Monday, September 9, 2024
Good morning!
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!