Did a friend forward this to you? Sign up here. Hi, all, and good Saturday morning (and happy Halloween) to you. How was your week? Mine was, in a word, busy. As always. There was one particular afternoon that nearly broke my brain trying to solve the convoluted schedule puzzle of early school release, a midday office evacuation and an evening appointment. Is it any wonder that sometimes I don’t have it in me to feel like cooking? Wanting to cut a few corners in the kitchen is rarely because I can’t be bothered. More often, I just need to be in and out so I can devote the time and energy to something else. I enjoy cooking (most of the time) — there just aren’t enough hours in the day. So, yeah, it’s about efficiency. That’s the mindset that led to the happy accident of my Skillet Orzo With Marinara and White Beans, this week’s featured recipe. It arose when I blew into our Food Lab for a quick lunch break and grabbed a handful of ingredients and a single pan. I ended up with a hearty dish that ticked all the boxes of fast, tasty and simple, no knife or cutting board required. My breakthrough was using the marinara (homemade or store-bought), cut with a bit of water, as the cooking liquid. Then all I needed was a can of white beans for heft, a dab of Calabrian chiles for heat and a few tablespoons of grated pecorino Romano for savory oomph. I was really pleased with how this one-pan, 30-minute dish turned out, and so was the reader who wrote the first review: “Just what I needed after a long drive back from vacation. Easy to throw together, tasty, and nutritious enough.”
When I said I like quick, simple recipes so that I can leave time for other things? Well, sometimes that other thing is baking. And I was more than happy to devote a few hours to Patricia Tanumihardja’s Pandan Coffee Cake With Coconut Crumb Topping. Pandan, a grasslike plant, is known as the vanilla of Southeast Asia. Here it lends a bright green hue and slightly floral and nutty flavor to the plush, coconut-scented cake. You’ll need to acquire frozen pandan leaves at your local Asian market, but trust me, the effort is worth it. My tasters and I were over the moon about this treat. Ellie Krieger’s Honey-Roasted Squash With Spicy Peanut Sauce also pops with color thanks to the star ingredient. That appearance is for more than looks, though. As Ellie says, “Beta-carotene, the nutrient responsible for the vegetable’s yellow-orange hue, is an antioxidant that protects our health by neutralizing damaging compounds in our cells, and one our body can convert to vitamin A.” Pair the vibrant squash with a satay-inspired sauce for a new take on a vegetable that too often gets relegated to the same boring preparation. Is pink more your style? Well, step right this way to the Sarti Spritz Cocktail, “a blazing pink, fruit-forward cousin of the Aperol Spritz,” as Spirits columnist Carrie Allan describes it. This bubbly drink stars Sarti Rosa, a less bitter and lower-alcohol cousin of Aperol, a popular Italian aperitif. Both are made by the same manufacturer, Campari. The Sarti Spritz leans sweet (which is probably why I liked it), but there’s balance thanks to prosecco, carbonated water and lime. It was another lively hour of my live cooking chat this week, where we talked about seemingly everything under the sun, including induction cooktops, dry chicken breasts, creaming butter and sugar, and (yes!) Thanksgiving food. Join me for the next session Thursday at 11 a.m. Eastern. Submit your questions now, then sign back on when I start the conversation. Until next week, happy cooking.
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