Good morning. Welcome to 2023! How’s the noggin?
Today, some will recall Kingsley Amis, writing of a hangover in his novel “Lucky Jim”: “The light did him harm but not as much as looking at things did; he resolved, having done it once, never to move his eyeballs again.” Back to bed!
Others will swan themselves toward whatever resolution they made last night, secure in the knowledge that this year, at last, they will keep it. Good luck!
Still more will cook, and I am, as ever, here to greet them. To greet you! Today’s a day for black-eyed peas with collards and a ham hock (above), for Dutch babies both sweet and savory, for soup joumou, biscuits and gravy, and the restorative excess of a panettone bread pudding. It’s for late brunch and noodles for dinner.
Though you could always roast a chicken. Accompany the bird with creamed braising greens, to help ensure prosperity in the coming year.
As for the rest of the week …
Monday
New Year’s on Sunday means the week starts with a day off for many, so it may make sense to continue the weekend’s festivities, perhaps with Gabrielle Hamilton’s lovely recipe for steak tartare for lunch or an early dinner. (If you’re working, or just don’t want to splurge on the tenderloin, give Hetty McKinnon’s ramen with charred scallions, green beans and chile oil a shot instead.)
Tuesday
Back to work! If you’re not making do with leftovers this evening, take a look at Alexa Weibel’s delicious and very-simple-to-make five-ingredient creamy miso pasta.
Wednesday
Genevieve Ko’s recipe for kung pao shrimp recalls the cooking she experienced as a child in Southern California: classics pared down by moms and aunties for those busy nights when it’s important to get food on the table as quickly as possible. For me, that’s every Wednesday.
Thursday
Meera Sodha’s recipe for chicken curry is one she got from her mother when she was 18 and away at college, and it put her on the road to a career as a cookbook author. It’s her ultimate comfort food, she told me when she shared the recipe with The Times in 2015.
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Now, it’s nothing to do with semolina or grits, but you should read Matt Flegenheimer’s profile of the unlikely publishing powerhouse Jenna Bush Hager, in The New York Times.
Check out Mark Sundeen’s dispatch from Lake Mead in Nevada, for Outside magazine, about how drought and climate change are lowering the lake’s water levels precipitously — and revealing its grisly secrets
I’m late to it, but Tom Lynch captured some pretty incredible footage of the 2022 fall run of striped bass off the New Jersey coast, and Anglers Journal posted it for all to see. Very wow.
Finally, here’s Death Cab for Cutie back in 2003, reflecting on “The New Year.” Listen to that nice and loud while you’re cooking. I’ll return on Friday.
