make-ahead miracle

AS THE WEATHER cools, many of us will be pulling out our Instant Pots and diving into braises, ragouts and other low-effort, high-reward comfort foods. Almost no category of dishes is better suited to this purpose than guisados,…

IT WAS RATATOUILLE, the southern-French compote of eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, onions and peppers, that taught me the meaning of “umami.” I didn’t know the word as a 10-year-old first encountering the dish, but when I came…

I HATE GOING to barbecues,” a vegetarian friend once confided as she poked at flavorless charred zucchini and bell peppers, an obvious afterthought by our host that evening. That’s why the grilled avocado made such an impression…

RUN WITH IT Grated zucchini makes these turkey meatballs remarkably succulent. Basil, scallions and cayenne give them punch.…

BACK IN 2018, we wrote a book called “Brunch Is Hell,” in which we declared the dinner party the cornerstone of civilization—and brunch its evil antithesis. Unlike brunchers at a restaurant, we noted, dinner party hosts selflessly welcome…

FOR YEARS, the American food story has been primarily told as a white food story. The Netflix series “High on the Hog: How African American Food Transformed America” seeks to change that. Much of the…

THERE IS SOMETHING deeply calming about stuffing a grape leaf. Trust me, I know. In the early months of the pandemic, I found solace in my kitchen and, to soothe my nervous system, began to fold and roll cigarillos of vine leaves. I had…