Good morning. I love these fall mornings, not really cold where I stay but not summer-warm either, the air crisper than it was a few weeks ago, before the equinox. On weekends, in particular, more than at any other time of the year, I just want to get outside and cook: barbecued lamb for afternoon dinner; clams in black bean sauce cooked in a wok over a propane hob in the yard; grilled eggplant salad; smoked bluefish; barbecued beef ribs; griddled pork and peaches; lots of grilled corn.
That’s a tomorrow plan, then, after fishing the incoming tide. (At least if I’m lucky.) Cool air, hot fire, smoke drifting into trees that have not yet turned their leaves. Tonight, though, it might be nice to stay inside in preparation for the coming idyll outside, make like a homebody and cook what may end up being the greatest sheet-pan recipe of the year, from Alison Roman: vinegar chicken with crushed olive dressing (above).
It’s so smart: You roast the chicken into excellence, then deglaze the sheet pan with olive oil, raw garlic, crushed olives and a little water to make a pan sauce of uncommon, schmaltz-tangy excellence. Serve with a lot of bread if you’re not up to making a starch, and mop, mop, mop away at the dressing.
Rosh Hashana starts on Sunday night.Of course we have a lot of recipes to choose from if you’re celebrating the head of the year. Joan Nathan’s brisket in sweet-and-sour sauce is a traditional favorite for the big feed. So is Melissa Clark’s sweet, spicy roast chicken. (Check out the rave notes and ratings on that one!) Tabbouleh with apples, walnuts and pomegranate seeds? Sephardic challah with whole spices? Chocolate babka? We’ve got all that and more.
Those of other faiths and traditions may prefer beef and broccoli, for a pleasant weekend-ender or week-beginner. The chef Jonathan Wu taught me to make the dish, a recipe he learned from his mom. It’s outstanding.
Or just order a pizza and drizzle it with classic ranch dressing. Or with this crazily good green dip I learned to make from one of Bert Greene’s first cookbooks. Seriously. Homemade dips and drizzles for store-bought pizza are shaping up to be the new red-pepper flake, the new dried oregano, the new shake of Parmesan cheese. Just you watch!
There are many thousands more possibilities for what to cook this weekend and during the High Holy Days on NYT Cooking. (Here’s a fall recipe bucket list for you to run down.) You do need a subscription to access them. We’re a reader-supported outfit now, and that’s great. We like working for you. (And for your friends, your children, your distant relatives, your co-workers in need of a lift. Buy them gift subscriptions today!)
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