51 Little Ways to Save Money This Summer

Spicy peanut soba noodles, Impossible street tacos, Alison Roman’s butter-roasted salmon, and more

Sometimes we all hit a cooking rut — and maybe, for you, that sometimes is now. You’ve done all the things one can do to a bean, and while the digital cook-o-sphere is loaded with ideas, there are just too many of them. So you scroll a few blogs, flip through some cookbooks, and give up. Beany Thursday strikes again.

Help is here! To sort through the noise of TikTok tortilla wraps and feta pastas, Eater has compiled a handful of the recipes — from blogs, magazines, publications, and cookbooks — that put the pep back in our pans this week and that we hope will do the same for you. These are the dishes that Eater editors from across the country actually made recently, and we’re passing along any firsthand tips, hacks, or dietary substitutions that, hey, worked for us. Here, then, are this week’s must-try recipes from Eater’s very-much-average-but-highly-enthusiastic home cooks.

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July 2, 2021

Impossible Street Tacos

J. Michael Melton, Impossible Foods

I’ve started to dip my toes into using Impossible “meat” for vegetarian meals at home. I think I’m generally more of a fan of it when it’s more of a background component than the main event, so recipes like stuffed peppers and, most recently, tacos, are appealing options. I used the recipe above, but only followed the meat preparations — instead of street tacos, I fashioned this into a taco salad featuring lettuce, a touch of cheese, avocado, bell pepper, tomatoes, sauteed corn (fresh from my weekend visit to New Jersey), shallots, and salsa (with a splash of vinegar and oil for dressing). The boldly seasoned meat folded well into all of the fresh, summery ingredients. It also worked just fine tucked into traditional crispy taco shells, topped with more cheese and lettuce, for lunch the next day. —Missy Frederick, Eater cities director

Simple Butter Roasted Salmon

Alison Roman, YouTube

I’m always looking for a new way to dress up salmon, and when Alison Roman mentioned hers reminded her of her bagel order (stacked with red onions, dill, and capers), I was in. Frying all of the ingredients in butter first brought out their aromas, and adding all of that fat to the salmon made it moist, almost melt-in-your-mouth. As a lemon lover, I also appreciated Roman’s use of entire lemon slices in this recipe, rinds and all. —Terri Ciccone, Eater audience development manager

Kale Pesto

Nancy Silverton, The Mozza Cookbook

My partner and I had a strong month of actually cooking through our farmers market hauls within the window of a week, and then Los Angeles fully reopened and long weekends happened and suddenly, a full week-plus after our initial Friday market jaunt, our fridge was pitifully full of slowly wrinkling loose-leaf and cruciferous vegetables. Enter: kale pesto. Using our NutriBullet and mashing the classic pesto recipe in The Mozza Cookbook together with an utterly millennial video tutorial by Instagrammer/recipe developer Carolina Gelen, we turned our bounty of dino kale and basil into a nutty, garlicky pesto that clung to our Rummo mezzi rigatoni perfectly. The pesto was smooth but not textureless, and spread on the ridged rigatoni as if it was born to be a liquid blanket. The next day I had it on smashed avocado toast with thinly sliced shallot, sauteed broccoli (also part of the market overflow), an oozy sunny side up egg, and lots of flaky salt and black pepper. — Nicole Adlman, Eater cities manager

Spicy Peanut Soba Noodles With Green Beans

Aaron Hutcherson, the Washington Post

I’m a sucker for a dish that involves peanut sauce of any kind, which made this Aaron Hutcherson recipe a no-brainer for me to try this week. I wasn’t disappointed, and not only because of its copious use of peanut butter. This is a recipe that, as Hutcherson writes, is “extremely riffable” — if you don’t have soba, you can use another kind of noodle; if you don’t have the chile-garlic sauce called for, you can use Sriracha, which is what I did. It’s also a great way to use up whatever vegetables you have kicking around. While I didn’t have green beans, I did have snap peas, broccoli, arugula, and scallions, as well as some tofu, all of which worked perfectly here. Regardless of what you use, you end up with a very quick and satisfying dinner, along with a peanut sauce whose uses can extend far beyond this recipe — honestly, left to my own devices, I’d probably drink it. — Rebecca Flint Marx, Eater senior editor

Dark Chocolate Tahini Swirl Bundt Cake

Soom Foods

This cake recipe from Soom Foods uses the brand’s new dark chocolate sea salt sweet tahini spread. (Disclosure: My husband is Soom’s chief growth officer.) We made this on a Friday, and it was perfect to devour throughout the weekend: light and not too sweet, evoking a snacking cake, but much larger than your typical loaf, so it will really last you all weekend. Using cream cheese as the base, as the recipe calls for, is key (i.e. don’t skimp with Greek yogurt or sour cream), and you can add more chocolate tahini if you want to (don’t worry, it won’t come out too salty). We finished it off with powdered sugar, but for an even more decadent experience, a chocolate glaze would be next-level. — Ellie Krupnick, Eater director of editorial operations

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June 25, 2021

Tzatziki Potato Salad

Hetty McKinnon, NYT Cooking

Mayo haters rejoice! There’s finally a fantastic creamy potato salad recipe just for us. This incredibly easy NYT Cooking recipe calls for homemade tzatziki, which, as a bonus, I learned was extremely easy to concoct. I used labneh instead of Greek yogurt here since it’s what I had on hand, and also substituted capers for the olives. But what’s great about this potato salad is it seems that you can mix in any herbs and garnishes you’d like and it still comes out creamy, bright, and tangy. — Terri Ciccone, Eater audience development manager

Buttermilk Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

Sally McKenney, Sally’s Baking Addiction; Sam Sifton, NYT Cooking

I’m not sure exactly when it started, but buttermilk biscuits are a Father’s Day breakfast tradition at my house. My husband is from Texas, and I used to marvel at the biscuits his grandmother whipped up from scratch (before I learned they weren’t quite from scratch). When I finally tried them myself I learned two things: 1. Basic biscuits are not that hard. 2. Exceptional biscuits are terrifyingly elusive. In pursuit of perfection I try a different recipe each year on Father’s Day, and this year that recipe came from Sally’s Baking Addiction. They were more successful than others I’ve attempted, though I’ll keep searching for my perfect golden pillows. For gravy, I went to a Sam Sifton classic that was everything I wanted — by which I mean quick, easy, and rich. Something you could slather over a pair of shoes and have an incredible meal. Start-to-finish this breakfast took around an hour, meaning it was ready by the time the man of honor rolled out of bed. (Biscuits and gravy in bed is not recommended.) — Lesley Suter, Eater travel editor

Shaking Tofu

Andrea Nguyen, Food & Wine

I found myself making one of my go-to meatless meals on Sunday, in an attempt to use some tofu I’d opened up to make miso soup earlier in the week. Shaking beef is a must-order for me when I’m having Vietnamese, and the tofu-based spin here intrigued me. Tofu can be fussy to prepare, but Andrea Nyguen’s instructions couldn’t be easier. A slightly funky sauce for the tofu, complemented with an assertive dressing for the salad, all adds up to a well-balanced dish. I sometimes like to make a bit of lime dip to serve on the side for extra saltiness; this time around, I halved the recipe and subbed in regular tomatoes for the cherry ones. While this recipe is available online, it’s worth seeking out Nyguen’s cookbook, Vietnamese Food Any Day, which includes this; every recipe I’ve made from it has been a winner. — Missy Frederick, Eater cities director

Tomato and Cucumber Salad and Honey Hush Cornbread

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que: An American Roadhouse

One of my housemates, who spent some time living in Texas, got the urge to make brisket the other day (it was incredible), so I got the urge to throw a couple sides together — the sides to which I almost always turn whenever there’s a barbecue or a potluck or a casual dinner party: the tomato and cucumber salad and Honey Hush cornbread from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que: An American Roadhouse. I spent my college years in Rochester, New York, so I have a soft spot for the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que mini-chain, which originated in Syracuse before expanding to Rochester and beyond. The cookbook has been one of my go-tos since it came out shortly after I finished college, and most of it is quite manageable for a beginner-ish cook, like these two absolutely foolproof sides. A bit of chopping, a bit of mixing, a bit of baking, and you’ve got two crowd-pleasing sides for almost any occasion. I’ve gotten much better in the kitchen since my first introduction to this cookbook over a decade ago, but I was able to handle most of the book, and especially these two recipes, in even my bleakest, “Oops I almost set the microwave on fire because I forgot to add water to the Cup Noodles,” early post-college days. — Rachel Blumenthal, Eater Boston editor

Easy Sheet Cake with Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting

Claire Saffitz, Bon Appétit

Last weekend, my partner Daniel (a frequent character in these recipe roundups) marked a birthday, which we celebrated with an outdoor hang in 90-degree Central Park heat. So for a cake, nothing fussy, drippy, or multilayered would do. This classic sheet cake with chocolate-cream cheese frosting fit the bill perfectly — easy to prep, stays firm and solid when traveling in the heat, and can be eaten easily off paper plates while seated in the grass. The cake itself was fine and fluffy (though perhaps ever-so-slightly less moist than a Duncan Hines yellow cake mix), but the frosting was the true star, a chocolate topping so light and airy it tasted whipped. A true crowd-pleaser for your next outdoor celebration. — Ellie Krupnick, Eater director of editorial operations

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June 17, 2021

Brioche Bread

• June Xie, Delish

Via Carota’s Insalata Verde

• Samin Nosrat, NYT Cooking

Chicken With Rajas

• Cooks Country

Italian Sausage and Kale Casserole

• Michelle Tam, Nom Nom Paleo

Coconut-Braised Collard Greens

• Von Diaz/Julia Moskin, NYT Cooking

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June 11, 2021

Matthew Kang

Penne alla Vodka

• Saveur

Strawberry Shortcake Cobbler

• Alison Roman, A Newsletter

Chicken Gyro Salad

• Deb Perelman, Smitten Kitchen

Roasted Fish With Spice Butter and Tomatoes

• Melissa Clark, NYT Cooking

Charred Corn Salad

• Kate Merker and Kristina Kurek, Country Living

Spicy Shrimp and Chickpea Salad

• Yasmin Fahr, NYT Cooking

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June 4, 2021

Macaroni Salad With Lemon and Herbs

• Alexa Weibel, NYT Cooking

Aubergine and Ricotta Dumplings in Tomato Sauce

• Yottam Ottolenghi, The Guardian

Carrot Salad with Oranges, Cashews, and Charred Chile Dressing

• Gregory Gourdet, Everyone’s Table

Strip Steak au Poivre

• Molly Baz, Bon Appétit

Tuna Tataki

• Just One Cookbook

Perfect Buttermilk Pancakes

• Alison Roman, NYT Cooking

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May 28, 2021

Trail Mix Cookies

• Sohla El-Waylly, Bon Appétit

Korean Pork and Rice Cakes With Bok Choy

• Blue Apron

Grilled Striped Bass With Charred Kale and Yellow Squash

• Jeff Schwarz and Greg Kessler, NYT Cooking

Easiest Chicken Adobo

• Claire Saffitz, Bon Appétit Basically

Vegan Ranch Dip

• Betsy Carter, Tasty

Almond Rhubarb Picnic Bars

• Smitten Kitchen

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For the complete list of everything Eater editors have enjoyed cooking so far this year (pizza babka! air-fryer ube cheesecake! spiced coconut chicken and rice!), head to the archive.

Source : food