Saturday, April 13, 2024

“Best banana bread ever”

An easy weekend bake with five stars and over 9,000 reviews.
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Cooking

April 13, 2024

A loaf of walnut-topped banana bread has been sliced into thick slices.
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Banana bread, always and forever

By Mia Leimkuhler

My relationship with bananas can best be described by paraphrasing Katy Perry's 2008 song: We're hot then we're cold, we're yes then we're no, we're in then we're out, we're up then we're down. I'll bring home a Donkey Kong-size haul of them on a Sunday, craving their starchy sweetness. On Monday and Tuesday I'll proudly peel some for my breakfasts and lunches. But by Friday, I'll have a pile of forgotten soft crescents streaked with black.

I never worry, though, because a brown, mushy banana yields all sorts of treats. Banana blondies! Banana smoothies! And of course, always, forever, banana bread. Julia Moskin's recipe, adapted from Allrecipes, is the platonic banana bread ideal: buttery, with a touch of molasses flavor from the brown sugar and a bit of crunch from the walnut topping. It's the perfect, simple baked good I want with my Sunday morning coffee, before I head to the store to repeat my banana cycle.

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With lemons on hand, I'm just a package of chicken and a bag of potatoes away from Melissa Clark's supremely easy lemony chicken with potatoes and oregano. Thin slices of lemon roast alongside, becoming deeply caramelized and pleasantly bitter — "for true lemon lovers only," she writes.

I'd say that this eggplant Parmesan pasta by Kay Chun is for eggplant lovers, but I think even the aubergine-avoidant would enjoy it. Cubes of eggplant are fried in olive oil, becoming golden but not greasy, then simmered with tomatoes and basil and served with milky slices of mozzarella and drifts of grated Parmesan. Several readers added anchovies to the olive oil in Step 2; this is not a bad idea.

Sue Li's fried fish sandwich is crispy and tangy, made in a flash (20 minutes or so) on the stovetop. Sarah DiGregorio's honey-soy braised pork with lime and ginger, on the other hand, is fall-apart tender and luscious and simmers away all day in your electric slow cooker. Both deserve spots in your weeknight dinner rotation.

And for something that's cold — but hot, in a spicy way — I love Alexa Weibel's chopped salad with jalapeño ranch dressing. There's naturally a good bit of chopping involved, but I'll usually prepare extra quantities of the ingredients so that I have the next day's lunch ready to go. Be sure to skim the reader comments here; brilliant additions include pinto beans, grilled chicken, hard-boiled eggs and jicama.

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Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.

Lemony Chicken With Potatoes and Oregano

By Melissa Clark

50 minutes

Makes 2 servings

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Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

Slow Cooker Honey-Soy Braised Pork With Lime and Ginger

By Sarah DiGregorio

8 hours 20 minutes

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Tube pasta tossed with tomatoes and topped with mozzarella, Parmesan and basil leaves sits on a white plate next to some silverware. To the bottom right of the plate is a smaller plate with bread crumbs.

Dane Tashima for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.

Eggplant Parmesan Pasta

By Kay Chun

35 minutes

Makes 4 servings

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Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

Chopped Salad With Jalapeño-Ranch Dressing

By Alexa Weibel

20 minutes

Makes 4 to 6 servings

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Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Fried Fish Sandwich

By Sue Li

20 minutes

Makes 4 sandwiches

Fresh, delicious dinner ideas for busy people, from Emily Weinstein and NYT Cooking.

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Tanya Sichynsky shares the most delicious vegetarian recipes for weeknight cooking, packed lunches and dinner parties.

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Tanya Sichynsky shares the most delicious vegetarian recipes for weeknight cooking, packed lunches and dinner parties.

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