Tomato basil chicken breasts
Piccata-ish and seriously summery.
Five Weeknight Dishes
August 12, 2025

A piccata-ish chicken dish and more summer must-makes

Every week, I pick five recipes for you for busy nights. And I do have five amazing recipes for you below, but can I also put in a plug for something else this time around?

In addition to making the buttery, insanely good-looking tomato chicken below, and the coconut-dill salmon, I also think you should grill something super simple. If you don’t have a grill, sub in whatever cooking method you like. The point is to make the most basic, salt-and-pepper-and-cook-it grilled salmon or baked tofu, so you can devote your energy to making sides like this jammy zucchini, or this tomato salad with dates, or cacio e pepe corn on the cob.

Also, I want to share this dinner recap from Kathleen, a reader: “I quickly sliced a pair of yellow and green zucchinis, added a bunch of cherry tomatoes, slathered all with EVOO and a bit of sea salt, put on broil til oozy and a bit caramelized, a smidgen burny, even. Sautéed butter, olive oil, lots of garlic, shallot and black olives, then added cooked linguine and the zucchs-tomato mixture.” I want this.

What are you cooking? Write to me at dearemily@nytimes.com. I love to hear from you.

Two servings of tomato basil chicken breasts are shown on white plates with forks and knives.
Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

1. Tomato Basil Chicken Breasts

“Tangy, savory, buttery” — I am sold on Christian Reynoso’s latest recipe, a piccata-ish chicken dish served with a sauce of butter, shallots, tomatoes and red wine vinegar. Serve with a crisp green salad and bread for mopping up that sauce.

View this recipe.

A large foil packet is opened to reveal coconut-dill salmon with green beans and corn. A wooden-handled fork and spoon set is placed on the packet.
Alex Lau for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Susie Theodorou.

2. Coconut-Dill Salmon With Green Beans and Corn

Yewande Komolafe wrote this recipe for a summer dinner party, feeding six to eight people with utterly delicious ease. But show me the law that says you can’t make it just for yourself; halve it if you need. The instructions are for the grill, but you can cook the dish in a 450-degree oven instead.

View this recipe.

A blue-rimmed dish holds one-pot zucchini basil pasta with a fork.
Jenny Huang for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett. Washburne

3. One-Pot Zucchini-Basil Pasta

Alexa Weibel’s five-star pasta checks a lot of summer cooking boxes: It’s fast (20 minutes), it doesn’t dirty a ton of dishes and it puts a dent in all that zucchini.

View this recipe.

Seared spicy green curry skirt steak with butter is shown on a rectangular white platter with lime wedges and a gold fork.
Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.

4. Spicy Green Curry Steak

A brief and brilliant recipe from Samantha Seneviratne: You marinate skirt steak in Thai green curry paste, sear it in your cast-iron pan, and then serve with lime butter and wedges. The commenters are raving.

View this recipe.

Four hot dogs with pico de gallo are shown with additional pico de gallo nearby.
Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.

5. Hot Dogs With Pico de Gallo

Maybe you’ll think I’m crazy for suggesting that it’s possible to get tired of ketchup on your hot dogs. Ketchup is great, everyone knows that. But pico de gallo takes things up a notch, as in this recipe from Tanya Sichynsky, and it’s such a good way to have a hot dog on a summer night. Grilled (or microwaved) corn on the side, please.

View this recipe.

Thanks for reading and cooking. If you like the work we do at New York Times Cooking, please subscribe! (Or give a subscription as a gift!) You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest, or follow me on Instagram. I’m dearemily@nytimes.com, and previous newsletters are archived here. Reach out to my colleagues at cookingcare@nytimes.com if you have any questions about your account.

View all recipes in your weekly plan.

If you received this newsletter from someone else, subscribe here.

Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance.

You received this email because you signed up for Five Weeknight Dishes from The New York Times.

To stop receiving Five Weeknight Dishes, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings.

Subscribe to NYT Cooking

Connect with us on:

facebookxinstagrampinterestwhatsapp

Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices

LiveIntent LogoAdChoices Logo

The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018