Monday, May 5, 2025
Good afternoon!
The Japanese Citrus You’re About to See Everywhere [NYTimes, unlocked]
I’m just getting back from a long weekend in Pittsburgh (an alumni weekend from my husband’s grad school) and I had my first crispy pancakes at Pamela’s Diner (officially obsessed), more red beers and breakfast hash than I’ve honestly seen anywhere else, and although several of you specifically warned me not to, I also tried the Primanti sandwich with fries inside and honestly didn’t hate it at all. At, uh, 1 a.m. — which may or may not be relevant.
Equally culinarily triumphant, this week’s newsletter is all about great recipes to cook for the moms and mom-figures in your life, as approved by this mom. All of my favorites are there, from the chilaquiles brunch casserole to the cinnamon rolls that are halfway to a babka bake. Plus, we’ve got some fun bits of news between — like a fresh blue shade of the Staub x Smitten Kitchen Braiser in stock for spring, oh and a tiny podcast cameo on The Simpsons last night (no big deal at all). Saving the best for last, we’ve got an interview with the wonderful Hawa Hassan, whose new cookbook, Setting a Place for Us comes out next week.
Cheers,
Deb
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 flowers are budding and the air is warming? I thought you’d never ask! Try the pea, feta, and mint fritters, toasted ricotta gnocchi with pistachio pesto, baked orzo and artichokes, and fettuccine with white ragù. To finish, I recommend the bee sting bars and 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.
“One of the winning elements of ‘The Recipe’ is that it’s not prescriptive — rather than settling on one universal ‘perfect’ recipe, the chefs explain their personal preferences, then give listeners the information they need to make their own adjustments. By breaking their recipes down ingredient-by-ingredient, digging into what each one is doing, they make the science of cooking approachable and fun.” — New York Times, 7 Podcasts to Inspire a New Hobby
“J. Kenji Lopez-Alt and Deb Perelman’s new podcast gets to not only the heart of how they make their recipes—but also the why behind each decision, too.”
The latest full episode of my podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, is all about French Toast! And we’ve got a guest this: Chris Kimball! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Apple, Spotify, and more.
P.S. Did you catch a tiny cameo on The Simpsons [S36 E16] “Stew Lies” last night? We — but really, it was Kenji’s recipe — contributed the recipe for the top-secret Gewalteintopf Stew featured in the episode.
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failproof crepes
Tormented by fussy, fragile, easily-torn exasperating crepes? My go-to recipe is absolutely failproof and easily goes sweet or savory. Some of my favorite savory combinations: ham and cheese, sauteed mushrooms and gruyere, or spinach and chevre (or boursin!). [My favorite sweet filling is chocolate, like you even had to ask.]
shaved asparagus frittata
Ribboned asparagus (requires no trimming or parcooking), crumbled goat cheese (requires no grating) and optional crisped (in the final skillet) prosciutto make a quick spring frittata so easy, you’ll want it again tomorrow.
chilaquiles brunch casserole
Crispy corn tortillas smothered in a tomato-chile sauce, layered with cheese and beans, and topped with perfectly-cooked eggs (I'll tell you my trick) for the brunch casserole of my dreams.
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.
ruffled milk pie
A swirly assembly of buttery, crisp pastry rosettes in a vanilla-flecked custard that is way simpler to make (7 ingredients, 6 of which I bet you already have) than it looks. Perfect for brunch, lunch, or dessert; I hope you get to treat yourself to it soon.
twisty cinnamon buns
Everything dreamy about cinnamon buns in a full pan of salted butter and brown cinnamon sugar ribbons and twists. As they fan open in the oven, the filling lightly caramelizes and crisps. Each bite has an equal amount of cinnamon ribboning, and you can cut them into any size your heart desires. Cream cheese icing on the side, because these are too pretty to cover.
skirt steak salad with 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.
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.
simplest mushroom pasta
A ridiculously simple pasta with fresh mushrooms, garlic, chives, and crème fraîche that's always in heavy rotation because it's the easiest way to turn a bag of mushrooms into a meal that, by some miracle, everyone loves. I hope it's a hit for you, too. [Video below!]
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.
flaky chocolate cake
The lightweight, semi-collapsed disc of cognac-kissed dark chocolate I nominate to be your backpocket, arsenal-worthy decadent cake for small but fancy times. Less, ahem, leaden than a classic flourless chocolate cake, this is also a perfect petite size and bakes up quickly.
ridiculously easy butterscotch sauce
Did you know that deadly good butterscotch, butterscotch so transcendent it might bring tears to your eyes, is ridiculously easy to make? Five ingredients + five minutes on the stove = eating ice cream for dinner has never tasted so good.
AN INTERVIEW WITH HAWA HASSAN
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 Hawa Hassan. Her new cookbook, Setting a Place for Us: Recipes and Stories of Displacement, Resilience, and Community from Eight Countries Impacted by War, is out next Tuesday, 5/13.
1. What inspired your cookbook?
Setting a Place for Us was inspired by my own journey as a Somali refugee and my longing for stories that mirrored mine, stories of migration, resilience, and the sustaining power of food. I left Somalia at the age of five, lived in a UN refugee camp in Kenya, and spent 15 years separated from my family. Over time, I realized how often stories like mine, shaped by war and displacement, were left out of the narrative. This book is my way of honoring those stories and the everyday heroes behind them.
2. What recipe are you the most proud of in the book, or felt the most triumphant when you got it right?
The Mantu, Afghan dumplings stuffed with lamb or beef, felt like a triumph. It’s a dish that requires care and patience, and in many homes, it’s a labor of love saved for special occasions. I knew I had to get it right, not just in flavor but in spirit. It’s a recipe that carries history, joy, and community, and bringing it to life felt like a way to honor everyone who has ever folded dumplings with their family around a kitchen table.
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?
The Ful Medames from Egypt is my go-to comfort food and one of the simplest dishes in the book. It’s made with canned fava beans, a few pantry staples, and a generous drizzle of olive oil. It’s earthy, satisfying, and comes together in minutes. It’s perfect for when you’re tired but still want something warm, filling, and meaningful. You can eat it straight, spoon it over bread, or top it with eggs for a heartier meal.
4. What's something you wish more people knew about your book?
I wish more people knew that Setting a Place for Us is not just a cookbook. It’s a deeply personal archive of culture, memory, and identity. It’s about more than food; it’s about what we carry with us when we’re forced to leave home. It shows that behind every recipe is a person, a history, and a story that deserves to be told with dignity, nuance, and heart.
Thank you, Hawa! You can preorder Setting a Place for Us right here from a variety of retailers or a signed copy from BEM Brooklyn here.
simplest mushroom pasta
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.
What’s the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser? It’s an 11-inch, 4-quart braiser — essentially a lower profile enameled cast-iron Dutch oven that works as 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. Not a week has gone by in the decade I’ve had mine when I don’t use it at least three times. Looking for a Mother’s Day gift? We just got in a limited run of a stunning blue color for spring!
Your braiser purchase contains three new recipes (two savory, one sweet) by me that work perfectly in your new pot. If you’re looking for even more ideas, I created a category on the site to highlight some of my favorite dishes I make in mine.
See you next week!
