Three Things

The Dinner: A Love Story Gift Guide, quick comfort food, your holiday baking questions answered!

Good morning eaters and readers! Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving, which already seems like it was months ago given the gift guides that are flooding my feeds. (DIY newspaper gift toppings above courtesy of Supermakeit.) Before we get to that: What’s everyone reading and loving? I finished Crossroads last week and it was so immersive that I’m having a hard time figuring out where to go next. (I’ve heard very good buzz about this novel coming out next month.) Here are your weekly Three Things…

1. Holiday Gift Guide 2021!

It’s that time of the year! As is tradition, I’ve put together a little gift list for the cooks and food lovers in your life — including this sweatshirt that all of you asked about when I posted it on instagram last week. (Via Cup of Jo who of course has her own amazing gift guide series.)

Relatedly, I happen to know someone who works at Random House, which means I happen to know that next week’s dispatch of their monthly newsletter is devoted to some of our favorite writers' holiday rituals and gifts and it is so so good! Subscribe here to find out what writers like Ruth Reichl, Imbolo Mbue, Taffy Brodesser-Akner, George Saunders, and Hanif Abdurraqib are giving and how they're celebrating. Trust me when I say it is Reader and Eater Heaven. (Plus this from National Book Award nominee Abdurraqip: "Every Christmas, I get myself something old that is new to me. Increasingly, I don’t want new things, I want things that have already lived a life, already been loved a bit." Don't you want to know what that is?) The newsletter is great all year long, btw, not just for the holidays.

2. Comfort Food Dispatch

Phoebe had her wisdom teeth removed, and feeding her soft, soothing foods reminded me of when we’d make mashed potatoes after braces-tightening sessions back in the tween-age days. (Remember when mashed potatoes cured everything?) She is currently eating a room temperature version of that super simple potato-leek soup (shown above) I fell in love with over pandemic and tonight I think I’ll make a mildly spiced version of Khichdi for dinner. (The rice and lentils essentially meld together into the most comforting porridge.) She’s also been begging for versions of my vegan strawberry-peanut-butter milkshake (as effective as an ice pack for the swelling and definitely better tasting) and I’m only too happy to oblige.

3. A Glorious Winter Fruit Salad

I don’t ever remember seeing a golden kiwi until, maybe 2018? And somehow now they are all I want to eat. I find they’re more reliably sweet than their green cousins and make a great addition to those winter fruit platters you are always assembling for guests alongside the cheesecakes and pies. (What, you aren’t?) This one here is made of sliced persimmons, star fruit, Asian pear, pomegranate seeds, and oranges. All fruit procured at H Mart. (Hot take: I will take a citrusy winter fruit salad over a summery one any day.)

P.S. Holiday Baking with Dorie Greenspan

What should I bake and give this year? What is a good cookie for a gift box that is both dramatic looking and delicious tasting? What are the best mail-order chocolates? What are great gifts for baking enthusiasts? I am thrilled to announce that Dorie Greenspan, James Beard Award-winning author and baking legend and the author of, most recently, Baking With Dorie, will be on the Dinner: A Love Story Hotline this Thursday (12:00pm ET to 3:00pm ET) answering all your most pressing holiday baking questions in real time. (Mark your calendars, but I will send you a reminder, don’t worry!) NOT ONLY THAT: One lucky commenter on Thursday will be chosen at random to win a free copy of her new beautiful book Baking with Dorie, devoted to simple, flexible baked goods with sophisticated twists. Happy holidays indeed!

Reminder: You have to be a subscriber to have access to the hotlines. You can do that here…

Have a good week!

JR

P.S. The supply chain disruption is affecting products far and wide, including books! If you plan to order The Weekday Vegetarians (or any book) for a holiday gift, do it sooner rather than later. Writers the world over thank you very much.