New recipe, January 31, 2026

Winter Galette from Food and Wine. We really liked the herbed ricotta with the shaved winter vegetables. It is a satisfying winter meal! We give this a 4.

New recipe, January 30, 2026

Missed taking a photo of Masala Chickpeas with Tofu and Blistered Tomatoes from NYT Cooking. We liked the rich India flavors in this dish, and thought it could use even more masala than it called for. We give this a 4.

New recipe, January 29, 2026

Quinoa Salad with Chicken, Almonds and Avocado from NYT Cooking. A nice healthy salad, with a pretty standard dressing. Enjoyable, nothing unusual. We give this a 3.

New recipe, January 28, 2026

The Dandy from doyoudubonnet.com. This is a really nice cocktail, we give it a 5.

New recipe, January 27, 2026

Roasted Kelewele (Spiced Plaintains) with Crispy Shallots and Herbs from NYT Cooking. This is a fascinating, delicious dish. Many different flavors combined in ways we have not had before. Makes us want to try other African dishes. We give this a 5.

New recipe, January 26, 2026

Paneer Fried Rice from NYT Cooking. We had paneer, so I found this to use it. It is a perfectly pleasant, serviceable fried rice recipe, pleasant but with building unusual to stand out. We give it a 3.

New recipe, January 25, 2026

Carrot Risotto with Chile Crisp from NYT Cooking. This came out with the perfect texture, and very nice flavors from the carrots (shredded and cooked in the risotto, and roasted and topping the risotto), and a nice buzz from the chile crisp. We give this a 4.

New recipe, January 24, 2026

Spiced Duck Breasts with Mandarin Oranges and Dates from Food and Wine. This is absolutely wonderful, the orangey couscous with dates and almonds compliments the duck breast with ras al hanout beautifully. This gets a 5!

New recipe, January 24, 2026

Paneer con Tomate from NYT Cooking. This is a fun variation on the classic Spanish Pan con Tomate. This was delicious, and it would only be more fabulous with a great summer tonato. We thought it was fabulous, it gets a 5.

New recipe, January 22, 2026

Roasted Cod and Potatoes from NYT Cooking. This is the simplest of recipes, with cod, potatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper. It is definitely beige, but the potatoes come out beautifully cooked with a little crunch and the fish is perfect. We enjoyed this. Carl thinks it would benefit from a touch of lemon juice on the fish to jazz it up a bit. As made, we give it a 4

New recipe, January 21, 2026

Red Curry Dumpling Soup from Food and Wine. This soup has umami from shiitakes, heat from ginger, garlic, chiles and curry paste, creaminess from coconut milk, among other delicious flavors, and stuffed wontons to boot. It has many flavors that complement each other, and that also stand out individually. We give this a 5.

New recipe, January 20, 2026

Paneer Ajwaini Tikka (Fresh Roasted Paneer with Carom). This recipe introduced to an herb I didn't know, ajwain, or carom. It is a seed but has a thyme-like flavor. The spice mixture (masala) gives this a great flavor with lots of components, and the paneer is great with a roll. We give this a 4.

New recipe, January 19, 2026

Sesame Soy Tofu Bowls from NYT Cooking. We really enjoyed the excellent sauce, the fresh cucumber and avocado, the soft tofu. It was a great flavor and texture combination. It gets a 4.

New recipe, January 18, 2026

Another missed photo. The recipe is Sheet Pan Chicken Meatballs and Charred Broccoli from Bon Appetít. This is easy to prepare and has a nice blend of flavors. We would reduce the amount of Worcestershire in the sauce—it seemed too dominant. We give this a 3.

New recipe, January 17, 2026

Missed getting a photo,. The recipe is Slow Cooker Gochujang Chicken and Tomato from NYT Cooking. This is the ultimate in simplicity—just toss a few ingredients in the slow cooker and come back later. It has Korean flavors, but has the satisfying nature of something like sloppy joes. We give it a 3.

New recipe, January 16, 2026

Creamy Cauliflower Cashew Soup from NYT Cooking. This is simple recipe, but the flavors blend together nicely into a very satisfying soup. We give this a 4.

New recipe, January 15, 2026

French Lentil Salad from NYT Cooking. This is a pleasant salad, with a good variety of flavors between the dressing and contrasting ingredients like the radicchio. We give this a 4.

New recipe, January 14, 2026

Grilled Halloumi Burgers with Citrus Tapenade from Food and Wine. This is very quick to make, and is a great and somewhat unexpected combination of flavors. We loved it. It gets a 5.

New recipe, January 13, 2026

West Indian Kedgeree (Coconut Curry Rice with Cod) from NYT Cooking. All of the components are obvious but subtle, and they go together to make a very soothing dish. We enjoyed it a great deal—it gets a 5!

New recipe, January 12, 2026

Seared Tofu with Kimchi from NYT Cooking. This is a pleasant dish, and a nice way to dress up tofu. We felt it is somewhat monochromatic, focused on the kimchi, so we give it a 3.

New recipe, January 11, 2026

Ginger Chicken and Rice Soup with Zucchini from NYT Cooking. We ended up using yellow squash because that is what the supermarket had. Don't skip the chile crisp, cilantro and lemon wedges, they actually make the dish. This is spectacular! We give this a 5!

New recipe, January 10, 2026

Parsnips with Miso and Parmesan from NYT Cooking. This has sweetness from the parsnips, saltiness and umami from miso and parmesan, bitterness from the arugula and a dash of acidity from the lemon juice. Seems simple but it has a wide variety of flavors. We give this a 4.

New recipe, January 9, 2026

Slow Cooker Spicy Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili from NYT Cooking. This has a great combination of flavors, very satisfying, and vegan to boot. This gets a 4.

New recipe, January 8, 2026

Gyeranjjim (Korean Steamed Eggs) from Food and Wine. This is a very simple way to make fluffy eggs, and we really enjoyed it. Quick and easy! We give this a 4.

New recipe, January 7, 2026

Five Spice Chicken Banh Mi Sandwich from Food and Wine. This is very tasty, the marinade makes the chicken flavorful and moist. We love the toasted bun as well. This gets a 4.

New recipe, January 6, 2026

Winter Minestrone with Cabbage Pesto from NYT Cooking. This is another Yotam Ottolenghi recipe. The minestrone is nice, with slow cooked flavors, and it gets some added interest from the pesto made with raw cabbage and parsley. It is not quite as surprising and delightful as many of his other recipes. We give this a 3.

New recipe, January 6, 2026

Carl will tell you when I see something interesting to eat, I buy it and then figure out what to do with it. I bought cauliflower mushrooms because they looked interesting, and then found a recipe for Steamed Mushrooms with Ponzu Sauce from Forager/Chef (https://foragerchef.com/steamed-cauliflower-mushrooms-with-ponzu/). The mushroom flavor is delicate, so you don't want to use too much, but it is quite good. We give this a 4.

New recipe, January 4, 2026

Spiced Maqluba with Tomatoes and Tahini Sauce, a Yotam Ottolenghi recipe from NYT Cooking. Maqluba is a layered rice cake, cooked and then unmolded after cooking. My execution was not great, and the layering did not hold—I think I added too much water. But the flavors are very good—the rice is rather spicey, but the tahini sauce brings it into balance. We enjoyed this and give it a 4.

New recipe, January 3, 2026

Slow Coker Chicken and Creamed Corn from NYT Cooking. This calls for cooking the corn cob in the slower cooker with the chicken, and adding the kernels at the end. Since we didn't have cobs, I used some kernels in the cooker, and more at the finish. There are a lot of vegetables in this dish, enriched by butter and sour cream and a bit of cayenne. We enjoyed this a lot—it gets a 4.

New recipe, January 2, 2026

Sweet and Sour Tofu with Barberries. This is a Yotam Ottolenghi recipe from NYT Cooking. Many layers of flavor, with orange, saffron, onions, carrots, garlic, cumin, allspice, and of course, barberries (dried cranberries can work too). We were surprised how much we enjoyed this, and give it a 5.

New recipes, January 1, 2026

Hoppin' John with Turnips and Turnip Greens from Food and Wine, and Sticky Date and Pecan Pudding from NYT Cooking. We got our black-eyed peas for the New Year in the Hoppin' John, and they were delicious! Besides the turnips, this has celery, jalapeño, garlic, harissa, smoked paprika and cumin, which give it layers of flavor. It was excellent! And the pudding is decadent and addictive, but surprisingly not cloyingly sweet. We give both of these a 5.

New recipe, December 31, 2025

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cinnamon Butter Yogurt and Chestnuts from NYT Cooking. This is another brilliance Yotam Ottolenghi recipe. It does have a lot of steps, but there isn't anything streetcar complicated. The title might makes it sound sweet, but it is savory with layers of delicious flavors. This gets an enthusiastic 5! A nice note on which to end the year!

New recipe, December 30, 2025

Wild Rice and Mushroom Casserole from NYT Cooking. Nice flavor combination with a mix of mushrooms, leeks, fennel, spinach and white beans. We give this a 4.

New recipe, December 29, 2025

Rigueur Butter Beans with Pistachio Dukkah from NYT Cooking. I was looking around NYT Cooking for Yotam Ottolenghi recipes, and there are quite a few. This is one, and as is typical for him, every component has a clear purpose. This is delicious, and gets a 5.

New recipe, December 28, 2025

Moroccan Spiced Chicken Meatballs from NYT Cooking. That is some old fashioned fried okra on the side! The meatballs and accompanying yogurt sauce have a really enjoyable middle eastern flavor. We give these a 4.

New recipe, December 27, 2025

Spicy Peanut Noodles from Food and Wine. This is in many ways a classic dish, and this version, which has the addition of celery, is still very good. We give this a 4.

New recipe, December 26, 2025

Harissa Shrimp with Greens and Feta from NYT Cooking. This is a very easy dish, and it is fabulous—the shrimp and harissa harmonize with the avocado and feta beautifully. This gets a 5!