You Might Like: Food and Recipe Recommendations from The Persistent

Welcome to You Might Like, The Persistent’s recommendations column. Every Friday we’ll share a list of things that Persistent staff, contributors, writers and illustrators are loving—things we think you might like, too.

Thanksgiving is coming up for those in the U.S., but whether you're celebrating or not, everyone's got to eat. This edition is about cooking and sharing meals and what happens when we come together at the table. In light of that, we asked our Persistent contributors to share their favorite recipes, cookbooks, and more centered on food. 

From Indian instant pot meals to Italian pizzelles to mac and cheese and mashed potatoes, here are the foods we’ll be eating, preparing, reading about and, yes, even puzzling over.

Bon appétit!

Martha Stewart's Baked Mac and Cheese is a Thanksgiving staple at my house. It has smoked gruyere cheese and “good” bread crumbs, which makes it next level for baked mac and cheese in my opinion. The recipe also makes a huge batch so we always end up with leftovers. We call it "fancy mac and cheese" in my family and we know if we are eating it, it's a special occasion.  
— Kathleen Davis, executive editor 

The 2018 New Yorker article “The “Butter-Chicken Lady” Who Made Indian Cooks Love the Instant Pot” by Priya Krishna introduced me to “Indian Instant Pot Cookbook: Traditional Indian Dishes Made Easy and Fast by Urvashi Pitre. It’s been a lifesaver for this Korean-American who married into an Indian family. 
— Melissa Jun Koshal, designer

My house is never really complete without a jigsaw puzzle spread out on a central table—the larger the puzzle the better. And in my view, absolutely nobody does food-ish puzzles better than Piecework. There’s a whole variety of foodie themes to choose from, from Butter to Tiers of Joy (seafood) to Flour Power (cakes) to Had Me at Jello. But for the holiday season, nothing quite brings it home like their 1000-piece puzzle, Feastivities. I won’t be serving turkey at my Thanksgiving table this year—with this puzzle, why would I need to?
— Francesca Donner, editor-in-chief

I got this sea bream fish recipe from TikTok, and it’s so tasty and light. I love a good fish dish! Full of good fats and high in protein. 🐟
— Rahana Dariah, illustrator 

When I had my son, the Italian-mama gene seemed to have switched on, as I developed the urgent need to make pizzelles all holiday season. Growing up in a huge Italian-American family, I was surrounded by plates of pizzelles at every holiday function, made lovingly by my grandma and great-aunts. Two years ago, I bought a pizzelle iron, and now I can share a little bit of those wonderful ladies with my kids. Even though they’re no longer with us, their love lives on for the next generation through the best holiday cookies ever. 
— Cat Willett, illustrator

I recommend the book, “El delantal y la maza” ("The Apron and the Mallet") by the writer and journalist María Arranz. It is a wonderful book that talks about the kitchen as a contradictory place: a space of oppression for women, but also a place to meet, to create, and a place of resistance.
— Mar Hernández, illustrator 

This recipe for Coconut Mashed Sweet Potatoes is an absurdly easy but elevated take on mashed potatoes—the ginger and coconut make it extra bright and cozy.
— Daniella Zalcman, photojournalist 

“Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus is one of my all-time favorite books for so many reasons. The main character, a fired chemist, goes on to host her own nightly cooking show, while dealing with sexism and a host of other decade-related issues. Food is a major source of inspiration in this book, but so is the protagonist's spirit!
— Melanie Winer, advisor

How about a Basque cheesecake next to the pumpkin pie? Aside from being absolutely delicious, making this burnt cheesecake has a way of subverting any raging obsession for perfection. Grate a bit of Idiazábal cheese or manchego on the dessert as they do in San Sebastian's mythic cheesecake factory, La Viña 
— Anne Quito, contributing writer

What are you obsessed with right now? Send your recommendations to hello@persistent.com and we might feature them in a future edition of You Might Like. We’ll be back with more next Friday!