Even food editors get the cooking bluesI have to confess something to you all here: Sometimes I, the editor of New York Times Cooking and the author of a newsletter devoted to dinner, a person who knows our 25,000-recipe catalog inside and out and who thinks and talks about food all day with her colleagues, really just can’t think of anything to make for supper. (Please do not unsubscribe.) It’s the worst at the end of a season, when the cravings I had at the beginning have been fully addressed. I’ve had my share of soup. The fix for this is to look for something totally different — an ingredient I don’t use very often, a dish I don’t usually make, a piece of equipment that has been gathering dust. Something to inject a little curiosity into the process or deliver a jolt at the table. I’m looking to Nargisse Benkabbou’s crispy halloumi with tomatoes and white beans this week to do just that. I love the tangy flavor and chewy squeak of halloumi, but I’ve never had it in a fresh, juicy cherry tomato sauce. A reader also wrote in with a little dinner inspiration: çilbir, which you’ll see down below along with other ideas for the week ahead. If you have suggestions for refreshing your cooking routine, send them to me at dearemily@nytimes.com. I read every note and respond as I can!
1. Crispy Halloumi With Tomatoes and White BeansNargisse’s recipe brings some of the brightest flavors of the Mediterranean together into one skillet. I’d eat this piled on thick pieces of toast, with arugula salad or cooked greens on the side.
2. Roasted Chicken Thighs With Hot Honey and LimeIf you need to bring a little excitement to your weeknight chicken, this recipe is for you. Vallery Lomas brushes roasted bone-in, skin-on thighs with a mixture of hot sauce and melted butter, then finishes them with honey and a halo of lime.
3. One-Pan Shrimp Scampi With Crispy GnocchiMelissa Clark argues that the best part of shrimp scampi is the pan sauce, and I agree. She tosses toasted gnocchi in that garlicky goodness, for a dish with an unusual combination of textures (the chewy gnocchi, the bouncy shrimp) but classic scampi flavor.
4. Korean BBQ-Style MeatballsThese simple and clever meatballs from Kay Chun are just as good dunked in the dipping sauce she mentions in the headnote as they are served over steamed rice with kimchi. For the juiciest meatballs, use ground beef that’s 80 percent lean (versus 90) and avoid over-baking them.
5. Çilbir (Turkish Eggs With Yogurt)And here’s a dish to refresh your breakfast, lunch or dinner ritual. A reader in Idaho named Josephine wrote in to exuberantly extol the virtues of çilbir: “It’s my celebration dish, my comfort food, my I-forgot-the-time-it-takes-to-dry-my-hair-before-work dish.” Our version is adapted from the food writer and cooking teacher Özlem Warren. For a limited time, you can enjoy free access to the recipes in this newsletter in our app. Download it on your iOS or Android device and create a free account to get started. Thanks for reading and cooking. If you like the work we do at New York Times Cooking, please subscribe! (Or give a subscription as a gift!) You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest, or follow me on Instagram. I’m dearemily@nytimes.com, and previous newsletters are archived here. Reach out to my colleagues at cookingcare@nytimes.com if you have any questions about your account. View all recipes in your weekly plan.
|
