Recipes of the Year

Our fearless food writers' favorite recipes from 2025.

Contrarian readers were treated to a fabulous feast of recipes this year, with a new one each Friday from one of our three food writers: Marissa Rothkopf Bates, Jamie Schler, and Emily Beyda.

Their recipes ran the gamut from sweet to savory, from soup and bread to crunchy and sweet.

Here, a sampling of their and our favorite Contrarian recipes of the year!

Starters

Marissa took a dessert staple—shortbread—and added a twist. If you make her savory shortbread, be prepared to make it again: “Savory shortbread makes an excellent nibble to have with wine. This shortbread is so quick and simple to make, you might consider making a couple of batches at once and sticking some in the freezer. A bag of these delights would make a very nice gift for friends. That said, with shortbread like this, you might not need (or want) friends.”

Jamie, an American ex-pat in France, knows good bread—and why we need it. She started her May column with a quote from Miguel de Cervantes: “All woes are lighter if there’s bread.” And Jamie’s everyday (Fabulous) French bread could make just about any woes disappear: “But these troubled times—I do keep coming back to our turbulent political landscape, the anxiety, the fear and stress it is causing us—call for both comfort and sustenance. And there is nothing that does both for us, body and soul, quite like bread.”

Sometimes you need a little nosh to get you through to the next meal, and sometimes you need a little nosh as an excuse to meet new people. Emily’s bridge-building granola fits both bills: “I started sharing granola with my neighbors as part of my resolution to be better about community building, and, to be honest, to have a solution for my irredeemable glass jar hoarding habit (the flower arranging party was also great for this, if you, too, are looking for a solution).”

Soups and stews

Jamie’s harira will warm your heart—and your insides, too: “Comfort food is both personal and cultural, and since I’ve lived in Europe, the list of dishes I consider comfort food has expanded. I now turn to pot-au-feu, the French stand-in, in my book, for chicken soup, riz au lait, creamy rice pudding, pure nursery food, osso buco or veal Marengo, rich and hearty stews, couscous, and soups, from garlic to onion. And harira, Moroccan lamb and chickpea soup.”

Emily’s Syrian lentil soup is a quick but satisfying return to simplicity, especially around winter holiday chaos: “It’s also a helpful reminder that one of the best things about being around for the holiday season is the culinary excess—so many chances to eat your body weight in cookies and go overboard on a charcuterie board. I’m trying to embrace the spirit of holiday excess this year, but I know all too well how easy it is to end up resenting rather than appreciating the abundance. Simplicity is a luxury when surrounded by such delightful excess.”

Mains

Nearly every dish can be improved with a good sauce, and though there’s no improving on Marissa’s transformation sauce, it is infinitely malleable for anyone’s tastes or for using what you have on hand: “I futzed around with a recipe for my own version of green sauce, and that, my friends, is the other magnificent thing about this recipe. Use my ratios and ingredients as a jumping-off point. Hate cilantro? Don’t use it. No feta in the fridge? Substitute buttermilk, sour cream, or blue cheese. Add a blast of hot sauce if that’s your thing. Have an abundance of basil? Use only that. Chervil, tarragon, watercress and sorrel also make great additions, and they’re not even mentioned in the recipe.”

Emily gave us her labor lasagna when she was days from her own labor of love, a new baby girl. This is a dish you can make ahead and freeze for when you need to eat but don’t have the energy to cook, something she learned with the birth of her first child: “I was famished right after the baby arrived, lying feeling boneless and sweaty in bed, my mother, a midwife who had delivered the baby, and her birth team bustling around us. They say birth is a marathon, and I needed to carb load. Enter the lasagna, an afterthought, prepped last minute from leftover odds and ends in the fridge and stocked in the freezer with the rest of my stash. My friend Kristina, who had assisted at the birth, put it in the oven, and we all ate it together sitting on the big white bed while I breastfed for the first time, a reward for a job well done. This time around, it’s the only thing I’m making.”

Jamie’s coq au vin blanc is a stunning spring-themed take on the French classic: “I offer you a lighter, spring-inspired take on France’s traditional coq au vin. I’ve used a white wine instead of a red, stirred in a touch of cream to make the sauce a little richer, and added seasonal delicate green asparagus tips.”

Sometimes you need dinner but don’t have a full kitchen available to make a meal. Make Emily’s make-anywhere cherry tomato pasta the hero of your family vacation: “One of the best things about traveling is eating, of course, but I find that there’s always a point a few weeks in when I start longing for a taste of home. The most delicious restaurant meals are also high in things like salt and butter, and sometimes I find that my body needs a break.”

Desserts

Food as protest has a long history, and Jamie’s chocolate orange No Kings cake makes the best of both: “Last month, an estimated 5 million people across 2,100 cities took to the streets for the #NoKings march to protest the machinations of the man who would be king. Democrats Abroad joined as well, declaring: “We reject authoritarianism. We reject fear. We reject tyrants.” The nationwide—worldwide—march was defined neither by silence nor violence; the media reported on an overall atmosphere of joy, a “boisterous, peaceful display. That’s when I knew: I had to share a recipe for a No Kings Cake—a gâteau sans rois. As in ancient days, we find ourselves resisting the rise of a dangerous figure, an evil tyrant causing disorder and chaos. Again, we gather to stand against the darkness. The #NoKings protests should remind us that some traditions—like shared joy, defiance, and rambunctious revelry—have their place in society as a way to combat fear, challenge tyranny, reclaim light, and remind us that we, the people, still have the power.”

Marissa also took inspiration from the first No Kings protests, which attracted millions nationwide to stand up for democracy, and made the what she called the king of desserts, the Nutella no-bake cheesecake: “On a weekend I suggest that, along with the The Contrarian bunch, we all actively eschew kings on No Kings Day, I ask that we make one exception to the rule and consider Nutella, the king of desserts. You know, maybe we don’t even need a king of desserts. What I did need, when I started work on this recipe, was a Nutella cheesecake. I opted to create a no-bake recipe, which makes it a nifty summertime treat, as no oven is involved.”

Cake can be used for celebration, too. In honor of a record-breaking filibuster by Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Marissa created a cake just for him, cake for Cory Booker: “This week, I’m fangirling over my filibustering giant of mind and heart, Sen. Cory Booker. Instead of tattooing his name on my forehead or something drastic, I instead created a cake in his honor. I figured the guy must be hungry. I created a cake true to his Jersey roots: A vegan apple crumb cake. Why? Crumb cake: We Jerseyans are rightly proud of our crumb cake, which, dense with streusel topping, is the best in the world. This is not up for argument and, I’m sure, even the diplomatic senator would agree.”

If you have a chocoholic in the house, having a stash of chocolate goodness in the fridge is a life hack of the nth degree. Keep a jar of Emily’s deceptively simple no-cook chocolate peanut butter bars on hand for daily chocolate emergencies: “I initially invented these bars for my sweet-toothed sweetheart, who can put away an entire bag of cookies in a night. I figured having a healthy, whole-food-based treat option on hand might make him feel loved, and I’m pleased to report my plan worked. Initially, I would make these bars as a single layer topped with things like hazelnuts, coca nibs, or a sprinkle of sea salt, but I stumbled on the idea of making a filled version and never looked back.”

In late May, when the markets and your crisper are full of summer fruits, try making Jamie’s summer cherry berry cobbler: a sweet red, white, and blue remembrance of the sacrifices of those who came before. “As Memorial Day weekend arrives, many Americans will gather for barbecues, outings, or parades and enjoy the unofficial start of summer. There’s nothing wrong with that—it’s part of how we come together as a community. But amid the celebration, it’s also worth pausing, even just for a moment, to remember what this day is really about: honoring those who gave everything in service to this country.”

And timely again is Marissa’s New Year’s resolution chocolate chip cookie: “I made these cookies on New Year’s Day 2024. Some folks write lists of resolutions; I represent my goals in cookie form. This cookie is unabashed: She is tender and yields when appropriate but fearless and forward in letting you know who she is. This is a cookie all about positive change–and very full of chocolate.”

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