My Moroccan friend Mehdi first introduced me to chermoula as a marinade for seafood, but I love it on chicken too. It wraps the meat with the soft distinct flavor of cooked cilantro and the gentle warmth of sweet paprika. This is a great picnicky recipe to double up for a summertime crowd, since chicken thighs (or hindquarters) are very forgiving for the busy home cook. I like to use my wood-burning pizza oven outdoors, but an indoor oven works just fine.
Maybe a lentil loaf doesn’t sound that thrilling, but you haven’t had this one yet. It has so much flavor and texture, I think it’s more satisfying than a real meatloaf. Even carnivores will ask for a second slice.
My godmother Zia Mimma taught me this recipe, and it’s something that we’ve been making together for what feels like my entire life. The preparation is simple—so simple that we were able to teach it to my stepmom, which is saying something because the woman does not cook—and isn’t much more than pasta simply dressed in a fresh tomato sauce, flecked with good-quality tuna, and tossed with oily, crunchy bread crumbs. It’s the ultimate comfort-food dish, especially for those nights when cooking feels like the last thing you want to do.
This is the best chicken dish I’ve ever made. You will want to lick the skillet clean, the sauce is so damn good! I upped the recipe so there’s enough to dunk plenty of bread in or to serve over rice. While this dish is a big wow, the ingredients are far from fancy. The baby bella mushrooms (aka creminis) have a lighter flavor than portobellos and a richer flavor than white buttons (don’t stress—white shrooms play nicely). Congrats! You’ve just mastered a restaurant pan sauce, which you can flex on pork chops, steak, or fish fillets. Go ahead, lick the skillet—just promise me you’ll let the pan cool down first!
If you just came home from a long, stressful day at work and you’re starving, and all you want is to sit on the couch and eat something incredibly delicious and comforting and watch bad TV, this is the dish for you. And if, on top of all that, you have kids to feed? This is STILL the dish for you. The sauce is layered with rich, roasty nuttiness from toasted sesame oil, sweet, umami-rich miso, and lots of allium goodness from scallions and garlic, all made silky and spoonable with butter and Parmesan.
My daughter Becky’s review: “Amazing. Buh-ro. No words except for amazing and bro. I didn’t know something this amazing could actually exist.”
A hearty, warming meal, the gnocchi here are baked and topped with a crunchy breadcrumb or pangratatto topping, making for a satisfying mix of creaminess and crunch. Ready-made gnocchi have become widely available, and most types are vegan, but check the ingredients just in case.
If you’ve never had red beans and rice before, let me warn you that you just might become addicted to it. When you cook this dish, the house will smell amazing, and you will be eager to dig in every minute you wait for it to be finished. Make this with Honey Jalapeño Cornbread and thank me later.
I’m a believer in low-key meals that still feel glorious and indulgent, and here each bite of cod feels more luxurious than the last, but the work is minimal. When you want to celebrate the smallest of achievements, like learning to change a tire or finishing a book, this is the meal, boos. I don’t know anyone with a pulse who doesn’t love garlic butter—a golden ticket to a surere flavorful meal. This is a great recipe to have in your back pocket if you’re hosting a small dinner party and want to save your energy for playing host. And while you wait, pour yourself a glass of wine, make a cocktail, or just kick it.
This is a remake of my mama’s recipe. The southern way, the traditional way, the way my mama made hers is with sour cream, and then she would cut blocks of cheese into it and add lotsa pepper plus paprika for color.
One reason this recipe here is so sopped up is it’s layered with a rich egg custard and lots and lots of cheese. It’s the cheese that has the !ava, hunny! And it doesn’t matter what cheese you use. Grate up what’s in the fridge and mix ’em together for a pasta party! Cheddar, sharp cheddar, Gruyère, Swiss, Parmesan . . . they all like to play together!
While I make my mac in a big, deep cast-iron skillet, you can use a big casserole dish or a couple smaller ones to bake yours. Just know that your cookin’ time will be different and depend on how deep you’ve got yours layered.
When I first saw references to this all-in-one method of making pasta, I was sceptical. Surely it couldn’t be possible to cook the sauce and the pasta all at once in the same pan? It seemed to violate every rule in Italian cooking. But then I realized that the method is not really so far from a risotto. The bonus of this technique—aside from incredible speed and ease and minimal washing up—is that the pasta is seasoned by the sauce as it cooks and becomes deeply flavored with wine, aromatics, stock—whatever you choose to add. It works with any shape of pasta—but a good quality brand makes a big difference here—and almost any combination of vegetables and other flavorings such as anchovies or cured meats. You just have to be careful to measure the ratio of pasta to water accurately, use a wide shallow frying pan or sauté pan (it won’t work in a tall narrow saucepan) and be generous with your seasoning.