Lately I’ve been interested in finding new recipes to try, and I thought, what better place to look than The New York Times Cooking? More specifically, they came out with a list of their Top 50 rated recipes, and I found a few to try!
My latest obsession is having my friends and family try my latest cooking pursuits, so of course I had to call on the help of my boyfriend in tasting these. The first recipe I attempted was the NYT’s number one highly rated recipe on the Top 50 list: Creamy Macaroni and Cheese by Julia Moskin. No, not the band, but you will still be beggin’ for seconds with this recipe. With 14,763 reviews, there were several comments on how to make this better in others’ experiences, however I chose to follow my own instincts. The “pinch of ground cayenne” and “pinch of ground nutmeg” leaves much room for interpretation but I recommend a healthy half a tablespoon of cayenne and maybe a fourth of a teaspoon for the nutmeg.
I unfortunately made the mistake of adding too much butter and not incorporating it into the blender with the cottage cheese, milk, and cheddar cheese. This resulted in lots of melted butter bubbling up on the top. However, this was still amazing, because I added half of the cheese to the blender and half on top of the dish. I followed every other part of this recipe to the tee and it was a fan favorite. Highly recommended; this recipe has this outstanding amount of five star reviews for a reason.
The second recipe I got off of their list was the runner up: Roasted Salmon Glazed With Brown Sugar and Mustard from Sam Sifton. Funny enough, the recipe is pretty much just the title. There is not much instruction given for this one; like the dashes in the macaroni and cheese, I had to guesstimate. With 14,190 reviews and five stars, I leapt in despite the minimal list: salmon filets, dijon mustard, brown sugar, salt, and black pepper. I used half a jar of the dijon mustard from Trader Joe’s and around a cup of brown sugar.
At first I thought I would have to add some hot water to mix the brown sugar in, but after just a moment it dissolved beautifully into the mustard. Pro tip: this does not take 12 minutes of cooking time if you’re using a big filet – I opted in for a solid 20-25 minutes (no skin as well) and this was even on the undercooked side. Nevertheless, this salmon is delicious; if you want a filling, tasty, and simple dish, this is the one for you!
The New York Times Cooking knows what’s up. They have so many recipes for different occasions, videos to help, and they consistently update with new things to try based on the season. I am not gatekeeping this one; please check them out if you’re looking for a fun new hobby or want to try cooking for family and friends.