Hello from a delayed flight in Portland, OR! I had an absolutely delightful day yesterday in Portland — I enjoyed a crispy pork crepe from the Bing Mi food cart thanks to one of your recommendations, a fantastic iced latte from Courier, and shopping at Frances May, Halo Shoes (I got a reallly cool bag on major sale!), and Kissing Booth vintage.
My event at Powell's Books last night was so wonderful — this was my seventh event of book tour and the first one that actually took place inside of a bookstore! They have a wonderful space on the third floor where they host events. We sold it out and 275 Portlandian butter pants flooded the space with their big smiles and encouraging cheers.
Holly Erickson and Natalie Mortimer of The Modern Proper hosted and they are a DELIGHT. Follow their Substack, Weeknight Dinner Club by The Modern Proper if you don't already! They are hilarious, cool, so stylish, so fabulous. They did an incredible job and I was pinching myself that these women who I've looked up to in the food space for so long were willing to spend their night hosting an event for ME! My gratitude cup overfloweth for all of the support that my team, all of the local book sellers and event venues, and all of YOU have shown this book.
I cannot tell you how much fun it’s been to meet — or reunite! — with so many of you. Hearing stories about your favorite meals, about your babies, and about the businesses you’ve created is truly the most fun part of my job. I’m so thankful to every single person who has taken time out of their busy life to come celebrate this new book. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Now I’m off to Seattle! George and I will be on stage tonight at the Maydenbauer Theatre at 7 p.m. PT yapping about WHO KNOWS WHAT. I’m sure I’ll get a few “Jesus, Carolines” out of him before the night is through muahaha.
PS, if you don’t know what “WTC Insiders” means, it’s a subscription level we offer that bundles an annual paid subscription to this newsletter with two gift subscriptions and many other perks! It’s a really great deal! Click here to learn all about it.
Today’s So Into That is sponsored by Sophie James Wine! Sophie James supplied their organic, zero sugar, California-grown wines for my Make It Fast launch party the other week, and it was a number of my friends’ first times tasting it. They too fell in love, both with the taste and with the fact that they felt far better than usual the next morning, after enjoying a few glasses the night before. Sophie James operates as a direct-to-consumer wine club, so to get seasonal shipments of their delicious wines, you need to join the club! They’re back on a waitlist but will be opening new spots this Friday. Click here to enter to win a one-year membership to their wine club, including four complimentary shipments (in the spring, summer, fall, and during the holiday season). THREE What To Cookers will win! Giveaway runs now through September 1, and we’ll announce the winners in So Into That on September 9. Good luck!
My book editor, Amanda, agent, Sarah, and I went out to an INSANE meal in D.C. — Albi. We did the tasting menu and it was so unbelievably special!
M. Judson Booksellers in Greenville, SC, is one of the best bookstore vibes I’ve ever experienced. Their employee Creed was so amazing with Mattis while I signed books before the event. They were all just fabulous, but the bookstore itself is in a gorgeous historic building on Main Street and just embodies what an indie woman-owned bookstore can be and why it’s so important that we all buy books locally instead of just from Amazon!!! Indie bookstores are so important to the heartbeat of a town!
Speaking of which, it’s not open yet but the Long Story Books team in Atlanta went above and beyond for my event with them. They made custom tea towels for the event, filled my green room with my favorite snacks, and gave me a huge gift bag of their incredible merch. How good is this crewneck?! (From Molly from What To Cook: I don’t see that crewneck online right now, but I think I need the crop tee version! Also, this is my new favorite vending machine.)
Kerry Diamond moderated my event in DC and was telling me about the upcoming Cherry Bombe House in NYC. Be sure to follow them for updates on programming — it’s going to be incredible.
If you’re still trying to decide whether to buy Make It Fast (!!!), Good Taste, Katie Couric’s newsletter, shared the sheet-pan summery lemon oregano chicken and squash this week. That’s a great one to test drive! And if you have the book, it’s on page 94. Also if you have the book: head to the WTC chat — lots of you are sharing pics of the meals you’ve been cooking from it! Good inspo there for what to cook next.
I’ve owned a lot of portable charger thingies that have broken within a few months. I asked my techie friend what the best one is before my book tour and he pointed me here. It’s been saving me on tour as I live between hotels and airports!
I’ve brought this bandana wrap on a million airplane rides at this point. Sometimes I wear it as a shawl. Sometimes I wear it as a scarf. But during every single flight, I use it as a blanket. I absolutely love it, and I get compliments on it everywhere I go.
Every week, we dig into the What To Cook archives to see what we were cooking this time in years past — the recipes worth bringing back into your rotation. Here’s this week’s lineup, which, by the way, has a great range of proteins and would make an excellent meal plan for next week.
Nicole Keshishian Modic of kalejunkie brought us these saucy, delicious, vegetable-filled beef teriyaki bowls on week five of my maternity leave with Tav, and you guys were obsessed. Amanda Z. said: “We loved this! And y’all weren’t lying, the leftovers were fab. Will probably double next time so I’ll have more for lunch.” Lots of reports of it being a huge hit with your kids, too!
If you’re over summer and are trying to will cooler temperatures into existence, might I suggest this chicken pot pie? It’s the ultimate comfort food, plus the one skillet situation means there isn’t a pile of dishes to deal with after you’re all nice and cozy and content from the dream team of flaky pie crust and creamy broccoli cheddar chicken filling.
Have a lot of eggplant from the farmers’ market or your CSA box or garden? Cook this! It’s a quicker, one-pot take on the Sicilian classic — the eggplant gets jammy and tender, then mingles with sausage (very untraditional, very delicious), marinara, and pearl couscous (or orzo!) for a rich and filling late-summer supper.
These fall-off-the-bone oven-roasted BBQ ribs are surprisingly easy to make, requiring just 15 minutes of hands-on prep before the oven does the rest. Served with crispy roasted potatoes tossed in fresh herbs, lemon, and Dijon for a bright, crunchy twist, it’s a comforting dinner that’s perfect for both weeknights and weekend gatherings.
If you haven’t cooked this WTC classic yet, you must! It’s a lightened-up take on classic sloppy Joes, with lean ground turkey, onions, bell peppers, and a tangy-sweet homemade sauce. It’s ready in just 30 minutes and is perfect for a back-to-school week dinner or workday lunch meal prep.
Last week we asked you all to share a milestone / thing in your life worth celebrating and, man, if you could use a midweek pick-me-up, you’ve got to click here and read the full list of comments. Promotions, weddings, kids making sports teams, thriving home gardens, new jobs, new puppies, new babies, another school year starting for everyone — teachers, parents, and students alike! — and so much more.
Using a random number generator, we selected three commenters to win the cute artichoke and tomato cocottes from Staub, and are excited to share the winners and what they’re celebrating right now.
From Rachel: I am one year out from my surgery for thyroid cancer. It has been a big and busy year filled with gratitude and appreciating the small stuff that can get lost in the shuffle.
From Katharine: Completing three big milestones at work thanks to the support of my husband and family!
From Carolyn: My TK students started school today-marking my 14th year teaching :)
We use affiliate links when sharing product recs, which means WTC may earn a small commission off of purchases you make through those links. This does not cost you anything extra and is a way to support the production of and team behind What To Cook. Sponsorships are another way we partner with brands that we authentically love and can personally vouch for.
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