Jerk chicken and coconut rice; grilled corn with old bay and a big tomato salad

Labor Day weekend is here. Let's cook.

View in browser|nytimes.com August 30, 2024 Julia Moskin's jerk chicken. Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. The jerk (chicken) By Sam Sifton Good morning. I'm back in hard shoes after two weeks of flip-flops and Xtratufs, back to the subway shuffle, back to restless news scrolling and an overflowing inbox. Memories of the big fish that turned toward my herring fly are fading, as are the bramble scratches on my arms. You miss me? I'm cooking over gas again, instead of wood. Part of the time, anyway. Labor Day weekend, where I'm from, marks the annual West Indian American Day Parade on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn. That means jerk chicken (above) is on the menu all over the borough, cooked low and slow in smoky grills filled with glowing charcoal and fired with soaked fruitwood chips. (The authenticity police will tell you that only Jamaican pimento wood should be used for smoking proper jerk chicken. This is not true. The authenticity police can be actual jerks.) Featured Recipe Jerk Chicken View Recipe → I like mine with coconut rice on the side, into which I stir a can of pigeon peas, along with skillet fried plantains and cabbage that I smoke-steam alongside the chicken before shredding into slaw dressed lightly with butter and flavored with salt, garlic, onion powder and a few sprigs of thyme. You may prefer Shaun Lewis and Gabrielle Hamilton's version, with pickled bananas, Harold Dieterle's jerk pork ribs or Millie Peartree's sheet-pan jerk salmon. You could even fly into the no-recipe recipe zone and slather some pressed firm tofu with store-bought jerk seasoning (Walkerswood is terrific), then sear it hot and crisp in a pan. This weekend, there's a jerk for everyone. But I'm not going to be bossy about it. You may prefer one of these easy grilled chicken recipes we've assembled for the holiday celebration, or lots of corn on the cob and a big tomato salad. Hot dogs play a role in Labor Day festivities as well, with potato salad, perhaps, and no-bake cheesecake bars for dessert. And no one could fault a person for making bacon-Cheddar dip and calling it dinner right there, with sturdy potato chips and maybe a few spears of celery. It's the last gasp of summer (or so some will tell you). Cook whatever brings you satisfaction and joy, then share it with those you love. That's what holiday weekends are for. There are thousands more recipes to consider making in the next few days waiting for you on New York Times Cooking. (You need a subscription to read them, of course. Subscriptions support our work and allow it to continue. If you haven't already, would you consider subscribing today? Thanks.) Take a stroll through the digital aisles and see what draws your interest. Then cook! And listen, too. Our colleagues at Wirecutter have started an excellent podcast, "The Wirecutter Show," available on Apple, Spotify or wherever you find your podcasts. This week's episode features our own Genevieve Ko, talking about creative ways to waste less food. Join her. If you run into problems with our NYT Cooking technology along the way, just reach out for help. We're at cookingcare@nytimes.com and someone will get back to you. You can write to me, too, if you'd like to register a complaint or offer one of my colleagues a compliment. I'm at foodeditor@nytimes.com, and, while I can't respond to every letter, I do read each one. Now, it's a considerable distance from anything to do with layer cakes or the price of saffron, but I just went on a long and enjoyable journey reading Greg Iles's latest Penn Cage political thriller, "Southern Man," a nearly 1,000-page follow-up to his Natchez Burning books. Also from the vacation reading list, Emma Cline's "The Guest," a twitchy, Cheevery Long Island noir. And out on Tuesday but already shortlisted for the Booker Prize is Rachel Kushner's latest: "Creation Lake." I think you'll enjoy all three. Finally, Lindsay Zoladz recently took to her Amplifier newsletter for The Times to consider eight correct answers to the question many will ask this weekend: What was the song of the summer? I think there's only one, myself: "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" by Shaboozey. Debate me all you like. I'll see you on Sunday. IN THIS NEWSLETTER Photograph by Grant Cornett. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Theo Vamvounakis. Jerk Ribs Recipe from Harold Dieterle Adapted by Sam Sifton 3 1/2 hours Makes 4 servings Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Susan Spungen. Sheet-Pan Jerk Salmon By Millie Peartree 20 minutes Makes 4 servings Karsten Moran for The New York Times Coconut Rice By Tejal Rao 35 minutes Makes 3 to 4 servings Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Roscoe Betsill. Skillet Fried Plantains Recipe from Ricky Moore Adapted by Brigid Washington 15 minutes  Makes 2 to 4 servings  Ryan Liebe for The New York Times Corn on the Cob With Old Bay and Lemon By Emily Fleischaker 15 minutes Makes 4 servings Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Tomato Salad By Ali Slagle 10 minutes Makes 4 servings Nico Schinco for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Bacon-Cheddar Dip By Melissa Clark 20 minutes Makes 6 to 8 servings Craig Lee for The New York Times No-Bake Cheesecake Bars By Samantha Seneviratne 20 minutes, plus chilling Makes 24 servings Sign up for the Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter Fresh dinner ideas for busy people who want something great to eat, with NYT Cooking recipes sent to you weekly. Get it in your inbox Sign up for The Veggie newsletter Tanya Sichynsky shares the most delicious vegetarian recipes for weeknight cooking, packed lunches and dinner parties. Get it in your inbox Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Cooking from The New York Times. To stop receiving Cooking, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. 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