I’m back! I’m cooking! I’m baking! I’m eating actual meals, not just sporadic collections of snacks. It’s nice to have something to say to all of you in this Tuesday edition of Grazing. I feel like I haven’t in forever.
Speaking of saying something: I decided to join Bluesky. As averse as I am to social media, it’s been refreshing to start anew, from zero, and to (I hope) begin building an audience of people who look to me for food content, not mediocre jokes about Adam Wainwright. If you happen to be on there, consider following along.
… the chicken of all chickens. On Friday, I mentioned plans to make Molly Baz’s take on chicken Marbella, with dates and Israeli couscous. Since then, I have cooked it, I have eaten it, and I have swooned. The salty Castelvetrano olives contrasting with the earthy-sweet dates! The chicken-juices saturated couscous! The crispy skin! Jesse and I had a leg each for dinner Saturday and simply repeated the meal Sunday night. No notes.
Well, actually, a note: I know I share a lot of recipes here that are behind paywalls. As a journalist, I’m a big believer in paywalls, and for the same reasons we should pay for news, we should also pay for access to others’ creative endeavors. I also assume many of you subscribe to more mainstream publications, like the New York Times and Bon Appétit, and thus may already have access to a lot of the (well tested, trusted) recipes I share. Molly Baz’s subscription recipe database is definitely more niche, and though I’m not here to tell anyone how to spend their money, I think it’s a great investment for a curious home cook. I’ve never made anything even mediocre from her site.
… pies. Thanksgiving is my Super Bowl, and it’s time to start getting in shape. I always love experimenting with a new-to-me pie or two; this year, I’m eyeing Ina Garten’s bourbon chocolate pecan pie — because, well, enough said — and this brûléed bourbon-maple pumpkin pie from Bon Appétit. I love a twist on a classic Thanksgiving dessert (and I love bourbon), so I’m going to give each of these a trial run in the lead-up to the best holiday of the year, which is just 30 days (!!!!) away.
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