The humble lentil is a quick-cooking kitchen powerhouse. Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. By Ali Slagle Ali Slagle is a recipe developer and regular contributor to NYT Cooking who specializes in low-effort, high-reward recipes. She is also the author of the cookbook “I Dream of Dinner (so You Don’t…
Silver medalist Kassidy Cook of United States receives her medal next to silver medalist Sarah Bacon of United States. SAINT-DENIS, France — Chen Yiwen and Chang Yani began China’s bid to capture all eight women’s Olympic diving golds by winning the synchronized 3-meter springboard event on Saturday. First-time Olympians Chen and Chang, who arrived in…
I look forward to the first zucchini of the season almost as much spring’s first asparagus. Taut, crunchy and with an almost grassy taste, the small, early zucchinis have a concentrated flavor without the diffuse bloat of their overgrown siblings. Of course, the vegetable gardeners among us have all summer to take their pick of…
At Twelve, a waterfront restaurant in Portland, Maine, the hottest seat in the house is right by the plancha, where you pick up a few tricks (and a little perspiration) while watching line cooks prepare steak after steak. On a recent visit, Everette Allen, the chef at the protein station, made about a dozen strip…
In Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book, “Where the Wild Things Are,” the Wild Things are hardly mild. When the main character, a little boy named Max, meets these monsters, he first notices their “terrible” roars, teeth, eyes and claws. A rumpus ensues, and Max comes to learn that these monsters aren’t terrible at all. They’re…
The new season of “The Bear” is coming soon, and one memorable scene from the last season starts with the chef Sydney Adamu, played by Ayo Edebiri, cracking a few eggs into a bowl. She then enters the meditative bliss that is making a perfect omelet. Watching her nudge the golden disk over and around…
The first blush of asparagus season never gets old. Every April, seeing those violet-tipped bunches at the farmers’ market sends my pulse zipping and my mind whirling. Dreaming up new ways of preparing them is almost as thrilling as eating them, though clearly not as satiating. Because asparagus cook so quickly and are delightful at…
My cousins and I used to dare one another to touch the shrimp, their 10 legs dancing, their antennae waving. At the Chinese seafood restaurants near us in the San Gabriel Valley of Southern California, the servers would bring our orders, still alive, to the table for approval before taking them into the kitchen. In…
I found it while walking through the home-goods section of T.J. Maxx, the American retail equivalent of the Garden of Earthly Delights, at 8:00 on a Tuesday night in 2015. It was two days after Easter, and in this Hieronymus Bosch land of shopping anarchy, the shelves were stocked with pastel-colored objects of uncertain usefulness:…
Cooking is, in almost every way, magic. Every day, we trot into our kitchens with an idea and a few tricks up our sleeve, transforming ingredients and conjuring wholly new creations in the process. Recipes, then, are little spells, road maps to transcendent deliciousness. Only with a recipe can you turn just three ingredients into…
