Why some recipes don't get written

Plus, two that absolutely needed to be.

Hi newsletter! I am coming to you LIVE from right after finishing filming a recipe that is…not meant to be.

But that’s a good thing! We’re changing, we’re growing. And some recipes just shouldn’t get written

….yet.

Now, to give you a peek into my recipe development process, all my recipes get tested a minimum of two times, typically three/four times if measurements need to be finessed or if it’s a baking recipe. The first test is my development test, usually at night, under the cover of darkness, while I look like a small rat in a big t-shirt in my lamp-light-only kitchen. Dreamy.

If the recipe is deemed interesting or delicious enough, I put on real clothes and film it in the good lighting. Filming is a great second recipe trial, it confirms if the recipe is 1) working consistently and 2) pretty enough to share with all of you!

But sometimes that second test reveals that a recipe is a bit of a miss, which really only means one thing: that it’s not delicious enough. For example, the recipe I was testing today was a Mushroom & Potato Breakfast Hash with Crispy Herb Dressing (and a fried egg on top, obviously). The gist of the recipe is you fry sage and thyme and garlic for a few minutes, then blend that into a dressing with lemon zest, mustard, egg yolk, lemon juice and olive oil. Essentially a crispy-herb caesar dressing that’s piled onto cast iron charred mushrooms and potatoes. In theory: pretty good. But when I tasted it today, the results fell a little flat. A little heavy. Unvaried textures, one-note flavors, and too many ingredients for not a high enough return. It just didn’t check all the boxes it needed to check.

Cooking for yourself is one thing, but cooking for other people to use that recipe is a completely different ball game. When I share a recipe, I want to know it’s going to be electric. I want it to be WORTH buying the ingredients, spending your time and energy making it, and serving it to the people you love.

I read in Carla Lalli Music’s first newsletter of the year her thoughts on “does the world need another recipe?” and I think it’s a valid question. There is so much food content right now. And so many voices of authority. And short-form media and algorithms that reward speed make it so that we don’t always see the most tested or honest recipes (I could write a manifesto about the recipes I see online that make me want to yell “YOU’RE LYING. THAT SWEET POTATO WON’T GET THAT CRISPY,” but.. I digress). Yet the optimist in me will always say there’s a place and space for more recipes. There’s room for more flavors, new techniques, different inspiration. It’s just important for me (and I hope my fellow creators) to be confident that in a world where speed and aesthetics is rewarded, slowing down and making sure a recipe is actually ready it what matters most. So I promise, when I do create a new recipe, it’s here for a reason.

Wow, this feels like the longest hype-up of two recipes EVER. But even after I developed them in my small-rat-in-kitchen-state, they still proved themselves worthy!

The weekly round-up!

Herby Cabbage in Parmesan Broth - oh, you’re sick? This will heal you. Cabbage Soup is BACK baby.

Oven Chili Chickpeas with Preserved Lemon Carrot Mash - one oven, one food processor or small blender, one dream. This is me making my oven do all the work for me, to be honest.

And that’s it for this week! I’m feeling a little fluid with content this month, so if you have any requests, please let me know. Also if you are a paid subscriber, look for a call for Q&A’s in your inbox soon. That should be fun!

PS - remember that Veg Croque Madame I talked about? That is also in the box of recipes that aren’t ready (yet). I need to find the right blend of cheese….

Until next week!

Xoxo,

January_Snacks