Recipes

Sue Li · NYT Cooking

There’s so much delicata squash available in the fall. Long and variegated, it has a surprisingly delicate skin that also makes it great for a pie because you don’t have to peel it. For a more beautifully topped pie, with small shingled rings, seek out a skinnier squash.

Sue Li · NYT Cooking

A Japanese toasted green tea with warm, nutty flavor, hojicha is perfect for a sweet pie. This recipe calls for hojicha powder, which is readily available at Japanese grocery stores or online. The hojicha is mixed into a cheesecake filling and baked in a shortbread crust. Make sure to use a metal pie plate here so that the crust will come out golden brown.

Sue Li · NYT Cooking

An apple pie is evergreen, but it’s best in the fall, when apples are in season. Here, sweet Honeycrisps are cooked down in butter, tossed with rich heavy cream and nestled in a crust that requires no crimping. Instead, the dough for the top crust is cut into squares (or any shape of your choosing), then shingled on top of the filling. As it bakes, the edges will drape naturally. You do want to pay special attention to the filling: Mix the cooked apples with the remaining ingredients right before assembling, since adding them too early will break down the apples too quickly.

Sue Li · NYT Cooking

This tall, very photogenic cranberry and vanilla-honey pie marbles pink and white mousses and recalls yakult, a yogurty drink popular in East Asia. It’s paired with a gingery crust for a little kick. Making it is fairly simple — just make sure to whip the cream to medium-soft peaks (think of a droopy elf hat) before incorporating the flavorings. (If the cream is too stiff, the cream will be lumpy and take away from the tender texture.)

Sue Li · NYT Cooking

This creamy, fluffy dessert, reminiscent of French silk pie, features layers of coffee and chocolate puddings topped with whipped cream, for deep mocha flavor. The only baking required for this largely no-bake pie is for the crust, made from chocolate graham crackers — but if those are hard to find, you can even use chocolate Teddy Grahams. And while the recipe calls for semisweet chocolate chips, feel free to use bittersweet, milk chocolate or a combination.

Sue Li · NYT Cooking

Inspired by the Payday bar, this simple cookie mimics the flavor of the candy’s caramel nougat center through a brown butter-infused dough. Once shaped, the dough is then rolled generously in salted roasted peanuts for crunch and an irresistible nod to the candy.

Sue Li · NYT Cooking

This rich and hearty, pantry-leaning vegetarian soup is built on layers of flavor: Sweet caramelized cabbage and onions provide the base, complemented by the subtle acidity of tomato paste and wine. The liquid from canned cannellini beans adds texture and body, while a Parmesan rind in the simmering broth contributes savory, nutty complexity. Fresh garlic, added at the end, provides a vibrant kick that brightens this satisfying soup.

Sue Li · NYT Cooking

As easy as it is delicious, this chowder bypasses celery in favor of fennel, which gives the soup a little anise flavor and some extra heft. The vegetables are thinly sliced and cooked together to help speed up the cooking process; using a mandoline can accelerate your prep even more. Half-and-half is a lighter option than heavy cream and helps finish the soup with a little richness. Cod is recommended here (or flounder or halibut, depending on what’s available), but feel free to substitute with shrimp or clams, adjusting cook times as needed. The crushed saltines are flavored with hot paprika, which is a smoky substitute for the bacon that is usually found in a classic chowder.

Sue Li · NYT Cooking

This very quick and hearty chicken soup comes together in just 25 minutes. Ground chicken cooks speedily, but check the label: It’s best to find dark-meat chicken for a richer flavor than leaner breast meat. The soup is warmed up with garlic and ginger, spiced with cumin and crushed red pepper, and gets its golden hue from a dusting of turmeric powder. The soup is also further enhanced by frozen sliced mushrooms, which are a great freezer addition for any last-minute meals that need a little more flavor and texture. If frozen mushrooms are not available in your grocery store, feel free to use sliced fresh mushrooms instead. Quick-cooking quinoa adds texture to the soup — and protein, too.

Sue Li · NYT Cooking

This is my version of a traditional pan-fried dumpling that I buy from a stand at the base of Elephant Mountain, a popular spot in Taipei, Taiwan, after early morning hikes. I always make that pit stop because they are so good. The simple ground-pork filling is flavorful and juicy thanks to garlic chives, a wide, flat variety with a strong garlic flavor and leek-like texture. There isn’t an easy substitute for the garlic chives, but they are readily available at East Asian grocery stores. Making your own dumpling wrappers requires a bit of practice — and a wooden dowel, a small, thin rolling pin that provides you with better control when rolling the wrappers. You could also use store-bought wrappers, but the extra effort really pays off with a slightly chewy and tender texture, and the bonus of knowing you made the dumplings entirely from scratch.

Sue Li · NYT Cooking

For crispy, perfectly puffed chicken schnitzel, begin by splitting the chicken breasts into cutlets and gently pounding them out until thin. This technique helps the chicken cook evenly in the time it takes the crust to turn golden, and creates more surface area for a crispy crust. While cooking the chicken, shaking the pan gently helps puff up the coating for an airy texture. Don’t forget to season with salt right after it is cooked. This schnitzel is served with an onion and herb salad with fresh cucumbers and sliced pickles, balancing out the fried chicken with some added brightness.

Sue Li · NYT Cooking

This creamy, protein-packed dressing uses silken tofu as its base, offering a vegan alternative to the buttermilk or mayonnaise commonly used in more traditional green goddess dressing. This dressing’s velvety texture pairs perfectly with crisp winter greens and vegetables such as romaine hearts, Little Gems, radishes, endives and celery. For a satisfying vegetarian meal, consider drizzling this dressing over a hearty bowl with shredded lettuce, cooked grains, legumes and sliced avocado.

Sue Li · NYT Cooking

Delicious and well-balanced, this silky noodle recipe starts with a no-cook peanut butter sauce seasoned with pantry ingredients. Bouncy bucatini props up the garlicky-peanut sauce, and the textural and lightly spicy tofu crumble makes the whole dish a meal. The spicy tofu, on its own, can also be eaten with rice or tucked into a banh mi-style sandwich. If you only have regular, sweetened peanut butter, skip the added brown sugar in the recipe. The recipe doubles easily to serve four if desired.

Sue Li · NYT Cooking

This creamy five-ingredient potato salad features two surprise ingredients: pickled jalapeños, which lend heat and acidity, and blistered corn, which adds sweet and smoky notes. Rather than the usual cookie-cutter cubes of boiled potatoes, chunks of potato are simmered until they are so soft that they break up a little bit when combined with the remaining ingredients, adding extra creaminess to the traditional side. Rubbing mayonnaise on the corn before blistering it in a hot cast-iron skillet helps keep the kernels moist and also seasons them. Pickled jalapeños provide verve, but they vary in acidity and spice, so adjust the seasoning until this salad tastes just right to you.

Sue Li · NYT Cooking

With just a few building blocks—seared halloumi, sautéed chickpeas and yogurty rice—this recipe yields a quick and easy dinner in a bowl. Halloumi is coated with a dried spice rub that includes cumin, thyme and oregano, then gets seared until golden and crisp on the outside. Chickpeas seasoned with smoked paprika add a bit of depth to the bowl. Even the base gets an instant flavor boost: The rice is coated with yogurt to make it tangy and a little rich. Cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and lemon give the bowl plenty of brightness and texture.

Steven Stern · NYT Cooking

Steven Stern

Steven Stern · NYT Cooking

Steven Stern

Steven Stern · NYT Cooking

Steven Stern

Steven Stern · NYT Cooking

You’ll need bourbon and hazelnut spread for this adult twist on a milkshake, which came to The Times from the Brooklyn Bowl restaurant in that borough. The vanilla in the bourbon is brought out by the ice cream, and the hazelnut spread evokes a praline flavor reminiscent of New Orleans. What’s the worst that could happen? Steven Stern

Steven Stern · NYT Cooking

Steven Stern

Steven Stern · NYT Cooking

Steven Stern

Steven Stern · NYT Cooking

Steven Stern

Steven Stern · NYT Cooking

While Americans content themselves with Rudolph and Frosty, rural Austrians revere a more outré member of the holiday pantheon: Krampus, the malevolent goat-horned demon. A pre-Christian holdover, he wields birch branches and rusty chains, enacting a sort of good cop, bad cop routine with Old St. Nick. The Bohemian Spritz (a creation of Vandaag's Katie Stipe) is a light, fizzy wine drink with compellingly arboreal undercurrents, provided by pine and elderflower cordials. It is ideal for welcoming the long nights, for putting the Krampus back in Christmas. Steven Stern

Steven Stern · NYT Cooking

Steven Stern