testing, testing - 1,2,3

hi friends, lovers, & people probably related to me —

129 — well this was supposed to come out weeks ago at this point but you know november was a bit hard & a bit of a blur — in other news i finally flipped my closet & have taken out all my sweaters. bc i have some in a donate pile i have decided i’m allowed 2 maybe 3 new sweaters this season. stay tuned on what they end up being & where i end up putting them haha

i should put a quippy title here — but my brain is a bit fried

this newsletter is a bit different, I’ve been working on a couple different recipes all delicious in their own way but not really newsletter ready yet, this is more about what I’ve been cooking & eating & maybe what you should be cooking & eating + a couple recommendations re: thanksgiving so i don’t have to turn in my food blogger card.

these are the nachos that chilis dm(d) me about — they are v. freaking good, i just was unhappy about the consistency of the refrieds — not pictured a couple of phenomenal salsas (avocado & spicy verde) from cermak, sour cream & some pickled red onions

dumplings make everything better — as you can tell some of these are kind of ugly but they are still delicious — pork, scallion, ginger & garlic. should i throw a dumpling party yes or yes? — not pictured homemade chili crisp

meatloaf monday — a bit of a riff on molly baz’s recipe from more is more bc ryan wanted meatloaf, literally so freaking good will change meatloafs for you.

spicy greens & cheese pastries — these started off as calzones & are now pastries — but i’m honestly thinking about turning them back into calzones but mini. being a bit too nitpicky bc every iteration has been rather good — ty ryan, allison, billy & janel for testing these for me — i probably will have another batch for you.

re: thanksgiving, maybe next year i’ll do a full newsletter spread, but i also said that last year so honestly who knows — but a nice leeky sourdough stuffing a la alison roman is never out of place, these sweet potatoes of mine might be a nice pivot from that marshmallow covered mess & you know you’ll need breakfast before you get started so maybe an apple cider donut cake? otherwise my platonic ideal menu is below & since we’re not doing as much cooking this year (going to my aunts) i’m around for any questions/concerns/prayers you might need — drop me a note & i’ll talk you through it.

• a v. small charcuterie board w/ hot soppressata, sharpest cheddar, mustards, tiny pickles, lil toasts + strategically placed bowls of salt & vin chips — for snacks while the cooking is going on

• an herby buttery turkey — roasted or grilled to coppery burnished perfection

• the best gravy(tm)

• garlicky mashed potatoes

• leek + shallot + celery sourdough stuffing (soft tender buttery bits but also craggy crunchy ones)

• homemade cranberry sauce w/ plenty of orange zest for brightness

• roasted carrots with hot honey + flaky salt

• a zippy lemony greens & herbs salad

• really soft really good rolls (homemade or not)

• apple crisp + salted caramel ice cream

• lots of chilled fizzy dry pet nats

particularly good things i consumed recently

fall activities take 2: wednesday lunchtime yoga — staying fairly consistent & it honestly feels really good, semi-annual lula date w/ janel — for the first time ever we ordered the same thing (the burrito lol) & it was perfect & also huge. james & lauren got married! — a v. pop punk one to dance away our last wedding of the year. bigsuda w/sam&ellen&ryan — we branched out our dumpling consumption from chengdu & tried the XL soup dumplings & they were delicious. barbaro w/ kiera — lovely to catch up & also just so so good, v. glad that people kind of sleep on this place & it is almost always relatively easy to go to. red & white on a saturday afternoon w/ ryan — we went on a v. long walk had a couple glasses of wine & a couple of nice snacks. kimchi carbonara w/ kaitlyn — still a work in progress but also somehow still delicious. nettare w/ ryan — kind of by accident bc we tried to go to brasero for hh, it was phenomenal — want to go back again soon, upscale midwest with great cocktails & a strong wine list. friendsgiving w/ the maybe baby(s) — where it was only the sides + drinks + dessert 10/10 no notes. burgers w/ allison&billy&baby kennedy — that mcbrennans pop-up might be the best burger i’ve had in a minute. parsons has a $2 french fry happy hour from 4-6pm everyday— that is all, just thought you should know as these are some of my favorite french fries.

books, tv shows & movies. carrie, caroline, coco — an interesting, heartbreaking addition to the highbrow ethical true crime genre, honestly sobbed, honestly would read anything sarah gerard writes. we wrapped up deadwood which i ended up enjoying so much. the negotiator — a chicago 90s thriller in all it’s glory, plz look past the kevin spacey of it all. be ready when luck happens — love ina, for a third of this book i heard her voice in my head the whole time, gets a lil name drop(y) towards the end but she’s still an icon. goodfellas — can you believe i had never seen this before? so embarrassing mostly bc i loved every second of it.

currently consuming

a glass of wine from diversey while i wrap this up & a giant mason jar of ice water as a sidecar before we head to tavern tues @ bungalow

as always,
mk