The dish you wanted, not a reinvention of it

You wanted mac and cheese. Not cauliflower, not a sourdough crumb that took a day, not truffle oil. The good version is pasta, a cheese sauce that tastes of cheese, enough salt, a hot dish. Chicken pot pie is chicken, vegetables, a sauce, a lid. If you need it lighter, say so and say how: more vegetables, less butter, a smaller portion with a salad. Do not let the recipe quietly become a different dinner and call it better.

Family recipes can be typed in or photographed. Ask to keep the flavour and change the servings, or the allergen, and nothing else.

Comfort food is often a pot. A stew for two nights is a gift if the second night was planned and a bore if it was an accident. Ask for a quantity that matches the fridge, and a second way to serve the leftovers so Thursday is not identical. Dumplings on night one, baked potato on night two. Same stew, different bowl.

Budget versions are allowed to say so. Mince instead of chunks of beef, a tin of tomatoes, onions. That is still the dish. A long list of garnishes is not how it gets cheaper.

Children and tired adults often want the plain version. Sauce on the side, crust on some of the pie, beans stirred into half the pot. Write that into the method so you are not inventing it while the oven is on.

If you are cooking this because the week was hard, keep the method short. A three-hour pie is for a day that has room for it. On the other days, the stovetop version is the kind one.