What to Cook This Weekend - The New York Times

Kasper
Home

What to Cook This Weekend - The New York Times

What to Cook This Weekend - The New York Times

Posted: 12 Feb 2021 07:30 AM PST

Valentine's Day is Sunday, and if it was one of the worst eating nights of the year in the Before Times, right up there with New Year's Eve for amateur-hour restaurant awkwardness and forced-march cheer, maybe we can make the best of it this year at home. Even if you've been feeding your Valentines three meals a day for the past 11 months, the holiday is a chance to hit pause, to reflect, to make a meal of deep intention — something to remember fondly after we return to the world.

What that means in practice: This might be a chance to set the table, if not fancily, then not as you generally do. Deploy a tablecloth, maybe, or those napkins you don't usually use. (Iron them if they're cloth? Sure!) Set out some low candles. Maybe see if you can fish up some flowers. (Not roses, please. That's too on the nose.) Buy a better bottle of wine than you might usually, or the fancy seltzer. Serve cucumber and tonics before dinner? Yes, please.

And to eat? Oysters on the half shell, tournedos Rossini, a watercress salad, caramel pots de crème? Maybe. Try to read the room and make sure, really sure, that you're cooking for your sweethearts and not for yourself. Cumin-roasted salmon with cilantro sauce may be more appropriate, with steamed rice and this insanely beautiful no-bake mango lime cheesecake (above) for dessert. So may Baltimore crab cakes, followed by a salted maple pie.

Or, if your Valentines happen to be children? Can't go wrong with chicken tenders, with fish and chips, with ham and cheese pasta and a handful of peas. Make ice cream for dessert!

Meantime, the Lunar New Year is today. I hope if you're celebrating that you get some longevity noodles into you, some chile crisp dumplings, some fish. Maybe you can try Andrea Nguyen's recipe for thit heo kho trung, Vietnamese braised pork and eggs in caramel sauce. (You can cook it in a pressure cooker, if you like.) Tteokguk, the Korean rice cake soup, will be on the menu for some. For others, it'll be momos for all.

Other things to cook this weekend: goulash; Cheddar beer bread rolls; savory oatmeal with greens and yogurt. Or just go to NYT Cooking and see what you find. Save the recipes you're thinking of making and rate the ones you've cooked. You can leave notes on them, too, if you've discovered an ingredient substitution or recipe hack.

You can if you're a subscriber, anyway. Subscriptions support our work and allow it to continue. I hope you will subscribe to NYT Cooking today, if you haven't already. Thanks.

We will of course stand watch from our lifeguard chairs, in case anything goes awry while you're cooking or using our technology. Just drop us a line: cookingcare@nytimes.com. Someone will get back to you. We'll try to get you sorted.

Now, it's a mighty long trip from bratwurst and mustard, but you should spend some time with my colleague C.J. Chivers's riveting reporting on Customs and Border Protection attempts to interdict human smuggling on the ocean off Southern California, with haunting photographs by Tyler Hicks. It's like reading a postmodern version of "The Odyssey."

Please meet the burrowing owls of Marco Island, off the Southwest coast of Florida.

Here's Erin Tierney in Outside, on the helicopter crash that derailed her life as a backcountry heli-ski guide and her long, difficult road back to the mountains.

And, finally, in case you missed it, you'll want to take a look at "Framing Britney Spears" on Hulu, part of our documentary series "The New York Times Presents." I'll see you on Sunday.

Cooking healthy at home - Columbus Telegram

Posted: 12 Feb 2021 10:00 PM PST

CCH building

The front entrance to the Columbus Community Hospital, 4600 38th St.

Ordering takeout or going through a fast food drive-thru might seem easier and less time-consuming than making home-cooked meals. But resisting that temptation and choosing to make your own meals at home can benefit your health.

Making home-cooked meals can be a family experience. Since fruits and vegetables should make up more than half of your plate, your family can help with chopping up vegetables and fruits. Prepare stir-fries that include plenty of vegetables and smaller amounts of protein foods. Peppers, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, kale and carrots work well in stir-fries. They are also packed with nutrition. Add more vegetables to casseroles and soups to get the recommended 4-5 cups of fruits and vegetables each day.

Include more protein that comes from plants in place of animal-based protein. Edamame, pinto beans, black beans, lentils and nuts work well in salads. Add a variety of beans such as black, pinto, kidney or butter beans to soups. Use an Instant Pot to cook dried beans ahead and freeze for later use. 

When baking, substitute half the flour with a whole-grain flour to add more nutrition to recipes. Sugar can be cut by one-third to one-half in most recipes. Instead of using sugar, sweeten baked goods with fruit purees such as peach, pear or mango. Use applesauce, cranberries, pumpkin, bananas and zucchini in place of oil in breads, cakes and brownies. Substitute oil for solid fats and cut back by one-third to one-half. Salt can often be eliminated in many recipes except yeast breads or be reduced by 50%.

When cooking at home, you control the amount of daily salt, sugar and fat in your diet. Use low-fat cooking methods. Baking, broiling, grilling, roasting and steaming are all healthy forms of cooking. Instead of sautéing vegetables in oil, cook in a small amount of salt-free broth. Use nonstick cookware or nonstick spray instead of butter or oil in pans. 

When choosing meats, pick very lean cuts of beef and pork. "Loin" and "round" are usually the leaner cuts of meat. Take the skin off poultry before cooking. Eat fish regularly. It is high in omega-3s, which are polyunsaturated fats that helps your body function. Use skim, evaporated skim milk and reduced-fat cheese in recipes instead of higher fat dairy products. You can also cut down on the amount of cheese and meat in recipes to help reduce fat intake. 

Be creative with the use of with seasonings in your meals. Add flavor to foods with herbs, spices, garlic, onions, peppers and lemon or lime juice.

If you are interested in learning more about cooking healthy at home, Columbus Community Hospital dietitians are hosting virtual healthy cooking classes. Contact Joan Plummer at 402-562-4462 for more information.

Information provided by Joan Plummer, dietitian and diabetes educator at Columbus Community Hospital

View Comments

Ludacris gets cooking in new streaming show - Chicago Sun-Times

Posted: 12 Feb 2021 07:00 AM PST

LOS ANGELES — Ludacris can rap, write songs, and act. He just can't cook, and no, opening cans and slapping together bologna or grilled cheese sandwiches doesn't count.

Back in his days of, as he says, not having "two nickels to rub together," Ludacris would throw together whatever he could find, chow down and get back to his music.

"When men like myself are hungry, we just want to eat," he said Thursday on a video call. "We don't want to take 30 minutes to an hour to cook."

He's finally upping his skills in the kitchen in "Luda Can't Cook," a one-hour special that debuts Feb. 25 on the Discovery+ plus streaming service. He gets schooled by chef Meherwan Irani, who introduces Ludacris to international flavors and techniques.

"It was an eye-opener and so many lightbulb moments for me," he said.

Ludacris isn't the only entertainer in the kitchen. Singer Selena Gomez has been upping her quarantine cooking skills on "Selana + Chef," which was renewed for a second season on HBO Max.

Ludacris tries his hand at cooking in the new streaming special
Ludacris tries his hand at cooking chicken in the new streaming special "Luda Can't Cook."

Ludacris first got interested in food when "there was a placenta that was attached to me when I was in my mother's womb."

But his mother, Roberta, didn't set much of an example in the kitchen.

"I love my mother with all my heart. My mother was not the best cook in the world," he said. "Her food and cooking has gotten better and better over a long period of time."

Ludacris cedes to his wife, Eudoxie, who is from the west African nation of Gabon, in their fully equipped kitchen.

"She does all the cooking, which is part of the reason I can't cook," he said. "She has her own style and she's very, very good at it."

Will Packer, who executive produces the show along with Ludacris, admits he previously would not eat anything prepared by Ludacris.

"I would eat your cooking now," Packer said. "If I had a choice, you or your wife, I am definitely eating your wife's cooking first."

Ludacris tries his hand at Indian food in the show. "It's so complex that I just wanted to understand how it's made," he said.

The irony of not being able to even cook rice ("it's going to stick to the pot") and owning a stake in Chicken + Beer, a restaurant serving Southern-style comfort food inside the Atlanta airport, isn't lost on the Grammy-winning rapper.

At the same time, he wants to correct one thing.

"The whole Luda can't cook is only 99% true," he said. "There's 1%; I can cook tacos."

Ludacris is cooking in the kitchen on new streaming show - Omaha World-Herald

Posted: 12 Feb 2021 03:21 PM PST

People-Ludacris

Rapper and actor Ludacris stars in "Luda Can't Cook."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES — Ludacris can rap, write songs and act. He just can't cook, and no, opening cans and slapping together bologna or grilled cheese sandwiches doesn't count.

Back in his days of, as he says, not having "two nickels to rub together," Ludacris would throw together whatever he could find, chow down and get back to his music.

"When men like myself are hungry, we just want to eat," he said Thursday on a video call. "We don't want to take 30 minutes to an hour to cook."

He's finally upping his skills in the kitchen in "Luda Can't Cook," a one-hour special that debuts Feb. 25 on the discovery+ plus streaming service. He gets schooled by chef Meherwan Irani, who introduces Ludacris to international flavors and techniques.

"It was an eye-opener and so many lightbulb moments for me," he said.

Ludacris isn't the only entertainer in the kitchen. Singer Selena Gomez has been upping her quarantine cooking skills on "Selana + Chef," which was renewed for a second season on HBO Max.

Ludacris said

his mother, Roberta, didn't set much of an example in the kitchen.

"I love my mother with all my heart. My mother was not the best cook in the world," he said. "Her food and cooking has gotten better and better over a long period of time."

Ludacris cedes to his wife, Eudoxie, who is from the west African nation of Gabon, in their fully equipped kitchen.

"She does all the cooking, which is part of the reason I can't cook," he said. "She has her own style and she's very, very good at it."

Will Packer, who executive-produces the show along with Ludacris, admits he previously would not eat anything prepared by Ludacris.

"I would eat your cooking now," Packer said. "If I had a choice, you or your wife, I am definitely eating your wife's cooking first."

Ludacris tries his hand at Indian food in the show. "It's so complex that I just wanted to understand how it's made," he said.

The irony of not being able to even cook rice ("it's going to stick to the pot") and owning a stake in Chicken + Beer, a restaurant serving Southern-style comfort food inside the Atlanta airport, isn't lost on the Grammy-winning rapper.

At the same time, he wants to correct one thing.

"The whole Luda can't cook is only 99% true," he said. "There's 1%; I can cook tacos."

0 comments


from What to Cook https://ift.tt/3qileKh
google-playkhamsatmostaqltradent