NYTimes Food Editors Inspire Home Cooking

Every individual, whether single or in charge of a large family, may find cooking at home to be a duty they dislike. This nightly practice might be exhausting, yet it's so difficult to stop.

We spoke to chefs, registered dietitians, cookbook writers, food editors, and food festival attendees to see how the experts handle this challenge.

Get access to expert advice that they genuinely, realistically apply and feel inspired to cook once and maybe for all.

1. Avoid equating home-cooked meals with restaurant fare.

Ruth Reichl and Kim Severson, both food writers, agree that attempts to elevate meals prepared at home to restaurant standards should be abandoned. "Housewives shouldn't attempt to become chefs. There are chef foods and home cuisine, according to Reichl at a TimesTalk.

"We're going to attempt to create this," said Serverson, "which is why I believe Instagram is so deceiving. Kids who don't cook a lot see this and say that. Then it ceases to seem that way. It's true that eating out and cooking at home are vastly different.

Give yourself a break and stop trying to make your meals appear Instagram-worthy and picture-perfect. Invent "Ugly Delicious" dishes. David Chang would be happy to do so.

2. Begin with simple recipes

Melissa Clark, a cookbook author and New York Times writer, is a big proponent of one-pan and one-pot meals, particularly when cooking alone. She suggests dishes "where it's not several stages" in a Greatist interview. You may simply add items and let it work on its own.

Test recipes that call for a sheet pan, she advises. "Everything may be baked by placing it on a sheet pan and baking it. It merely has to be well-seasoned.

Another quick and wholesome meal choice is lentils, which are also strong in B vitamins, iron, magnesium, and potassium and 25% protein. There's this red lentil soup I made for The Times a million years ago, Clark says. It's really easy. It simply works. If you love your Instant Pot to pieces, Clark, who penned the cookbook Dinner in an Instant, does too.

The NYT Food contributor Priya Krishna offers a lentil Instant Pot dish that she describes as her weekly go-to for a fast, satisfying lunch.

Krishna prepared a straightforward dal in the Instant Pot using split yellow lentils, turmeric, a bay leaf, water, and salt during a culinary demonstration at the food festival. She melted some ghee on the burner and roasted some dried chilies while that pressure-cooked. She serves the lentils over rice with a small drizzle of chile ghee once the Instant Pot dal has finished cooking.

Frank Bruni, a restaurant reviewer, asserts that roast chicken is always a good choice. He acknowledged to the audience at a TimesTalk that, as a professional diner, he "wanted to do something extremely easy on evenings off." We believe that applies to everyone! As a supper beginning, you may always choose rotisserie chicken.

People don't know what to do with food, so they depend on takeout and restaurants to provide them food, said Bonnie Taub-Dix, RDN, in an interview with Greatist.

Look for items that offer you a head start if you want to save money and time without having to become an Iron Chef. For instance, go to the store and get a BBQ chicken, then boil some noodles and sauté some vegetables. Put everything together to create a supper. After that, you have something you created yourself.

3. Discover how to prepare the food you want.

Do you have dreams about steak or salmon? Maybe this is more of a vegetarian bowl night? Clark advises letting your appetite dictate what you prepare.

"My main goal is to encourage people to cook more often. I want kids to be capable of reflecting on themselves and making food choices. At times, we are unsure about our goals. Learn to prepare what you want after being aware of your hunger. It's really freeing to know you can fulfill yourself in that manner, even if it's only two or three things.

4. Make food for others.

Raise your hand if your typical supper is hummus or a frozen dish and you live alone.

Roman is used to unusual single meals. I live by myself. Usually nothing while I'm cooking for just me. She said, "It's like a dish of cottage cheese with a cucumber in it. My single dinners are not that thrilling.

She thus suggests that you assemble folks around a table. "When I have guests over, it is more thrilling. It's really service-oriented for me when I cook for friends or invite neighbors over.

Be devoted to your family if you have one. In a TimesTalk, restaurant reviewer Pete Wells said, "I'm not home much, but when I am, I do attempt to cook for the kids."

Sam Sifton, editor of the NYT Food section, prides himself on pushing himself to prepare at least one hot dinner each day. I fixed the kids' breakfast before they left for school since we had an agreement with my family that they would have a hot meal.

5. Prevent the cooking culture from dying out.

During a demonstration at the festival, Chef Thomas Keller demonstrated how to create a traditional Caesar salad for the crowd. He contends that in order to prevent the tradition from dying, it is crucial to preserve historical practices like this one. "We don't want to lose our capacity to create. We have to work on it.

It might be something straightforward like a frittata or Bolognese sauce or something with a lot of sentimental value like your grandmother's prized casserole.

6. Make eating at home the norm rather than an occasional pleasure.

Dining out used to be a special event before the development of fast-casual restaurants and meal delivery services. It was a scheduled event for which reservations were made months in advance, and it provided an occasion to dress up.

Sifton said in a TimesTalk that he now views dining out as a holiday since he spends the majority of his time creating, editing, and cooking at home.

Take on this mindset for a week and see how it goes. Prepare all of your meals for the workweek at home, then treat yourself to a leisurely lunch out on the weekend. That could encourage you to like it even more.

7. Have a well-stocked pantry

You can't just create food out of thin air, so having to go to the shop for something as basic as olive oil or a can of tomatoes is just frustrating. That is why Alison Roman, author of the cookbook Nothing Fancy, always has a well stocked pantry.

Roman noted in a TimesTalk that his residence is practically a grocery shop when it comes to being ready to cook on the spot. I usually like cooking with certain ingredients, without which I would feel quite exposed while creating cuisine. I always stock up when I run short on certain supplies.