As a dyed-in-the-wool fan of classic French bistro food, I’ve eaten my share of escargot. And while I do love those succulent snails, I’m really in it for the parsley-flecked garlic butter sizzling all around them in their beige, whorled shells. Serve me just that and a torn baguette for dinner, and I’m good.
Sarah DiGregorio dials in those exact flavors for her slow cooker garlic butter chicken. She adds some cannellini beans, too, gently stewing everything until the chicken thighs are falling-apart tender and the beans velvety; then she thickens the sauce with a dollop of sour cream stirred in at the end. Instead of a baguette, she crowns the top with croutons, which add a felicitous crunch. It may all cook at a snail’s pace, but this sort-of-fancy, low-fuss meal works just as well for weekend entertaining as it does for the family during the week.
Featured Recipe
Slow-Cooker Garlic Butter Chicken
More food for thought
Pasta with garlicky spinach and buttered pistachios: All I needed to know was “buttered pistachios.” Dawn Perry’s five-star stunner tosses equal weights of pasta and spinach together, with capers, Parmesan and toasted nuts for texture and a little protein. If you don’t have pistachios on hand, almonds make a fine substitute.
Cauliflower, cashew, pea and coconut curry: Adapted by Jennifer Steinhauer from Meera Sodha’s landmark cookbook, “Made in India,” this complex curry is built on an intense paste of fresh ginger, green chiles, garlic and warm spices, then softened with coconut milk. Serve it over rice for an exceptionally good vegan dinner.
Crispy potato quesadillas: Filled with a mix of mashed potatoes, peas and shredded cheese, these golden-shelled quesadillas by Kristina Felix are built to satisfy an appetite. Kristina tops them with a vinegary cabbage-carrot slaw for brightness and color. Or take a tip from Charles, a reader, and serve them with salsa and an egg over easy.
One-pan salmon Niçoise with orzo: In her one-pan take on the Southern French salad, Ali Slagle cooks plush salmon fillets on top of orzo, along with snappy green beans, sweet tomatoes and salty olives. Tossed with a sharp mustard vinaigrette, it melds into a zesty, nourishing dish, perfect for the cusp of summer.
Chocolate mousse: Let’s go back to that French bistro for dessert, shall we? Genevieve Ko’s chocolate mousse is a perfect balance of bittersweet, ethereal and rich. You do need to let it chill for at least a few hours before serving, but then it will keep in the fridge for five days or so. I like to have a spoon nearby at midday, just for snacking directly from the bowl. The bistro is open all day, n’est-ce pas?
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That’s all for now. I’ll see you on Wednesday.
Melissa Clark has been writing her column, A Good Appetite, for The Times’s Food section since 2007. She creates recipes for New York Times Cooking, makes videos and reports on food trends. She is the author of 45 cookbooks, and counting.
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