Image courtesy NYT Cooking
We love a greatest-hits album, and “Easy Weeknight Dinners” is NYT Cooking’s version. A collection of 100 favorite, quick and flavorful recipes from over the past decade, the cookbook debuted earlier this week from Emily Weinstein, editor-in-chief of The New York Times’ NYT Cooking. Inviting readers to come as they are in the kitchen, recipes are divided into approachable and relatable sections, including “Minimum Effort for Maximum Magic” or “Picky Kids Might Actually Eat This.” We caught up with the author ahead of her visit to Richmond on Oct. 15 to talk about trust in the kitchen, the two-tool rule and solving the daily question: What’s for dinner?
Richmond magazine: Why release this book now? Is it to celebrate the 10th anniversary of NYT Cooking?
Emily Weinstein: The timing is actually totally coincidental, but, like, a happy accident. This is something we talked about doing for a while. This book is built on the success of our weeknight cooking newsletter, “Five Weeknight Dishes,” which I also write in my capacity as the editor of Cooking. We have several newsletters, but that’s the only one that’s really devoted to this kind of cooking that’s like after work or after a long day, doing whatever it is you do in the world, caring for children, caring for elderly parents, whatever it is you're doing all day. Maybe you don’t feel like cooking a big meal at the end of it, but everyone has to eat, so that newsletter has really resonated with people. It’s been a big success. So we started to say, “Let’s compile these recipes into a cookbook,” and here we are, which is really exciting.
RM: The New York Times seems to have built a trust with its readers; how has NYT Cooking done the same?
Weinstein: I think that part of what makes Cooking really exceptional, not the only thing, but a big part of it, is that we take those sort of same standards that we apply to everything across The Times: the journalism, the games, you know, everything has to be great, and everything has to be trustworthy. So much about this contract with our readers, with our audiences, is built in trust. And I think that’s what’s interesting about cooking; the rubber really hits the road with a recipe, right? If someone decides to make it, they are taking the time. They’re going food shopping, they’re bringing everything home. They’re investing actual time in their home preparing the dish. And is it easy to prepare? Does it turn out well? You’ve got a real moment there. And I think in order to build trust with a cooking audience, the answers to those questions have to be yes.
RM: The idea of easy recipes is the foundation of this book. What does easy mean to you? What are those parameters?
Weinstein: When I was thinking about what recipes to feature in the newsletter, in a book like this: as few ingredients as possible for something to be delicious. We’re looking for a streamlined ingredient list, and we’re looking for as few steps as possible. And we’re looking for as few pots and pans as possible, and no super special equipment, right? The pots and pans thing is really important; I feel like you only get two big pieces of equipment per recipe, and that can be two pans, a pot or a pan, a blender in a pot. And that’s just an acknowledgement of the fact cleaning is part of cooking. I’m delighted if we help you get dinner on the table in 30 minutes, but then if you spend an hour cleaning up, was that a victory? I’m not sure. So, we think about that a lot, too. And then in terms of timing, under 30 minutes is perfect, under 45 is often more realistic when you’re talking about cooking meats.
RM: This is like the Myers-Briggs of cookbooks; sections are titled “Minimum Effort for Maximum Magic” and “Truly Fifteen-Minute Recipes (We Promise)” and “If You’re Really Feeling Lazy.” Why did you present the book in this way?
Weinstein: This was deliberately meant to be a really fun index at the beginning of the book. And also, it kind of makes it a little bit more delightful. I think it makes it really fun. Cooking is this task, right? Everyone has to do it if you want to eat at home and not just eat takeout constantly, or frozen meals constantly, you have to cook, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be drudgery. You can have a sense of humor about it. You can find ways to own it and make it yours, entertain yourself. And I hope the fun index gets at that.
RM: There is such a large digital presence with recipes. Why do you think there is value in having a cookbook in your hands that you can flip through?
Weinstein: There’s an aura to a book, right? It’s just different. And there is this curation that has been done. And the curation of a book, I think, is always going be a little easier than curation on a phone, just because there’s so much swiping. It’s a little bit easier to kind of wrap your head around everything. That’s here when you’re flipping the pages.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The “Easy Weeknight Dinners” event on Oct. 15 is presented by Fountain Bookstore and takes place at Sam Miller’s restaurant at 1210 E. Cary St. VIP tickets are $70 and general admission $40. A portion of sales goes toward programs of the Junior League of Richmond.
