Monday, May 6, 2024
Good afternoon!
How Black Forest Cake conquered the world [NYT, unlocked]
We’ve got a totally packed newsletter today, just the way I like it. First, a new recipe for a Black Bean and Vegetable Bake that you eat with tortilla chips and wonder why you don’t do it more often. There’s a new episode today of my podcast, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, all about one of our favorite foods: iceberg wedge salads. Trust me, we’ve got a lot to say about this. Below, some menu ideas if you’re cooking for Mother’s Day this weekend — we usually do a brunch or a lunch, so I’ve got suggestions for both. Finally, we have an interview with the excellent Yasmin Fahr, whose cookbook Cook Simply, Live Fully: Flexible, Flavorful Recipes for Any Mood is out now. I cannot wait to make the Skillet Eggplant Lasagna!
Cheers!
Deb
My podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, launched two months ago and our sixth episode, out today, is all about Iceberg Wedge Salads. 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.
black bean and vegetable bake
New! Letter of recommendation: Make a deep skillet of your favorite taco or burrito filling, cover it with cheese and broil the lot of it until lightly charred and gooey on top, then scoop it up with tortilla chips. Repeat as needed, which will be often.
cinnamon sugar scones
A layered open book of a cinnamon sugar scone makes your kitchen smell like absolute bliss. These can be made in a single bowl, quite quickly, right now -- lucky us.
soft eggs with buttery herb-gruyere toasts
These soft eggs with buttery Gruyère and herb toast soldiers are not for everyone, but if they’re for you, you’re in for what I consider the highest calling of breakfast sourdough dippers.
mushroom crepe cake
Herby mushroom and cheese crepes stacked into a showstopping cake for brunch or lunch this weekend is, well, my favorite, so I'll be right over, okay?
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.
crème brûlée french toasts
Two of the best things, thick slices of bread pudding-like brioche and crème brûlée, burnt sugar finish and all, in one blissful brunch dish.
pecan sticky buns
The best sticky buns I've ever made are a celebration of contrasts: the sugar is restrained in the bun portion and then cascaded with the most unapologetically decadent salt-flecked dark pecan caramel. They make for the happiest weekends.
roberta's roasted garlic caesar salad
Nothing breaks up a decadent meal 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.
spring asparagus galette
This galette uses the simplest techniques (a quick dough, salted asparagus) and most impactful flavors (lemon, sharp cheese, and heat), to taste like a bright, flavorful nest of spring.
white bean soup with crispy kale
A simple soup palette with a variety of crispy, salty, and creamy finishes that make soup nights more fun. Yes, I just said fun. About soup. This one is.
chicken milanese + an escarole salad
Never underestimate the power of a golden, crisp, thin, fried-but-somehow-not-heavy chicken breast piled with a giant, seasonal salad to quickly become the most popular thing you know how to make. This is one of my favorite things to make for friends and family.
parmesan oven risotto
A few moderately controversial opinions about risotto led me to this almost stir-free, broth-free, perfectly flavored risotto. The oven does most of the work while you walk away, and delight in your newfound free time.
chocolate budino
Chocolate budino is chocolate pudding, Italian-style: a rich dark chocolate custard so decadent it's served tiny with a non-optional dollop of cream on top. The contrast of the cold chocolate and the soft cream (I like it unsweetened) is the stuff dreams are made of.
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 YASMIN FAHR
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 Yasmin Fahr. Her cookbook Cook Simply, Live Fully: Flexible, Flavorful Recipes for Any Mood is out now.
1. What inspired your cookbook?
I started writing the bulk of it when I found myself on a seven-week solo writing and cooking retreat on the island of Menorca (completely unintentionally). I had moved out of NYC with all of my stuff in storage and plans to move to Miami, but I couldn't find an apartment, so I became a "traveling cook" and returned to the island that made me want to change my life in the first place. That's when the book's tone and layout took shape, and I realized that I cook based on the energy I have to make dinner and my mood (and the weather!) and that's how the book is set up. Lap Dinners are for when you're exhausted and don't want to prep a thing, Coffee Table Dinners are more your average weeknight meals, and At The Dinner Table is for when you have a bit more energy (but nothing crazy!). It is a book meant for "real life," which, as I've learned, doesn't always go the way we want, no matter how much we plan and organize. So I wanted to create something flexible to capture the inevitable fluctuations that we all experience in a fun, approachable way with lots of information and support, so you can find something that works for you, no matter what you need.
2. What recipe are you the most proud of in the book, or felt the most triumphant when you got it right?
There's a Skillet Eggplant Lasagna in the book that I just love. It's inspired by this awkward solo dinner I had in a courtyard in Menorca that was redeemed because of this delicious eggplant lasagna made with Mahon cheese, which is made on the island (and found in the US!). Recreating that was so fun, and I make this dish all the time as it's comforting, satisfying and good for a weeknight dinner or I often serve it to guests, too.
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?
Everything in Lap Dinners!! This is what it's meant for :) If I had to choose, then I would say the Hibachi-ish 5-minute shrimp (p.26). It's inspired by the hibachi restaurants I used to go to as a kid (and adult!) as I was obsessed with the flavors of the shrimp, and this version has some mustard-soy undertones and cooks quickly under the broiler (or oven if you're scared of the broiler, which I get).
4. What's something you wish more people knew about your book?
While it is a dinner cookbook at its core, it's also a deeply personal book. It captured this two-and-a-half year journey that I've been on, falling in love with an island where I didn't know a single person or speak the language and then uprooting my life to move there, which took some time and a lot of life lessons, but I eventually got there in March of 2024 (!). I think there's also a lot of reflection and discovery in the book, and, because I was so ridiculously happy while writing it, it's infused with a sunny, joyful tone, and it's been so exciting sharing it with people after all this time. When someone tells me that just reading the book makes them happy and that they've tried recipes from all different chapters, it's an incredibly heart-warming and gratifying experience to know that what you wanted to create and the intention behind it is actually coming across. Mostly, I just feel super lucky to have written it!
Thank you, Yasmin! You can order Cook Simply, Live Fully 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!