This dish is a spin on Samin Nosrat's classic and illustrious Buttermilk-Marinated Roasted Chicken. In her book Salt Fat Acid Heat, she provides a few spins on the recipe, and this is my take on the saffron spin. Here's how I made it: 1) Make saffron tea by grinding a pinch of saffron and a pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle. Then add about two tablespoons of nearly boiling water and let it steep. 2) Add zest from one lemon into 1.5 cups of plain greek yogurt. Season the yo

Monosodium glutamate, commonly known as MSG, is a topic of much debate in the food world. Historically, many people have been led to believe - incorrectly - that MSG is bad for you, causes headaches, inflammation, bloating, or other symptoms. In reality, MSG is harmless and it provides an excellent source of umami - also known as "deliciousness" to foods. To make it perfectly clear: "In the case of monosodium glutamate, or MSG, there is no clear scientific consensus that this

Chili is one of those foods with a few different "right" ways to make it depending on who you ask. I'm not from Mexico or Texas nor do I have immense expertise in these cuisines, so I make no claim that this is the "right" way to make chili. With all due respect to chili experts and aficionados, I will simply say that this dish tastes delicious and is a lovely, cozy, hearty meal on a snowy day. We can call it "Minnesota-style" chili. As I was researching the history of chili

Cooking chicken over potatoes is a game-changer. The potatoes absorb the chicken schmaltz (aka chicken fat) and drippings, simultaneously preventing the chicken from having a soggy bottom and ensuring that the potatoes are super flavorful. For this recipe, I blended the general concept of cooking chicken over potatoes with Ina Garten's Crispy Mustard-Roasted Chicken, which is one of my favorite Ina recipes. I also added bacon fat in just for fun. This is an easy, one-pot dinn

Samin Nosrat is one of my favorite chefs to learn from. Her book, Salt Fat Acid Heat, is essential for anyone who wants to learn to cook without depending on recipes. Of course, she also provides a ton of great recipes. Persian-ish rice is basmati rice that is cooked like pasta and then in a skillet - you boil the rice in lots of salted water and drain it. Then, you continue to cook the rice in a skillet to make a golden, crispy bottom - the tahdig. Food52 has Samin's recipe

I love a simple bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich, but when I make breakfast sandwiches at home I like to accessorize them a little more. This breakfast sandwich has fluffy eggs, gooey cheese, crispy bacon, and added flavor from scallions, Kewpie mayo, and Marie Sharp's habanero hot sauce. These "accessories" give the rich and salty sandwich some much-needed acidity for balance. The gooey cheese cooked inside the egg makes this almost feel like a breakfast jucy lucy.

Chili-lime caramel glazed salmon is an incredibly delicious and easy dinner. This process for cooking salmon is also really adaptable - feel free to mix it up with different seasonings! Note: I use skinless salmon for this recipe because that's what's usually the best deal at Costco, but this can easily be done with skin-on for a delicious crispy skin. Here's how to make it: 1) Bring your salmon to room temperature and salt it. I use a Himalayan salt block to season salmon an

It seems like nearly every cuisine has its own version of "rice with stuff in it:" pilaf, pilau, jollof rice, risotto, jambalaya, paella, biryani, and so many more. The uniting factor across these dishes is that the rice is prepared with other ingredients that give it more flavor rather than prepared on its own to be served along with other flavorful dishes. Sohla El-Waylly did a great video recently on the versatility of chicken and rice, which is in a similar vein to rice w