Go for the gold: What to Cook This Week

November 28, 2021

Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne

What to Cook This Week

By Sam Sifton

Good morning. You holding up? The run-up to Thanksgiving, the holiday itself, entertaining people who've traveled great distances to stay with you or traveling great distances to stay with others and entertaining them — the whole thing can be exhausting.

And the stress of the last few days does not dissipate easily. Today may be one of those best spent stretched out on a couch watching football or browsing the Prado museum's collections on your laptop, in advance of making some excellent cup ramen and going to sleep. That's just fine. Whatever it is you've done over the course of the past seven days, I imagine it's been a lot.

For some, however, there will be no respite. Hanukkah begins this evening, and may require of you a brisket, latkes, kugel, plenty of rugelach. That's just fine, too. You're a good cook and proved it plain at the Thanksgiving table. You can keep going. (We've got loads of recipes to assist you.) The reward will be on the plate, and in the smiles of those you serve. Don't curse the darkness. Light a candle!

On Monday, regardless, I'd like to make this glazed tofu with chile and star anise (above), a meal to reset my senses, with steamed rice and stir-fried greens. I hope you'll join me.

For Tuesday's meal, how about chicken schnitzel with a lemony herb salad?

You could follow that on Wednesday with crispy chickpeas with beef. (Swapping in ground lamb for the beef is an excellent modification.) I like it with pita and a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.

Spaghetti with burrata and garlic-chile oil on Thursday? Yes, please. If you can't find burrata, use some fresh mozzarella and a few tablespoons of heavy cream instead. It's outrageously good.

And then on Friday, you might try this sweet pressure-cooker pot roast. Or maybe a free-form braise of lamb shanks cooked in wine, which you could serve with roasted root vegetables and a salad? There'll be sugar cookies to bake on the weekend, after all, and peppermint bark. Might as well head into the weekend well-fed.

Thousands and thousands more recipes await you on New York Times Cooking. As you may have discovered, you need a subscription to access them, and to use our features and tools. I hope you have one already. Subscriptions support our work. (They're also terrific holiday gifts.) But if you don't, I hope you will subscribe today. Thanks!

We'll be standing by in the meantime to offer assistance, should you find yourself in trouble with a recipe or with our site and apps. Just reach out to cookingcare@nytimes.com and someone will get back to you. You can also reach me directly: foodeditor@nytimes.com. I read every letter sent.

Now, it's a far cry from dry mustard and the scent of warm maple syrup, but my Times colleague Molly Young has a books-recommendation newsletter I think you may be interested in: Read Like the Wind. Molly's terrific.

And Ruby Tandoh is in The New Yorker! Read her piece on pastry, please.

OMG, there's another Kaitlin Phillips gift guide making its way in the world?

Finally, New York Times Cooking is on TikTok now. Pretty cool! I'll be back on Monday.

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