Good morning. Apples are so easy to get all year long that I sometimes forget they’re seasonal. Then every September, that first bite of a new-crop Braeburn takes me by surprise. So crunchy and juicy! New-crop apples have a distinct sweet-tart, spicy flavor that fades after months in storage. Other than Braeburns, I’m partial to Winesaps, Ruby Frosts and Honeycrisps for snacking. But for pie baking, I look for firmer, tangier cultivars like Mutsus, Cortlands and Granny Smiths. And as much as I adore new-crop McIntoshes when they’re super fresh, once they get a little soft they’re better for applesauce, especially when mixed with a Golden Delicious to lend sweetness without added sugar. What’s your favorite apple? Let me know at hellomelissa@nytimes.com.
An autumn all-starMore autumnal coziness can be found in Yotam Ottolenghi’s spiced pea stew with yogurt. Based on a fragrant Persian stew, it’s got toasted warm spices, frozen sweet peas, and plenty of fresh ginger and garlic for verve. View this recipe: Spiced pea stew with yogurt Recipes for your weekAs a certain friend of Seinfeld might say, it’s time to shift into soup mode. Here are five five-star recipes to get you going. For a limited time, you can enjoy free access to the recipes in this newsletter in our app. Download it on your iOS or Android device and create a free account to get started. Reading and eatingOver the summer I met Valerie Stivers, a writer as obsessed with reading and eating as I am. For years she penned the “Eat Your Words” column for The Paris Review, and she recently published a terrific book, “The Writer’s Table,” with essays and recipes based on her favorite works of literature (with winning illustrations by Katie Tomlinson). Among the riches: Tolstoy’s cabbage soup; a dish of migas-like shepherd’s bread crumbs that Sancho Panza from “Don Quixote” would have relished; the very hollandaise-imbued chicken hash Truman Capote supped on at the Plaza Hotel. There’s also a chapter on Emily Dickinson, who loved to bake and frequently wrote her poetry in the kitchen. Dickinson was known for her gingerbread, which she’d distribute to the neighborhood children from a basket lowered from her second-floor bedroom window. The Emily Dickinson Museum has her original gingerbread recipe on its website, which to me looks more like cookies than cake. Perhaps they’re a bit like these classic cutout gingerbread cookies from Jennifer Steinhauer?
What are you reading? Let me know at hellomelissa@nytimes.com. I’m always looking for my next great read. I’ll see you tomorrow. Melissa Clark has been writing about food for The New York Times since 1997 and is the author of 46 cookbooks. Her latest is “The Big Book of Dinner,” coming in November. You can reach her at hellomelissa@nytimes.com. Editors: Mia Leimkuhler and Li Goldstein. Host photo by Melanie Dunea. For help with your New York Times Cooking subscription, please email cookingcare@nytimes.com. Was this email forwarded to you? You can sign up for our New York Times Cooking newsletter here.
|
