January, Linked
One month in, have I read the best book of the year?
I adore January, the month of my mother's birth and her proclaimed favorite. While she has now, unbelievably, been gone nearly four years, I feel her presence strongly in the quiet corners of these slower-paced midwinter days. January offers itself as respite from all sorts of obligations. It can be, rather than a frenzied resolution-ruled scramble, a time to reignite the flames that fuel our lives. And if the weather hits just right (and depending on your perspective, it’s batting a thousand right now), there’s no shame in honoring early bedtimes, getting lost in books, and hunkering down at home.
Before diving into today’s monthly round-up, I’m pulling one timely note to the top. An incredible auction for literary lovers, Publishing for Minnesota is chock full of children’s books, offers of manuscript reviews, query letters, and conversations, it is LIVE until tomorrow.
Publishing for Minnesota benefits Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota; Women’s Foundation of Minnesota; Midwest Immigrant Bond Fund; Dios Habla Hoy Church Food Distribution (South Minneapolis); Community Aid Network MN; and Central Area Neighborhood Development.
In today’s letter
All the books I read in January, including two unequivocal recommendations • Offer of a sneak peek behind the paywall at Vittles and Snaxshot • An eight-hour and counting album playlist, heavy on the Mingus • A favorite show, on hiatus since 2016, returns • Poetry x2 • A compelling rebuttal to the death of reading • Etc, etc, etc.
👩🍳 Gourmet is back, kind of/sort of/in name only, with Ruth’s blessing. For the purposes of market research, I’ve subscribed. Noting the following:
Peddling in unsubstantiated hot food goss is a fun way to prime readers for longer food-centric missives. The opening bid includes tips on the relationship between Bari Weiss and Clare deBoer (I’ve been wondering) and the Hugh Cocoran/Yotam Ottolenghi feud (why can’t we all just get along??). I’d prefer more substantiated rumors vs. anonymous suppositions, but I’m here for it.
Alison Roman guest-posted with a truly gag-inducing visual on a seriously ugly and supposedly delicious pork bathed in milk. I don’t know, it might be the best thing you’ve ever tasted, but if that showed up on my dinner table, there’s no way my admirably adventurous eaters would touch it.
Leaning into potential nominees for the Best Food and Travel Writing series, the first three food-centric longer-form articles cover food at raves, Kyrgyz culinary traditions, and rice pudding as a rebellion against ever-increasing kitchen efficiency.
🍊How Citrus Curiously Shaped Our History | With thanks to Bee Wilson for highlighting this informative and sunshine-filled dispatch that covers scurvy, a top-secret Loewe perfume project, and the fact that countless bushels of mandarins I purchase in my weekly shop are apparently NOT mandarins at all. Also, for those of us late bloomers working on long-term projects, we’d do well to keep in mind that citrus takes nine years to grow its first fruit.
☕️ Hey There, Hot Stuff | Coffee lovers, rejoice! Apparently, those of us who haven’t yet jumped on the matcha train are the very definition of health.
🐓A Chicken in Every Pot | My husband and I have, for years, batted around the idea of a backyard flock. Thus, when the latest (February 12, 2026) New York Review of Books issue landed on my doorstep, I turned immediately to Ian Frazier’s storied round-up of books on the matter. Calling my husband into the room, I read, with great flourish, the dramatic opening in which Mike, a Colorado rooster, lost his head only to survive an additional eighteen months without it. Pre-WWII, chicken was a rarity at the family dinner table. During the war, rations of red meat were reserved for the troops, while civilians were encouraged to manage their protein needs through chickens and eggs. The McNugget, introduced in 1983, marked another inflection point in America’s obsession with the did-they-or-didn’t-they-cross-the-road superstar.
🍝 Big Parma’s Salty PR Plot | Are we entering the age of peak agenting?
“Late last year, Parmigiano-Reggiano got itself a talent agent. As the Hollywood Reporter announced, the consortium signed with United Talent Agency, which historically has represented people like actors, screenwriters, and athletes (you know, humans) to “further its message of gastronomical excellence and high quality ingredients, production and distribution,” likely through things like product placement in entertainment. The Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium did not respond to my request for comment, but a food product having its own talent agent is a rarity, or perhaps unheard of, in the world of media—when I asked another agent friend about the alliance, she said it had been the talk of the office, with her colleagues joking that they should sign pecorino in retaliation.”
🧊 Are Contemporary Fridges the Problem, or Is it Us? As someone who compulsively overbuys bread and then has to figure out how to freeze it, but then forgets and buys more and ends up with unknown quantities of baguettes, boules, and brioche, I’m pretty sure it’s us.
🍽️ The Quiet Joy of Doing the Dishes | A lovely meditation from Dwight Garner who admits,
“I’m not, in general, the tidiest human being. My favorite haiku, which I keep meaning to have well-printed and framed, is by Kobayashi Issa:
don’t worry, spiders,
I keep house
casually.”
🥘 How Losing My Limbs Turned Me Into a Different Kind of Cook | Yewande Komolafe released her second book, My Everyday Lagos, when I was still living the bookseller life. I loved it so much, I jumped at the chance for a first-person meeting at Frenchette, where she hosted a menu takeover and book signing. To learn of the absolute warrior she is, beyond the kitchen, was an inspiring gift.
🥣 Fiber Isn’t the New Protein | A profane-laced, smart Snaxshot1 take on what’s going on in the CPG sector as fiber makes a play for protein’s power.
🧁 Helen Goh on Everything Cookbooks | Andrea Nguyen and Kate Leahy hosted an enlightening conversation with Helen Goh, formerly of Ottolenghi, where they covered, yes, her new book Baking and the Meaning of Life: How to Find Joy in 100 Recipes, but also revisited the long, winding road Goh followed to culinary stardom. Also, her Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes are, as tested at our house, indeed perfect. Worth a listen for anyone who feels it's too late to make a change.
🗞️ Pete Wells, Reinvented | The former New York Times food critic isn’t taking much of a sabbatical. I particularly enjoyed his Expense Account chat. While you’re over there, check out J. Lee’s season closer with Keith McNally.
Also…
Matt Rodbard expands on the December Guardian article, “Google AI summaries are ruining the livelihoods of recipe writers: ‘It’s an extinction event’” as the first guest on IACP’s new podcast. Also, his 2026 food trends drop is on point. In my old job, I used to go live for new book releases. Time to find that old selfie stand and give it a go?
To celebrate the release of EVERYONE HOT POT: Creating the Ultimate Meal for Gathering & Feasting, Natasha Pickowicz makes the podcast rounds with Maggie Hoffman and Cherry Bombe.
How Do You Review a Bad Restaurant? (comment below if you’d like a gift subscription to Vittles, I have a few to give away!)
I never knew how easy it was to make crispy, excellent wings at home. Basic and perfect for all upcoming Super Bowl (Winter Olympics??) viewing parties.
📢 A Bizarre, Challenging Book More People Should Read | Thanks to this article, I’m picking Your Name Here back up. (Yells into the void) Anyone else want to talk about it??
✍🏼 Days Before His Suicide, Hemingway’s Hopeful Note to Sister Immaculata | Reminded me it’s high time to read A Moveable Feast and catch up on my PBS miniseries queue, starting with Hemingway.
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