Go for the gold: What to Cook This Weekend

November 12, 2021

Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist:Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Christina Lane.

What to Cook This Weekend

By Sam Sifton

Good morning. I am a strict constructionist when it comes to the role of turkey at the Thanksgiving table, but I understand that mine is not a universal view. There are those, for instance, who prefer a multitude of side dishes to the merits of a beautifully burnished bird. And for them — perhaps for you — we've put together a wonderful collection of vegetarian Sidesgiving recipes to improve this year's feast. (Look for it in the print edition of our Sunday newspaper this weekend!)

The time to explore those recipes is now. It's a good weekend to decide which ones you want to make and then to rehearse them in your kitchen so that you don't wake up on Thanksgiving morning with a pit in your stomach because you've never made pan-griddled sweet potatoes with miso-ginger sauce before. Practice is still the best way to get to Carnegie Hall.

And so, check out this French onion stuffing (above), these hashed brussels sprouts with lemon, this cheesy Hasselback potato gratin, this creamed greens potpie. Try your hand at green bean and corn almondine, no-knead dinner rolls, these caramelized plantains with beans, scallions and lemon. Five-spice roasted carrots with toasted almonds might be good, especially this weekend alongside a chicken roasted like this Cantonese-style turkey. You'll find your own way.

Other things to cook this weekend that have nothing whatsoever to do with the coming holiday, that promise joy but aren't homework: a spinach and feta borek; some lemony chicken soup with fennel and dill; cast-iron sourdough pancakes.

Me, I'm going to attempt to recreate an epic breakfast I had a few days ago at the Star Diner in Norwalk, Ohio (long story), with eggs over easy next to hash browns, a small chicken-fried steak and sausage gravy. Wake up early on Sunday to do that, serve the meal around 10, and you'll be good on the couch until dinner time.

Thousands and thousands more recipes to make this weekend and for Thanksgiving are waiting on New York Times Cooking. (Yes, you need a subscription to access them. Subscriptions are what allow us to continue to do this work that we love. Will you please, if you haven't already, subscribe today? Thanks.) You can find inspiration, as well, on our Instagram page and YouTube channel, where Melissa Clark just showed us how to make her best pecan pie.

And should you run into trouble along the way, either in your kitchen or on our site and apps, just reach out for help: cookingcare@nytimes.com. Operators are standing by.

Now, it's nothing to do with gizzards or celery tops, but I still think you ought to read Amanda Fortini on the enduring appeal of Laura Ashley, in T Magazine.

And while you're at it with the reading, here's Ian Parker in The New Yorker with a good one, "The Great Organic-Food Fraud."

It's probably not for everyone, but you might enjoy this playlist the Getty Museum in Los Angeles put together, exploring the sounds of Fluxus: vintage and reinterpreted songs.

Finally, here's a poem from Diane di Prima, "City Lights 1961," to transport you to a particular California at a particular time, and now. Enjoy all that, cook well and I will, as ever, see you on Sunday.

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