weeks. When it does, there are over 900 broccoli recipes on our site that will help you transform these miniature green tr…

Broccoli—the sixth most-purchased vegetable in the United States—will likely appear in your refrigerator sometime in the next few weeks. When it does, there are over 900 broccoli recipes on our site that will help you transform these miniature green trees into something delicious. It’s worth mentioning that not all of these recipes are weeknight-friendly—some will require a combination of effort, time, and ingredients beyond the scope of Wednesday evening. But don’t worry: For every technically demanding broccoli recipe on our site, there is an equally delicious alternative that’s teeming with convenience and versatility. In pursuit of identifying the path of least cruciferous resistance, here are 10 of our most popular broccoli recipes, ranked by how likely we would actually make them on a weeknight.

The Criteria

When evaluating these broccoli recipes’ weeknight potential, I considered the following questions:

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