So let’s get started! January brings the inevitable new year’s resolutions and new year’s hopes. This year, James and I are embarking on a very public health-spirited exercise! We were in the UK visiting James’s family over the holidays, where we learned that his sister and her husband were planning on doing a dry January. Considering that James and I had practically bathed in mulled wine, gin and tonics, and juicy IPAs during November and December, I heartily signed us both up as well (I think James may have tried to protest at this point??). However, I then upped the ante by musing that I’d always wanted to see what would happen if I cut out all added sugars too. I freaking love baking, and I never met anything with butter and sugar that I didn’t love. I’ve been known to eat cookies for breakfast, and practically daily ice creams in the summer. If I haven’t had sugar in awhile, I crave it, very distinctly, and often in the form of a Mars bar that makes your teeth ache. I was also jealous of the positive reports from people who had cut or reduced added sugar in their diets, and I wanted to similarly recalibrate and reset my taste buds. As I was explaining this, James’s sister’s eyes lit up, and James’s parents decided to join the conversation at exactly the wrong time. And so, it was settled. James’s whole family – his parents, his sister’s family, and us – would be doing a dry, no added sugar January.

We are 13 days in, and this experiment has been FASCINATING. I have become obsessed with labels and the multiple, insidious ways that sugar sneaks in and lurks in our foods. Sugar is truly everywhere. Besides the obvious culprits (flavored yogurt, pasta sauce, ketchup, granola), there is also added sugar in Italian sausage, panko breadcrumbs, soy sauce, and most brands of mayonnaise. Dried fruit can contain added sugar. There is dextrose in packaged turkey lunchmeat. There is honey in beef broth. It’s become a game, going to the supermarket and seeing which is the most outlandish thing we can find that has added sugar.

Which is why, I am happy to report, this recipe for delicious, buttery, garlicky swordfish has absolutely no added sugar! Swordfish is not something I’ve ever cooked before, and I’ve probably eaten it a total of 5 times in my entire life. So when James suggested it at the supermarket, I thought he was being very adventurous, and I was more than a little apprehensive (also because it’s quite an expensive experiment!). But I must say – after one bite of the swordfish cooked in this easy, no-fuss recipe, I have become an ardent fan. Swordfish is a dense, meaty fish with a mild, sweet flavor. It’s been referred to as the chicken of the sea, and is accordingly versatile.

This recipe is simple, super easy, and I think really highlights the sweetness of the fish (or is that just my sugar-starved taste buds talking?!). It’s a versatile recipe as well, and I imagine you can substitute other kinds of meaty fish such as tuna, mahi-mahi, or even salmon. If you’ve never cooked swordfish before, I really recommend trying it! Look for white fillets that may be tinged pink or orange. Avoid gray looking fish. Thicker steaks are much more resistant to overcooking, so try to buy fillets that are at least one inch thick. I think swordfish has become a great addition to our seafood repertoire – it’s easy, really delicious, light, and best of all, requires no added sugar for maximum flavor!

We served the swordfish with some leftover asparagus risotto and sauteed broccoli. You could also serve this with some pesto pasta, roast potatoes, or roasted vegetables, and have dinner on the table in 30 minutes to an hour!

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Pan-Roasted Swordfish with Garlic Peppercorn Butter

Source: Epicurious

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground peppercorns of your choice, plus more for sprinkling (I used a mix of black peppercorns and Szechuan peppercorns)
• 1/2 teaspoon (packed) grated lemon peel
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 1-inch thick swordfish fillets (about 6 ounces each)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Mash butter, parsley, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon ground peppercorns, and lemon peel together in small bowl.
• Heat oil in a heavy large ovenproof skillet (I used a cast-iron skillet) over medium-high heat. Sprinkle swordfish with salt and ground peppercorns on both sides.
• Add swordfish to skillet. Cook until browned, about 3 minutes. Flip swordfish over and transfer to oven. Roast until just cooked through and fish flakes easily, about 10 minutes longer.
• Transfer swordfish to plates and add butter mixture to same skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, scraping up browned bits, until mixture is melted and bubbling. Pour butter sauce over swordfish and serve.

I was just in the U.K. for a fabulous family holiday, and it was one of the most relaxing and peaceful vacations I’d taken in a long time! I suffer from a bit of FOMO, and on vacations tend to want to see, do, eat, play, touch, and experience everything. I sometimes forget that it’s also really nice to just while away the hours reading a book in the unseasonably warm fall sunshine and take leisurely walks to the pub down the road. And on this vacation, that was exactly what we did! We were in Devon, in the beautiful English countryside, staying in cabins in Dartmoor National Park. If you, like me, got confused and realized that you didn’t actually know what a moor is, I got you – it’s an expanse of open uncultivated land or rolling infertile land, characterized by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. The Merriam-Webster dictionary notes that the term “moor” is “chiefly British.” Anyway, what it looks like is soft, undulating hills dotted with shrubs, heather, cows, horses, and sheep. The whole family had a taxing daily schedule of pool time in the morning, tennis before lunch, and an afternoon excursion either to the pub or one of the nearby towns, all the while stopping to say hello to the animals along the way. What an idyll!

Anyway. Back to food. If there’s one thing I love about the U.K., it’s the potatoes. I am a big potato fan. Roasted, mashed, boiled, au gratin-ed, chipped, cheese-and-onion crisped. All of it. The first time I went to the U.K. with James, I went a little overboard and actually got sick of potatoes. I know, rookie mistake. Not this time, though. And so, in honor, I bring  you a recipe for herby, brothy, buttery roasted potatoes. These potatoes roast in ungodly amounts of butter, then simmer in a fragrant herb broth. They come out crisp and browned on the outside, but beautifully soft, pillowy, and – yes – melty on the inside. They are a must for every potato aficionado.

Now, these potatoes are not exactly a fast weeknight side, as they take about 45 minutes total to roast, and you have to flip and fuss with them not once, but twice over that time. They definitely aren’t a I’m-starving-and-I’m-lazy-and-I-want-to-eat-dinner-NOW kind of potato, but they are a ooh-I’m-liking-these-so-much-I’ve-almost-forgotten-how-much-time-I’ve-spent-on-them kind of potato. Besides, potatoes do take notoriously long to roast, so don’t think that you can get those delicious crispy outsides and soft, fluffy insides in 10 minutes! If you’re cooking some easy seared steak and steamed vegetables, perhaps, or if you’re looking for an alternative to french fries for a juicy burger, spend a little extra time on these potatoes – you won’t regret it! 

Notes:

• Yes, 500 degrees Fahrenheit! Yes, this is crazy hot. The basic gist of the process goes: roast 15 minutes, flip and roast 15 minutes, add broth and roast 15 minutes. I’ve made this keeping the temperature at 500°F for all three of the fifteen minute intervals. I’ve also turned down the heat to 450°F in the middle of the second interval, because I wanted to roast some other veggies in the oven at the same time (weeknight dinner = compromises, y’all). I didn’t notice any discernible difference after turning the heat down, so I suspect that keeping the temperature anywhere between 450 and 500°F will work. Deb also concurs.
• The potatoes can roast very deeply brown, but the addition of the broth will mellow the browning and the potatoes will not taste burnt. I did have some problems with the broth evaporating too quickly, however, leaving me with no tasty juices at the end. If you’d like some more broth at the end, using a smaller pan that just fits the potatoes in one layer will help cut down on the evaporation.

Servings	Fuss Factor	Total Time	Prep Time	Cook Time
4-6	3	55 minutes	10 minutes	45 minutes

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Melting Potatoes

Source: Smitten Kitchen, where it was adapted from Real Simple

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons (or more, to taste) chopped fresh thyme or rosemary leaves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pounds Yukon gold or Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch slices
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock or low-sodium broth
• 4-5 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed, and chopped coarsely

Instructions

• Heat oven to 500°F. See note above regarding oven temps.
• Melt butter in a small bowl. Stir in herbs, salt, and pepper. Pile the potatoes in a 9×13 (quarter-sheet) metal baking pan (a glass baking dish shouldn’t be used at this high of a temperature). Drizzle the butter mixture over the potatoes and mix with your hands to coat the potatoes evenly. If your potatoes, like mine, came straight from the fridge, the cool temperature will re-solidify the butter. Don’t worry – the butter will still be spreadable, so just smear it all around until the potatoes are coated, like in my pictures.
• Roast potatoes for 15 minutes. Use a thin spatula to loosen potatoes and turn them over. Roast for another 15 minutes. Then, carefully pour stock or broth into pan and add the garlic. Roast for 15 minutes more, until potatoes are fully tender.

When James moved from the steepled city of London to the steepled city of Boston in 2014 (fun fact! James emigrated on my birthday! #destiny), he brought these little BBC cookbooks with him. They’re tiny little 6-inch-by-6-inch jobbies, and they look like cookbooks for children, or really dated cookbooks that rely too heavily on processed ingredients. I thought it was super cute when he opened them up to look for recipes, like he was still living in the 2000’s while I was on the internet scouring for the newest and best food trends.

But these books have really exceeded my (admittedly low) expectations! They are little gold nuggets of recipe books, offering truly easy, truly delicious recipes by focusing on simple ingredients in flavorful combinations. We’ve made a few things from these books already, but my favorite so far is definitely this creamy, nutty, fresh green chicken curry. And the good thing about these books is that they don’t pretend that their recipes are anything they’re clearly not. This curry is not “authentic” – I don’t even know what region it would be authentic to. India? Thailand? Britain?? It is not farm-to-table, relying on storebought Greek yogurt and peanut butter for much of the flavor. It will not compete with a curry with 10 ingredients just in the spice list and requiring a mortar and pestle to execute.

But this curry is a filling, hearty dish that we’ve made many times on a weeknight, that uses ingredients that will take you probably five minutes to find and buy, and that tastes more complex and delicious than its ingredients would lead you to believe, because it focuses on the basics and enlists flavor bombs like garlic, ginger, serrano peppers, and peanut butter. It gets some of its ease by enlisting the use of a food processor, which is sort of annoying for me, since I hate washing that thing up. But today, I threw the parts in the dishwasher and ran that baby, even though it was really only half full. Hey – carefree wife, carefree life! (No, not really, that was just a joke – I’m not solely responsible for the level of anxiety in James’s and my marriage!)

Some notes:

• I used regular Skippy peanut butter because that was all I had, but natural peanut butter will work fine too.
• I used chicken thighs because I like dark meat and it’s less likely to overcook, but breasts will also work just as well here.
• Yes, I goofed and accidentally put all of the cilantro in the food processor. Sigh. Don’t worry – we’ve also made it the right way. Processing all of the cilantro wasn’t too big of a deal, I think it just resulted in less pronounced cilantro flavor overall in the final dish, and a soupier, less pretty curry.
• I’ve never worked with paneer before, but my guess is that it would work here as a vegetarian substitute (with vegetable stock). I don’t think the final dish would be too creamy… if you try this / have any more insight, please let me know!
• This recipe is obviously not for those people who think cilantro tastes like soap. I am not one of those people, clearly, and I adore cilantro. You’ll be like, really?? The entire bunch of cilantro?? But the flavor is not overwhelming by any means, and besides, when was the last time you used up an entire bunch of cilantro before it went bad? Like, never, right? This time, though, you’re socking it to the gods in charge of sad herb spoilage. Be triumphant in your defiance!

We served this with white rice and sauteed spinach (very green dinner!). Total time to dinner, including sides: about 45 minutes.

Servings	Fuss Factor	Total Time	Prep Time	Cook Time
4-5	1	30 minutes	15 minutes	15 minutes

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Nutty Cilantro Chicken Curry

Source: BBC Good Food 101: 30-Minute Suppers

Ingredients

• 1 large serrano chili pepper, 2 if you want more spice
• Small knob of ginger, roughly chopped (about 1 1/2 tablespoons worth)
• 3-4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 bunch cilantro, tough stems removed and roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs, cut into large chunks
• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
• 1 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt (my Greek friend says Fage is the best supermarket brand)

Instructions

• Put the chili pepper, ginger, and garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely minced. Add about 1/3 of the cilantro and process until it becomes a rough paste.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet or frying pan over medium-high heat until hot and almost smoking. Add the chicken, season with salt and black pepper, and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides.
• Stir in the cilantro paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the peanut butter, stock or broth, and yogurt, and stir to combine. When the sauce is gently bubbling, turn down the heat to medium and cook until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is slightly thickened, 7-10 minutes. If the sauce gets too thick, add a splash more stock.
• When the curry is done, stir in the remaining cilantro, leaving a handful aside for garnish, if desired. Serve with rice, scattering the garnishing cilantro on top.

Sausage Kale Pasta was going to be the name of my blog. When I first started thinking about starting a blog, I was sure I’d hit upon the perfect domain name! Sausage kale pasta is definitely the dinner that James and I make the most frequently, and this little three-word combination is bandied around our kitchen like a tennis ball whenever we’re at a loss for dinner ideas. It is the epitome of a nonfussy, forgiving, foolproof weeknight dinner. You can add more or less of each ingredient you like, you can add other ingredients, it being endlessly customizable, it is a one-pot meal that allows you to incorporate oh so many fresh vegetables, and it can be on the table in 30 minutes, max. Plus, it is DELICIOUS! Come on, friends, go to sausagekalepasta.com for all your weeknight dinner needs!

Then James pointed out some flaws with this plan. Sausage kale pasta doesn’t exactly represent the whole diversity of the weeknight dinners I make (and that diversity is incredible, yeah? Yeah?). Would I tag my Instagram pictures #sausagekalepasta? What if it’s a picture of a fried chicken drumstick? What about the desserts that I love to make? Well, maybe I can abbreviate my Instagram tag to #skp, I suggested. No such luck – inconceivably, #skp already exists and I think it has to do with hair dye. What about #skpkitchen? A bit wordy, and also, maybe a bit too similar to #smittenkitchen, which I adore and dare not cross.

And so, sausagekalepasta.com was abandoned, and the hunt for a new name was on. I wanted the name to be creative, and not tooo on-the-nose (Weeknight Cooking was out. It was probably already taken). Some usual suspects (The Fearless Chef) were already taken; other names that I thought were more unique (Recipe Obsessed) turned out to be not that unique, as they were also snatched up. Some names that I thought were clever were rejected by James (Dine and Dusted – “is that a pun? What’s it a pun on?”; Very Food Motivated – “what does that even mean?”). In the end, James was rooting for The Trials of a Chef – because I try out lots of recipes, but I also undergo quite a trial trying to get dinner on the table when James gets home from his long commute and he can’t think about anything other than how huuuuuunnnngrrryyyyyyyyy he is. I liked the name, but I still thought it was a bit too wordy and maybe a bit too literal? Also, can I call myself a chef?? The next morning, however, I woke up, yelled out “Trial by Fryer!” to James eating breakfast in the kitchen while I was still in bed, and this little project was born.

But even though sausage kale pasta, the domain name, may be retired, sausage kale pasta, the dinner, will never be. Guys – it is so easy. It’s literally sausage, kale, and pasta. Plus some garlic, crushed red pepper, and good olive oil. In the pictures, we’ve added mushrooms, but you don’t have to. If you want it to be more flavorful and interesting, add any of the additions I suggest at the end, or come up with your own! But trust that it will be delicious even if you don’t add anything other than the original ingredients. Feel free to treat this recipe as more of a technique, one that you can modify to your own tastes and really make your own.

And so, I give you – my favorite weeknight dinner, the secret weapon in my arsenal, something I never need a recipe for anymore and neither will you, after you make it once – the humble, the magical, the uplifting, sausage kale pasta.

Servings	Fuss Factor	Total Time	Prep Time	Cook Time
4-6	1	30 minutes	15 minutes	15 minutes

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Sausage Kale Pasta

Ingredients

• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound Italian sausage, without the casings
• 1-2 bunches kale (This really depends on how you like your pasta. The dish will accommodate 2 bunches for a more vegetable-forward pasta, and 1 bunch for a more sausage-forward pasta)
• 1 pound pasta (I like to use the funnest shapes I can find in the pasta aisle, like campanelle, cellentani, or gemelli)
• Olive oil
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• Crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

• Put a big pot of water on to boil, and salt water liberally. When water is boiling, cook the pasta according to directions. Drain, but reserve some pasta cooking water in case the dish is too dry at the end.
• While waiting for the water the boil and the pasta to cook, prep and cook the rest of the dish. Wash the kale, rinsing under cold running water. Remove tough stems and tear or cut the kale into chunks about half the size of your palm.
• Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a very large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the sausage and break it apart into bite-size pieces with chopsticks or a wooden spatula. Add crushed red pepper flakes and continue cooking until sausage is browned and mostly cooked through, with just a tiny hint of pink in the middle. This will take 5-7 minutes.
• Add the kale into the skillet and season with a few dashes of salt and generous black pepper. Cook, stirring, until the kale wilts, about 5 minutes. If you have way too much kale for your pan, as I always do, don’t fret. Just pile in as much as you can, and continue stirring and rotating. When the kale in the pan starts to cook down, add the rest of the kale and continue stirring to distribute.
• When the kale is wilted and soft, and the sausage is completely cooked through, add the cooked and drained pasta, stirring in some pasta water if the dish looks too dry. Toss everything together, cooking for about another minute or two.

Notes

Optional Add-Ins:

Protein:

Pancetta - Cook together with the sausage, or substitute pancetta for sausage. Pancetta is fattier and saltier than sausage, so I usually use about 8 ounces of pancetta if I’m substituting entirely.

Chicken - This dish really works best with sausage, because that’s what provides most of the fat and flavor. However, I have made it with chicken before. In this case, dice up 1 pound of chicken breast or chicken thighs, and cook in place of the sausage. While cooking, season liberally with salt, pepper, and whatever spices you have in your cabinet. I like using cumin, chili powder, coriander, onion powder, and white pepper. Add some generous splashes of these spices while you’re cooking the chicken, and be liberal with the olive oil!

Vegetables:

Onion - I almost always add an onion now, although when I started this recipe I never used to. I think it adds a depth of flavor and is an incredibly easy step. Chop one onion and add it to the olive oil with the garlic. Cook until the onion starts becoming translucent, about 3, then add the sausage meat.

Mushrooms - You can see in the pictures we've added mushrooms here. I use about 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms (use your favorite variety; this dish can also accommodate more if you really like mushrooms). Add the mushrooms to the cooking sausage after the sausage is just starting to brown, after about 3 minutes.

Spinach - Add a few handfuls of spinach along with the kale. Alternatively, you can substitute spinach for kale.

Aromatics:

Garlic powder, chili powder, white pepper - Add them to the cooking meat, the cooking kale, or the final product!

Herbs: parsley, oregano - Add at the end when you’re tossing the dish together.

Sauces - Stir in some tomato sauce or fresh cream when tossing all the ingredients together.

 

James first made some garlicky, buttery shrimp about a few months ago, just to go with some leftovers we had, and my first thought was, why don’t we eat this all the time?? And why don’t we eat this on a huge mound of pasta, with some bright green spinach to welcome spring and brightness and sunshine and feeling like we’re on the coast of Spain even though we’re stuck in Chicago, where spring is still sort of playing hard to get in MAY, and all of my anticipatory summer clothes sit collecting dust in my closet…

Luckily, James and I are going to Bermuda next week, which is a good substitute for a Spanish coast I think (bring on the rompers!), and so in preparation, I brought out the bright spring shrimp scampi! I used a recipe from the New York Times (yes, Melissa Clark. I promise I don’t get all my recipes from Melissa Clark, but – come on – just look at her pics!) Shrimp scampi is so easy, but after reading the readers’ comments and doing some additional research, I added a fussier step of simmering the shrimp shells in wine for about 5 minutes for more flavor.

And – you guys – I couldn’t believe how easy shrimp stock was to make. I’ve never done it before, so I didn’t know exactly what I was doing, as you can see from the pictures and the note at the bottom. But basically, you just simmer the shells in wine for five minutes, and you’re left with a fragrant, rich, undeniably seafood-y wine. Not good for drinking, but great for seafood dishes!

Anyway, I also upped all the sauce ingredients because some people complained of not enough sauce, and nobody wants that. We served it with linguine (I bet it’s also amazing with crusty French bread), and I added some pasta water at the end to thicken and bind the sauce to the pasta even more.

We had this with that bright green spinach, sipping the leftover wine, and dreaming of sunny days and balmy nights. Bermuda can’t come soon enough!

Servings	Fuss Factor	Total Time	Prep Time	Cook Time
5-6	1	20-35 minutes	10-15 minutes	10-20 minutes

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Shrimp Scampi with Linguine

Source: The New York Times

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup dry white wine or broth
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pounds large or extra-large shrimp, preserving the shells if desired
• ⅓ cup chopped parsley, or more to taste
• Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
• ¼ – ½ cup cooked pasta water (if serving with pasta)
• Accompaniments: Spaghetti or linguine, or crusty bread

Instructions

• Optional but recommended: Rinse the shrimp shells under cold running water. Heat a saucepan over medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. When oil is hot, add the shrimp SHELLS (not the shrimp!) and toss for 30 seconds in the hot oil. Add the wine or broth and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. After five minutes, strain the wine or broth for use. I had about 7/8 of the cup of liquid left after simmering.
• In a large skillet with a lid, melt the butter with olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the wine or broth, salt, red pepper flakes, and lots of black pepper and bring to a simmer. Let wine or broth reduce by half, about 3-4 minutes.
• Add the shrimp into the liquid and spread them out in an even layer, then cover the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp just turn pink and have curled up into a loose "C" shape ("C" stands for "cooked," "O" stands for "overcooked"), 2 to 4 minutes depending upon their size. Stir in the parsley and lemon juice. Toss with pasta or serve with crusty bread.
• A slightly fussier step for serving with pasta: Try the following and you'll have silkier, thicker sauce.

  First, DON'T add the parsley and lemon juice yet - cooked lemon juice can get a bit weird.

  About a minute before both the shrimp and the pasta are done, ladle the pasta water into the sauce. Add the pasta and toss, continuing to cook everything over medium-low heat, about 1-2 minutes, until everything is combined and the sauce has thickened. Add parsley and lemon juice and toss to combine.

Notes:

I clearly didn’t need to simmer all my shrimp shells! Ha! You only need about a cup or so. Freeze the rest for later use or discard.

If making the shrimp wine / stock – to skim or not to skim? That is the eternal question. I did not skim, and did not notice any off flavors.

If you’ve added some pasta water, tossed everything over the heat, and your sauce still looks watery, you might not have simmered off enough wine, or you may have more dilute pasta water (I tend to cook my pasta in as small a pot and as little water as possible). I would suggest you stop cooking, as if you keep going, you’ll overcook the shrimp and that would be sad. Sauce with starch in it also tends to thicken a bit more as it cools, so try to let it rest for a few minutes and it should get thicker.

I cooked one pound of linguine for the above quantity of scampi, and think it was a bit too much. In the future I would probably serve this with about 3/4 of a pound of dried pasta. I also should have added more parsley!

“A minute before the shrimp and the pasta are done”??! How on earth am I supposed to make this happen at the same time?? Yes, I know. The best food is often slightly annoying to make, but that doesn’t mean we should strive for mediocrity! You’ll see in my pictures that my shrimp are a bit overcooked – oops. I try to buy large or jumbo sized shrimp – they usually have a bit more wiggle room when you overcook them. But ultimately, if you want to serve shrimp scampi with pasta, the best way to get all that delicious liquid to adhere to the pasta (and why would you waste even a drop of that magical, buttery, garlicky goodness?) is to toss the hot pasta with the hot sauce immediately, so you’ll have to do some brain calculations to try to finish cooking both at the same time. But in the end – just do the best you can – it will be okay if one or the other is a tad bit overcooked, and nobody is judging you on a weeknight. I would recommend you err on the side of finishing the pasta first – you can drain it, keep it on the side, reserve some pasta water, and wait for the shrimp to be juuuuust about done, then toss everything together. It will be great!

Or, you can just serve the scampi with crusty bread.

Made this? Have some feedback? Let me know! Leave a comment below, or tag #trialbyfryer on Instagram!

Whew, there’s a lot of pressure for a first post! Which is why I’m turning to the tried-and-true, classic, utterly foolproof Melissa Clark for some support. I love the New York Times Cooking section, but Melissa Clark is always dependable, relatable, and makes the most approachable videos. This particular chicken dish is bright, salty, flavorful, and oh so easy. It takes a bit of time with the cooking, but it’s mostly dead time waiting for the chicken to brown / cook, etc., and the food prep is minimal. The anchovies are magical, adding a umami, robust flavor to the dish – do not skip them! They don’t make the resulting dish taste fishy at all. Also, if you happen to have a can of sardines in your cupboard and are wondering whether sardines and anchovies are similar and you can substitute them… they’re not. You can’t.

I doubled the recipe for leftovers and also because I conveniently had 10 anchovy fillets in my tin. The recipe calls for chicken thighs, but Melissa Clark says you can substitute breasts (and subtract 3 minutes off the final cooking time). I also imagine it would be delicious with drumsticks or even whole chicken wings as well. I also coarsely chop the garlic because I like eating roasted garlic pieces with my chicken, but if you don’t particularly care either way, you can just leave them smashed and it’s even less food prep.

When you’re done and the kitchen is fragrant with garlic and lemon, please serve this with crusty bread, buttery noodles, rice, or some other mild carb to soak up all that delicious sauce. You will have a lot of it, and trust me – none of it should be wasted! We ate it with basmati rice and roasted vegetables. You’ll have time to prep and cook some simple sides such as these while the chicken is cooking, and should be able to get a balanced, restaurant-worthy dinner on the table in under an hour. This chicken is definitely a weeknight staple in our household!

Servings	Fuss Factor	Total Time	Prep Time	Cook Time
4-6	2-3*	50 minutes	25 minutes**	25 minutes

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Garlicky Chicken with Lemon Anchovy Sauce

Adapted from the New York Times

Ingredients

• 2 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 12 garlic cloves, peeled, smashed, and coarsely chopped
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 10 anchovy fillets
• 4 tablespoons drained capers, patted dry
• Crushed red pepper
• 2 lemons, juiced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh chopped parsley, for serving

Instructions

• Heat oven to 350°F. Season the chicken thighs liberally with salt and pepper and let rest. Mince two of the garlic cloves and set aside. In a large, ovenproof skillet (I used a 12-inch cast iron pan) over medium-high heat, add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the remaining 10 chopped (or smashed) garlic cloves, anchovies, capers, and a couple of dashes of crushed red pepper. Let cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up the anchovies, until the garlic browns around the edges and the anchovies dissolve, about 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the chicken thighs to the pan and cook until nicely browned on one side, about 7 minutes. Don’t worry - you won't burn the garlic. The chicken will release juices as it hits the hot pan and sort of braise all the aromatics you’ve just fried in the oil. Flip the thighs, place the pan in the oven and cook about another 7-10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. You can check doneness with a meat thermometer - the thickest part of the thigh should read 165°F. Don't worry if your chicken still looks a bit pink - thighs can look pinkish, especially near the bone, even when cooked.
• When the chicken is done, take the skillet out of the oven and transfer the thighs to another plate. Heat the skillet and its juices over medium heat and add the minced garlic and half the lemon juice. The juices should begin to simmer – cook for about 30 seconds, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Return chicken to the pan and cook it in the sauce for about another 30 seconds.
• Drizzle the remaining lemon juice over the chicken and garnish with a handful of chopped parsley. It makes a beautiful dish served straight from the pan!  

Final Notes:

*Longish cook time, but much of that is dead time

**This is what my timer said, but I have no idea why it was so long. Maybe I was fussing around with my whole extra pound of chicken (see below)! I’ll update if necessary once I’ve made this dish again. Because I will be making it again. And again and again and again!

Eagle eyed readers will ask – why is there so much chicken in your pictures?? I confess – I completely goofed, and accidentally added a whole extra pound of chicken – that is, in addition to the quantity specified after doubling the original recipe. What can I say – somehow, I thought that 3.5 = 2.5??? Anyway, it still came out delicious. The chicken was a bit blander and the juices more watery and so the whole dish wasn’t as rich, but the flavor that was there was still great. So don’t worry – even if you’re as absentminded as I am, this recipe is utterly forgiving.

Made this? Have some feedback? Let me know! Leave a comment below, or tag #trialbyfryer on Instagram. Happy cooking!