Side Dishes

The first time I screwed this up, I thought I was making a “simple potato salad.” I didn’t salt the water. I tossed the potatoes …

I dumped turmeric into plain rice and called it “pilau.” It was yellow. It was rice. That’s about all it had going for it. No …

The first time I made salsa verde, I skipped the broiling. I tossed raw tomatillos, onion, and jalapeño into a blender, thinking “Fresh is best, …

I figured pesto was just “green stuff blitzed with oil” — how hard could it be? My first attempt tasted like bitter grass swimming in …

The first time I tried making Gordon Ramsay’s pepper sauce, I thought, “How hard can it be?”—a little cream, a splash of stock, and a …

The first time I botched pizza night, I used a store-bought sauce that turned the base soggy and left the crust bland. I blamed the …

I tossed flour into melted butter, dumped the milk too fast, then stood confused at a lumpy mess wondering why my “creamy” lasagna turned gritty. …

The first time I tried to make naan at home, I thought I could wing it. Tossed flour, yogurt, a bit of water—no rise, no …

The first time I screwed this up, I thought flatbread meant flat. No puff, no stretch, just dense, sad discs that tasted like flour and …

The first time I screwed this up, I thought stuffing was just soggy bread in a pan. I blitzed everything into a mushy mess, over-seasoned …