85% Baby, 15% Waffles

Spring things, slow days, and why a pinch more salt (and lemon zest) might be the move

“Will can you take a picture of me? I match the Jeep!”

Friends, hi!

At this point I’m fairly certain I’m about 85% baby and frozen waffles toasted with peanut butter and jelly. Not a complaint, just my current composition.

I wrote in this month’s March Almanac about standing on a threshold, and wow… that feeling is more pronounced these days. Everything feels like it’s happening in slow motion. I think my body and the days themselves are insisting I ease up and pay attention.

So I am. Lol, honestly I have no choice.

This week’s newsletter is short and sweet: a cookbook interview, a few great links to click through, and a little company for your week.

So glad you’re here.

xo Joy

Tulips are pure joy.

Spring Things I’m Loving Right Now

• I joined Lily Diamond’s Lilith Lit Book Club and I’m very much looking forward to these books to get me through late newborn nights.

• From Platonic Love, this article about the runner Harry Styles has me feeling like I want to lace up my running shoes again later this summer.

• I won’t be making any What’s In My Hospital Bag content because I’m just following this list to a T.

• I’ve had lemon and poppy seed on the brain and thus, I need to make a quick batch of these muffins.

• New on the blog this week, what I think is a perfect Spring / Easter menu (please make the New Orleans BBQ Shrimp!) This week Deb’s also shared her Passover menu and I very much would like a Potato Kugel to land in my lap.

• My parents are coming to Texas for an extended stay and there is a short but growing list of things I’d like my dad to make: his split pea soup with little ham bits, cornbread, and of course, his brown butter chocolate chip cookies.

• Tulips

• A very humble reminder that a souped-up cake mix and some sour cream make for My Easiest and Best Coconut Cake and it very much is coconut cake season, so please. No fumbles.

• My friend Amy and her partner also Amy got me this blanket and when a Taurus gets you a home item you just thank your lucky stars you made such a great friendship choice.

An Interview with Reilly Meehan on his new cookbook A Little Bit Extra

Reilly Meehan is a recipe developer, food stylist, and the kind of cook who makes me feel like I can trust my instincts even more (and maybe reach for one more pinch of salt while I’m at it). His new book, A Little Bit Extra (out March 31st!), is all about taking simple, familiar recipes and giving them that extra something. We’re talking: a bright finish, something bold, a twist you didn’t see coming but immediately want to try.

Today we’re chatting with Reilly about the recipes that define him, the ingredients he can’t stop reaching for (lemon zest, obviously), and why we should all be cooking a little more generously.

Let’s get into it!

What was the “aha moment” recipe while writing this book — the one that made you think, oh, this is the heart of it?

For me it has to be the Roast Chicken with “Under The Chicken” Onion Chutney! The chicken is just really simply seasoned, no need to brine or anything, and it’s just roasted over a nice mix of onions and sliced lemon. After it cooks and while the chicken is resting, you take all the roasty lemon and onion and chop it up, then mix it with some more olive oil and any of the drippings that came off during cooking and you get this mind-blowingly flavorful chutney-style sauce.

To me it’s the perfect encapsulation of the book, taking something simple, but then rethinking it and giving it that little extra touch that you might not have thought of before to take it to the next level. Plus I just love a roast chicken so much!

If your cookbook had a playlist, what three songs would be on it?

Limon y Sal by Julieta Venegas, Kiko and the Lavender Moon by Los Lobos, and Spring Affair by Donna Summer. (Joy: Immediately adding to the playlist!)

What’s one ingredient you’re evangelical about? (The one you might even bring to the party and spend the night convincing everyone else to use?)

Lemon zest!!! There actually became a running joke on set when we did the photos for my book that everyone had to keep their Microplanes handy because we put lemon zest on everything. It’s just such a great way to add a big boost of flavor and brightness when maybe you don’t need any more acidity from the juice.

If someone cooks just one recipe from your book to understand you as a person, which should it be?

In the Happy Hour section there’s a duo, the Kimchi Shrimp Cocktail and the Soju Spritz, that is truly the most ME duo ever. Bright, bubbly, citrusy cocktail, and a slightly quirked-up and spicy version of a classic shrimp cocktail. That’s me to a T!

What’s a mistake you hope readers make at least once (because we all know learning something the hard way is most memorable)?

I want people to overdo it! Put a little too much hot sauce, or a handful extra of cilantro. Maybe a little more lemon juice! I’m never mad when something is overly seasoned or punchy, but I am when it falls flat!

What kitchen tool deserves more respect, and which one do you think is wildly overrated?

We need to be putting some respect on the metal (and plastic!) bench scraper… That thing is my ride-or-die and I literally use it all day long.

Overrated… I think a fish spatula? Who is really using those! They’re clunky. I prefer an offset spatula for cooking fish and they are way more versatile. (Joy: Gosh you’re so right about a fish spatula. Thank you for speaking this truth.)

7. Fill in the blank: People think I’m ___ in the kitchen, but actually I’m ___.

Buttoned up… but I’m actually winging it!

8. If you could hand-deliver this cookbook to one person (living or not), who would it be and what would you want them to cook first?

Well, I got to hand-deliver the first copy to my parents and that was truly the most special moment of my life being there to see their reactions. But other than them, I would 100% give it to my grandma, Maude, and tell her to make my revamped version of her Tomato Glop! She used to make it just by mixing jarred marinara with a day-old baguette for a quick, filling, and super easy side. I took those same flavors and ideas but turned it Extra, and I think she’d love it.

9. What’s your most controversial food opinion (the one that gets you yelled at on the internet)?

You’re not using enough salt! I always have people in the comment sections freaking out about how big my “pinch” of salt is compared to theirs… like okay? Your food is probably tasteless!

10. When you’re not eating your own recipes, what are you absolutely guilty-pleasure ordering for takeout?

Okay I have never told anyone this but I eat grocery store sushi all the time. It’s a problem! (Joy: Can confirm, SAME.)

11. What do you hope someone feels (like, truly feels) when they cook from your book for the first time?

Accomplished! Inspired! Confident! And maybe a little nostalgic too. When food tugs at those little nostalgic heartstrings, there’s just nothing quite like it.

✨ Cookbook Giveaway

I’m so happy to share a copy of Reilly Meehan’s new book A Little Bit Extra with one of you.

To enter:
Leave a comment below answering this question inspired by Reilly’s interview:

• What’s your signature “a little bit extra” move in the kitchen?

My answer? I’m with Reilly on the lemon situation. Zest and juice, always. In fact, I’ve had these Lemon Poppy Seed Rolls on my mind for a few days now and I’m now convinced that finishing them with a sprinkle of flaky salt would make them exactly a little bit extra.

Giveaway details:

• Open to U.S. residents only
• Giveaway closes Friday, March 27
• One winner will be selected and contacted via Substack message

I can’t wait to hear what your “little bit extra” looks like! I have a feeling this comment section is about to be full of very good ideas.

Have a great rest of you week, friends! See you in the comments!