Fried chickpeas are an addictive snack

Fried Chickpeas Mary Elizabeth Williams

You don’t need an expensive new piece of equipment, or an obscure ingredient you have to hunt for. You just need a fresh way of preparing an old favorite. In "One Way," we’ll revisit classic ingredients and dishes, giving them a new twist with an easy technique you haven’t tried before.

The pandemic made me a believer in cocktail hour. From its earliest formless days, I found myself grasping for whatever structure I could impose — early morning walks, Monday night movies, and sometime around the hour that applause would spill from the windows of New York City, a beverage to signal the end of one time of day and the start of another.

It didn't have to be alcoholic — just something ceremoniously poured into a nice glass, something civilized for the end of the world. Two and a half years later, I still find myself grateful for that gentle time of the day, signaled with a glass of wine or a seltzer with a sprig of mint. But what's a happy hour without a nibble to go with it?