The Washington Post - 11.03.2020

KLMNO

Food

wednesday, march 11 , 2020. washingtonpost.com/food eZ ee e

weeknight vegetarian

chickpeas take well to a classic

creole seasoning. e3

more at washingtonpost.com

caramelized scallops With beurre blanc e3

gem salad With grapefruit, Picked onions and

avocado dressing e6

roast Quail in bourbon cream sauce online

chat at noon: l ive.washingtonpost.com

BY JANE BLACK

Special to T he Washington Post

edward Lee is not prepared for a corona virus

lockdown. His pantry is not stocked. He shops often,

buying only what he needs and what will fit in his

small kitchen. “I’m a chef, so I rarely cook at home

from scratch,” he said w ith a shrug. “My fridge is filled

with leftovers from the restaurant. My whole life is

eating l eftovers.”

In o ther w ords, he’s l ike a lot of people.

For years, nutritionists and cookbook writers have

advised Americans to keep a stocked pantry, and to

cook and eat together. It’s better for our health. It’s

better for our r elationships. (There are even apps that

will help you do a lot of the planning.) And yet, we’ve

stubbornly refused. Research firm nPD reported in

2017 that cold cereal, toaster pastries, yogurt and tap

water are among the most popular “meals” prepared

at h ome.

now comes the threat of the coronavirus, which

could mean t hat, at l east temporarily, we stock u p and

limit trips to the grocery store, stop going to restau-

rants and spurn delivery drivers.

In other words, Americans might finally have to

plan and cook.

no one knows where the virus might bloom — or

how long restrictions might last. What is clear is that

this will be different from the usual “stock up on

bread and milk” emergencies: snowstorms generally

only trap people in the house for a few days, whereas

lockdowns in China have lasted weeks, s tressing even

the m ost seasoned c ooks. on the p lus side, i t’s unlike-

ly that homes will lose power as they might after a

natural disaster.

How do you plan to potentially cook three meals a

day for weeks at a time with limited access to the

outside world? And given our high expectations

about what we eat — sushi one night and pizza the

next — is it possible to keep it interesting? We asked

some of the country’s best-known cooks for tips and

inspiration.

p adma Lakshmi

Author, h ost of Bravo’s “ Top C hef”

“The first thing I would do, right now, before there

is a panic, is start cooking,” Lakshmi said. “Pick a

saturday or sunday and involve the whole family in

making huge batches of different dishes: turkey chili

or green chili with white beans, things that a re stew-y

and freeze well. Then pack them in quart containers

so you c an take out just what y ou need.”

This plan has t wo b enefits. It l essens anxiety — yes,

you’ll have food to eat! — but it also a llows you t o cook

with what’s fresh. You’re not stocking up on fresh

fruits and vegetables and h oping they d on’t r ot.

And since fresh foods do go off, Lakshmi also

see pantry on e8

A no-panic pantry

We’re facing a different kind of emergency in coronavirus, so we asked some

experts what they want on hand to calmly cook up quick, comforting meals

tom mccorkle for the Washington Post; food styling by lisa cherkasky for the Washington Post

BY BECKY KRYSTAL

There’s so much we can chalk up to the

naivete of youth — things that, in retro-

spect, make you go, “What was I think-

ing?” For me, a lot of those realizations

involve food. As someone who grew up

picky and slowly expanded my palate and

experience into Professional Food Writer,

hindsight can be particularly depressing.

Ta ke sticky toffee pudding. Barely out

of college and just learning how to cook, I

was i nspired to try a sticky toffee p udding

ice cream from Häagen-Dazs. Just as the

brand wanted, my then-boyfriend and I

fell hook, line and sinker when we were

overcome by curiosity after seeing a spe-

cial about a flavor contest on Food net-

work. so we bought it, tried it and, well,

the pint did not do much for us, even

though I’m typically a devoted fan of the

premium brand.

“okay, so maybe I’m just not into sticky

toffee pudding,” I thought, foolishly dis-

counting one of the most beloved des-

serts of Britain. The fact that it’s a su-

premely soft, date-filled and toffee-soaked

see toffee on e4

After giving a classic

British dessert a

second try, it sticks

stacy Zarin goldberg for the Washington Post: food

styling by lisa cherkasky for the Washington Post

recipe

sticky toffee Pudding e4

For steak on

a weeknight,

try a few skirts

on for size

BY ALI SLAGLE

Special to T he Washington Post

Between the marinating and exact

cooking, the resting and proper slicing,

steak might not be the first cut of m eat we

turn to on a weeknight (hmm, chicken

thighs — again?).

skirt steak, however, messes with that

preconception because it has all the

things going for it that we seek for a

midweek dinner: minimal prep,

l ightning-fast cooking, big flavor and a

reasonable price tag.

Like flank, hanger and flap meat, all of

which a lso come from well-exercised mus-

cles, skirt steak delivers a good chew but

isn’t tough, if prepared and sliced proper-

ly. And, because skirt steak is so thin, it

quickly reaches its optimal doneness,

which is r are or medium-rare. By the time

the outside is seared brown, you can bet

the inside is ready, which means no futz-

ing with a meat thermometer or internal

temperatures.

The only essential instruction f or cook-

ing skirt steak is that you want a hot, dry

environment so that the outside browns

to deliciousness and the muscles don’t

have enough t ime to tighten and t oughen.

see steak on e8

recipes on e8

skirt steak With red chimichurri and

Peppers l gochujang-honey skirt

steak

tom sietsema

an inherited pizza oven cranks

out Japanese pies at tonari. e2

recipes on e8: kichidi l Pantry ramen