NYT Cooking Software

The NYT cooking app has given a new lease on life to my nightly dinner prep. I search the app almost every evening for inspiration about how to make a tasty meal from the random items in my fridge - that still-snowy-white cauliflower I bought a week ago, the frozen shrimp, the impulse purchase of a new harissa sauce. It never fails me. If I don’t have all the ingredients in a recipe, I don’t run to the store, but improvise. I substitute parsley for cilantro, sweet onions for leeks, or just omit. I love that all the recipes are attributed to chefs I’ve come to know from regular reading of the Times, so I can prioritize my favorites, whose tastes are a good match for my household’s. This alone makes the app far more reliable than the recipes that pop up on a random Google search. If I happen to be connected to a printer, I print a hard copy for reference in the kitchen. If not, I prop up my smart phone or tablet on the kitchen counter, fetch my ingredients from the convenient list at the top, and switch over to a news program to stave off kitchen ennui while I chop and simmer. My only complaint is that the recipes tend to underestimate prep and cooking time, so I’ve learned it’s best to allow some extra time. But the $39/year was a great expenditure.

You have to understand that this app is a lot more than a collection of excellent recipes. It’s a talk show, a set of instruction videos, a daily food essay that gets you excited to be back in the kitchen ASAP. AND a collection of recipes from the best of the best. OK - so - there are just a few things that may be less than perfect. 1) I have to go elsewhere for Mexican food (REAL Mexican food) which happens to be my personal yum. I lived in Mexico and know how amazing that food can be - the fresh fruit batidos, the aguas, the taqueria salsas, the rich mole sauces, the soups with squash flowers.... 2) The recipe book can be difficult to manipulate. Deleting recipes from it is not intuitive. I’d love more options - like easily making up a set of recipes for a dinner party then dissolving (or back-filing) the set when the party’s over. Or saving a recipe with my personal fiddles and edits attached. But I LOVE this app, this daily inspiration. And - hey - my family and friends now believe I’m a good cook! Where did THAT come from? Guess!

Of course we all know the NYT to be a fantastic (and for some people the only) source. When my spouse began working overnight and we added the Instapot and Braun hand mixers to our tiny San Francisco apartment - this resource became a necessary replacement for about 85% of our spontaneous dining out adventures. I love how readers (chefs) can comment directly on the recipe or ingredients (worth 2 stars). I also love how this can be nearly added to your personal journaling or self care routines (worth another 2 stars). The NYT have selected fairly achievable efforts - but a Whole Foods or accessible farmer’s markets really help with the projects. Be prepared to pay more than restaurant prices and to handle leftovers - kind of not allowed in our small apartment - that is where the overnight colleagues come in. You’ll hopefully come to this app for the creativity and life choices and stay for the compliments and gratitude of others. Food and shared food experiences is one of the strongest pillars of a life well lived.