What to Cook This Weekend

11 Perfectly Manageable Project Recipes for a 3-Day Weekend

This Monday, we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. On Sunday, we're looking forward to spending a little extra time in the kitchen stirring risotto, baking bread, or braising enough pork to feed a crowd.

ByThe Editors of Epicurious

January 16, 2020

11 Perfect Project Recipes for a 3Day Weekend

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson

1/11

Slow-Cooked Pork With Chickpeas

Canned chickpeas are perfect for this slow-simmered one-pot dish because they become even more creamy as they warm in the cooking liquid. The recipe serves six, so you can gather some friends and family together, or have food ready for the whole week to come.

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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Anna Hampton

2/11

Four-Cheese Manicotti

Stuffing manicotti noodles is a very good way to spend an afternoon (especially if there's a bottle of red wine open). A spoon works fine, but a piping bag—while it may seem fussy—makes quicker work of the assembly.

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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Diana Yen

3/11

Orange Sweet Rolls

These thinly-rolled pastries are made with both orange zest and juice for a full burst of sweet citrus flavor. Make them on Saturday night to have them on hand (gently reheated) on Sunday morning.

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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Ali Nardi

4/11

Sumo Stew (Chanko Nabe) with Shrimp, Meatballs, and Bok Choy

The first step to making this robust soup? No, it's not making the rich dashi broth—it's making a batch of gingery meatballs.

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Photo by Alex Lau

5/11

Pork Enchiladas Rojas

There's no getting around it: these enchiladas are going to take three hours (and maybe more!). And you know what? It's going to be worth every minute.

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Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell

6/11

Black-Bottom Hazelnut Pie

This pie features a coating of bittersweet chocolate underneath the gooey, espresso-infused filling and a delectable topping of crunchy sugar-coated hazelnuts. It's a perfect reward for spending the afternoon making pie dough.

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7/11

Chicken Confit With Pickled Tomatoes

There are a few fun weekend projects in this recipe, including the easy molasses-tinged pickled tomatoes. The chicken goes low and slow, submerged in oil, then serves as a topping for a noodle and fresh herb salad.

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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Frances Boswell

8/11

Deep Dish Quiche With Garnishes

Made with crème fraîche and chives, this quiche is good enough to be eaten plain. But when you put time into a buffet of garnishes—smoked salmon, avocado, braised leeks, and more—you'll make brunchtrulymemorable.

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Photo by Eva Kolenko

9/11

Seeded Whole Grain Soda Bread

Soda bread requires no yeast, but you still need to carve out a little time for this loaf: the seeds need to soak overnight, and bread bakes for over an hour.

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Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott

10/11

Creamy Shrimp Risotto With Mascarpone

This creamy risotto starts with a homemade shrimp and tomato stock. Then you'll have a leisurely moment stirring as the rice slowly sips it all up.

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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Astrid Chastka, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson

11/11

Classic Carrot-Coconut Cake

This double-layer cake gets its rich flavor from toasted coconut, grated carrots, and buttermilk. The tangy cream cheese frosting gets a snowy flurry of coconut on the outside, too.

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