When your world feels prefer it’s falling to items — and simply dragging your self off the bed and into the kitchen to shove just a few Oreos into your mouth can really feel like a herculean activity — purchasing for and cooking one thing can really feel downright inconceivable. In case your good friend or member of the family goes by way of a horrible ordeal, making one thing scrumptious and delivering it to their door with a candy little be aware might not scare away the monsters, however it will possibly present sustenance for the laborious (and hopefully therapeutic) days forward. These are the dishes New York Occasions Cooking editors, writers and extra prefer to make for his or her family members.
When somebody I care about is down or making an attempt to navigate one thing troublesome, I usually make them lasagna. Most individuals prefer it. For meat eaters, I make a hybrid of this Regina Schrambling recipe and this one from Alison Roman; for veg, I like Martha Rose Shulman’s. Both method, it’s large enough to offer for quite a few meals, or to feed a bigger group, eliminating a minimum of one factor for my good friend to fret about. Plus, my eldest son, who’s 8, likes to assist assemble lasagna, making it a gesture from our household. BRETT ANDERSON
I crave casseroles blanketed with gooey cheese after I’m down, so, when somebody I really like is struggling, I prefer to whip up a tray of those beautiful enchiladas from Rick A. Martínez. Additionally they occur to freeze like a dream, so you possibly can divvy them up into serving-size containers that may be defrosted and heated up as wanted. MARGAUX LASKEY
Recipe: Chicken Enchiladas
I like to point out up with luggage of cookie dough for associates’ freezers to allow them to have a heat, freshly baked cookie every time they need. You would make this lovely one from Millie Peartree, or the considered one of your selecting. That’s the great factor about cookie dough: Most all recipes are extremely freezable. KRYSTEN CHAMBROT
As a result of grief can zap starvation or heighten it at sudden instances, I like to present meals that freezes properly and feels nourishing. I pack pulled pork and collard greens in half-pint containers, and seal biscuits in an hermetic bag. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies additionally go in a bag and don’t even must be thawed if a sudden craving strikes laborious, however reheating them in a toaster oven offers them a comforting heat. GENEVIEVE KO
Recipe: Pulled Pork
Every time a member of the family or good friend doesn’t have time to be within the kitchen, I rummage by way of my fridge and pantry, and make sancocho, an enormous stew of protein and root greens meant to heat the soul. Von Diaz’s recipe is a good base to work from. Use no matter you may have available. As soon as performed, the stew might be frozen and reheated on the range. Make sure you remind your family members so as to add just a few drops of scorching sauce for an added kick. GINA FERNANDEZ
Recipe: Sancocho
The very last thing I wish to do after I’m in a funk is clear and reduce produce, so I like to point out up with containers of Ali Slagle’s fruit salad and a hearty chopped salad like Hetty Lui McKinnon’s salty-sweet Southern-inspired broccoli salad that will get higher because it sits. The mom in me loves understanding that I’ve helped them get one thing inexperienced and cruciferous into their our bodies. MARGAUX LASKEY
Recipe: Broccoli Salad
There’s such factor as consolation cake, and I believe Lindsey Shere’s almond cake from “Chez Panisse Desserts” is an ideal instance. Straightforward to make and simple to like, and possibly even higher the following day? It’s additionally tender, however structurally sound sufficient for a subway experience in a tote bag, or a bumpy automotive experience on somebody’s lap, and which means you possibly can simply transport to the individual you like with out worrying it’ll collapse. The fruit and cream topping in Melissa Clark’s adaptation will make it further particular, however the cake doesn’t have to be dressed up. It’s good simply as it’s. TEJAL RAO
There’s one thing inherently soothing about soup — and it’s lots simpler to reheat than a casserole. This one might be lunch or dinner, served plain or with rice, garnished or not, and served chilly or scorching. JULIA MOSKIN
I like protein-packed salads like Julia Moskin’s rooster salad (egg or tuna salad is nice, too) that may be picked in any respect week. They’ll eat it straight from the container standing on the fridge or tuck it right into a pita or a wrap with a handful of potato chips. MARGAUX LASKEY
Recipe: Chicken Salad
When my buds want some boosting, it’s time for mochi brownies. Hetty Lui McKinnon’s recipe is soothing for each the giver (it’s six substances and comes collectively within the time it takes to warmth the oven) and the receiver (the candy rice flour offers the brownies a novel bounce and chew, plus, you already know, chocolate). Add nuts if in case you have them, or don’t — they’re an ideal pick-me-up simply as they’re. MIA LEIMKUHLER
Recipe: Mochi Brownies
It’s simple to make just a few pint containers of Tejal Rao’s easy, cozy toor dal and pop them into the freezer — it’s even simpler for the one you love to thaw one out and have a comforting meal. Bonus factors for those who deliver them the weather of the tempering (ghee, curry leaves and different entire spices) that they’ll rapidly fry and add to the dish. BECKY HUGHES
Recipe: Toor Dal
This can be a reward that retains on giving: There are as much as six servings on this Genevieve Ko recipe, so it may be eaten all through the week (for any meal, actually) and may also be portioned out and frozen. And, for the individual making it, it’s fast and simply customizable for no matter is hanging out in your crisper. MELISSA KNIFIC
Recipe: Loaded Baked Frittata
Powerful instances inevitably put dinner on the again burner — last-minute supply from the one place that’s open, yesterday’s pizza chilly from the fridge, one lone scrambled egg. Having a jar of Genevieve Ko’s chile crisp available means on the spot spice, brightness and texture for no matter meal may be cobbled collectively, which is why I’ll cook dinner up a giant batch on the first signal of misery. MIA LEIMKUHLER
There’s a cause “Hen Soup for the Soul” grew to become a factor: A brothy bowl of noodles is the meals equal of a giant, heat hug. Plus, Ali Slagle’s recipe freezes up fantastically, so fortunate recipients can stash it within the freezer for later within the week, or month, in the event that they nonetheless don’t really feel like cooking. MELISSA KNIFIC
Recipe: Chicken Noodle Soup
