Weeknight Meals

The yogurt in this lightly spiced marinade results in extremely tender lamb, chicken, or shrimp.

This dish is like risotto (only quicker and easier) and features cooked orzo topped with garlicky shrimp.

The hens roast in about half the time it takes to cook a whole chicken. Offer wilted spinach alongside.

Japchae is traditionally made for parties or celebrations, but I like to make it for a light lunch or part of a big dinner. Dried sweet potato noodles can be found in most Asian supermarkets. They are incredibly chewy but healthy and delicious. This recipe works as a side dish (banchan) or can even be served as an appetizer or light snack.

Two of summer's tastiest offerings help you spoon up more of the skin-saving antioxidant lycopene.

You can find many good brands of prepared tomato sauce in supermarkets. Fresh tomatoes and basil add flavor, and the sausage and red pepper bring on the heat.

Buy the freshest seasonal vegetables for this pasta. A trip to your local farmers’ market might be in order.

Where we come from, barbecue means a great sauce, like this one, and good old chicken, the mainstay of our family business.

Juicy tomatoes mingle with softly scrambled eggs in a saucy dish that's delicious over rice.

Tortilla chips go well with more than just salsa, and if you’re looking for crunchy drumsticks, why not start with a coating that’s particularly crunchy in the first place?

This stir-fry is staggeringly simple. A drizzle of sesame oil gives a nutty-toasty boost to thinly sliced bok choy and cabbage.

When it comes to steak, Americans are learning that less meat can be more: more eco-friendly, more healthful, and more delicious. Instead of that huge T-bone or porterhouse, try a smaller rib-eye steak—and make sure it's grass-fed. Grass-fed beef is lower in fat and calories than conventionally raised beef and contains omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs), which may boost the immune system and help lower the risk of cancer and heart disease. Keep the goodness going by skipping that pat of blue-cheese butter and drizzling the meat with a simple vinaigrette.
Grass-fed beef is very lean and is best served rare or medium-rare.

Most chefs don't focus on salads. Maybe that's how "chef’s salad" came to mean a pile of iceberg lettuce topped with bits of cheese, strips of cold cuts, and wedges of hard-boiled eggs. But with all the fantastic American cheeses and locally produced charcuterie available today, it's time to put the "chef" back in the chef's salad. It doesn't take long to arrange the meats and cheeses atop a bed of interesting greens, then whip up our quince dressing, drizzle—and dine.

If you use commercial pork in this recipe, you might want to rub the chops with the salt mixture and let them sit for a full day in the fridge. The long rest will make the meat extra-juicy. Bone-in heirloom rib chops have ample marbling, so the meat will be naturally moist. They don’t need to rest as long with the salt rub—an hour or two should be sufficient. These are some big chops, so you might be able to share.

This Thai-style seafood curry gets its creaminess from coconut milk and warming, punchy notes from green curry paste.

This risotto is mellow yet full-flavored.

These cold Vietnamese-style noodles are perfect for a warm night. The rice stick noodles, fish sauce, and chili-garlic sauce can be found in the Asian section of many supermarkets and at As ian markets.

Yellow miso (also known as shinshu miso) is available in the refrigerated Asian foods section of some supermarkets and at natural foods stores and Japanese markets. It adds a mellow, salty flavor to this healthful dish. Look for mirin in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets and at Japanese markets.