Many thanks to Sam Sifton, Melissa Clark, David Tanis and all of the other food writers at the NY Times. You have made me a better cook, and for that I am very grateful.
I greatly appreciate Cooking. I am a senior citizen unable to do many activities hobbies and chores from just 20 years ago.
Cooking is my new love. It allows me to care for my extended family (grandchildren, children, and parents not to mention me and my wife)
A wonderful purpose for a retiree.
Thank you all for work, it makes a difference in my life
Cooking is my new love. It allows me to care for my extended family (grandchildren, children, and parents not to mention me and my wife)
A wonderful purpose for a retiree.
Thank you all for work, it makes a difference in my life
1
I just happen to love Sam Sifton's casual writing style, as though he is talking directly to me. Keep it coming, Sam; may you never retire from NYTimes (like Bittman did).
Sam Sifton, I love you.
1
I love the food section of the NYT's . Even though I am a very experienced cook I like to read the notes and watch the videos of recipes I make. I like that you can save recipes and mark the ones you have made.
Thanks to you and all your team.
Thanks to you and all your team.
2
"True upsets go to the dog"?
Shame on you Sam. Your dog deserves better!
Shame on you Sam. Your dog deserves better!
1
One of my favorite recipes from the Times is the roasted chicken on top of slices of stale bread, which catch the drippings and turn into fantastic croutons. Try it with black garlic under the skin and you'll be transported. But even the most basic version is terrific, and there's no rack to clean up.
1
Hi- I'm a little disappointed with so much focus on recipes. I don't go to the Food section for recipes. Would prefer more articles on people and foods in other countries. Guess I'm more interested in culture than recipes. Remember R.W. Apple? Loved his pieces.
Great article and I generally love the NYT recipes. But... no Android version of the app? Did you know that 65% of smartphone sales in the US are Android phones? I hope to see an Android version in the future.
3
Hi Sam -- may I call you Sam? Here's a tip: Go to the Asian food section of any grocery store and buy a bottle of fish sauce. Don't use too much! A drop or two will boost the flavor of foods more subtly than anchovies.
Isn't anchovy the "fish" in most fish sauce?
I very much appreciated Melissa Clark's recent "5 Easy Meals for the Distracted Cook," which I will be reading again and again. I'll be doing the recipes she included with that column, too. Thank you for looking out for the timid cooks like me.
We are an Android household. When will the app for android be coming out?
4
The NY Times has really stepped up its cooking game. I regularly send emails to both my wife's and my own email addresses containing NY Times recipes that appeal to me.
Fortunately, I'm married to my own version of Florence Fabricant. Give her almost any combination of ingredients and she'll (usually) come up with something great, a natural mixer and combiner. I'm not quite so creative and have to follow a recipe to the letter.
Anyway, we've been trying a lot of recipes obtained from the NYT Cooking section with great results. Please keep up the great work.
Fortunately, I'm married to my own version of Florence Fabricant. Give her almost any combination of ingredients and she'll (usually) come up with something great, a natural mixer and combiner. I'm not quite so creative and have to follow a recipe to the letter.
Anyway, we've been trying a lot of recipes obtained from the NYT Cooking section with great results. Please keep up the great work.
4
Don't be afraid to experiment, especially with leftovers. One of my family's favorite recipes came from me experimenting with leftover pork chops. Thus my version of pork fajitas was born. It should be noted that at this point I had not heard of pork fajitas. Finally most experiments with food, unless you really mess up, can be eaten. Worst case - order pizza! LOL
2
The NYT Cooking section has vastly improved. While I found this article to be interesting, I found Mr. Sifton's response about being an "elitist NY boob" to be intriguing. Perhaps there is more self awareness than I realized. NYT could make it easier for those of us whose sole resource is the internet, but their writers responded to an inquiry from me by recommending Walmart. If Sam Sifton went to Walmart, I might actually go stand outside the door to watch! I, however, wouldn't go into a place that leeches off the poor. So amusing, the NY mentality. I continue to suggest that NYT provide a resource page in the Cooking section that lists reliable, trustworthy, safe sources of specialty ingredients. Anyway, I love the Cooking section, love Sam Sifton, Julia Moskin, David Tanis, and others, and have replicated their recipes or used them as starting points for my own. That section alone is worth the subscription to NYT. And I wouldn't have thought to describe them as Sam Sifton did!
1
NY Times Food section and app.....the best reasons ever for the Internet to exist. Thank you all.
6
I can can heartily attest to the fact the the pizza dough from Roberta's is a life changer. It is transcendent. Nothing like any pizza dough I have ever made. And surprisingly uncomplicated. Used as part of Sam's adaptation of Roberta's Pizza Margherita and you have a meal that is truly a taste of heaven. That something so good could be so easy is, well, life changing!
1
I would like to thanks you, Times, for having a section on food and having hired the journalists you have. They are excellent; certainly and inspiration for me. I come from a long line of resourceful good home cooks. I remember eating the biscuits my great grandmother made in her wood-burning stove when I was 3-5. She lived in the Texas hill country on the ranch she and great grandpa cleared in the early 1870's. My grandmother, made wonderful meals and often 6 days a week grandpa would bring guests home from work for lunches so she was cooking for as many as 10 people at lunch. That was during the 50's and early 60's before there were fast foods on every corner street in America. I began cooking family meals when I was 6 yo, my dad taught me. So now, at nearly 66 I have quite a repertoire recipes. Especially since moving to France 14 years ago where I have had the opportunity to broaden my palate to include European, North African, and Middle-east cuisines.
Last Sunday the dinner I made began with inspiration by a recipe for plum sauce, and some vegetables along with kneadless bread that I found in NYT. So thanks for helping me obtain the repetition of being a great nonprofessional cook here in France.
Last Sunday the dinner I made began with inspiration by a recipe for plum sauce, and some vegetables along with kneadless bread that I found in NYT. So thanks for helping me obtain the repetition of being a great nonprofessional cook here in France.
1
What a lovely piece. Informative and fun from beginning to end, with delicious links throughout. Thank you Susan and Sam, and thank you New York Times.
And per the Executive Editor, thanks a million!
And per the Executive Editor, thanks a million!
3
Best group of food writers in the history of civilization. N.Y. Times recipes, ideas and techniques feed my family every week.
6
The recipes tend to be very good, but the chirpy language used leaves a bit to be desired. Even in this interview, there's repeated uses of "cool" and "awesome" as descriptors, along with silly metaphors and such. I realize it's not serious news, but after a while the tone of many of the food writers grates on my nerves.
1
That chicken shawarma recipe is THE BEST. I just made it for dinner tonight, as a matter of fact. Quick enough for a weeknight, but delicious enough to make for friends.
Also, thanks for the PB & P idea. I tried it and was immediately hooked. My deeply skeptical family needed a great deal of persuasion to try it, but now they're converts.
Also, thanks for the PB & P idea. I tried it and was immediately hooked. My deeply skeptical family needed a great deal of persuasion to try it, but now they're converts.
1
Big and loud cheers to Sam Stifton and all the other Food Editors mentioned in Ms. Lehman's wonderfully written interview.
My general wish: less of common foods (e.g., chicken, potatoes, broccoli, local fish) and more of the unusual (e.g., pheasant, venison, lobster, red snapper). A short list of wines that should accompany each recipe would be most welcome.
My general wish: less of common foods (e.g., chicken, potatoes, broccoli, local fish) and more of the unusual (e.g., pheasant, venison, lobster, red snapper). A short list of wines that should accompany each recipe would be most welcome.
Oh yes-- peanut butter-crunchy- and pickle sandwich--absolutely- with a glass of milk
1
Thank you for the opportunity to express my opinion of the NYT Food Section. It is a far-cry from the heyday of Craig Claiborne and Pierre Franey when reknown chefs contributed recipes. I wonder with all the wonderful cooking that goes on in this country why we have to have recipes from people who are only successful as food writers.
1
I am missing something? I can't find this app to download.
You can find it at www.appstore.com/nytcooking, or online at www.nytcooking.com. Join us!
"My feeling is, there is absolutely no reason to tell anyone that you’ve added anchovies to a dish until after they’ve complimented you on its excellence."
Both of my daughters are vegetarian. I would never sneak in some anchovies in, say, tomato sauce (puttanesca much) to sharpen the flavor.
When I worked as a cook at Union Square Cafe, there was a menu cycle for Roast Duck with a savory sauce that used anchovies in their sneaky configuration. On the other hand, there was also grilled polenta slices over mizuna with Bagna Cauda, where the anchovies were front and center.
Both of my daughters are vegetarian. I would never sneak in some anchovies in, say, tomato sauce (puttanesca much) to sharpen the flavor.
When I worked as a cook at Union Square Cafe, there was a menu cycle for Roast Duck with a savory sauce that used anchovies in their sneaky configuration. On the other hand, there was also grilled polenta slices over mizuna with Bagna Cauda, where the anchovies were front and center.
2
I wouldn't sneak anchovies into a vegetarian's meal, either! But you'd be surprised at these omnivores, how they cavil at anchovies, sometimes at garlic, at a slice of jalapeno, at the use of fish sauce. Just eat, I say, and I'll give you the recipe afterward if you like it. I give out a lot of recipes.
5
Sam, as you surely know, restaurant cooking is several quantum leaps more complicated than home cooking. During my years at Union Square Cafe, I was tasked with explaining the fall butternut squash risotto to Molly O'Neill, then writing the food column in the Times Magazine. It took over an hour to give her the complete recipe, which included making a thin butternut squash soup with which to par cook the risotto. But no anchovies in that recipe.
and I am allergic to all fish and shellfish and once had pasta with anchovies snuck in and ended up in ER on steroid IV drip for an hour.
Not worth it to me.
I always ask at restaurants now.............
I do cook fish for my family, but can't ingest it.
I think it's rude when cooks say sneak it in.
Not worth it to me.
I always ask at restaurants now.............
I do cook fish for my family, but can't ingest it.
I think it's rude when cooks say sneak it in.
Nice interview. Can you do more features that go back and forward in time, i.e. pick an ingredient or dish and show how it was handled over the decades? I'm always interested to see how recipes and approaches to food change over time. I know you've done this a bit but would love to see more of it.
5
always a pleasure to read, whether in the mood to cook or not. if you are in the mood, it is inspirational.
thanks to you and your team.
thanks to you and your team.
5
Sweet article AND glad you mentioned Kalustyan's for sourcing ingredients. I love going in there, just like a quick trip around the world. Their house made stuffed dates with almonds are to die for, a tad pricey but so worth it. Guaranteed that if I walk in looking for just one item or two, I will walk out with a full shopping bag. Uh, yes, I love Kalustyan's......it is so New York!
IDK about not "fixing" a pie. Barring disasters like mixing up sugar and salt in the filling, I'd bet you could fix it. Didn't set -- topping for ice cream. Crust too limp or crunchy -- smash it up (and maybe add some ice cream). It might not be recognizable as a pie, but I'd be willing to bet that if it was made with a Cooking recipe, it probably tastes pretty good.
And yep - the Internet is a wonderful place to find many ingredients. I sometimes still have issues with certain fresh items, but there are a lot of interesting items out there, if you take time to look.
I tend to cook on the weekends, so weeknight meals can be "heat and eat" affairs. Tonight, it's Sam's picadillo, which we eat often. For later in the week, Roasted Chicken Provencal, Pork and Apple Hot Pot and Bulgogi (didn't pre-cook this one, but the meat is sitting in its marinade in the fridge).
It's much the same every week. I may not prepare the recipes exactly as they are written (Nigella Lawson would probably not recognize the Hot Pot) and I typically make a couple of dishes from other sources or my repertoire of stand-bys. But even when Cooking isn't the exact source of most of what we eat, it's often the inspiration for it.
You've made a real difference in how I cook and how my family eats. Thank you.
And yep - the Internet is a wonderful place to find many ingredients. I sometimes still have issues with certain fresh items, but there are a lot of interesting items out there, if you take time to look.
I tend to cook on the weekends, so weeknight meals can be "heat and eat" affairs. Tonight, it's Sam's picadillo, which we eat often. For later in the week, Roasted Chicken Provencal, Pork and Apple Hot Pot and Bulgogi (didn't pre-cook this one, but the meat is sitting in its marinade in the fridge).
It's much the same every week. I may not prepare the recipes exactly as they are written (Nigella Lawson would probably not recognize the Hot Pot) and I typically make a couple of dishes from other sources or my repertoire of stand-bys. But even when Cooking isn't the exact source of most of what we eat, it's often the inspiration for it.
You've made a real difference in how I cook and how my family eats. Thank you.
3
In the sprit of What's for Thanksgiving THIS Year?, I recently came across a dressing recipe in Barbara Kafka's Roasting that I thought might be workable: Bulgur wheat, minced sauteed chicken liver, mushrooms, onion, garlic, thyme, chicken broth. Maybe that's worth testing? Just a thought...
Thank you so much for the Cooking app! I use it all the time.
Thank you so much for the Cooking app! I use it all the time.
I think the NYT Cooking section/app is awesome, and I've been a devoted fan of Sam Sifton's ever since he helped me out by recommending a remote roasting thermometer for my Thanksgiving turkey last year. Thanks, Sam, and Melissa and all the other terrific contributors to the website!
2
I'm glad you called out your recipe for oven-roasted chicken shawarma, Sam. It has become a huge favorite at our house. You're doing a great job in the Food section and with the app. I just made Molly O'Neill's "classic" choucroute loaf from the app last night, and it was fantastic (teamed it with the Nigella Lawson recipe for red cabbage with apples and baked potatoes)!
i really like this sam sifton - writes conversationally and gives recipes and advice without niggly unnecessary fussiness!
6
Well, Mr Sifton, I can give you one very good reason to tell people that a dish contains anchovies--or indeed any other ingredient: food allergies (or sensitivities). I became allergic to fin fish about 20 years ago, and I have discovered that anchovy is a stealth ingredient--a gut-wrenching, hive-inducing, stomach-ache-from-hell-prodcing, often unmentioned addition to an impressive array of dishes, and not just in cuisines that use fish sauce. Anchovy paste in the tomato sauce? A drizzle of anchovy in the salad dessing? Delicious! I used to do it myself. But please, when it comes to ingredients, full disclosure is the way to go. Thanks!
3
Great article! Just wondering, does your dog have a personal treadmill to wear off the cooking rejects?
She's got New York Harbor to swim in, and swim she does, every day.
Poor dog only gets to taste the true upsets.