May, linked
I'm about to destroy my kitchen
Good morning, everyone.
After a positively biblical deluge over Memorial Day weekend, the weather gods blessed us with a couple days of crisp Maine-like weather, perfect for sipping hot coffee while wrapped in sweaters not yet put away for summer. Tomorrow marks the beginning of a kitchen renovation at our house, so please forgive any misplaced commas or less-than cogent reviews.
May brought all manner of delicacies to the table: bougie hot dogs; a design-forward Ferrari launch complete with handmade tortellini from Massimo Bottura; the inaugural Cookbook Social; and, judging by the onslaught of beach book lists, the unofficial kick-off of summer reading season.
In today’s letter
a trio of story-forward cookbooks ✨ caity weaver backlist ✨ a ten-course dessert-focused tasting menu ✨ Superiority Burger’s Brooks Headley showcases a masterful command of voice ✨ War and Peace update ✨ two terrific memoirs nobody’s talking about ✨ my favorite frontlist hit ✨ the best of the best summer reading lists ✨ ICYMI interview with the woman teaching us all how to re-center reading in our lives.
Essays
What a Mess, Brooks Headley (Steak Zine) | Good food writing isn’t about piling on juicy descriptors or florid adjectives. It’s about voice, specifically the writer’s voice1. Superiority Burger’s Brooks Headley talks pit beef, crusty vegans, and local 80s Baltimore bands. He shares secrets (spoiler: his Italian grandmother added VELVEETA to her polenta to up the creaminess) and deftly describes early culinary forays into cooking.
My 14-Hour Search for the End of TGI Friday’s Endless Appetizers, Caity Weaver (Gawker) | For those whose first introduction to Caity Weaver was last month’s tremendous bread expedition, this 2014 gem — courtesy of New York Magazine and The Dinner Party newsletter — reveals Weaver’s singular zealous devotion to the mozzarella stick.
A Ten-Course Tasting Menu Where Dessert is the Whole Point, Helen Rosner (The New Yorker) | I’m not sure I’ve ever seen my kids more entranced than the frigid winter day I brought them into Eunji Lee’s tiny Manhattan pâtisserie, Lysée. Visually stunning, Lee’s creations — marble cakes, madeleines, and of course her famous corn cake — are far from the sort of food you’re likely to conjure up in a home kitchen, and that’s part of the fun.
Cookbooks
La Copine (Claire Wadsworth and Nikki Hill) | If you don’t know about the culinary desert oasis that has so captivated Hollywood, the authors and owners of La Copine stand ready with stories of raucous star-studded affairs and incognito shots of espresso and chocolate almond cake with extra creme fraiche on the side. This beautifully designed book offers an intimate look at the lightning bolt love affair that not only brought Claire and Nikki together but planted the seed for an unlikely culinary smash success.
Many a recipe to love, including: Whiskey Brisket (smoked brisket sandwich with red-eye barbecue sauce, Copine mayo, and spiced peperonata); the cult-favorite Crispy Papas with lemon mayo, rosemary, and chives; and a Gem Wedge with fresh figs, Gorgonzola dolce, crispy prosciutto, and green peppercorn dressing.
The Taste of Country Cooking, 50th Anniversary Edition (Edna Lewis), (New forward by Toni Tipton-Martin) | The first time I fell down the Edna Lewis rabbit hole was during the magical week I spent at Ballymaloe Cookery School. Our days were packed with instruction and cooking, but early mornings and mid-to-late evenings were wide open. I’d brought with me a couple of books I’d long had on my shelves but hadn’t yet cracked the spines on. One was Sarah Franklin’s tremendous collection of essays: Edna Lewis: At the Table with an American Original.
If you’re not familiar with Edna and her body of work, this conversation from the most recent Cherry Bombe conference is a lovely place to start.
📚 The Kitchen Book (Ella Risbridger) | If you’re reading this dispatch from London, it may be that you (lucky, lucky) already have your hands on Ella Risbridger’s latest book. While I patiently wait for my copy to arrive from a bookshop across the pond, I dug out my copies of The Year of Miracles (recipes for grief and growing things) and Midnight Chicken. I think it was Nigel Slater that first introduced me to Ella, a self-professed acolyte of Slater’s work. I find deep comfort in Ella’s honest approach to writing and cooking; a meditation on grief offered up alongside the healing properties of roast chicken. Ella possesses a rare ability to share interiority in a manner that feels authentic. Less wallowing, more reaching out across an abyss. A human looking you in the eye and saying: I’ve been through some things, I bet you have too; it’s going to be alright.
Also…
Vadouvan coronation chicken salad with lime yoghurt using a rotisserie chicken.
Gorgeous heavyweight linen napkins that would dress up any summer picnic.
Brown Butter Buckwheat Cookies with Smashed Dark Chocolate Honeycomb, from Rose Wilde, recipe courtesy of Maine Grains
10 Spring Salads to Carry You Into July, from the lovely veg expert Anna Jones.
First Bloom will open in NYC. It was only a matter of time.
100 “Best” Restaurants in New York City. A deeply flawed list — Le Veau d’Or is nowhere to be seen.
Thank you, Kaitlin Phillips, for letting us know that Prada has hired an in-house mixologist (I’ll take the trio of tiny martinis, obvs.)
Radio Bakery will open a second location on the Upper West Side.
The World Has Officially Reached Peak Bagel. Bold statement. If we weren’t about to take a sledgehammer to our kitchen, I’d have Moonrise Bagels en route.
Toni Farmer Teaches Food Resilience From the Backyard. ‘Tis the season for garden content galore.
America’s Hottest New Club Is…The Grocery Store? Does that mean I can dance in the aisles?
The Infatuation’s 24 Hour approach to diner life.
Titi Gardening Apron I received this gorgeous frock for my birthday; it’s as beautiful as it is utilitarian. The perfect topper for my warm-weather uniform of cut-offs and white/black t-shirts.
ICYMI: Grape Sherbert, Rhubarb Quick Bread, and the best fried tofu sandwich
Summertime reads
‘Tis the season for a million and one summer reading guides filling your feed. Some of my faves, in no particular order:
A Translated Summer Reading Guide (Martha’s Monthly) | I enthusiastically second: The Son of Man, Just A Little Dinner, Lázár, The Sisters, and The Birthday Party.
The Summer Reading Guide (The Atlantic) | It might be time to read The Transit of Venus.
Feed Me’s Summer Novel Reading List (Feed Me) | Obviously Loved and Missed is one of the best books ever.
Paperback Summer Reading Guide (Fiction Matters) | Yes, I know this is behind a paywall, but Sara Hildreth is tremendous. Worth the cost of a cup of coffee for a look. So many books I’ve never read that I’m not quite sure where to begin!
Memoirs x 2
Dandelions | In Dandelions, a 2022 family memoir, Thea Lenarduzzi explores the geography of home through the lens of her Nonna, Dirce.
