Image Alexa Weibel’s carrot risotto with chile crisp.Credit...David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Hello there! Mia here, the newsletter editor for New York Times Cooking, filling in for Tanya this week. You saw her excel

I remember the first time my mother allowed me to bake by myself: I must’ve been 6 or 7 when I made poppy seed-coated pretzel bagels. Of course, I forgot the salt in the dough, and they ended up a little bland. But I had found my passion. That momen