The Most Read Food Stories of 2022
2022, are you over already? Inflation was the story of the year, as prices for pantry staples soared. Readers of The New York Times’s Food section turned to stories that helped them cook well, with less. And three years into the coronavirus pandemic, the need to cook satisfying meals quickly and under budget remained a top priority. But readers also wanted escape, be it talking about the latest kitchen gadget, a TikTok trend or food show on TV. And there was news, plenty of it.
The home-design company RH has opened 15 restaurants across the United States and Canada since 2015.Credit…Karsten Moran for The New York Times
22. The Company Once Known as Restoration Hardware Is Opening Restaurants. Why?
In October Priya Krishna looked at how RH, the store formerly known as Restoration Hardware that was once known for its reproduction period home fixtures, has opened restaurants — albeit, restaurants that want to sell you the seats you’re sitting on, in addition to pricey avocado toast.
21. Learn to Cook (and ❤️ It) in 10 Easy Dishes
Nikita Richardson assembled this collection of recipes designed to help novice cooks conquer the kitchen, with help from tuna mayo rice bowls, crispy-edged quesadillas and vegetable tofu curry. While the recipes are meant for beginners, they serve as inspiration for longtime cooks, too.
20. Dinner in Seven Ingredients (or Even Fewer!)
Krysten Chambrot assembled two dozen recipes packed with flavor for this special print section in September. “An ingredient or two more — a smattering of scallions, a dash of sweet-salty miso, the juice from a single orange — really can be the difference between a good dinner and a great one,” she writes.
19. 19 Cozy and Cheap Fall Dinners for Sweater Weather
Margaux Laskey wrote and wrote and wrote about dinners this year, and it’s no wonder why she’s the Food team’s M.V.P.: She’s a busy mom with a knack for finding the delicious on any day of the week. This story from November featured hearty sheet pan suppers and one-pot meals made for chilly nights.
18. Butter Boards Are In. Spread the Word.
You better believe it’s not charcuterie. In September, Amelia Nierenberg reported on a trend taking over TikTok: butter boards. It sounds like what it is, swoops of softened butter on a serving board, paired with bread and other fancy accouterments. Its blaze to fame spawned comedic imitations, among them mayo and buttercream boards.
17. Eggs Do It All
You bet your whisk they do. In May, Eric Kim wrote about their charms. This “blank canvas for flavor and sustenance, in both form and content,” was the inspiration for the two dozen recipes included in this feature, from extra-creamy scrambled eggs to Eric’s magical microwave-steamed eggs.
16. To Tip, or Not to Tip?
Christina Morales reported in April on how touch-screen technology has allowed a seamless way for many businesses to ask for gratuity. But that has lead to tipping fatigue among consumers who are asked for tip everywhere, even while buying movie tickets.
15. 14 One-Pot Vegetarian Recipes That Keep Effort to a Minimum
One-pot meals were Tanya Sichynsky’s 2022 New Year’s resolution, and this story brought together some of New York Times Cooking’s best loved vegetarian dishes, including Sarah DiGregorio’s pressure cooker ribollita with smoked mozzarella toasts and Yewande Komolafe’s spicy peanut and pumpkin soup.
14. The Case for Induction Cooking
Induction cooking has been top of mind for many home cooks worried about climate change and the environment. But how do those burners fare in the kitchen? To find out, Melissa Clark tested induction cooktops and delivered her findings in this story from March.
Recipes: Midnight Pasta With Anchovies, Garlic and Tomato | Silky Scrambled Eggs With Pancetta, Pepper and Pecorino
13. Ina Garten’s Store-Bought Thanksgiving
Genevieve Ko asked Ina Garten to craft a Thanksgiving feast for 2022 that relied on store-bought components, as she has preached that “store-bought is fine” for years on her TV shows, like “Barefoot Contessa.” She delivered with six dishes that were hits this holiday season.
Recipes: Cranberry Martinis | Parmesan Mashed Potatoes | Chunky Cranberry Sauce | Mushroom and Gruyère Bread Pudding | Make-Ahead Roast Turkey and Gravy With Onions and Sage | Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie
12. 18 Recipes You Should Learn by Heart
In April, Nikita Richardson assembled a recipe list of reader and staff favorites worth memorizing, so you can riff off them again and again. Along with standards (hello, classic marinara!), there were standouts, like Sue Li’s cucumber salad with roasted peanuts and chile.
11. ‘Mexican Week’ Was Not an Accident for ‘The Great British Baking Show’
In an October episode that made many viewers cringe, “The Great British Baking Show” put Mexico on the menu, along with some puns in poor taste, for its “Mexican Week.” The phrase itself “quickly became shorthand for profound culinary blunder, presented with a sense of naïve triumph,” our critic Tejal Rao wrote.
10. 24 Brilliant Baking Recipes to Change Your Kitchen Game
In February, Krysten Chambrot wrote about two dozen ways to work baking into your life, with recipes like Genevieve Ko’s butter mochi, and learn something in the process. “What unites them are smart techniques, the eye-opening approaches that educate as much as they impress,” Krysten writes.
9. 19 Easy and Cheap Dinner Ideas That Everyone Will Love
In July, as food costs continued to rise, Margaux Laskey assembled a collection of recipes that lean into pantry staples without skimping on flavor. Smart techniques abound, like stretching meat with beans in these smoky white bean and beef sloppy Joes from Sarah DiGregorio. Von Diaz shares a recipe for stretching leftovers with the Puerto Rican favorite arroz mamposteao.
8. 16 Soups Our Food Staff Cooks on Repeat
Nikita Richardson polled the Food and Cooking staff to get their favorite soup recipes this November, just as the temperatures prepared to drop on the East Coast. Try Eleanore Park’s favorite, a French onion soup, and Eric Kim’s vote for doenjang jjigae.
7. How the Air Fryer Crisped Its Way Into America’s Heart
In January, Christina Morales reported on the popularity of a newish kitchen gadget, the air fryer. In just a dozen years on the kitchen scene, it has transformed the way many home cooks do leftovers, and for some, bake cheesecake.
Recipes: Air-Fryer Cheesecake|Air-Fryer Chicken Parmesan| Air-Fryer French Fries | Air-Fryer Spicy Chicken Wings | Air-Fryer Brussels Sprouts With Garlic, Balsamic and Soy
6. The Lamp That’s Taking Over New York
Don’t tell the lady lamp in the powder room of Tatiana, but there is a new luminary in town. As Priya Krishna reported in August, the rechargeable Pino Pro has taken over outdoor tables all over the city.
5. 14 Easy 15-Minute Dinners for When There Aren’t Enough Hours in the Day
In August, Margaux Laskey offered more quick dinner inspiration to weary cooks, from the perfect instant ramen to easy kung pao chicken.
Credit…Andrew Purcell for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Carrie Purcell.
4. 19 Extremely Easy Recipes for When You’re Burned Out
“These recipes are for the days when your survival instinct tells you to order takeout (which we do all the time, too), but your heart longs for something homemade,” Margaux Laskey writes. It doesn’t get much easier than this crispy oven bacon and eggs.
3. The Last, Painful Days of Anthony Bourdain
In September, Kim Severson had an early look at a new unauthorized biography of the beloved chef and television host Anthony Bourdain, who took his own life in a French hotel room in 2018. “Down and Out in Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain” by Charles Leerhsen included “fresh, intimate details, including raw, anguished texts from the days before Mr. Bourdain’s death.”
2. The Restaurant List 2022
Our reporters and editors scoured the country this year looking for the 50 restaurants that we’re most excited about now, including new spots and reliable institutions that have been on the scene for decades.
1. Julie Powell, Food Writer Known for ‘Julie & Julia,’ Dies at 49
Julie Powell was an early blogger who spent a year cooking her way through Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1,” an endeavor that became her first book, “Julie & Julia,” and a subsequent movie, directed by Nora Ephron and starring Amy Adams as Ms. Powell and Meryl Streep as Mrs. Child. As Julia Moskin and Kim Severson reported in November, Ms. Powell died in late October at age 49. The cause was cardiac arrest.
Follow New York Times Cooking on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Pinterest. Get regular updates from New York Times Cooking, with recipe suggestions, cooking tips and shopping advice.