Happy Mother’s Day! If you’re scrambling for a last-minute gift, you don’t need me to tell you that of course Mom would love to receive flowers or chocolates or a batch of homemade granola or some fresh eggs from your Sunday morning farmer’s market. But guess what? None of those will last the week.

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Have a great day! ❤️
Jenny

There have been a few times in my adult life when I can remember trying a certain recipe or ingredient, then stopping mid-bite and thinking, in the best possible way: Well, I’ve never tasted anything like that before. It happened when I first had Maida Heatter’s Mexican Chocolate Cookies and found myself delightfully shocked by a spike of black pepper and cayenne. It happened in the late 90s, when I decided to make Diane Kochilas’s Pasta with Sheep’s Milk Yogurt — the way the tang of the yogurt contrasted with sweet caramelized onions was so novel, so right, I instantly knew I’d be making it for the rest of my life. (Still going strong there!) And it happened last October, in the Adriatic port city of Bari, Italy, when I was served a beautifully restrained tangle of Spaghetti all’Assassina. The dish has become a kind of signature recipe of Bari — invented, in fact, by the restaurant chef who had prepared it for me — and translates to “murdered pasta” because it starts by frying uncooked spaghetti in olive oil over high heat, essentially burning it before proceeding with the stirring and the saucing.

I had been told that this pasta — shown above — was famous in Bari, but still, in retrospect I don’t think I was quite prepared for what I was about to eat. The restaurant, Al Sorso Preferito, was one stop on a food tour of Puglia that had been packed with destination-worthy dishes — sea-salt-crusted king red prawns, a fresh, creamy burrata made on a dairy farm before our eyes, custard-filled pasticiotto, to name just a few — and I was way more focused on the octopus we were about to be served, having witnessed a fisherman pulling one out of his net only an hour earlier. But I knew something was up with this spaghetti after one bite. The char of the pasta created not only a deep, smoky flavor but also a subtle crunch, and the tomatoes didn’t sauce the spaghetti so much as infuse the noodles with a sweet concentrated richness. It was so good and so unusual, that I almost went into panic mode. This is the only city where I can eat this dish? How was I going to remember it? Would it be possible in any way to replicate the recipe in my own New York kitchen? Later that night, armed with a little bit of info from the restaurant (they are legendarily stingy with specifics) I jotted a few notes in my journal with my best guess for how I might try Spaghetti all’Assassina at home…

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Greetings, everyone, and Happy Elizabeth Strout Day to all who celebrate! I read an early copy of The Things We Never Say back in March on my red-eye to Italy, and even though the plan was to read a chapter or two before drifting off to sleep, well, you can guess how that one ended up. I don’t think anyone is better at drawing you into characters’ inner worlds than Strout, even though at this novel’s core, she’s asking: Are we all ultimately unknowable, even to the people who love us the most? It wrecked me a little bit, I’m not going to lie, but that doesn’t mean I’m not giving the book to everyone I know.* One more thing before we get to your Tuesday dispatch: The good weather has put me in a good mood, so I was inspired to add a little bonus item to the bottom of today’s newsletter for paying subscribers. Sound the trumpets!! Here are your Three (ish) Things…

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Thanks for the support, as always…

*Speaking of which: Hope you didn’t miss Friday’s Mother’s Day Gift Guide

1. This Week in Asparagus

Over the weekend, a fat asparagus bouquet in hand, I opened up my Recipe Index to search for that glorious green-gold Chilled Asparagus Soup at the top of this email, and was shocked to find that I hadn’t written about it before — or, well, not on Substack at least — the recipe did have its star turn in The Weekday Vegetarians. So here I am remedying my oversight. (You’re welcome!) Think of the soup as a sort of asparagus gazpacho, and therefore the most delicious when (a) asparagus is in season, (b) it’s a warm night, and (c) you pile on the garnishes, like homemade sourdough croutons and crispy fresh sprouts. It’s best after being chilled in the refrigerator for at least an hour, but I’ve had it at room temperature, too, and wouldn’t send it back. If you don’t think it’s enough for dinner — I get it — you can serve with a quinoa-edamame-red-onion salad tossed with my all-purpose vinaigrette.

Chilled Asparagus Soup with Croutons & Chives

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Dals Asparagus Soup

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I’ve tweaked the recipe slightly since it was published in The Weekday Vegetarians: These days I reserve a stalk or two of asparagus before the rest goes into the blender. Then I chop up the stalk and add it as a garnish along with the croutons, chives, and other toppings.

2. A Good Char

It’s an age-old dilemma of vegetarian cooking: How does one achieve deep flavor when cooking without animal fat? I devoted a lot of words to the topic in both volumes of The Weekday Vegetarians, and I mostly concluded that it would behoove the aspiring vegetarian to get acquainted with umami-lending pantry staples like nutritional yeast, soy sauce, tomato paste, miso, and mushroom powder. But lately, I’ve noticed that I don’t need any of those ingredients if I’m charring my vegetables, a technique that lends a smoky, dare I say meaty, depth to whatever you’re working with. By charring, I do not mean burning: I mean a controlled blistering that creates a bitterness, sweetness, and deep umami all at once; I mean blasting something under a broiler or in a hot pan or over grill grates until it’s deep dark brown, taking it just to the very edges of blackened and burned. Exhibit A: The green beans you are looking at above were pan-seared in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat with the tiniest bit of oil — I didn’t touch them for the first five minutes, which is how they get that beautiful sear. (I finished by tossing them with pesto and Parm.) Exhibit B: The Carrot Soup I can’t shut up about calls for charring the carrots in a Dutch oven set over medium-high heat before they get pureed into silky, smoky puree. Heaven.

3. Heaven-Sent Cloud Cookies

Over the weekend, after a stretch when I just could not motivate to cook — always disorienting for me when this happens — I made up for lost time and went kind of crazy in the kitchen. I prepared veggie burger patties and a fleet of grab-and-go mushroom-spinach-poblano breakfast burritos for the freezer. (Working on that recipe for you.) I developed and tested a sickkk pasta recipe inspired by a meal I had in Bari last fall. (Recipe coming this Friday!) I made vinaigrettes and rhubarb compotes and Herby Green Sauce from a bunch of cilantro that was seemingly minutes away from liquefying. And perhaps best of all, I baked a batch of King Arthur’s famous Almond Cloud Cookies. Have you ever made them? I never had, instead opting to pick up a dozen at our local BTW Bakery whenever someone gluten-free comes for dinner. You definitely do not have to be GF to adore them, though! The name is just right — they are chewy but airy and look ethereal with that dusting of powdered sugar. And I can personally, presently testify to their sublime-ness when paired with iced coffee on a sunny spring morning. I guarantee there’s a mother or mother figure in your life who would love to receive a beribboned box of them this weekend.

4. A Taste Test! What’s the Best Store Bought Vegetable Broth?

Earlier in the month, I did what I’ve been meaning to do ever since starting down my Weekday Vegetarian path: I invited my vegetarian friend and cookbook publisher Lia, her husband David, and their six-year-old daughter, Eliana, to join Andy and me for a vegetable broth taste test. With spreadsheets and number two pencils and everything! I wanted to know: Which broths have actual flavor and which ones taste more like, er, low tide? Are there any that go beyond merely tolerable and actually bring something tasty to the party? The goal was to see if the go-to brand I’ve relied on for years (for my soups, braised vegetables, curries, rice dishes and sauces) is indeed the best. Welp, I was completely surprised by the winner…

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I’m so excited to present this gift guide, which is technically arriving in time for Mother’s Day, but is really just an excuse for me to reach out to my favorite food people, novelists, writers, and podcast hosts to ask them what they are coveting, giving, and loving at the moment. In a shocking turn of events, they all came through for me! Herewith, more than two dozen gift recs for cookbooks, memoirs, novels, and indulgences small and large, organized by guest writer — including , Jodi Kantor, Meera Sodha, and — plus a special offer from Yours Truly. Enjoy!

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Greetings, friends! Hope you enjoyed your weekend. The parks are just absolutely stunning right now, so I spent as much of the weekend as possible weaving my way around paths shrouded by crab apple and redbud trees, and sitting with Bean on sunny benches reading Yesteryear. Have you read it? The premise is irresistible: A trad wife influencer who has millions of followers on Instagram gets beamed back to a mid-1800s homestead to live the life she’s preaching — but without the Sub-Zero refrigerator and staff of nannies and farmhands. The novel feels like 2026’s first real entry in the Beach Read category and reads like a screenplay…a horror movie screenplay. (Think The Compound meets Gone Girl.) It also holds this immortal observation: “The goal of an influencer is not to be lovable, and it is not to be unbearable. The goal is to be both at once. In other words: addicting.” Up next on the ole nightstand stack: Colm Tóibín’s story collection, The News from Dublin. Finally, it’s my birthday this week, and I will of course be treating myself to a slice of seven-layer cake from William Greenberg Desserts — but here’s what I’m asking for from you and everyone else:

All I Want for My Birthday

Haha, got you! Now, your Three Things…

1. Asparagus Bonding

Over the weekend, as I was casing my farmer’s market — I usually try to do a lap before buying anything — these asparagus bunches caught my eye. They weren’t the first asparagus I’ve seen this season, but they were the first fat asparagus I’ve seen, which is of course the kind we spend all year waiting for. I wasn’t the only one who was excited by the discovery. A woman wearing a 1-train baseball cap swept in, and in an intensely lovable New York accent shouted, Oh my gawd, have you evuh seen something so beautiful? Honey! and here she turned to her companion, Have you? Have you evuh seen something so beautiful? He shrugged a bit, clearly not registering the significance of the moment — spring was here! — so she turned to me: “Have you?” I understood the assignment: No, I have not! I told her with all the enthusiasm I could muster, which wasn’t hard for me. Beautiful, she said again, then grabbed a few bunches and headed to the register.

Five Ways to Turn Asparagus into Dinner

Buckwheat Crepes with Asparagus and Mushroom (above), Asparagus, Spring Cream, Onion, & Lemon Pizza; Stupid-simple Asparagus Pizza with Boursin and Pickled Shallots (page 189 of The Weekday Vegetarians Get Simple) and, on the side, Asparagus Pea Mash with Horseradish which I made on repeat last spring.

Or, in the can’t-go-wrong depart, simmered and blanched, and drizzled with vinaigrette.

2. Cold Brew Season

It’s almost Pavlovian — as soon as I see the speckling of spring forsythia blooms, I think: Must. Order. Cold. Brew. For the past decade, that has meant ordering a robust supply of Grady’s, which introduced me to the concept of cold brew pouches that you simply dunk into a pitcher of water and let steep for 12-24 hours. Not only is the whole thing no-brainer easy, it’s extremely cost effective. (One pouch generally makes four cups.) This year, to prove to myself that I am still capable of mixing it up, I decided to see what else was out there, and stumbled upon Rockaway Cold Brew Pouches from Brooklyn’s own Partners. Mellow and round with a hint of sweetness — I absolutely love it. Welcome to the rotation, Rockaway!

3. The Happy Map

Last week, in Melissa Kirsch’s newsletter, I read about Alvin Chang’s “Happy Map” where he crowd-sourced, then mapped real people’s real moments of happiness by placing them in respective “geographical” quadrants/categories, like Hobbies and Creation, Sensory Pleasure, Family, Career and Work, or Material Acquisition. You don’t have to spend very long in this delightful little pretend world before you realize something obvious and somehow maddeningly elusive: Happiness as a practice requires mindful vigilance, because what reliably brings us joy is what’s right in front of us. You should head to the map and do a little exploring yourself, but here are some of the responses I liked the most:

I’m happy my child had fun at prom and came home early
I went for a satisfying and fast run on a beautiful cool spring evening
My dog greeted me when I got home from one of my many jobs
I didn’t have insomnia last night
I did my laundry and got clean sheets on the bed and loved the way they felt
My boss bought some people pizza yesterday it was great
I ordered a rare and hard-to-find beer
We planted a tree in memory of a loved one
I made someone dinner

You knew that last one was coming! The project reminded me of Mary Oliver’s poem “Don’t Hesitate,” especially the famous last line: “Anyway, whatever it its, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.”

Have a good week,
Jenny

P.S. I have a such a fun Mother’s Day gift guide lined up for paying subscribers this week. Sign up now if you don’t want to miss it.

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Thanks again for being here. If you like what you’ve read and have a second, please hit the ❤️ button at the top left or bottom left of this newsletter. It helps spread the word about Dinner: A Love Story and it also really makes my day.

For more easy, approachable vegetarian recipes, check out my New York Times bestselling books The Weekday Vegetarians and the follow-up: The Weekday Vegetarians: Get Simple. 🍳🌿

Greetings friends, and apologies in advance if it seems like this newsletter is turning into Italy: A Love Story. (If only Grandmas Catrino and Turano were still here to appreciate this!) In case you missed it, last week’s bonus newsletter was a recap of my fall 2025 trip to Rome, and today I feel the need to tell you right at the top that I’m obsessing a little over Giulia Scarpaleggia’s new book Vegetables, The Italian Way. It’s a stunningly photographed 260-page love letter to resourcefulness and the tradition of cucina povera, or, the practice of transforming seasonal, affordable ingredients into the most comfortingly gorgeous vegetable-forward meals. I can’t imagine any mother or human not being completely thrilled to unwrap this on Mother’s Day. Here are Three (more) Things I’m excited to tell you about this week…

1. This Week in “Halfway Homemade”

One funny thing about my husband: Whenever he shops for food, he always returns with a wildcard item. No matter how quick-and-dirty the shop was meant to be — even if he’s just picking up ingredients for lunch, he’ll somehow also end up buying something like, say, the Nabisco Iced Oatmeal Cookies he loved as a kid. Or if he’s cooking dinner and realizes he needs mustard, he’ll slide on his Birkenstocks, run across the street to our corner bodega, and throw in a bag of Sour Patch Kids at the register. Because the impulse buys tend to fall in the Nostalgia or Sweets categories, I now have a Pavlovian response to seeing him walk in the door with a grocery bag: What’s the wildcard? I’ll ask before he even takes off his coat. But last week, after a Trader Joe’s nuts-and-snacks run, the answer to that question was savory, as he proudly revealed TJ’s ready-to-eat Hot Smoked Salmon Filet, the one that comes in a six-ounce green package. (You can see what it looks like here.) The wildcard wasn’t nostalgic or sweet, but it was arguably something better: Inspiration for a new “halfway homemade” weeknight dinner.

Hot Smoked Salmon Bowl with Green Beans and Herby Green Sauce

The Store Bought Assist: Trader Joe’s Hot Smoked Salmon Filet (6-ounce package); frozen brown, white, jasmine, or basmati rice; store bought pickled onions

Notes: It’s just enough salmon for 2-3 bowls — if you want to stretch the recipe to serve four, you can add halved hard-boiled or jammy eggs. Obviously the beans are interchangeable with your favorite structured green vegetable like broccoli, snap peas, snow peas, etc.

The How-To: Prepare rice according to package directions. (If it’s Trader Joe’s, it’s three minutes in the microwave.) Add salmon (flaked), pickled onions (here’s a recipe for homemade if you can’t find store bought) and cooked green beans. Then make your Herby Green Sauce, which is the only part of this meal that requires an ounce of energy. Whirl the following in a mini food processor: 2 cups cilantro, 1 tablespoon Dijon, 1/2 small jalapeño (pith and seeds removed according to desired heat level), 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar, juice from 1/2 lemon, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle on top of salmon-rice bowls. You’ll have leftover sauce, which tomorrow’s eggs, salads, and grains will thank you for.

ICYMI: January’s Halfway Homemade Weekly Meal Plan, Vegetarian Edition. Clockwise from top left: Falafel Bowl with Yogurt and Cucumbers; Scallion Pancake Egg “Taco;” Smoky Black Bean Bowl with Plantains and Avocado; Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Edamame. Now seems like a good time to remind you that paying subscribers have complete access to all archived content as well as my massive recipe index.

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2. A Strawberry Trick

Last weekend I ate lunch at Elle in DC’s Mt. Pleasant neighborhood, and happened to spy a very Jenny salad on the menu: Farro with Strawberries, Walnuts, and Goat Cheese. I had in fact included a similar recipe in the first volume of The Weekday Vegetarians, using feta instead of goat cheese, and adding some white beans to upgrade the dish from side to main. Pairing strawberries with a tangy cheese like goat or feta is a well-known winning move, but at Elle they did something new — or new-to-me at least — they used roasted strawberries in the salad, resulting in a more intense sweet-and-tangy explosion with every bite. Naturally, I experimented with the technique back home, and quickly realized it’s a good strategy to have in your back pocket when the strawberries you picked up are not quite peak-season. As always, roasting lends depth and brings out a fruit’s natural sweetness. Here’s the no-recipe recipe:

Roasted Strawberries: Slice strawberries into quarters or halves and toss with just enough neutral oil (I used canola) to make them shiny. (The oil should not pool.) Place berries on a parchment-lined baking sheet (not foil; they’ll stick) and roast for 30 minutes at 375°F.

Farro Salad with Roasted Strawberries, Walnuts, Goat Cheese: Add the roasted strawberries to a cup or so of cooked farro along with chopped roasted walnuts, roasted shallots (roast them on the baking sheet alongside the strawberries), crumbled feta or goat cheese, chopped fresh herbs (such as parsley or chives) and a simple balsamic vinaigrette (1:2 oil to vinegar).

3. Steal this Gift Idea

Last year, my sister Lynn gave her daughter, Alison, the best birthday gift: a monthly cheese board subscription from Murray’s. Careful readers might already know my niece (shown above, pointing at the board) from her adventurous contributions to last month’s Cheap, Loud, Fun Guide to New York Restaurants, which could’ve been alternatively be called Alison’s Guide to Living Her Best Life. She loves restaurants, food, and cheese, yes, but the best part about the gift was something else. Every time it arrives, she invites her friends to share in the bounty. Like Alison, they are all med school students, so the cheese arrival gives them a good and delicious excuse to take a break from the grind — but I can see the subscription being right for just about any young adult on their own for the first time because, if you position it in a certain way, you’re also gifting them connection and ritual, two things that are not always easy to come by at that age. It’s also fun to think outside the cheese box a little here: A quick search led me to Fortnum & Mason’s Teatime Gift Box and a half dozen pints from Salt & Straw, both of which seem like they’d be excellent in the “encourages gathering” department. If you have a go-to food-of-the-month subscription that might fit the bill, I’d love to hear about it.

Leave a comment

Have a great week,
Jenny

My view of The New York Public Library from Bryant Park last week. Glorious!

Thanks again for being here. If you like what you’ve read and have a second, please hit the ❤️ button at the top left or bottom left of this newsletter. It helps spread the word about Dinner: A Love Story and it also really makes my day.

For more easy, approachable vegetarian recipes, check out my New York Times bestselling books The Weekday Vegetarians and the follow-up: The Weekday Vegetarians: Get Simple. 🍳🌿

Last fall, after hosting a Puglia food tour, I took the train to Rome to meet my husband Andy for vacation. The only other time I’ve ever been to the city was for three days in blistering, crowded August when the kids were teenagers, so I was eager to return in October when the crowds are somewhat thinner — it’s still the tail end of tourist season — and the weather is pleasant enough for cotton sweaters and cropped pants. The only thing I did by way of advance planning was book a dinner reservation for the first night (I always do this, no matter where I travel) and secure two tickets to the Sistine Chapel, a destination that had long been at the top of my Life List.

Other than that, I really just wanted the week to be about exploring and cooking and eating and doing that Rome thing where you dip into churches and then…oh, look, a Bernini sculpture…a Caravaggio masterpiece! I found that in Rome, I had none of that inner anxious chatter going — Am I doing this right? Am I seeing enough? — because just going about my day, just heading out for a morning run under a 2,000-year-old footbridge along the Tiber, or eating a pizza rossa for lunch while sitting on a fountain that is older than the discovery of America felt like I was steeping myself in the history of civilization and experiencing the city the way it’s meant to be experienced. (I was really regretting bringing along My Brilliant Friend for my “Italian read” instead of SPQR.) And of course, we ate extremely well. I almost can’t remember a trip where we did better on that front, but I guess that’s not really surprising. It’s Rome, after all, Land of pasta, pizza, gelato and beyond. And now — andiamo! — my highlights…

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Greetings friends! Hope you are having a great week. Spring has finally arrived in New York only for some reason it’s dressed as…summer. We’re hitting the 80s over the next few days, and you will not hear me complaining about this for one minute. As soon as I press send on this newsletter, I’m heading to the park with my dog to start Rachel Khong’s new story collection. Have you read it yet? Here are Three Things I’m excited to tell you about this week…

1. One-Pot Ditalini with Beans and Sausage

If you could beam me back to around, say, 2016 when I still had young kids in the house…well, I guess the first thing I’d do is just sit still and stare at them so I could memorize their ponytails and bracelets and water bottles and what they were studying at the kitchen table and reading on the couch and giggling about on iCarly. Because five years into the empty nest thing — it’s true what they say — it’s becoming nearly impossible to conjure up the details and day-to-day texture of that era. (*Clears throat, comes back, whoo boy.) The second thing I would do is make this comforting one-pot dinner, which is so totally the kind of strategic meal I used to have in the rotation when the kids’ schedules were scrambling my brain — this one is eating after early practice, this one after late practice, maybe I can freeze leftovers for next week when we are out — and all I wanted was a dinner that could sit on the stovetop and be anything to anyone at anytime. I hadn’t planned on making such a throwback — it was more the result of a strong Pasta Con Ceci craving and then realizing I didn’t have the, uh, ceci. Then I wondered what would happen if I added a little chicken to the pot? Answer: This.

One-Pot Ditalini with Sausage and Beans

The sausage in question here is more like spiced meat crumbles, but you can see why that didn’t make a very enticing recipe name. Serves 4.

Dals One Pot Ditalini

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It’s even better as leftovers.

P.S. More spring dinners for your consideration: Carolina Gelen’s Artichoke Tart (shown); Caramelized Carrot, Sourdough and Miso Soup which is waiting in the freezer as I type (#MoneyInTheBank); Veggie Burgers with a side of Chickpea Fries and Arugula Pesto or the salad that follows…

2. It’s Green Goddess Season

I want you to focus on a single leaf in that bowl above — the little gem lettuce cup that is sitting at about two o’clock and filled with green peas, watermelon radish, cucumber, and a healthy dollop of green goddess dressing. How good does that look? That dressing is all I want during nature’s-first-green-is-gold season, which is another way of saying: NOW. Spring in a bite.

Green Goddess Dressing

In a food processor (or mini food processor) combine 1/2 large avocado, 1 garlic clove (chopped roughly), 1 cup delicate herbs (like cilantro, parsley, dill), 1/4 cup chives, 2 tablespoons lemon juice or white vinegar, 1 tablespoon capers, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons water, pinch of sugar. Process until the dressing is emulsified and reaches drizzling consistency. You might have to add another tablespoon of water to get it there.

On Sunday, we had this salad alongside a simple pan-fried fish.

3. Famesick, by Lena Dunham

I loved Lena Dunham’s new book Famesick for all the normal reasons one would love a celebrity memoir — to me there’s nothing more fun than reading about someone’s rise to fame, the early years when they had no idea what was coming, the breakthrough moment, the intimate peeks behind the curtain on sets and awards shows. All of that is on full display here. She tells the entire enthralling story of Girls, starting with her SXSW-winning Tiny Furniture that put her on HBO’s radar; the way it felt to be in the center of such a huge cultural phenomenon; the play-by-play on casting Allison Williams, Zosia Mamet, and Jemima Kirke as her costars; the way none of them really knew how to behave on set because for most of the cast, Girls was their first job. Dunham was only 23 years old (23!) and still traveling “with a literal stuffed toy in my suitcase” when she sold the HBO pilot, trying her best to act like she knew what she was doing. “Often between takes,” she writes, “I sat in a director’s chair wearing only a bathrobe, my unshaven legs dangling, my feet barely touching the floor, like a child who had been given control of a Fortune 500 company.” This part of the story was so much fun — I kept doing Google image searches of the actors and magazine covers and premiere parties and memorable scenes from that season — and you can tell how happy Dunham was to have found her creative calling. By the end of shooting the Girls pilot, she went from “‘This probably won’t get picked up, but what an experience’…to ‘If this show doesn’t get made my life will be over. This is the only recipe for my joy.’ It wasn’t about success or optics, it was that I could never remember being happier, feeling more hopeful or useful or embodied.”

It turns out, that’s also how Hollywood pulled her in, making the work feel so good that she’d do anything to keep at it. “Much like drugs,” she writes, “you’ll keep at it even if it starts to feel bad.” And that’s when her story becomes not so much a celebrity memoir but a memoir of celebrity itself, an honest and raw chronicle of the toll that fame took on Dunham, emotionally and physically, as she became a lightning rod for intense public vitriol and continued working herself to exhaustion “as if a fiery dragon were chasing” her. Meanwhile, she ignored the “noisy signals” her chronically ill body was sending, moving through the show-must-go-on industry that was too invested in her as a commodity to acknowledge how acutely she was struggling.

But even when Dunham is sharing the darkest parts of her life — illness, addiction, rehab, breakups, deep shame over deeply regrettable behavior — she’s such a great storyteller (and so funny) that it’s still very fun to read. It took her almost a decade to write the book* and you can tell — there is perspective and wisdom and a clear sense that she now owns her own story.

I read Famesick in print (in 24 hours!) but my hunch is that it would be amazing on audio.

Have a great week!
Jenny

*And now for the full disclosure portion of the program: My husband is the editor of Famesick. If you are worried about objectivity — I get it! — and please feel free to read The New Yorker excerpt or this review on Slate to decide for yourself.

P.S. Best thing I ate last week: The lentil filled sambosa and vegan Ethiopian breakfast (spiced spinach, lentils, chickpeas and injera) at Heat Da Spot while in DC for a quick 48-hour trip. Runners up: The Trout Amandine at Le Diplomate; the crisp hard cider sipped on a 75-degree afternoon in The Wonderland garden; An epic egg sandwich at Elle in Mount Pleasant; and a cheeseburger slider at the University of Maryland Men’s Lacrosse tailgate. Go Terps!

Thanks again for being here. If you like what you’ve read and have a second, please hit the ❤️ button at the top left or bottom left of this newsletter. It helps spread the word about Dinner: A Love Story and it also really makes my day.

For more easy, approachable vegetarian recipes, check out my New York Times bestselling books The Weekday Vegetarians and the follow-up: The Weekday Vegetarians: Get Simple. 🍳🌿

Greetings friends! I hope you’re having a nice week. Mine just got exponentially better upon discovering that the Conservatory pool on the east side of Central Park has been filled, in perfect sync with the spring flowers popping all around its perimeter. (Pro tip: Sit there early on a weekday morning with your coffee when it’s about as quiet as it gets.) In reading news, I’m embarrassed to admit that it took me a little while to get into my Jane Eyre re-read, but now I’m writing this newsletter as fast as I can in order to repair thither to the couch and finish. (Who is with me?) Lastly, thanks for all the enthusiasm around last week’s Twenty-Something’s Guide to NYC Restaurants, which I suggest serving as your official punch list of spring if you’re local. Herewith, your Three Things…

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Here are a few things I ask myself when I’m trying to figure out where to eat in New York: Is the restaurant priced well for what it is? Do my food-loving friends like it? Is the cocktail game strong? Do I have a sentimental attachment to the restaurant? Is it quiet enough to have a conversation, but not so dead that it feels like a library? Is the place quintessentially New York? Does it require mental acrobatics and secondary markets to secure a reservation or, God help me, standing outside on a long line to get in?

Here is what my twenty-something daughters and nieces ask themselves when they are trying to figure out where to go out to eat in New York: Is it cheap, is it loud, is it fun?

I’m exaggerating a little bit, but not much. The point is, they don’t overthink it, they explore, they take chances, and they generally find new things we olds come to love, as well. I thought it might be fun, as the weather turns and we emerge from hibernation, to share some of what they’ve learned out there with you. Herewith, a guide to New York restaurants from three of my favorite twenty-somethings: my niece Alison (you can find her on Beli*) and my daughters Phoebe and Abby.

Happy exploring!

*Alison’s handle is alisonzerbib

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Greetings friends and happy Passover to all who celebrate. A few things making me happy lately: The impossibly thin pancakes we ate family-style at my sister’s al fresco birthday brunch last week; the gardenia diffuser in my foyer that smells like spring all year long; my Jane Eyre book club; Jodi’s watercolor-a-day commitment; that surreal UConn shot and all the meta-content that has trickled down from it; Lena Dunham’s new memoir Famesick; the Billy Collins poem “Old Man Eating Alone in a Chinese Restaurant” (via ); standing lunch and dinner dates with old friends; tickets for two upcoming shows (one on Broadway, one Off); a barrel-aged vinegar that has dinner guests asking “What’s in this dressing?” mid-bite. Grickle! The NYC restaurant guide I’m working on for you that’s been curated by my twenty-something daughters and nieces. (Think: affordable and adventurous!) Just a reminder: You must be a subscriber to access restaurant guides, travel content, and all the archived recipes I…

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Greetings! As promised, today’s dispatch is all about my trip to Parma, a city in the famed Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, just about midway between Milan and Bologna, where a dozen Dinner: A Love Story readers and I spent a week on a Via Rosa tour observing the farmers and the makers, exploring medieval castles and Romanesque cathedrals, and learning from the producers who give us the foods we revere around the world: Prosciutto di Parma, Balsamico di Modena, and of course Parmigiano-Reggiano, to name only a few. We were based in the historic center of Parma (above) for the entire week so we really had a chance to settle in, which is my favorite way to see a city I’m visiting for the first time.

Parma is a thriving university city (its population and size are comparable to Charleston, South Carolina) and even though it has everything we tend to romanticize about Italy — a large historic center, a grand Romanesque cathedral, maze-like cobblestone streets that are lined with modern boutiques and old-world cafes, piazzas framed by pink and rose-colored centuries-old buildings — it is somehow not crowded or overrun with tourists like, um, us. And apparently, this is the case all year long, not only in March when we were there.

The tour was curated by Via Rosa’s Elizabeth Minchilli and her daughter, Sophie Minchilli, and officially guided by the energetic, all-knowing Alice Rossi who has lived in Parma her entire life. I’m not permitted to divulge certain specifics of the itinerary which are proprietary to Via Rosa, but I wanted to share a few highlights from the week, including the recipe for a ridiculous Lasagna Bolognese that was memorably true to the region that invented the dish. Andiamo!

The Recap: Tastings

Usually, when I write up these highlight reels, I divide the content into two sections, Where We Ate and What We Did — but for this trip, there was a lot of overlap between the two. That’s because Emilia-Romagna has the highest concentration of DOP* products of any region in the world. So as we tasted our way through iconic foods and observed how they were produced, it was sometimes hard to figure out where the learning ended and the eating began.

*DOP stands for Denominazione di Origine Protetta, which translates in English to Protected Designation of Origin. When you see a DOP on a product, that means it was authentically produced and processed in a specific geographic region according to strict, traditional guidelines.

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Greetings everyone. I’m home from Italy, in body if not in spirit, and have an important question: What is your Irish Soda Bread game plan? Forgive me for being so 11th-hour on that one, but please know: Rosa’s Irish Soda Bread is good all year long, even if you are one of those people who have always considered the traditional loaf a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. (Me 👋 ) In other news, Michael Ruhlman made a case for Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway shows being “the real New York theater experience,” and I found myself convinced, especially as Broadway tickets have become so astronomically expensive. If you’re visiting New York (or living here), check out his list of theaters to follow and support, and then read my New York Restaurant Guide to book a pre-theater dinner reservation. And now, Three Things I’m excited to tell you about this week…

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Greetings everyone! I’m still in Parma, and in fact just returned from a Vin Santo tasting in the hills north of the city followed by lunch featuring pisarei e fasò. It’s a local specialty made with teeny tiny tender gnocchi and sweet-tomatoey stewed borlotti beans — think the world’s best pasta e fagioli — and holy moly I wish I could tell you that the recipe is at the bottom of this newsletter, but alas, the 85-year-old family-run restaurant that prepared the dish for the dozen Via Rosa travelers I’m here with refuses to tell anyone exactly how it’s made. “A little butter, a little pork fat, a little this, a little that,” is all they’ll say when you ask. Yes, there are a hundred thousand recipes for pisarei e fasò online, but somehow I know it won’t taste the same. Replicating that dish at home would be like trying to capture a vast landscape on my iPhone. I have lived long enough to know that my attempt will always fall short.

I can’t believe I just spent that many words talking about my lunch, especially since this newsletter isn’t even your official download on Parma. (That one will drop for paying subscribers next week and, like the Puglia and Sicily writeups, will go deeper on our day-to-day itineraries.) Today I mostly want to talk about a little travel ritual I have that helps orient me to the food and culture of a new city. It’s something I’ve been doing for so long I didn’t even realize it was interesting or helpful until I mentioned it to a few people who started doing it themselves.

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Buongustai e lettori! I don’t know if the novelty of writing this next sentence will ever wear off but here we go: Today’s newsletter is coming at you from Italy, where I am on day three of hosting my third Via Rosa food tour. This time I’m in Emilia-Romagna in the north, home to all the foods that need no introduction: Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, Balsamico di Modena. A dozen Dinner: A Love Story readers and I have spent our days ogling Correggio frescoes on cathedral ceilings and meeting the all-important cows who give us our Parm, and (cover your ears Weekday Vegetarians*) gone deep on culatello, the creamy cured ham made only by a handful of producers along the Po river, and clocked thousands of steps in historic, walkable Parma, where we are based for the week. Also….

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Greetings friends! What’s for dinner tonight? I have some Rancho Gordo lovelies soaking in a pot right now preparing for their star turn in Union Square Cafe’s famous Black Bean Soup — you know, the one that calls for a shot of sherry if you are so inclined. (I am sooo inclined.) Also, two people in two days have separately sent me Hailee Catalano’s dramatic pepper-and-egg sandwich reel, which I feel like I should maybe take as a sign. In other news, I saw Mavis Staples at the Beacon on Saturday, and ever since, her cover of “Beautiful Strangers” has been playing on a loop on my Spotify and in my brain. Staples is 86 years old, and even though she had to sit down on a little upholstered stool for a few minutes every now and then, and even though she was gently shepherded around the stage by hand-holders, she had a complete and powerful hold of her audience from the minute she started singing. It was incredible to watch. She’s 86! Promoting a new album! Unreal.

Here are Three (more) Thi…

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We also talked about how relatable her characters always feel; about her writing process (“there’s that moment when you’re imagining these people, these situations, and it’s like someone knocking at the door…it gets louder and louder and louder until you think, oh, hell, and you open it”), about her love affair with New York, about the writer she re-reads every summer (it makes so much sense), no-book book clubs, the book her mother threw across the room when Anna was a teenager, the urgency of fiction, and, of course, alpacas.

The epigraph for More Than Enough is this Emily Dickinson quote, so of course we sipped our drinks from these mugs. “You think there’s going to come that moment where suddenly you’re a done deal,” Anna said when I asked her about it. “I’m 73 years old and I’m not a done deal. I’m still out there with lanterns looking for myself.”

I hope you have a chance to watch.

Enjoy,
Jenny

P.S. Giveaway 🎉

Comment below to be eligible to win an Anna Quindlen-themed Book Lover’s Swag Bag, including: More Than Enough (plus the audiobook voucher), a sleep mask, library-card socks 🤓, book themed totes, a journal, a Penguin Random House thermos, After Annie and more. Reminder: You must be a paying subscriber to be eligible for giveaways.

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One commenter will be chosen at random. The winner will be announced Sunday, March 1, 8:00pm ET. Check back here to see if you’re the lucky one.

🚨 UPDATE: The winner has been notified. Thank you all for playing! 🚨

Greetings everyone and especially my Eastern Seaboard snowed-in friends. How’d everyone do? Did you bake? Did you braise? Did you stew? Obviously there is nothing I would love to know more urgently. Also: Mark your calendars: Tomorrow, Wednesday, February 25, at 11:15 am ET, I’ll be doing a Coffee Talk on Substack Live with the wise and wonderful Anna Quindlen about her new novel More Than Enough, the story of a 40-something New York City teacher struggling with infertility, a complicated mother, and a rattling DNA test result. Her editor, Whitney Frick, will be joining us. Come with questions, come for the fun giveaway (you’ll have to see!), or just come and listen to the woman who once said “a finished person is a boring person.” Here’s the link where you can watch — I’ll also email you when we’re live. And now, Three Things I’d like to tell you about this week…

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Greetings friends! Last week, I assembled three snack boards in my apartment, packed up a box of stemless wine glasses, confirmed a few last-minute details, then headed down to Brooklyn’s East Fork store to host what I hope will be the first of many Dinner: A Love Story meet-ups. Why? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The feel-good spirit of this community saves me on a daily basis, and I wanted to take the party from my kitchen laptop out into the real world. I also wanted to meet DALS readers — of course! — but mostly I wanted readers to meet other readers, to get down to the business of connecting and gathering the way I’m always shouting about in this newsletter.

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