Recipes

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

If you want a bold-flavored chicken dish to please a crowd at your Passover Seder or any time of year, try this one, adapted from Birba in Palm Springs, Calif. Both sweet and savory, the roasted brined chicken caramelizes beautifully in the oven and gets garnished with bright green Castelvetrano olives, preserved lemons, capers and dates. The only tricky part is cutting up the whole broiler chickens, preferred for their dainty size by Ms. Lazar. If pulling out kitchen shears feels like overload, you can use store-bought chicken pieces instead. Marinated — and even roasted — in advance (see Tip), this chicken makes serving for a big crowd a seamless affair.

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

Perfect for Hanukkah or any time of year, these latkes bring out the pure flavor of potato, because that is basically the only ingredient in them. Making latkes can be a last-minute nightmare, with overeager cooks putting too many patties in hot oil, thus taking longer to fry and resulting in a greasy mess. But these can be prepared in advance. This recipe, adapted from the chef Nathaniel Wade of the Outermost Inn on Martha’s Vineyard, starts with parbaked potatoes, which are cooled, grated, seasoned with just salt and pepper, pressed into patties and refrigerated, then fried just before serving. You can either serve them with crème fraîche or sour cream, smoked salmon and tiny flecks of chives, or traditional brisket and homemade applesauce. Joan Nathan

The New York Times · NYT Cooking

The New York Times

Robert Simonson · NYT Cooking

Robert Simonson

Robert Simonson · NYT Cooking

Robert Simonson

Jim Meehan · NYT Cooking

Your success with home mixology will be defined as much by what you stock as how you use it. Most home bars contain a decent selection of base spirits and very few modifiers. A bucket of ice, a few limes and a minibar may look like a world of opportunities, but it’s not. So instead of planning a party around what you have around the house, buy a modifier like orange Curaçao, Bénédictine, maraschino or Campari. You can make several different classic cocktails by pairing one of those with bitters, vermouth or a few items from the fruit stand. You’ll also build up your back bar, one bottle at a time.

Jim Meehan · NYT Cooking

Jim Meehan · NYT Cooking

Jim Meehan · NYT Cooking

Jim Meehan · NYT Cooking

Jim Meehan · NYT Cooking

Jim Meehan · NYT Cooking

Jim Meehan · NYT Cooking

Jim Meehan · NYT Cooking

Jim Meehan · NYT Cooking

Jim Meehan · NYT Cooking

Jim Meehan · NYT Cooking

This is the classic Italian way to open a meal: the Negroni, a bittersweet palate cleanser that makes way for the evening’s delights. Adding a bottle of Campari to the liquor cabinet opens up a world of cocktail possibilities. In any case, drink this cocktail cold. This recipe came to us from Jim Meehan, a bartender and an owner of Please Don't Tell, a speakeasy in the East Village.

Jim Meehan · NYT Cooking

Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan · NYT Cooking

Jim Meehan · NYT Cooking

Jim Meehan · NYT Cooking

Jim Meehan · NYT Cooking

Jim Meehan · NYT Cooking

Jim Meehan · NYT Cooking