So You Want to Cook like Everything Alex Cooks?

We see crispy mushrooms, creamy pastas, and Korean rice cakes in your future.

When asked about my 2022 Resolutions, I (Court) only half-jokingly said “Stay alive.” I am, however, actually trying to maintain a habit that I’ve cultivated over the last few years: reducing food waste. Thankfully, 2021 saw the return of NYC composting programs like GrowNYC, but I also try to buy intentionally — that means not going to the store hungry and stoned (as much as I do love that interpretation of intuitive eating). I do not meal-plan and never will, so instead I’ve developed a formula of sorts for shopping to minimize waste. If you shop specifically for recipes, congrats on your foresight, but I am not you. Instead, I buy ingredients in groupings of flavors/cuisines/dishes, then work backwards. Start with produce, fresh herbs, an accompanying grain or sauce. Then toss some feta or parm into your cart because everything is better with cheese. Proteins are fun too — add some of those or stockpile legumes like it’s End of Days like I do! Then and only then can you resign yourself to the snack aisle and buy whatever calls out to your heart — we all know that’s what will be eaten first anyway, probably before you even get home. Be realistic about what you can eat in one week, especially if you’ve loaded your calendar for the week with social obligations (lol as if). Better to run out of groceries by Thursday and treat yourself to some takeout than find a graveyard in your crisper drawer come Sunday. Finally, remember that food can bring joy, so I like to buy a few things each week that are pure dumb serotonin boosters; the newest Trader Joe chip flavor, a nostalgic childhood snack (side note: can you still buy Snackwells?), a $5 canned latte that you’ll probably end up hating. It’s the little things!

If you’re seeking more ‘new year, new you’ inspo, we’ve got writer, recipe developer, & maker of extremely cute ceramics Alex (a.k.a. @everythingalexcooks) here to share actual, actionable resolutions, with some absurdly delicious-sounding recipes along the way. Plus, we’re sharing some of our first Best Bites of the Week to kick 2022 off right. Happy New Year!

Sorry.

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EVERYTHING ALEX COOKS’ 2022 PLANS

I like to think I’m generally goal-oriented, but I’m not goal-sustained. I generate nebulous ideas of experiences I’d like to have, but I get distracted. I find that my thoughts never materialize because they aren’t S.M.A.R.T. So this year, I’ve challenged myself to three S.M.A.R.T. kitchen resolutions. And guess what? I’ve kept them up for the first week of January. Let’s see if I can sustain them this week too: 

1. Develop One Recipe/Month: Recipe development is intimidating. But over the past year, I’ve grown to realize that it doesn’t have to capture unfathomable techniques or have flashy flavor combinations. Yes, there’s a sexy allure that draws us towards cooking a dish that feels out of reach (it’s always about the chase, huh?) and it’s exciting to don an apron to cook a fantastical dinner now-and-then, but is it sustainable? Cooking is a method of sustenance, and feeling like someone else isn’t sustainable. Instead, the best recipes should make you still feel like you. Even though you’re cooking my miso brown butter x black pepper tofu, you should still feel like yourself in the kitchen. I don’t want you to feel like me — and trust me, you don’t want to — I’m a mess. So this year, I’m focusing more on developing recipes that elicit the familiar and feel adaptable towards your life, starting with my crispy mushroom nuggets. It has been my newest hyperfixation meal over the past month, and I’ve whittled it down to the necessary steps. It’s two ingredients — if you don’t count salt — and you can eat it with practically anything. 

2. Cook Something Every Other Week from the Community: “OMG, Alex! I followed your cooking Instagram!” “…oh yeah, that’s embarrassing” Whenever someone mentions my cooking Instagram for the first time, my reflex is flushed deflection. I don’t know why this expression has become my default because I’m proud that I’m able to feed people with the things I create, cook, and bake. :’) I started my account in 2018 to share my meals with family and friends. In the summer of 2020, I found a larger community of fellow, 20-something homecooks who were doing the same. Now, over the course of the past almost two years, this online space has developed into a like-minded but quirky collective. You might already be familiar with some of them as Sifted guests: Buttina wrote up her Dinner Plans and Tanya her espresso birthday cake recipe. (I’ve written more on this community for Doof Magazine.)

A Los Angeles community picnic I hosted in June 2021.

This year, I want to cook recipes from my friends in the community. I’m grateful for their genuine conversations and constant inspiration. This week, I am drawn to make Katie’s black rice porridge, Sara’s barbari bread, and Nami’s Wafu Ume Katsuo Pasta. 

Photos courtesy of @umamigirlblog

3. Cook Korean Food 1x/Month: Oddly enough, I (almost) never cook Korean food when I’m home with my family in LA. Whenever I’m away, though, I tend to lean more towards my roots. For example, I always disliked perilla leaves as a child. But this fall, after moving to NYC, I started to crave the grassy and acerbic taste. I’m currently writing this from home, but come Tuesday, when I’m 2,800 miles away, I’ll try something I’ve been meaning to make: yaksik, a honey-sweetened glutinous brown rice cake with chestnuts and dried jujubes. It can be made entirely in your rice cooker and then stored in your freezer for months. It’s a sweet (but not too sweet) snack that feels just nutritious enough to hold you over for dinner.

everythingalexcooks

A post shared by everything alex cooks (@everythingalexcooks)

So, yes, that’s everything Alex is cooking this week.

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TAKEOUT: 

• Court: My best bite (and I mean bite) this week was stolen off my dad’s plate, as so many of our best bites typically are (food just tastes better off someone else’s plate!) Cafe Fiorello is Lincoln Square-adjacent and therefore a pretty typical pre-show spot: slightly overpriced with seriously oversized portions, but consistently delicious, especially their ever-changing antipasto section. At a family holiday lunch, my dad ordered their “famous” lasagna; rather than a compact pile of sauce, cheese, and pasta, what arrived more strongly resembled a pizza. A skillet-sized plate held one or two huge, thin sheets of fresh pasta folded and draped over marinara sauce, pecorino cheese, and meatballs, dappled with little pools of ricotta and a few gratuitous fresh basil leaves, to boot. Of course this could kill my little lactose-hating body but the few bites around the edges of folded pasta, crispy and bubbled from a trip under the broiler were pure heaven; like the Platonic ideal of a corner piece of lasagna minus the teeth-trembling bites of undercooked noodle on top. It inspired me to seek out a way to recreate this at home, so (maybe?) stay tuned for a recipe or better yet, HMU if you know of one. 

• Gab: Most people got Covid for the holidays, I got a Goldbelly gift card. (Thank you Katie & John!) I promptly put it to use and had six chocolate chunk-studded pints of Graeter’s ice cream shipped to my door. I’ve been making what I call sampler bowls of all six flavors every night, making sure to dig out the huge squares of sorta soft, fudge-like chocolate chips. I love all my babies equally (except black raspberry — it’s everyone’s favorite but once again, the only fruit that belongs with chocolate is banana) but there’s something about the cold, chewy marshmallows and toasty, reminiscent-of-16 Handles (real ones know) graham cracker ice cream that always calls me back for one last spoonful before bed.

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What are your cooking goals or intentions for 2022? Inspire us here!

Have something specific you need Sifted’s help with? Send us any and all embarrassing questions and insane situations here.