passover primed
plus: an interview with anna stockwell
Monday, March 23, 2026
Good afternoon !
I feel like this will lead to airborne bottles but I also want to try it.
An Apple for the Climate Change Era [NYTimes, unlocked]
If there is one thing I’ve learned in my near 20 years of Smitten Kitchen-ing, it’s that people (who are not me) do not wait until the last minute to plan their menus for Passover, the eight-day Jewish holiday that begins next Wednesday evening. But this year, and not just because we’re hosting the second night, I’m going to take my cues from you and (drumroll) have rounded up some of the best Passover-friendly recipes on Smitten Kitchen. Many of these star at the big meals, but all are recipes I feel are objectively excellent, good enough to eat even when bread is taken off the menu.
And that’s not all! This week we’re chatting with Anna Stockwell, whose cookbook, The Butter Book, is out now and absolutely irresistible, especially that Grown-Up Butter Pasta.
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.
matzo ball soup
The best thing since chicken noodle soup, I’m going to (humbly, so humbly) assert that this is the only recipe you’ll ever need for perfect-every-time matzo ball soup that your local deli could only dream of. Make your bubbe proud and your belly happy.
chicken liver pâté
Today is the day I get to spill all of my chicken liver secrets for all five of you who haven’t run screaming from the room at the mention of offal. Everyone who is left is in for a treat -- a thoroughly Seder- (and once, a holiday party) tested version that I think gets everything right. I hope you agree.
wild mushroom pâté
A hunt for vegetarian chopped liver led me to the land of earthy, luxe and flavorful mushroom spreads. But don’t get stuck on the word pâté, I find a jar of of this in the fridge useful in a dozen ways: tossed with angel hair pasta and parmesan, as a sandwich spread with greens and sharp cheese, and folded into a crepe or risotto, or as shown, on crackers or matzo with all sorts of bright fixings.
simplest brisket with braised onions
The 5-ingredient brisket I’ve been cheating on all my other brisket recipes with for many years. Deeply flavorful, with an aroma so heady you will know instantly that you’re in the right place, I hope it’s the last brisket recipe you’ll ever need. [Video below!]
tangy braised chickpeas
“Brisket”-braised chickpeas -- that is, with all of the flavors of my favorite meaty braise -- with not a speck of brisket involved. This vegan dish is a perfect cozy and hearty holiday main, or apparently for eating straight from the fridge, as we can never seem to stop doing with leftovers. (Just a head’s-up that some branches of Judaism do not consider chickpeas kosher for Passover - you might want to double-check!)
potato kugel
Basically a massive hash brown (or mega-latke) with profoundly crispy edges and steamy-soft insides. It’s the show-stealing complement to breakfast eggs, a dinner or Seder roast or even fancy party things, like crème fraîche and caviar.
cauliflower salad with dates and pistachios
A clean-out-the-fridge roasted cauliflower salad, the kind of thing I crave endlessly for cooler-weather lunches. This one has charred scallion segments, salted pistachios, chopped dates, and a sharp lemon dressing and it’s so inhalable that forkfuls were walking off as I tried to take photos.
almond horn cookies
Chewy at the center with crunchy edges, naturally gluten-, flour- and dairy-free, these bakery-favorite almond horn cookies are shockingly easy to make at home and while I have yet to see them also with rainbow sprinkles, I say there’s no time like the present to make this a Thing.
heavenly chocolate cake roll
My family has been making this featherlight flourless chocolate cake rolled with lightly sweetened whipped cream since 1975 (!). It manages to be decadent but unheavy, plus, it looks like a giant Yodel. There’s nothing not to love.
chocolate caramel crackers
Salty, buttery, chocolaty, crunchy, and habit-forming, these are so easy to make, well, I know exactly what I’m doing with the unused box of matzo I just found.
dark chocolate coconut macaroons
Intensely fudgy, brownie-like macaroons with almost truffled, gooey centers have managed to convert even the most staunch macaroon resistors in my family.
raspberry coconut macaroons
If you think coconut macaroons are terrible, well, I think it’s because you’re not making these, which are marbled with fresh raspberries and such a cinch to make, you’re going to want to do it pretty often.
AN INTERVIEW WITH ANNA STOCKWELL
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 Anna Stockwell. Her cookbook, The Butter Book, is out now.
1. What inspired your cookbook?
We're truly living in the golden age of butter these days! Butter yellow has been everywhere in fashion and interior design. Butter-shaped and labeled knickknacks and accessories keep popping up in every cute gift shop. It seems that we the people are finally not scared of eating butter! And eat it we should—it's never been easier to get our hands on amazing artisanal butter, both imported and made locally. Meanwhile all this good butter is being celebrated and featured in many of the best restaurants and trendiest events and parties. All this is to say, now is the perfect time for a book about butter! I can't take full credit for the idea, though; the creative team at Chronicle Books had a vision for it, and brought me on to develop and realize it. It's been a dream project to work on, and I've fallen deeper in love with butter than ever before during the process.
2. What recipe are you the most proud of in the book, or felt the most triumphant when you got it right?
This is a hard question, because I love every single recipe in this book! But my New Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe was my greatest triumph! It is the one I tinkered with the most—I baked so many batches to get it just right! I'm particular about my chocolate chip cookies: I like them crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside—slightly salty, not too sweet, neither too big nor too small, nutty and caramelly, with a mix of milk chocolate and dark chocolate... and this recipe delivers just that. The secret to the perfect texture lies in using melted butter instead of creamed butter, and the perfect flavor comes from browning that butter as you melt it.
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?
Grown-Up Buttered Pasta. Who doesn't love buttered noodles? This is my grown-up version, with white wine and garlic and anchovies. It's extremely fast and easy to make. It's what I cook when there's "nothing to eat" in the house or when I'm home alone and lazy but want an extra cozy dinner. There are a lot of anchovies in it—don't be scared, they melt into the extra buttery sauce, adding depth and umami. I promise it won't taste too fishy. Adding cubes of cold butter and spoonfulls of hot pasta cooking water bit by bit form a rich emulsion that coats the pasta in the most satisfying way. Sometimes I fold fresh baby arugula into my bowl of pasta just before eating—I highly recommend that move.
4. What’s something you wish more people knew about your book?
I'm gluten-free (I have Celiacs) and I developed and tested all the baking recipes in the book both ways: with gluten-free flour and with regular flour. Every recipe includes instructions for adapting it to be gluten-free, if not already naturally gluten-free. So I want people to know that they shouldn't be be turned off by the cakes and cookies if you're gluten-free—this book is for you too!
Thank you, Anna! You can order The Butter Book right here.
simplest brisket with braised onions
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. The Braiser is now sold exclusively at Williams-Sonoma and available in eight gorgeous new colors! The newest two — a classy off-white (pardon, French Crème) and a soft pink (Pink Peony, which you know I sing to the tune of Pink Peony Club) — launched just last 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) ✨
(New!) Pink Peony (soft pink) ✨
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!
