Two of this week's recipes are done in under half an hour, and they're the kind of fast that actually delivers. The rest ask more of you — a casserole that needs layering and oven time, pork noodles that simmer low and slow, and a sandwich project with pickles you'll want to start the night before. Spring's peeking through, and this week sits right in that in-between stretch — still cold enough for comfort food, but you can feel the lighter cooking coming.
This Week's Recipes
- Butter-Basted Chicken Breasts
- Reuben Casserole
- Banh Mi Sandwich
- Spicy-Sweet Sambal Pork Noodles
- Cod With Brown Butter and Pine Nuts
1. Butter-Basted Chicken Breasts
This is the weeknight chicken breast that actually stays juicy. You pound the breasts even, sear them hard in a hot skillet, then flip and start spooning foaming butter over the top. Twenty-five minutes, one pan, and the butter does most of the work. The basting is what makes it — tilting the skillet and ladling that hot butter back over the chicken creates a golden crust that looks like it took way more effort than it did.
At step 3, after you flip the chicken, pull one or two pieces into a separate small pan before the garlic and herbs go into the main skillet. Melt a tablespoon of plain butter and let kids spoon it over their own chicken. Same basting ritual, same golden crust — just without the garlic and woodsy herbs. It's genuinely hands-on for them. Tilting a pan and spooning butter feels like real cooking.
The adult pieces get the full treatment: smashed garlic cloves and hearty herb sprigs swimming in browning butter, a spoonful over every pale spot on the chicken. When you plate it, pour all the bits and browned butter from the skillet right on top.
The Split: Adults get garlic-herb brown butter baste; kids get plain butter they spoon on themselves.
Serves: 3-4 | Time: 25m | NYT Cooking →
2. Reuben Casserole
Everything people love about a Reuben, deconstructed into a bubbling casserole. Buttered bread cubes get a head start in the oven, then you layer on corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and a tangy Thousand Island-style sauce. It bakes into something crusty on top and molten underneath. With St. Patrick's Day coming up, this is the move if you want those flavors without the sandwich architecture.
At step 5, before you start layering the main casserole, set up a small separate baking dish for kids. Layer in buttered bread cubes, shredded corned beef, and plenty of Swiss cheese — skip the sauerkraut entirely, or add the tiniest amount if you want. Bake it right alongside the big dish. Corned beef runs high in sodium (around 800 to 1000 mg per serving), so keep kid portions modest or use lower-sodium corned beef if you can find it.
The adult casserole gets the full deli treatment: alternating layers of sauerkraut, cheese, and that punchy sauce, finished with more cheese and bread cubes on top. Thirty-five minutes in the oven and the whole thing comes out golden and ridiculous.
The Split: Adults get the full sauerkraut-and-sauce Reuben layers; kids get cheesy corned beef bread bake.
Serves: 6-8 | Time: 1h | Pinch of Yum →
3. Banh Mi Sandwich
This one's a harder sell for most kids — a Vietnamese-inspired sandwich loaded with pickled vegetables, sriracha mayo, jalapeños, and cilantro isn't exactly the path of least resistance. But the seared tofu at the center is genuinely crispy and golden, and that's your way in. The pickles need at least an hour, so plan ahead or just make them the night before.
At step 6, when you're assembling, build the kid version on the same baguette with completely different toppings: plain mayo or cream cheese, the seared tofu slices, fresh cucumber sticks, and plain shredded carrots. No pickled vegetables, no jalapeño, no cilantro. The crispy tofu is the bridge — familiar crunchy texture, new context. For kids under four, cut the baguette into soft, manageable pieces rather than serving whole sections, and slice cucumber sticks lengthwise before cutting them into short pieces.
The adult sandwiches get the full spread: spicy sriracha mayo, tangy pickled daikon and carrots, fresh jalapeño, and big leaves of cilantro. Bright, crunchy, a little messy in the best way.
The Split: Adults get spicy mayo, pickled veggies, and jalapeño; kids get plain toppings with crispy tofu.
Serves: 4 | Time: 40m | Love and Lemons →
4. Spicy-Sweet Sambal Pork Noodles
A big pot of pork noodles built on a base of browned meat, ginger, garlic, and tomato paste that simmers down into something rich and saucy. The sambal chili paste brings real heat, but the sweetness from sugar and the depth from the tomato paste keep it from being one-note. This one feeds a crowd and the noodles soak up everything.
At step 1, after the pork has browned with ginger, garlic, sugar, and tomato paste — right when the paste starts to darken — scoop out about two cups of the pork mixture into a separate saucepan before the chili paste goes in. Add half a cup of water and a splash of soy sauce to the kid portion and let it simmer gently alongside the main pot. Use a meat thermometer to make sure the pork hits 160 degrees, and consider low-sodium soy sauce to keep the salt reasonable for smaller appetites. Toss with noodles and a pat of butter for something sweet, savory, and mild.
The adult pot gets the full sambal treatment — chili paste, soy sauce, vinegar — then simmers another 30 to 45 minutes until the sauce thickens and clings. Toss the noodles right into the pot with butter and a splash of pasta water. It's deeply savory, a little fiery, and the kind of thing you'll want to make again the following week.
The Split: Adults get fiery sambal-spiked noodles; kids get the same meaty sauce minus all the heat.
Serves: 6-8 | Time: 45m | Epicurious →
5. Cod With Brown Butter and Pine Nuts
Fifteen minutes and you have flaky baked cod under a pool of nutty brown butter with toasted pine nuts. The cod goes into a hot oven while you brown butter in a small pan, toast the pine nuts until golden, and pull together a quick sauce. It's genuinely fast, and the brown butter does something almost unreasonable to a simple piece of fish.
At step 4, once the pine nuts are golden and the butter smells nutty, spoon out half the brown butter and pine nuts before the sumac and parsley go in. That's the kid portion — rich, golden, and mild. For children under four, finely chop or crush the pine nuts before spooning them over the fish, since their small hard shape is a choking concern. You can also skip the nuts entirely and just use plain brown butter.
The adult cod gets the full finish: sumac adds a tart, almost citrusy warmth, parsley brightens everything up, and a squeeze of lemon ties it together. It looks and tastes like restaurant food, which is a little absurd for something that takes a quarter of an hour.
The Split: Adults get sumac-parsley brown butter; kids get plain nutty brown butter over flaky cod.
Serves: 4 | Time: 15m | NYT Cooking →
Start with the cod. Fifteen minutes, brown butter, done. It's the kind of easy win that makes tackling the Reuben casserole later in the week feel completely doable.
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