4 Wildly Easy Recipes That Changed My Life

They are as close to unfuckupable as you can get.

Welcome to Hi Everyone. I’m so glad you’re here! If you’re reading this and haven’t subscribed, please consider doing so? The newsletter is only once a week, and your support means the world to me. Also, FWIW, all products mentioned are independently chosen, and some may be affiliate links. Your support is appreciated!

I am embarrassed to admit this, but I don’t think I cooked anything more complicated than box brownies and peanut butter–and-pickle sandwiches (they’re delicious; don’t yuck my yum!) until I was in my mid-20s. At that point in my life, I’d just moved to L.A. from New York and was living alone for the first time. I was excited about my new career as a freelance journalist—this was a brief part of my career after I was an editor at Elle but before starting Who What Wear—but I quickly realized that I was going to have to watch my expenses in a whole new way, especially because I no longer had work events to rely on for meals. I bought some cookbooks, got a subscription to Cook’s Illustrated, and started looking for the easiest recipes I could find.

And I practiced. I was so painfully slow in the beginning. I had no idea what I was doing or even how to use my gas stove, which was totally new to me. I had terrible pans and even worse knives. I’d spend all my time and money making a meatloaf that sucked and then beat myself up for wasting my resources. I’d stop cooking for a month at a time, refusing to do more than toast an English muffin, because it was honestly so discouraging to be so terrible at something that most people do all the time.

But slowly, I got better. More importantly, I realized that oftentimes the reason a dish didn’t delight me wasn’t simply because I was a mediocre cook; it was because I didn’t actually vibe with the person who wrote the recipe. You have to find your people! For example, when I discovered Melissa Clark—a prolific New York Times writer and author of many excellent cookbooks—suddenly cooking felt unlocked for me in a whole new way.

These days, I’m relatively proficient in the kitchen, and honestly, I credit that to, yes, practice, but mostly the fact that I found the right recipes, and that makes all the difference. While I can technically pull off some more complicated dishes, the recipes I turn to time and time again and can make with my eyes closed tend to be extremely simple. They are low-fuss, high-impact, and very hard to ruin.

(PS: If you're looking for some excellent, vetted kitchen and cookware essentials for the home cook, you might like my recent story: The 8 Kitchen Tools I 11/10 Recommend If You Cook, Ever.)

Three-Ingredient Roast Chicken

So technically, this is a recipe from Thomas Keller, the incredible chef mastermind of The French Laundry in Yountville and Per Se in New York. However, I think of it as Jane’s Chicken because my friend Jane Herman—who makes the world’s most impeccable jumpsuits, FYI—sang its praises so wildly that I decided to try it, despite having two other solid roast chicken recipes in my repertoire. And she was right. Completely and utterly right.

Recipe: Thomas Keller’s My Favorite Simple Roast Chicken

Notes: So here’s the thing: I don’t even follow all the steps, and it’s still perfect.

-The recipe says to wash and dry the bird. I just dry it with paper towels in the pan.

-It also says to salt and pepper the cavity. I rarely remember to do this, if ever.

-For salt, I like Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. It’s the go-to salt for most chefs, and a box lasts forever.

-It says to use a roasting pan; I don’t. I cook mine in the Great Jones Large Fry, which I wrote about a few weeks ago.

-I don’t bother with the thyme, but I do add butter to the pan right when it comes out and use that, plus the bird’s juices, to baste it with.

I understand that it seems too simple: chicken, salt, and butter? But trust me when I say it’s perfect. I will admit that I think it helps to buy a good-quality bird, but I have used this method on a range of chickens, and it always works.

(If the trussing part freaks you out, just ask your butcher or someone from the meat department at your grocery store if they can help. There are also a bunch of videos showing how to do this, if you want to DIY; you just need some kitchen twine. Or you can skip it; just make sure to watch the chicken's internal temp, as it may cook faster.)

That said, I know not everyone has an hour and change to make dinner every night. I certainly don’t. For the evenings I don’t plan ahead and get a chicken in the oven early, I go for a paillard, with shortcuts.

Phenomenal Chicken Paillard

My amazing pal Justin Coit—he’s an incredible photographer and recently launched the delicious seasoning-mix company Hi Note; the first product, Cheezio Pepe, is beyond—loves to cook and has an excellent site with loads of healthy recipes. His recipe for chicken paillard is perfect and takes less than 20 minutes from start to finish, which is perfect for weeknight dinners.

Recipe: Cooking With Coit’s Chicken Paillard

Notes: So here’s the thing: I don’t even follow all the steps, and it’s still perfect.

-If you are lazy or bad with knives, I recommend buying precut chicken cutlets instead. Saves you the steps of cutting and pounding the chicken breast, if you want.

-I love the lemon zest but forget to do this step half the time, and it’s still very excellent.

-The shallots are so yummy and lovely, but if you don’t have the time or desire for this step, you can skip, and it’s still wonderful. If you want the shallots and sauce but don’t have thyme, trust me when I tell you it’s still delicious.

The Perfect Tomato Sauce

When I think of flawless comfort food, this recipe is legit the first thing that comes to mind. I have had versions of this perfect sauce at a variety of very fancy restaurants, where they charge an ungodly amount of money, but nothing beats the homemade version. Created by the legendary Marcella Hazan, the New York Times version has over 8000 five-star reviews, if that tells you anything?

Recipe: Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce

Notes: So here’s the thing: I have tweaked this slightly at the very end and use an immersion blender to purée the whole thing right before serving, and honestly, it’s an improvement. BLASPHEMY, I know, but I’m sorry, Ms. Hazan; it makes it perfectly velvety.

-Ignore the cups of tomatoes and just use one 28-ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes. I use the San Marzano ones exclusively.

-Recipe doesn’t specify onion type, but I use a yellow one.

-I use the above-linked Diamond Crystal salt here as well.

-At the end, after throwing out the onion per the instructions, I use my beloved hand blender to purée the whole thing in the pot. It only takes a few seconds, but it transforms the sauce into something so impossibly luxurious you can’t believe it.

-In addition to being my favorite, the recipe is also incredibly kid-friendly. Mine call it “red wires,” and they love it.

The Only Salad Dressing You Need

Full disclosure: I don’t like salad dressing. Nine times out of 10, it’s just not additive for me, and frankly, I’d rather spend the calories on something creamy in the salad itself, like avocado or cheese. But that said, this dressing is the GOAT for me. It’s perfect with just lettuce and plays nicely with a more elaborate salad as well. Again, I really think a hand blender makes it even easier, which I realize not everyone has.

Recipe: Creamy Lemon-Mustard-Shallot Dressing

Notes: So here’s the thing: I follow this recipe pretty much to the letter.

I hate that the recipe says “season to taste with salt and pepper”—just give me an exact amount!—but honestly, you can figure it out. I add a little salt and then fully blend before dipping a lettuce leaf into it to test.

And that's it! Do you have any foolproof recipes you think are worth trying? Leave me a note or a link to the recipe in the comments, and I will test them.

As always, thank you for being here, and thank you for sticking around. If you have any questions or concerns, or want me to touch on any topics in particular, I’m all ears. Leave a comment on Hi Everyone’s Bulletin or DM me on Instagram—I’m @hillarykerr—my inbox is always open!