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Cooking for One, Bistro Edition: Steak Frites

I decided I had a taste for steak frites, which is something I’ve made for a crowd before (people never believe it when you slide a big pile of hot fries onto the table in front of them), but never thought to do for myself. It seemed too, I don’t know, fussy to cook for just one. But steak frites is what I wanted, dammit, and so I went shopping.

By Tucker Shaw Published January 5, 2026

Want a Project?

Ten cozy “project” recipes for us all to consider. Some of them are recipes that would normally serve well as a weeknight dinner, but with twists that make them extra special—a traditional chicken soup but made with homemade egg noodles, for example—and some are just things you wouldn’t really choose to make on any random night, like homemade falafel with fixings and zhug.

By Kate Bittman Published December 22, 2025

Cookie Crisis: Averted

With the magic of macaroons, all of your baking dreams—last-minute, easy, decorated, vegan, or gluten-free—can come true.

By Mark Bittman Published December 15, 2025

Soup, but Make It a Full-Blown Meal

This is the time of year when I make the case that soups from scratch can be as fast and easy as a big salad—and can even more easily be turned into a full, satisfying meal: Just add eggs. Here are six ideas for using eggs in soup, followed by three recipes to demonstrate some of those hacks, all of them for soups that are ready to eat in less than 45 minutes.

By Mark Bittman Published December 8, 2025

Potluck Potential

Especially around the holidays, potlucks are about thinking ahead in order to cover all the bases. They’re never a competition, but nobody wants to bring home an arbitrary or repetitive dish that’s barely been touched. Sometimes, grandma’s nostalgic mashed potatoes don’t have the same effect on friends.

By Erika Houle Published December 1, 2025

This Is Why You Think I’m a Good Cook

I’m a good cook, I’ll give myself that, but I’m not extraordinary. I think my food is good because I know how to salt, and believe me or not, I also think that many people just aren’t used to salting their food as they cook. Here’s a brief explainer of some of my favorite salts—along with recipes that’ll put each type to good use.

By Kate Bittman Published November 25, 2025

​Happy Thanksgiving, the Charlie Brown Way

Popcorn! Pretzels! Jelly beans! Ice cream! What a gorgeous holiday fantasy. Why can’t we do that too? Why can’t we fill our Thanksgiving table with good stuff like that? People, if they want to, are free to turn traditions on their head. All it takes is deciding to do it.

By Tucker Shaw Published November 9, 2025

How to Use Yeast to Up Your Flavor Game

In recent months, I’ve added a packet of yeast to commercial cake mixes, with surprisingly flavorful results. I’ve added a packet of yeast to a basic banana bread recipe, a move that produced a grown-up product that called for forks and plates. I’ve added a packet of yeast to a batch of Toll House cookies—this was less impressive, because Toll House cookies are already perfect.

By Tucker Shaw Published November 3, 2025

Tomato and Egg: The “Default” of Chinese Home-Cooked Meals

For many Chinese immigrants and diaspora, tomato and egg is the first dish we master once we leave home. The surprising fact is that the dish itself is relatively young: it only began appearing in Chinese kitchens ​in the 1940s​, yet it somehow became the most “default” of home-cooked meals. I tested three different tomatoes and two cooking methods to figure out the best possible version.

By Xueci Cheng Published October 27, 2025

Mark’s Latest Obsession: Pickles

I don’t like “real” pickles, vinegared and jarred, the kind that will last on your shelf for a year. I like—and I know these are popular on our site, and elsewhere— simple salted pickles.

By Mark Bittman Published October 22, 2025

Cooking for One: Fried Chicken!

This super-simple stovetop method, inspired by katsu-style chicken and other similar dishes, nets you flavorful, juicy chicken breast with a super-crunchy exterior, and it comes together quickly—plus, it only needs three tablespoons of vegetable oil to cook, most of which is left behind in the pan.

By Tucker Shaw Published October 20, 2025

Dinner Tonight, Dinner Tomorrow: The Farewell That Corn Deserves

Sure, leftovers are great for the next day’s lunch. But what if tonight’s meal ended up as tomorrow’s supper—yet in a totally new, unexpected way? Welcome to round four of Dinner Tonight, Dinner Tomorrow: a heartier spinoff of classic potato skins, two very different salads, and fritters with a zesty dip.

By Erika Houle Published October 6, 2025

Our Love for Chia is Bind

What we really want is Mark’s original, simplest bean burger with the smallest adjustment that makes it possible to smash and grill the patties or cook them in a pan or griddle. Turns out tiny chia seeds finally let us do it all.

By Mark Bittman Published September 29, 2025

Here’s My Favorite Thing to Do With All Those Greens

Whether you’ve foraged for wild greens or happen to have a pile of greens from a CSA, it’s understandable if they’re overwhelming you. What you’re going to do—what I’ve taken to doing—is make horta, which translates to “greens” or “weeds” in Greek.

By Mark Bittman Published September 22, 2025

Date Night?

Given that the arrival of fall is undeniably romantic and an ideal time for harvesting dates, it seems serendipitous: It’s the season to stock your pantry to impress whoever you care about—and, of course, yourself—with balanced meals courtesy of one of nature’s best sweeteners.

By Erika Houle Published September 16, 2025

Cooking for One: A ‘Borderline Brainless’ Dish

When I’m cooking dinner for myself, not much matters more than simplicity. And I don’t mean the kind of “simplicity” that food media so often lies about. I mean borderline brainlessness. I just want to play Stevie Wonder records, putter around on autopilot, and, without any agita, produce a delicious supper.

By Tucker Shaw Published September 8, 2025

​Broil It

The most valuable secret weapon in your kitchen just might be your broiler, which can be thought of as an upside-down indoor grill—a tool that is as exciting as a grill and far easier to use. Like grilling, broiling provides direct heat for searing food; like grilling, it can brown quickly and even char.

By Mark Bittman Published September 2, 2025

Shrimp Boil Tonight, Burritas Tomorrow

A shrimp boil may seem intimidating, but essentially, you add the spices and then the ingredients according to their approximate cook time (potatoes first, shrimp last) and then let everything sit and soak in the broth for twenty minutes at the end. (And tomorrow, you’ll repurpose what’s left! Here’s how.)

By Mike Diago Published August 25, 2025

One of the Most Rewarding Home Cooking Projects I Know

Tamales are mysterious; they only fully reveal themselves after you untie and unwrap them, then cut them open. And it’s not immediately obvious how they’re made, which I think is why so few of us ever attempt to make them. But we should.

By Mark Bittman Published August 20, 2025

Dinner Tonight, Dinner Tomorrow: Leftovers, Meet Pastry

I can’t think of many better things to do with leftovers than to put them in a pie and bake them. Beef stew, shrimp étouffée, pork verde—any of these can, and should, make a successful savory pie. You can simply fill a pie shell with the leftovers, or doctor them up for a new dish altogether.

By Tucker Shaw Published August 18, 2025