Hi and welcome to Five Weeknight Dishes. Are you feeling a little spent, a little stuffy, a little too ready to relax this Christmas? I’ve been under the weather, not gravely so, but I am going through tissues at a maniacal pace, rewatching “The Crown,” and then Googling the royal family on my phone. (I believe this is called “self-care.”)
This week’s newsletter is devoted to cooking cure-alls to power you through the holidays, though not in the medicinal sense. (I am not a doctor or a shaman. I don’t even really drink tea!) By “cure-alls” I mean the food I crave when I’ve got a cold or need a rest — a highly personal, possibly idiosyncratic list, and so you should send me what you eat when you’ve essentially melted into the sofa: I’m dearemily@nytimes.com.
Otherwise, enjoy the Christmas ham or tamales or side of salmon, or that exuberant chocolate pudding with whipped sour cream, served trifle-style.
[Sign up here to receive the Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter in your inbox every Friday.]
Here are five dishes for the week:
1. Skillet Chicken With White Beans and Caramelized Lemon
You know how sometimes you just want basic roast chicken, but you don’t want it to be Basic roast chicken? That was me last night. I didn’t have white beans or kale, but I did have carrots and arugula, so I made this recipe with those swaps. Delicious. If you do add vegetables that need more time to cook, be sure to cut them small(ish) and add them to the pan earlier than you’d add the beans to allow them to cook through.
_____
2. One-Pan Shrimp Scampi With Orzo
If you eat seafood, and you see this photo and can’t immediately taste the buttery, lemon-spiked white wine sauce, don’t immediately crave that first juicy bite of shrimp, I’m not sure what I can say to persuade you. Maybe that this is legitimately fast to execute? That your friends, boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse or children may well love you more after you make it? Worth a try, am I right?
_____
I eat eggs relentlessly when I am not feeling well — I love the alchemic combination of flaky salt, ground pepper and rich yolk. (This morning I had eggs on anchovy toast. I know, you probably won’t do that, but really, you should try it.) So eggs poached in a gently burbling pan of tomato sauce, another paragon of simple comforts? Absolutely, yes.
Is this recipe good for your health? Maybe not. Is it good for your soul? I feel it is. Save this one for a night that calls for a bowl of something creamy and maybe a little Netflix. And, you know, it does have a full pound of spinach in it.
_____
5. Lemony Carrot and Cauliflower Soup
I don’t have a sun lamp, I’ve never gone to a tanning salon. Instead what I do in winter is eat a lot of citrus, putting it in so much of what I make and absorbing the sunshine in every bite. This lemony soup is bright, brimming with vegetables and easy to make, especially if you have an immersion blender. (If you don’t, let the soup cool all the way before you pour it into a regular blender.) Skip Step 1 if you like — preground, untoasted coriander is just fine here.
Have a wonderful holiday, and just so you know, it is not even remotely too late to give someone in your life a subscription to NYT Cooking! While you think that over, follow NYT Cooking on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest, or follow me on Instagram. Previous newsletters are archived here. I’m dearemily@nytimes.com, and if you have any technical issues, email cookingcare@nytimes.com.
