If the person can eat spicy, I really like chicken and cheese buldak. It’s basically shake and bake.

I follow Maangchi’s recipe minus the rice cakes and sub chicken thigh for breast (because dark meat is always better). Marinate everything in a zip lock bag and refrigerate for one day before cooking. Makes it extra flavorful and spicy. I like to eat it with rice and a side of sliced cucumbers.

It’s simple but oh so good.

Spaghetti with Salmon.

Grilled cheese. They turn out surprisingly good using a cast iron pan

Chicken schnitzel. Can’t really mess it up and it’s always good.

Spaghetti aglio e olio. Sounds fancy yet it could not be simpler. Cook spaghetti or linguine or my favourite angel hair pasta. Meanwhile peel and slice garlic. Heat good quality EVOO in a pan and when the pasta is nearly ready toss in the garlic (I also like to add in sliced red chilli). Once garlic starts turning light golden toss in the pasta with a little bit of the pasta water and mix together. Serve sprinkled with shaved parmesan and some finely chopped parsley, oregano, marjoram or any green herb of choice for a little bit of colour (optional). Nice crusty garlic bread on the side and for a couple of bucks and 20 minutes of your time you’re sure to impress anyone.

Put some meat on the grill. Never disappoints.

Pasta with tuna sauce was my strong card for years.

Recently I learned how to make creamy rice with no need for special purpose rice, so it became the preferred option as it can can take any toppings I can find in my fridge or pantry.

Chicken Broccoli Braid from Pampered Chef. Trust me, it’s worth it.

I make this copycat ravioli from a restaurant I love.

Find some butternut squash or pumpkin stuffed ravioli. Fresh sage. Aleppo chili spice, some jumbo shrimp, and garlic mince or chopped fresh (like 3-4 bulbs).

Melt butter in your pan, fry up the sage. Set aside.

Boil your water for pasta. More butter to pan, cook the shrimp. When both sides are pink it’s done, don’t turn them to rubber by over cooking. Set aside and rinse out your pan.

Boil the pasta and when it’s half done, more butter in the pan. Medium to high heat, it’s called brown butter sauce. You stir and let the butter fry until frothy. Add garlic and Aleppo at the end. I sometimes add a dab of truffle oil at the end too, depending on taste and if I have it.

Drain pasta and stir in sauce. Plate, and top with shrimp and sage. Tiny pinch of truffle salt on top if you’ve got it, or pink salt if not.

It’s fucking delicious.

Not really to impress, but everybody likes a good paella.

Easier on a gas than with embers as I tried the latter for first time and was quite challenging.

Just ask first if everybody is ok throwing in rabbit or chicken, not everyone is fond of rabbit.

Chinese home cooking is great for this. One of my favourites:

• Cook some sort of long noodles. You can go fancy with this, but spaghetti are fine.
• for each person, put a bit of soy sauce at the bottom of something like a large cereal bowl, add warm-ish noodles.
• put a little pile of thinly sliced scallion greens and chili flakes on top.
• heat some vegetable oil to almost smoking and carefully pour it over — just enough to fry the chili and greens, and lightly coat the noodles.

Quick and simple, super tasty (and even vegan friendly if that matters to you).

Pasta aglio, olio, peperoncino.
Literally “pasta with garlic, oil and chili peppers”: easy to learn, hard to perfectionate.

Pork chops in garlic-butter sauce with mushrooms. I usually serve them with mashed potatoes and steamed fresh green beans. If you don’t do pork, you can do the exact same thing with chicken breasts.

3-4 thick-cut pork chops, preferably bone-in

1 cup mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

4 tablespoons butter

2-4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, OR 1 teaspoon dried

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, OR 1 teaspoon dried

1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup milk

2 cups chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste

Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. In a large oven-proof skillet, combine the butter, garlic, herbs, and mushrooms over medium-high heat.

3. When the butter has melted, push everything to the sides and add the pork chops. Sear until golden on both sides.

4. Spread the mushrooms evenly over everything, and put skillet in the oven. Bake for around 35 minutes, or until the pork chops are at 150-160 F.

5. Remove from oven and set the pork chops aside to rest. Tent foil over them to keep them warm. You can remove the mushrooms too if you want, but don’t take away too much of the fat in the pan. You need whatever is in there for the gravy.

6. Put the skillet over low heat and whisk the flour into the fat in the pan. No lumps! Cook for 1-2 minutes to cook the flour and keep whisking. Whisk in the milk and chicken broth and cook until gravy is thick. Keep whisking the entire time. Flavor with salt and pepper to taste. If you want, you can add a pinch (1/8 teaspoon-ish) of red pepper flakes. It balances out the richness of the butter. You can also just put hot sauce on table, if you have spice-averse guests.

Steak. Medium. Mashed potatoes. Onion and garlic in the oven. Chopped sour salty salad.

Simple to make. All parts are ready at the same time if you prepare it in the right order.

Shakshuka. One of the tastiest foods ever.