Sheet-Pan Meal

Tossing marinated tofu squares in cornstarch before roasting makes them wonderfully crunchy and brown. Here, the tofu is cooked alongside spears of sweet potato, which are soft and silky against the crisp squares. A tamari-honey dressing spiked with rice wine vinegar acts both as marinade for the tofu and sauce for the finished dish. Then quick-pickled scallions and hot sesame oil make for a bright and spicy garnish.

It seems like mere moments after I get the last dish dried and put away, it's time to make dinner again. Is it me or are the days actually getting shorter, whizzing by in a blur and then coming to a screeching halt at 6 p.m. when every person in my household starts wandering into the kitchen, casually asking what's for dinner, usually while opening up a cupboard to peruse available snacks?

Chefs call it a half-sheet and think it’s used for baking.

That’s because chefs don’t think the same way as home cooks. They’re not as resourceful.

What they call a half-sheet, we call a rimmed baking sheet. What they think is best used for, say, cookies, we picture using to cook a whole meal. It’s simple, it’s convenient, and the best part is that you only have one pan to wash.

Sheet pan meals are up and coming; they’re the new big thing. For those in the know, they’re already a trend. Entire cookbooks are devoted to the trend, along with the inevitable blogs.

This method comes from a recipe in Jim Lahey’s “My Bread’’ book. Lahey, founder of the popular Sullivan Street Bakery and his pizza shop, Co., both in New York, is well known for his no-knead, one-bowl bread-making method.