Three Things
A twist on grilled pork, the only shoe you need to pack, how to start a cookbook club
Greetings from Ireland, friends! I simply cannot believe how beautiful it is here — so far we’ve hiked over rolling hills and rugged cliffs, gone swimming in Dingle Harbour, eaten fried hake and chips while watching the World Cup on one side of the pub and Irish musicians on the other. I also tried (and failed) to “split the G” when drinking my first-ever Guinness, but I believe this challenge qualifies as a Noble Vacation Pursuit, so I hope to report back with progress on that front next week. In the meantime, you know I’d never leave you hanging, so I am passing the mic to a few guest Substack writers this week: Carla Lalli, the ultimate cook’s cook, who writes the highly useful, highly tasty Food Processing and the author of the upcoming Food is a Feeling; Yolanda Edwards, the wizard behind Club Yolo and travel lifestyle empire Yolo Journal (I never go anywhere without checking her Black Books first); and Jenna Helwig of the Cookbookery Collective, a must-read weekly dispatch for both cookbook enthusiasts and industry insiders. In other word, you are in excellent hands, so without further ado, here are Three Things my Special Guest Triumverate would like you to know about this week…
…but wait, ICYMI! I convinced my husband Andy to join me on Substack Live last week to discuss his day-to-day life as the Publisher of Random House. What books is he excited about right now? What’s trending? What are his picks for Father’s Day? What book reviewer made him cry…in a good way? Join me in my kitchen and Andy at his standing desk to hear all the tea! And btw, for those of you who have never watched a Substack Live before, it’s not complicated — you just click here and press play. But you do have to be a subscriber. You can take care of that right here. ⬇️⬇️⬇️
1. Grilled Pork Steaks with Snap Peas, by Carla Lalli
I was reporting a story with chef and restaurateur Rachel Yang the first time I had grilled pork shoulder, which I thought of as a strict braising cut. I was pretty dubious as she cut the shoulder into fat slabs, then marinated them with gochujang before putting a crisp char on them, but they were spicy and juicy and pleasantly chewy. Life changing! And it reminded me of how lucky I am to work in an industry where people are constantly teaching me new tricks. — Carla Lalli, Food Processing
How good would that be with Carla’s Grilled Veg Grain salad?
2. Three Travel Heroes, by Yolanda Edwards
I’ve been on the road since April 4 and haven’t slept in one bed for more than four consecutive nights. Sure, I travel a lot all year — but given how zig-zaggy this period has been, I’ve really learned how to minimize my packing, and zero in on the real heroes in the suitcase: First, the Friulane Slippers (above) from the Venetian company Pied-a-Terre have some extra padding in the sole, so I can actually wear them all day without them killing my back as so many flat no-support shoes will do. They also have a rubber sole with stitching, so they grip on smooth stone staircases. For summer they are perfect in canvas, and in navy blue, they work with shorts as well as dresses—so they get MVP status for being the most, if not only, worn shoe in the bag. Second: I’ve been a fan of La Roche Posay straight-up sunscreen for a long time, but my daughter recently turned me onto this moisturizer with SPF50 that is super moisturizing but not too heavy. It also has a faint honey smell that I love. Lastly, I wear this linen chore coat all summer long. It has big pockets that I can throw my phone or glasses case into for easy access when I’m traveling, but also functions as a shirt, especially since the collar has enough structure to stand up on its own. — Yolanda Edwards, Club Yolo
3. How to Start a Cookbook Club, by Jenna Helwig
If a book club and a potluck had a baby, they would be the proud parents of a cookbook club—one of my favorite ways to socialize. Like a book club, a cookbook club chooses a book, but instead of a novel or memoir, you pick, well, a cookbook. When the group gathers, everyone brings a dish that they prepared from the book.
The chosen title could be brand new, a classic, or somewhere in between—anything the gang is interested in trying. I belong to two cookbook clubs, and here’s a short list of some of the books we’ve cooked in the past year-ish: Hot Date! by Rawaan Alkhatib (get the recipe for Rawaan’s Chocolate Olive Oil Date Toasts), Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Nights and Weekends by Alexis deBoschnek, A Year at Catbird Cottage by Melina Hammer, and What Can I Bring? by Casey Elsass. (You can find Casey’s Caesar Salad with Bouillon Croutons recipe on The Dinner Plan Substack.) The Weekday Vegetarians would be an excellent cookbook club pick, of course!*
*thanks Jenna 🥹 ❤️
The two clubs are run a little differently, proving that there are no hard and fast rules here. (Well, there are two, which I’ll get to in a minute.) In one club, all the decisions are made on WhatsApp. We meet monthly and vote on the date and the book in our group chat. Hosting duties are loosey-goosey. Someone will volunteer, and it’s understood that some people will never host, and that’s totally okay!
The second club is always organized by the same two co-hosts and held quarterly in a culinary studio. (What can I say? I hang out with a lot of food people.) The hosts decide on the book and the date, taking into account the group’s preferences, of course.
Those two hard and fast rules I mentioned? First, there must be a shared Google Sheet where people mark down what dish they’re planning to bring. No gathering needs three trays of coq au vin from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Second, you can’t expect that every member will make every get-together, especially if you have more than six people in the club. Get consensus on a date, and then let the RSVPs fall where they may.
A few other tips:
I find 8-12 people to be ideal. Not everyone will come to every gathering, but you’ll likely have at least six dishes to try.
If possible, decide on the books well in advance so people have time to request them at the library or download them on Libby if they’re not ready to commit to a purchase.
Before you dig into the spread, ask everyone to explain the dish they brought and how the cooking process went.
After that, let the conversation flow! Delve into the cookbook or just devour the food and enjoy each other’s company. I adore exploring cookbooks with pals, but at this point, the gathering is what matters. The cookbook is simply the conduit.
— Jenna Helwig, Cookbookery Collective.
Thanks Carla, Yolanda, and Jenna! I’ll see everyone next week.
P.S. One more from the road. Can you believe? 💚 💚
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“Exactly What I’ve Been Looking For! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ These are exactly the kind of recipes I’ve been scouring the Internet for the last year. If you search ‘vegetarian dinners’ in Pinterest or Google, you mostly get recipes…that make vegetarianism seem like living in constant FOMO for real food. These recipes actually celebrate all the delicious vegetables we have available and seem just as indulgent and delicious as any other dinner. Plus timetables that I can handle on a weeknight. I see what a labor of love this book was, and I’m so grateful for it.” — Reviewer “M Kim” on my New York Times bestselling book The Weekday Vegetarians, shown here with its sequel The Weekday Vegetarians: Get Simple.
i love being in a cookbook club !
Ooh I’ve never heard of a cookbook club! What a wonderful idea. I’m also a Huge fan of the La Roch Posay moisturizer and I love the Sezane Will Jacket too. Beautiful 💛