Good morning! Today we have for you:
My vegetarian take on a retro classicIt was utterly beguiling — a cap of yellow cornbread on top of saucy, meaty chili, my first tamale pie from the cafeteria in college. I hadn’t come across it before; casseroles weren’t a thing in my house growing up. But there it was in the dining hall, a retro classic that had never gone out of style. I was hooked instantly. Not to be confused with a Latin American tamale, Tex-Mex tamale pie is the kind of easy recipe that was a staple in midcentury home economics classes. My vegetarian version leans into the earthy brawniness of beans, tomatoes and browned onions for depth while chili powder gives it a gentle heat. The cornbread on top is sweetened by a touch of honey and covered in grated Cheddar, which gets a little crisp at the edges. It’s a nostalgic one-pot meal with charm, and substance — but without any meat. Featured Recipe Vegetarian Tamale PieMore food for thought: Steak au poivre for two: Valentine’s Day is approaching, and if you can’t whisk your beloved off to Paris for a long weekend, you can make a classic French steak au poivre. The combination of butter, Cognac and cracked peppercorns creates a sauce that’s complex, fiery and perfect for mopping up with a crusty baguette. Gochujang shrimp pasta: This five-ingredient, five-star winner from Alexa Weibel features shrimp and cherry tomatoes cooked down with spicy gochujang and sweet scallions, then tossed with spaghetti. And if you don’t have gochujang, you can use another chile-based condiment or paste like Sriracha, chile crisp or harissa. Chicken and wild rice with fennel: A skillet meal from Ashley Lonsdale, the nutty, crunchy wild rice is a textural contrast to the silky, caramelized fennel and crisp-skinned chicken, all baked together with yogurt and Dijon for creaminess and tang. Green goddess chickpea sauté: Sarah DiGregorio takes the bracing, herbal flavors of green goddess dressing and applies them to canned chickpeas, which are sautéed with baby spinach and other vegetables, then topped with creamy avocado and a drizzle of buttermilk. White chocolate raspberry cookies: Chocolate and raspberries might be a Valentine’s Day cliché, but not in the hands of Autumn Moultrie. Her chewy-crisp cookies (adapted by Eric Kim) are filled with crushed freeze-dried raspberries, which offer a tart and fruity contrast to the sweetness of the white chocolate. That’s all for now, except to remind you that if you’ve reached a technical pitfall, you can email the people at cookingcare@nytimes.com for help. And I’m at hellomelissa@nytimes.com if you want to say hi. I’ll see you on Monday.
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