No mayo hereI love chicken salad, which can be superb and very satisfying if the chicken isn’t completely smothered by mayonnaise. To be fair, the mayo is tricky to get right. Too little, and your salad is dry and disunited. Too much, and it’s gloppy and dull. And when it gets as hot outside as it has been recently in many parts of the country, some people are altogether mayo-averse. Luckily, Andy Baraghani has shown us another path. His inspired new recipe for spicy and creamy cashew chicken salad avoids mayo altogether. Instead, he uses cashew butter, soy sauce, lemon juice and honey for a creamy but light dressing, and adds cabbage, cucumbers and herbs for freshness and crunch. That recipe, and four more for the week ahead, are below. Suggestions? Requests? Email me at dearemily@nytimes.com. I love to hear from you.
1. Spicy and Creamy Cashew Chicken SaladChicken salad, like this one from Andy, becomes a great summer dinner with the addition of a giant green salad and a crusty loaf of fresh bread (or a short stack of toast).
2. Steak QuesadillasChristian Reynoso’s recipe, inspired by a quesadilla at Taquería Frontera in Los Angeles, uses a technique that I’m eager to try. A single tortilla is layered on top of a slice of cheese in a hot skillet. You flip it over, pile seared steak and avocado onto the molten cheese, fold it and take a blissed-out bite.
3. Halloumi With Corn, Cherry Tomatoes and BasilThis sweet-salty-tangy-fresh recipe from Melissa Clark works as a light main course or as a side dish to easy grilled anything.
4. Pan-Seared SalmonAvoid heating up the oven by cooking salmon on the stove. Lidey Heuck’s recipe gives you an extremely crisp crust that shields a tender, flaky fillet. (If you’d prefer to grill that salmon, we have instructions here.)
5. Chile-Oil Noodles With CilantroJudy Kim’s simple recipe is a hot-weather staple and something to know by heart. For a limited time, you can enjoy free access to the recipes in this newsletter in our app. Download it on your iOS or Android device and create a free account to get started. Thanks for reading and cooking with me. 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.
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