This is the Friday post, a weekly roundup of recommendations and delightful distractions. If this email cuts off, you can see it online here.

Dear readers,

Talking about cooking and swapping recipes has always been a fun part of the Downtime community. This year, we’re excited to share exclusive recipe excerpts from some of our favorite new cookbook releases in the newsletter! This week, it’s a double recipe from Hot Sheet, a seriously smart and creative new cookbook from Sanaë Lemoine and Olga Massov, all made on the humble sheet pan. Because who’s got the time to cook using multiple pots, pans, and utensils? I sure don’t.

The book is filled with achievable but elevated recipes that you can make with, yes, just a sheet pan. When we were vetting cookbooks to cover for the newsletter, this is one where I immediately said, “Sign. me. up.” With less time to cook than ever before, I need all the one-tool recipes I can find.

“The cookbook came about after I proposed a sheet pan Thanksgiving issue to the Washington Post Food team in the first year of the pandemic, as a means of preserving the holiday but scaling down the amount of food as well as the effort,” Massov shared with us in an email. “By the fall, the sheet pan became an obsession for me—what else could I make on it? I tried to find a comprehensive cookbook using sheet pans that included breakfasts, mains, desserts, and everything in-between, but realized such a book didn't yet exist.”

The resulting book with Sanaë has a dizzying array of thoughtful sheet-pan recipes, and we’re sharing two below: Oven Fish Tacos with Cumin-Lime Crema and an Open-Face Croque-Monsieur. We’re giving away two copies to readers, too! Keep scrolling to see, and have a great weekend. -Alisha

I’ve asked writer and editor Aliza Abarbanel back to the newsletter today to share what she’s into lately. Here are four ideas she has for your weekend including, of course, a few perfect recipe picks.

• 📺 Anatomy of a Fall on Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play

  • If you’re trying to cross all the movies off your watch list before the Oscars on Sunday, I have good news: Anatomy of a Fall is streaming. Director Justine Triet—the only woman to be nominated for Best Director this year—has made a movie that will make you feel truly riveted (lol but really) by the French justice system. It’s a gripping drama about a celebrated writer who is suspected of her husband’s murder on a dreamy ski trip in the secluded Alps, with their blind son as the only witness. Perfect for true crime or court case lovers.  

• 📚 Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson

  • I needed a lighthearted book to get me back into my reading routine, and this charming novel from Kevin Wilson (whose previous books The Family Fang and Nothing To See Here are other favorites) fit the bill perfectly. It follows two bored teenage artists in small town Tennessee, who accidentally cause a moral panic after hanging up some anonymous posters. Think: Benevolent chaos turned surreal, a fun send-up to life before smartphones or the limitations of adulthood.

• 🍤 Recipes to cook right now:

  • Crispy Tofu With Maple-Soy Glaze. I eat vegetarian most days, and this recipe occupies a permanent place in my weeknight dinner rotation. Sticky, sweet soy-glazed tofu is the ideal accompaniment for rice and anything else in the fridge: kimchi, leftover roast vegetables, a jammy egg. 

  • Twice-Baked Caramelized Cashew Baklava. An untraditional but highly delicious dessert that comes together with a smart assist from store bought phyllo dough. Perfect for a brunch or dinner party dessert, sturdy enough to ship to friends.

  • Lemony Shrimp and Bean Stew. The lowest effort/highest reward meal I’ve made in recent memory. I tossed in some cooked spaghetti at the end for a higher-protein take on shrimp scampi. *NYT gift link

  • Weeknight Tomato Soup. I’ve been dreaming lately about dunking buttery grilled cheese in a cup of tomato soup, and this velvety version from Smitten Kitchen proved to be the platonic accompaniment. It turns mediocre midwinter tomatoes into a cozy, creamy blanket (even though dairy is optional).

• ☀️ Embrace Daylight Savings! All winter I dream of the day when the sun will no longer set at 4 p.m. My friends, we’ve made it! I’m taking the opportunity to Spring Forward as a fresh start, or at least a chance to have an extra-restorative Sunday. I’m going to start things off with an energizing good morning yoga flow, set to a sunny-days-vibes-only playlist (that would also be great to loop on a silly little afternoon walk or weekend cooking session). Up next: A cleaning power hour using this handy checklist, and an end-of-day walk in that glorious extra hour before sunset.

You can purchase Hot Sheet on Bookshop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local bookstore.

Open-Face Croque-Monsieur

We love a croque-monsieur, but often find that it’s too much bread and we don’t particularly like the richness of béchamel. We wanted all those delicious flavors without the feeling of a brick in our stomachs. Our solu- tion was an open-face sandwich (the sheet pan allows you to make 6 in one go!) and using thick slices of milk bread, though any soft bread would work nicely. Instead of béchamel, a crème fraîche mixture flavored with lemon zest, paprika, and basil melts right into the bread and feels indulgent without being too heavy. The bottom of the bread gets golden and toasted, the middle remains soft, while the top bubbles into a cheesy crust. It’s a splendid contrast of textures.

If you have leftover milk bread, it makes for the most delicious break- fast toast. Sanaë’s favorite toppings are salted butter, tahini, and honey, or just salted butter and fruit preserves (ideally, cherry!). — Sanaë & Olga

INGREDIENTS (serves 6)

• 2/3 cup (150 g) crème fraîche

• 1 cup (50 g) fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 6 slices milk bread or soft white bread, such as sandwich bread or brioche

• 2 tablespoons (1 oz/28 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 6 ounces (170 g) sliced ham

• 2 cups (4 oz/113 g) grated Gruyère cheese

• Cornichons (optional), for serving

RECIPE

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400°F (200°C). In a small bowl, stir together the crème fraîche, basil, lemon zest, smoked paprika, and salt. Season with a few grinds of black pepper and stir to combine.

Line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper. Working with one at a time, butter one side of each slice of bread, edge to edge. Place the slices, buttered side down, on the prepared sheet pan. Spread the crème fraîche mixture on the bread, about 2 tablespoons per slice, spreading from edge to edge. Top with the ham, folding the slices in half to fit on the bread, if needed. Sprinkle the Gruyère over the ham.

Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the bottom of the bread is golden (lift a corner with a spatula to check). Turn on the broiler and broil for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown.

Serve immediately. If desired, accompany with cornichons and arugula salad.

Recipe from HOT SHEET by Olga Massov and Sanaë Lemoine. Copyright © 2024 Olga Massov and Sanaë Lemoine. Reprinted by permission of Harvest, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Oven Fish Tacos with Avocado, Radishes, and Cumin-Lime Crema

Paid subscribers can access the full recipe (and both recipe PDFs) after the jump.