APÉRITIF:
Our dearest Sifters (who we pray are voters that are exercising their right to vote by voting for Joe Biden tomorrow even if they still and always will love B*rnie), what a week we have ahead of us. We think these next few days, and possibly weeks, will be stressful, scary, sad, and other not-so-nice s-words. Whole pints of ice cream (above) and buckets of fried chicken (below) will help, as will ignoring memories of the needle and headlines like this. We have a few other ideas, some are recipes, others are activities, but all are cozy, comforting, consequential, and any other lovely c-words you can think of.
ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:
DINNER PLANS
Mac & Cheese: Elbows are indisputably the most comforting pasta shape. (Farfalle is a close second.) Court’s lactose intolerant stomach would cause her to become violently ill after one bite of this golden-crusted, dairy-filled, creamy mac and cheese recipe, which is hopefully not a better outcome than reality on election night. If you live for crispy pasta edges and crunchy breadcrumbs in your mac, this simple recipe will tick all those boxes, especially if you nearly double the breadcrumbs like I do. The good news is cheese contains tryptophan, the amino acid people claim is why turkey puts you to sleep on Thanksgiving, (by the way, it’s actually the four helpings of stuffing that do that) so go ahead and have that night cheese.
Cinnamon Rolls: If things turn bad, cinnamon rolls are your ‘IN CASE OF EMERGENCY’ plan. Stress prep them on election night and wake up to a tray of ready-to-bake buns the next morning. We have a lot of cinnamon roll opinions (shocking, we know). I love the King Arthur ones that use tangzhong starter—the thing that gives milk bread the textural equivalent of a pillow—to make them extra soft and plushy. Fair warning: this recipe, and seemingly all King Arthur recipes according to my friend Emma, is designed to feed one very large, 18-kids-and-counting, Midwest family. This quick, brown butter cinnamon roll recipe is another favorite. Post-frosting, they look like fresh mall Cinnabons (the highest honor), and come together fast enough that you can make them as a last-minute election night dessert.
SO YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE STATE OF THE WORLD
If you haven’t already VOTED, what are you doing??? And if you have, take the opportunity to help those who may not have the luxury or flexibility to vote early. Feed the Polls, World Central Kitchen, and Fuel the Vote are feeding voters in long lines at the polls. Donate to their causes, or bring the voters and workers at your local polls coffee and donuts and/or big squares of focaccia and magic cookie bars. Bonus points if you bring nutcrackers (or mocktails!) just before polls close to remind people that they can stay in line until they’ve voted, and keep them happy while they wait.
Getting that overwhelming whatdoIdotohelpwheredoIstart feeling about tomorrow? It’s not too late to phone bank. There are so many places sign up, but Swing Left excels at flagging close races and categorizing volunteer opportunities by level of impact. Not so keen on talking on the phone? Text banking is a thing too! You can find tons of options here, but if decision paralysis is starting to set in, just start here.
It’s quickly cooling on the East Coast, which means two things: Chili Season is here, and people need warm clothes STAT. If you live in NYC, sweet angel Emily Sundberg is hosting a winter clothing drive at Short Stories all week long. Donate coats, sweaters, warm things, etc. and patronize a small business that’s doing lots of Good Things right now, like serving a weekly pay-what-you-can vegan curry dinner. When you donate, you get a free hot toddy-esque drink, and you should absolutely stay for their fluffy and gorgeous pancakes. If you’re not able to make it there this week, you can find other ways to help out in NYC here, and look for coat drives nationally (!) here. Or, you can throw your own! We know you spent quar going through your closet, and now is the time to donate that Abercrombie & Fitch sweater. She’s never coming back into style, not even in an ironic way. Sorry!
TAKEOUT:
Here are a few things that soothe my anxiety regardless of the circumstances. On the top of my list is Pretty Cakes. I like scrolling through Instagrams full of ornate, highly detailed cakes on accounts like @thegeminibake, @coven_bakery, and @hebe_konditori. I also, like food writer Bettina Makalintal, like watching videos of cakes being frosted, feeling my jaw relax with every swoosh of perfectly smoothed buttercream. I also love losing myself in the weirdest, worst, and most horrifying Tasty-meets-5 Minute Crafts videos on my explore page. Something about the shock and awe and total ‘Did they actually just do that?’ of it all makes me forget about my problems, and focus on what compelled someone to use a hot dog as a straw (special thank you/no thank you to Court’s boyfriend, Alex, for tracking those down).