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I’ve been loving Natasha Pickowicz’s DEMI chat, Never Ending Salon, for a myriad of reasons (and recipes), but by far the best takeaway so far has been this recipe divider. As you may know, Gaby and I are not always the best recipe followers; we substitute, halve, brown, and salt with reckless abandon. I’m a firm believer in experimentation, but this tool helps guarantee the things in the recipe that make it work (like leavinings, salt and seasoning levels, ratios of fat sources) stay the same, guaranteeing success no matter how sparse your cookware collection. Not only can you halve or third or quarter recipes (very pandemic-friendly if you’re cooking for a small pod), you can even adjust them to different pan sizes. No more wondering if it’s really a big deal if you only have a pie dish and a 9” springform but the recipe calls for two 6” cake pans, and no more raw centers (here’s lookin’ at you, Gab!)
Aug 10, 2021
Related Recs
This is an incredible baking newsletter from a genius baker/recipe developer called Nicola Lamb. She walks you through all the phases of her recipe development so you get a proper education on the chemistry of each bake as she tries different fats/moisture levels/types of ingredients until she arrives at the finished product. You can skip all this and go straight to the recipe or you can linger over her tests (often there are GIFs!) as she makes her way there, but I love it and have made the best Rhum Baba and Burnt Basque Cheesecakes because of her tireless efforts. It's a Substack, there's a free version but if you have the means please pay for it because that’s the decent thing to do!
Jan 21, 2025
for saving online recipes, love that it strips all the crap from a blog recipe and just gives you the goods
Jun 7, 2024
Great variety of solid recipes, nice range of time/difficulty and a shockingly helpful/useful comments section when wondering about shortcuts, substitutions or tweaks.
Worth the sub If you’re even halfway into cooking!
Feb 1, 2024
Top Recs from @courtney-kassel
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I aspire to fill my home with food, and also with things that look like food but are decidedly not food. From corn cob stools to garlic pillows to bread lamps, I want it all. Until I have a home, or museum to house all these objects, I’ll continue on a small scale, building my collection of John Derian’s uncanny trompe l’oeil candles. Next up on my wish list are the Fruit Crostata and the Capocollo, naturally.
Aug 10, 2021
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Calling it now-- black sesame paste a.k.a. black tahini is about to have a moment. I love the Japanese and Taiwanese versions, which tend to be lightly sweetened with honey or sugar and the seeds toasted before being ground, adding even more depth of flavor. Black sesame paste tastes like peanut butter but way more intense and will make all your food look goth in the best possible way. I’ve found it at Sunrise Mart, H Mart or Mitsuwa but you can obviously find it online as well. How to use it? The sky’s the limit, but my formula has generally been: good dessert + black sesame paste = even better dessert. Swirled into homemade ice cream, added to the filling of plush cinnamon buns, but best of all, mixed into nostalgic, chewy, perfect brown butter Rice Krispie treats.
Aug 10, 2021
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If you, like me, take popcorn very seriously, you simply must try Anson Mills’ popcorn. It is the first popcorn I’ve tasted that truly tastes like-- get this-- corn! It’s subtly sweet and toasty and nuanced in ways that I’ve never tasted from the popped stuff. Rancho Gordo popcorn is also tasty and a very dramatic color, but Anson Mills is on another level. As for popping, you can’t go wrong with the absolute game changer that is a Whirley Pop. Despite its goofy name and the annoying amount of cupboard space it occupies, it makes perfect popcorn. Every. Single. Time. No burnt pieces, no kernel left unpopped. And when they’re the best kernels you won’t want to waste any. From there, I adorn mine with a copious amount of salt, olive oil, and nutritional yeast or fresh parm. If it’s the fake butter you’re craving, may I suggest Butter Buds™? They’re little butter-flavored granules I first had in grade school popcorn parties, and have loved for their unabashed artificiality ever since.
Aug 10, 2021