March 2024 Newsletter
Hello Everybody and thank you for taking the time to read my March newsletter! It's been a wild start to 2024 and I'm really looking forward to the Spring time in New York.
As we move into March, I realize that it marks a full year of publishing with Serious Eats, which kind of blows my mind. I remember when I first got the word that we were going to be able to start working together. I was overwhelmed with a deep sense of relief and of validation.
I had been self publishing for just about a half year at that point and, while I certainly had learned a lot, the growth component had been really slow going for the most part. This was one of my first big ‘Wins’ for my page and it really meant a lot to me (and still does).
I had been pursuing serious eats specifically since some of my first posts. I’ve actually been a ‘serious eater’ (as Ed Levine would say) since late 2015. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s Food Lab column really changed the way I thought about cooking and really led the way to the road that I’m on now. (Side note: I’ve actually listened to every episode of the Ed Levine’s Special Sauce Podcast several times each and I highly recommend it).
In other news, we’ve actually been able to film a bunch of great collabs with Chef Charlotte Langley (@chefcharlottelangley), Chef Priyanka Naik (@chefpriyanka), Chef Leah Cohen (@leahcohen) and Tiffany Bach (@Tifflovestofu). I have lots more of these planned for the coming months and have really been enjoying working on a new style of content!
As we move into the Springtime I’m feeling grateful for all of the wonderful things I’ve been fortunate enough to take part in. New York can be kind of miserable in the winter months and it’s nice to find gratitude to give where you can.
Cheers,
Joey
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This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook—try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all have fun.
Julia Child
Newsletter Contents
March Recipe Poll
March Giveaway Item(s)
New recipes on joeycooksfoods.com
March Spotlight Recipe
Nujabes Track of the Month
Creator Spotlight
March Subscribers Giveaway: Hedley & Bennett Bread Knife!
This month’s item is from a brand that I love and have worked with since close to starting this channel! This month, we are giving away a Hedley Bennett Bread Knife in Shiso Green ($85 Value).
I have been using the H&B knife set since it came out and really think they are wonderful. They remind me of the Misono UX10 series in a lot of ways and always appreciate a solid high carbon stainless steel knife option!
This breadknife feels strong in the hand and the taper on the knife makes it feel very aggressive when cutting.
H&B Shiso Green Bread Knife Weblink
To enter this giveaway, you just need to be a subscriber on substack. If you are already subscribed you don’t need to do anything else to enter and will be automatically! If you’d like to subscribe, you can use the button below to do so.
Winner’s will be selected and announced on the first of the following Month.
Full rules available here: Full Giveaway Rules
New Recipes on joeycooksfoods.com
Quick Feel Better Spicy Noodle Soup Full Recipe
Meal Prep: Pesto with Red Lentil Pasta Full Recipe
March Spotlight Recipe - Spicy Orange & Tarragon Pan Chicken with Radish Salad
This recipe was one of the first that I developed for my page and with citrus season at it’s tail end, I felt it was a good one to share. This recipe is fairly simple and focuses on building a deeply flavorful pan sauce that is sweet and spicy with a nice kick of acidity.
For me, this recipe represents the type of food that really spoke to me when I was starting this food journey. It’s full of bold flavors while still being accessible and easy to pull off.
Full Recipe is below and on here on joeycooksfoods.com
Chicken & Pan Sauce Ingredients:
2 whole airline chicken breasts
¼ cup tarragon, minced
2 oranges, sliced into medallions
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
2 inch knob of ginger, minced
4 Thai chilies, finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 tbsp flour, for slurry
1 cup sake
¼ cup soy sauce
3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp avocado oil
Salt & pepper
Salad Ingredients:
1 cup fennel, white parts only, thinly sliced
1 cup radish, thinly sliced
1 cup yellow onion, thinly sliced pole to pole
3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp lime juice from 2 limes
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp avocado oil
salt and pepper
¼ cup Italian parsley, minced (For Garnish)
Steps:
Preheat oven to 450°F (232°C) with the rack in center position. Pat your chicken breast dry and season generously with salt on all sides.
Heat avocado oil in a skillet over med/high heat. Add in chicken breasts, skin side down, leaving them to cook for about 6 minutes or until skin is crispy and naturally releases from your pan. Flip chicken with a flexible spatula and transfer to the oven until the thickest part of the breast registers 150°F (about 8 to 10 minutes). Remove the beasts from your skillet and set aside to rest.
Return the skillet to your stovetop over medium heat. Add in butter, garlic, shallot and tomato paste. Stir to combine and lower heat as needed to avoid burning the butter.
Place orange slices in a single layer over your mixture. Pour soy sauce, sake and stock over the orange slices and season with salt. Add in Thai chilies. Cover and lower heat to a gentle simmer for about 12 minutes.
During this time, make the salad dressing by whisking together sesame oil, olive oil, rice vinegar, fish sauce, soy sauce and lime juice in a small bowl.
In another large bowl, combine radish, onion and fennel. Season to taste with salt and cracked white pepper before tossing with the dressing.
Remove the oranges from the pan. Whisk together flour with ¼ cup of water and stir the mixture into your pan for about 2 minutes. Cut the heat and stir in lemon juice and tarragon.
To serve, place a mound of salad on a plate and a chicken breast next to it. Pour pan sauce over the breast and garnish with parsley.
Samurai Champloo is up there on my favorite anime. Not that it’s the best show ever, but it really resonates with me. Watanabe is a great director and Nujabes contributing to the sound track along with Fat Jon, Force of Nature and Tsutchie really laid the audible foundation for a beautiful series. I think Watanabe is one of the few anime directors that has always defined himself as a film maker vs an anime film maker if that makes sense.
‘Just forget’ is one of my favorite tracks from Champloo. I actually had used it years ago, in an old production reel for a production company my friends and I tried to build back in 2009.
Rest in peace Nujabes 🙏
Nujabes - Just Forget
Creator Spotlight: Tiffany Back @tiffloveslofu
Do you follow Tiffany Bach @tifflovestofu? If not, I would highly consider doing so. In addition to be an overall great person, Tiff consistently makes solid videos that are both accessible and delicious. Her page focuses mainly on vegan foods, often asian and I love how a lot of her recipes go back to her childhood and are variations on what she grew up eating.
She has recently been doing more series like this ‘veganuary’ video or this ‘munchin’ on mushrooms’ video. The series approach really dives into specific ingredients or recipe types over multiple videos and is both highly informative and entertaining.
Even if you’re not a devout vegan, these recipes deliver tons of flavor and I think help open up our minds to the versatility of plant based cooking.
Tiff also contributed to the Spring quarterly magazine which is also our first issue! This Issue is free for all but will be exclusive to paid subscribers in the future if you’re interested!