I don’t care too much about making new year resolutions, but I do like taking (and making) stock. Happy New Year?
Personally, 2023 was my busiest year on record. I traveled to 20 cities in 13 states, mostly for work but also for fun. I took a road trip through Spain with my husband and friends. I saw a kitchen remodel from start to finish; more to come on this. I hosted quite a few dinner parties, said yes to a lot of (/too many) work things, cooked with a fury when I could, and ordered a lot of takeout when I couldn’t. I borrowed a lot of library books, and even nudged a few houseplants to embrace life.
A few of my favorite US travels, in no order:
Richmond, Virginia: solo pasta and Côtes-du-Rhône at Grisette, a walk through Church Hill to see beautiful homes and holiday decorations, a sweet custard and impeccable nightcap at The Roosevelt.
Los Angeles (I think LA may be my favorite restaurant city): getting a bar seat at Mother Wolf for fried zucchini, Keith Haring at The Broad, staying at The Conrad, a set menu for a client dinner at Bestia, pickled carrots at the stunning Bavel, parking lot cocktails with Andrew at The Dresden
Seeing bloggers in Charleston with Darbie at Sorelle
New England: a rainy evening at Oberlin in Providence, a gorgeous anniversary party at The Hope Club, Olneyville New York System, shopping at Hungry Ghost Press, The Ivy Lodge and Castle Hill in Newport, driving to Watch Hill to check out a house, Macbeth in the Commons and the Red Sox in Fenway Park, clam chowder … everywhere
Highlights from the library pile:
Books about young women and their families, chosen and otherwise: The Rachel Incident, Caroline O’Donoghue. Pineapple Street, Jenny Jackson. The Wren, The Wren, Anne Enright.
Quiet novels about relationships and quiet lives: Rules for Visiting, Jessica Frances Kane. Tom Lake, Ann Patchett. Spring Rain: A Life Lived in Gardens, Marc Hamer.
Nonfiction: A Night at the Sweet Gum Head, Martin Padgett.
Some of the best things I cooked:
Favorites from 2023 and 2022: Shrimp scampi and garlicky shrimp skewers and shrimp and grits - shrimp, in general, was a thing of fascination for me. Chicken and feta salad. Pepperoni and fennel pizza. Prime rib, the first true (non-Thanksgiving) meal of my new oven in the new kitchen. Grilled harissa lamb. Chicken decadence.
Considering I didn’t cook in my own kitchen for nearly a quarter … not bad! (Special shoutout to Jon and Susie, my wonderful parents-in-law, who would graciously give over their kitchen in exchange for weeknight dinner parties.)
But really, back to the original point. Busyness can be a double-edged sword. In all of that hustle and bustle, I neglected this little newsletter -- which, ironically, I created three years ago to mitigate burnout. I’ve limped toward 100 “volumes” of In Good Taste mostly because I couldn’t resist seeing 100 as an Important Number, even though it’s really just, like, a larger number. I’ve had to remind myself that at this juncture, I don’t charge for subscriptions; the stakes can be as low as I want them to be.
Despite my inattentiveness, and lifetime membership in the cult of busy, more of you have subscribed to this newsletter than ever before! I’m happy you’re here.
A couple of bonus links, for good measure, good taste, and good luck:
Cleaning up bottles on New Year’s Day, I accidentally threw away the little cage on a bottle of Prosecco and, in Googling how to replace it, stumbled into the history of the muselet
Speaking of sparkling wine, here are 52 things learned in 2023, including:
In the 19th Century, champagne was sweetened depending on local tastes. Russians had 300 grams of sugar added, the British just 50 grams. In 1842 Perrier-Jouët introduced unsweetened champagne. It failed and people called it ‘Brut’, but that’s how all champagne tastes today.
My catnip: In Italy, “a new generation is redefining what it means to be a farmer, abandoning well-paid jobs in the cities to tend their plots with passion.”
One of my favorite parts of my work is leading creative workshops with all sorts of teams from home design, decor, and retail brands. I always start our sessions with a tactile creative activity, because it’s a good ice-breaker and because drawing is the best way to shake your brain awake. As a little gift to yourself in 2024, get to mindful drawing!
KITCHEN SINK SAUSAGE: LEFTOVER-TESTED + APPROVED
One of my favorite cool-weather dinner recipes to crank out is “kitchen sink sausage,” one that can continually be improvised for vinegar style, preference of rugged greens, and types of sausage. I made it for one of the weekday family dinner parties (see above) and am happy now to publish a versatile recipe for leftovers of the same, from a longtime fan and hawk-eyed reader of In Good Taste:
Is it cheating to include a leftovers recipe? Is it just a recipe ouroboros? Is my father-in-law being compensated in exposure? As I said … the stakes can be as low as I want them to be here, as In Good Taste’s editorial and regulatory board of one.
Happy New Year, Emily. It's always such a pleasure to read you!
Such a fun newsletter. Thanks!