It’s no secret that Bon Appétit editors cook a lot for work. So it should come as no surprise that we cook a lot during our off hours too. Here are the recipes we’re whipping up this month to get dinner on the table, entertain our friends, satisfy a sweet tooth, use up leftovers, and everything in between. For even more staff favorites, click here.
February 13
The crispiest roast chicken
When my family of four gathers for dinner, the default meal is roast chicken. A recipe we turn to time and time again is this no-fail roast chicken from Claire Saffitz because it renders the crispiest skin. All you have to do is pat down the bird so it’s dry, generously season it with salt and pepper, bathe it in melted butter, and usher it into a cast-iron skillet. Don’t baste your chicken! Leave it alone! We stuck Japanese sweet potatoes and broccoli into the oven to roast alongside. The hands-off time meant we could play a predinner game of Rumikub. —Kate Kassin, editorial operations manager
Freezer stash chocolate chippers
Let the record state: Everyone should have a zip-lock bag of portioned-out cookie dough in their freezer, ready to bake off at a moment’s notice. I go for the classic chocolate chip cookies from Mindy Segal’s 2015 cookbook Cookie Love, which stands out to me among the vast sea of choco-chip cookies. The recipe calls for two types of salt: kosher and flaky. Trust me, you need both. Together, they turn up the contrast between sweet and salty to 11, which is heaven. Plus, equal parts white and brown sugar translate to a crunchy exterior and gooey insides. Instant cookie nirvana, on demand. —Rachel Tepper Paley, site director
Sunday morning pancakes
I woke up, as I often do, craving a corn muffin. But too hungry to wait for the oven to preheat, I turned to pancakes instead. This cornmeal pancake recipe was easy enough to make while half asleep. Also: a great way to use up the buttermilk in my fridge. Instead of dolloping the batter in ¼-cup portions, as directed, I shrunk them to be about 1 Tbsp. each. This means more crispy edges, my favorite part. And they’re cute! —Emma Laperruque, director of cooking
Cornmeal adds a pleasant crunch, while buttermilk keeps them fluffy and light.
Better waffles
A few years ago I did a deep dive into what makes a great waffle for Epicurious. Last weekend, I reconfirmed that the recipe I declared the best still lives up to the hype. It’s yeasted, but before you scroll on by, let me tell you why that’s a good thing: It means you can make the batter the night before, then wake up, fire up your waffle maker, and start cooking. (Just, please let the waffle maker heat up fully first.) I substituted half the AP flour with spelt for an even heartier flavor and topped mine with maple-syrup-stewed apples and whipped cream. My hubby ate his with smoked salmon and an egg. —Joe Sevier, senior editor, SEO & cooking
A colossal game day spread
Speedy this, speedy that, but what about celebrating the joys of cooking all day long? This past Sunday, that’s what I did, making a monster of a spread for the big game. My invite list included vegans, carnivores, and heat chasers, so the menu I came up with reflected just that. Crispy Baked Tofu Nuggets with hot-honey mustard, hand-cut Old Bay french fries, Harissa-Honey Popcorn Chicken, and coconutty green beans (this recipe minus the shrimp). I finished just in time for the football, though I barely paid attention. I was, however, glued to the TV for Bad Bunny’s performance. —Nina Moskowitz, associate editor, cooking
These simple vegan nuggets taste just like the dino-shaped ones in the freezer aisle.
February 6
Cookies from an ocean away
One of my favorite meals in Paris—years ago, I’m still thinking about it—was at Mokonuts. We had pulpy orange juice; za’atar-speckled bread; a fried egg with a trembling yolk, perched on toast, covered in salad. The only problem is, I messed up the timing of our visit, and their world-famous cookies weren’t available. I’d like to say I handled this gracefully! The truth is, I tried to rearrange our entire itinerary to make space for a second visit, to eat the little treats I’d heard so much about. This didn’t work (c’est la vie, etc!) and I wrote it off as another reason to go back to France. Which I will someday. But in the meantime, I have the recipes from the newly released Mokonuts cookbook. I was reminded of this thanks to author David Lebovitz’s newsletter, when he recently wrote about Mokonuts’ Multigrain Chocolate Chip Cookies. Crackly edges, jam-packed with seeds, they called to me loudly. And even an ocean away, they were just as special as I imagined. —Emma Laperruque, director of cooking
Beans and greens with seared cheese
This is my plea for you to make Test Kitchen editor Rebecca Firkser’s Beans and Greens With Halloumi Cheese Crumbles. It mostly relies on nonperishable pantry goods, plus a bunch of greens (take your pick of the kale, chard, or collards on discount) and a block of salty cheese. It’s the kind of recipe that teaches you how to maximize the staples you have on hand for a quick-cooking dinner that tastes even better than the sum of its parts. Make it, like I did, when the weather is a bummer and you’re exhausted. You’ll be rewarded with dinner and a newfound habit of topping every soup, salad, and grain bowl in sight with crispy cheese. —Kelsey Jane Youngman, senior service editor
Bathe greens and chickpeas in a garlicky, tomato-enhanced broth. Stretch a block of Halloumi by grating and toasting it into a topping for the soup.
Snow day pot pie
I recently learned that my roommate had never had chicken pot pie, and a snowy Sunday seemed like the perfect excuse to remedy that. I grew up on Ina Garten’s recipe, so I had to make her version. My grocery store was out of skin-on chicken breasts (what I get for last-minute, night-before-snow-day shopping), so I took the opportunity to practice breaking down a whole chicken into parts. I made a half batch of the pot pie using the breasts and wings and saved the legs for another day. It was as good as I remembered—rich, creamy, laden with veggies and big chunks of chicken and crowned with a golden sheet of puff pastry. —Alaina Chou, commerce writer
Three-ingredient noodles
Inspired by this mesmerizing video of buttered noodles, I scrapped my original dinner plans (bean chili from the freezer) and decided to make pasta instead. Chef Mattia Moliterni’s version is made with just three ingredients: rigatoni, butter, and Parmigiano Reggiano. I had fusilli (a cute corkscrew version I love from Trader Joe’s), butter, of course, and sharp cheddar instead of parm. Good enough! I mimicked the technique in the video and the result was cheesy, glossy, and incredibly comforting on a cold night. —E.L.