New York Times Recipes

Jim Wilson/The New York Times FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015 Recipes for the Weekend SAM SIFTON Good morning. I'm out in Tucson today, looking for chimichangas. I'm bound for Long Island later, where I'll seek fresh cauliflower for my pot. I want to cook lobster Cantonese. I want to fry popcorn shrimp in honor of the chef Paul Prudhomme, who died on Thursday at 75. I want to make the roast chicken from Zuni Café (above). I want to make an apple pie. I am feeling American as they come in the strong desert sun. And you? Weekends are filled with promise this time of year, at farmers' markets and roadside agritainment complexes alike, the stands filled with the bounty of the early fall: squashes and pumpkins, fat poultry, briny oysters, apples galore. Gone are the days of simply arranging sliced tomatoes on a plate beside a platter of steaming corn. That was then. We're cooking gratin now, and roasting duck, both excellent weekend projects. Here's a bisque for you, same. And a short-rib stew I learned from the Los Angeles chef Roy Choi. How about an apple cake? Here in the West, there are tri-tip steaks at the supermarket. We'll grill one up this evening if there's time, with Kim Severson's terrific recipe. And for certain we'll make doughnuts when we get home because we can, and so can you, off Mark Bittman's sweet master recipe. (Need a gluten-free option? Melissa Clark provides.) Doughnuts are a weekend joy, even if they sometimes leave us feeling like Homer Price. Cook those on Sunday, then snooze through the football in the afternoon. Rise up come evening and assemble Florence Fabricant'svibrant pumpkin soup for dinner. Take a walk after the meal and consider a possibility: Home cooking is changing your life for the better. At least we hope so! Other recipes to cook this weekend are on our site. As always, we encourage you to save the ones you're interested in to your NYT Cooking recipe box so you don't lose track of them. (You can save recipes from anywhere on the web now, by the way, just as if they came from The Times. Here's how.) And if you run into problems along the way - either with the recipes or with anything to do with our site or apps - please reach out for help:cookingcare@nytimes.com. We're here to help. Finally, some inside baseball for those who like that sort of thing. Our colleagues at Times Insider ran an interview with me this week about what happens behind the scenes in our shop. Among other things, I talked about where Times recipes come from, how they're tested and what happens when they test badly. Take a look. And have a great weekend.

Evan Sung for The New York Times Lobster Cantonese ALEX WITCHEL 20 minutes, 4 servings

Amy Neunsinger for The New York Times Korean-Style Braised-Short-Rib Stew ROY CHOI 3 hours 30 minutes, 4 to 6 servings

Daniel Groshong for The New York Times Korean Fried Cauliflower FRANK BRUNI 1 hour, 4 to 6 side-dish servings

Sam Kaplan for The New York Times. Food stylist: Claudia Ficca. Classic Glazed Doughnuts MARK BITTMAN About 3 hours, mostly unattended, About 1 dozen

Jim Wilson/The New York Times Teddie's Apple Cake AMANDA HESSER 1 hour 30 minutes, 8 servings

Rikki Snyder for The New York Times Grilled or Oven-Roasted Santa Maria Tri-Tip KIM SEVERSON 40 minutes, 8 to 10 servings

Taylor Glascock for The New York Times Pumpkin Soup With Ancho and Apple FLORENCE FABRICANT 1 hour, 6 to 8 servings

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times Turnip Gratin MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN 1 hour 30 minutes, 4 servings

Jim Wilson/The New York Times Zuni Cafe Chicken THE NEW YORK TIMES 60 to 90 minutes, plus 1 to 2 days for dry brining, 2 or more servings