Good morning. The rector has his church decked out for morning service: lilies and tulips, daffodils and hyacinths, symbols of purity, resurrection, new life, joy, hope and peace. There are plastic eggs, with jelly beans in them, hidden under the pews and amid the shrubbery outside the chapel, for restless, pastel-clad children to find after the dismissal. The organ soars.
It’s a nice scene to observe, for some to take part in, and I’ll conjure it as my ham bakes, as the potatoes gurgle in their pot on the stove, as the asparagus comes off the grill and I set to the serious business of making deviled eggs for a crowd.
The recipe’s for a dozen halves — six eggs. I’ll quadruple that to feed the wild ones who dine at my table. I might make some of them smoky, or adorn a few with chopped shrimp and olives. I generally don’t like an involved weekend lunch — it cuts into time better spent adventuring — but I’ll make an exception occasionally and Easter seems as good a time as any. There’s the faint promise of summer in the air and, if we can’t eat outside yet, maybe we can crack a few windows and feel a breeze in rooms that have been cocooned for months. Happy spring!
Featured Recipe
Classic Deviled Eggs
Then, with Sunday sorted, I can turn to the rest of the week. …
Monday
I like Hetty Lui McKinnon’s new recipe for hoisin garlic noodles for how it combines the excellence of both garlic noodles and soy sauce noodles, then supercharges them with the addition of thick and fragrant hoisin sauce. I might fry some cubes of tofu or a couple of eggs to add to the mix.
Tuesday
Melissa Clark developed this excellent recipe for one-pan orzo with spinach and feta, a twist on the Greek spinach-and-rice dish known as spanakorizo. She goes heavy on the vegetables, with loads of peas and scallions to augment the spinach and orzo, so it’s lighter than many pasta dinners. Omit the cheese and use olive oil instead of the butter and suddenly you’re vegan.
Wednesday
Here’s a new recipe for chickpeas all’arrabbiata from Sheela Prakash, a fiery, five-ingredient pantry dinner that’s terrific served over pasta or toast, or to accompany a pan of creamy, no-stir polenta. That could be your new weeknight jam.
Thursday
Zainab Shah brought us a new recipe for a peppery beef and shishito stir-fry that combines the fresh chile heat of shishitos with the almost acidic bite of freshly ground black pepper in a simple mix of soy sauce and sesame oil. Sliced sirloin takes to that bath with alacrity. The dish is, as the influencers say, an umami bomb.
Friday
And then you can run out the week with another standard from Melissa, her recipe for a classic shrimp scampi. It’s a five-star hit right down the line, and I’ll add only two notes. First, it’s better to undercook the shrimp. Carry-over heat will make the shrimp perfect by the time you put them on a plate. Second, serve with warm, rustic bread so you can mop up that garlicky butter.
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Now, it’s a considerable distance from anything to do with garam masala or Himalayan salt, but serendipity recently introduced me to the novelist William McIlvanney’s 1977 novel, “Laidlaw,” a kind of Tartan noir account of the procedural life of a working-class detective in Glasgow. First in a series!
I really like Meera Sodha’s latest cookbook, “Dinner,” which brings to light more than 100 vegan and vegetarian recipes for the evening repast. Mango and paneer curry? Tamarind tofu with noodles, herbs and pickles? Yes, please.
Some housekeeping. In Friday’s newsletter, I recalled first finding this excellent recipe for meatballs in Suzanne Goin’s cookbook “Sunday Suppers at Lucques.” It was actually in her (equally terrific) “The A.O.C. Cookbook.”
Finally, here’s a new one from the frontman of TV on the Radio, Tunde Adebimpe, off his solo debut: “Somebody New.” Listen to that while you’re cooking and I’ll be back next week.
Sam Sifton is an assistant managing editor, responsible for culture and lifestyle coverage, and the founding editor of New York Times Cooking.
The post You’ll Want to Make Extra of These Deviled Eggs appeared first on New York Times.
