Good morning! My latest (and 46th) cookbook comes out next week, and I couldn’t be more excited. “The Big Book of Dinner” is my biggest and most comprehensive collection to date.
We’ve excerpted three of my favorite recipes to share with you here on New York Times Cooking. All of these are relatively quick and weeknight-friendly, leaning heavily on pantry ingredients. And they’re supremely versatile, allowing you to change them up to suit your preferences, your dietary needs and what’s in your fridge.
My recipe for fish simmered in spicy garlic broth is an adaptable and speedy way to make a flavorful weeknight meal. You’ll end up with tender morsels of fish (use your favorite fillets or steaks) floating in an aromatic liquid so good you’ll be tempted to sip it on its own. But, of course, you could always serve this with good bread to soak it all up.
View this recipe: Fish in spicy garlic broth
Recipes for your week
Here are five more of my recipes that made their debut this year, all of them on your table in an hour or less.
Reading and eating
It’s not that rereading “Crime and Punishment” is making me hungry; it’s just that Dostoyevsky’s many mentions of brown bread, sausages and the ubiquitous cabbage soup have put an idea for dinner into my head (minus the weak tea and cheap vodka that usually accompany it all).
The book is just as shocking and intense on this second outing. Even though I know what’s coming for Raskolnikov, I’m still riveted by its unfolding. That’s the power of a great read.
What are you reading? Let me know at hellomelissa@nytimes.com — I’m always looking for my next book.
That’s all for now. I’ll see you tomorrow.
Melissa Clark has been writing about food for The New York Times since 1997 and is the author of 46 cookbooks. You can reach her at hellomelissa@nytimes.com.
Editors: Mia Leimkuhler and Li Goldstein. Host photo by Melanie Dunea. For help with your New York Times Cooking subscription, please email cookingcare@nytimes.com. Was this email forwarded to you? You can sign up for our New York Times Cooking newsletter here.
