The New York Times Cooking: No-Recipe Recipes by Sam Sifton

    • Categories: Appetizers / starters; Snacks; Entertaining & parties
    • Ingredients: cheese; cured meats of your choice; condiments of your choice; crackers; olives; vinegar; crudités of your choice
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Notes about this book

  • mzgourmand on March 29, 2021

    I have tried several of Sam Sifton's recipes from the NYT's (incredibly lucrative) online recipe database. The NYT online presence was Sifton's brainchild and I use it and appreciate it. However, in terms of Sifton's actual recipes: I have never made one that worked. Never. And I am a pretty good cook. Siftonn may be a marketing genius and a decent writer, but that does not a good chef - or even more importantly - good recipe-writer make. Now he is now taking Mark Bittman's recipes - "tweaking" them a bit - and adding his name as recipe author which I think is a shoddy & shameful way to build your chef/recipe-writer credentials.

  • MollyBelle on March 26, 2021

    Buy. This. Book. I love that there are more no-recipes in the book I want to cook than not. I've used it every night since receiving to make some of the best dinners we've ever had. Do not miss the 'Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Croutons' is a must. The 'Barbeque Shrimp, New Orleans Style' couldn't be simpler. The 'Sauted Greens and Soy Sauce Rice' is now a lunch staple. The 'Seared Lamb Chops and Lemon with Buttered Potatoes' is on the list for the weekend. And try the 'Peanut butter, Sriracha and Pickle' sandwich! To summarize, if I could possibly try, what makes this book so different is it guides you to cook, rather than following a recipe.

Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Soba noodles with tofu and kimchi

    • ccav on April 05, 2022

      Used less chili flakes and augmented with sriracha. Instead of hoisin, used Japanese bbq sauce which worked well. Made extra sauce to coat tofu and noodles. Good with broccoli and mushrooms. Served with soft boiled egg and kimchi. Try with miso/soy eggs next time! Variation 2: Mirin, juice of small blood orange, Trappy's hot sauce, Japanese BBQ sauce, toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, Bragg's liquid aminos, and sweet & sour mustard, sliced scallions

  • Grilled broccoli with soy sauce, maple syrup, and balsamic vinegar

    • Astrid5555 on August 27, 2021

      Way too sweet for our taste, there are better broccoli side recipes out there.

  • Kale salad with cranberries, pecans, and blue cheese

    • MarshaG on August 03, 2022

      Can sub romaine for kale.

  • Brown butter tomato salad [Gabrielle Hamilton]

    • mjes on October 08, 2021

      This salad is inventive (i.e. there isn't a recipe for it in every other cookbook), simple, and compatible with many other dishes. With a nice collection of heirloom tomatoes in differing colors, it can be impressive as well. I liked this very much and will use it frequently.

  • Smothered pork chops

    • Nkrieda78 on April 20, 2021

      Ok, not great, not terrible for basically a pantry meal, but mediocre.

    • alecreid on May 27, 2023

      Meh….even with an overabundance of strong spices (smoked paprika, pepper flakes, etc), the taste was only average. The chops were juicy, so maybe braising overnight. But in this incarnation, it doesn’t work

  • Crab Rangoon burgers [Paul Urban / Jessica Urban, Block 16]

    • Nkrieda78 on May 21, 2021

      As written, a four. I added scallions to the topped and steamed a crab cluster instead of doing canned. Sweet and sour could be amazing on this.

  • Braised kale with paprika

    • Ezair92 on October 08, 2023

      This was quick and easy and very good. The flavors all worked nicely together

  • Broiled fish with mayo and mustard

    • Melissa_427 on August 14, 2024

      Incredibly easy and absolutely satisfying. Didn't have any quality mustard in the house so opted for bright yellow mustard and seasoned the mix with a little garlic, dill and crushed peppers. Served with a lemon and feta orzo dish from Ina Garten.

  • Curry beef

    • Dollhouse_Cuisine on January 27, 2023

      Recipe directions don't allow enough time for proper cooking of beef stew meat (so it was quite tough).

  • Fried egg quesadilla

    • alecreid on May 27, 2023

      One of go breakfast option. Good for one or many. Substitute whatever cheese you have. They all work. Guacamole, salsa and hot sauce all on the side

  • Amatriciana on the fly

    • Logan92995 on February 20, 2023

      Pretty good, but nothing mindblowing. The recipe itself is basically just homemade pasta sauce with onions over spaghetti. Will say that the recipe note suggestion stating the need for half an onion per serving seemed a little excessive. I cooked this for a serving of 4, which would have required 2 full onions. I used just one, and even that made the sauce a little bit too onion-y. The bacon was a nice addition, however.

  • Cod cakes with greens

    • Bessp on July 18, 2024

      I made these with salmon and gluten free matzos and added lemon zest, otherwise I followed the recipe. Served with a Japanese restaurant style salad. Next time I might add some capers too. Very quick, easy, tasty. A good weeknight meal.

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