Recipes

Celia Barbour · NYT Cooking

Celia Barbour · NYT Cooking

This is a sweet and buttery tomato-onion soup that evolved, many years ago, toward a kind of borscht, but stopped short. Borscht tastes too earthy for my palate. Tomatoes and orange keep the flavor a bit brighter and more acidic. The name comes from the colors: orange carrots, carnelian tomatoes, magenta beets. I serve it at home, at least twice each winter, with snow-white dollops of sour cream floating on top. It looks wonderful, tastes good, and is very healthful. And without my needing to say a word about mincing or dicing, it teaches my children about the satisfaction of a job well done.

Celia Barbour · NYT Cooking

These irresistible, bite-sized meatballs are made from a combination of ground beef and pork, milk-soaked bread crumbs, grated Gouda cheese and a healthy spoonful of allspice. Once browned in a skillet, they are transferred to a Dutch oven, where they simmer until done then finished off with a glug of heavy cream. Serve with buttered red potatoes, egg noodles or with toothpicks.

Celia Barbour · NYT Cooking

Celia Barbour · NYT Cooking

Mari Uyehara · NYT Cooking

The Italian American tomato pie is an elemental dish that lets its simple components — a flatbread covered in tomato sauce — really sing. It comes in different forms in different cities. In Philadelphia, tomato pie is an institution unto itself, typically sold from old-school Italian bakeries. Joe Beddia of Pizzeria Beddia is among a younger generation of chefs in the city who are making their own version of tomato pie. His 24-hour fermented dough produces a focaccialike flatbread with a springy interior and a crunchy, golden-brown crust. He covers it with a thin spread of rich tomato sauce, and finishes it with a generous drizzle of fruity olive oil and restrained sprinkle of Sicilian oregano. Eat it at room temperature as they do in Philadelphia — it makes for an ideal, make-ahead buffet addition, especially on Eagles game days. Mari Uyehara and Cathy Lo

Emily Cochrane · NYT Cooking

With a heat that comes from spice, not temperature, this crunchy cabbage slaw is all but guaranteed to be at any barbecue, potluck or Fourth of July meal in Cleveland, Tennessee. But it didn’t get much attention statewide until 2024, when lawmakers agreed to make hot slaw the state’s first official food and crown this eastern Tennessee city the hot slaw capital. While there are many tightly guarded variations, hot slaw in Cleveland is widely viewed as beginning at the Star Vue Drive-In Theater’s concession stand. This recipe is adapted from a version held onto by Brad H. Benton, whose father owned the 1950s-era theater. Serve it on a hot dog or with pulled pork or barbecue — or just grab a heaping spoonful. Emily Cochrane and Cathy Lo

Eric Asimov · NYT Cooking

The Bloody Mary has evolved into an all-purpose cocktail that can be tailored to any taste. Swap out the spirits, vary the juice component or the spices, or go big on the garnishes, and you have a cocktail that can range from elegant to garish. This classic version, from Adam Estes, the bar manager at the Wren in Baltimore, has a superb balance of flavors yet still leaves room for personal preference. Garnish as you wish — a celery stalk or a pickled onion is a great idea. Eric Asimov, Cathy Lo

Patrick Farrell · NYT Cooking

In her memoir “The Year of Magical Thinking,” Joan Didion wrote about learning to make soufflés, one of her signature dishes, while living in Southern California in the early 1970s. “The trick,” she concluded, “was a less strict approach than generally advised.” This autumnal take, from a handwritten and well-stained index card in her files, doesn’t puff up as impressively as a classic French soufflé, but the beaten egg whites lend a gentle lift to the dense sweet potatoes. Their sweetness is nicely tempered by the butter and lemon zest. — Patrick Farrell

Patrick Farrell · NYT Cooking

Joan Didion cooked for a lofty crowd of her fellow literati, but her menus leaned heavily on down-to-earth stews and casseroles. Guests raved about her chicken hash. Her recipe collection, now open to the public at the New York Public Library, includes this variation, which makes a fine post-holiday showcase for leftover turkey and gravy, and resembles the filling of a potpie, topped with Parmesan and baked until golden. Ms. Didion’s recipe suggested serving in two small copper gratin pans, but few cooks today may have them. A shallow baking dish or casserole will do the job. — Patrick Farrell

Emily Cochrane · NYT Cooking

Diana McBride doesn’t even like lemonade — even with more sugar, it’s just not the flavor for her. But behind the scenes at the Grand Ole Opry, the Nashville institution and longtime country music radio show, she took it upon herself to start making lemonade for everyone backstage at each show. And now, while she has a catchall role in backstage hospitality, most people there only know her as “Lemonade,” and the recipe is so sacrosanct that no one else has it. She goes so far as to avoid taking long stretches of vacation and makes gallons in advance of her days off, so there’s almost always a batch on hand. In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Opry, she shared an adaptation of the recipe, still keeping some lemonade secrets for herself. One secret, she wrote in an email, “is letting it sit overnight so the flavors mix together and become delicious. I hope you enjoy making your tea and lemonade as much as I do making it at the Grand Ole Opry.” — Emily Cochrane

Cathy Erway · NYT Cooking

At Mamahuhu, a Chinese takeout restaurant in San Francisco, a sense of history and appreciation for American Chinese cuisine is applied to a few classics. Mining historical Cantonese sweet-and-sour dish recipes for inspiration, Brandon Jew, a founder of the restaurant, and Noah Kopito, the head chef, created a sauce that incorporates pineapple, honey and dried hawthorn berries, which impart an earthy depth of flavor. The chefs use house-fermented Fresno chiles for a hint of heat, but a dab of commercially available sambal oelek will do. This dish can be made with chicken or cauliflower instead of pork; just skip the marinade if using cauliflower. Cathy Erway

Cathy Erway · NYT Cooking

Cashew chicken dishes have long been a classic of American Chinese cuisine. But Andrew Chiou and Tim Ma, the co-owners of Lucky Danger in Washington, D.C., have noticed it fading from menus in the area. According to Mr. Chiou, the dish is all about textural contrast: the crisp, battered chicken that’s been tossed in a thin, sweet-and-savory sauce; crisp-tender vegetables like celery, as well as softer straw mushrooms; and, of course, the satisfying crunch of cashews. Their version is similar to the famous, deep-fried cashew chicken dish popularized by the chef David Leong in Springfield, Mo., in the 1960s. Enjoy it alongside other dishes as part of a multicourse meal, or just with steamed rice. Cathy Erway

Cathy Erway · NYT Cooking

The irresistible combo of crispy, fried egg noodle encasing molten cream cheese has made this snack a finger food mainstay. Though it has roots in mid-century Polynesian-style bars and restaurants, the imitation crab stick-filled fried wonton has been adopted by many American Chinese menus. The chef-consultant Eric Ehler designed the menu at Lazy Susan, a Chinese takeout spot in San Francisco; for his version of the classic dish, he uses Dungeness crab meat and adds scallions and lemon zest for color. As a child, Mr. Ehler loved to dip the fried wontons in egg drop soup, or use them as a scoop for rice. Cathy Erway

Cathy Erway · NYT Cooking

Bitter melon lives up to its name. The oblong gourd is renowned for its robust health benefits and even more profound bitterness. However, when enveloped in creamy scrambled eggs and seasoned with soy sauce and brown sugar, it creates a complexity of flavor that will grow on you. This quick stir-fry is a home-cooking favorite of Chutatip Suntaranon, who is known as Nok, the chef-owner of the Thai restaurant Kalaya in Philadelphia. The recipe can easily be halved to serve one or two. Cathy Erway

Cathy Erway · NYT Cooking

Joel Watthanawongwat, the chef of Soothr, a Thai restaurant in New York City, makes large batches of braised beef shanks each day to use in several dishes, including this tamarind and coconut-rich massaman curry. The process, which can be split over two days, involves slowly braising then chilling the shanks for the most tender, flavorful results. Boneless beef shanks are rich in tendons and collagen, making this cut especially soft and tender when slowly and gently cooked. This recipe yields a large quantity, perfect for a gathering or for multiple meals. Cathy Erway

Cathy Barrow · NYT Cooking

Making giardiniera (pronounced jar-deen-YAIR-uh and Italian for “from the garden”) is a tradition in many Italian American households, but it does not require the work you might expect of a long-handed-down custom. This is preserving with no lids to seal; it takes only an hour or so of preparation and two or three days of waiting, and keeps in the refrigerator for weeks. In many ways, what follows is more technique than recipe, with flexibility to suit your mood or tastes. If you love carrots, add more. Or introduce zucchini, eggplant, onions or green beans. If you want it extra-spicy, add more serranos, red pepper flakes or even a bird’s-eye chile. Chop the vegetables uniformly so that the brine will work its magic evenly: mincing makes a great relish for a hot dog, while larger pieces are better for a side dish.

Cathy Barrow · NYT Cooking

This homemade liqueur is the perfect addition to many a beachy cocktail, served in frosty glasses and sipped on a porch at sunset. The margarita, the Cosmopolitan and the ever-dangerous Lemon Drop are all made more refreshing by its bright citrus flavor. Given all the types of citrus available, and the simplicity of this recipe, it’s worth experimenting. The recipe here provides the essentials (ratios and techniques) with permission to make the infusion your own.

Cathy Barrow · NYT Cooking

Cathy Barrow · NYT Cooking

Here is a delicious introduction to the business of canning, which can seem daunting but is made much easier by the right equipment and a good recipe. You’ll combine strawberries, rhubarb vanilla and sugar over heat and then follow standard canning instructions, laid out in the recipe’s instructions. It all leads up to summer sweetness in a jar that you’ve made yourself. And don’t worry: if your preserves are on the runny side, just call them syrup. No one will mind. Cathy Barrow

Cathy Barrow · NYT Cooking

The scent of blueberry pie bubbling away in the oven is comforting and familiar, especially in high summer, when pie baking can become a daily event. But just imagine that summery smell, and taste, in deepest winter. This pie filling, which uses cornstarch as a thickener, has a shelf life of about nine months, so the best of summer can be yours in the winter, too.

Cathy Barrow · NYT Cooking

This berry-tella is spectacular on a biscuit or a piece of toast, or warmed over ice cream, but a good portion will likely be consumed right from the jar while standing in front of the refrigerator.

Cathy Barrow · NYT Cooking

Cathy Barrow · NYT Cooking