It’s no secret that Bon Appétit editors cook a lot for work. So it should come as no surprise that we cook a lot during our off hours too. Here are the recipes we’re whipping up this month to get dinner on the table, entertain our friends, satisfy a sweet tooth, use up leftovers, and everything in between. For even more staff favorites, click here.
November 21
A friend brought me hand-harvested wild rice back from Minnesota, and after enjoying lots of it plain, in salads, and in this incredible dressing, I had just enough left to cook up a pot of former BA staffer Kendra Vaculin’s Lentil Soup With Greens and Rice. Her recipe calls for basmati, and it’s genuinely great as written, but the chewy bite and extra-earthy flavor of wild rice is a match made in heaven with lentils and spinach. It’s a warm and brothy soup, with lots of onion, garlic, coriander, and cumin to round out the veg stock. The method calls for cooking the greens separately, which results in a vibrant, not swampy, end result. No matter which rice you have on hand, make a pot this winter. —Kelsey Jane Youngman, senior service editor
If I made a list of my Top 10 foods, samosas would be on that list. But making a full-blown version at home is not something I want to do on a weeknight. (Deep-frying on a Monday? No way.) So when my colleague Shilpa Uskokovic developed Samosa-dillas With Cucumber Salad, a quick riff that mashes up two perfect foods, I knew it would make its way into my permanent rotation. I have made these twice already, both times hitting just as hard as the first. The spiced potato filling, combined with a wealth of melted pepper jack cheese and crisped tortillas, is everything good about samosas in a quicker, lightning-fast recipe. The second time, I skipped the cucumber salad and ate them with Greek yogurt, making them an even faster affair. —Jesse Szewczyk, senior Test Kitchen editor
I’ve had a real hankering for fish and chips lately. Probably caused by my wistful scrolling through my camera roll recounting the excellent one I had in London from The Mayfair Chippy. This week, I chanced upon a nice piece of haddock (my favorite white fish, so firm, so non-fishy) and realized the universe was pointing me to the fryer. Last summer I came across an extremely simple batter for zucchini blossoms on the blog, The Domestic Front. It was so successful I decided to try it out on the fish. It is nothing more than flour and seltzer water (I use Saratoga because it’s powerfully carbonated), and the crust turned out light and crispy. We ate it with a big squeeze of lemon and thick wheels of dill pickles, and it really hit the spot. —Shilpa Uskokovic, senior Test Kitchen editor
Saving my energy for next week’s big Thanksgiving feast, this week I focused on low-stress meals. This Crispy Tofu With Peanut Sauce is a reliable 30-minute weeknight delight. Homemade peanut sauce has more depth than the bottled stuff, with coconut cream and robust spices for body and warmth. The key to the crispiest tofu is to give it time in the pan—when you see a nice golden crust form on the bottom, you’ll know to turn them. The nutty, savory sauce coats the hearty tofu, and served with broccoli, white rice, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds, it’s all-around stunning. —Jaia Clingham-David, research fellow
This recipe for Curried Lentil, Tomato, and Coconut Soup is from the archives, but I still turn to it at least once a week when the weather turns chilly. It’s fuss-free, and you probably have most of the ingredients lying around in your pantry. Japanese S&B curry powder, ginger, and coconut milk do the heavy lifting here, and red pepper flakes add a whisper of heat. Mixed with lentils and crushed tomato, it’s hearty and cozy. My kids love it with rice for dinner, and I’ll even put it on the Thanksgiving table for guests who are vegetarian. Nine times out of 10 they’ll go home asking for the recipe. —Andrea Strong, contributing writer and editor
November 14
I somehow missed this tofu grain bowl when it was being developed in the Test Kitchen; it was gobbled up by staff promptly, which in our books means it’s a knockout. So, of course, I needed to try it for myself. Nutty grains (farro was my choice) sit underneath a punchy cabbage slaw, crisped tofu, stalks of tender broccolini, and creamy avocado. To finish, a savory-sweet miso honey dressing gets drizzled onto the artful bowl. Expectedly, the dish went fast in my home, in line with what I witnessed at work. —Nina Moskowitz, associate editor, cooking
This week, I found myself in possession of two adorable honeynut squash. While the oven preheated, I halved them, scooped out the innards, and showered with salt and pepper. A big glug of oil went over, with a little pool in each cavity, where I added a small garlic clove. They roasted until the skins wrinkled and the flesh was tender. While the squash cooled, I smashed the roasted garlic cloves with an anchovy, then whisked the paste with lemon juice and tahini (basically this Caesar-ish dressing, minus the parm and mustard, which in hindsight I wish I’d added!). Half of the dressing went into some cooked farro with chopped parsley. I filled bowls with a scoop of the grain salad, then nestled a squash half into the mix. A final drizzle of dressing and dinner’s done. —Rebecca Firkser, Test Kitchen editor
I have a new Scorpio in my life: Our new Test Kitchen editor, Rebecca Firkser. She joined our team on the cusp of her birthday and requested a snack mix for her special day. In my mind, Chex mix makes the best one, and my Furikake-Ranch Snack Mix (sans Bugles as the store was out, *sob*) sprung to mind. Sweet and salty, with endless umami flavor driven by both the seaweed-heavy condiment and a touch of soy in the syrup, this snack has a pull over whoever is closest to the bowl. —Hana Asbrink, deputy food editor
My mind is already on Thanksgiving. In an effort to expand my meatless options for the big meal, I experimented with senior Test Kitchen editor Jesse Szewczyk’s Cheesy Roasted Cabbage Wedges. My grocery store was out of savoy cabbage and hazelnuts, but I was determined to make this dish, so I picked up a sugarcone cabbage, a new variety from Dan Barber’s Row 7 company, and used pistachios from my pantry. Doused in a luscious Gruyère sauce, the sweet cabbage gets a nice crispy edge with the parm crust. A sprinkle of parsley and lemon zest cuts through the creaminess, adding delightful brightness. After making it, I can confidently say this would be a lovely addition to the Thanksgiving feast for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. —Jaia Clingham-David, research fellow
November 7
The other night, my boyfriend suggested roasting brussels sprouts to pair alongside a sausage pasta. I coolly informed him that they could (and should) be folded into the pasta, per former Test Kitchen editor Kendra Vaculin’s Brussels Sprout Pasta recipe. It brings together crispy-edged spicy sausage and caramelized brussels, with nutty brown-butter-toasted pecans sprinkled on top. Instead of Pecorino, we tossed in smoked mozzarella, which turned out to be an unexpectedly perfect match. The result was hearty, savory, and exactly what we needed on a rainy weeknight. —Olivia Tarantino, senior commerce editor
My go-to weeknight dinner format is a stir-fry. It has everything you need: protein, veggies, and just enough sauce to coat a pile of rice. But there are only so many veggie-protein combos in the world, so staying creative is imperative to prevent burnout. Luckily my colleague Kate Kassin’s brilliantly unexpected Black Vinegar Chicken With Radishes has shaken things up, showing me just how delicious cooked radishes can be. Unlike their raw counterparts, cooked radishes have only a whiff of peppery spice, with a creamy potato-like texture. I’ve made a version of this recipe at least five times over the past year and have no plans of stopping. —Jesse Szewczyk, senior Test Kitchen editor
I spent the first half of the year cooking a lot of bison—so much so, I developed a burger recipe. Recently I’ve been experimenting with venison as another alternative red meat. My favorite cut has been these loin fillets from Maui Nui Venison. I season them generously with salt and pepper, sear hot and fast (I tend to set off my fire alarm), and pair with roasted squash from the Greenmarket. It’s a satiating meal that tastes even better the next day, served with rice for my work-from-home lunch. —Kate Kassin, editorial operations manager
I had pancakes on the brain all of last week, and a punnet of out-of-season blueberries that needed eating. Come Sunday morning, it was time for a berry-studded short stack with plenty of butter and a glug of dark amber maple syrup. I had vanilla almond milk on hand for my morning coffee, but no buttermilk, so these Perfectly Fluffy Pancakes came to my rescue. Lucky for me, senior Test Kitchen editor Shilpa Uskokovic’s recipe works just as well with nondairy milk as it does with the real stuff. It produces light, golden brown pancakes every time, relying on aluminum-free baking powder (it has to be aluminum-free if you don’t want your breakfast to taste like a tin can) for its lofty, tender structure. Even the infamous first pancake was a winner. —Kelsey Jane Youngman, senior service editor
My friends and I took our annual trip up to the Berkshires, during which we make an effort to do as many fall-themed activities as possible. That means visiting the cows at a local farm, picking pumpkins, trying every cup of hot chocolate the surrounding towns have to offer, and celebrating a tradition we’ve come to refer to as “midnight short ribs.” Year after year we fail to start braising the meat until far too late in the evening for it to be done at a reasonable hour, but instead of trying to fix this we’ve taken to buying enough cheese and wine to tide us over until dinner. I opted for this classic red-wine-based recipe instead of the soy-infused one I’ve used in previous years. We served them over mashed potatoes, and they were a certified hit. To everyone’s surprise, this year’s short ribs were done in record time—9:30 p.m.! —Alaina Chou, commerce writer
