Good morning! Today we have for you:
Extra, extra!
Hello, friends! Happy Valentine’s Day. As the movie line goes: “If you’re going to get wet, might as well go swimming.” And that’s how I feel about Valentine’s Day. Not that you need to go overboard with gifts and chocolates and flowers (if you’re reading this and you’re my husband, this does not apply to you), but I do think you should take the holiday as an excuse to do something a little extra with dinner. The “extra” is up to you to define. Maybe that’s lobster thermidor, filet mignon, chocolate soufflé. Maybe you gather your valentines for chicken shawarma and figure skating. Or maybe it’s just a quiet, cozy Saturday night, and you pull your favorite sweats from the dryer and make a bowl of perfect instant ramen and relax into the peace and pleasure of your own company. All great options. As I write this, I haven’t quite decided what my Valentine’s Day dinner will be, but Melissa Clark’s beloved classic shrimp scampi is a strong contender. I’m thinking of halving the recipe for the two of us to be a luxe snack with home-happy-hour Negronis, eating it straight from the pan and swiping up that garlicky, winy sauce with bread from our favorite bakery. That would be a really nice lead-in to roast chicken, a leafy winter salad and chocolate pudding in the cute cups. Is that maybe too much for two people? Sure, but leftovers are my favorite kind of extra. Featured Recipe Classic Shrimp ScampiWarming recipes, because it’s still so coldBaked Creole tetrazzini: Cooking fancy isn’t about expensive ingredients. It’s a mind-set. That’s the headline of an article by Jerrelle Guy that features three recipes from her new cookbook, “We Fancy: Simple Recipes to Make the Everyday Special”: the Andrica Calmer cocktail, a guava and cream cheese Danish cookie and the above tetrazzini, a pan of peppery, creamy comfort. Bobotie (meat and egg casserole): This Yewande Komolafe dish sounds like the perfect thing to fuel a busy winter weekend — ground meat sautéed with onion, ginger, garlic and chile, warmly spiced and set in an eggy custard made thick with milk and cream. I’m particularly intrigued by the dried apricots or cranberries added to the meat — I love a sweet-savory combo — and will absolutely be following her suggestion to eat this with a bright, spicy pickle or chutney. Chicken congee: When I have really good chicken stock, one of my favorite things to make is congee — the rice soaks up that chickeny goodness before disappearing into it. But even when I don’t have excellent stock, this recipe from Fuchsia Dunlop, adapted by Sara Bonisteel, is still worth making for the comfort factor alone. (Besides, I’ve found that any subpar stock can be camouflaged with a hefty spoonful of chile crisp to finish.)
And before you goSorry, one more for your Valentine’s Day: Eric Kim’s chocolate-covered strawberries. Are strawberries at their most-flavorful peak right now? Nope — and that’s what the chocolate’s for. Now get dippin’, you crazy kids.
Thanks for reading!
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