Hey, everyone!
Happy February, and welcome to everyone who joined this newsletter since the last issue went out!
I had an interesting conversation with my friend Anthony this week about why we cook. There’s so many different reasons here, but something I return to again and again is thinking about cooking as an antidote to modernity.
In so many ways, the modern world is pulling us away from our true nature. We sit in front of screens all day, interact with people through Zoom calls and messaging apps, foster relationships through social media, and often find ourselves lost in a digital reality.
Cooking gets us firmly rooted back in the physical world. It’s a tactical experience that has us using our hands, requires us to rely on all five senses, and allows us to create something from scratch. It’s a forcing function for bringing people together communally. In an increasingly digitized consumer culture that’s often devoid of human connection, it’s such a valuable outlet.
I know how much cooking means to me, and how much joy it’s brought into my life. My hope with this newsletter is that it inspires the same in you!
Cheers,
Myles
What I’m Cooking
This week I celebrated Chinese New Year with some friends and cooked some of the best food I’ve eaten all year. The dumplings, in particular, were a highlight.
I left inspired to dive deeper into Chinese cuisine. I’ve cooked quite a bit from the Mission Chinese Food cookbook, and I also own a couple books by Fuchsia Dunlop. I just picked up Mister Jiu’s in Chinatown by Brandon Jew, which is so incredible that I’m now planning my weekend around cooking from it.
I’m planning to pick up some items from The Mala Market to get started. But if anyone has suggestions on where to source the highest-quality Chinese pantry staples, please let me know!
Cooking Dishes Multiple Times
The best dishes deserve to be cooked many times over. There’s lots of fun in trying new dishes, but if you really love a dish you should cook it a bunch of times. That’s where true mastery happens, and you start to notice the subtle nuances that make that dish great. It also means you’ll have that dish as part of your repertoire— something you know so well that you can easily create it in any environment and whenever the mood strikes.
Chicken parm, for example, is one of my all-time favorite dishes. Each time I cook it I take notes and tweak something a bit, and now I feel like I’m starting to really master it. I’ve also noticed that once you nail the techniques, the improvements all come from the primary ingredients— in this case seeking out the best chicken, the best local mozzarella, tomatoes, etc.
Serana Winter Feast
Two weekends ago I cooked a winter feast at Serana, a beautiful property outside of Austin owned by two friends of mine. This is the third event like this we’ve done, and we’re hoping to do several more this year.
The goal of this dinner series is to highlight some of the incredible food producers we have here in Central Texas. This dinner featured lamb from Hackamore Ranch, vegetables from Boggy Creek Farm and Animal Farm, and lots more from a bunch of other local producers.
You can check out the menu and a few photos from the event below.
Dried Chiles
Dried chiles are one of my all-time favorite ingredients to cook with. And the best ones I’ve found domestically come from Booneville Barn Collective. They’re organically grown in California, and the dried chiles from the 2021 summer harvest just went up for sale. The cascabel chiles are a favorite of mine.
I also picked up a bottle of their Espellete Chile Kombucha Vinegar, which is super interesting. It’s more effervescent and sweet than most vinegars. I’m thinking about using it to pickle some chiles and onions, but I’d love some additional suggestions for how to use this!
Cooking Music
I love a good dinner playlist as much as anyone, but one thing I’m doing more of this year is listening to full albums, cover to cover.
Spotify can feel like social media sometimes— constantly switching up songs for the next dopamine hit. Listening to albums is a slower, more mindful experience that tends to introduce you to songs you might have skipped over before.
I love the experience of putting my phone down, turning on an album, and letting the whole thing play through as I cook dinner.
Here are a few albums I’ve really enjoyed recently:
The White Album - The Beatles
An Awesome Wave - Alt-j
Rumours - Fleetwood Mac
Begin Again - Ben Böhmer
Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys
Melophobia - Cage the Elephant
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Thanks for the update!! A few thoughts..
Would be fun to stroll the Richmond New May Wah Supermarket in SF with you. My mind spins with all the new ingredients encountered.
That yogurt bowl 😮💨😮💨
Been digging char + cabbage. Would love to taste that dish! A new spot here called Otra has a bone marrow cabbage along the same vein. Central Texas pecans y crema would really have rounded it out. Good stuff!
Maybe a daikon and fruit pickle with the vinegar? I’ve been working for a Kimchi maker and she put out a special daikon, green onion, and pomegranate pickle. Another was daikon, passion fruit, Meyer. Some sweet heat could be fun!
Q: when trying out new chiles do you have a favorite way to nail down the taste? An oil? A salsa? My dried chili collection has been growing but I can’t honestly say with conviction the nuance.
Take care my brotha! Hope to catch up soon
the yogurt looks AMAZING