Hello, everyone! And happy new year!
I started writing this newsletter this past summer, and it’s been a really fun thing for me. Long-form newsletters are a nice alternative to the ephemerality of social media, and I appreciate every one of you who indulges my random thoughts on all things food and cooking.
I’m trying to figure out what exactly I’d like to make of this newsletter moving forward. If you have the time, I’d love for you to shoot me over a quick message and let me know your thoughts!
What do you like about this newsletter? What don’t you like? What would you like to see more of? Recipes? Long-form writing? Product recommendations? Anything else?
I promise I’ll read every response, and any kind of feedback is welcome!
Cheers!
Myles
2022 Goals
One of my cooking goals for 2022 is to master the wok. I recently purchased a blue carbon steel wok from Made In, and I’m quite excited to dive in. I’ve never owned a wok before, but I know it’s a unique and crazy versatile tool.
I was inspired to do this because of J Kenji Lopez Alt’s upcoming book on wok cooking (I’ve got it on pre-order). His book The Food Lab is one of my favorite cookbooks ever written, and he’s spent the last few years working on a book all about the wok. I’m planning to cook my way through it as soon as it comes out.
If anyone has wok tips, recipe recommendations, must-haves for my pantry, etc, please send them my way!
Serana Dinner Series
We’re doing another Serana Dinner on January 22nd! This one sold out quickly, but we’re planning to do several of them throughout the year. If you’re in Austin or Central Texas, we’d love to host you!
Quick background: The Serana Series is an outdoor dinner series I created with some friends. Serana is a gorgeous property about 45 minutes outside of Austin. This dinner series is all about celebrating the local terroir of Central Texas— think seasonal vegetables, locally raised meats from regenerative ranches, natural wine, and open-fire cooking. You can check out some scenes from the last dinner series here.
If you want to be notified early about future events, you can sign up for the email list on the site!
What I’m Reading
The War of Art was probably my favorite book I read in 2021. It’s really a book about the creative process, but all of the lessons apply to cooking.
It’s a quick read, but definitely a book I’ll find myself returning to often.
This book will surely motivate you to show up and just start doing, but I especially loved the more esoteric and spiritual musings on inspiration, where it comes from, and how to harness it.
What I’m Looking Forward To
Have you ever heard of garum? Garum was a condiment popular in Ancient Greece and Rome— a paste/sauce made from mashing up small fish— blood, guts, and all— and fermenting them. It sounds crazy, but that’s basically the same process used to make modern-day fish sauce.
Well it turns out you can make garum from just about any kind of protein. And it creates a flavorful, umami-packed sauce that can be used as a base in all kinds of cooking.
Noma, one of the top restaurants in the world, was one of the first to revive garums— they detailed the process in their famous Noma Fermentation book. Now, they’re releasing a line of garums made in their in-house fermentation lab.
When one of the most innovative restaurants out there releases a niche product for home cooks, I simply can’t say no. I’m looking forward to giving these a try when they’re released this year.
Thanks for reading this newsletter!
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This is super cool bro. Always good content in here.
Give me more! I love the product recommendations -had no idea Kenji was coming out with a new book- and always enjoy hearing how you tailor your cooking to what's in season. I know your audience is stratified but could you speak to Austin-specific food scene (both shopping and dining)?