ham and fig grilled cheese

with an arugula fig pistachio salad

As many of you know, I finished shooting What To Cook the cookbook this past week (AH, YAY!). After being on set and cooking more than 50 full dinner meals in 5 days (well, I really just sit there while the food stylists do their thing, but I was present…) the last thing in the world that I want to do is cook.

Writing an entire book of recipes that I hope will inspire people to cook when they don’t feel like cooking has made me think a lot about what I truly cook when I don’t feel like cooking. And one of the things I always fall back on is a really delicious sandwich. I don’t love a huge, mile-high packed sandwich for dinner. I prefer a melty little toasty guy. Preferably with ham in it.

And seeing as how it’s fig season — one of the shortest, most fleeting, most glorious seasons of all — we’re getting figs involved. If you can’t find them easily, just add a swipe of fig jam, but I really hope you can find them! They get warm and melty and they’re so, so delicious in there.

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Happy second day of fall!! 🍂 If you’re in the mood for some peak autumnal cooking now that fall’s official, here are some ideas:

• beef and three-bean chili: If “chili” is the first thing you thought of when you read “peak autumnal cooking,” this one’s for you.

• lemony chicken orzo soup: If you’re not ready for a big bowl of chili just yet, try my version of avgolemono — a simple chicken and rice soup that’s thickened with eggs. It has veggies, greens, and lots of lemon, making it both cozy and fresh. You’ll love it.

• sheet-pan chicken and squash: Fall = squash season and this sheet-pan dinner will not disappoint.

• one-pot cheesy sausage & butternut squash orzotto: Another squashy option. Fun fact, this was the first recipe I ever published on What to Cook, back in December 2020!

• 30-minute al pastor enchiladas: This is a skillet full of cheesy comfort that comes together so quickly.

• souvla-inspired chicken salad: Bookmark this recipe for the first time you see persimmons pop up at your grocery store!

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ham and fig grilled cheese

Serves 4 (or 2 if you’re really hungry and want 2 sandwiches each)

Cook time: 30 minutes