Monday, October 24, 2022
Good afternoon! (But it feels like morning, doesn’t it?)
It’s funny because it’s true. It’s funny because it’s witchy.
The possibilities of the peanut (New Yorker)
Thank you, The Kitchn. This recipe feels just right for this week.
Did you watch Ina Garten on 60 Minutes? My favorite part was when she said she makes her recipes exactly to the letter at home — I do this too, and for exactly the same reason: I worked so hard to get the the salt or sugar level right and the cooking time perfect. Why would I want to make it any other way? But I’ve never heard another cook say that. If you’re a no-recipes, shoot from the hip, mostly going on vibes cook, I think that’s wonderful. But I disagree with the popular sentiment that this should exclusively be our kitchen goals. Some of us like to cozy up at the end of the day to a set of instructions that are certain to yield the exact dish we crave, exactly the way we want it. To me, it can be freeing not to have to drive all decisions at every moment of adult life.
I took my daughter to see Lyle, Lyle Crocodile yesterday and lightly, laughingly bristled at the Rip up the recipe song — the mother, a cookbook author, is in a bit of a rut (fair enough) and is told that she needs to get rid of her recipes and loosen up. In fact, I think she needs new ones, ones that inspire her. Ahem, you guys, don’t ever take me to the movies. I might be a total drag! It might inspire a dreaded… Deb Talk.
How perfect then that this week is 50% about cooking that, in fact, requires no strict recipe adherence — salads — and 50% about cooking that benefits from closely following instructions — candy. These are my dual cravings in the last week of October, and I hope that you, too, might find what inspires you.
Cheers,
Deb
Smitten Kitchen Keepers will be out in just 22 days and I cannot wait to share it with you. It’s full of recipes, recipes I’ve tested to the hilt, that I hope you’ll want to make immediately on a cool, overcast day like today, like a Slow-Roasted Chicken with Schmaltzy Croutons (and a vibrant salad), or a Weeknight Black Bean Chili with a couple tricks up its sleeve.
* Book tour: I hope we can hang out! All of the details and links to tickets, where necessary, for the late 2022 and early 2023 book tours are on the Events page. Don’t fret if I am not coming to your town as we are adding more cities and dates as we can. I’ll keep everything updated on the Events page.
* Order a signed cookbook: You can order signed and personalized copies of Smitten Kitchen Keepers, or my previous cookbooks, through The Strand Bookstore. Orders are due 11/2, which is very soon.
* A preorder thank you! Have you preordered Smitten Kitchen Keepers? Would you like to? As a thank you, I’m hosting a live virtual cooking class on November 9 at 7pm ET in which I get us all ready for (US) Thanksgiving with three recipes from the book I think are perfect for holiday tables. Save your receipt for the preordered book and enter the details on this form. The deadline to enter is 11/6.
fall bliss salad
A favorite centerpiece salad that feels like the epitome of late fall with roasted squash, toasted pepitas, pomegranate, and a showstopping sherry-shallot vinaigrette.
roasted carrots with avocado and yogurt
An impossibly delicious avocado and roasted carrot salad that once made the New York City restaurant rounds, streamlined and sheet-panned for weeknight bliss, replete with yogurt and crunch. It's basically the highest calling for the bundle of carrots idling in our fridge.
my favorite lentil salad
My favorite lentil salad is really, truly inhalable: one part salsa, one part lentils, plus tomatoes, avocado, hot sauce, and a dream of a lunch scooped up with tortilla chips.
kale and quinoa salad with ricotta salata
Hearty greens, grain-like bulk from quinoa, tart dried fruit, deeply toasted almonds, and a scattering of salty crumbly cheese is a forever favorite lunch salad. Depending on my mood, I might throw an extra on top, such as a poached egg or sliced avocado. I always wish I'd made more.
sweet potato salad with pepita dressing
I was a sweet potato salad skeptic, so I challenged myself to make one I would love -- bright, crunchy, a little acidic and spicy, no creamy dressings or heaviness. I ended up making it right in the sheet pan and loving my lunch leftovers so much, I missed them when they were gone. This is naturally vegan and basically a cinch.
broccoli rubble farro salad
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.
zuni cafe’s roast chicken + bread salad
There's good roast chicken, and then there's Judy Roger's legendary approach -- dry brine (a fancy term for salting and leaving it), crazy crisp skin and a salad that's akin to deconstructed stuffing. This is one of my favorite luxurious but low-key fall dinners and yes, I’m calling it a salad, even if it’s a stretch.
apple cider caramels
This is my favorite candy I've *ever* made. It compacts a whole bottle of fresh apple cider into a salt-flecked, cinnamon-y, buttery caramel that is so loud with everything awesome about fall, no October is complete without it.
chocolate peanut and pretzel brittle
This is my favorite brittle and it's absolutely cluttered with roasted peanuts and salted pretzels before being coated with dark chocolate. It's crunchy, caramelized, buttery, and salty and not going to last.
buckeyes
Buckeyes are basically bite-sized marble-shaped peanut butter cup truffles and if the thought of this doesn't make you spring forth from wherever you are into the nearest kitchen to make them right now, perhaps this photo will?
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.
one year ago
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See you next week!