back to school
plus: four new recipe demos
Tuesday, September 6, 2022
Good morning!
It’s too soon for apple cider but wow does this look fun. Also: I watched this at least five times. (TikTok)
This pencil drawing is amazing. (Instagram)
The Average Contestant on British Baking Shows vs. the Average Contestant on American Cooking Shows (New Yorker)
Last week I railed against whatever strange energy makes people want it to be fall before it’s actually fall, as if fall is anything but the most brief steppingstone to the forever cold six months of year, a place I see no reason to rush to. The week before, we extolled the virtues of tomatoes, which are still going strong. Prior to that, I suggested we act as if we summered in the Italian countryside. What I’m saying is, I’ve done everything in my power to hold off this moment and now I’m out of procrastination devices: School begins in NYC this week, people will be returning from wherever they go, and it might be time to get back into a cooking routine. For the children. For our health. For consistency. Also because open-faced grilled cheese sandwiches on soup are, in fact, perfect. Below, a few back to school, back to life favorites. I hope they get us all inspired.
Cheers,
Deb
A back-to-school side project: A tremendous amount 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 feels all wrong. I asked teachers to send me their wishlists so I could share as many as possible to a wider audience that might be able to help clear them. Help out if you feel you're able; I’ll keep this list up until the end of September. When you check out, make sure you have deselected your usual shipping address and selected instead the name/town you do not recognize (i.e. the teacher’s information) that says “Full address hidden for privacy.” [Smitten Kitchen Teacher Wishlists, or click the screenshot below]
✨ My third cookbook, Smitten Kitchen Keepers, will be out in just 77 but-who’s-counting day and I cannot wait to share it with you because I’m very bad at keeping secrets and am absolutely restless for you to be able to make this green swirly spaghetti, a perfect fall soup, and the chocolate chip cookie of my dreams. I’ll be announcing fall book tour cities and dates next week — it’s getting real! I hope you will consider preordering the book so it’s deposited at your doorstep the moment it’s out in the world and you can dive in right away. Details here! ✨
Four recipe demos:
Tall, Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes [TikTok, Reel]
Naked Tomato Sauce [TikTok, Reel]
Corn Butter Farro [TikTok, Reel]
Big Apple Crumb Cake (But With Peaches) [TikTok, Reel]
raspberry breakfast bars
Bake a week of breakfasts today and have more time to do Important Things -- like hitting your snooze alarm three times.
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.
broccoli melts
Broccoli rubble (crunchy bits quick-cooked with a sinus-clearing volume of garlic, pepper flakes, lemon zest, juice and pecorino) are draped with a slice of provolone and broiled until blistered and collapsed in an open-face sandwich that's all I want for dinner right now.
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.
roasted tomato soup with broiled cheddar
This soup is what would happen if American-style tomato soup and French-style onion soup ran off together -- that's basically an open-faced grilled cheese sandwich on top -- and it's unquestionably one of my favorite things to eat on rainy days.
baked chicken meatballs
Halfway to meatloaves, these baked meatballs are a longtime weeknight staple of ours -- we love them with roasted vegetables, potatoes, polenta or even a simple white bean vinaigrette salad.
homemade oreos
When was the last time you had an Oreo? Was it more than five minutes ago? Did it look like this? Weeknights don't really need to be scary with a batch of these stashed for the days ahead.
strawberry milk
I always though strawberry milk was an inferior alternative to chocolate milk, not something delicious in its own right. Then I made Gabrielle Hamilton’s version -- ice-cold, slightly thick, creamy, lightly sweetened, and deep pink and now I'm obsessed. It's perfect.
one year ago: baked farro with summer vegetables
two years ago: tangy braised chickpeas
three years ago: crisped chickpeas with herbs and garlic yogurt
four years ago: foolproof cacio e pepe
five years ago: tomato bread and a bit about spain
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. For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer. Let me know if there’s anything I’ve left off that you need!
See you next week!
