It’s always a good day when I get to tell you about a new book from Yossy Arefi, member of an elite crew of recipe writers who meet me where I am, namely: in no-fuss, no-brainer baked good land. Her latest book, Snacking Bakes, speaks my love language, offering up baked treats (bars, brownies, cookies, cakes) that can be made in under… Read more »
Good morning, I hope everyone had a nice weekend. I went to my first virtual bat mitzvah on Saturday and was surprised to find it as moving as an in-person service. (Big Mazels, Maylie!) I also did my first training session with Vote Save America for Wisconsin and I learned a lot, including what Culver’s is — Midwesterners don’t laugh!… Read more »
A few weeks ago, Joanna over at Cup of Jo asked me for some lessons on parenting teenagers. It just so happened I was in the middle of a rough patch and the best I could do without compromising anyone’s privacy was report that I was constantly being reminded of a quote from my friend whose kids have long since left the… Read more »
I lied to Andy last Thursday. I called him from the car at about 5:00, which was two hours into a four-hour pick-up and drop-off marathon, and said I hadn’t had a second to think about dinner. I had thought about dinner. I had thought about it several dozen seconds that day — in the morning before I left for… Read more »
I never go to Paris — haven’t been there since way back in the 20th century, when Andy and I stayed in a friend’s 300-year-old apartment in the Sixth. (Even just writing that sentence I worry about how unsophisticated I sound: Did I phrase it wrong? Is that how people say it? “The Sixth?” Am I going to lose whatever… Read more »
Greetings to my dear eaters and readers. I hope you all had joyful and meaningful holidays however you celebrate. I write this first newsletter of 2024 with a deeply heavy heart — my father, Ivan Rosenstrach, died on December 25, 2023. His life was rich with family and community and friendship and we spent the last week of the year… Read more »
Moving was stressful — lists upon lists upon lists upon lists — but I’ll tell you one part of it that was downright therapeutic: Cooking down the fridge. It’s that magical combination of creativity and frugality that feels almost like a competitive sport to me. (Me against…the trash can?) Not to brag, but I’d definitely make varsity. There were ice… Read more »
Subscribe now As you likely know by now, my most favorite kind of summer cooking is a simply grilled something surrounded by a bounty of farm-fresh, creative salads. (It always reminds me of my old magazine boss, Carrie, whose fashion philosophy was “Gap clothes, Prada accessories.”) This is probably why I love Susan Spungen’s new book Veg Forward so much. You might… Read more »
Unlike products I cook with — Trader Joe’s 100% Greek Kalamata Olive Oil, my Diamond Crystal Kosher salt, Grey Poupon Dijon, etc. — I somehow, after all these years, don’t have the same kind of brand loyalty to the products I bake with. So I thought this year, in anticipation of all the holiday cookie-ing, I’d ask two baking pros,… Read more »
Greetings Dinner: A Love Story readers, old and new. I’m pleased to present the DALS 2022 Holiday Gift Guide, which, as tradition dictates, attempts to keep your family’s and friend’s eating and reading pleasures in mind. (Because, really, who wouldn’t be ok with that kind of gift.) With few exceptions, all of them are all under $50. Happy shopping and… Read more »
One of my more favorite mini NYC itineraries when the girls were little was a walk on the High Line, a stop at the magical Books of Wonder on 17th Street, then, of course, a hot chocolate (or the iconic “cold hot chocolate”) and pretzel croissant at City Bakery, just off NYC’s Union Square. For decades before it closed in 2019, City Bakery helmed… Read more »
[First posted 2016; Updated July 2022] Forgive me broader readership, I’m going super local today. Many of you probably know that I live in Westchester County, which borders New York City to the north and is flanked by the sailboat-dotted Long Island Sound to the East and the mighty Hudson River to the West. With the exception of college in… Read more »
I just returned for the summer from my first year of college. It’s weird and bittersweet to be back in my childhood bedroom, surrounded by relics of my upbringing—including a massive collection of French comic books (pictured above: me at age 5 devouring Les Schtroumpfs, aka The Smurfs). My first night home, unable to sleep, I found myself picking through… Read more »
When we were first trying to get our kids on board with the whole Weekday Vegetarian thing, we were never quite sure if we should tweak old recipes that they had an attachment to, or just ignore them completely. Sometimes we got lucky and just swapped beans for meat in a favorite dinner and no one was any worse for… Read more »
Wow it’s been a while since I wrote a travel post. That might be one of the reasons why this recent long weekend in Vermont was so memorable — I think because I’ve been holed up in my dining room staring at a screen for an unhealthy amount of hours all day every day, I was so appreciative of even… Read more »
I feel like every year there is heated discussion on whether or not chocolate has a place in the holiday cookie box. (My stance: There is no place where chocolate isn’t welcome and also, who exactly is grading us on this?) This lovely red velvet crinkle cookie from pan-banging cookie icon Sarah Kieffer solves that problem handily and deliciously. Best of all:… Read more »
Every day is like Christmas when it comes to the mail lately. I’ve gotten review copies of some pretty exciting cookbooks, which isn’t surprising considering we are heading into the holidays, traditionally when all the Big Ones come out. A few to put on your gift-giving radar: Black Food, a collection of recipes and stories from the African diaspora (and the… Read more »
Good morning and welcome to the shortest day of the longest year. As I just texted my college roommates, It can only get brighter from here! This is most likely my last post of the year, and I will spare you the 2020 laments and curses, and instead leave you with five things, each of which has brought me a… Read more »
Welcome! I’m Jenny, author of Dinner: A Love Story and The Weekday Vegetarians More
