NYT Cooking 12+

I am an enthusiastic cook during normal times. Living in Seattle and fortunate to be able to source great ingredients—specifically fish and shellfish just hours out of the water, meal preparation has never been a chore. But during pandemic times, even the occasional special meal “out” has been put on ice since February, due to a high risk situation that makes it really not worth the bother. So I’ve sharpened my knives, organized my pantry and soldiered on. I’m not generally a cookbook user—yes, I do collect them and subscribe to all the usual suspects on a monthly or quarterly basis, but I rely on a book or magazine more for a concept to riff on or a food trend to explore. But when I began delving into NYT Cooking—a part of my Times subscription at large, that changed. There are so many great recipes it makes it easy to cook anything and everything from a pantry pasta to the most elaborate meal and have an excellent outcome—and fun along the way. I am a lifestyle journalist, so I love the context and backstory of each recipe—reading the accompanying article is a great source of pleasure. But these recipes really work and the shopping list tool is a handy helper. In short, I’ve found an endless source of material, entertainment and great food at my fingertips. Thank you for keeping me inspired and cooking with joy! ❤️

BC (before Covid) I looked to NYT and its amazing parade of food artists for a new idea or a new way to entertain guests or wow family (so the kids would visit more often) with new dishes or a twist on the old ones. DC (during) is making this more important than ever even if there are only the two of us in it together for the ling haul. Food is a variable when we are all starved for social stimulus and the normal variations in life that are stymied by C.

Like so many, I’ve made bread for the first time—successfully—thanks to Mark Bittman and countless reader tips along with his own updates to a recipe that should be awarded the Nobel Peace prize. Who can disagree over hot bread and butter? And the perfected recipes that pop up daily or I find as I search the site have resulted from the in perfect hasslebacks, amazing skillet chops and steaks, 1137 recipes for amazing chicken dishes. Honestly, I now have a collection of food porn pictures and I never photographed anything but the beautiful cakes I made BC. I bought my sister a subscription for her birthday because every night now she wants a pix of what’s for dinner and an explanation of how to make it. Totally worth it! It’s my cooking Geritol!