Three Things

Super Bowl sandwiches, amazing gift chocolates, a community meet-up

Greetings! How’s everyone doing? Before we get to those beautiful chocolates, I wanted to remind you that today at 1:00 ET, I’ll be joining Adam Roberts on Substack Live for his inaugural Amateur Gourmet Book Club for Food Lovers. We’ll be discussing Julie & Julia by Julie Powell, and for those of you who need a refresher, the 2005 memoir was based on Powell’s blog — literally the first food blog I had ever heard of — where she chronicled her experience cooking all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I read Powell’s book back when it first came out, but this time around was a completely different experience, which I’ll get into with Adam later today. I have so much to say! And it’s always a blast talking to Adam. Please look out for an email invitation at 1:00 ET and tune in, even if you haven’t read the book or if you’ve only seen the movie. All food and book lovers welcome!

Meanwhile, my TBR game right now is very strong. Couple of biggies coming up that I’m excited to tell you about in the next few weeks.

But for now, here are your Three Things…

1. Three Super Bowl Sandwiches

Whether you’re a Patriots fan or a Seahawks fan or a Manchester United fan (oh, wait that’s my husband and the other football, but how about Man U?!), I think we can all agree that a no-utensils-required sandwich is going to be the clear favorite on game day. Or really any live event that calls for eating on the couch in front of the TV. Here are my picks…

Meatball Sandwiches

The broad strokes of this one is of course not complicated: Stuff Italian hoagie rolls with 2-3 warm meatballs and a little sauce, maybe melt some mozzarella on top under the broiler, serve with more sauce. But the finer points? Those hoagie rolls should be the kind you find in the bakery section of your supermarket, i.e. nothing fancy and crusty. You want the bread to have structure but still be somewhat soft which helps prevent the meatballs from shooting out the sides when you bite into the sandwich. (I often hollow out the rolls a bit if they seem too bready.) Next: It’s a good idea to halve your meatballs, which makes eating the sandwich an overall more compact and manageable experience. Lastly, for make-ahead: Prepare the sandwiches completely, stuffing with cheese and a little sauce, and wrap with foil. When you’re ready to eat, heat them (still in foil) at 350°F for 30 minutes. Serve with extra sauce and freshly grated Parm.

Tofu Bánh Mì

This is always the go-to order for me when I hit my favorite local Vietnamese spot, but if I feel like making my own version, I generally go with the Tofu Bánh Mì in The Weekday Vegetarians. That recipe — a version is here — was heavily influenced by Andrea Nguyen, her books and her writing. (Shown, above right.)

Ham & Swiss Ohio Sammies

My old friend Heidi (yes, from Ohio) made these for us over a decade ago, but they loom large in my Super Bowl food memories to this day. Feel free to omit the ham in a few of them to have a vegetarian option: Place a dozen Hawaiian bread rolls (or challah rolls or brioche buns) in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Smear a bit of mayo on one side of each, and Dijon on the other. Arrange a few slices of ham and Swiss on each roll (usually a pound of each will cover you for a dozen). Melt 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter in a small saucepan, stir in 1/3 cup Dijon, then drizzle this mixture all over the finished sandwiches. Cover the sandwiches with foil, and place something heavy (like a pan or dinner plates) on top, so the rolls are slightly weighted down and can absorb the butter-Dijon mixture. Let sit 4 hours and up to overnight. Cover with foil and bake at 350°F for 20-30 mins until cheese is melty. You can also take the foil off for the last 5-10 mins if you want them a little brown on top.

Look how gorgeous. Also, that bouquet of ranunculus I bought at Trader Joe’s looked bright and vibrant for nearly three weeks. Was it just luck? Either way, grab a bunch next time you’re shopping for your Halfway Homemade dinners.

2. A Gift for Valentine’s Day (or Whenever)

For the holidays this past year, a friend gave us the most extraordinary gift: A Dandelion Chocolate Advent Calendar, which offered not only 25 beautiful little confections from 25 small-batch makers across the country, but a QR code for each that linked to a video of its maker sharing their own personal story. I loved every bite, and took note of a few extra-special makers I wanted to order from directly next time I was in the market for chocolate. (Which is pretty much constantly.) One of these makers was Lulubee Chocolates in Lincoln, Nebraska who contributed a gingerbread-caramel truffle that had an exquisite balance of sweet and salt and crunch. On that two-bite experience alone, I decided to order a 12-piece box for a host gift, customizing the mix based on flavors I thought my friend would love, like the Pistachio, the Strawberry-Rhubarb (shown above), and a few of the Coconut Almonds which tasted like a Mounds Bar to the thousandth power. Spoiler alert: The gift was a hit, and I ordered the same exact box for my chocolate-obsessed daughter for her birthday. They’re so pretty they almost look fake, don’t you think?

3. Introducing…Dinner: A Love Story Meet-Ups

One of my resolutions this year was to take a little of the feel-good spirit of this newsletter community off line and out into the real world, where we can meet and connect and talk about how much we love heirloom beans and Elizabeth Strout and Trader Joe’s flowers, and you know, all the things that bring us these necessary hits of daily joy. So I am thrilled to announce the first of what I hope will be many Dinner: A Love Story casual get-togethers: A Brooklyn Meet-Up on February 19 at the gorgeous East Fork Pottery store in Brooklyn (above), from 5:00 to 7:00pm. I’ve collaborated with East Fork many times over the years — their tableware is all over this newsletter because I use their plates and bowls literally every day — so their cool and cozy* Brooklyn storefront packed with all my favorite things feels like the most natural place to launch this kind of initiative.

New York-area friends: Please come! You can RSVP here and it’s free.

There will be drinks and treats! Sonoma’s Flowers Vineyards and Winery will be providing the Pinot Noir, a longtime favorite; and there will be a tasty ginger-forward mocktail courtesy of Mother Root, the UK-based non-alcoholic aperitif that has gained something of a cult following. Lastly, there will be two door prizes given two lucky attendees: A special gift from East Fork that will be revealed soon (it’s good!), and a bag of books from Random House that will include new and soon-to-be-published cookbooks and novels — maybe even the next one from Elizabeth Strout.

But mostly, I just want us all to meet and hang out.

If all goes well, I plan to take this show on the road, so, non-locals, please me know if you have suggestions for this kind of thing in your home town. I’m really looking forward to meeting you.

Have a great week,
Jenny

*Cozy is the operative word. For this meet-up, space and (free) tickets will be limited to first RSVPs, but I encourage you to leave your name on the waiting list if it comes to that. Invitation design by Phoebe Ward.

P.S. My sister, who loved The Correspondent as much as I did, really wanted our mom to read it, too, so this past weekend, I brought Mom my copy along with some Carrot Soup. It occurred to me that this duo would be a perfect care package for just about anyone, especially since they look so good together 🧡 P.S. Remember this Care Package Formula from the very first newsletter I ever sent you on Substack? Still holds up!

If you like what you read, would you take a sec to hit the ❤️ button at the top left or bottom left of this newsletter? It helps spread the word about Dinner: A Love Story and 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. 🍳🌿