The Dinner Rut Is Real. Here Are 3 Ways Out

Deep-fried tofu, the case for ricotta as pasta sauce, and fish salad 2.0

While I almost never cook a recipe exactly the same way twice, it’s rare for me to make three dishes in a week that I haven’t ever cooked before: The dinner rut is real. While the recipes below are all versions of things I cook and eat pretty frequently, they each brought something new to the table, which was a refreshing change of pace.

First, there’s tofu with peanut sauce, which honestly sounds boring, but is a bit of an eye-opener if you’ve never deep-fried tofu before. I deep-fry stuff all the time, but seldom tofu. Not anymore. It’s golden and crisp on the outside, creamy inside, and an ideal sponge for soaking up peanut (or any other) sauce. Or as my wife put it: “You never make tofu like this. It’s like restaurant tofu. Make this more.” Heard.