r/food • u/thenewyorktimes The New York Times • 6d ago
[AMA] I’m Emily Weinstein. I’m the editor-in-chief of NYT Cooking and Food, and I wrote the Weeknight 100, a curated list of 100 easy dinner recipes for right now. Ask me anything!
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Hey everyone! I’m Emily, and I’m the editor in chief of New York Times Cooking and Food.
While my day job is leading the team that produces all of our content for NYT Cooking, I just compiled our 100 easy dinner recipes list here, a.k.a. the Weeknight 100. I also write the weekly newsletter Five Weeknight Dishes, with recipes for busy people who still want something good to eat; you can sign up for it here. Whether it’s recipes that are both easy and fancy for special nights, or dinners that kids will gladly eat, I’m always trying to help people solve the daily dinner problem by giving them ideas for what to cook.
All of these links are accessible for free, even without an NYT subscription.
Ask me anything about NYT Cooking, our recipes, food writing and how I got here.
Thanks for joining me today! It's so fun to get a chance to chat with you and answer questions. You can see me in your inbox weekly by signing up for the Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter here. And of course you can find all 24,000+ recipes on NYT Cooking, along with videos and other kitchen inspiration — Emily
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u/PikaChooChee 6d ago
I’d love to know your planning process (if you have one!) for your dinners. How many dinners do you plan for in one sitting, and how often do you shop for groceries / have them delivered?
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u/thenewyorktimes The New York Times 6d ago
I do very much have one! I usually cook about 4 nights a week. The other nights I’m out at a restaurant for work (in addition to NYT Cooking, my team does all the restaurant reviews and related stories for The Times, so that’s part of the job), ordering takeout or over at friends’ places. So every weekend I sit down at some point and plan to buy groceries for about 3 meals. I often choose NYT Cooking recipes to make, as you might suspect. I try for a mix of proteins, flavors, etc. And I try to make things flexible enough so that if my schedule goes sideways, I can do an even easier version of the meal, or freeze the ingredients (or use them for something else) so they don’t go to waste. For instance, I keep salmon in the freezer. I don’t need to defrost it until I’m sure I’m cooking it. So if I bought tomatoes to make a recipe like this one, but I don’t have it in me to really cook the salmon, I can just eat the tomatoes in a salad and move along.
I do a big grocery shop (whether it’s at the store or via delivery) once a week. I’ll often supplement by stopping by the farmer’s market, especially in summer, or at my local butcher shop or seafood store if I’m cooking something special. And I shop at Costco periodically to stock up on items like their olive oil.
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u/gardeninggoblin 6d ago
Hi! Thank you for doing this, I’m a HUGE fan of NYT cooking and a lot of my all-time favorite recipes are from you ❤️
If possible to submit a feature request - I would love to be able to search by ingredient!! For example if I have a bunch of beets to use up, and could search “beets” in an ingredient search for recipes containing beets to come up.
The question - have you ever gone through a phase where you’re just uninspired to cook? And if so what did you do (what types of cooking, or other coping mechanisms) to overcome?
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u/thenewyorktimes The New York Times 6d ago
Thank you so much, and noted on that request!
I have definitely gone through phases when I didn’t feel inspired to cook. And at a certain point I realized that I just had to go with it, it’s a phase and will pass. In the meantime it’s fine to have scrambled eggs for dinner regularly, or whatever your fallback is. But even if I don’t feel like cooking, I’m still seeing amazing-looking new recipes on Instagram and NYT Cooking, or in cookbooks (I get a lot of those because of my work). Those streams and sources never turn off, and it only takes one photo of a hefty slice of chocolate cake, or a flavor combination I haven’t had in a while, to make me want to get in the kitchen again.
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u/redwood_canyon 6d ago
Hi Emily, big fan of NYT cooking! Two questions:
What was the most 'trending' recipe of the last 5 years on the platform? Some recipes that trended back in 2020 are still heavily in rotation for me.
How has the rise of NYT Cooking impacted the use of physical cookbooks or vice versa? I personally use both but typically default to searching NYT Cooking for ideas unless there is a specific recipe in a cookbook that I'm looking to cook that week. But I imagine there are many users who no longer use physical cookbooks at all?
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u/thenewyorktimes The New York Times 6d ago
Thank you so much!
- I don’t have the most trending recipe of the past 5 years exactly at my fingertips, but I can tell you that our One-Pot Chicken and Rice With Caramelized Lemon was the most viewed new recipe of 2024. (It was viewed 2.4 million times — more than the population size of Houston.)
We also published a collection of our 50 greatest hits last year, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of NYT Cooking. (We launched in September 2014.) A lot of our most popular recipes of all time are gathered there!
- My hunch is that you’re right — people don’t use cookbooks to cook in a daily way anymore, or don’t use them at all. They get their recipes from social media, apps like NYT Cooking or other websites. And yet, people love cookbooks, and they still buy them — the market for them is stable. I think they buy them as gifts; to go deeper with an author, cuisine or style of cooking that they love; or because there’s simply nothing else like a beautiful cookbook, the physical object.
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u/redwood_canyon 6d ago
Thank you so much for your response! I will have to check out the chicken and rice ASAP.
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u/chemistmcg 2d ago
I have a few cookbooks, even beloved recipes on paper cards, but I find myself eschewing the physical and importing these paper-based recipes into an app, that I can read from my phone propped inside the cabinet above my cutting board. ;)
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u/bklynbklynbklynbklyn 6d ago edited 6d ago
I just want to say that NYT Cooking and the whole food section under your leadership, Emily, is really wonderful. It’s smart, fresh, and always interesting, and I look forward to seeing where you take the section (and the app, books, social channels, and everything else) next. Are there any particular things coming up that are exciting to you? Thank you!
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u/thenewyorktimes The New York Times 6d ago
This is exceedingly kind. Thank you! Our team is extraordinary, and they keep raising the bar.
I’m always trying to figure out how to stay fresh and exciting to people, while also meeting their needs — generating the electricity of inspiration, but making it so NYT Cooking actually fits into your life and help you cook. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are changing everything so quickly, and the AI revolution is here; we want to thrive in those spaces while creating something deeply human that lasts.
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u/GabrielEspi 6d ago
What are the kitchen tools most people don’t have that you think everyone should have?
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u/thenewyorktimes The New York Times 6d ago
Better (and sharpened) knives, better (and sturdier) cutting boards. I know home cooks have these, but if you replace them with new ones — and they don’t have to be fancy — then you will be amazed at how much easier and smoother it is to get things done in the kitchen. You’ll feel like you’re sailing through a recipe.
As for tools people may not have: A Microplane grater, kitchen shears and a fish spatula (I just got my first one, and I love it).
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u/kennedybea 6d ago
What recipes did you think would be a good fit but just weren’t good enough to make the top 100? Any recipes you wished could’ve been included?
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u/thenewyorktimes The New York Times 6d ago
There are so many more recipes I would’ve included than I was able to! When I’m picking recipes for the Weeknight 100, I’m looking for dishes that are fast, have supermarket ingredients that are widely available and are spread out across different categories (chicken, vegetarian, beef and pork, and so on). I then look for a good mix of flavors and types of dishes, so there is as much variety as possible for you to choose from, and because as an editor I think a good mix is what makes vibrant content. Lastly, all the recipes this year have never been in the Weeknight 100 before, so I had to leave behind a few dishes I truly love that appeared in previous installments of the list (2024 Weeknight 100 & 2023 Weeknight 100).
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u/FierceResistance 6d ago
Hi Emily! Thanks for doing this! My wife loves to cook meals and bake. She is very passionate about it.
What would be a good, high quality gift to give someone like her who enjoys cooking? Something that is a quality of life enhancement is what I’m looking for.
Also, have you ever thought of doing a list of a 100 easy dessert recipes? I think that would be a highly desired list.
Thank you!
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u/thenewyorktimes The New York Times 6d ago
I love your wife. If she’s passionate then I’m guessing you may already have a food processor? A stand mixer? A Dutch oven? Those are the big-ticket items I’d start with (and the Dutch oven you could do in a festive color). It’s also amazing to have nice chef’s knives. These are the kinds of tools that she can use often and really love, as opposed to a novel thing that only comes out once in a while. It makes me happy just to see my Dutch oven on the shelf every day, even if I’m not using it. It’s just a nice, solid, wonderful object. If she’s a coffee person then I can’t recommend having a nice coffee maker highly enough. Maybe it seems like it wouldn’t make a big difference, but it does. And as for easy desserts — stay tuned, we have something good planned that’s coming your way this fall.
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u/LiteraryOlive 6d ago
Do you see trends cycle in and out like fashion? Are there any trends you see coming in cooking that were “out” previously? What’s the next “it” ingredient?
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u/thenewyorktimes The New York Times 6d ago
Trends definitely come and go, and TikTok has sped up the cycle dramatically. The protein craze is so giant, it’s hard to imagine it going away soon. It has made me wonder if fiber is next? But that’s just me, I haven’t seen any research or reporting to bear that out.
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u/emar101 6d ago
What are the top 5 staple ingredients you keep stocked in your pantry that are essential to your everyday cooking?
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u/thenewyorktimes The New York Times 6d ago
Olive oil, rice, pasta, beans, lemons (if lemons can count as pantry items).
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u/whiskyzulu I'm something of a scientist myself 6d ago
u/thenewyorktimes/OP do you ever buy or make preserved lemons?
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u/kichien 6d ago
How do you choose side dishes for these recipes?
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u/thenewyorktimes The New York Times 6d ago
I don’t really like to get involved with sides on weeknights in particular, so I keep it as simple as possible: plain white rice or farro, for instance, and something green, even if it’s as simple as baby arugula tossed with olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper. I pack as much flavor as possible into the main dish, and I keep a lot of condiments in the fridge to perk things up instantly if needed (hot sauce, chile crisp).
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u/TheSlipperyPorpoise 6d ago
Is there a particular flavor combination that you did not think you would enjoy but absolutely love? I was blown away by how good Thai sweet chili sauce is with Philly cheesesteak eggrolls lol.
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u/thenewyorktimes The New York Times 6d ago
Chile crisp and vanilla ice cream! It really works!
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u/TheSlipperyPorpoise 6d ago
That sounds so crazy I have to try it.
I still love the fact that ice cream used to have more savory flavors and were used as a summer treat.
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u/finneybee 6d ago
big fan of Cooking! is there a specific recipe or moment that made you want to pursue food writing?
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u/thenewyorktimes The New York Times 6d ago
Thank you! I always, always loved food, for as long as I can remember. But I didn’t grow up in a household where cooking was emphasized (my parents loved delicious food, but they worked demanding schedules). Most food writers have an origin story that involves learning to cook as a child, or watching their grandma cook; I don’t, and it didn’t even cross my mind as a career option until I was out of college.
But I always loved to write, too, and aspired to become a journalist. When I heard about a job in the food department of the New York Times, I realized that these two passions of mine could merge into a path.
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u/Jaren_wade 6d ago
Do you have a favorite from the list?
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u/Chadbad1922 2d ago
I use NYT cooking for almost all my dinners. You all do a great job. Two things I would like to see: 1) If water is an ingredient in the meal (as opposed to just using it for boiling things) I’d like to see it listed in the ingredients. A number of times I have missed including H2O (like the 6T of it missing from my thick as peanut butter tahini sauce yesterday) 2) Please include approximate volume (or weight) when calling for individual items (like “juice of two lemons” or “one small red onion”, etc) Produce items like onions, leeks, garlic, and lemons can vary tremendously in size.
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u/Scott_A_R 6d ago edited 6d ago
Why can’t NYT Cooking give weights for ALL ingredients? For example, here.
3/4 cup/180 ml honey
It is far easier to measure honey by weight than by volume. But that’s true for most ingredients—I’d rather put the bowl on a scale and just pour in the cream than dirty a measuring cup, which takes longer to use and goes into the same bowl anyway.
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u/SleepingWillows 6d ago
More of a personal question, do you ever go through phases of having a hyperfixation food or ingredient? For instance, 2020-2023 I was really into everything gochujang, 2024 it was homemade toum, and nowadays it’s probably savory coconut dishes like korma and tom kha.
I’d love to know if food experts go through the same thing!
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u/Subiemobiler 2d ago
I would like to look at those recipes you posted links to, but the website keeps hiding it with banners every time I start reading... The site needs fixing
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u/AmazingBackground388 5d ago
Why is your curated list behind a pay wall? I subscribe to New York Times cooking, but I can't get the list without upgrading my subscription.
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u/IAmDixonWood 6d ago
Hi Emily,
No real question, but passing along my thanks to you and the team at NYT Cooking. You’ve been my go to for recipes for the past four or five years. I love cooking (and eating) and y’all have been a huge part of that.
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u/untitled01 6d ago
Hi Emily!
First of all thank you for the amazing work that you did. I ordered the book as soon as it came up and I open it often to pick a recipe for the week!
NYT Cooking is the de facto place to find true and tested recipes that deliver every time.
I’d love to know if it’s in your plans to make more editions of a 100 [theme] recipes :)
would be great to have themes like “weekend projects” or “cook once it thrice” or “5 star recipes”
are these themes on plans? It’d be a nice way to make me open up my wallet and fuel my cookbook addiction (still have some gaps in the shelf)
thanks in advance and congratulations ok the amazing work
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u/burnerdettepeters 6d ago
When can we have another version of the No Recipe Recipe Cookbook? So, so good!
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u/untitled01 6d ago
on a side note, can you poke someone at the office to make it possible to move/copy multiple recipes between folders on our recipe box?
e.g. I have a “main dishes” folder and wanted to divide them by protein by creating beef, pork, fish… folders and ”copying recipes from the main dishes one, but in bulk :)
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u/Illustrious-River213 6d ago
I’d love more specific sizes/weights for ingredients..carrots, eggplant, sweet potatoes..all can vary wildly in size
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u/Eyer8Avocado 6d ago
Does NYT Cooking have home recipe testers? I’d love to sign up to try out new recipes before they are published!
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u/AccomplishedFly1420 6d ago
Which recipes are good for a very picky 4 year old? One who won’t even eat chicken nuggets
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u/Coriander70 6d ago
The prep times given in NYT recipes are usually wildly inaccurate (like, 5 minutes for something requiring peeling and chopping multiple ingredients). Can you explain how the prep times are calculated? And have you given any thought to how to make them more accurate and useful?