A Postcard from Cookbook-land
And a super simple back-pocket snack recipe I've made a thousand times at least
Hello! I love it here in Cookbook-land. Truly, I have never had more fun in my work life than I’m having working on this cookbook.
We’re currently in kind of a weird/quiet/cozy little winter cocoon. It’s sooooo cold here, so staying in is really the only thing that makes sense. Lots of sleepovers, soup, movies, blankets. Aaron and Henry are recording songs together, which is just about the sweetest thing in the world—I’ve spent more than two decades listening to Aaron record music, and to hear him in the studio now with Henry is pretty amazing.
These are the days of lots of snuggles, old episodes of The Office, sheet pan Bacon Egg & Cheese sandwiches. The boys play MLB The Show on X-Box, and sometimes we bundle up and go for walks around the snowy quiet neighborhood, but more often, we stay put. I’m cooking all day every day—our poor kitchen is getting a very serious workout!
As I’ve mentioned, one of the only…challenges to cookbook writing is that generally speaking, I don’t cook with recipes—I read a lot of recipes and I love reading cookbooks, but when I’m cooking, I’m definitely a make-it-up, use-what-you-have kind of cook, so this kind of cooking is really different for me.
My editor advised me to make a little station in the kitchen with a pad of paper and a pen and fancy measuring cups and spoons, and now I make a million notes and measure everything. I make things over and over again, changing the oven temp or the cook time, adjusting seasonings, trying to streamline or simplify, plating it differently. And to my great surprise, I LOVE cooking this way.
This process is definitely making me a better cook, and even more than that, it’s been a reminder that I really love learning new skills. I like trying something over and over. I like the problem-solving part of it. It’s like figuring out a big puzzle—oh! Finally! Yes!
In the last two days I’ve had two big wins and—okay, one loss. I’ve been tinkering with a meatball recipe for months, and some of why it’s been tricky is because I’m trying to do a lot of things in one recipe: I want a short ingredient list with lots of possible variations, I want them to cook in the oven instead of on the stove, and I want them to be gluten-free but also delicious for non-gluten-free eaters. After what seems like a gazillion versions, last night I cracked it, and my toughest critics (my family, of course) concur—hurrah!
Another victory: our new apartment’s smoke alarm is extremely sensitive, and until Monday, every single time I cooked bacon in the oven, the alarm went off. On Monday, though, no alarm & I’ll be honest, it felt like a real win.
But also: I’m having lunch at a friend’s apartment tomorrow, and it’s my job to bring dessert. She’s cooking from this beautiful cookbook, so I decided to try a classic Italian cake—olive oil, lemons, almonds. The flavor was lovely but also the middle was just one huge crater, so I’ll try again tomorrow morning—you win some, you lose some, you know?
I feel like one sign that you’re in a good creative zone is when the thing you’re working on absolutely falls apart and you still enjoy the process, right? Another sign: I just keep finding myself back in the kitchen—one more recipe, one more version of this or that, one more new little trick or technique to try. If you know me at all, you know that I generally have no trouble stopping working these days—I’m doing almost no traveling and speaking, and it takes me about a decade to complete a book of essays, but I cannot keep myself away from this project.
Recent recipes: Chilaquiles, Sheet Pan BECs, Winter Lasagna, Focaccia. Also: Chicken Shawarma, Queso, Ropa Vieja, Chicken Tinga, Peanut Butter Granola, Shepherd's Pie with Sage and Cheddar.
My go-to ingredients & flavors:
With all this time in the kitchen, there are a few things I’m noticing about how I like to cook these days and what ingredients I like to use over and over. I’m currently on a citrus kick—there are bowls of lemons and clementines and limes on our counter at all times, and I’m finding that a little citrus zest and juice makes nearly everything better.
I’m also a huge fan of Better Than Bouillon, for at least two reasons: it adds great flavor to soups and stews and also rice and quinoa, and also it takes up a lot less space in a small kitchen than boxes of stock or broth. I was delighted to see that Julia Turshen has basically a whole ode to it in her new cookbook What Goes With What —by the way, I love her and I love this cookbook. It’s got lots of charts and practical tips, and I love that it’s all in her own (gorgeous!) handwriting.
Maille Rich Country Dijon I bought this on a whim in a little market nearby, & I’m all in—it’s dijon but really creamy, and I put it on and in absolutely everything from vinaigrette to an onion tart to sandwiches.
Major Grey’s Chutney This is a long-time favorite. I first tasted it in the Bahamas—the Bahamas are a British commonwealth, so there’s a wild British-meets-Caribbean thing going on in their little grocery stores—lobster and guava juice but also Digestive biscuits and Cadbury’s chocolate and Major Grey’s chutney. I love it on toast or crackers with sharp cheddar, and also in my go-to fall favorite snack, the Chutney Cheeseball. It’s also in Sweet and Spicy Meatballs and Chutney Chicken Sandwiches (all will be in the cookbook, of course).
Here are a few practical tips:
Always keep lemons on your counter and frozen pie crust in your freezer. Everything’s better with a little lemon zest or juice, and if you have a frozen pie crust on hand, you always have the makings of dessert or a savory tart.
Pay attention to finishing a dish or a plate—add fresh herbs, a crumble of goat cheese or feta, a handful of crushed nuts. These are the things that make your food extra delicious and feel a little special. For example, that Halloween Chili in the photo above is good…but it’s very very good when you add your perfect mix of pickled red onions, feta, lime wedges, etc etc
Learning your way around a kitchen is like learning anything else—you get better over time. You figure it out by doing it. You win some and you lose some and most of the time it’s still edible even if it’s not perfect. People get fed—that’s the point. That’s the magic.
And here are a couple products that are saving me right now:
Dough riser I know this sounds nutty, but it has absolutely changed my baking game. And to be honest, this is not the one I have, but it’s the one I should have bought—mine is less expensive, but it’s a little wonky and doesn’t work great. Even still, it helps my pizza dough, focaccia dough, and raisin bread dough rise even in this apartment with its extremely old windows, even in the coldest stretch of winter. Highly recommend for bread bakers in cold climates.
Measuring cups These pretty glass measuring cups make the recipe testing process extremely enjoyable.
Deli containers If you come to my house, you will see at least two dozen of these in use at any given time. My freezer and refrigerator and pantry and countertops are absolutely filled with them—they’re stackable, lightweight, and I can pack up leftover soup or lasagna for friends and not worry about the containers coming back.
(Amazon Affiliate links)
Last thing: a recipe
Back Pocket Mini-Buns
We call these Back-Pocket Mini-Buns because I always try to keep the ingredients on hand so that I can make them at any moment.
When we lived at the seminary, there were those happy hours down in the courtyard when we’d eaten absolutely everything we’d all brought but we weren’t quite ready to go back up to our apartments…a thousand times at least I ran back up the stairs, set the oven to 400, and set about putting together these little sandwiches.
I’ve done the same at the lake when friends pull their boats up to the beach last minute. I’ve brought them to book parties, and they’re a fixture at our Easter brunch— they’re very kid-friendly. My sister-in-law texted yesterday that her book club was having high tea and she needed to bring finger sandwiches, and especially with the chutney (British!), these fit the bill perfectly.
All you need:
One package of Hawaiian slider buns
One package of deli ham (most packages are 6 or 7 ounces)
One package of white cheddar slices (6 oz)
A couple tablespoons of Dijon & mayo mixed together (or the Maille Country Rich above, because it’s basically a creamy mayo-ish Dijon, which is what we’re going for)
Mango chutney
First step: preheat the oven to 400.
Slice through the whole package of slider buns horizontally, so that you can open it like a book, lifting all the tops off in one piece. Spread a layer of Dijon-mayo all over the bottom buns, add a layer of ham and then a layer of cheese. Spread the inside of the top buns with more Dijon mayo and then mango chutney. Stack together on a sheet pan and bake for about ten minutes, just till the cheese is melted and the buns are warmed through. Slice into individual sandwiches, and then run down the stairs with them. :)
They’ll be gone in an instant, and there are two things people love about them: first, they’re delighted that they’re warm—that’s always a nice, luxurious surprise.
Second, the chutney adds an unexpected sweet-spicy bite. When my friend Pallavi tasted one for the first time, she said, “Wait a minute! I thought this was going to be a white-person sandwich, but this is delicious! There’s actual flavor in here!” Pallavi is a British-born Indian woman, and that was one of the greatest compliments she (or anyone?) has ever given me.
Okay for real, last thing: we’re in a weird time right now—first, it’s so so very cold here. This is snuggle-up weather, and cozy food helps. Also, between the wildfires in LA and what’s happening in Trump’s first days in office, there’s a lot of fear and heartbreak right now. I feel it. I get it.
There’s a lot we can’t change, but there are two things we can all do: we can pray and we can gather. And maybe they’re the same thing? Or at the very least, they’re both acts of faith, and maybe they’re what will get us through.
Reach out. Reach out especially to the people in your life who are afraid and sad right now. Gather people around your table or your coffee table or your kitchen island. Ask questions, listen close, make space. Look people in the eye and give them soup and bread and the gift of presence.
Connect, connect, connect. Cry together, celebrate together, dream together, grieve together. Next time you’re at the store, pick up the ingredients for Mini-Buns and send a quick text to someone you haven’t seen in a long time—or your neighbor you saw yesterday, or anyone in your life who might need a place to be and a really great hug.
Start with this: “I love you. And I have snacks.”