CRITIC’S NOTEBOOK

Twilight of the Imperial Chef

For decades, the notion of the lone genius in the kitchen has fostered culinary creativity — and restaurants marred by abuse and unfairness. This may be the time for change.
By Tejal Rao

For the Navajo Nation, a Fight for Better Food Gains New Urgency

As the pandemic has brought home the importance of the global movement for food sovereignty, members are planting and sharing.
By Amelia Nierenberg

Peanut Butter and Ranch Dressing: What Americans Abroad Miss From Home

With virus cases in the United States rising and international travel curtailed, many Americans do not know when they will be able to reunite with home and the comforts they associate with it.
By Valeriya Safronova

EAT

These Rolls Will Change the Way You See Sourdough

Choco pan de coco.
By Tejal Rao

A Colombian Chef Shares His Secret to Better Empanadas

For even better flavor and texture in his masa, J. Kenji López-Alt borrowed a technique from the chef Carlos Gaviria: milling popcorn.

Colombian beef and potato empanadas.
By J. Kenji López-Alt

A GOOD APPETITE

Chewy Meets Crispy in This Summery Salad

This satisfying bowl gets its bite from farro, its crunch from spiced chickpeas, and its sweetness from roasted corn and slivered fennel.

Farro salad with corn and crispy chickpeas.
By Melissa Clark

FROM THE PANTRY

This Watermelon Salad Is Meant for Hot Days

You can use any kind of pickled chiles in this refreshing summery dish.
By Melissa Clark

FROM THE PANTRY

Let This Blueberry Bundt Cake Pull You Out of Your Baking Rut

You don’t need a special occasion for this showstopping treat, finished with a jewel-toned glaze.
By Melissa Clark

ONE GOOD MEAL

A Food Writer’s Sicilian Pasta Dish — and Tips for Sharing It

Skye McAlpine has made a name for herself serving bountiful meals to large groups of friends. During lockdown, she’s discovered the joy of cooking for just one or two.

McAlpine got the recipe for this pasta dish from a Sicilian friend who had been swearing by it for years.
By Isabel Wilkinson

Make Pizza … On Your Grill

Bear with us. We know this sounds bonkers, but it really does work.
By Amelia Nierenberg

FRONT BURNER

A Dark, Brooding Rum for Your Cocktails

Santa Teresa in Venezuela has been making the liquor since 1796.
By Florence Fabricant

Distilleries Raced to Make Hand Sanitizer for the Pandemic. No Longer.

Even though coronavirus cases have surged again, craft distilleries say the business of making the disinfectant has become more difficult.
By Kellen Browning

WINE SCHOOL

What Is a Great Wine? Verdicchio di Matelica Has Some Ideas

By Eric Asimov

THOSE WE’VE LOST

John Eric Swing, a Filipino-American Community Builder, Dies at 48.

Mr. Swing was a catalyst in the Historic Filipinotown neighborhood of Los Angeles, a new center of food start-ups. He died of complications of the coronavirus.
By John Leland

How a Waiter, With Over 30 Years at the Same Restaurant, Spends His Sundays

John Roney has worked at J.G. Melon since the 1980s, but he’s not averse to change: the outdoors suit him just fine.
On Sundays, John Roney does brunch, one could say.
By Alix Strauss

CRITIC’S NOTEBOOK

The Pandemic Could End the Age of Midpriced Dining

When Melbourne restaurants reopened after lockdown, owners got creative, and dinner got far more expensive.

Victor Liong in front of his restaurant Lee Ho Fook, on AC/DC Lane in Melbourne’s city center.
By Besha Rodell

Cold Comfort: France to Ban Heated Terraces, but Not This Winter

The ban is part of a series of environmental measures meant to curb energy consumption and push the nation toward a greener economy.

The heated terrace at Les Deux Magots in Paris in February.
By Constant Méheut

Is Your Blood Sugar Undermining Your Workouts?

Eating a diet high in sugar and processed foods could dent our long-term health in part by changing how well our bodies respond to exercise.
By Gretchen Reynolds

A Breakfast Crumble for Early Birds With a Sweet Tooth

What started out as French toast, a morning favorite at Yotam Ottolenghi’s house, evolved into this warm, fruity treat.

Skillet berry and brown-butter toast crumble.
By Yotam Ottolenghi

Finding Balance in a Summer Side

Crunchy cucumbers meet creamy yogurt in this cold-marinated cucumber salad.

By Yewande Komolafe

Cherries Belong in More Than Pie

Turn them into something savory, alongside charred scallions and creamy raw pistachios.

Scallions are prepared two ways in this savory cherry salad.
By Angela Dimayuga

FIVE WEEKNIGHT DISHES

Avoid the Oven!

1. Spiced Turkey Skewers With Cumin-Lime Yogurt
2. Linguine With Clam Sauce
3. Caprese Antipasto
4. Marinated Celery Salad With Chickpeas and Parmesan
5. Chinese Stir-Fried Tomatoes and Eggs
By Emily Weinstein

EAT

Bored With Your Home Cooking? Some Smoky Eggplant Will Fix That

Smoky eggplant croquettes.
By Gabrielle Hamilton

FRONT BURNER

A Charcoal Grill That Sizzles

YAK Grills, a new hibachi, brings diners around the dinner table to cook a meal together.

YAK Grills, $129 before Aug. 21, then $199, yakgrills.com.
By Florence Fabricant

FRONT BURNER

Sake and Beer Among the Bases for These Vinegars

American Vinegar Works, in Lowell, Mass., produces small-batch vinegars made from stout and junmai sake.
American Vinegar Works, eight varieties, $12 for 8.58 ounces, americanvinegarworks.com.
By Florence Fabricant

FRONT BURNER

A Vodka for Gin Lovers

Amass, distilled in Copenhagen, delivers floral notes for that martini or tonic drink, without gin’s lash of juniper.

Amass Botanic Vodka, $35.99
By Florence Fabricant

FRANCE DISPATCH

Of Wine, Hand Sanitizer and Heartbreak

Between the coronavirus and the Trump tariffs, the French wine market has collapsed. So winemakers are — sadly — sending their excess product off to another life as hand sanitizer.
By Adam Nossiter

THE POUR

12 Summer Sparkling Wines, Because Who Needs a Reason

Beyond Champagne, excellent bubbly now comes from all over in a diversity of styles. You don’t require a special occasion to enjoy them.

AT Roca Clàssic Penedès Reserva Brut Nature 2016 $22.50
Terres Dorées de Jean-Paul Brun FRV100 Rosé Sparkling Wine NV $22.99
Raventós I Blanc Conca del Riu Anoia de Nit 2017 $23.99
La Taille aux Loups Montlouis Brut Tradition NV $24.99
Aphros Phaunus Portugal Pet-Nat Rosé 2018 $25.99
Arnaud Lambert Brezé Crémant de Loire NV $25.99
J. Brix Cobolorum Santa Barbara County Kick On Ranch Riesling Pétillant Naturel 2019 $26.99
Domaine de Montbourgeau Crémant du Jura Brut Zéro NV $26.99
Von Winning Pfalz Riesling Sekt Extra Brut NV $27.99
Chepika Finger Lakes Catawba Rosé Pétillant Naturel 2019 $33
Ferrando Erbaluce di Caluso Spumante 2012 $38.99
Cruse Napa Valley Deming Sparkling Valdiguié 2019 $41
By Eric Asimov

Anthony Terlato, Who Brought Pinot Grigio to the U.S., Dies at 86

In a 60-year career as a wine importer and marketer, he introduced Americans to lesser-known labels and shaped tastes.

Anthony Terlato was a wine retailer, wholesaler and importer, and later a winery and vineyard owner. But he is probably best known for introducing Americans to pinot grigio.
By Eric Asimov

Reese Schonfeld, a Founder of CNN and Food Network, Dies at 88

He joined Ted Turner to create the Cable News Network and oversaw its growth before being fired. Afterward he was critical of how CNN had changed.

Reese Schonfeld, the founding president of CNN, in 2001. He and Ted Turner gambled that an all-news cable TV venture could challenge the big three broadcast networks in news coverage.
By Richard Sandomir

There Are Wasps in the Yard. You’d Better Get to Know Them.

They buzz. They hover. Sometimes they sting. But how much do you really know about these insects that can menace our summers?

Wasps, the essential summer resident, convening on a bounty of sugar.
By Cara Giaimo

IN THE GARDEN

As Summer Takes Hold, So Do the Jumping Worms

These invasive pests, which ravage the soil and damage plant life, are easiest to spot now, in their adult form. But what to do if you see them?

An adult Amynthas jumping worm in summer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum. Adult worms observed in early spring are unlikely to be jumping worms, as jumping worms don’t reach adult size until midsummer.
By Margaret Roach

When the Bake Sale Goes Global, Millions Are Raised to Fight Injustice

Online sales have become blockbuster events as long-sidelined pastry chefs lead a charge toward activism.
By Julia Moskin

What We Eat During a Plague

Over the past months, Americans have embraced comfort food with a renewed fervor. But this isn’t the first time culinary habits have shifted during a pandemic.
By Michael Snyder

Zooming In on Bill Buford’s Latest Obsession

The author spent more than a decade seeking the heart of French cuisine for his new book, “Dirt.” But in quarantine, he just wants to make the perfect chicken.

Bill Buford, the author of a new book about French food, spent the spring poaching chicken in his apartment off Union Square.
By Pete Wells

CULINARY ARTS

Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce Trilogy

Subtle changes in method yield completely different results in these three simple and delicious tomato sauces from the cookbook author, who would have been 96 this year.
Text by Rachel WhartonIllustrations by Koren Shadmi

This Chicken Salad Comes With a Kick

A tahini-wasabi dressing finishes this any occasion recipe inspired, in part, by a Taiwanese-Chinese dish.

Wasabi and tahini flavor the dressing for this chicken salad.
By Sue Li

A GOOD APPETITE

What’s Better Than Caramelized Onions? Caramelized Peppers

Sweet peppers are cooked down with whole garlic cloves in this vegetable-rich pasta.

Any short pasta, like radiatori, can be used in this dish. Most of the sauce’s character comes from burnished peppers and garlic cloves.
By Melissa Clark

A Timeless Tomato Tart

Light, custardy and flavored with a layer of pesto, this simple, flavorful dish lets juicy heirloom varieties shine.

The warm custard filling in this tomato tart is seasoned with fresh basil and oregano.
By Vallery Lomas

FROM THE PANTRY

These Creamy Tomatoes Are the Ideal Lunch for One

You won’t want to share this deeply savory dish, and you don’t have to.

By Melissa Clark

ONE GOOD MEAL

A Portuguese Artist’s Chilled Tomato Soup

For a simple lunch or dinner, Vanessa Barragão often makes arjamolho, which is healthy, flavorful and perfect for summer.

You can portion your arjamolho into small bowls if you’re using it as a side dish. Though you might be tempted to eat straight from the serving bowl.
By Nick Marino

FRONT BURNER

Vegan Ice Creams With Cheffy Flavors

Eclipse Foods has collaborated with chefs around the country on plant-based ice cream flavors, with some proceeds going to charitable causes.

Eclipse, regular flavors, $11.99 a pint (six pint minimum); Chef Series flavors, $17.99 a pint:

eclipsefoods.com.

By Florence Fabricant

FIVE WEEKNIGHT DISHES

Sheet-Pan Summer

By Emily Weinstein

THE POUR

From Good Wine, a Direct Path to the Wonders of Nature

For this city dweller, wine provided the opening to a greater understanding of food and agriculture, and their precarious balance.
By Eric Asimov

FRONT BURNER

You’ve Heard of Boxed Wine. Enter the Boxed Negroni.

St. Agrestis, a Brooklyn spirits company, now sells a 1.75-liter version of its bottled cocktail, enough for about 20 quarantine drinks.

By Florence Fabricant

WINE SCHOOL

Verdicchio di Matelica, to Discover or Revisit

By Eric Asimov

Overlooked No More: Nancy Green, the ‘Real Aunt Jemima’

A nanny and cook, she played the part as the pancake flour company that employed her perpetuated a racial stereotype. She died 97 years ago in Chicago.

A detail of an Aunt Jemima advertisement from about the 1910s. Nancy Green was recruited in 1890 to be the character’s original incarnation.
By Sam Roberts

THOSE WE’VE LOST

Hillary Gregg, Line Cook at Top-Shelf Restaurants, Dies at 73

He was the Quilted Giraffe’s longtime “walking cookbook” and later cooked at another Manhattan restaurant, March. He died of Covid-19.

Hillary Gregg was a longtime line cook at the Quilted Giraffe. He was later in the kitchen of another high-end Manhattan restaurant, March.
By Rod Nordland

By Praising Trump, Goya President Angers His Core Latino Market

Robert Unanue said the country was “blessed” to have the president’s leadership. Now, amid calls for a boycott, the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the U.S. is facing dismay from chefs and home cooks.
By Amelia Nierenberg

EAT

Gardening Made Me Happier. It Will Work for You, Too.

Corn on the cob with green coriander butter.
By Samin Nosrat

WIRECUTTER

The 6 Things You Need to Preserve the Summer’s Bounty

If you have a garden or just like shopping at farmers’ markets, preserving fruits and vegetables can be easier than you think.
By Michael Sullivan

This Pickle Is a Cake

Welcome to the viral world of hyper-realistic cake slicing videos.

A pickle-shaped chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream icing, made at Sideserf Cake Studio in Austin, Texas.
By Taylor Lorenz

FIVE WEEKNIGHT DISHES

This Salmon Recipe Shines
1. Salmon With Crushed Blackberries and Seaweed
2. Cherry Tomato Caesar Salad
3. Baked Mustard-Herb Chicken Legs
4. Quick White Bean and Celery Ragout
5. Eggplant and Zucchini Pasta With Feta and Dill
By Emily Weinstein

WHAT TO COOK

One Perfect Peach

By Sam Sifton

Should We Be Drinking Less?

Scientists helping to update the latest edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are taking a harder stance on alcohol.
By Anahad O’Connor

The Best Drinks in Life Are Frozen

Slushy, boozy cocktails are perfect year-round. You may not even need to pull out a blender.

These frozen Tom Collins drinks evoke lemon ices.
By Rebekah Peppler

20 Under $20: Wines That Feed the Soul

These 20 bottles — found online from 11 different countries, including some unexpected regions — offer values and pleasures in a summer unlike any other.

Zlatan Otok Hvar Posip 2018 $17.99
Le Vigne di Alice Vittorio Veneto Tajad Frizzante NV $18.99
Troupis Arcadia Moschofilero Hoof & Lur 2019 $19.99
Broc Cellars North Coast Love Red 2018 $19.99
Dirty & Rowdy North Coast Unfamiliar Red 2017 $19.99
Brand Pfalz Weissburgunder Trocken 2018 1 liter $19
Niepoort Douro Tinto Twisted 2018 $19
Chiara Condello Romagna Sangiovese Predappio 2016 $19.99
Meinklang Österreich Prosa Sparkling Rosé 2019 $17.96
Mother Rock Swartland Force Celeste Sémillon 2018 $17.99
Leitz Rheingau Sylvaner Trocken Alte Reben 2016 $19.96
Gaspard Vin de France Sauvignon Blanc 2018 $16.96
Familie Bauer Wagram Terassen Roter Veltliner 2018 $16.96
Fabien Jouves Cahors Haute Côt(e) de Fruit Malbec 2018 $17.99
Porter-Bass Poco à Poco Mendocino County Chardonnay 2018 $19.99
Au Bon Climat Santa Barbara County Pinot Gris/Pinot Blanc 2018 $19.99
Punt Road Airlie Bank Yarra Valley Gris on Skins 2019 $19.99
Seresin Marlborough Momo Pinot Noir 2018 $18.99
Rasa Vineyards Occam’s Razor Columbia Valley Red Wine Blend 2017 $19.99
Pierre & Rodolphe Gauthier Domaine du Bel Air Bourgueil Jour de Soif 2019 $17.99

By Eric Asimov

Two Chefs Moved to Rural Minnesota to Expand on Their Mission of Racial Justice

Mateo Mackbee and Erin Lucas left Minneapolis for a small central Minnesota community, where they are using their restaurant, bakery and farm to promote diversity and teach children about food.
By BRETT ANDERSON

Peter Meehan Resigns as Los Angeles Times Food Editor

His departure comes after a Twitter thread alleging a pattern of verbal abuse and workplace harassment
Peter Meehan resigned as the food editor of The Los Angeles Times on Wednesday, after allegations of harassment and misconduct surfaced on Twitter.
By Amelia Nierenberg

Meet the Gleaners, Combing Farm Fields to Feed the Newly Hungry

An age-old tradition suddenly has fresh urgency in the pandemic, delivering surplus produce to Americans who can’t feed their families.
By RACHEL WHARTON

In the Twin Cities’ Robust Dining Scene, Few Black-Owned Businesses

In the wake of George Floyd’s killing, chefs and restaurateurs are looking for ways to fix the racial imbalance.
By MECCA BOS

The Most Delicious Chicken

These bright recipes embrace summer and its promise.
By EMILY WEINSTEIN

A GOOD APPETITE

This Is the Secret to the Crunchiest Fruit Crumble

Double-baking the crumb topping keeps it wonderfully crisp over its jammy fruit filling.

Summer fruit crumble.
By Melissa Clark

Turn Your Frozen Fruit Into the Simplest Soft Serve

Ready in minutes, this quick dessert is the perfect thing to satisfy your summer cravings.

Frozen fruit and a little dairy are whipped together for a dessert that should be eaten right away.
By Clare de Boer

It took years of searching (and some terrible slices) to get to a chocolate pie we all deserve

By Allison Robicelli

Refreshing cocktails to carry us through a summer like no other

By M. Carrie Allan

A Black-Owned Distillery in Minneapolis Pushes Forward

From the pandemic to protests to arson, Du Nord Craft Spirits has dealt with repeated turmoil and emerged with a new purpose.
By ROBERT SIMONSON

WINE SCHOOL

How Do You Define Rosé?

By Eric Asimov

How Everclear Became a Pandemic Favorite

Long the stuff of fraternity parties, the 190-proof grain alcohol wants to go from D.I.Y. germ killer to cocktail ingredient.
By Alex Williams

James Sherwood, Who Revived the Orient Express, Dies at 86

A multimillionaire by 36, he also bought Cipriani in Venice, the “21” Club in New York, Harry’s Bar in London and dozens of grand hotels.
By PENELOPE GREEN