7 Recipes to Tempt Spring, Like This Herby Sheet-Pan Chicken

We are slowly but surely approaching that chunk of winter when I want it to be spring already. Or, as Melissa Clark put it on Instagram the other day, the hearty vegetables that once seemed so comforting are now “wearing out their welcome.” Her solution: roasting fennel wedges until golden. Also helpful: throwing an obscene amount of herbs on anything, turning to cherry tomato recipes where the supermarket stuff fares just fine (like this creamy pasta sauce), and serving a highly acidic salad alongside whatever cozy thing you’re having for dinner. Here’s what our team is cooking up this week:

Sheet-Pan Chicken With Lots of Herbs

Sure, it’s a sheet-pan chicken with potatoes, which is as fall-slash-winter as you can get. But! The rest of the recipe is where you’ll start to feel fresh again. Briny olives, fresh lemon, chile flakes, and more fresh parsley and dill than you’d think. Think of them less like a garnish, more like a salad green.

Ivan Orkin’s Okonomiyaki

Executive Editor Joanna Sciarrino just made Ivan Orkin’s okonomiyaki from our series, Dear Test Kitchen—and our Strategy & Finance Manager Annalee Leggett, who just got back from a trip to Japan, has her eyes on the same recipe. And speaking of Dear Test Kitchen, Joanna also made the ketmer (pistachio, cream, and rose baklava) from another episode and said they were “really delicious.” Nice!

Too-Good-to-Wait Kale Mac & Cheese

Video Programming Director Ishita Singh baked this cheesy number for her family: “I made this for my sis and her husband, who are new parents,” she told me. “They were supposed to freeze it for later but they ended up eating it immediately and loving it.” Sounds like the ultimate stamp of approval to me!

Very Genius Shrimp

“I can’t wait to make the Genius shrimp this weekend,” Senior Editor Eric Kim said. “Kristen made them sound so irresistible in her column this week, and I’m having a couple friends over anyway.” Besides a lot of butter (the right amount of butter), here a few reasons to be like Eric: cayenne, black pepper, thyme, oregano, paprika, garlic, wine!

Radish, Snap Pea & Burrata Salad

“I cannot bear another week of just roots and cabbages,” Customer Care Operations Manager Erin Sanders said. I hear you. I’m with you. “I need something green again. And this radish, snap pea, and burrata salad looks like a fine way to tempt spring.” Highly tempting, indeed! Let’s throw in some chilled white wine to really cinch that springy vibe.

I just started reading Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino, for next month’s book club. Has anyone read it? I’m only a chapter in.

When not with that, I’m really looking forward to this profile by Julia Moskin and the latest article in Associate Editor Coral Lee’s series, The ABCs of Good Food.

What’s going on in your neck of the woods? Let me know, I love to hear from you.

Talk soon,
Emma

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