The other day we saw that the most popular Thanksgiving recipe over on NYT Cooking — “by far” apparently — is Bittman’s Brussels sprouts with garlic. And while that version starts with browning sprouts on the stove in a cast-iron pan, the one below, from the updated How To Cook Everything, is even easier.

Brussels Sprouts With Garlic

Serves: 4
Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pint (about a pound) brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Instructions

1. For the crispiest sprouts, put the oiled baking sheet in the oven…

I don’t know about you, but if I had to choose snacks over actual meals, I’d more often than not go with snacking because there’s an opportunity to try more things, you’re not pummeled by a big meal, and snacking can be fun.

I would not describe tomorrow’s snacking as “fun.” But I’m certain you’d appreciate a spread that includes a few of these dishes. Who doesn’t appreciate a snack to tide you over when nerves are frayed?

Note that I didn’t include sweets on the list: I wanted to keep the list in the spirit of snacks-for-dinner. …

In the nearly two years since Heated launched, we’ve built on Mark Bittman’s lifework by addressing inequality in the food system. We’ve also tried to encourage readers to look at our lives through the lens of food: How we grow food. How we treat food and restaurant workers. How we feed ourselves and each other.

We can always do better — and one way (we hope) we can commit to improvement on a more grand scale is in how we vote which, this year, means voting for Joe Biden. Below we’ve got 22 posts that explore the intersection of power…

A friend told me last week she celebrated her birthday in part by eating her annual ration of macaroni and cheese, around which she says she has no self-control. Mac’n cheese seems especially fitting for a year as shockingly bad as 2020 has been so far.

As if it hasn’t been challenging enough to manage emotions this year, we’re days away from an election in which the president has threatened not to leave office if he’s voted out, and the entire world seems to be experiencing an uptick in Covid cases.

How are you coping? Sure, there’s meditation, or yoga…

Raise your hand if you’re tired of cooking. I’m trying to pull inspiration from my colleagues Daniel, Kerri, and of course, Mark, but I have to say, like the rest of the cook-at-home universe, I’m fishing for how to recharge and to feel as committed about cooking at home as I was in March.

In some ways, this is timely, since I’m guessing, like you, I’d like to support our favorite restaurants as the government has left them for dead. But that’s for another post. …

This far into the pandemic, boredom meets inspiration, and power tools are making an appearance in home kitchens. While we’re not seeing any mini-saws multitasking as sourdough bread cutters, the drill is coming into its own.

Alton Brown, for example, is using a drill in seasoning his holiday rib roast. After rubbing meat with oil and salt, he wants to season it with two tablespoons of fresh ground pepper. But rather than grinding it by hand with a pepper mill, he takes a Japanese coffee grinder made for camping and swaps the handle for a cordless drill.

Over in…

Whether you’re in the mood for one of these projects this weekend or you’re thinking about what to serve for Christmas or New Years', all three of Mark’s straightforward recipes deliver what will amount to a special meal. Each recipe is geared for a small crowd but if you’re being conservative this year and don’t even plan on that, you’ll have leftovers and you’ll be happy about it.

Prime Rib Roast for a Small Crowd

Makes: About 6 servings
Time: About 1½ hours (largely unattended)

This is a simple roasting technique: high heat to sear the meat, lower heat to cook it through. If you want a…

December Holidays

We don’t blame you if you feel like skipping this holiday season. But with more pandemic-related challenges in front of us, perhaps we can turn to holiday dishes and drinks to lift our spirits, especially since we’re stuck primarily at home. Here are a few suggestions.

1. Make some sweet and spicy snacks.

Spiced nuts are more satisfying than you’d think, especially when you make them yourself. I like this strange flavor recipe, but the ones below are a bit more moderate, yet still match the savory-sweet juxtaposition.

Caramelized Spiced Nuts