Like pretty much everyone in food media*, I am obsessed with Alison Roman’s newish cookbook, Dining In. Part of the hype, I suspect, comes from her pedigree: Prior to writing her book, she was an editor at Bon Appétit and then Buzzfeed, dreaming up exciting, not-too-fussy recipes like slow-roasted salmon with crispy greens, and rhubarb almond cake. She’s also written for super-under-the-radar publications like The New York Times and Cherry Bombe, penned an excellent, zine-like, mini-cookbook about lemons for Short Stack Editions, and worked in the kitchens at Momofuku Milk Bar. (I’m missing a couple biographical details here, but you get the gist.) Dining In may be her first cookbook, but she has ample experience to back it up.
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spicy
Deep Immune Soup With Turmeric-Ginger Broth
Every once in a while, the stars align and a recipe comes to me just when I need it most. In this case, I was flipping through Laura Wright’s The First Mess Cookbook, tabbing recipes to try, on the same day that Andrew came down with a nasty head cold. Boosted with a generous dose of ginger, turmeric, black pepper, and chili flakes, this golden broth would have caught my eye, sick patient or no, but under these circumstances it quickly jumped to the top of my to-try list. Steamy, spicy, and sinus-clearing, it does it’s advertised job well, and since the solid ingredients are classic noodle soup additions (orzo and the tried and true trio of onion, carrot, and celery) it’s also quite comforting.
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Skirt Steak With Spicy Broccolini and Lemon Mayo
Blood oranges, bitter greens, olives, zippy Etna wines, and marzipan: these are a few of the things I expected to devour in Sicily (check, check, check, check, and check!). What I (perhaps foolishly) didn’t quite foresee was how different my day to day eating would be. With a landscape dominated by wheat, many meals are anchored around pasta and bread. (Pastries, cakes, and cookies are also omnipresent.) A delicious shock, but still, a shock, to the system for someone who typically eats a very-vegetable-centric, lower-carb, high-fat diet.
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Spicy Breakfast Tacos
Breakfast tacos aren’t anything new, but they’re new to me, and a supremely-comforting breakfast to boot (two solid reasons to celebrate them here, I’d say).
This is a case of inspiration coming from an unexpected place; my first taste of this Tex-Mex staple was at an airport. If you’re scratching your head, let me rewind a bit. This past August I was in Austin for my dear friend Maggie’s bachelorette party. Because I booked my ticket late in the game, I ended up on the early flight back home Sunday AM. Combine an early wake-up with a night of drinking, and it’s hardly a shocker that I needed some solid sustenance before boarding the plane. Thankfully, I was on the same flight as Maggie’s lovely friend Kayla, who steered us to Maudie’s, where we sunk our teeth into some A-plus, hangover-killing breakfast tacos.
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Three-Meat Chili
Andrew and I have very different ideas of what goes into an ideal bowl of chili. As a veg-curious cook, my concept of this Southwestern staple has always involved beans, often to the exclusion of meat. Andrew’s preferences hew much closer to the meat-heavy Texan-style; beans aren’t necessarily off the table, but also aren’t the star. So, it’s hardly surprising that the last couple recipes I’ve auditioned — a dense, three-bean vegetarian chili and a vegetable-heavy vegan option — were met with a somewhat lukewarm response on his part. So, in the spirit of trying something new (to me, at least), and, yes, making a dinner my boyfriend would be excited to eat, I recently simmered up this three-meat situation sourced from Geoffrey Zakarian’s My Perfect Pantry.
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Spicy Candied Pecans
While on a recent trip to Boston, I paid a long-overdue visit to Flour Bakery, a spot I’ve wanted to check out for what feels like forever. Not surprisingly, Flour’s famed sticky buns were a winner; the tangy, almost-sourdough-like brioche base balanced out the ridiculously-gooey deep-dark-brown glaze that anchors the pecans to the buns. Seriously, don’t skip these. My other favorite was a bit less expected, an impulse purchase snatched up while waiting hungrily in line: a bag of spicy candied pecans, dubbed addictive by their packaging.
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Spicy Chickpea-Tomato Ragout
Why, in the middle of July, am I writing about a dish made with canned tomatoes, just as plump, juicy heirlooms have begun to flood the markets? Don’t get me wrong, I adore a peak-season fresh tomato — this time of year I practically survive on simple tomato salads — but I also find immense value in a killer pantry-based recipe, like this speedy, spicy tomato and chickpea stew. Because, as much as I enjoy grocery shopping, at least grocery shopping of the leisurely sort, sometimes it can feel like a bit of a chore, the last thing I want to do after a busy day of work. (I may be in the business of proselytizing home cooking, but will admit that the work that goes into that — meal planning, grocery shopping, and the like — can occasionally be a bit of a drag.) So when I come up with or discover a new pantry-goods-based recipe, especially one that’s as wholesome, versatile, and tasty as this one is, I tend to get ridiculously excited, giddy even.
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Curry Cashews
As someone who eats a lot of beans, grains, lentils, and nuts, the bulk aisle is (not surprisingly) one of my favorite sections of the supermarket. Assuming your market’s bulk section has a good, healthy amount of turnover, it can be one of the best, least wasteful ways to stock up on everything from steel cut oats to red lentils, and, if you’re lucky enough to live near an excellent co-op like San Francisco’s Rainbow Grocery, loose-leaf tea, spices, alternative flours, and even kimchi.
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Indian Red Lentil Soup With Spinach
I’d quite happily eat both soup and Indian food every day; combine the two, like with this recipe, and I’m over the moon. Complexly-spiced, this Indian red lentil soup is just the sort of thing I like to fill my fridge (and freezer) with, ready to be reheated for a quick meal when hunger strikes.
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Kale and Sweet Potato Soup With Cumin
In our pantry, you’ll pretty much always find a package or two of instant ramen stashed away. While it serves well as dinner in a pinch, especially when dressed up with a poached egg, sliced scallions, and sriracha, it’s really there for when either Andrew or I are sick with a cold. (Some might crave chicken noodle soup, but I prefer the sinus-clearing heat of instant ramen and other spicy soups.) Andrew recently had the flu, so our stockpile of instant ramen was raided. I only wish I had discovered this kale and sweet potato soup recipe before then, as ramen — while tasty — isn’t exactly the most nutritious option, and this would’ve been the perfect supplement to that.
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