jtrent238 test blog: Five weeknight dishes: Easy ways to be a better cook

March 10, 2023

Easy Ways to Be a Better Cook

By Emily Weinstein

My colleague Alexa Weibel assembled this great list of dishes last week, richly annotated with her wisdom: "10 Brilliant Recipes That'll Make You a Better Cook." Lex knows a lot about brilliant recipes; she created many New York Times Cooking gems, including our ombré gratin and five-ingredient creamy miso pasta (a fan favorite).

Two recipes from Lex's list are below, as well as other excellent options I hope you'll try. And if you're just beginning to cook, or if you're looking for recipes that are very simple, take a look at "Learn to Cook (and Love It) in 10 Easy Dishes."

Let me know what you're making at dearemily@nytimes.com, and also tell me whether there's a New York Times recipe that taught you something great. I may feature it in a future newsletter. And — sale alert — for a limited time, you can save on all of The New York Times, including Cooking. Subscribe now during our All Access sale for unlimited recipes and kitchen advice, plus everything The Times offers.

Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.

1. Ritzy Cheddar Chicken Breasts

There's a lesson in this recipe, which is on Lex's list and can probably make anyone happy: Crushed crackers, used as an ingredient or garnish, provide amazing crunch. (The same is true of cornflakes, pretzels, potato chips and several other crisp delights.) Here, Eric Kim crushes Ritz crackers, tosses them with shredded Cheddar and then uses them to coat chicken breasts.

View this recipe.

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

2. One-Pan Salmon Niçoise With Orzo

Ali Slagle's new recipe is a substantial spin on Niçoise salad, swapping in salmon fillets for canned tuna, eliminating the boiled eggs and potatoes, and adding orzo (an underappreciated ingredient, in my opinion). It's filling, bright and fast.

View this recipe.

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

3. Glazed Tofu With Chile and Star Anise

Another recipe that landed on Lex's list: Yewande Komolafe's glazed tofu. As Lex points out, most tofu recipes call for cubing and then searing the tofu pieces. But when you sear the whole block of tofu first and then tear it into pieces, as Yewande does, you get craggier edges that are better for soaking up sauce. (The same principle — craggy edges that take on more sauce — is also at work in Samin Nosrat's crouton recipe.)

View this recipe.

Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

4. Linguine With Clam Sauce

Pasta alle vongole is easy to make with fresh clams. It is also shockingly delicious in its simplicity. But fresh clams mean a trip to a store that sells fresh seafood, ideally that same day, right before dinner. Last-minute, post-work trips to the store are not generally what we are about here at Five Weeknight Dishes. So: canned clams, which deliver a different but still tasty take on the classic, as seen here in this great recipe from Colu Henry.

View this recipe.

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

5. Velvety Scrambled Eggs

I've learned a lot about eggs from Kenji López-Alt, who always seems to be contemplating better ways to cook them. (See: his method for boiling eggs, and a basic technique for scrambling them.) This recipe calls for poaching beaten eggs in cream. Maybe that sounds fussy. It's not at all, and it elevates scrambled eggs for dinner to something more sublime.

View this recipe.

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