Thursday, September 5, 2024

Can we have basic food for dinner?

Maybe crispy-edged quesadillas, or caramelized roast vegetables and fluffy rice?
Cooking

September 5, 2024

Ali Slagle's crispy chicken thighs. David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

In praise of basic food

By Ali Slagle

Hi everyone, Ali here filling in for Mia. The recipes I develop at New York Times Cooking tempt you with sparkles — jalapeño honey, caper-raisin vinaigrette, sizzled mint — but you know what else I like to cook? Obvious, plain, basic food.

To make it, you season an ingredient (with salt), and then you cook it until it's done (by introducing heat and sometimes oil, butter or another fat that conducts heat). No marinating or multitasking is needed — not even garlic. Gasp.

While there are many reasons to cook, we probably wouldn't choose to do it so often if it didn't also keep us alive. So it's totally OK to take the least involved route from raw ingredient to eating — because when done well, the ingredient shimmers with its own inherent sparkle.

Featured Recipe

Crispy Chicken Thighs

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For example, don't touch these bone-in chicken thighs as they cook over moderate heat mostly on their skin sides and they'll develop a chip-like crust.

Press a quesadilla in a nonstick pan so some of the cheese oozes out for a lacy skirt of toasted cheese.

Cut very ripe plantains into chunky spears and fry until fudgy.

Roast any vegetable on the bottom rack of your oven without flipping or stirring for browned outsides and cooked-through middles.

Steam green beans and bok choy on top of a pot of steaming rice for a trio of tenderness.

Blacken tomatoes and a habanero to mash into a smoky, yet bright salsa.

Broil cod on top of shingles of thinly sliced potatoes for flaky fish and creamy potatoes.

All these dishes need only three to five ingredients, but when cooked so superbly, what else could you want? You could do more with a sauce or garnish, but you don't always need to. Instead, go on and live your life. I'll be over here writing myself out of a job.

And, if living your life includes armchair cooking — meaning looking at the pretty pictures on NYT Cooking — to celebrate the site's 10th anniversary, Cooking subscribers can share as many recipes as they like with friends and family. Just tap the "Give" icon on any recipe to create a paywall-free link.

See you back here on Saturday — that is, if I still have my job.

IN THIS NEWSLETTER

Article Image

Craig Lee for The New York Times

Roasted Cod and Potatoes

By Mark Bittman

1 hour

Makes 4 servings

Article Image

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Sweet Plantain Fries

By Millie Peartree

15 minutes

Makes 2 to 4 servings

Article Image

Nico Schinco for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

Zucchini Salad With Sizzled Mint and Feta

By Ali Slagle

10 minutes

Makes 4 servings

Article Image

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Toasted Coconut Rice With Bok Choy and Fried Eggs

By Genevieve Ko

30 minutes

Makes 4 servings

Article Image

Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell.

Grilled Hasselback Kielbasa With Jalapeño Honey

By Ali Slagle

25 minutes

Makes 4 servings

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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