What to cook this week
+ new live cooking class benefit for paid subscribers
“It’s okay to feel lost. You’ve never been this version of yourself before. You got this.”
Those words are written on a piece of white oak tag tucked in the front window of a deli in Kingston. I walked past it a few weeks ago while popping into Ollie’s Slice Shop for pizza to bring home. My guess is we all feel lost at one time or another. Some of us linger in this space longer than others. It can feel like quicksand, swallowing me whole until I realize feeling lost is part of the journey. It means I’m thinking, questioning, evaluating and re-evaluating.
Ollie’s Slice Shop, by the way, is fantastic. If you find yourself in the Kingston area it’s well worth the visit. I was underwhelmed by their sister shop, Fletcher & Lu, right next door. Everything felt overpriced, and the staff behind the counter the day I went in were trash talking a customer from the day before. Apparently the customer made the grave mistake of asking for her bread to be sliced because she was grabbing lunch and going to eat in her car.
I wasn’t there, so of course don’t know the full details, but from the way they were explaining it, it seemed a reasonable request. The staff viewed it as someone being lazy. I was tempted to chime in and ask if they normally keep knives and cutting boards in their own cars but instead decided to just leave the store quietly. I was worried the service would be the same at Ollie’s—thankfully it was the complete opposite.
I’d be lying if I told you I had my meals all mapped out for the week. In fact, I don’t even know what I’m wearing to leave the house in 30 minutes. I’m driving down to the city to see a best friend for her birthday, and my bag isn’t even packed for the overnight stay. I do have some favorites to recommend, though, for those in need of some inspiration.
One last exciting bit of info before I go. I’m adding a new benefit for paid subscribers—a monthly cooking class. There’s no extra cost for the hour-long class, as it’s part of your paid subscriber benefits. In the first class coming up this Thursday, October 26 at 7:00pm EST we’ll be making cacio e pepe, a comforting, simple Italian pasta dish using just three ingredients—very finely grated pecorino cheese, fresh cracked black pepper.
You’ll need a big pot for cooking the pasta, a measuring cup for reserving some of the cooking water, a strainer for the pasta, and a pair of tongs or long wooden spoon. Paid subscribers will see the zoom link to join at the very bottom of this post (this post may be too long for email, so you may have to click through to the post on the Substack site). It’s not too late to upgrade to a paid subscription if you want to join, too!
Mark your calendars for the November 16th class at 7:30pm EST where we’ll be discussing Thanksgiving recipes, prep and I’ll do a live demo of making my Perfect Pie Crust. The last class of the year will be on Sunday, December 10th at 2:00pm EST, and will be about holiday cookies (recipe TBD, so stay tuned).
Okay, here’s some cooking inspiration for the week. Be well, and remember to be kind. —xo, j.
