It’s no secret that BA editors cook a lot for work. So it should come as no surprise that we cook a lot during our off-hours too. Here are the recipes we’re whipping up this month to get dinner on the table, to entertain our friends, to satisfy a sweet tooth, to use up leftovers, and everything in between. For even more staff favorites, click here.
June 2
Speedy chicken lettuce wraps
Every Asian-ish restaurant in the suburbs had some sort of lettuce wrap appetizer, so I never really ate them growing up, assuming it wasn’t “authentic” or whatever. But lettuce wraps are good. And bonus: They are so easy to make on a weeknight. I used this simple Christina Chaey recipe for Spicy Chicken Lettuce Wraps; the only thing I needed to pick up from my corner store was ground chicken and butter lettuce. I went extra hard on fish sauce and added some sliced, raw red onion at the end for an additional pungent kick. Usually I’d eat a ground meat dish like this with rice, but by using lettuce, I didn’t even have to wait for my Zojurushi to get dinner on the table. Speedy! — Serena Dai, editorial director
Sole meunière
I cook for myself often, but hands-down the best meal I’ve made so far this year is classic sole meunière, credited as the dish that made Julia Child fall in love with French cuisine. I assumed it would be way more difficult to make than it actually was. The thin sole fillets cook in approximately three minutes, perfect for when it’s 8 p.m. and you’re already starving. But what really makes it special is the brown-butter-lemon pan sauce, glossing the fish with a nutty, speckled sheen. If it can make Julia Child fall in love, well, let’s just say that I plan to cook this very impressive, very low-effort dinner for all my future suitors. —Zoe Denenberg, associate cooking & SEO editor
Plush, citrusy loaf cake
I am not exaggerating when I say I’ve thought about baking Molly Baz’s Earl Grey Yogurt Cake probably 200 times—more than once a week since the recipe published in early 2020. This weekend I finally made it and my only question is: Why did it take me so long? It’s a plush and citrusy loaf cake that comes together fast. I used Rishi’s bagged Earl Grey, listened to the comments that recommended cutting the oil down to 3/4 cup, and ignored the ones that skipped the vanilla. It hung out on the kitchen counter for snacking the entire long weekend —Sonia Chopra, executive editor
Ina’s roasted shrimp cocktail
I absolutely love retro party food: pimento cheese dip, baked oysters, pigs in a blanket, I could go on and on. Luckily, Ina Garten and I have that in common. My love of this type of party appetizer may stem from her ability to redo these classics, updating them to reflect the way we eat today. So when I was recently invited to a potluck-style dinner, I was already thinking of her roasted shrimp cocktail. Instead of poaching the shrimp, she roasts them with olive oil, salt, and pepper which results not only in more flavor, but a warm style of the classic dish. Her cocktail sauce that accompanies the shrimp is punchy and textural, thanks to a heavy dose of horseradish—exactly what I need to wake up my appetite before digging into dinner. —Carly Westerfield, recipe production assistant
Garlicky, tangy som tum thai
For my mom’s birthday, we decided to go full Thai-takeout-inspired for dinner: pad see ew with stir-fried shrimp and those delightfully squishy broad rice noodles; Thai tea with boba from those easy-to-assemble packages from the Asian grocery store; and this som tum thai recipe, that I put my younger brother and cousin to work on, including shredding the green papaya. It’s so sour and garlicky, fishy and herby, sweet and nutty, but somehow, completely balanced. It’s rare that a side salad outshines the main dish, but it somehow managed. —Antara Sinha, associate cooking editor
