Weeknight
3434 recipes found

Roasted Halibut With Lemons, Olives and Rosemary
Fish can be finicky dinner-party fare, especially for the distracted cook. Step away for a moment to sip your cocktail and your fillets might go from pearly to parched. This dish, though, inspired by one from Southern Italy, elegantly feeds a crowd. The fish, halibut, is seasoned with chile, salt and olive oil, then topped with rosemary, lemon and olives and roasted. It’s a lighter main dish that won’t leave anyone hungry.

Chicken Teriyaki
Teriyaki is derived from the Japanese root words teri, which means “to shine,” and yaki, which means “to broil or grill.” That’s the way traditional teriyaki looks: shiny and incised with grill marks. In Japan, teriyaki is a mix of soy sauce, sake and the rice wine mirin, which imparts a subtle sweetness. The teriyaki found throughout Seattle, of which this is an adaptation, is a bit more showy. Cooks sweeten with white sugar and pineapple juice. They thicken with cornstarch. Ginger and garlic go into the mix because of the Korean ancestry of many cooks. It is not at all traditional, but it is simple to prepare and a pleasure to eat. Be sure to plan ahead as you do need to marinate the chicken before cooking. An overnight stay in the fridge is ideal, but many readers have been happy with a quick marinade of an hour or so.

Granola
I used to make a rich holiday granola, but often it burned and stuck to the baking sheets. One of the reasons: I used wheat germ, which browns more quickly than oats. Now I keep the heat low in my oven and line my baking sheets with parchment. Be sure to stir the granola every 10 to 15 minutes, and switch the trays from top to bottom each time you stir. If you want to make a smaller amount, you can halve this recipe.

Creamy Pasta With Smoked Bacon and Peas
This elegant riff on a childhood favorite came to The Times in 2009 by way of Jamie Oliver, the British chef and cookbook author. It was featured in his cookbook “Jamie’s Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals," and it's a favorite of his daughters, Poppy and Daisy. It's wholesome (no powdered cheese!), and it can be ready in about 15 minutes.

Soft Tacos With Chicken and Tomato-Corn Salsa
Tomato-corn salsa is substantial, almost like a salad. These light, fresh tacos make a wonderful summer meal.

Chicken Meatballs With Chives and a Lime Raita

Rhubarb Raspberry Cobbler With Cornmeal Biscuits
Rhubarb is often paired with strawberries, but in this cobbler it courts a new dance partner, the raspberry. If rhubarb is young and fresh, you can trim it in seconds. If it has fibrous outer strings, peel these off as you would those of celery. The cornmeal in the biscuit dough will nicely offset the nubbiness of the raspberry seeds. You can eat it warm from the oven, smothered in heavy cream for dessert, then spoon up the leftovers cold the next morning for breakfast, topped with yogurt.

Southeast Asian Mussel Salad

Zuppa Arcidossana

Scott Peacock’s Classic Buttermilk Biscuits
Biscuit recipes don’t vary much. Usually, the difference between a good biscuit and a great one is technique. Scott Peacock honed the technique taught to him by the great Southern cook Edna Lewis while he was a chef at Watershed restaurant in Decatur, Ga. It’s a touch fussy – one is required to make baking powder from baking soda and cream of tartar – but the results are superior.

Soft Tacos With Scrambled Tofu and Tomatoes
Soft tofu makes a wonderful stand-in for scrambled eggs. Serve these savory tacos for a great Mexican and vegan breakfast.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
Vegans have made amazing discoveries in the field of eggless baking. This is a boon not just for folks who abstain from animal products, but also for those who have dairy allergies. This recipe, adapted from “Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World,” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, makes cupcakes that are moist and sweet and dark with cocoa.

Chickpeas With Baby Spinach
This is mostly a pantry dish, very quick to put together. You can serve it on its own, with couscous or pasta, or over a thick slice of toasted bread rubbed with garlic.

15-Minute Fried Herbed Chicken
This chicken takes so little time but tastes so good that it raises the bar for weeknight cooking. Chicken pieces are smothered in an herb and onion paste, dredged in flour and fried in the amount of time needed to make a salad. The amount of oil you need to crisp up the chicken is minimal, and the flavor is terrific.

Banana Bread
Here is an easy way to use up the bananas on the countertop, or brown ones thrown in the back of the freezer. Don’t overmix the ingredients, and make sure the bananas are very ripe.

Roasted Broccoli With Shrimp
Here is a fast, delicious one-pan supper that could not be simpler, or tastier. Just coat your ingredients with a generous amount of olive oil, seasoning well with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, and place them on a baking sheet. Put it in the oven at a high temperature (in this recipe 425 degrees) and let the heat do the work. The vegetables will soften and caramelize, offering real depth of flavor. Here, we add shrimp at the end, which cooks quickly, to deliver an easy weeknight meal.

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
This pretty chickpea salad comes together quickly. If you can't find juicy, flavorful tomatoes, leave them out, or use halved grape or cherry tomatoes instead.

Baked Feta With Honey
A drizzle of honey and a blast of heat transform a standard block of crumbly feta into an unexpectedly luscious, creamy spread for pita and vegetables. This, with a hunk of crusty bread and a glass of chilled white wine, is the perfect warm weather supper. If you can't get your hands on thyme honey, the regular sort will do just fine.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese With Bread Crumbs

Leeks With Anchovy Butter
Leeks have gone in and out of favor throughout history. Here they’re prepared as the more-esteemed asparagus: Blanched, then slathered with butter mixed with pungent anchovy (another looked-down-upon ingredient).

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese
There are two schools of thought about macaroni and cheese: Some like it crusty and extra-cheesy (here’s our recipe), while others prefer it smooth and creamy. But most people are delighted by any homemade macaroni and cheese. It is light years ahead of the boxed versions. This creamy version has one powerful advantage for the cook: There’s no need to preboil the pasta. It cooks in the oven, absorbing the liquid from the dairy products.

Baked Mac and Cheese
Macaroni and cheese may seem an easy proposition. Noodles, cheese. But the secret to this creamy dish with a crunchy and crisp top is American cheese. This is no place for fancy cheeses or fancy noodles. Leave the whole-wheat penne and artisanal orecchiette in the cupboard and bring on the elbow pasta.

Ricotta Sauce for Short Pasta

Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Garlic
This recipe for roasted brussels sprouts from Mark Bittman is our most popular version and is perfect as a Thanksgiving side dish. If you haven’t yet figured out a go-to recipe, this simple preparation is the answer. It results in sweet caramelized brussels sprouts that will make a believer out of anyone. Discover more ideas for the big day in our best Thanksgiving recipes collection.