From Moving Boxes to Meatballs

A big bakery step, what we're baking with apples, and the best interview (and meatballs) for your Monday scroll.

Hi, friends! Mondays are easier when we start them together. Let’s get into it!

You and me? We’re going to Trader Joe’s this week for a loaf of Apple Cinnamon Sourdough Bread and a jar of Apple Pie Spread. I don’t make the rules—just kidding, I absolutely do, and these are the rules.

This loaf will be my prize for finally unpacking the last of the moving boxes from when we moved into the big house in Bellville… oh, only a year and a half ago. The truth is, the boxes got unpacked because my husband Will metaphorically pinned me down and then, bless him, did most of the heavy lifting himself. (Marriage: the ultimate accountability buddy? Please advise.)

But here’s the thing: clearing out those boxes was the first real step toward opening the pop-up bakery in the backyard later this year. The oven arrives soon and I need every inch of space for cookie dough, sheet pans, and the antique pie safe.

Best of all, I unearthed the juicer my parents received as a wedding gift in 1979. It feels like a small miracle, finding a piece of family history I can now put to work. How have I lived this long without it?

In the spirit of sharing good things, here are three Substack reads I’ve loved lately:
• Amy Estes on what she learned from taking 112 Orange Theory classes — proof that changing your mind really can change your life.
• An interview with Emily Schuman’s mom on Fwd: from a Friend — it makes me want to sit down with my mom and do the same.
• Nicole Prince’s thoughtful series on motherhood on Double Dutch. Read Part 1": Motherhood Leveled Me

And now, on to even more good things below.

Let It Be Sunday, 532!

This week, Amy Estes is welcoming September with a reflection on what made this summer feel so good: community. She’s talking charm bar parties, pool hangs, coffee dates, babysitting her bestie’s kids, and even making a new soulmate friend (proof that yes, we can still meet our people as adults!).

Her links this week are the perfect bridge between summer and fall: my tips for getting your kitchen cinnamon-season ready, tickets for the final Downton Abbey movie (weep!), an article on how to make money less awkward with friends (I loved this one!), and the black bean soup she’s already dreaming about for rainy season.

Read the post here: The Summer I Filled My Cup

A Short List of Apple Things To Make

It might still feel like summer in the afternoons, but the mornings have that first little hint of crispness — which means it’s time for apple season. Here are four of my favorite ways to bring apples into your kitchen this month:

Browned Butter Oatmeal Apple Cookies
These are the perfect early-fall cookie: nutty browned butter, chewy oats, and tender bits of apple folded in. It’s definitely an after school cookie. It’s perfect in that way.

Ina’s Apple Pie Bars
A square pan pie situation that solves the “should we make pie?” debate every single time. Buttery crust (that’s also a crumble topping) and cinnamon-scented apple filling. They’re perfect in their simplicity like Ina always does!

The Classic JtB Apple Crisp
Taking it all the way back to 2008 with this recipe. The post is deeply embarrassing but the recipe stays one of the best on the site!

Apple Butter Kolaches
A little Texas flair. Pillowy yeasted dough filled with smooth, spiced apple butter and sweetened cream cheese. They’re a project bake but an overnight rest which mitigates some of the effort — worth every minute.

Interview with Dan Pelosi of Let’s Party!

Everyone loves Dan Pelosi—and I’m no exception. His first cookbook, Let’s Eat, hasn’t left my kitchen since it came out. It holds the best meatball-and-sauce recipe I have ever made (yes, ever), and his Tiramisu Affogato has become my go-to dinner party dessert: elegant, easy, and guaranteed to impress.

Dan—known to most of us as @GrossyPelosi—has a way of making us feel like we’ve been invited into the family kitchen, handed a glass of wine, and told to make yourself at home. He’s warm, funny, and big-hearted—exactly what you’d hope for from the guy who insists you take seconds and then sends you home with leftovers.

In his brand-new book Let’s Party, Dan helps us bring that spirit to gatherings of all sizes, from casual Tuesday hangs to full-on milestone bashes. The book is equal parts cookbook, party-planning guide, and love letter to bringing people together.

I couldn’t be more thrilled to chat with him about what makes a party special, the first recipe he hopes we’ll all make, and the secret to his mom’s carrot cake (which honestly blew my mind!).

● Let’s start with the origin story. What was the spark that made you think, Yep, this cookbook needs to exist?

Well, if I am being honest, the idea for this book came from people (both IRL and online) telling me, “wow, you have so many parties at your house, how do you do it?” And my response was always, “what party???”. Then I realized that hosting is so a part of what I do and so engrained in my brain that I don't even realize I am throwing a party! I thought...well, then, that will be my
goal with this book. I want to help people to get to the place where they too can throw parties without even knowing it! So I wrote this book to have lots of guides on how I entertain and 100 recipes divided into 16 menus with make ahead info and a timeline that allows you to cook the food over a 3 day period before the party! I really think it's going to help people gather with their people, and we need that, especially right now!

● What’s the recipe in the book that people will come back to over and over again?

Melted Leek and Lemon Roast Chicken. It’s been on repeat in my house since I developed it two years ago for this book specifically. It’s perfect year round and while it’s heaven coming out of the oven, it really does something magical coming off of the grill, too! Keep some crusty bread on hand, because those drippings at the bottom of the pan are gonna need it!

● Marry, shag, kill: buttercream frosting, whipped cream, jam.

Marry Jam, it’s everywhere in my life and I literally can’t get it off my fingers. I would have it no other way. Shag Whipped Cream because it’s good while it’s so fucking good at its peak, but once it deflates...honey, no. Kill Buttercream frosting because it’s so good and once I start eating it it’s never, ever, ever enough and I will never be satisfied and pleaasseeee put me out of my misery.

● What’s a cooking or baking hill you’re willing to die on?

Carrot baby food makes a MUCH BETTER carrot cake than grated fresh carrots. Bury me on
this hill. The moisture, the intense flavor, the EASE! My Mom’s Carrot Cake will prove this to you, try it!

● We’re going to a dinner party with a recipe from your book?

The Sunshine Pasta! The recipe has the most delicious no-cook pasta sauce that is inspired by nonnas who would slice and salt tomatoes and leave them in the sun to literally sweat out their juices and make the most delicious sauce. You toss them into cooked pasta with fresh oregano, grated parm and olive oil and you are in heaven! Plus, the recipe is meant to be served hot, warm or cold, which makes it great for traveling!

● What’s the most chaotic recipe in the book?

Thank you for asking this, because I needed to talk about the delicious chaos that is the Lasagnetta! I called this one part recipe, part craft project. And I encourage you to get your family or your kids and get in there and have fun. Essentially we are slicing lasagna noodles in half the long way, then making very big coils of lasagna by connecting the two halves and filling them with a creamy tomato sauce, all the cheeses in the entire world, salty sliced prosciutto and fresh basil and then baking it until creamy dreamy perfection. It’s a fun time, and well worth the (minimal yet chaotic) effort!

● What’s a kitchen task you secretly love that everyone else seems to dread?

Cleaning! Based on my dms, lots of people seem to think cleaning isn’t a part of daily life. I come from a long line of Italian-American women who clean before they clean! Cleaning was so baked into my daily life growing up and I was part of it from day one. I am so grateful for that because now I can write cleaning guides (I have them in both of my books) for the people out there who were not on the same journey as me! They love learning all the tips and tricks to making cleaning fast and easy!

What’s the most you recipe in this book?

I think it would be the Spinach and Artichoke Dip Pasta Bake! I just love to take my favorite comfort foods, like Spinach and Artichoke Dip, and make more comfort foods out of them, like this baked pasta. It has all the creamy and briny flavors of a SAD, but with added rigatoni, extra cheese and a crushed pita chip topping! Just wait for the cheese pulls!

What’s your current cookbook crush? What are you dog-earing, gifting to friends, or quietly obsessed with lately?

I am currently devouring Samin Nosrat’s Good Things! It’s her follow up to Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, and she took her time writing it, which you can tell. No one is writing books like Samin. She is so brilliant, so detailed, yet so casual. Samin knows how to write in the way that deeply empowers home cooks, which is always my goal in my writing as well.

✨ Giveaway Time! ✨
We’re sending one lucky reader a copy of Let’s Party! To enter, answer this question in the comments: What’s your party personality? Are you the host, the guest who brings the best snacks, or the one who shows up with the playlist?

Winner will be chosen Thursday, September 11th via Substack message. Open to U.S. residents only.

See you later this week, friends!

xo Joy