Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Good afternoon!
Ravioli’s Day of Reckoning Has Arrived [Jezebel]
The unexpected hero of my baking repertoire [New Yorker]
Apologies for a late newsletter this week. Yesterday, I still was on a silky white beach, the kind with the sand that feels cold under your feet, with a glittering impossibly turquoise ocean in front of me, palm trees casting waving shadows over my SPF70, reading entire books and drinking things like passionfruit mojitos because one fun rule of parenthood is that when they’re on spring break, sometimes you get to be as well.
We’ve got a great newsletter today — first, a new recipe for steamed artichokes with a few tips that have changed the way I’ve always cooked them for the best, plus 10 great things to cook this month, plus the wonderful Priya Krishna has a new cookbook out today, Priya’s Kitchen Adventures: A Cookbook for Kids, and she tells us all about it in an interview below.
Finally, three weeks ago we launched the Staub x Smitten Kitchen Braiser and it unfortunately sold out in just a few hours. I’ve just gotten word that the restock is expected May 10th, which, I’m just saying, is a mere 48 hours before Mother’s Day, in case anyone needs a hint.
Cheers!
Deb
My podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, launched two months ago and our fifth episode, out last Monday, is all about Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (and, of course, how everyone but me cuts them wrong.) You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts and I’ve set up a new podcast tab/page where you can keep up on it here, too. We will have new episodes every two Mondays. We’ve been working on this behind the scenes for the last year — I hope you enjoy listening along.
steamed artichokes
New: A love letter to my favorite vegetable, with a couple new-to-me tips from a favorite internet chef (Hailee Catalano) that altered the way I’ve always cooked artichokes, making it quicker, neater, and prettier, too.
spring panzanella
Got some old bread to rescue? Asparagus, white beans, leeks and garlic-parmesan croutons prove, to my delight, that we don't have to wait until tomato season to get our panzanella fix.
greek salad with lemon and oregano
A mostly authentic (the lemon is my thing) Greek salad that will provide all of the salty tartness and refreshing crunch we need. Or hold us over until someone can transport us to a breezy Greek island. Do know I'm open to either.
spring vegetable potstickers
Please do not underestimate the fun of putting out a giant bowl of dumpling filling and a couple packages of wrappers and having friends and family assemble their own dinner, so much better than storebought, especially when they celebrate bright spring vegetables. Extras freeze fantastically; future you thanks you for remembering this.
ramp pizza
This simple pizza hits all the best notes: not too heavy, abundantly flavorful, and it celebrates one of my favorite spring vegetables, equal parts spring onion and delicate greens in flavor. We make it every May.
fried egg sandwich with bacon and blue cheese
My favorite egg sandwich was inspired by a salad, but don't let that scare you away -- the salad has bacon, cheese and a runny egg, so we're all squared away here, yes?
chicken empanadas with chorizo
Looking for something cozy to bake and take with you this weekend? The filling of these empanadas is some of the best braised chicken I've ever eaten. The pastry is a cinch to work with, bakes up beautifully, and makes individual pockets perfect for now, to rewarm tomorrow, or to stash in the freezer for future lunches.
crispy spiced lamb and lentils
Pan-crisped lamb and lentils scooped into lettuce cups with an herby, crunchy, salady finish and tahini sauce is a colorful spring favorite and takes all of 30 minutes to put together. I'm never not craving this.
failproof crepes
Tormented by fussy, fragile, easily-torn exasperating crepes? You are due for the intervention of an easier recipe that easily goes sweet or savory. Plus, a few crepe bar suggestions for a cozy brunch-at-home.
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 weekend baking project from here.
tres leches cake + a taco party
A perfect recipe for tres leches cakes, plus an outline for throwing a taco party at home? Our week is definitely looking up from here.
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 spring is finally here? I thought you’d never ask! Try the sesame asparagus and carrot chop, double shallot egg salad, leek and brie galette, toasted ricotta gnocchi with pistachio pesto, and fettuccine with white ragu. To finish, I recommend the bee sting bars, mango curd tart, and/or the carrot cake with brown butter and no clutter. 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 PRIYA KRISHNA
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 Priya Krishna. Her cookbook Priya’s Kitchen Adventures: A Cookbook for Kids is out today, 4/30.
1. What inspired your cookbook?
I was so obsessed with food as a kid, and I loved kids' cookbooks, but I noticed that very few of them felt like they were for me — as in, the kids in them didn't look like me, and the recipes felt not only very white/western but also intentionally toned down. I wanted recipes that made me feel grown up, that introduced me to different flavors — but that weren't so difficult that my parents wouldn't let me attempt them! And while I was a kid a very long time ago, I noticed that — with some exceptions (like the Waffles & Mochi cookbook!) — the kids' cookbook genre is still pretty homogeneous, despite kids being more curious and excited about food than ever. I wanted to write this book to change the definition of "kid friendly" to be more inclusive and empowering for kids — the recipes in my book are extremely doable and require very little chopping and special equipment, but they aren't trying to talk down to kids. Also, if I am trying to make American cooking culture more inclusive, what better and more effective way to do that than to speak to people when they are young and developing their tastes???
2. What recipe are you the most proud of in the book, or felt the most triumphant when you got it right?
I really wanted to put profiteroles in the book. The mere concept of the dish — ice cream in pastry topped with chocolate sauce — has always thrilled me, ever since I first encountered it in France. It's like a Russian nesting doll of delicious desserts. My husband Seth developed the profiteroles recipe for the book and his first version asked kids to make choux pastry. Which is extremely technical. Doable for some kids, but not for many! I wanted to come up with a version that felt in the spirit of profiteroles but didn't require making choux pastry from scratch. One day our friend Sohla suggested using sweet Hawaiian rolls in lieu of choux, and it was that lightbulb moment. We toasted the buns in butter, added ice cream, made a quick ganache and...it was outrageous. And so easy! Far and away one of the most popular recipes that the kids tested.
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 enlisted a bunch of friends who are also talented recipe developers for this cookbook and they all hit it out of the park. The recipe that really fits this bill is Hetty McKinnon's life-changing udon with butter and soy, inspired by a similar version we both had in Japan. You season store-bought vegetable broth with mirin and soy sauce, boil noodles, and then stir in cubes of butter and sesame oil. Top with scallions and a boiled egg, if you want. I could eat these noodles every day. It's as easy as making instant ramen, with a sneaky complexity. My favorite kind of recipe.
4. What's something you wish more people knew about your book?
That kids were a huge part of the process! I enlisted about 30 kids from around the country to test recipes and fill out feedback forms. I was totally blown away by how detailed their feedback was. Kids do not sugar coat. They gave such clear, direct feedback, and it was so helpful. I modified and even cut some recipes based on their thoughts. You'll see their names all listed in the acknowledgments, and quotes from their feedback forms are included with each recipe. The kids bring the cookbook alive. Two of my recipe testers, Radhika and Rishika, also were on set for the photo shoot and served as hand models — sort of like stand-ins for young Priya. They gave the book (and our set) such an amazing energy, and seeing brown hands in the book makes me so happy.
Thank you, Priya! You can order Priya’s Kitchen Adventures right here.
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 new braiser! 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!