Love this so much..my beloved orange le creuset sits proudly on my stove at all times. It calls to me daily and I never scrub it perfectly clean.. A patina is always a good reminder that cooking keeps us grounded, tethered to caring for ourselves others.
Thank you for the gift article- I can’t wait to read it as a fellow lover of my French oven. 💙 also I adored good thing #3 and I think I may just print it out to reread periodically.
loved this! An already broken-in glove!? Taking it home and putting a softball in and wrapping rubber bands around it to start to break it in is half the magic!!! happy new year!
I really liked your letter. I didn't think that an essay dedicated to a pot could be so attractive and enjoyable to read. I am passionate about copper pots, as heavy as Creuset ones and I think that they too deserve a praise like the one you wrote.
It is a great joy to cook in pots that you like, even if they are no longer perfect. I really wonder when I see only new and clean pots in culinary blogs, with what effort they maintain them or if they use a new one for every photo shoot. It would be a shame and a great waste.
Thank you for what you share with us, those who read you. A blessed year 2026.
Just here to say your meal plan/challenge arrived at the perfect time - my husband and I are in a major cooking rut. I made the lentils, the halloumi bowls, and the tofu with cabbage and all were huge hits, even with our 10-year-old. We each had a different fave so I guess they’re all going into the rotation! On Wednesday my husband said, “What does Jenny have planned for us tonight?” :)
Hi Jenny — Your Pork Ragu flashback just gave me big feelings. Your beloved recipe has been a staple in our household (and in my own orange Dutch oven) since before that IG post. I first found your work back in the DALS blog days... the recipe I *still* use is a printout dated from March 2011 that lives in a plastic sleeve in my old recipe binder. It has served our friends and loved ones over countless Christmas Eves, family celebrations, houseguest welcomes, and birthday parties. Thank you for giving us a way to “celebrate everything.” I appreciate you more than you could possibly know. ❤️
I remember where I was when I first cooked your pork ragu recipe from your first book in the new cast iron pot my husband bought me. I brought your book and the pot with us to a cabin with another family and slow cooked that recipe for us all! I've been hooked to DALS and cast irons ever since. I have collected a few more cast irons over the years in different sizes, but when my college age daughter was just home for the holidays, she pulled out that specific pot to make us dinner. I hadn't used that one in a really long time, and loved that she used that one to cook for us. It looks battered and loved for sure. So glad we still have it.
That line—“You still have to live in this world”—is going to stay with me. Cooking and eating as a way of staying grounded feels more important than ever. This echoes so much of what I’ve been thinking about lately. Really loved this.
Totally agree, I will say that line over and over in my head to try to stay grounded, positive and kind even when I can't understand what I'm seeing, reading or hearing.
About 10 years ago my daughters went together and bought me a red dutch oven for Mothers Day. It's my absolute favorite and it too lives on my stove top. I love it and I love that it's from them. Making soup and cozy meals in my dutch oven is the best part of winter. My patina isn't quite up to Jenny level but it's getting there.
Love this so much..my beloved orange le creuset sits proudly on my stove at all times. It calls to me daily and I never scrub it perfectly clean.. A patina is always a good reminder that cooking keeps us grounded, tethered to caring for ourselves others.
I have had that SK recipe earmarked to try for years. Alas my TBC list is as long as my TBR list! After seeing that pic I know I must make it. 🧡
Thank you for the gift article- I can’t wait to read it as a fellow lover of my French oven. 💙 also I adored good thing #3 and I think I may just print it out to reread periodically.
DALS is the reason that I own the very same, much loved Dutch oven (in cerise).
loved this! An already broken-in glove!? Taking it home and putting a softball in and wrapping rubber bands around it to start to break it in is half the magic!!! happy new year!
I really liked your letter. I didn't think that an essay dedicated to a pot could be so attractive and enjoyable to read. I am passionate about copper pots, as heavy as Creuset ones and I think that they too deserve a praise like the one you wrote.
It is a great joy to cook in pots that you like, even if they are no longer perfect. I really wonder when I see only new and clean pots in culinary blogs, with what effort they maintain them or if they use a new one for every photo shoot. It would be a shame and a great waste.
Thank you for what you share with us, those who read you. A blessed year 2026.
Just here to say your meal plan/challenge arrived at the perfect time - my husband and I are in a major cooking rut. I made the lentils, the halloumi bowls, and the tofu with cabbage and all were huge hits, even with our 10-year-old. We each had a different fave so I guess they’re all going into the rotation! On Wednesday my husband said, “What does Jenny have planned for us tonight?” :)
This thrills me!
The only problem is, my husband loves mushrooms and is excited about the tacos, but our daughter doesn’t eat mushrooms … maybe I can do tofu too.
Hi Jenny — Your Pork Ragu flashback just gave me big feelings. Your beloved recipe has been a staple in our household (and in my own orange Dutch oven) since before that IG post. I first found your work back in the DALS blog days... the recipe I *still* use is a printout dated from March 2011 that lives in a plastic sleeve in my old recipe binder. It has served our friends and loved ones over countless Christmas Eves, family celebrations, houseguest welcomes, and birthday parties. Thank you for giving us a way to “celebrate everything.” I appreciate you more than you could possibly know. ❤️
Thank you so much Jess -- for the note and for sticking with me all this time. March 2011!!!
I listened to The Correspondent over the Christmas holiday and loved it. I just finished My Friends by Fredrik Backman and enjoyed it equally as much.
Congrats on your beautiful NYT essay, Jenny! As always, your writing is delightfully warm and wise. Happy New Year to you and yours.
Thank you so much, Merritt. Always love hearing from you xoxoxo
I’m excited to read The Correspondent - we’re doing so for my book club. Just need to finish If We Had Known by Elise Juska first.
I love this! What a wonderful article and post.
I remember where I was when I first cooked your pork ragu recipe from your first book in the new cast iron pot my husband bought me. I brought your book and the pot with us to a cabin with another family and slow cooked that recipe for us all! I've been hooked to DALS and cast irons ever since. I have collected a few more cast irons over the years in different sizes, but when my college age daughter was just home for the holidays, she pulled out that specific pot to make us dinner. I hadn't used that one in a really long time, and loved that she used that one to cook for us. It looks battered and loved for sure. So glad we still have it.
Congrats on the Times essay! So good. And HNY. 🩷
Thank you Jessie and HNY to you ♥️
What a fabulous post!♥️
That line—“You still have to live in this world”—is going to stay with me. Cooking and eating as a way of staying grounded feels more important than ever. This echoes so much of what I’ve been thinking about lately. Really loved this.
Totally agree, I will say that line over and over in my head to try to stay grounded, positive and kind even when I can't understand what I'm seeing, reading or hearing.
About 10 years ago my daughters went together and bought me a red dutch oven for Mothers Day. It's my absolute favorite and it too lives on my stove top. I love it and I love that it's from them. Making soup and cozy meals in my dutch oven is the best part of winter. My patina isn't quite up to Jenny level but it's getting there.
Loved the article xo