Monday, January 6, 2025

Good morning!

• The London Vegetable Orchestra

• Here's Why It's Been So Hard to Find Eggs [Food & Wine]

• How Tortillas Lost Their Magic [The Atlantic]

Happy New Year, friends! I am reluctantly easing back in from our winter break vacation to Argentina and Uruguay. It was my first time going to South America, and also my first time experiencing a true summer in the middle of our winter, and I loved it. I’m working on a write-up of the vacation and will share it here as soon as it’s ready. [You can find my previous travel write-ups here.]

Meanwhile, back in the land of 4pm sunsets, thick comforters, and a fresh dusting of snow coming down right now, I’m happy to be back in my kitchen where the knives are sharp and the pots have lids. I find January to be a fascinating month for cooking: for some, it’s austerity measures; for others, it’s comfort food. Below, a January cooking agenda that I hope is a happy blend of everything we crave, from hearty bowls of spaghetti to an addictive cabbage salad.

Cheers!

Deb

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers in the depths of winter? I thought you’d never ask! Try the ginger garlic chicken noodle soup, charred salt and vinegar cabbage, creamy coconut rice with chili-lime vegetables, and oven-braised beef with harissa. To finish, I recommend the oatmeal date shortbread, the chocolate dulce puddle cakes, and/or the white Russian slush punch. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.

“One of the winning elements of ‘The Recipe’ is that it’s not prescriptive — rather than settling on one universal ‘perfect’ recipe, the chefs explain their personal preferences, then give listeners the information they need to make their own adjustments. By breaking their recipes down ingredient-by-ingredient, digging into what each one is doing, they make the science of cooking approachable and fun.” — New York Times, 7 Podcasts to Inspire a New Hobby

“J. Kenji Lopez-Alt and Deb Perelman’s new podcast gets to not only the heart of how they make their recipes—but also the why behind each decision, too.” — Esquire, The 26 Best Podcasts of 2024

The latest full episode of my podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, is all about Onion Soup! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Apple, Spotify, and more. A few weeks ago, we ran an excerpt of the new special audiobook edition of Smitten Kitchen Keepers, Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation. You can listen to it here.

cheese blintz

Let's warm up the Russian way: sweet cheese filled crepes, fried in butter until golden and crisp, and draped with fruit. It's the only thing that makes sense right now.

carrot soup with tahini and crisped chickpeas

An unboring carrot soup with a lemony tahini swirl, smoky spices, and crispy chickpeas as croutons that's vegan and magical, mostly because it was inspired by one of my favorite snacks, carrots dipped in hummus.

pickled cabbage salad

I love having a jar of this in the fridge all year long.

chicken wonton soup

The happiest mash-up of two already excellent things: bubbeleh-style chicken noodle and takeout wonton soup, all quick and easy.

oven fries

Can oven-roasted french fries ever be as good as the golden, glistening, crisp and glittery with fine salt ideal? You can trust this french fry junkie and technique pedant to find a way.

crispy rice and egg bowl with ginger-scallion vinaigrette

This dolsot bibimbap-inspired crisped-up bowl of rice (it gets crackly at the edges and almost smells like popcorn), with a crispy fried egg, a mash-up of a classic ginger-scallion sauce and a vinaigrette, and crunchy vegetables is my favorite thing to do with leftover rice and whatever vegetables are lingering in the fridge.

perfect meatballs and spaghetti

This is the best (and easiest) spaghetti and meatballs I’ve ever made. A streamlined technique gets this whole thing on the table in under an hour, which means we get to have this for dinner more often. 🍝

buttermilk roast chicken

Sure, the best part of fried chicken is the battered, seasoned, golden crisp exterior. The next best part? The buttermilk-brined impeccably tender meat within. This is that, no cauldron of deep-fry oil required.

olive oil brownies

Do not underestimate the power of a perfect olive oil brownie. These are thicker and more deeply chocolatey than my usual brownies recipe but remain one bowl, hand-whisked, and could be coming out of your oven in 45 minutes.

key lime pie

Key lime pie is way too easy to make at home to not treat yourself. It’s so sunny and bright, like an in-kitchen vacation, I always wonder why I don’t make it more often. [Video below!]

key lime pie

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes, including the the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser (currently out of stock but we’ll have more in soon!). For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.

See you next week!

Monday, December 30, 2024

Good morning!

• Look at these incredible egg paintings!

• The year I embraced the potluck [Eater]

• In This Industrial Design Class, Students Eat Their Homework [NYTimes, unlocked]

We missed summer warmth so much, we snuck below the equator to find it. Greetings from vacation! I hope you are (also) having an excellent and restful holiday break and are only checking your email because you had a hunch I’d send you some delicious ideas. (Or so I humor myself to believe.)

[I’ll tell you all about our trip when we get back but if you’re ever interested in scrolling through my previous vacation write-ups, you can find them all here: https://smittenkitchen.com/travel/]

Below: The Smitten Kitchen recipes you cooked the most in 2024. I love rounding this up at the end of each year, seeing the new appearances and also the forever favorites, going strong. I’m proud like a mom at kindergarten graduation!

Plus: A few of my go-to party snacks, all showstoppers (promise!).

I hope you wrap up this year in a happy, cozy place with your favorite people. Here’s to an even more magnificent 2025! 🥂

Cheers!

Deb

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes, including the the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser (currently out of stock but we’ll have more in soon!). For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers for your holiday tables and New Year’s parties? I thought you’d never ask! Try the endive salad with apple matchsticks, carrot tarte tatin, fettucine with white ragu, and raclette tartiflette. To finish, I recommend the thick molasses spice cookies, the family-style crème brûlée, and/or the white Russian slush punch. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.

“One of the winning elements of ‘The Recipe’ is that it’s not prescriptive — rather than settling on one universal ‘perfect’ recipe, the chefs explain their personal preferences, then give listeners the information they need to make their own adjustments. By breaking their recipes down ingredient-by-ingredient, digging into what each one is doing, they make the science of cooking approachable and fun.” — New York Times, 7 Podcasts to Inspire a New Hobby

“J. Kenji Lopez-Alt and Deb Perelman’s new podcast gets to not only the heart of how they make their recipes—but also the why behind each decision, too.” — Esquire, The 26 Best Podcasts of 2024

The latest full episode of my podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, is all about the mighty Bacon, Egg and Cheese (BEC) Sandwich! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Apple, Spotify, and more. A few weeks ago, we ran an excerpt of the new special audiobook edition of Smitten Kitchen Keepers, Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation. You can listen to it here.

The Most Popular Smitten Kitchen Recipes of 2024

1. french onion baked lentils and farro

2. ultimate banana bread

3. perfect blueberry muffins

4. perfect blueberry muffin loaf

5. easiest cinnamon rolls

6. black bean and vegetable bake

7. braised chickpeas with zucchini and pesto

8. easy basque cheesecake

9. glazed apple cider doughnut cake

10. ultimate zucchini bread

11. simple eggplant parmesan

12. chicken rice with buttered onions

13. pumpkin bread

14. salted brown butter crispy treats

15. zucchini butter spaghetti

16. lemon chicken with potatoes and chickpeas

17. turkey meatloaf for skeptics

18. new york crumb cake

19. quick pasta and chickpeas

20. winter squash and spinach pasta bake

21. weeknight tomato soup

22. summer steak with corn and tomatoes

23. chocolate olive oil cake

24. pizza beans

25. spinach and artichoke pan pizza

26. strawberry summer cake

27. one-pan farro with tomatoes

28. salted caramel peach crisp

29. big apple crumb cake

30. sheet pan chicken tikka

PARTY SNACKS

baked brie with balsamic red onions

Baked brie, my way: A simple, flaky galette dough forms a decadent packet around a small wheel of brie with sweet-sour jammy red onions under and over the cheese, a paper-thin layer of Dijon, thyme, and a crackle of sesame seeds on top. There is nothing better.

cider-glazed bacon-wrapped dates

The most popular appetizer at every party is also the easiest to make. I am anti-stuffing (too fiddly, takes forever), but pro-glazing, and this one, with cider vinegar, maple syrup, flaky salt, and aleppo pepper, makes what is already an impossibly delicious party snack even more so.

feta tapenade tarte soleil

My favorite radiant and party-perfect appetizer that celebrates the longer, brighter days ahead is also a cinch to make. Once your puff pastry is defrosted, it can be assembled and baked in under an hour.

walnut pesto

Not even exaggerating when I say this is one of the best things I know how to put on toast: crunchy, salty, tart with a little kick, it is always a hit. If you make a big jar of it this week, you won't be sad to have it for all the snacks and parties to come.

fudgy bourbon balls

I think we should bring this 60s holiday party standard back. My version uses bourbon instead of rum, a brownie's worth of chocolate, a dab of molasses for intensity and a tumble in sparkly shimmery coatings. They age well (just like us!) so go ahead and make them ASAP and be glad they’re ready when you are.

baked brie with balsamic red onions

See you next week!

Monday, December 23, 2024

Good morning!

• The secret history of risotto [New Yorker]

• Beyond Filthy: Why our martinis keep getting dirtier. [Grub Street]

• Thank you for the nice audiobook review! [KMUW] [Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation]

Brunch, and in particular, brunch when I find a way to throw one and still sleep in, is one of my favorite meals to host. I love a late morning start. I love a big midday meal, after which we can take a nap and be as irresponsible as possible for the rest of the day. And I love the range of foods I get to put out, from decadent pastries to a great salad.

Below, a few of my all-time brunch favorites that will hopefully inspire you. Plus, my Hanukkah go-tos, and a new recipe for an invisible apple cake that would look great on a brunch table as well. I hope you have a relaxing and festive holiday week, and that someone else is doing the dishes.

Cheers!

Deb

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes, including the the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser. For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers for your holiday tables and New Year’s parties? I thought you’d never ask! Try the endive salad with apple matchsticks, carrot tarte tatin, fettucine with white ragu, and raclette tartiflette. To finish, I recommend the thick molasses spice cookies, the family-style crème brûlée, and/or the white Russian slush punch. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.

invisible apple cake

New! The invisible apple cake (gâteau invisible) is so stunning, you’d never guess that it’s as simple as thinly-sliced apples in a vanilla-flecked lemon-scented crêpe batter. Lightly sweet with a short ingredient list, perfect with tea or coffee, I think this is exactly what you should offer to bring the next time you’re invited over.

“One of the winning elements of ‘The Recipe’ is that it’s not prescriptive — rather than settling on one universal ‘perfect’ recipe, the chefs explain their personal preferences, then give listeners the information they need to make their own adjustments. By breaking their recipes down ingredient-by-ingredient, digging into what each one is doing, they make the science of cooking approachable and fun.” — New York Times, 7 Podcasts to Inspire a New Hobby

“J. Kenji Lopez-Alt and Deb Perelman’s new podcast gets to not only the heart of how they make their recipes—but also the why behind each decision, too.” — Esquire, The 26 Best Podcasts of 2024

The latest full episode of my podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, is all about the mighty Bacon, Egg and Cheese (BEC) Sandwich! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Apple, Spotify, and more. A few weeks ago, we ran an excerpt of the new special audiobook edition of Smitten Kitchen Keepers, Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation. You can listen to it here.

winter fruit salad

Fruit salad needn't just be a summer thing, not when you can celebrate seasonal fruits that take well to holiday flavors like star anise, vanilla bean and strips of lemon peel. This longtime favorite of ours is from the great Amanda Hesser; Christmas breakfast doesn't feel right without it.

rolled spinach omelet

I'm completely obsessed with this omelet that's angling to be your holiday brunch centerpiece. The ingredients are simple (frozen spinach, cheddar, eggs), the process is quick (hand-whisked, bakes in 15 minutes), but the presentation is gorgeous enough for a fancy table. I hope you love it too.

spinach and cheese strata

This is my go-to foolproof workhorse of a brunch dish, just bread, milk, eggs, spinach and all the cheese your heart desires. Plus, it supports my most essential weekend requirement -- laziness -- as it tasks us with nothing in the morning besides turning the oven on. (Yay.)

baked eggs with spinach and mushrooms

One of my favorite brunch dishes of all time, eggs are baked in nests of lightly creamed spinach, mushrooms and parmesan. Scaled down in a skillet, it’s also great for lunch and dinner. Add some fresh biscuits and crispy bacon and you’ll be at the best restaurant in town.

latke waffles

There are few meals that cannot be improved by a coarsely shredded potato and onion pancake, fried until crisp, especially breakfast. But have you ever waffle-ironed them? I think you'll be glad you did, especially with an egg on top.

dreamy cream scones

I thought all scones were stale and forgettable, the saddest part of the coffee shop pastry case -- until I made these. Not too sweet, perfect crumb and not even a little dry, they've converted legions of scone-averters.

twisty cinnamon buns

Fragrant and heavenly cinnamon, brown sugar, salted butter buns with a little twist, or, in fact, several. As they fan open in the oven, the filling lightly caramelizes and crisps. Each bite has an equal amount of cinnamon ribboning, and you can cut them into any size your heart desires. Cream cheese icing on the side, because these are too pretty to cover. I can smell our holiday baking project from here.

banana bread crepe cake with butterscotch

When the intersection of banana bread and a classic crepe gets carried away. You can just make the banana crepes. You can make the crepes and dollop them with the filling. You can stack them with the filling and dust them with powdered sugar, cake-style. Or, you could make a little pot of salted walnut butterscotch sauce and pour that over the top of your crepe stack and show no remorse whatsoever. You already know what we did.

deep dark gingerbread waffles

A commenter once asked me if there was a way to get the intensity of a beloved Gramercy Tavern Gingerbread recipe in a waffle format, which is like asking a Muppet if they like to count. I live for this; I thought you’d never ask. The results are the only thing I want for a holiday breakfast from now until forever.

hanukkah

endives with oranges and almonds

Fragrant citrus, soft, tangy cheese, toasted almonds, sherry vinegar, fruity olive oil, and a sea salt crunch, all mingling cheerfully inside an endive boat on an inspiring day. Every winter, I get hooked again on how refreshing this is -- one part salad, one part handheld snack -- and think you will too.

jelly doughnuts

Everyone needs one exceptional jelly doughnut recipe in their life, and this is mine, with golden edges, a slightly stretchy crumb, all generously powdered but still not terribly sweet. Hanukah is not remotely the most important Jewish holiday, but the traditional foods -- the only rule is that they should be fried -- are unquestionably the best.

potato latkes, even better

Hanukah starts soon but do know that at the Smitten Kitchen, latkes are never limited to a single season. Crispy, salty potato pancakes are, we think, the best place to rest a fried egg, or even cook extra tiny and finish with a dollop of crème fraîche and caviar or smoked salmon for a little holiday indulgence. You deserve it.

zucchini latkes

These zucchini latkes are the first potato pancake I ever published on Smitten Kitchen (December 2006!) and they’re as good as ever — especially, in my humble opinion, with a squeeze of lemon juice on top and a dollop of garlicky sour cream.

unfussy rugelach

Rugelach are blissful flaky pastry-like cookies wound with jam, nuts, and chocolate if you wish (which of course we do) and a whiff of cinnamon sugar and they're my absolute favorite. But, I always found them tedious to make and so I simplified the process. Less fussiness = more rugelach in our lives = lucky us.

potato latkes, even better

See you next week!

Monday, December 16, 2024

Good morning!

• I was today years old when I learned about The Droste Effect [Wikipedia]

• Food Media Is Getting the Workplace Sitcom Treatment [Eater]

• Pizza beans? In the news? Didn’t have this one on my 2024 scorecard. [Eater]

I’ve been lucky enough to study the art of a great dinner party over the last week — twice! I’m so impressed by those who do it well, although I should clarify that if you’ve invited me over and made me dinner, I’m 100% fawning over everything because I’m so blissed out when anyone goes through the trouble of making me dinner. But some people do it even a little bit better in small ways that make you feel cozy and welcome. I love it when the food is unfussy, the water carafes are cold, and the host(s) sit down with you because they know it’s not a party without them.

Below, a few of my favorite recipes to put together for the festive holiday dinner party of your dreams, and almost all can be made ahead (and the short ribs, up to three days) ensuring that you will get to enjoy it too. Plus a new recipe for a simple, weeknight-friendly chicken meatball and noodle soup that we should make for ourselves as soon as possible. There’s a new podcast episode (about the mighty BEC sandwich!) and some news: my favorite Staub braiser has arrived in the glossy dark green you requested. I hope you’re inspired!

Cheers!

Deb

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? The Shop page has links to some of my favorite, most heavily used, and long-running kitchen items, the ones I use the most. Including…

… The Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser, which we are currently selling in a limited run of a much-requested stunning dark green (“basil”) color for the holidays. This 11-inch, 4-quart braiser is a lower profile enameled cast-iron Dutch oven. It works as well as a deep sauté pan as it does a soup pot, roasting pan, or even casserole dish that perfectly fits a pasta bake. Not a week has gone by in the decade I’ve had mine when I don’t use it at least three times.

Your braiser purchase contains three new recipes (two savory, one sweet) by me that work perfectly in your new pot. If you’re looking for even more ideas, I created a category on the site to highlight some of my favorite dishes I make in mine.

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers for your holiday tables and New Year’s parties? I thought you’d never ask! Try the endive salad with apple matchsticks, carrot tarte tatin, fettucine with white ragu, and raclette tartiflette. To finish, I recommend the thick molasses spice cookies, the family-style crème brûlée, and/or the white Russian slush punch. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.

chicken meatball and noodle soup

New! For that frightful weather outside, a cozy chicken noodle soup with buoyant, tender meatballs, all of the noodles your heart desires (ours desire a lot) and a speed of assembly impressive even for a weeknight.

“One of the winning elements of ‘The Recipe’ is that it’s not prescriptive — rather than settling on one universal ‘perfect’ recipe, the chefs explain their personal preferences, then give listeners the information they need to make their own adjustments. By breaking their recipes down ingredient-by-ingredient, digging into what each one is doing, they make the science of cooking approachable and fun.” — New York Times, 7 Podcasts to Inspire a New Hobby

“J. Kenji Lopez-Alt and Deb Perelman’s new podcast gets to not only the heart of how they make their recipes—but also the why behind each decision, too.” — Esquire, The 26 Best Podcasts of 2024

The latest full episode of my podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb is all about the mighty Bacon, Egg and Cheese (BEC) Sandwich! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Apple, Spotify, and more. Two weeks ago, we ran an excerpt of the new special audiobook edition of Smitten Kitchen Keepers, Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation. You can listen to it here.

endive salad with toasted breadcrumbs and walnuts

Inspired by the unforgettable endive salad at Estela on Houston Street, this is an often-requested family favorite. You can chop the lettuce and toss everything in a big bowl for a more classic salad, but we also love this spooned into leaf "boats" for handheld eating. The crunchy, robust mix of cheeses, walnuts, garlic, and craggy crumbs can be made in advance and I never regret doubling it.

silky cauliflower soup

This is one of my favorite simple soups because it has five ingredients you might even have around, takes about 30 minutes to make, and tastes incredibly rich for something so light and simple.

creamed mushrooms on chive butter toast

This recipe gives mushrooms "the caviar treatment," i.e. as luxurious as possible with shallots, chives, a splash of wine and glug of cream, then heaped on buttery brioche toasts for a party snack or a better-than-average weeknight night dinner with a big green salad.

the best baked spinach

Think spinach gratins must be rich and leaden with cheese, cream and butter? Not when Julia Child shows us the way. Not only does this taste amazing, it's total weekday night fare -- as a side, scooped on toast or topped off with an egg. (Yesss.)

roasted leek and white bean galettes

Are you tasked with finding a vegetarian main for the holidays that’s a) not just everyone else’s side dish, b) ideally contains protein, c) would be a good fit for the other flavors on the table? These mini-galettes are the show-stealing answer.

braised beef short ribs

This classic from Suzanne Goin -- a dark short rib braise, greens and an otherworldly horseradish sauce -- is both one of my favorite dinner party meals as well as a luxe cooking project just for you, with days of cozy leftovers to look forward to.

potatoes anna

The cover dish of my second cookbook, Smitten Kitchen Every Day, is a riff on Potatoes Anna with deeply bronzed and crisp edges and a baked-just-so center, infused with salty cheese and a warming kick of pepper and salad on top. It's perfect in every way.

sticky toffee pudding

A warm salt-flecked toffee/butterscotch sauce ladled over a simple brown sugar and date cake is the stuff luxurious winter dessert dreams are made of.

gingerbread yule log

The Smitten Kitchen's very first Yule log: a dark, deeply spiced, almost sticky gingerbread roll cake filled with slightly tangy, barely sweet cream, covered in the easiest chocolate bark, and studded with sugared cranberry gems. This feels festive, looks a little fancy, but every step is fuss-free -- no cracking cakes or piping bags, and we're not even going to separate eggs. I can't wait for you to try it. [Video below!]

linzer torte

This is my favorite Christmas cookie, an aromatic blend of walnuts, cinnamon, cloves and lemon zest that is distinctly, wonderfully December to me. Don't be intimidated by that pretty design -- Maida Heatter has a gift for making even the most complicated desserts doable and fun.

small-batch eggnog

This fuss-free, small-yield eggnog recipe makes just enough for two tumblers, cozy and perfect for any scaled-down holiday celebrations, or for all of us eggnog lovers whose families do not share our superior taste.

gingerbread yule log

See you next week!

Monday, December 9, 2024

Good afternoon!

• How many times have I watched this video of otters eating oysters? All of them.

• The joy of old cookbooks [Ruth Reichl/La Briffe]

• Serve a Showstopper Cheese for the Holidays [Eater]

It’s cookie week and I’m thrilled because I would probably choose a cookie over any slice of cake, pudding, or ice cream and yes, I just admitted that out loud, like I’m cheating on my own recipes. I like that cookies seem made for sharing, no serving plates or utensils needed. I like that they keep; most buttery cookies are excellent for at least a week or two, and some get better with age (just like us). And I love how delightfully succinct they are; the best ones have all of the flavor impact of a giant dessert in one or two bites. Below, 10 of my all-time favorite cookies on Smitten Kitchen, not an easy collection to whittle down. Plus, a few cozy ideas for dinners this week. And, even more cookie joy: We’ve got an interview today with Ben Mims. His new cookbook, Crumbs: Cookies and Sweets from Around the World, came out in October and couldn’t be more fitting for right now.

Cheers!

Deb

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? The Shop page has links to some of my favorite, most heavily used, and long-running kitchen items, the ones I use the most. Including…

… The Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser, which is back in stock. This 11-inch, 4-quart braiser is a lower profile enameled cast-iron Dutch oven. It works as well as a deep sauté pan as it does a soup pot, roasting pan, or even casserole dish that perfectly fits a pasta bake. Not a week has gone by in the decade I’ve had mine when I don’t use it at least three times.We’re running a special while supplies last that if you enter the the code “SMITTEN” with your braiser purchase, you’ll also receive a magnetic trivet as a gift. We are also doing a limited run of a stunning dark green color that will be available in mid-December, just in time for the holidays. I’ll let you know the moment it’s available to order.

Your braiser purchase contains three new recipes (two savory, one sweet) by me that work perfectly in your new pot. If you’re looking for even more ideas, I created a category on the site to highlight some of my favorite dishes I make in mine.

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers for your holiday tables and New Year’s parties? I thought you’d never ask! Try the endive salad with apple matchsticks, carrot tarte tatin, fettucine with white ragu, and raclette tartiflette. To finish, I recommend the thick molasses spice cookies, the family-style crème brûlée, and/or the white Russian slush punch. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook. Note: All three books remain steeply on sale right now on Amazon: Smitten Kitchen Keepers for $12.83, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook for $14.92, and Smitten Kitchen Every Day for $18.29.

“One of the winning elements of ‘The Recipe’ is that it’s not prescriptive — rather than settling on one universal ‘perfect’ recipe, the chefs explain their personal preferences, then give listeners the information they need to make their own adjustments. By breaking their recipes down ingredient-by-ingredient, digging into what each one is doing, they make the science of cooking approachable and fun.” — New York Times, 7 Podcasts to Inspire a New Hobby

The latest full episode of my podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb is all about Chicken Noodle Soup! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Apple, Spotify, and more. Two weeks ago, we ran ran an excerpt of the new special audiobook edition of Smitten Kitchen Keepers, Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation. You can listen to it here.

brown butter brown sugar shortbread

These brown butter, brown sugar shortbread with a whiff of vanilla bean paste and sea salt are the very best cookies I've ever made or eaten. Sixteen years ago, I shared a version of them ("shorties") that didn't work for everyone and promised you I'd get them perfect one day. I did not know it would take so long, but can promise you they're worth every second of the wait. Make them immediately, please.

unfussy sugar cookies

The easiest and most rewarding sparkly sugar cookies I've ever made. I tried to do away with the peskiness: We start with cold butter, chill the dough quickly, only roll it once, don't flour our counters, and if you'd like to make the ones you see here, you can do so without cookie cutters, food coloring, or piping bags! This triumphant combination of techniques might turn you, too, into the kind of baker who willingly makes decorated cookies because it's so doable and they taste fantastic, too.

checkerboard cookies

A cookie that apologizes in advance to the other cookies in your tin; they’re terrible at sharing the spotlight. Checkerboard cookies as fuss-free (cold butter, clean counters) and delicious (chocolate that actually tastes like it) as I could possibly make them. Plus, two other patterns -- spirals! marbled! -- I couldn't resist.

bakery-style butter cookies

These are my favorite kind of bakery cookies — filled with jam, dipped in chocolate and rolled in sprinkles — are so easy to make, and so delicious when homemade, that you'll never want to buy them again. This recipe was first published in my second cookbook, Smitten Kitchen Every Day, and the photos still make me smile.

chocolate peanut butter cup cookies

Chocolate peanut butter cup cookies, my way: the chocolate is really intense, the peanut butter a little salty, and they're here to make our weekend baking dreams come true.

seven-layer cookies

One of my favorite December baking projects, this airtight, no-fail recipe for the old-school Italian-American bakery standard makes cookies that are, for once, as delicious as they look. [Video below!]

unfussy rugelach

Rugelach are blissful flaky pastry-like cookies wound with jam, nuts, and chocolate if you wish (which of course we do) and a whiff of cinnamon sugar and they're my absolute favorite. But, I always found them tedious to make and so I simplified the process. Less fussiness = more rugelach in our lives = lucky us.

spicy gingerbread cookies

This is my go-to gingerbread cookie for cut-out shapes, gingerbread men, and even gingerbread houses -- it always bakes up perfectly, tastes impeccably like December, and makes your kitchen smell amazing.

intensely chocolate sables

A deceptively-simple looking cookie with the actual flavor impact of a bubbling cauldron of melted chocolate. We take afternoon chocolate cravings very seriously around here.

pecan sandies

My favorite pecan cookies are:
1. Bite-sized and require no cookie cutters.
2. Can be dipped in chocolate, you don’t even need to ask.
3. Unforgettable due to pecans toasted so deeply that they take on a maple-y flavor.
Who’s in?

Dinner Tonight

lentil soup with sausage, chard and garlic

I do not make the rules, but as far as I am concerned it is etched in tablet that nothing tastes better than a hearty, cozy soup between doses of cookie-tasting. This lentil, sausage, and swiss chard soup from the late, wonderful Gina DePalma via Adam Roberts is a forever favorite -- cozy and filling but never boring due to a perfect finish of sizzling garlic oil. You'll be so glad you made it.

baked potatoes with wild mushroom ragu

A heartier, vegetable-centric, and slightly fancied-up baked potato that doesn't forget the essentials (butter, cheese) -- phew.

rigatoni alla vodka

Penne alla vodka was the first meal I ever cooked for my husband, but I make it so differently these days -- more flavorful, quicker, and because kids make you totally square (sure, Deb), less vodka. This updated recipe uses my favorite pasta shape and is a cinch; we should definitely make it for dinner tonight.

AN INTERVIEW WITH BEN MIMS

My shelves are full of wonderful cookbooks I don’t get to talk about enough, so I’ve added this section so you can get to know the cool people behind them. Today we're chatting with Ben Mims. His new cookbook, Crumbs: Cookies and Sweets from Around the World, came out in October.

1. What inspired your cookbook?

What inspired the book was really three different things I love all coming together at the right moment. Professionally, I've always loved coming up with new cookies each year for the big holiday stories at magazines I worked for because they offered opportunities to have a frivolous time playing with colors, flavors, textures, shapes, etc. of cookies. At the same time, I've always given more attention and thought to the history and stories that inspire foods and traditions, so I wanted to combine those two loves and really inspect every detail of cookies: why they exist, how they evolved, and what they meant to the cultures from which they came. And lastly, I'm a huge geography nerd, so getting to write about my love of cookies and history while charting their course across the globe and putting all those pieces together—reading about the agriculture of certain climates and the isolation of certain cultures that lead to distinct cookie styles—was really fun.

2. What recipe are you the most proud of in the book, or felt the most triumphant when you got it right?

It wasn't one particular cookie that I felt most triumphant about, but a whole group of them. In the first chapter of the book, I have an essay about "wedding cookies," those crumbly, nutty, powdered sugar-covered cookies pretty much everyone on earth loves. Charting where those came from was a tedious, mind-numbing task that almost broke me. It all started with the "ghorabieh" cookie, which has numerous slightly-similar spellings all across the Levant and Middle Eastern cultures. Many of the names described one type of cookie, while the same names in a different culture described another type. Squaring them with each other, accumulating all the spellings and varieties, and then creating some sort of taxonomy that didn't make your head spin reading about it... it was a lot. But after about two weeks, it finally all clicked into place, and I have never felt more relieved in my life.

3. What recipe is so low-effort, high-reward that it's worth cooking for dinner tonight, even if we're tired and don't want to cook?

Oh, that's easy: the ANZAC biscuits from Australia and New Zealand. And I say this because I just made them again recently, and they are so simple. You just mix everything in a bowl with a spoon, shape them roughly, and bake. They're full of oats and butter and some golden syrup, and they smell heavenly. Even though "biscuits" is the term Brits, Aussies, and New Zealanders (as well as several other cultures around the world) use to describe their cookies, these ANZAC biscuits also really do smell like American-style biscuits and are the rare cookie that I'd say is wonderful to eat while it's still warm. They keep really well, freeze well, and only need a few minutes in a toaster oven to bring them back to life. They're a perfect breakfast bar/cookie for kids or anyone who needs to eat on the go.

4. What's something you wish more people knew about your book?

The one thing I hope people understand about the book in time is that it really is a first of its kind. And I don't say that with ego or trying to build it up to more than it is. There are literally thousands of other cookie books out there that will give you new and exciting flavors and colors; that is not my book. Crumbs is about understanding cookies that have existed over centuries and millennia and how humanity's movements across the globe shaped them. I collected information from not just other cookbooks, but history books, agriculture reports, fiction novels, trade papers, and scholarly journals, to figure out why these cookies exist and came about in their particular time and place in the world. No other book has ever approached cookies like this before. I knew that if I was going to write a book about cookies, my strength is not in just dreaming up fun new flavors; it's in offering the world a new perspective on cookies that people may take for granted or have never thought could hold such rich histories and traditions to uncover.

Thank you, Ben! You can order Crumbs right here.

seven-layer cookies

See you next week!

Monday, December 2, 2024

Good afternoon!

• Yes, please.

• What’s Wrong With White Bread? [NYT, unlocked]

• The Great Grocery Squeeze [The Atlantic]

Welcome to December! Here in NYC, it arrived on a gust of icy wind but the lights are going up in store windows and restaurants, making everything glowy and more charming than one would expect when the sun sets at approximately 3pm each day. The tree stands are out on the sidewalks and I love walking through and taking a big inhale of the fresh-cut scent. Today is a perfect time perfect to kick off a festive and cozy cooking month. Below, 10 beloved, quintessentially December Smitten Kitchen site favorites — the salads, soup, lasagna, brunch favorites, cake and drinks that put me immediately in a holiday mood. I hope you try a few and see if it works its magic on you too!

Cheers!

Deb

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? The Shop page has links to some of my favorite, most heavily used, and long-running kitchen items, the ones I use the most. Including…

… The Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser, which is back in stock. This 11-inch, 4-quart braiser is a lower profile enameled cast-iron Dutch oven. It works as well as a deep sauté pan as it does a soup pot, roasting pan, or even casserole dish that perfectly fits a pasta bake. Not a week has gone by in the decade I’ve had mine when I don’t use it at least three times.We’re running a special while supplies last that if you enter the the code “SMITTEN” with your braiser purchase, you’ll also receive a magnetic trivet as a gift. We are also doing a limited run of a stunning dark green color that will be available in mid-December, just in time for the holidays. I’ll let you know the moment it’s available to order.

Your braiser purchase contains three new recipes (two savory, one sweet) by me that work perfectly in your new pot. If you’re looking for even more ideas, I created a category on the site to highlight some of my favorite dishes I make in mine.

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers for your holiday tables and New Year’s parties? I thought you’d never ask! Try the endive salad with apple matchsticks, carrot tarte tatin, fettucine with white ragu, and raclette tartiflette. To finish, I recommend the thick molasses spice cookies, the family-style crème brûlée, and/or the white Russian slush punch. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook. Note: All three books are steeply on sale right now for Cyber Monday on Amazon: Smitten Kitchen Keepers for $12.83, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook for $14.92, and Smitten Kitchen Every Day for $18.29.

“One of the winning elements of ‘The Recipe’ is that it’s not prescriptive — rather than settling on one universal ‘perfect’ recipe, the chefs explain their personal preferences, then give listeners the information they need to make their own adjustments. By breaking their recipes down ingredient-by-ingredient, digging into what each one is doing, they make the science of cooking approachable and fun.” — New York Times, 7 Podcasts to Inspire a New Hobby

The latest full episode of my podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb is all about Chicken Noodle Soup! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Apple, Spotify, and more. Last week, we ran ran an excerpt of the new special audiobook edition of Smitten Kitchen Keepers, Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation. You can listen to it here.

eggnog waffles

A quick-yeasted waffle (yes, you can have it for breakfast this morning!) with the flavors of eggnog for a happy weekend in December.

rolled spinach omelet

I'm completely obsessed with this omelet that's angling to be your holiday brunch centerpiece. The ingredients are simple (frozen spinach, cheddar, eggs), the process is quick (hand-whisked, bakes in 15 minutes), but the presentation is gorgeous enough for a fancy table. I hope you love it too.

short rib onion soup

For peak December coziness, I merged two of my favorite things: onion soup and braised short ribs, into a decadent, rich stew-like soup that's as welcome at a casual drop-in as a big holiday dinner. Or, make it to just spoil yourself - you deserve it.

twice-baked potatoes with kale

These are indulgent (baked potatoes, cheese, sour cream, hooray) but also contain an entire bundle of greens (meaning they're basically a salad, right?), and they make for a perfect cozy December dinner.

zuni cafe's roasted chicken + bread salad

There’s good roast chicken, and then there’s Judy Roger’s legendary approach — dry brine (a fancy term for salting and leaving it), crazy crisp skin and a salad that’s akin to deconstructed stuffing. This is one of my favorite luxurious but low-key dinners.

mushroom lasagna

This lasagna has a creamy sauce, cheese and four layers of pasta and still manages to be one of the most simple, lightweight and unforgettable lasagnas I've made. Don't like mushrooms? Use another sautéed vegetable. But promise you'll make this.

roberta's roasted garlic caesar salad

Nothing breaks up the decadence of a holiday dinner like a crisp, green, and complex salad, and this one is particularly epic. A few tweaks -- roasted garlic, pecorino, and spicy candied walnuts -- make this our Special Occasion Caesar. We're worth it.

gingerbread layer cake

Poured thin, sandwiched with whipped mascarpone cream, stacked high and a little messy, and crowed with the festive-est berry tiara, my favorite Christmas cake gets a foolproof glow-up.

vanilla custard slices

Two crisp layers of puff pastry encase a thick, rich, perfectly-sweetened vanilla custard from Edd Kimber. Think of the custard slice like a rustic Napoleon or mille-feuille -- for everyday, but still elegant enough to feel special. I bet yours will disappear as fast as ours did.

homemade irish cream

I used to think that people who made their own Bailey's-style Irish cream were crazy. Then I tried it (it takes 5 minutes, has basically 3 ingredients) and it's so unbelievably good, I haven't bought the bottled stuff in years. Instructions included for bottling it up for lucky friends and family.

short rib onion soup

See you next week!

Monday, November 25, 2024

Good morning!

• I think I might be Dutch. Or I suddenly want to be. [TikTok]

• In Defense of a Control Freak Thanksgiving [Eater]

• Kenji and I talked to the Splendid Table’s Frances Lam about Thanksgiving.

In these busy holiday cooking weeks, I can’t help but note that the world is suddenly sorted into two groups: those that host and those that show up as guests. The hosts have usually been plotting their menus for weeks, if not longer, taking notes from the year(s) before. The turkeys are acquired, or will be shortly. Dry vs. wet brine has already been sorted. Potato and pie formats are selected, too. And those of us on the guest list (I’m a guest this year) are texting the hosts: What can I bring?

“Just bring your wonderful self!” is a sweet but slightly unhelpful response I, too, am guilty of sending most of the time, but I fall into the category of host listed described the second article above — I prefer handling everything myself. But should your host be normal, and not a 3x cookbook author with control issues, heh, I’ve collected below some Thanksgiving-friendly recipes that I think are perfect to bring — excellent at room temperature, easy to make ahead, and both keep and travel well to wherever you’re heading.

Today we also have an interview with the wonderful Erin Alderson, whose new cookbook, The Yearlong Pantry is out now. Read on to enjoy it!

Cheers!

Deb

halloumi and fall vegetable roast

New! A sheet pan of fall vegetables roasted until almost charred, finished with balsamic, and studded with heavenly, salty, crispy pillows of halloumi. Is this for Thanksgiving? Sure... if you wish. But I’ve been making this on repeat, just for me, and cannot recommend it enough.

“One of the winning elements of ‘The Recipe’ is that it’s not prescriptive — rather than settling on one universal ‘perfect’ recipe, the chefs explain their personal preferences, then give listeners the information they need to make their own adjustments. By breaking their recipes down ingredient-by-ingredient, digging into what each one is doing, they make the science of cooking approachable and fun.” — New York Times, 7 Podcasts to Inspire a New Hobby

The latest full episode of my podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb is all about Apple Pie! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Apple, Spotify, and more. Plus, for this holiday week, we’re running an excerpt of the new special audiobook edition of Smitten Kitchen Keepers, Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation. You can listen to it here, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

parsley pecorino biscuits

A ridiculously simple, unapologetically cute, biscuit for all of your breakfast-to-big feast needs. Make them today and freeze them until needed (you can bake them from the freezer) or just make them today. For the morning you deserve.

caramelized onion and gruyère biscuits

Perfect with eggs for breakfast or soup for dinner, these are the biscuit equivalent of onion soup, ribboned with caramelized onions and studded with diced bits of cheese, some of which spill into crispy frico puddles as they bake.

perfect corn muffins

Golden, craggy, towering and tender muffins, meltingly good with a pat of butter, get their texture from a clever hack from Cook Illustrated -- cooking some of the cornmeal until thick. It's worth it. *We* are worth it.

date, feta and red cabbage salad

One of my favorite winter salads, this is a symphony of salt, crunch, and sweetness and it complements all of those rich holiday meals so nicely.

butternut squash and caramelized onion galette

This butternut squash and caramelized onion galette is my every-fall-without-fail favorite thing: the flakiest, easiest pastry, the coziest filling. You’re going to be asked to make it again and again.

wild mushroom and stilton galette

This galette is a little bit fancy (those mushrooms! that cheese!) and a tiny bit fussy, but it's a holiday brunch/luncheon/dinner spotlight hog every time thanks to an unforgettable flaky crust and hearty filling.

sweet potato cake with marshmallow frosting

Sweet potatoes and toasted marshmallows, freed from their casserole confines, make an astoundingly good, decadently crumbed spice cake that wants to be your new Thanksgiving thing.

cranberry pecan frangipane tart

Ground pecans, a little orange zest, a nip of brandy and whole tart cranberries, cooked until they slump, all fill out a parbaked tart shell and we cannot keep our forks out of it.

nutmeg maple butter cookies

Do not be deceived by the simple appearance of these cookies. They are a tumble of butter and maple syrup, crackly sea salt and a whiff of nutmeg and the exact reason I took so long to make good on my promise to provide a recipe for straightforward sugar cookies. It’s hard when stuff like this exists.

apple cider caramels

This is my favorite candy I've *ever* made. It compacts a whole bottle of fresh apple cider into a salt-flecked, cinnamon-y, buttery caramel that is so loud with everything awesome about fall, no Thanksgiving is complete without it.

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers now that school’s back in session and the leaves are changing colors? I thought you’d never ask! Try the peanut butter, oat, and jam bars, spiced sweet potato oven fries, tangy baked eggplant and couscous, and weeknight lemon chicken wings. To finish, I recommend the apple butterscotch crisp, the pumpkin snacking cake, and/or the apple cider old-fashioned. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.

AN INTERVIEW WITH ERIN ALDERSON

My shelves are full of wonderful cookbooks I don’t get to talk about enough, so I’ve added this section so you can get to know the cool people behind them. Today we're chatting with Erin Alderson. Her new cookbook, The Yearlong Pantry, came out in October.

1. What inspired your cookbook?

I often say that my cooking style is such that I want people to take a bite of my food and go, "Oh, this is delicious" and then have the afterthought that it just also happens to be vegetarian. To do that, I'm focused a lot on what makes a meal, a dish, or even a bite satisfying. And, I kept coming back to so many of the ingredients I highlighted in the book (grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds). These are the ingredients that provide the foundations of flavor and texture and, what I think is just awesome, can be used in so many varying ways to provide that.

2. What recipe are you the most proud of in the book, or felt the most triumphant when you got it right? 

This is an easy pick for me: the Black Bean Smash Burger in an In-N-Out style (page 129). When I moved to California, I feel like the question I was most asked is if I had tried In-N-Out. Whether people agree or not, it's viewed as a quintessential west coast fast food burger known for its thin patties with crispy edges and the use of a thousand-island like dressing. I really wanted to replicate the burger with beans, complete with crispy, lacey edges and I feel like I nailed it.

3. What recipe is so low-effort, high-reward that it's worth cooking for dinner tonight, even if we're tired and don't want to cook? 

I'll be the first to admit that my style of cooking is not alway low effort but I adore the Chipotle Pinto Bean Stew (page 126) which relies heavily on canned chipotle peppers and red miso for flavor and no-cook toppings like avocado and radish. And while I love cooking beans from dry, this is a recipe that can easily work well with canned beans. 

4. What's something you wish more people knew about your book?

I think, for me, it's that the book feels equal parts recipe-driven and resource-based. I want people to feel inspired by the recipes and I wrote the book so that if people wanted to use grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds in varying ways, I could be there to help them out as they explore more.

Thank you, Erin! You can order The Yearlong Pantry right here.

bourbon pumpkin cheesecake

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes, including the the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser, which is back in stock! For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.

See you next week!

Monday, November 18, 2024

Good morning!

• Looking for a gift idea? I love Molly Reeder’s food drawings so much.

• The Best Way to Test a Cookbook? Try It at a Restaurant. [Eater]

• This Turkey Church Is Just One Way People Celebrate the Humble Bird [Atlas Obscura]

Thank you for your warm reception about the special audiobook edition of Smitten Kitchen Keepers, Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation, out last week. I’ve never recorded an audiobook before and was eager to try something new and different. I wanted to see if there was a way to have a cookbook audiobook that didn’t involve reading recipes out loud and PRH Audio, and my excellent producers, were a huge help in shaping this vision. If you’d like to buy it for a gift for someone for the holidays, I will send you a signed holiday card with a bonus recipe to gift, too. You can register for yours here.

Last week I shared my Big Thanksgiving Planner 🍂 with all of the site’s holiday classics and staples. This week, I’m sharing all of our favorite Thanksgiving desserts from pie to cheesecake. You have my encouragement to send it someone as an unsubtle hint.

Today we also have an interview with the fantastic Margaret Eby whose new cookbook, You Gotta Eat: Real-Life Strategies for Feeding Yourself When Cooking Feels Impossible, is out tomorrow, 11/19. I absolutely love what she has to say about cooking authority below. Don’t miss this!

Cheers!

Deb

skillet-baked macaroni and cheese

New! A no-boil, one-skillet, utterly cozy and decadent baked macaroni and cheese that’s taken over my life this fall in the best way, and became my new forever go-to. I hope you make it immediately as written for dinner tonight, and then double it for all of the holiday crowds ahead.

We’ve got a whole new way to hang out in the kitchen.

The special audiobook edition of Smitten Kitchen Keepers, Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation is now out! I hope it feels exactly like you’ve pulled up a chair and I’m hanging out in the kitchen with you, discussing techniques, substitutions, and chatting about what I think makes each recipe special.

“Anyone who likes to cook will be inspired to get into the kitchen after listening to this audio program.” — Audiofile Magazine

“One of the winning elements of ‘The Recipe’ is that it’s not prescriptive — rather than settling on one universal ‘perfect’ recipe, the chefs explain their personal preferences, then give listeners the information they need to make their own adjustments. By breaking their recipes down ingredient-by-ingredient, digging into what each one is doing, they make the science of cooking approachable and fun.” — New York Times, 7 Podcasts to Inspire a New Hobby

The latest episode of my podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb is all about Popcorn! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Apple, Spotify, and more.

classic pumpkin pie with pecan praline sauce

When one classic (old-school pumpkin pie) loves another classic (pecan pie) very much, everyone wins.

pecan pie

Six simple tips to send your (corn syrup-free) pecan pie game into the stratosphere, because just-good-enough pecan pie would never cut it around here.

black bottom oatmeal pie

Do you or someone you know suffer from Pecan Pie Deprivation Syndrome because of a nut allergy? With oats, chocolate, and a gooey salted caramel, there's nothing even a little second place about this.

cranberry pie with thick pecan crumble

I rarely see straight-up cranberry pies. The fruit is usually cut with apples or pears, seemingly intimidated by the intensity. But I think the secret to a great one is an even better contrast, here a thick crumble topping of oats, toasted pecans, cinnamon, brown sugar and butter. Don't forget the dusting of powdered sugar, and the vanilla whipped or ice cream. Just let me know what time to show up!

apple slab pie

Slab pie is the ideal format to distribute apple pie to the maximum amount of people and -- just throwing this out there -- it looks a giant, flaky/buttery/tender pop tart.

bourbon pumpkin cheesecake

Did you know that cheesecake keeps in the fridge for a up to a week? That means you can bake this Thanksgiving show-stealer (I'm basically not even welcome at dinner without it) ahead of time and so long as you keep it away from me, be all set for the big day.

cranberry, caramel and almond tart

My husband's favorite Thanksgiving dessert is (shockingly) not bourbon pumpkin cheesecake or even chocolate pecan pie but this: a buttery tart shell filled with fresh cranberries, cooked until collapsed in a salted butterscotch sauce crunched with toasted almonds. Have you been converted?

dark chocolate tart with gingersnap crust

You know those people who are all "pumpkin, schmumpkin! It's not dessert unless it has chocolate in it!" This is just for them (and it's a breeze to make).

simple chicken tortilla soup

This simple chicken tortilla soup is a weeknight favorite and a cinch to pull off even after a long day, while not skimping at all on flavor or texture. I hope it makes its way into your repertoires, too.

pasta with garlicky broccoli rabe

For those of us who never have any idea what's for dinner until it's hangry o'clock, this is our in-house 15-minute 4-ingredient dinner savior. It includes a pound of greens and is willingly consumed by at least 75% of the family, i.e. it’s a miracle.

roasted yams and chickpeas with yogurt

Great steak fry-like wedges of sweet potatoes roasted with honey, lime and chile flakes, topped with crispy chickpeas and yogurt to make an easy but complex meal you probably won't even want to share. (We won't tell if you don't.)

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers now that school’s back in session and the leaves are changing colors? I thought you’d never ask! Try the peanut butter, oat, and jam bars, spiced sweet potato oven fries, tangy baked eggplant and couscous, and weeknight lemon chicken wings. To finish, I recommend the apple butterscotch crisp, the pumpkin snacking cake, and/or the apple cider old-fashioned. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.

AN INTERVIEW WITH MARGARET EBY

My shelves are full of wonderful cookbooks I don’t get to talk about enough, so I’ve added this section so you can get to know the cool people behind them. Today we're chatting with Margaret Eby. Her new cookbook, You Gotta Eat: Real-Life Strategies for Feeding Yourself When Cooking Feels Impossible, is out tomorrow, 11/19.

1. What inspired your cookbook?

The elevator pitch for You Gotta Eat was "a cookbook for depressed people." That's one of those jokes that's not totally a joke, more like a haha...unless? It's a book that's not just for depressed people, though when I pitched it I was coming out of a bad seasonal depressive episode. I love cooking and food (and not to be so embarrassing but am a huge, huge fan of Smitten Kitchen). The kitchen is a real source of joy, creativity, and community for me. I made a pretzel croquembouche with my friends for fun, for God's sake. 

But during that depressive episode, and in previous times when I've been burned out, stressed, or otherwise emotionally preoccupied, I've found that cooking and feeding myself is pretty difficult. And if that's true for me, a person with unusual access to cooking resources, thanks to my job and culinary background, I assumed that it would be true for a lot of other people. All the fancy restaurant chefs and glossy magazine editors I know who love to cook, and dedicate their careers to cooking, also have days where the lunch is a frozen burrito, or maybe canned soup with a handful of crumbled-up chips on top. The hope is that it's a book for when you want to cook, or feel like you should, but the emotional resources to follow through on that are just not there. So yes, it's a cookbook for depressed people, but also for if you're anxious, burned out, going through a tough time, are having to take care of a small child or a parent, or are otherwise in survival mode. It's a collection of shortcuts, and ways to make things a little bit more flavorful or interesting or nutritionally dense, but also, I hope, a pep talk, and permission slip if you need one. 

2. What recipe are you the most proud of in the book, or felt the most triumphant when you got it right? 

Khao soi is one of my favorite dishes in the world. There's just something about the combination of crunchy noodles, soft noodles, curry soup, and various vegetables that makes me happy every time. But making khao soi from scratch is a project, and one I'm not up for when I'm in a period where feeding myself is one of those Groundhog Day-level nightmares, like "oh god, dinner...again?" So I was unreasonably proud of myself when I figured out that I could approximate a few of my favorite elements of khao soi with packet ramen, frozen vegetables, and premade curry paste for "Sort of Khao Soi." Is it in any way traditional? No! Is it tasty and easy? Oh boy, it sure is. 

3. What recipe is so low-effort, high-reward that it's worth cooking for dinner tonight, even if we're tired and don't want to cook? 

Honestly, I think that depends so much on who you are and what motivates you. The answer for me is a quesadilla. Even when I'm exhausted, and on the precipice of ordering take-out that I know will be expensive and repetitive, I can usually muster the energy to slap some cheese on a tortilla, and fill it with leftovers I have, or maybe some canned beans. (Bonus: this is an excellent way to eat a lot of sour cream for dinner, if that's your jam.) This is how I discovered how good a chicken tikka quesadilla is, for example. And for ideal crispiness, yes, of course, toasting it on a skillet on the stove is the course of action to get those delicious cheese-laced edges. But if you can't face cleaning a pan or turning on the stove, our good friend the microwave has your back. 

Also: Soup! There's a reason that soup is recently having a meme moment: There are very few limits on soup. Broth with little bits of vegetables and maybe some meat in it? Glorious. There's something so nourishing and inherently generous about soup. Cans of soup exist for a reason! They're very easy to zhush up a bit with things you probably already have lying around, like spices or hot sauce, a handful of pasta, some frozen vegetables, or even just a glug of vinegar. There's a method in the book for turning a jar of tomato sauce into tomato soup, and that's a very easy way to convert a lingering pantry staple into a meal. I honestly use that trick at least once every couple of weeks in the winter. 

I want to stress that if you don't want to cook, and you order pizza instead, you have not failed! There is no secret cabal of high-end chefs judging you for your Domino's order! There is always another meal. Cooking will be there for you. You can find your way back to it when you have the strength. 

4. What's something you wish more people knew about your book?

One of the things I think a lot about in my work is who has authority in cooking, and why. There's a lot of stuff floating out there about things you are doing "incorrectly" in the kitchen, for example. And that's simply not true—correct is a point of view. There are certain facts in cooking, like cutting things into roughly the same size means they cook at the same rate, and that's helpful to understand going in. But maybe you can't or don't want to deal with a chef's knife. Kitchen shears are just as valid a way to cut things up. What works for you isn't illegitimate because it's not the same thing that chefs at Michelin-starred restaurants do.

People have been attacking the problem of how to feed themselves for as long as there have been people. The freeing thing about that is realizing there isn't a wrong way to solve that problem. I hope, if nothing else, this book helps you think about feeding yourself in a new way, and that maybe you even have a tiny bit of fun doing it. 

Thank you, Margaret! You can preorder You Gotta Eat right here.

all butter, really flaky pie dough

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes, including the the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser, which is back in stock! For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.

See you next week!

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Good morning!

• Escape From the French Omelet [Taste]

• Martha Stewart’s ‘Entertaining’ Let Me Party Like It Was 1982 [Eater]

• What Happens to All Your Compost? Meet the Person Who Handles It. [NYTimes, unlocked]

Today is the day for so many things! First things first: The special audiobook edition of Smitten Kitchen Keepers, Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation is out today! Read by me with lots of side chatter and deeper dives into recipes, I hope it feels exactly like you've pulled up a chair and I'm hanging out in the kitchen with you. Because that’s all I want — I can’t imagine anything more fun. Available everywhere audiobooks are sold, such as Apple Books, Audible, Barnes & Noble, and more, read on below where I cover some frequently asked questions and even a fun way to give it as a gift.

Second and almost as exciting, we are 16 days out from Thanksgiving, which is like the Super Bowl of American cooking. For those of you who plan ahead (teach me your ways!), today I’m guiding us through my Thanksgiving staples and forever favorite recipes. We’ve got EBTP (everything but the pie) covered below, but don’t worry, sweets are coming next week.

Finally, I’m thrilled to have an interview with Nicola Lamb today, whose UK bestselling cookbook Sift: The Elements of Great Baking, is out today in the US and it’s fantastic. I know you will love it too.

Cheers!

Deb

Out today: We’ve got a whole new way to hang out in the kitchen.

To answer some frequently asked questions about the special audiobook edition of Smitten Kitchen Keepers, Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation:

• So you’re… reading recipes out loud? I promise, I am not reading recipes, which would be criminally boring. In this audiobook original, I take you through 44 Smitten Kitchen Keepers super-favorites and we get to dig in deeper, more backstory, more riffs, and some great sidebars that could have never made the cut in a 336-page hardcover cookbook. It feels conversational and fun.

• How do I get the recipes? A downloadable PDF will provide you with all of the recipes I discuss in the audiobook.

• What’s on the cover? Oh that’s the Devil’s Food Cake with Salted Milk Chocolate Frosting and it’s the easiest and most small-crowd-pleasing 3-layer birthday cake you will ever make. We’re obsessed with it, and hope you will be too.

• Bonus recipe: When you purchase the audiobook, you will receive a signed holiday card from me with a bonus recipe! To receive your card and recipe, complete the form with your purchase order number right here.

  [US Residents, 18+. Ends December 13, 2024. See terms here.]

The latest episode of my podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb is all about Popcorn! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Apple, Spotify, and more.

dry-brined turkey with roasted onions

This is Smitten Kitchen's first and only turkey recipe, because you'll never need another: deeply burnished, perfectly cooked, delightfully-seasoned, and crisp-skinned on a bed of onions that have been cooked in salty, buttery drippings for so long, they're otherworldly. Oh, and there are five ingredients. And a schedule. And gravy. You've got this!

cranberries: candied, fruity and drunk

Confession: I like cranberry sauce so much, I even make it in the off-season -- for pancakes, ice cream and yogurt. Here are three of my favorite approaches, the classic, the fruit-unfussy, and the grown-up one.

sour cream and chive fantails

A dinner roll that springs open in the oven like a fan with buttery pull-apart segments looks fancy but is so simple to make. I hope you get obsessed with them, too.

pretzel parker house rolls

Classic, buttery, tender and stretchy Parker House rolls with a pretzel wash that makes them dark, shiny and unmistakably special on top. We learned at our annual Friendsgiving, the only thing better than making these for the big meal is having a guest who brings them still warm.

challah stuffing

A very simple, buttery, and flexible challah stuffing you make when you realize that the perfect menu is the one you can pull off without sweating or stressing, leaving you the maximum amount of time to enjoy the feast. Tip: The Best Challah (Egg Bread) recipe in the archives makes two loaves. Make astoundingly good french toast this weekend with one; stale the second for stuffing bliss.

green bean casserole with crispy onions

A fresh, crazy delicious sauce, crisp-tender green beans and heaps of crispy fried onions that you can make all in one skillet changed my feelings about this once-maligned Thanksgiving staple forever. Be warned: If you make this once, you'll never be able to show up without it again -- unless you train an acolyte on it.

potato and leek gratin

Potatoes and leeks slow-baked in cream with a burnish of cheese and fine buttery crunch on top are the perfect welcome to gratin season, which is not a thing, I absolutely just made that up, but really should be for colder weather and short days ahead.

slow-roasted sweet potatoes

I started making my Thanksgiving sweet potatoes like this a few years ago and haven't looked back. When slow-roasted, sweet potatoes get sweeter, louder, and more nuanced than seems possible. The salty, lightly blackened skin provides a heavenly, crispy contrast. Although they're delicious just as they are, a drizzle of either melted salted butter or butter with a little maple syrup or honey whisked in, is never unwelcome.

crispy sweet potato roast

A dream of veering sweet potatoes as far from their sweet, texture-free nature and into the realm of ... potato chips, or as close as you can get them in a casserole dish. Plus, a few finishing options, from what I call Thanksgiving Salsa Verde to a luxe version with creme fraîche and chives.

unstuffed mushroom casserole

This dish knows what I bet many of us figured out a long time ago: mincing and sautéing ingredients to daintily scoop them into mushroom caps is fussy. Casseroles are not. Serve this as a side to a holiday main or as a cozy snack to be scooped onto toasts or crackers, something I would absolutely eat for dinner tonight with a big green salad, just putting that out there in the universe in case that's all it takes for it to majestically appear.

the best baked spinach

Think spinach gratins must be rich and leaden with cheese, cream and butter? Not when Julia Child shows us the way. Not only does this taste amazing, it's total weekday night fare -- as a side, scooped on toast or topped off with an egg. (Yesss.)

balsamic braised brussels with pancetta

Brussels with layers upon layers of flavor and complexity— crunchy breadcrumbs, buttery shallots and balsamic-caramelized pancetta — all nestled together in one cozy, harmonious dish.

brussels sprouts, apple and pomegranate salad

A bright, crunchy and abundantly welcome contrast to the richness of the usual Thanksgiving fare, this is a forever winter staple.

corn pudding

Corn pudding, exactly the way I like it: cozy with brown butter (and don't miss the optional hot honey brown butter drizzle), sour cream, and exactly one bag of frozen corn. It's quick to make and perfect for the holiday season. I hope you love it too.

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers now that school’s back in session and the leaves are changing colors? I thought you’d never ask! Try the peanut butter, oat, and jam bars, spiced sweet potato oven fries, tangy baked eggplant and couscous, and weeknight lemon chicken wings. To finish, I recommend the apple butterscotch crisp, the pumpkin snacking cake, and/or the apple cider old-fashioned. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.

AN INTERVIEW WITH NICOLA LAMB

My shelves are full of wonderful cookbooks I don’t get to talk about enough, so I’ve added this section so you can get to know the cool people behind them. Today we're chatting with Nicola Lamb. Her new cookbook, Sift: The Elements of Great Baking, is out today in the US (and already a Sunday Times bestseller in the UK)!

1. What inspired your cookbook?

SIFT is the book I wish I'd had when I first started baking. When I started out, I was intimidated by a lot of the big, heavy books aimed at professionals, but I wanted more detail and answers than some of the home baking books offered. In SIFT, I’ve strived to create a happy medium, blending technical details with base recipes you can go back to again and again! 

2. What recipe are you the most proud of in the book, or felt the most triumphant when you got it right? 

I worked so hard on developing a croissant recipe that gives you good results at home. It’s been developed especially for hand laminating and I have put so much information in there that I think will give people such good results; I’ve made all the mistakes (and there have been some shockers!) so you can have the best chance of success at home. It’s a proper project but worth it. 

3. What recipe is so low-effort, high-reward that it's worth cooking for dinner tonight, even if we're tired and don't want to cook? 

The brown butter banana cookies are going to be your new favorite way to use up old bananas. They are so fast to make and have gooey oatmeal raisin energy, but with more brown sugar and ripe fruit roundness. Dream. 

4. What's something you wish more people knew about your book?

I’m so proud of the in depth reference sections at the beginning of the book - I want SIFT to be a confidence boosting manual that you can always come back to and rely on when you want to understand the “why” of baking.  And I love that the recipes are organized by how long they take to make (with actual timelines!), so you can always fit a bake into your schedule!

Thank you, Nicola! You can order Sift right here.

old-school dinner rolls

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes, including the the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser, which is back in stock! For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.

See you next week!

Monday, November 4, 2024

Good morning!

• Meet the New Home Kitchen Business [NYTimes, unlocked]

• No One Knows How Big Pumpkins Can Get [The Atlantic]

• How Women Used Cookbooks to Fight for Their Right to Vote [Eater]

Welcome to November! The leaves were mostly brown on my walk along the Hudson this morning and it was brisk enough to require a extra-fleecy hoodie, as we’re definitely in the next phase of fall. When I came home, my apartment still smelled like the bolognese that I simmered for 3.5 hours last night and now I can’t wait for dinner tonight. If you’re looking for a distraction-worthy cooking project as an alternative to biting your fingernails and watching the presidential election returns on Tuesday night, I cannot recommend my simple, essential bolognese enough. Want to go one step further? Make the pasta too! Or a whole epic lasagna! For more savory cooking project ideas, look here. Looking to please a sweet tooth? You can never go wrong with a babka, Russian honey cake, intricate cheesecake, and some fun s’mores cupcakes.

Below, a full November cooking agenda with my favorite late-fall recipes that aren’t just about Thanksgiving (we’ll get to that soon enough!). I hope you’re inspired to find a few new favorites.

Cheers!

Deb

We’ve got a whole new way to hang out in the kitchen.

The special audiobook edition of Smitten Kitchen Keepers, Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation is coming out in just 8 days — November 12th. Read by me with lots of side chatter, I hope it feels exactly like you've pulled up a chair and I'm hanging out in the kitchen with you.

To answer some very important questions:

• So you’re… reading recipes out loud? I promise, I am not reading recipes, which would be criminally boring. In this audiobook original, I take you through 44 Smitten Kitchen Keepers super-favorites and we get to dig in deeper, more backstory, more riffs, and some great sidebars that could have never made the cut in a 336-page hardcover cookbook. It feels conversational and fun.

• How do I get the recipes? A downloadable PDF will provide you with all of the recipes I discuss in the audiobook.

• What’s on the cover? Oh that’s the Devil’s Food Cake with Salted Milk Chocolate Frosting and it’s the easiest and most small-crowd-pleasing 3-layer birthday cake you will ever make. We’re obsessed with it, and hope you will be too.

• How do I buy the audiobook? You can preorder Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation everywhere audiobooks are sold including Apple Books, Audible, Barnes & Noble, and more and it will be ready to listen to first thing on November 12th.

• Bonus recipe: When you purchase the audiobook, you will receive a signed holiday card from me with a bonus recipe! To receive your card and recipe, complete the form with your purchase order number right here.

  [US Residents, 18+. Ends December 13, 2024. See terms here.]

The latest episode of my podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb is all about Popcorn! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Apple, Spotify, and more.

bialy babka

This savory babka is ribboned with buttery caramelized onions and a sprinkle of poppy seeds. Or, you can add cheese for a [drumroll] French Onion Babka. The ingredient list is simple but the project takes a blissful few hours, and leaves your kitchen smelling unbelievable. Eat a slice plain, with butter or cream cheese, or alongside a cozy bowl of soup.

veselka's cabbage soup

This bowl of soup is the absolutely coziest thing on the menu at a beloved Ukrainian restaurant in my neighborhood, and soon, your kitchen. The slow simmer will make your entire home smell unforgettably good. The splash of sauerkraut juice at the end is [chef kisses fingers], don't fight it.

cauliflower cheese

There's a nip in the air which means it's unquestionably cauliflower cheese season -- the time of year when we drape it in a sharp cheddar cheese sauce that's been spiked with mustard and a bit of cayenne and then bake in the oven until bronzed and exactly perfect for dinner tonight.

mushroom bourguignon

A hearty vegetarian bourguignon with 100% of the comfort and luxury in about 25% of the time, this is the only thing I want to on a cold day in November.

winter panzanella

Panzanella needn't be just a summer fling. Brussels, butternut, garlic-thyme croutons and a sharp vinaigrette make this one very November, and very rustic and cozy for dinner tonight.

pancetta, white bean and chard pot pies

If you're limiting your pot pies to chicken, you're totally missing out on some hearty, bubbling, flaky bronze-lidded fall dinner bliss. This one with some beans, greens, and (optional) pancetta beneath the lid is one of my favorite recipes from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.

roast chicken with schmaltzy cabbage

Cabbage cooked slowly in salty buttery chicken drippings until charred at the edges and caramelized throughout is the real star of this deeply cozy and rewarding three-ingredient roast chicken inspired by the wonderful Helen Rosner.

simplest apple tart

"Make apple pie? On a Tuesday?" I promise, I haven't finally lost it, you can absolutely pull off minimalist apple pie with a flaky crust and sliced apples dotted with butter and sprinkled with sugar, and your weekday will be so much better for it.

cranberry pecan bread

A orange-zested cranberry pecan bread studded with tart berry gems and finished with a snowglobe-like crunch on top so perfect it makes me forget every quickbread that came before it (pumpkin who?) and also converted me to enjoying nuts in loaf cakes. It's that magical. [Video below!]

the perfect manhattan

My favorite place, my favorite drink. Happy Friday!

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers now that school’s back in session and the leaves are changing colors? I thought you’d never ask! Try the peanut butter, oat, and jam bars, spiced sweet potato oven fries, tangy baked eggplant and couscous, and weeknight lemon chicken wings. To finish, I recommend the apple butterscotch crisp, the pumpkin snacking cake, and/or the apple cider old-fashioned. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.

cranberry pecan bread

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes, including the the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser, which is back in stock! For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.

See you next week!

Monday, October 28, 2024

Good morning!

• Some nice words about the Staub x Smitten Kitchen Braiser! [Food & Wine]

• Are Rice Krispies Treats Overrated? Gasp, never! [Eater]

• The Great Pouchification of American Food [Taste]

I do not make the rules. I cannot even explain the rules. I’m just saying that the number one most perfect food to serve alongside candy (or sugar-addled, costume-clad children) is chili and I will listen to no argument suggesting otherwise. There’s nothing like a pot of hearty, spicy, fragrant chili warming on the stove, a choose-your-own toppings bar, and a hearty wedge of cornbread to make all of the salty gooey crunchy chocolate confections you’re going to eat before and after taste better.

[Especially if that candy is this evil incarnate I almost wish I’d never tasted for the first time last year, as it’s all I think about in October now.] Below, a whole bunch of almost as addictive candy and candy-like confections you can make at home, including two popcorn-centric ones we talked about on the latest podcast.

And that’s not all! Today we have an interview with the incredible Justine Doiron (Justine Snacks) whose first cookbook, Justine Cooks: Recipes (Mostly Plants) for Finding Your Way in the Kitchen, is out tomorrow. Are you around tonight? I’ll be in conversation with Justine at 6pm at the Williams-Sonoma in Columbus Circle to celebrate her book’s launch.

If you’re around tomorrow evening, I’ll be in conversation with Luisa Weiss at 7pm at POWERHOUSE Arena in Brooklyn to celebrate her new book out tomorrow, Classic German Cooking.

Cheers!

Deb

glazed apple cider doughnut cake

New! This cake tastes like a glazed apple cider doughnut and will make your kitchen smell like fall blew up (gently, aromatically) in it, but is secretly even more magical: it’s naturally dairy- and egg-free.

We’ve got a whole new way to hang out in the kitchen.

I’m so excited to announce the special audiobook edition of Smitten Kitchen Keepers, Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation! Available on November 12th and read by me, I hope it feels exactly like you've pulled up a chair and I'm hanging out in the kitchen with you.

To answer some very important questions:

• So you’re… reading recipes out loud? I promise, I am not reading recipes, which would be criminally boring. In this audiobook original, I take you through 44 Smitten Kitchen Keepers super-favorites and we get to dig in deeper, more backstory, more riffs, and some great sidebars that could have never made the cut in a 336-page hardcover cookbook. It feels conversational and fun.

• How do I get the recipes? A downloadable PDF will provide you with all of the recipes I discuss in the audiobook.

• What’s on the cover? Oh that’s the Devil’s Food Cake with Salted Milk Chocolate Frosting and it’s the easiest and most small-crowd-pleasing 3-layer birthday cake you will ever make. We’re obsessed with it, and hope you will be too.

• How do I buy the audiobook? You can preorder Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation everywhere audiobooks are sold including Apple Books, Audible, Barnes & Noble, and more and it will be ready to listen to first thing on November 12th.

• Bonus recipe: When you purchase the audiobook, you will receive a signed holiday card from me with a bonus recipe! To receive your card and recipe, complete the form with your purchase order number right here.

  [US Residents, 18+. Ends December 13, 2024. See terms here.]

The newest episode of my podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb is all about our mutual favorite snack, Popcorn! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Apple, Spotify, and more.

three-bean chili

This is my ideal three-bean chili. You can make it on the stove, in a pressure cooker, or a slow-cooker. You can use a little or a lot of heat. Few things taste better on a chilly fall day.

skillet turkey chili

A one-skillet, weeknight-friendly chili with a simple ingredient list that requires little planning ahead, which is awesome because I discovered during quarantine months that even with all of the time in the world, I never quite mastered planning far enough ahead to not be in a rush when making dinner. 🙃

chicken chili

Proof-positive that easy recipes -- the directions are literally "throw everything in the pot and turn heat on" (yay) -- needn't always lead to compromised results, this chicken-bean chili for stovetop, slow- or pressure-cooker has been on repeat around here for a couple years and we're not even close to tired of it.

beef chili + sour cream and cheddar biscuits

A cozy, warming, hearty meal for a cold, rainy day: yes please. Plus, if you assemble your cheddar biscuits and sour cream like so, you've basically created the unholiest (read: awesomest) "shortcakes" in the world.

perfect, forever cornbread

This is my wish for us: I think we should bring a pan of freshly-baked, thick, buttery, crisp on top cornbread to our next potluck/chili party to share with friends and I think it should be this one, my forever favorite. A pat of salted butter on top is mandatory.

drop cornbread biscuits

These biscuits are craggy and delicious and completely easy, whether as a side dish or just a better-than-expected weekday breakfast.

salted brown butter crispy treats

A forever site favorite in which two minor-seeming things -- flaky sea salt and brown butter -- transform crispy treats from a "kid thing" to a thing-that's-hard-to-share-with-a-kid (or anyone). No matter where I take them, they never last 30 minutes. [Video below!]

chocolate peanut and pretzel brittle

This is my favorite brittle and it's absolutely cluttered with roasted peanuts and salted pretzels before being coated with dark chocolate. It's crunchy, caramelized, buttery, and salty and absolutely memorable.

coffee toffee

You know how sometimes no matter how much coffee you drink, it's not enough? Good news, there's a candy for that.

spicy caramel popcorn

Buttery, golden, sea salt-flecked homemade caramel popcorn with peanuts and a little bit of heat is the best idea right now, trust me.

miso black sesame caramel corn

Sure, caramel popcorn is good, salted butter caramel popcorn is better, but have you tried adding a little salty, complex miso paste to caramel popcorn? I did and it was so good, it was almost unfair to all of the non-miso caramel popcorns out there, and also to anyone who'd hopes you'll share it with them, because you will not want to.

twinkie bundt

Not just a fun thing to say out loud, but a goofy, delicious buttery buttermilk cake with a soft vanilla marshmallow filling that brings cheer to everyone around you.

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers now that school’s back in session and the leaves are changing colors? I thought you’d never ask! Try the peanut butter, oat, and jam bars, spiced sweet potato oven fries, tangy baked eggplant and couscous, and weeknight lemon chicken wings. To finish, I recommend the apple butterscotch crisp, the pumpkin snacking cake, and/or the apple cider old-fashioned. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.

AN INTERVIEW WITH JUSTINE DOIRON

My shelves are full of wonderful cookbooks I don’t get to talk about enough, so I’ve added this section so you can get to know the cool people behind them. Today we're chatting with Justine Doiron, aka Justine Snacks. Her new cookbook, Justine Cooks: Recipes (Mostly Plants) for Finding Your Way in the Kitchen, is out tomorrow.

1. What inspired your cookbook?

When I first pitched my book, the thesis was: "recipes that I wish I had when I was learning how to cook, and foods that make you feel like home." Cookbooks were what taught me how to cook, and as someone who didn't grow up in a big food family, cooking was how I built my own sense of "home." That was the main inspiration behind the book, and of course it evolved as I wrote it, but the thesis stays the same. 

2. What recipe are you the most proud of in the book, or felt the most triumphant when you got it right? 

The Miso-Butter Pancakes! I think pancakes are so funny. Some people make amazing pancakes from eyeballing it, and some highly fussy pancake recipes are tragedies. It was important to me that this pancake recipe brought new flavors to the table while still being easy to whip up. It took so many tries (nearly a painful amount), but what I ended with is a lacey-edged pancake that cooks perfectly every time. Flavor-wise, it also pairs perfectly with maple syrup. Which was very, very important to me. Any pancake feels a little naked without syrup. 

3. What recipe is so low-effort, high-reward that it's worth cooking for dinner tonight, even if we're tired and don't want to cook? 

Gochujang Beans with Melty Escarole. It's what I cook when I cannot bear to look at a stove. It arguably is better with canned beans, and you can make it while being half asleep, yet you're still getting your greens in. And who doesn't love a brothy, umami-y bean?

4. What's something you wish more people knew about your book?

I wish people knew the real hits are in the first chapter. Sauces, condiments and small recipes are the recipes that taught me how to cook. They pack in so many techniques! There's a lot you can discover when you are making a salsa verde, drying out perfect breadcrumbs, or sizzling a Fresno hot sauce in a pan. I always worry people will skip that chapter, it's the chapter I really put the extra details in. 

Thank you, Justine! You can preorder Justine Cooks right here.

salted brown butter crispy treats

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes, including the the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser, which is back in stock! For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.

See you next week!

Monday, October 21, 2024

Good morning!

• I have no original experiences.

• Dates (the fruit) are having a viral moment [Taste]

• A few interesting tableware observations [Strategist]

Is it just me? I have absolutely no recollection of eating winter squash (that wasn’t in the form of pumpkin pie) growing up. I was first introduced to butternut squash by my housemate in grad school and I’ve been hooked on almost every variety since, as this newsletter evidences. I like it roasted, steamed, blended into savory pancakes, sheet-panned with tofu, and even baked into pumpkin pie-reminiscent individual puddings we swoop into with a gingersnap. I have a particular soft spot for recipes where the natural sweetness of winter squash is harmonized with bright, spicy, and/or acidic flavors, like the roasted acorn squash with chile-lime vinaigrette below.

And that’s not all! We are but three from the release of the the special audiobook edition of Smitten Kitchen Keepers and I’m eager to tell you more about it, so read on below! Plus, there’s a new The Recipe with Kenji and Deb episode out today about my favorite snack, popcorn. You can listen online, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Cheers!

Deb

We’ve got a whole new way to hang out in the kitchen.

I’m so excited to announce the special audiobook edition of Smitten Kitchen Keepers, Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation! Available on November 12th and read by me, I hope it feels exactly like you've pulled up a chair and I'm hanging out in the kitchen with you.

To answer some very important questions:

• So you’re… reading recipes out loud? I promise, I am not reading recipes, which would be criminally boring. In this audiobook original, I take you through 44 Smitten Kitchen Keepers super-favorites and we get to dig in deeper, more backstory, more riffs, and some great sidebars that could have never made the cut in a 336-page hardcover cookbook. It feels conversational and fun.

• How do I get the recipes? A downloadable PDF will provide you with all of the recipes I discuss in the audiobook.

• What’s on the cover? Oh that’s the Devil’s Food Cake with Salted Milk Chocolate Frosting and it’s the easiest and most small-crowd-pleasing 3-layer birthday cake you will ever make. We’re obsessed with it, and hope you will be too.

• How do I buy the audiobook? You can preorder Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation everywhere audiobooks are sold including Apple Books, Audible, Barnes & Noble, and more and it will be ready to listen to first thing on November 12th.

• Bonus recipe: When you purchase the audiobook, you will receive a signed holiday card from me with a bonus recipe! To receive your card and recipe, complete the form with your purchase order number right here.

  [US Residents, 18+. Ends December 13, 2024. See terms here.]

My podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, launched this spring. Our newest episode, out this week, is all about Popcorn! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Apple, Spotify, and more.

winter squash soup with gruyere croutons

If having a bowl of spiced vegetable soup for dinner sounds too austere, may I recommend sinking a buttery, herbed broiled gruyere mega-crouton in it? It works every time, around here at least.

butternut squash salad with farro and pepitas

This grain salad is a balancing act of cubes of roasted squash, salty crumbled cheese, crunchy pepitas and lightly pickled red onion with a sherry vinaigrette and it's my favorite because it's also flexible -- use whatever roasted vegetable, cheese, or crunch you've got around. Plus, the leftovers are fantastic.

acorn squash with chile-lime vinaigrette

Sure, this is a crazy delicious way to make squash just as written, but do you know what else you can do with it? Tacos! Add some black beans, a quick slaw, some crumbled salty cheese. Handheld warmth > fork-speared warmth on a day when I might still be shivering from my morning run hours later.

winter squash pancakes with crispy sage and brown butter

Pancakes for dinner, please! These pancakes use mashed winter squash but skip the pumpkin spice, instead enlisting salt, pepper and a finishing scatter of crispy sage leaves sizzled in brown butter and you should just go ahead and double the recipe because the leftovers are fantastic.

roasted squash and tofu with ginger

A salty-spicy-acidic-sweet tray of winter squash and crispy tofu from Diana Henry that always hits the spot.

squash and chickpea moroccan stew

Don't be intimidated by the ingredient list length -- this vegetarian, vegetable-full, complexly flavored stew comes together quickly and is fantastic over couscous, with or without a dollop of yogurt to finish it. Leftovers reheat well, so it's a meal prep dream too.

squash toasts with ricotta and cider vinegar

One of my favorite fall combinations, ever, roasted winter squash is half-mashed with a tangy mess of vinegar-maple onions then heaped on ricotta toasts and finished with fresh mint. It's great for a party appetizer, or light meal before carting little ghouls and goblins around town on a candy prowl.

winter squash and spinach pasta bake

Inspired by Ottolenghi, this pasta bake is savory fall brilliance. Everything is tossed raw into a springform for a long bake and what emerges is resplendent: layers of tender squash and spinach with noodles, soft in the center and burnished to a snatch-able crisp on top, the aroma of garlic and toasted cheese everywhere. [Video below!]

pumpkin muffins

Are those jack-o-lanterns giving you the side-eye? Show them who's boss aaaand get an amazing breakfast tomorrow out of the deal. These pumpkin muffins never fail.

baked pumpkin and sour cream puddings

What do I do when I crave pumpkin pie but not the effort involved? Make these, which are everything awesome about pumpkin pie, no pie dough to fuss with. Spoon some on a gingersnap and never look back.

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers now that school’s back in session and the leaves are changing colors? I thought you’d never ask! Try the peanut butter, oat, and jam bars, spiced sweet potato oven fries, tangy baked eggplant and couscous, and weeknight lemon chicken wings. To finish, I recommend the apple butterscotch crisp, the pumpkin snacking cake, and/or the apple cider old-fashioned. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.

winter squash and spinach pasta bake

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes, including the the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser, which is back in stock! For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.

See you next week!

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Good morning!

• This felt like a personal attack.

• Every Single TikTok Grandma Is My Favorite [Eater]

• Why So Many Chefs Don’t Want Restaurants Anymore [NYTimes, unlocked]

Fall tradition is to go apple picking, making enthusiastic promises that we will show self-control this year and only get one small bag, never anything more than we could eat in a reasonable frame of time, and failing spectacularly every time, hauling an unfathomable amount of apples back to the car and spending the next few weeks furiously cooking them into everything we can, no lessons learned. Thus, this newsletter is for me, and if that whole saga sounded familiar, you too.

But, as we cannot live on apples alone — much as I will have to try for the next month -— I’ve also got a few dinner ideas for us. And that’s not all! I’ve got a little announcement this week [the special audiobook edition of Smitten Kitchen Keepers will be out on November 12th and read by me!], a new recipe so absolutely perfect for right now, a new podcast episode [all about baked ziti] and an interview with the wonderful Julia Turshen, who we are big fans of in the Smitten Kitchen, about her new cookbook What Goes with What, out today. Did you catch all that? There will be no quiz, just keep reading and we will dive right in.

Cheers!

Deb

roasted carrots with lentils and yogurt

New: Perfectly roasted carrots with a bright lentil salad on a puddle of yogurt that are so much more than a side dish. We can’t get enough of this.

Big fun announcement time! We’ve got a whole new way to hang out in the kitchen.

I’m so excited to announce the special audiobook edition of Smitten Kitchen Keepers, Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation! Available on November 12th and read by me, I hope it feels exactly like you've pulled up a chair and I'm hanging out in the kitchen with you, discussing techniques, substitutions, and chatting about what I think makes each recipe special.

Bonus recipe: When you purchase the audiobook, you will receive a signed holiday card from me with a bonus recipe! To receive your card and recipe, complete the form with your purchase order number right here.

US Residents, 18+. Ends December 13, 2024. See terms here.

My podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, launched this spring. Our newest episode, out last week, is all about Baked Ziti! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Apple, Spotify, and more.

apple and cheddar scones

Gently roasted apples and a small heap of cheddar bake into a craggy, toasted-edge, soft-centered scone that tastes like a wedge of October bliss. Breakfast, anyone?

apple and cheddar crisp salad

A peak fall apple and cheddar crisp salad in which I share three tricks to make the kind of fancy, cool, crunchy, dynamic, and gorgeous salads I can never resist on a restaurant menu at home with little fuss for so much less.

brussels sprouts, apple and pomegranate salad

Bright and crunchy, this is a forever winter staple.

breakfast apple granola crisp

Psst, If you make this, you can whittle away at your apple-picking supply, have the first serving with a scoop of ice cream for an above-average dessert, *and* have enough left for a week of dreamy October breakfasts.

apple latkes

Apple latkes for breakfast or dessert with a bonus recipe for a makeshift apple caramel sauce to make them especially hedonistic. I'm not even a little sorry.

apple dumplings

Fixation-worthy apple dumplings. When you cut into each packet, flakes of buttery crust strew everywhere, a trickle of brown sugar caramel floods your plate and mingles with the whiskey-infused glaze that had melted over the sides. Please make these soon; you'll be so glad you did. [Video below!]

even more perfect apple pie

Did you also, in a whirl of leafy fall bliss, pick too many apples? Here's a recommendation for the first 4.5 pounds of them: A few adjustments to my usual apple pie yielded one more perfect than I knew was possible, with a tall heap of cinnamon-and-spice apples nestled in a caramel-like sauce within a flaky, buttery crust. This is my forever apple pie.

apple mosaic tart with salted caramel

Did someone order a showstoppper? This tart is as simple as puffed pastry, apples, butter and sugar. It tastes, however, like the highest calling of all four due to an (easy, I promise) copper-colored salted caramel topping that bakes back onto the tart, glossing everything.

apple strudel

A delicate flaky shell of buttery pastry wrapped around vanilla, cinnamon, lemon and rum-kissed apples and raisins, with or without a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream trickling down the sides. I was so intimidated to make Apfelstrudel from scratch, I called my mother in for support. It turned out to be surprisingly simple — this straightforward recipe is nearly impossible to mess up.

apple sharlotka

Got apples? Sugar? Flour? Eggs? You should have sharlotka for dessert tonight. It has no butter or oil. It's mostly apples. Your Wednesday evening will be better with this in it.

broccoli cheddar soup

Broccoli cheddar soup, exactly the way I always wanted it to be -- a lot of broccoli, a little bit of richness, and the coziest thing on a chilly afternoon.

spicy squash salad with lentils and goat cheese

This is the anti-candy, a life raft in an ocean of all the formats of sugar that the end of October will entail. It's also crazy delicious, satisfying, seasonal and fashionably orange and black.

chicken curry

A shout-from-the-rooftops, last-recipe-you'll-ever-need-for chicken curry adapted from Chetna Makan. Not to oversell it or anything, we just love it that much -- and you can finish it in under an hour.

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers now that school’s back in session and the leaves are changing colors? I thought you’d never ask! Try the peanut butter, oat, and jam bars, spiced sweet potato oven fries, tangy baked eggplant and couscous, and weeknight lemon chicken wings. To finish, I recommend the apple butterscotch crisp, the pumpkin snacking cake, and/or the apple cider old-fashioned. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.

AN INTERVIEW WITH JULIA TURSHEN

My shelves are full of wonderful cookbooks I don’t get to talk about enough, so I’ve added this section so you can get to know the cool people behind them. Today we're chatting with Julia Turshen. Her new cookbook, What Goes with What: 100 Recipes, 20 Charts, Endless Possibilities, is out today!

1. What inspired your cookbook?

I started making and sharing cooking charts in my newsletter and got such a positive response to them. They were simple, handwritten charts that each explained the basic formula for a dish and then gave a few examples of how to put that formula to work to make different versions of that dish. Some of my earliest ones were for soups, one-pot rice dishes, salad dressings, and cocktails. I love making the charts because they're the best way I've found to express how I think about cooking (you can read more about the origins here). I heard from so many people that said they would love a book full of them so I went ahead and made one! WHAT GOES WITH WHAT includes twenty charts, each with five examples for whatever the dish is, and then recipes for each example (100 in total). 

2. What recipe are you the most proud of in the book, or felt the most triumphant when you got it right? 

Hmm, this is a tough one. The first one to come to mind is Jennie's Curried Chicken + Potatoes not because it's a difficult recipe (I don't think any of the recipes in this book are difficult), but because it's so personal. Anyone reading this who is familiar with any of my previous cookbooks already knows this, but the "Jennie" in the title is one of the most important people in my life. She was my babysitter for a decade, starting when I was three years old, and we continue to be very close. Jennie’s cooking is the food that always makes me feel most at home and this one-pot curried chicken is something I grew up with. Getting the flavors and texture of the chicken and vegetables to be just like Jennie's took some trial and error but I'm really proud of where it landed (and when I brought leftovers to Jennie, she said it was "nice" which is high praise). 

3. What recipe is so low-effort, high-reward that it's worth cooking for dinner tonight, even if we're tired and don't want to cook? 

Oh this is easy! The Fastest Chicken Noodle Soup is exactly what its title promises. It tastes like it was cooked forever but only takes about 15 minutes (seriously!). It's comfort in a bowl! Very little cleanup! No straining or long simmering or anything like that required. If I may offer another, I would say the Spicy Chicken with Lime + Cashews, which is a really fast sauté and just PACKED with so much flavor that you do very little work to create. Serve it over rice and maybe slice a cucumber alongside and you have a perfect dinner.

4. What's something you wish more people knew about your book?

It's incredibly personal. I took nearly every photo (which I've never done before in any of my books), plus I included some essays and conversations with my family members, did all of the charts in my handwriting, and, icing on the cake, my parents designed the whole thing. While all of my books have felt personal, this one is by far the most intimate and truly from my heart/hands to yours. 

Thank you, Julia! You can order What Goes with What right here.

apple dumplings

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes, including the the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser, which is back in stock! For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.

See you next week!

Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Good morning!

• Hilarious, and I’d never thought this. [TikTok]

• How Chicken Tenders Conquered America [NYTimes, unlocked]

• Everything Is a Kids Menu Now [Grub Street]

I try not to be one of those insufferable “New York or Nowhere!” types. I mean, I think I could be happy a lot of places and valiantly volunteer to live in Paris in the springtime and/or London at the holidays to prove it. But October in New York City is makes it difficult because it’s just peak: Clear skies, trees catching color, warm but not hot, cool but not shivery, brownstone stoops charmed out with pumpkins and skeletons, the rough, and the dirty edges of the sidewalks soon to be blanketed in a carpet of rust and ochre leaves. It’s straight out of You’ve Got Mail and When Harry Met Sally and I can’t get enough of it. The happier I am, the more I’m eager to cook when I get home.

Below, some of my favorite recipes to cook each October, heavy on the cozy, but fairly light on the heaviness — the perfect balance. Plus, an interview with Nini Nguyen whose cookbook, Đặc Biệt: An Extra-Special Vietnamese Cookbook, is out now and I’ve been eager to Julie-Julia (Deb-Nini?) every recipe since I first got it in my hands.

But that’s not all! Today we’re making a long-overdue introduction to the one and only Amanda Panitch, who works behind the scenes with me at Smitten Kitchen and is a tremendous force in getting this newsletter out the door each week. But do you know what Amanda does when she’s not Smitten Kitchen-ing? She writes novels (no big deal at all!) and her newest, Love You a Latke is out today and it reads like a dream of a Hanukkah Hallmark movie. I bet it would make an excellent holiday gift for a reader in your life.

Cheers!

Deb

My podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, launched this spring. Our newest episode, out this week, is all about Baked Ziti! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Apple, Spotify, and more.

fall-toush salad

A fall spin on one of my favorite summer salads, this keeps the bright flavors and textures — lemon, scallions, parsley, mint, garlic, and pita chips — but uses the cozy vegetables that abound in autumn.

cauliflower salad with dates and pistachios

A clean-out-the-fridge roasted cauliflower salad, the kind of thing I crave endlessly for cooler-weather lunches. This one has charred scallion segments, salted pistachios, chopped dates, and a sharp lemon dressing and it's so inhalable that forkfuls were walking off as I tried to take photos.

black bean pumpkin soup

Pumpkin-spiced out already? Untethered from cinnamon's grasp, pumpkin gives one of our favorite fall soups a hearty body, with additional depth from all sorts of unexpected places -- sherry, cumin, shallots and a meaty broth. It's requested every October around here.

easiest baked mac-and-cheese

Uncooked (!) pasta, milk, and cheddar bake into the easiest one-bowl, bronzed and luxurious mac-and-cheese. Go on, you know the weather demands it.

brussels sprout and bacon frittata

Enter the dinner frittata. This hearty, vegetable-heavy, and slightly decadent version from Justin Chapple has saved the day; it really feels like a meal. I bet you will love it too.

baked potatoes with wild mushroom ragu

A heartier, vegetable-centric, and slightly fancied-up baked potato that doesn't forget the essentials (butter, cheese) -- phew.

sheet pan chicken tikka

This chicken tikka is my favorite sheet pan dinner, here on a bed of cauliflower and potatoes, served right in the pan. Wildly flavorful, full of textures and color, we never get tired of it.

candy pork

An unforgettable braise with a more salty-than-sweet sauce that’s glossy and dark, a short ingredient list that’s still wildly complex with flavor, and a shorter cooking time than a full pork shoulder. Plus, the leftovers are phenomenal. Who's in?

big apple crumb cake

Angling to join your rainy day baking agenda, a bouldered and plush intersection of baked apples and New York-style crumb cake, i.e. 50% cinnamon-brown sugar topping, 50% golden, sour cream-enriched cake, and 100% the best kind there is. [Video below!]

pumpkin cinnamon rolls

Pumpkin-enriched, fall-spiced, cinnamon-swirled, cream cheese-frosted, and met with heretofore unprecedented levels of freaking out by everyone you share them with.

apple cider sangria

A deeply fall take on sangria is the ideal seasonal drink for this season -- not too boozy but just warming enough, whether you're herding trick-or-treaters around town or hoping to not drag all day on Friday, I basically created this just for meee.

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers now that school’s back in session and the leaves are changing colors? I thought you’d never ask! Try the peanut butter, oat, and jam bars, spiced sweet potato oven fries, tangy baked eggplant and couscous, and weeknight lemon chicken wings. To finish, I recommend the apple butterscotch crisp, the pumpkin snacking cake, and/or the apple cider old-fashioned. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.

AN INTERVIEW WITH NINI NGUYEN

My shelves are full of wonderful cookbooks I don’t get to talk about enough, so I’ve added this section so you can get to know the cool people behind them. Today we're chatting with Nini Nguyen. Her cookbook, Đặc Biệt: An Extra-Special Vietnamese Cookbook, is out now.

1. What inspired your cookbook?

After Top Chef, I had a lot of offers to write a cookbook, but at the time, I didn’t feel like I had the right story or message to share. It wasn't until I started teaching virtual Vietnamese cooking classes that something clicked. Surprisingly, a lot of Vietnamese people joined my classes, and it made me wonder—why weren’t they learning from their families? Many of them shared that they either lost their parents or faced language barriers, and they wanted to reconnect with their heritage through food. That's when it hit me—I’m incredibly fortunate to still have my family, to speak Vietnamese, and to have those rich traditions. I wrote this book for all of us, to preserve and share those cultural roots.

2. What recipe are you the most proud of in the book, or felt the most triumphant when you got it right? 

The recipe I’m most proud of is Bánh Cuốn, those delicate steamed rice crêpes or rice rolls. This dish is really special to me because it’s my grandma's signature dish—she’s from the North, and she used to sell it at the market. It's one of the first things she taught me to make, the old-school way with a cloth over a steamer basket. It's so nostalgic and close to my heart. I also created a version that's more approachable for home cooks who might not have the traditional tools. The best part? My grandma gave it her stamp of approval, which means the world to me!

3. What recipe is so low-effort, high-reward that it's worth cooking for dinner tonight, even if we're tired and don't want to cook? 

Definitely the Ginger-Braised Chicken! It’s one of those one-pot meals that is super comforting and doesn’t require much work at all. My mom makes it for me every time I visit, and it’s one of my favorites. The best part? It takes about the same amount of time as cooking a pot of rice, so you can have a full, delicious meal in no time. Just make sure you get that caramel nice and dark for maximum flavor. It’s simple, tasty, and you might even have some leftovers for the next day!

4. What's something you wish more people knew about your book?

I wish more people knew that my book isn’t just a collection of Vietnamese recipes—although there are plenty of those! It’s also a blend of my New Orleans influences and, in a way, it’s like a memoir. Through the food, the photography, and the stories, you get a glimpse into the Vietnamese American experience, specifically mine. My family came to the U.S. in the ’70s, and like so many immigrant families, we’ve worked hard to preserve our heritage while adapting to a new life. This book is about showcasing the vibrancy and love in our culture. I hope people connect with that when they cook from it, whether through the recipes or the stories. It’s a piece of me, and I hope it resonates with others too.

Thank you, Nini! You can order Đặc Biệt right here.

big apple crumb cake

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes, including the the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser, which is back in stock! For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.

See you next week!

Monday, September 30, 2024

Good morning!

• I aspire to write recipe titles this perfect.

• Strawberry milk! [See also: Homemade Strawberry Milk.]

• Allrecipes, America’s Most Unruly Cooking Web Site [New Yorker]

The temperature drops approximately five degrees and my carb cravings kick in immediately: Welcome to the cozy fall pasta newsletter. Burying myself in a tangle of spaghetti is almost unthinkable to me during the heatwaves of July. But there’s a nip in the air this morning and I cannot think of a better cooking agenda than spaghetti and meatballs, or maybe spirals with broccoli braised in olive oil and garlic until its unforgettable. I hope you’ll find a few new favorites below.

But that’s not all! We’ve also got an interview with the wonderful Kristina Cho, whose cookbook Chinese Enough is out tomorrow and I want to cook everything in it. Plus I’ve got a new recipe on the site for faster, easier, and effortlessly veganized cinnamon rolls. And, if you’re in charge of desserts for the Jewish New Year, which begins later this week, I’ve got you covered.

Cheers!

Deb

My podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, launched this spring. Our newest episode, out last week, is all about Caesar Salad — which just turned 100! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Apple, Spotify, and more.

easiest cinnamon rolls

New: These cinnamon rolls are no-knead, effortlessly veganized, and could be coming out of your oven in just over two hours, implicitly understanding the life truth that when you want freshly-baked cinnamon rolls, you want them as soon as humanly possible.

pasta with longer-cooked broccoli

A one-pan pasta dish with broccoli that's intentionally cooked longer, so it's tender, almost silky, and you can really taste the olive oil, garlic, and lemon. It's cozy and perfect for a rainy day.

quick pasta and chickpeas

A 20-minute, 5-ingredient (I bet all 5 are in your kitchen right now), abundantly flavorful dish that I cannot resist adding one slightly crispy and dramatically sizzling finish to. Have you made it yet? Few dishes make me feel rewarded for waiting until the last minute to figure out dinner.

skillet-baked pasta with five cheeses

A skillet-baked pink pasta with five cheeses and nestled shells that maximizes the charred edges. There's a lot of flexibility for swaps here if you, like me, are just heading to the fridge to see if there's anything you can rustle up for a Tuesday dinner.

spaghetti pangrattato with crispy eggs

One of my favorite things to make when I think I don't want to cook: spaghetti tangled with intensely seasoned crunchy breadcrumbs and a broken crispy fried egg comes together as a quick, perfect bowl of undiluted comfort. Monday dinner crisis, averted. [Video below!]

mushroom marsala pasta bake

A sizable portion of intensely flavored mushrooms, al dente noodles, mozzarella and a crunchy parmesan finish bake into something that couldn’t be further from the overcooked-to-collapse ziti most of us associate with baked pasta -- lucky us.

baked pasta with broccoli rabe and sausage

This is one of my favorite pasta bakes of all time: craggy with browned crunchy edges for miles, sausage, and broccoli rabe, and a lightly creamy pecorino sauce to hold it all together and I cannot recommend it enough for a cold, windy day.

perfect vegetable lasagna

A sky-high vegetable lasagna, five layers of noodles, sauce, cheese, and vegetables (that are not an afterthought, for once). The top layer is crackly with melted, deeply bronzed cheese over a thin slick of garlicky tomato sauce and might be the very best reason to make this.

my old-school baked ziti

A baked ziti exactly the way I like it, no jarred sauce, a bit of greens, ricotta on the side. It's spectacularly simple, effectively indulgent, and it makes bronzed, crispy corners worth calling dibs on.

spaghetti pie with pecorino and black pepper

Comfort food at its prettiest -- a tall, bronzed torte of a spaghetti pie, wound with an abundance of cheese, black pepper and, if you so desire, greens as well. Those edges are my happy place.

perfect meatballs and spaghetti

This is the best (and easiest) spaghetti and meatballs I’ve ever made. A streamlined technique gets this whole thing on the table in under an hour, which means we get to have this for dinner more often. 🍝

my family's noodle kugel

Trying to explain noodle kugel to someone who has never had noodle kugel is hard. Trying to convince someone who has had this noodle kugel to eat it again... doesn't happen. Once you have it, there's only asking for seconds, and then for you to make it again every year forever.

fig, olive oil and sea salt challah

You don't have to celebrate the High Holidays to get obsessed with this, my favorite challah to date. The leftovers, should any survive until the next day, make unbelievable french toast. We like it with warmed honey and a dollop of ricotta.

majestic and moist honey cake

Dry, beleaguered honey cake is no way to kick off 5785. This best-in-category classic from Marcy Goldman is the kind you make every year -- deeply spiced, great crumb, and very cozy. It gets better as it has time to rest, honestly, just like me.

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers now that school’s back in session and the leaves are changing colors? I thought you’d never ask! Try the peanut butter, oat, and jam bars, spiced sweet potato oven fries, tangy baked eggplant and couscous, and weeknight lemon chicken wings. To finish, I recommend the apple butterscotch crisp, the pumpkin snacking cake, and/or the apple cider old-fashioned. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.

AN INTERVIEW WITH KRISTINA CHO

My shelves are full of wonderful cookbooks I don’t get to talk about enough, so I’ve added this section so you can get to know the cool people behind them. Today we're chatting with Kristina Cho. Her cookbook Chinese Enough: Homestyle Recipes for Noodles, Dumplings, Stir-Fries, and More is out tomorrow, 10/1.

1. What inspired your cookbook?

There’s one particular meal that really stands out for me. It was December 2020, my husband and I had driven across the country from San Francisco to Cleveland to spend some of the holidays with my family after not seeing them all year. We finally reunited with my parents and they made the most comforting, simple, and soulful dinner. They served tomato egg, a brothy soup with tofu and winter melon, a squid and pepper stir-fry with black bean and garlic sauce, and some perfectly fluffy steamed rice. It tasted like home and I was so inspired by the way my parents cooked together and the love and care they put into feeding us. I wanted to write a cookbook that captured this spirit and way of cooking.

2. What recipe are you the most proud of in the book, or felt the most triumphant when you got it right? 

It would have to be my Shacha Roast Chicken recipe. I was so adamant on having a really good roast chicken recipe in the book because I think it’s such a symbol of a good home cook. I tested so many variations of this recipe but none of them felt special enough to warrant a recipe in the book. That was until I tested a roast chicken basted in shacha butter and chicken fat, which is really an aromatic shrimp butter that you will want to dunk everything into. It is phenomenal and now my go-to roast chicken recipe.

3. What recipe is so low-effort, high-reward that it's worth cooking for dinner tonight, even if we're tired and don't want to cook? 

Either the Tomato Egg or Welcome Home Steak. Both are in the Best with Rice chapter where the recipes are designed to cook in about the same amount of time a pot of rice takes to steam, so they are both really quick, easy, and deliver a lot of flavor!

4. What's something you wish more people knew about your book?

The recipes in Chinese Enough are truly meant for everyday cooking. I wanted the recipes to be as approachable as possible but still provide lots of technique and knowledge, but yet they still feel special and exciting. I cooked and shot every photo in the book and most of the recipes were made in friends’ kitchens so I got the chance to test the recipes in an environment outside of my own home kitchen, which I think proves how adaptable and easy these dishes are!

Thank you, Kristina! You can preorder Chinese Enough right here.

spaghetti pangrattato with crispy eggs

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes, including the the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser, which is back in stock! For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.

See you next week!

Monday, September 23, 2024

Good afternoon!

• The $4,999 Uncrustables painting (I love it) [NYTimes, unlocked]

• Tupperware files for bankruptcy [NYTimes, unlocked]

• Justine Doiron Wants Her Food to Speak for Itself [Psst: I’ll be interviewing Doiron at her NYC launch 10/28, tickets here]

We are kicking off my favorite cooking season right now — that is, the intersection of peak harvest and temperatures beginning to drop just enough that cooking doesn’t cause me to melt. This calls for fresh agenda in the form of a fall cooking bucket list. Below, 12 Smitten Kitchen fall essentials, unmissable (I’m a little biased) recipes I come back to every year and think deserve an audition for your repertoire too. There’s salad, there’s soup, a heavenly galette, one of the best pasta bakes, ever, the coziest chicken and rice, a perfect pumpkin bread, and caramels that could turn the most candy-resistant into a devoted fan.

Plus, I’ve got a new recipe for lemon chicken with potatoes and chickpeas, a new podcast episode out today, and an interview with the wonderful Jessie Sheehan, whose cookbook Salty, Cheesy, Herby, Crispy Snackable Bakes is out tomorrow. If you’re around this Thursday, I’ll be interviewing her about the book at Archestratus Books + Foods (tickets here).

Cheers!

Deb

The Smitten Kitchen Classroom Wishlist Project 2024 is going strong! In the US, a tremendous number of teachers don’t get the funding they need to set their classrooms up for success. Most will end up paying out of their own pockets to buy educational materials, which is all wrong. I’ve asked teachers to send me their wishlists in hopes that we can help clear as many as possible, as we did the last two summers. Help out if you feel you’re able — you will unquestionably make a teacher’s (and their students’) day! [Project information. Direct link to spreadsheet.]

My podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, launched this spring. Our newest episode, out today, is all about Caesar Salad — which just turned 100! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Apple, Spotify, and more.

lemon chicken with potatoes and chickpeas

New! A one-pan lemon chicken with potatoes and chickpeas perfect for busy times, or perhaps four times in a single month, if you’re us. The chicken thighs are bronzed and crisp; the roasted potatoes and chickpeas infuse with the lemony onion and garlic drippings. It’s perfect.

fall bliss salad

A favorite centerpiece salad that feels like the epitome of late fall with roasted squash, toasted pepitas, pomegranate, and a showstopping sherry-shallot vinaigrette.

squash toasts with ricotta and cider vinegar

One of my favorite fall combinations, ever, here roasted winter squash is half-mashed with a tangy mess of onions (cooked down with cider vinegar and maple syrup), heaped on ricotta or goat cheese toasts and finished with fresh mint. It's ridiculously good with green salad and could make a squash convert out of anyone.

spiced cauliflower soup

This spiced cauliflower and potato soup from Madhur Jaffrey is vibrant and totally hits the spot on a blustery day. We like to add a little rice, a swirl of yogurt (optional if you want to keep it vegan) and a few wedges of toasted naan on the side. Double it if you can; I’m always glad when I do.

miso sweet potato and broccoli bowl

Wild rice, roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli and a miso-ginger-tahini dressing all piled into one bowl make this one of my favorite everyone-approved weeknight dinners -- use any kind of rice or combination of vegetables you've got; the dressing is the star.

winter squash and spinach pasta bake

Inspired by Ottolenghi, this pasta bake is savory fall brilliance. Everything is tossed raw into a springform for a long bake and what emerges is resplendent: layers of tender squash and spinach with noodles, soft in the center and burnished to a snatch-able crisp on top, the aroma of garlic and toasted cheese everywhere.

everyday meatballs

My everyday meatballs are one-bowl, one-pot, frying-free and have so much flavor, they work as a standalone dish or with a side of salad, and by "salad" I mean garlic bread. Make a big pot of these on Sunday, bake some mozzarella and parmesan on top, and let everyone scoop it onto segments of bread and see if anyone lets you make anything else for a party ever again.

butternut squash and caramelized onion galette

It's my favorite time of the year in the Northeast -- crisp air, leaves in every color, and, most importantly, it's finally butternut squash and caramelized onion galette season. It's my every-October-without-fail thing, and I hope you make it yours too.

chicken rice with buttered onions

The most cozy, comforting fall dish that's gone into heavy rotation at dinnertime because the ingredient list is short, the chicken tender, the rice flavorful, the leftovers reheat phenomenally, and it's budget-friendly. You cannot imagine a better aroma to come home to.

pumpkin bread

It's time! I want this to be the last recipe for pumpkin bread you'll ever need: towering with a crisp cinnamon-sugar lid that's impossible not to pick off in deeply satisfying bark-like flecks. It's also one-bowl and uses a full can of pumpkin in a single loaf. I refuse to believe that an October day cannot be improved by one of these coming out of the oven.

mom's apple cake

My mom's apple cake is an avalanche of apples, a tiny bit of batter, and a cascade of cinnamon baked into a hulking mass of fall awesomeness in a tube pan that people will demand you make again and again. It's for new neighbors, and rainy afternoons. It's also dairy-free and gets better the longer it lasts.

cranberry-orange breakfast buns

These tender breakfast buns infused with orange zest and wound with a brown sugar cranberry filling that becomes almost jammy as they bake are exquisitely good right now or for any holiday breakfasts you have ahead. Don't miss them; they’re one of my all-time favorites.

apple cider caramels

This is my favorite candy I've *ever* made. It compacts a whole bottle of fresh apple cider into a salt-flecked, cinnamon-y, buttery caramel that is so loud with everything awesome about fall, no October is complete without it. [Video below!]

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers now that school’s back in session and the leaves are changing colors? I thought you’d never ask! Try the peanut butter, oat, and jam bars, spiced sweet potato oven fries, tangy baked eggplant and couscous, and weeknight lemon chicken wings. To finish, I recommend the apple butterscotch crisp, the pumpkin snacking cake, and/or the apple cider old-fashioned. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.

AN INTERVIEW WITH JESSIE SHEEHAN

My shelves are full of wonderful cookbooks I don’t get to talk about enough, so I’ve added this section so you can get to know the cool people behind them. Today we're chatting with Jessie Sheehan. Her cookbook Salty, Cheesy, Herby, Crispy Snackable Bakes: 100 Easy-Peasy, Savory Recipes for 24/7 Deliciousness is out tomorrow, 9/24.

1. What inspired your cookbook?

At the risk of sounding cheesy (pun intended) Salty Cheesy Herby Crispy Snackable Bakes is truly inspired by exactly how it is I like to bake at home. It is a book of super simple, easy recipes that require minimal lift, but offer up maximum deliciousness. They are the kind of recipes that I crave and then make, for my family and me on the regular. This book is the savory sibling of my last book, Snackable Bakes, a book of easy-peasy sweet recipes. And embracing cheese and herbs and salt for this book, while still holding strong to the Snackable Bakes ethos (short, pantry friendly ingredient lists, no special equipment, quick assembly) seemed like a natural progression. Although it did require me to get comfortable with my spice drawer in ways that surprised me, as I definitely found developing savory baking recipes far more difficult than developing sweet ones. 

2. What recipe are you the most proud of in the book, or felt the most triumphant when you got it right? 

I’m really proud of my creamed greens pie - and really all the recipes in the Brunchables, Lunchables, etc. chapter, as this is the chapter of recipes you can actually whip up for a meal - I mean yes, you can eat snacks for dinner, but it’s sometimes nice to make an actual “main course” and the creamed greens pie is just that. My vision for the recipe was this: I adore creamed spinach - particularly when served along side, well, bloody (sorry!) steak at Peter Luger’s and I wanted to make a pie that gave me all the creamed spinach vibes I craved, and then some. So I added kale and Swiss chard to the mix and cooked this all a bit on the stove top with some cream, and then transferred it to an unbaked pie crust (the crust is made from my magic melted butter pie dough (which I am also proud of because, believe it or not, it still has some flakiness to it, in part due to the little bit of baking powder that I add to the dough, despite the fact it is made with melted butter). Forty minutes later you’re eating slices of creamed greens nestled in buttery pie dough. Yum.

3. What recipe is so low-effort, high-reward that it's worth cooking for dinner tonight, even if we're tired and don't want to cook? 

Okay, so here’s the thing: because everything in the book is low effort, high reward, I hardly know where to begin . . . BUT, the first thing that comes to mind, that arguably (according to my recipe tester) is not really a recipe at all, is my “recipe”for Ritz Crackers (I had to call them “butter crackers” in the book) with pickles and melted Monterey Jack cheese. Essentially you layer slices of a briny sour pickle on the crackers and top with squares of cheese, place into the oven for 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese is melty and voila: one of the tastiest treats in the land that is quite snack’y and quite special. I’m not saying you could eat a bunch of these and call it dinner, but I’m not saying you couldn’t . . . 

4. What's something you wish more people knew about your book?

I am not sure why, but I live in mortal fear that Salty Cheesy is going to be thought of as an appetizer book, a snack book, an entertaining book. And although there are plenty of snack’y items in it (hello Ritz and pickles and cheese) I really hope people think of it as much more than that - there are breakfast recipes (both muffins and biscuits and scones but also a strata and a dutch baby) and lunch recipes (like bread pudding and quiches) and dinner recipes (like spaghetti pie and galettes) - and I want it to feel like a book you could pull off your shelf for any meal of the day, as well as for those moments when you need something for a party or because you’re having a few peeps over or because you want a dinner of a few little things, as opposed to one big one. In short, I want people to know that Salty Cheesy is a versatile little number, and I hope people recognize all the variety it offers.

Thank you, Jessie! You can preorder Salty, Cheesy, Herby, Crispy Snackable Bakes right here.

apple cider caramels

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes, including the the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser, which is back in stock! For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.

See you next week!

Monday, September 16, 2024

Good afternoon!

• Wait, I need some savory s’mores. [TikTok]

• In ‘You Gotta Eat,’ You Don’t Gotta Cook [Eater]

• Last week on WNYC’s All Of It, we chatted about packing lunches.

Is this falummer? Sumall? I’m clumsily trying to find a cutesy summer-fall hybrid to represent this specific moment in my kitchen, when I’m not quite done with summer produce but it’s finally cooled down enough that I can enjoy turning on the stove and oven and… actually cooking it. This is also why September is my favorite cooking month Summer-turning-to-fall is prime harvest time, and the markets reflect it deliciously, making it easier than ever to cook meat-free.

Below, 10 perfectly seasonal vegetarian recipes for those of us who want to enjoy summer’s bounty as long as it lasts. Plus, today we're chatting with Jeremy Salamon, the chef and owner of the beloved Agi’s Counter in Brooklyn. His cookbook Second Generation: Hungarian and Jewish Classics Reimagined for the Modern Table is out tomorrow, 9/17.

Cheers!

Deb

The Smitten Kitchen Classroom Wishlist Project 2024 is going strong! In the US, a tremendous number of teachers don’t get the funding they need to set their classrooms up for success. Most will end up paying out of their own pockets to buy educational materials, which is all wrong. I’ve asked teachers to send me their wishlists in hopes that we can help clear as many as possible, as we did the last two summers. Help out if you feel you’re able — you will unquestionably make a teacher’s (and their students’) day! [Project information. Direct link to spreadsheet.]

My podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, launched this spring. Our new episode, out last Monday, is all about BLTs. You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, i.e. Apple, Spotify, and more.

corn coconut soup

A corn coconut soup from Top Chef winner Melissa King was a late summer hit -- it has a cozy, mellow (and vegan) base that we garnished with chile oil, crispy and pickled shallots, lime, and even more ideas in the recipe. I can't wait to see what you do with it.

caponata

A great caponata -- the kind that's like a tangy, garlicky eggplant jam -- can be prepped once and used in infinite ways but my favorite is dolloped on grainy bread over a thick slice of mozzarella, repeated as needed, which will be often.

summer's last hurrah panzanella

Classic panzanella salad is just dressed tomatoes and stale bread but as we inch towards fall, I prefer this busier version with other chunky vegetables and heartier croutons. I always wonder why we don't eat it for dinner more often.

apple and cheddar crisp salad

A peak fall apple and cheddar crisp salad in which I share three tricks to make the kind of fancy, cool, crunchy, dynamic, and gorgeous salads I can never resist on a restaurant menu at home with little fuss for so much less. I'm obsessed. [Video below!]

simple cauliflower tacos

A giant head of cauliflower reduced to a scorched, highly seasoned rubble, finished with lime, avocado, salty cheese, pickled onions, and your favorite hot sauce has been one of my favorite dinners of the last year -- I'm never not craving it, and hope you love them too.

crispy spinach pizza

Spinach leaves crisp over a small but mighty layer of cheese, a complex salty, stretchy, funky three-fer of mozzarella, pecorino, and gruyere that anchors the spinach to the crust. Don't be put off by field-of-greens appearance -- this pizza is so, so good.

herbed summer squash pasta bake

A freezer-friendly but infinitely summery (light and lemony! fresh herbs! seasonal vegetables!) pasta bake destined to become your favorite summer dish to prep and share.

black pepper tofu and eggplant

Eggplant and tofu are fantastic together in this stir-fry; the tofu holds its shape, the eggplant collapses and partly joins the sauce and the result was too dark and pretty to even bother garnishing with chiles or scallions, but you could. You’re in charge.

peach shortbread

These peach shortbread squares are ridiculously easy to make and will make you ridiculously welcome wherever you take them. Oh, and there's browned butter in there. I bet that doesn't surprise anyone.

single-crust plum and apple pie

A spectacularly September-ish pie with apples, plums and an extra thick cookie-like lid comes together in very little time, even on a Monday afternoon.

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers now that school’s back in session and the leaves are changing colors? I thought you’d never ask! Try the peanut butter, oat, and jam bars, spiced sweet potato oven fries, tangy baked eggplant and couscous, and weeknight lemon chicken wings. To finish, I recommend the apple butterscotch crisp, the pumpkin snacking cake, and/or the apple cider old-fashioned. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.

AN INTERVIEW WITH JEREMY SALAMON

My shelves are full of wonderful cookbooks I don’t get to talk about enough, so I’ve added this section so you can get to know the cool people behind them. Today we're chatting with Jeremy Salamon, the chef and owner of Agi’s Counter in Brooklyn. His cookbook Second Generation: Hungarian and Jewish Classics Reimagined for the Modern Table is out tomorrow, 9/17.

1. What inspired your cookbook?

I felt that there was a place missing on modern cookbook shelves for a young Eastern European / Hungarian voice. Most American-Hungarian cookbooks are from the 50's, 60's & 70's. I wanted to see something fresh with a new perspective on where this cuisine could go.

2. What recipe are you the most proud of in the book, or felt the most triumphant when you got it right? 

The semolina dumplings! The recipe took me months of testing to get right. I had found several different versions of this dumpling through research, my grandmother and travels. Getting them to be light and airy while also holding their structure as they cook was difficult to nail down. I was so proud of it that I ended up putting it on the menu at Agi's Counter. 

3. What recipe is so low-effort, high-reward that it's worth cooking for dinner tonight, even if we're tired and don't want to cook? 

Good question! The Tokaji soaked strawberries are one of my favorites. It's pretty much cut strawberries (in season is preferable), sugar, vanilla bean and Tokaji. Let it macerate so it becomes syrupy and sweet. Serve it with soft whipped cream. You could even toast up some pound cake and spoon it over the top!

4. What's something you wish more people knew about your book?

I wish more people knew that this book is intended to evolve, just like what I'm trying to achieve by putting it out. You can cook the recipes and then adapt them into your own. I scattered handwritten notes throughout the book that encourage variations of the dishes! I want these to become recipes that are personal to you and your families with your own twists.

Thank you, Jeremy! You can preorder Second Generation right here.

apple and cheddar crisp salad

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes, including the the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser, which is back in stock! For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.

See you next week!

Monday, September 9, 2024

Good morning!

• When Did All the Recipes Get ‘Garlicky’? [Eater]

• Is Making Your Own Tomato Sauce Worth It? [Eater]

• Ina Garten and the Age of Abundance [New Yorker]

The Smitten Kitchen has a strict no pumpkin spice, no apple picking, no flannel shirts, or discussion of Halloween between the actual first day of fall rule, which is not for another 13 days, thank you very much. I do not understand why anyone would want to rush summer out the door right at the point when it gets the nicest. I’m typing this wearing a thick cardigan (a favorite thing), at a nearly empty beach (another favorite thing), on a sunny but crisp day where the sky is dotted with what I call Simpsons clouds (a third and fourth favorite thing), and these are things that really only happen in late summer.

Below, 10 pumpkin-free but still gently cozy recipes I consider perfectly September. Plus, while I do not choose favorites, do know that I’m delighted that Steve Sando of wonderful Rancho Gordo fame is joining us today for the cool cookbook author interview, talking about The Bean Book: 100 Recipes for Cooking with All Kinds of Beans, which is out tomorrow. And, if that wasn’t exciting enough, my podcast, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, is back today with a new episode all about BLT, definitely one of the greatest sandwiches of all time.

Cheers!

Deb

The Smitten Kitchen Classroom Wishlist Project 2024 is going strong! In the US, a tremendous number of teachers don’t get the funding they need to set their classrooms up for success. Most will end up paying out of their own pockets to buy educational materials, which is all wrong. I’ve asked teachers to send me their wishlists in hopes that we can help clear as many as possible, as we did the last two summers. Help out if you feel you’re able — you will unquestionably make a teacher’s (and their students’) day! [Project information. Direct link to spreadsheet.]

Deb

My podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, launched this spring. Our new episode, out today, is all about BLTs. You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, i.e. Apple, Spotify, and more.

red pepper soup

I'm deeply attached to this perfect bowl of soup from way back in the SK archives because it was a dinner party menu staple for many years -- it's simple, cozy, and looks really cute in small cups with a swirl of cream.

crisped chickpeas with herbs and garlic yogurt

This is a Top 5 favorite warm-weather lunch for me -- pan-crisped chickpeas on top of blistered lemony zucchini on top of a salty garlic yogurt sauce, finished with herbs and more lemon juice. It serves exactly one person and it's not sorry about it at all.

grape focaccia with rosemary

I cannot get enough of the sweet/salty/olive oil/grape/rosemary thing with the crisp edges yet so much texture in this focaccia, it’s nothing like the focaccia you might be used to. Put this out in a spread with wine, cheese, and salad and watch it disappear first.

oat and wheat sandwich bread

This is my go-to sandwich bread: whole wheat but unheavy, from scratch but hard to mess up (leave the dough in the fridge for a day -- it doesn't mind at all), and it makes a towering loaf that can make the most basic thrown-together PB&J taste exceptional.

pizza beans

It is always the right season to bake giant white beans as if they were ziti -- vegetables, a robust sauce, and a finish with bronzed, melty cheese. We call them pizza beans, because it brings more bean-skeptics to the table. Did I forget to mention that we serve them with garlic bread? I hope that sweetens the deal for you, too.

baked orzo with eggplant and mozzarella

An Ottolenghi take on baked pasta with tomatoes, parmesan and enough mozzarella that it stretches from each forkful, but there are also pillows of eggplant and other vegetables, so it doesn't feel over the top. The leftovers, should any survive, are luxurious.

crispiest chicken cutlets

I love perfectly seasoned, craggy bread-crumbed, deeply golden, crispy chicken cutlets but hated making them until I learned a trick from my MIL that makes them a little faster, less heavy, and, if you have old bread lying around, the absolute crunchiest. These never, ever last.

skirt steak salad with arugula and blue cheese

Steak salads are a weekend favorite of ours because they check so many boxes -- a little luxurious, lots of greens, and a bright vinaigrette makes them anything but sleepy. Add a crusty baguette and some wine and wonder why you don't do this more often.

magic apple plum cobbler

If you can read about something called a magic cobbler that you make more or less entirely in the pan you bake it in and not have it in the oven 15 minutes later, you're made of stronger stuff than me. This one celebrates peak late-summer-ness with apples, plums and a cinnamon-sugar lid and it's exquisite served with whatever is left of a scoop of vanilla ice cream after it lands on top of the warm cobbler.

red wine chocolate cake

The intersection of chocolate and red wine is unforgettable here, in a fudgy, one-bowl, and very September-ish cake. Plus, a little 9/11 story -- but not a sad one.

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers now that school’s back in session and the leaves are changing colors? I thought you’d never ask! Try the peanut butter, oat, and jam bars, spiced sweet potato oven fries, tangy baked eggplant and couscous, and weeknight lemon chicken wings. To finish, I recommend the apple butterscotch crisp, the pumpkin snacking cake, and/or the apple cider old-fashioned. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.

AN INTERVIEW WITH STEVE SANDO

My shelves are full of wonderful cookbooks I don’t get to talk about enough, so I’ve added this section so you can get to know the cool people behind them. Today we're chatting with Steve Sando of Rancho Gordo. His cookbook The Bean Book: 100 Recipes for Cooking with All Kinds of Beans is out tomorrow, 9/10.

1. What inspired your cookbook?

I think of it as kind of a "victory lap", celebrating the beans after so many years of begging people to try them and now they're chic. I did this all out of love and I like to think it's mutual, although the beans are oddly silent. It felt like time to share all the things I've learned since I started Rancho Gordo in 2001.

2. What recipe are you the most proud of in the book, or felt the most triumphant when you got it right? 

I think it's the Chili Sin Carne. I have many Texan friends who love to give me grief about beans not belonging in Chili. I understand their point. So many "vegetarian chili" recipes are really just vegetable stews with maybe a little heat. That isn't Chili. So I worked on it and I love the Chili Sin Carne recipe. It's very bean forward and an open-minded Texan would like it.

3. What recipe is so low-effort, high-reward that it's worth cooking for dinner tonight, even if we're tired and don't want to cook? 

It's the idea of having a plan for the pot of beans. You don't make a whole pot of beans just to make Pasta e Fagioli. You make a pot and for the first meal you have a soup, then a salad, and in the end, blend it for a dip. It's better to make a pot of a bean you like and then decide what to make. And you always have glorious beans in the fridge, ready to go.

Having said that, warm up the cooked beans. Put them in a bowl. Add some chopped white onion and a drizzle of your very best olive oil and then try and tell me there's something better.

4. What's something you wish more people knew about your book?

It was a team effort. I'm listed as the author and I did write the text and recipe headers. Many of the recipes are from my kitchen but Julia Newberry is not a ghost writer. She was just as responsible for the final book as I was, maybe even more when it came to the recipes. I love her taste and talent. We also had Rancho Gordo staff help test the recipes and of course, come up with ideas. I am very lucky to work with such talented people, and we have fun.

Thank you, Steve! You can preorder The Bean Book right here from the Rancho Gordo store or here from other retailers.

plum and cream scone cobbler

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes, including the the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser, which is back in stock! For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.

See you next week!

Tuesday, September 3, 2024

Good morning!

• Dare me to make this happen. [Twitter]

• "Will We Ever Shut Up About Caesar Salad?” (Absolutely not, just wait until The Recipe with Kenji and Deb Season 2, Episode 2!) [Taste Cooking]

• Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks is one of the best things in my neighborhood. Love this spolight on her! [New Yorker]

If ever there was a sound effect that perfectly epitomized the transition between a leisurely late-summer breezy, beachy vacation and the first week of school, resumption of scheduled activities, and a general feeling even among adults who have been employed the whole time that it’s time, somehow, to get back to work… it would be a needle scratching off a record. Is it just me? Surely it can’t just be me. Every year, without fail, I find September to be a beast and while we’re just one non-vacation day into it, this one appears to be playing out no differently.

How do we manage? We’re going to lean into what works. Below, 10 recipes that are so anchored in our weekly meal rotations, they’re staples. They’re simple but not plain. They please a crowd. They hit all of the weeknight dinner and weekday morning notes. And they don’t forget the important things, like a really great cookie as a reward for getting through the school day (adults, you too). I hope you find a few recipe saviors in here, too.

Cheers!

Deb

The Smitten Kitchen Classroom Wishlist Project 2024 is going strong! In the US, a tremendous number of teachers don’t get the funding they need to set their classrooms up for success. Most will end up paying out of their own pockets to buy educational materials, which is all wrong. I’ve asked teachers to send me their wishlists in hopes that we can help clear as many as possible, as we did the last two summers. Help out if you feel you’re able — you will unquestionably make a teacher’s (and their students’) day! [Project information. Direct link to spreadsheet.]

Deb

banana oat weekday pancakes

A fork-mixed, one-bowl whole wheat pancake that's miraculously not compromised in taste or texture. It goes from assembly to plates and mouths in 15 minutes, which means even a human who slacks as much as I do most mornings can pull them off.

thick, chewy granola bars

No wan, tooth-breaking granola bars here. These are tall, loaded with pretty much anything you wish, and hearty so if you make a batch over the weekend, you've got breakfast and/or snacks sorted for as long as they last.

quick, essential stovetop mac-and-cheese

Quick, essential stovetop mac-and-cheese that you can have 15 minutes from now, or whenever an intense need for pasta with a sauce of salty melted cheese strikes and nothing else will do.

skillet ravioli with spinach

A 15-minute, 5-ingredient crispy-creamy pasta-and-greens dinner that wants to change the way we make ravioli forever, just in time to talk ourselves out of ordering pizza tonight.

simple eggplant parmesan

Really simple, weeknight-friendly, breading-and-frying-free eggplant parmesan that's baked until blistered, cozy, and absolutely spoonable, with stretches of cheese trying to drag each spoonful back to the pan. Spoiler: It will fail; you will win. [Video below!]

taco torte

Vegetable, bean, and cheese tacos stacked like a lasagna and sliced like a cake are always a good idea.

corn and black bean weeknight nachos

In my forever quest to have more nachos in my life, I've found that 3 vegetables, 9 salad-y toppings and 0 skimping on the melty cheese is the magic formula.

skillet turkey chili

A one-skillet, weeknight-friendly chili with a simple ingredient list that requires little planning ahead, which is awesome because I discovered during quarantine months that even with all of the time in the world, I never quite mastered planning far enough ahead to not be in a rush when making dinner. 🙃

soy-glazed chicken

A quick skillet chicken with a soy sauce reduction that gives the cutlets a lacquered glaze. This is such a family favorite that it's gone in the regular rotation. We serve it with rice and a quick vegetable slaw.

whole wheat chocolate oat cookies

Oat and chocolate chip cookies with both whole wheat flour and (optional) wheat germ -- no wait, come back! They're craggier, more nuanced, and flavorful than any oat cookie I've made before and I don't think you'll go back to making them the old way, either.

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers for these warm summer days? I thought you’d never ask! Try the zucchini cornbread and tomato butter, two-bean salad with basil vinaigrette, spinach spiral bread, tomato and corn cobbler, and lamb skewers with crackly vinegar glaze. To finish, I recommend the big crumb pie bars, the blondie chipwich, and/or the strawberry summer stack cake. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.

My podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, launched this spring. Our tenth episode and season finale is the second of a two-part Mailbag episode where we answer as many of your questions as we can. You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts and I’ve set up a podcast tab/page where you can keep up on it here, too. I hope you’ve enjoyed listening along to season one — season two is coming very soon, and it’s going to be so much fun.

simple eggplant parmesan

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes, including the the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser, which is back in stock! For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.

See you next week!

Monday, August 26, 2024

Good morning!

• I will never admit how many times a day I think about this “wedding cake”

• Bring back those Italian pumped sodas [Taste]

• An article about the SK Classroom Wishlist Project, more details below.

Greetings from coastal Maine, where we are on vacation this week with family, getting our fix of lobster, blueberry pie, flat beaches at low tide, flag-draped weathered barns, and um, mosquitos, which are having a good laugh at what passes for bug spray in NYC. I will throw a pity party for this inconvenience by trying out every doughnut shop we can walk or drive to, so I must hurry off, as many close at noon.

This week we’re taking a deep dive into all the sweet corn and berry recipes, because they’re too good in late August not to be celebrated. You can find my favorite recipe for blueberry pie (it also contains blackberries) too! Plus, a new recipe for a highly addictive Napa Cabbage Wedge with Miso Dressing. And, this week we have an interview with Jenny Rosenstrach whose new, and perfectly-timed cookbook for the back-to-school/back-to-the-grind chaos, The Weekday Vegetarians Get Simple: Strategies and So-Good Recipes to Suit Every Craving and Mood is out tomorrow.

Cheers!

Deb

The Smitten Kitchen Classroom Wishlist Project 2024 is going strong! In the US, a tremendous number of teachers don’t get the funding they need to set their classrooms up for success. Most will end up paying out of their own pockets to buy educational materials, which is all wrong. I’ve asked teachers to send me their wishlists in hopes that we can help clear as many as possible, as we did the last two summers. Help out if you feel you’re able — you will unquestionably make a teacher’s (and their students’) day! [Project information. Direct link to spreadsheet.]

Deb

napa cabbage wedge with miso dressing

New! A crunchy, vibrant, and wildly delicious Napa cabbage wedge-style salad with an unforgettable miso dressing, crispy shallots and radishes. You should just go ahead and double everything because I don’t think you’ll want to just eat this once.

corn fritters

This is my platonic ideal of a corn fritter: crunchy, golden brown, and mostly sweet corn kernels with just the tiniest amount of batter to tether them together. These have scallions, chives, and cheddar and they're exquisite (with a dab of mayo, if you dare) but I've suggested at least four other flavor combinations (mm, cacio e pepe, miso-scallion...) I didn't get to -- yet.

corn chowder with chile, lime and cotija

This is my favorite corn chowder: a hearty soup with beans instead of the usual potatoes, with a rich and salty lime and cheese finish, plus baked tortilla chips on the side for all the crunch.

leek, chard and corn flatbread

Leeks and corn find their perfect sweet/salty rhythm against crumbled goat cheese in the most summery thing you could do to a pizza dough.

charred corn tacos with zucchini-radish slaw

One of my favorite cooking discoveries of the last few years was that I could char sweet summer corn over a gas flame for the most incredible caramelized flavor that otherwise eludes us grill-less city dwellers. Then I turned it into the most summery tacos yet. Can you blame me?

corn cacio e pepe

The only thing I love more than the combination of salty, funky pecorino cheese and copious amounts of black pepper on a tangle of linguine is the way I make it in the summer: adding sweet, crunchy corn. It's the perfect complement; they're made for each other. Hurry so you can make this before the corn disappears and the cardigans arrive. 🍂

corn, cheddar and scallion strata

This strata with corn, scallions, cheddar, and sourdough is a late summer favorite for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It reheats gorgeously, if you want to plan ahead for a delicious weekend.

summer succotash with bacon and croutons

I always thought succotash was one of those dishes parents made to trick kids into eating lima beans until I tried the late Gourmet's version. In it, shell beans, sweet corn, spicy arugula, crisp salty bacon, croutons and a glug of sherry vinegar transform into a sweet, crunchy, salty, zingy, blissful bold bowl of summer.

blueberry pancakes

Classic blueberry buttermilk pancakes and 10 pancake tips from deep in the archives, just in time for peak blueberry season. The pancakes are now one-bowl and ready to ease us all out of bed on a sleepy morning. T[Video below!]

easy drop berry shortcakes

A tall, craggy, crunchy-edged shortcake that’s a cinch to make, requiring no rolling pins, round cutters, unusual ingredients, or more pressingly, advanced planning to put together. Just add berries and cream.

triple berry summer buttermilk bundt

This is the happiest summer cake — bronzed with a faint crunch at the edges, tender to the point of pudding-ness in the center, dotted with jammy berries, and welcome wherever you get to share it.

swirled berry yogurt popsicles

Lightly sweetened Greek yogurt + half-blended fresh berries = popsicles for breakfast are sheer heat wave brilliance.

cheesecake bars with all the berries

My favorite simple, fuss-free cheesecake is poured into a sheet pan (for better proportions and more servings) and then heaped with every summer berry you can get your hands on -- or basically all of them; they're gloriously in season right now. This is a perfect summer dessert.

blackberry-blueberry crumb pie

A two-berry pie with a gorgeous hue and the fluffiest cobblestone of a crumb topping. Swap equal amounts of another fruit combination, if you wish. Just don't skip the topping.

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers for these warm summer days? I thought you’d never ask! Try the zucchini cornbread and tomato butter, two-bean salad with basil vinaigrette, spinach spiral bread, tomato and corn cobbler, and lamb skewers with crackly vinegar glaze. To finish, I recommend the big crumb pie bars, the blondie chipwich, and/or the strawberry summer stack cake. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.

My podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, launched this spring. Our tenth episode and season finale is the second of a two-part Mailbag episode where we answer as many of your questions as we can. You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts and I’ve set up a podcast tab/page where you can keep up on it here, too. I hope you’ve enjoyed listening along to season one — season two is coming very soon, and it’s going to be so much fun.

AN INTERVIEW WITH JENNY ROSENSTRACH

My shelves are full of wonderful cookbooks I don’t get to talk about enough, so I’ve added this section so you can get to know the cool people behind them. Today we're chatting with Jenny Rosenstrach. Her cookbook The Weekday Vegetarians Get Simple: Strategies and So-Good Recipes to Suit Every Craving and Mood is out tomorrow, 8/27.

1. What inspired your cookbook?

When I published volume one of The Weekday Vegetarians a few years ago, it felt like the book struck a chord with people who wanted to dial back on their meat consumption, but weren’t quite ready to give it up altogether. That was me, too, so the book was a very personal journey, told almost in real-time. This new book, The Weekday Vegetarians: Get Simple continues with that mission, while also addressing the very real obstacles that prevent people from committing to more vegetable-forward cooking in general. I kept hearing people say “I would love to cook more vegetarian meals but it’s just so complicated!” So I was determined to figure out a collection of straightforward, simple vegetarian dinner recipes.

2. What recipe are you the most proud of in the book, or felt the most triumphant when you got it right? 

The Tamarind-Glazed Cauliflower Tacos. A few years ago, my daughter, Abby, came back from a 16th birthday party at some downtown spot, and wouldn’t stop talking about the cauliflower tacos — a menu item that was just starting to show up in every restaurant across the country. I was intrigued, reminding her that she didn’t like cauliflower, but after a few follow-up questions, determined that the florets had been deep-fried to resemble popcorn shrimp, and deep-frying is something I will never have the energy or bravery to attempt in my own kitchen. But she kept on being like “remember those tacos?” so of course, I gave it a shot…and another shot…and another shot, trying to come up with a decent workaround for the deep-frying. Eventually I ended up borrowing a technique from Balaboosta chef (and crispy cauliflower queen) Einat Admony to achieve just the right texture, then it was just a matter of tossing in a store-bought tamarind glaze (lots of permission for using store-bought ingredients in this book!) and drizzling the whole thing with a bright green herby sauce. I have to say, even Abby would admit that I nailed it.

3. What recipe is so low-effort, high-reward that it's worth cooking for dinner tonight, even if we're tired and don't want to cook? 

This is a very hard question considering low-effort, high-reward is the literal concept of the book, lol. Some recipes earn this honor more than others, though. There’s a recipe for Menemen, or Turkish scrambled eggs with tomatoes and spices, which was inspired by a version I kept ordering again and again at a Turkish restaurant in Mamaroneck, NY called Roasters. Menemen is one of Turkey’s most popular comfort foods — it involves simply scrambling eggs softly, then tossing in tomatoes, onions, and Urfa biber (made from southern Turkey’s distinctly dark colored Chile pepper), which lends it a uniquely sweet depth. I am always looking to “dinner-fy” eggs and I took to this technique (and the urfa biber) immediately. Also, the tomato tart with blue cheese and chives is the cover recipe for a reason: It’s the almost embarrassingly beginner-level simple and yet always received with wide-eyed euphoria at my dinner table! Just the other night I was cooking for my nephews and nieces and saw I had a few extra tomatoes lying around, so I put a tart together in about five minutes as sort of an afterthought. I didn’t have blue cheese or chives, but I had ricotta and basil, and that is the beauty of it — it’s endlessly riffable. And for better or worse, steals the scene from anything else unlucky enough to sit next to it on a table, especially this time of year when the tomatoes are A-plus-plus-plus-plus.

4. What's something you wish more people knew about your book?

Last summer, I started getting emails from so many friends asking for easy vegetarian recipes — I remember one friend requesting dinners that were as “stupid-easy” as possible. This was of course, not unusual, I’ve been writing about easy dinners for almost 15 years now, but it struck me that these were all parents of kids who were in college — empty nest parents, who in theory should’ve felt a little relief from the relentless meal-making grind. I quickly realized though, that they were asking about recipes not for them but for their college-age and twenty-something kids, many of whom were out on their own cooking for themselves for the first time, and clueless about the whole dinner thing, i.e. how to cook but also how to plan, and how to shop efficiently and on a budget. So there is a chapter in the book about basic starter kit dinners that is devoted to those kids — my kids, I should note! — and it makes me kind of tearful to think about how full circle the whole love story really is.

Thank you, Jenny! You can preorder The Weekday Vegetarians Get Simple right here.

blueberry pancakes

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes, including the the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser, which is back in stock! For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.

See you next week!