Chicken Teriyaki, Never Not a Delight

We know it’s a bit odd to ascribe an emotion to a dish, but chicken teriyaki is happy. It’s iconically salty-sweet, shiny and glossy, with the most tender cut of chicken (boneless, skinless thighs) made even more succulent. This five-star recipe from Sujan Shrestha, adapted by John T. Edge, is particularly bright and cheerful, the…

How Shaved Ice Took Over the Dessert Menu

Whether you know it as Japanese kakigori, Korean patbingsu, Hawaiian shave ice, Italian granita, Indian ice gola or the American snow cone, a mound of shaved ice drenched in syrup and served on a hot day is a near-universal delight. “It’s like the dumpling of the dessert world,” says Maya Erickson, 32, the pastry chef…

Why Bakers Are Suddenly Embracing Fondant

LAST SPRING, THE British baker Sarah Hardy happened upon a painting by the late Colombian artist Fernando Botero, “Feliz Cumpleaños” (1971), depicting a cluttered dessert table piled with unevenly glazed éclairs, half-peeled fruit and, at the center, a frilly cream-colored layer cake topped with a grand dome. A few weeks later, Hardy, 31, of the…

‘Spot On’ Spaghetti Carbonara

Happy Valentine’s Day to all who celebrate! I do, enthusiastically. I’ll take any excuse to bring out oysters, Champagne and chocolate on the same evening. We observe the day at home, with a dinner that’s easy to throw together on a weeknight yet still feels exceptional. Like spaghetti carbonara. It’s not hard to make, but…

A Sweet-and-Sour Tofu That Balances It All

As 2023 gave way to 2024, the weather snapped, and I was suddenly drawn to very particular kinds of food: comforting, restoring, reassuring. As I leafed through Najmieh Batmanglij’s wonderful book “Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies,” it was her khoreshes — delicate, refined braises — that were clearly calling,…