Yesterday, we published a profile of Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen, who is celebrating 20 years of food blogging and creating recipes that have become go-tos for a generation of home cooks. While speaking to people for and about this piece, one thing that struck me is the sheer depth of her catalog. Every single person who talked to me named a different recipe that had become a standard in their house, and nearly all of them I had never heard of before. In honor of the anniversary, we rounded up everyone’s favorites. Maybe they’ll become yours.
Khushbu Shah, freelance food writer: Three Bean Chili
“I will never make another chili recipe, this is the one. I have it memorized, I am obsessed with it,” says Shah, who notes she also got her parents hooked on the recipe. Perelman adds a ton of adaptations to the recipe as well, allowing readers to make it with dried or canned beans, and on the stovetop, or in a slow cooker or pressure cooker.
Kelsey McKinney, Defector: Corn, Bacon and Parmesan Pasta
McKinney calls this her “fucking goat,” and it reads like an ideal Smitten Kitchen recipe. Five ingredients, 30 minutes to make, and infinitely adaptable based on what you have on hand.
Courtney E. Smith: Blood Orange, Almond, and Ricotta Cake
“I love the texture of the almond flour and how it's not a super sweet cake that lets citrus come to the front.”
Amy McCarthy: Pizza Beans
“The perfect recipe. It's so easy and filling and everyone loves it. My favorite way to eat is to pile a bunch of pizza beans on a thick piece of toast or five.”
Jaya Saxena: Ultimate Banana Bread
I named a few of my go-tos in the article, but I’d be remiss not to mention how many times I’ve waited for my bananas to go bad so I could make this banana bread. The turbinado sugar crust really makes it, and the tip to keep a piece of foil pressed to the cut side so it doesn’t dry out on the counter really works.
Since we have no corporate investors or mysterious businessmen running the show, everything we do is made possible by our paid subscribers. For just $70/year, you could be one of them! Subscribe today for access to everything we publish, and to support worker-owned media.
Rave about us!
Ravenous is cooking up something for later this month, and we’re looking for compliments. Do you enjoy reading the two articles and two newsletters Ravenous publishes every week? Do you think your paid subscription is the best money you’ve ever spent? Do you pledge your sword to us and promise to vanquish our enemies? Fantastic! Then respond to this email with a 1-2 sentence testimonial about why you love us so much, and let us know if we have permission to quote you and use your name on social media (though you could also be anonymous if you wanted).
New on Ravenous This Week
Ashok Selvam
Jaya Saxena
🐦⬛ Bird Droppings
- The Repertoire Podcast had some nice things to say about Ashok’s piece on real estate foodie influencers.
- There is an app that lets you scan a food item’s barcode to see if it originated with Taylor Farms, after the produce distributor has been connected to the cyclosporiasis outbreak and recalled products due to salmonella risk. Good system we have here!
- Speaking of Taylor Farms, our friends at Rogue wrote about the (surprise surprise) terrible labor conditions at the company.
- Private Equity Watch: Bain Capital is buying the bubble tea chain, Gong Cha. Enshittification may be imminent.
