date night in
plus: an interview with jerrelle guy
Monday, February 9, 2026
Good morning!
Birthdays Can Be Disappointing. But Not if You Bake Your Own Cake. [NYT, gift link]
British Food is Here [Eater]
I will gleefully go out for dinner any night of the year except New Year’s Eve, followed closely by Valentine’s Day. Even if the restaurant has maintained an admirable stoic indifference to pink heart confetti, saccharine rose-petaled tables, and gold leafed chocolate tasting courses, there’s too much pressured romance all around us to feel relaxed in our own. And there’s always a special menu with some terrifically overpriced steak. But not at home. At home, there are no convoluted cocktails, couples at the next table who talk so loud you know way too much about their lives, and above all else, nobody nudging you along because restaurant margins are so depressingly thin, they have to fill your table a second time that night to stay afloat.
Plus, cooking the exact food you’re craving the exact way you like it is always my favorite thing. Below, some of my favorite things to put on the menu when I want a meal at home to feel more special than anything someone else can plate, doable dishes that taste like you worked much harder than you did.
And that’s not all! This week we’re chatting with Jerrelle Guy. Her second cookbook, We Fancy: Simple Recipes to Make the Everyday Special, comes out tomorrow. “Fanciness is a mindset,” she writes, and I love that for us.
Cheers,
Deb
I’ve written three cookbooks and one audiobook and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Not sure which one to check out first? Take a look at the recipe index and see which collection jumps out at you most.
essential french onion soup
Oh there’s a chill in the air? I’m immediately craving onion soup. It’s one of my favorite foods on earth — inexpensive, easy to shop for, and requires no cheffy tricks to make an impossibly good, cozy bowl.
balthazar's cream of mushroom soup
I’ve been making this soup since before Smitten Kitchen even existed (the dark ages, of course) and it remains a forever favorite. Don’t be put off by the beige; it has so much more flavor and heartiness than the humble-looking bowl suggests.
kale salad with pecorino and walnuts
This is the kale salad that converted me, once a skeptic, to the dark green leafy side, and shortly thereafter, both of my kids. Cut into thin threads and tossed with vinegar-soaked golden raisins, sharp cheese, toasted walnuts and crispy breadcrumbs, we could eat a mile of this -- the perfect contrast to a decadent meal of fries, steak, and chocolate puddle cakes.
rigatoni alla vodka
This is the very first dish I ever made for my husband. I did it as a joke after watching Rachael Ray make a version she called “You Won’t Be Single For Long Vodka Cream Pasta” but then, whoops, I guess she wasn’t wrong? These days, this is my favorite method: quick, flavorful, perfectly seasoned each time, and it uses my favorite pasta shape. We are absolutely making it for dinner tonight.
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. Plus, there’s absolutely nothing cozier this time of year.
alex's chicken and mushroom marsala
What, you don’t know what’s for dinner either? I pick this. The sauce is so nuanced and delicious, it’s hard to believe how short the ingredient list is.
dijon and cognac beef stew
The best beef stew we’ve ever had. If you’ve thus far found beef stew kind of bland and uninteresting, if you’ve been tormented by thin broths, unevenly cooked vegetables, and tough meat, this is just the weekend luxury for you.
chocolate puddle cakes
Two perfectly-sized molten chocolate cakes that take under 15 minutes to both mix and bake, are flourless, mixed in one bowl, and use ingredients you probably have around are, almost without question, the very most perfect date night dessert.
small batch tiramisu
Little bits of cake almost saturated with bracing, boozy espresso then burrowed in cream (that’s ethereally light and fluffy for containing an unholy amount of mascarpone) and dusted generously with cocoa is my favorite dessert on earth, and sometimes I even share.
sweetheart sablés
An exceedingly cute procrastibaking project for those of us with real work to avoid. Don’t be put off by their Pinterest-y veneer: these cookies are both easy to make and taste exceptional: buttery, delicately crisp, and fragrant. [Video below!]
AN INTERVIEW WITH JERRELLE GUY
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 Jerrelle Guy. Her cookbook, We Fancy: Simple Recipes to Make the Everyday Special, is out tomorrow.
1. What inspired your cookbook?
Realizing I was going in the wrong direction with my life and wanting to course-correct. After my debut cookbook, I was working so much, baking and eating too many desserts, and feeling like life was coming at me, and my lifestyle wasn’t in balance at all. So when the opportunity came around to write another book, I asked myself: if I’m really going to set the tone for the next decade of my life, what do I want it to be? That question inspired the title and the idea for We Fancy.
2. What recipe are you the most proud of in the book, or felt the most triumphant when you got it right?
Well, the stovetop carrot cake was originally baked in the oven, but after a few tests I was curious to see what would happen if I “baked” it on the stove in a lidded non-stick pan over very low heat. I was surprised that it not only worked, but that I liked it better because of how steamy and tender the crumb became.
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 One-Pot Penne al la Fennel-y Vodka Sauce (pg. 84). I also think the Baked and Bejeweled Yellow Rice (pg 163) is high reward and low effort because everything gets thrown in a pot and baked in the oven. I usually swap the saffron with turmeric in a pinch, and you can even throw in a can of drained chickpeas or cannellini beans for extra protein, if you want.
4. What’s something you wish more people knew about your book?
That it’s an abundance manual in disguise. The recipes matter, but the deeper purpose is reminding myself and anyone reading of the endless possibilities available to create a feel-good dinner and life. To trust intuition, generate playful solutions, and find their creative spark in the kitchen.
Thank you, Jerrelle! You can preorder We Fancy right here.
sweetheart sablés
The Staub x Smitten Kitchen Braiser is a lower-walled enameled cast-iron Dutch oven that 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. It’s the ideal size and usability (dishwasher safe!) for everyday cooking. Not a week has gone by in the 14 years I’ve had mine when I don’t cook in it at least three times, so when it was no longer sold in U.S. stores, I asked Staub — a French cast-iron manufacturer originally from Alsace; you can watch me tour the forge/factory here! — if they would partner with me to bring it back, because I knew you’ll fall in love with the pan too. We launched the Staub x Smitten Kitchen Braiser in spring 2024. As of fall 2025, the Braiser is exclusively sold at Williams-Sonoma and available in seven gorgeous new colors! The seventh, a classy off-white (pardon, French Crème) with a bronze knob, launched just this month.
Cranberry (bright red)
Grenadine (deep red)
Sage (light green)
Basil (dark green)
La Mer (dark blue-green)
Sapphire (dark blue)
(New!) French Crème (off-white) ✨
The Staub x Smitten Kitchen Braiser Recipe Starter Pack: Oh, you did get a new braiser? I’m so happy for you. Here are a few recipes you can kick off your cooking with!
Braiser: An entire category of recipes on smittenkitchen.com
My “I Dream Of Paris” Menu for the French Crème launch: Dijon Roast Chicken, French Onion Soup for a Crowd, and a Perfect Apple Tarte Tatin
Baked Ziti with Meatballs and Ricotta (Williams-Sonoma, Video)
Apple Butterscotch Crisp (Zwilling, Video)
Braised Chickpeas with Kale and Burrata (Zwilling)
shop my favorites
Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more that 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. This isn’t just an Amazon storefront. For each item, I attempt to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.
See you next week!
