Good morning. When Marcella Hazan, the self-taught Italian cook who showed Americans a new way to cook Italian food, died in 2013, my colleagues on the Food desk of The Times published what we refer to in the office as a “call-out” — a request to readers that they share their answers to a particular question. In this case, we wanted to know which of Hazan’s recipes was their favorite.
The answers were delightful, a feast of deliciousness. Many referenced her Bolognese sauce (above), a meaty, tomato-rich ragù that’s fragrant with soffrito, nutmeg and white wine and smoothed with milk. You can use it to dress tagliatelle, or in a lasagna. Either way, it makes for one of my favorite autumn meals, complex and comforting, a model of Hazan’s best cooking: simple, precise and balanced.
Featured Recipe
Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese Sauce
And that’s my Sunday plan! As for the rest of the week. …
Monday
Melissa Clark’s recipe for mustard chicken with bread crumbs is a sophisticated take on a childhood favorite. She coats chicken thighs in a mixture of mustard and Worcestershire sauce that’s been spiked with garlic, lemon zest and red-pepper flakes, then tops them with panko and roasts them until juicy-crisp. Serve with lemon wedges, smashed potatoes and a green salad. So good.
Tuesday
Eric Kim uses orzo in place of spaghetti in his recipe for a weeknight carbonara, which delivers a velvety texture reminiscent of risotto. I follow his lead and add some diced shallot to the guanciale fat before I add the orzo, along with a splash of white wine. I like that for me.
Wednesday
We’re coming into the time of year when I like to break out my recipe for baked potatoes and think about what I might use to top them. Spinach-artichoke dip would be awesome. So would crab meat, sliced jalapeños and a scattering of mint. Midweek, though, I’m thinking sour cream, bacon, Cheddar and chopped scallions.
Thursday
Here’s a mushroom ragù pasta recipe from Alexa Weibel that demonstrates her ability to make big flavors bigger and more vibrant than you might imagine possible on a weeknight. There’s dried porcini powder in there in addition to fresh mushrooms, which cubes the umami of the dish, and both heavy cream and Marsala wine to sweeten the flavors of the forest floor. Share that with someone special, please.
Friday
And then you can head into the weekend with a Thanksgiving rehearsal meal: a caramelized onion, cranberry and rosemary tachin from Andy Baraghani. It’s an adaptation of a Persian rice dish often layered with chicken and barberries that incorporates classic flavors of the American holiday to make a striking, buttery dish that could sit beside a turkey — or stand on its own.
There are thousands and thousands more recipes to cook this week waiting for you on New York Times Cooking. Go take a look, and save the recipes you want to cook. Then cook them!
Write to us at [email protected] if you have questions about your account. Someone will get back to you. And write to me if you are aggrieved about anything, or wish to pay someone a compliment. I’m at [email protected]. I can’t respond to every letter. But I do read every one I get.
Now, it’s nothing to do with quail or kumquats, but Geoff Edgers has a fascinating piece in The Washington Post on Elvis Costello, T Bone Burnett and the making of Costello’s 1986 reinvention, “King of America.”
Here’s a lovely new poem by Emily Berry in The New York Review of Books, “The Room.”
For Freeskier Magazine, Jordan Grant-Krenz took a deep dive into NOAA’s winter forecast, concentrating on temperature and precipitation. TL;DR: It’s probably going to be a good winter for the Pacific Northwest and in, like, Michigan. Fingers crossed for New England.
Finally, Beck’s back, playing with The Black Keys, “I’m With the Band.” Music for the full-tilt boogie. I’ll return next week.
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