We know that frozen peas are a freezer staple — they’re just as good as their fresh counterparts, and they’re always ready to add little pops of sweetness to skillet greens with runny eggs and vegetable pulao. But … what makes them such a good freezer staple? Why do they freeze better than, say, apples? A reader asked the cookbook author Kenji López-Alt for his new column titled, appropriately enough, Ask Kenji. You can read his full answer here while you boil water for his macaroni and peas, an easy and robust pasta dish that borrows from paglia e fieno (a heavy cream-sauced “straw and hay” pasta) and carbonara. (Kenji swaps some of the heavy cream for eggs to keep things light yet creamy.) Have a question for Kenji? Email him at askkenji@nytimes.com.
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Macaroni and Peas
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Let’s stay on this comfort theme, shall we? Nigella Lawson’s buttermilk roast chicken is a veritable cozy classic, especially since you can leave the bird in its buttermilk bath for up to two days. (Is there anything more comforting than knowing dinner is in the fridge, ready to go?) Be sure to scroll through the reader notes for clever substitutions and additions: using all thighs, swapping Greek yogurt for the buttermilk and spiking the marinade with hot sauce.
Shabu shabu is, yes, a soothing, simmering Japanese-style hot pot. But it provides additional relief in that there’s very little cooking for the cook to do. Follow Naz Deravian’s helpful guide to assemble an array of proteins, vegetables and noodles — along with a bracing ponzu dipping sauce to perk everything up — and let your guests happily prepare their own dinner.
Soup season isn’t over until the winter jackets go back into the underbed storage, so here’s Kay Chun’s caldo verde, a classic Portuguese potato and greens soup with sausage. We’re not slowing down on sheet-pan recipes, either, so here’s Ali Slagle’s endlessly riffable, five-star sheet-pan feta with chickpeas and tomatoes.
And for your bit of weekend baking, how about this tender, cakelike coconut cornbread from Melissa Clark? Slather it with butter while it’s still warm from the oven, serve it with chili or pair it with Melissa’s coconut black bean soup to double down on the cozy (and the coconut). MIA LEIMKUHLER
