Friends, bakers and rockstars Maya Carter, Carla Finley and Stephanie Spector organized a bake sale in NYC next weekend with plans to donate all the proceeds to The New Georgia Project, a nonprofit that works to register Georgia voters and combat voter suppression. You can order baked goods online now for pickup in Clinton Hill next Saturday, December 12th. Court is making matcha swirl shortbread and I’m baking a chocolate crumb cake if you’re into stuff like that (which if you’re here, you probably are). The three of them also somehow found the time to also share their Dinner Plans with us this week, so read on for a few cozy, creamy, fluffy recipes, plus some celebratory cocktail recipes from us because congrats, you made it through another day!
Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3!!!!!!
And while we’re on the topic of baked goods, Christmas is coming, and our brains are simply stuffed with ideas for fun and festive cookies to make this year. Yes, the Sifted Guide to Christmas Cookies is coming, with a few original recipes from yours truly. It will be available to paid subscribers only, so subscribe now or ask for a subscription as an early Christmas present.
ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:
MAYA, STEPH & CARLA’S DINNER PLANS
Pasta e Ceci: It’s December so we’re talking soup, we’re talking beans, we’re talking pantry staples, we’re talking pasta e ceci. And if we’re talking pasta e ceci we’re talking Rachel Roddy, one of my favorite food writers and my guide to Roman and Sicilian culinary classics. Rachel’s pasta e ceci calls for a few of my favorite things: pasta, beans, little salty fish, and parmesan. Sometimes I use canned chickpeas, (she calls them “tinned” cause she’s British!!), sometimes I have the foresight to cook a pot of fresh ones. Sometimes there's canned (tinned!) tomatoes on hand, sometimes it's tomato paste. Sometimes I actually have little pasta shapes around, sometimes I just break spaghetti into tiny pieces because only my cat is there to judge me. Pasta e ceci is easily adaptable, ever satiating, and reliably comforting. -MC
Oven Risotto With Crispy Roasted Mushrooms: Right around this time of year, I begin my transformation into cozy Steph. Cozy Steph cranks the heat up to 75, wears Uggs outside the house, and craves dinners like this risotto with crispy mushrooms. The addition of parm and butter makes it comforting and indulgent, and the fact that it spends most of its cooking time in the oven gives me more time to sit under my heated blanket while I watch Downton Abbey. Make sure to get your mushrooms really crispy in the oven before topping everything with a healthy handful of parsley and a drizzle of your finest olive oil. (I highly recommend Brightland’s Awake.) -SS
Focaccia (sandwiches): Lately I've been on a major focaccia (the recipe, adapted from my baker friend Le Goûter Bread, is below!) kick, both for the business and personally. I'm in awe of how easy the dough is and how you basically leave it alone for 48 hours and it becomes this beautiful, bubbly, heavenly, cloud-like surface. It bakes into a bread pillow that I just want to lay my head on and let quell all my worries. Sometimes I add sesame seeds, which toast beautifully and make the whole house smell warm, or olives, which are plump, salty and pleasing to the eye. I continue to experiment, like with the quick, careless lunch I made the other day—a tiny sandwich with just kewpie mayo, sriracha, Maldon salt and deli turkey between fresh-sliced focaccia. So simple, so perfect, gone in 60 seconds. -CF
SO YOU MADE IT TO 4PM
Ginger Hot Toddy: I drank more than a few Hot Toddies this weekend and let me say, they’re simply the perfect winter drink. You can use rum or bourbon but I make mine with whiskey; specifically this ginger whiskey made by my sister’s friend that is deliciously spicy with no added sweetness (RIP/good riddance to my college tolerance for *gag* honey Jack Daniels). I add hot water and about a ½-1 TB of honey to a mug, plus a few big squeezes of fresh lemon juice, and a LOT of whiskey. If I have them on hand I’ll add a slice of two of fresh ginger or a cinnamon stick. The joy of this drink is it conceals a hefty amount of alcohol, truly making you feel those warm and fuzzy feelings in a matter of minutes. I’m almost positive hot toddies are technically considered holistic medicine and guarantee they’ll cure whatever ails you, which is many things these days… -CK
Lil’ Ripper *other Alex-style*: The go-to drink for my boyfriend, Alex, and I for the last year or so has been this Amaro Spritz, also known as the Lil’ Ripper. We (and by we I mean Alex) make ours with the Sicialian amaro, Averna, mini bottles of Schweppes club soda (to ensure crunchy bubbles), lemon peel and juice, plus a big Castelvetrano olive and a dash of the brine. They go down easy, soothe my stomach after a big meal, and taste like more fresh, less sweet Coca-Cola. They’ve become such a staple for us that we now travel with a bottle of Averna. A worthy plus one. -CK
~Fancier~ Vodka Soda: I miss going out for dinner, but I miss ordering well drinks at crowded bars more. I love the thick plastic cups they’re served in, the $6 price, and the way I always spilled them—on my hands, on my jeans, on strangers—while I walked around the bar. The only good thing about making vodka sodas at home is that I can make them the way I would never ask the bartender at Sophie’s to, which is by adding at least 15 dashes of Angostura bitters and squeezing in an entire lemon. And don’t worry, I still somehow always manage to spill some on myself, just like old times.❤️ -GS
For me (Court), chocolate peppermint season is all about the Andes. Yes, I’m talking about the tiny, perfectly wrapped after-dinner mints you used to get at the Olive Garden. You have to trust me, they are as good, if not better, than you remember, even if not directly proceeding endless breadsticks and eggplant parm. Also, endless boxes of peppermint bark from Williams Sonoma and the sleeper hit from Trader Joe’s, chocolate mint mini stars.
If you are as big a fan of choc-pepp season as we are, let me leave you with a recipe-ish that will surely hit the spot. Take one box of brownie mix (Ghiradelli of course, if you have any questions see here) and make according to package instructions. Pour half of the batter into a 9 x 9 pan, place an even layer of York peppermint patties, then top with the rest of the batter. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean and cool completely— or as long as you can wait to try them— before slicing.
Uncut brownies ❤️
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