 Dear friends: This year is almost over! I won't dwell on the hardships and the sadnesses that this year has brought to so many, but they are on my heart today. I feel hopeful that 2021 will be better. I'm taking a little time off to rest, bake, and just be quiet for the holidays. We have a New Year's Eve birthday in my family; my almost-3-year-old has requested a Grinch-themed cake with all the trimmings, so I will also be tackling that assignment! I'm taking next week off from this newsletter, so expect to hear from me again January 10.
In the meantime, I'm leaving you with a wealth of reading, recipes, and stories I loved from Kitchn this year. I'm so proud of the people I work with who, while going through a difficult year themselves, brought so much inspiration, good cooking, and help to our readers—whom I am also immensely grateful for.
January We kicked off January 2020 with My Healthy, a feature that told the stories of 20 different people taking 20 very different but inspiring approaches to healthy. Josh, a talented bartender who quit alcohol, was one of our readers' favorites in that package. We also explored the world of meatless meat with this fun, choose-your-own-adventure guide to the best meat substitute for the way you cook. I loved this interview with a flight attendant about how she meal preps and eats for time in the air. My favorite January recipe: Kelli's Garlic-Parmesan Wings (my kids love these).
February In February we ran a spectacularly fun yet achievable collection of Valentine's treats (bookmark now for some sweet fun in the dreariest month of the year). We ran many great personal essays throughout the year, but I particularly loved this piece from Jesse Sparks. Other big hits in February included this dishwasher tablet hack I need to try, and this test of the best way to brew Italian-style coffee. My favorite February recipe: Sheela's best method for cacio e pepe.
March By this point of the year the reality of the pandemic was setting in, and we had to quickly shelve long-planned stories, including a Dinner Party Week (ahahaha) in favor of answers to urgent grocery shopping safety questions, and a look at how the pandemic hoarding was affecting food banks. (I'm soooo proud of that story and how timely it was.) We also launched our big, incredibly helpful guide to the best kitchen gear: Kitchn Essentials: Tools Edition. (I refer back to it all the time!) My favorite March recipe: Jessie Sheehan's Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Bar Donuts.
April In April the sourdough phase of the pandemic baking was at its height (time for a backlash?), and we called it: Banana bread was the official comfort food of the coronavirus era. We talked to Instacart shoppers and asked what life was like for them, and celebrated no-cook dinner ideas and the fact that scraps were the only true winners in the pandemic. My favorite April recipe: Jesse's Rhubarb Dream Bars.
May A huge traffic boom of people cooking at home more than ever before continued through May, and I'm proud of our staff for holding up in tough times and creating the thoughtful, fun things you read here every day, including a smart essay on what makes a good recipe, by Jenny Dorsey, and these strategies for the burned-out cook. I loved this Ramadan essay ("the month of infinite blessings, lived on Zoom"), and this piece about an Indian mother's help in cooking from thousands of miles away made me cry twice: Once when it was pitched, and again when I read the final draft. My favorite May recipe: Meghan's Life-Changing Garlic Butter Chicken Thighs.
June The national reckoning in the wake of George Floyd's murder had a strong resonance in the food community, bringing increased scrutiny on who writes about food, and why, and how. My editor letter in June shared what we believe, and some of the steps we're taking to make Kitchn an ever-learning and growing place of diversity, equity, and inclusion. (We're so committed to this and there is more I am looking forward to sharing about this in the new year). We also celebrated Pride, with this lovely essay by Jesse, and Juneteenth—which had a pretty glorious package of stories and recipes (I loved this menu so much, plus Jocelyn's peach cobbler cookies). My favorite June recipes: Any of Josh's vacation-themed cocktails from all the places we couldn't go in 2020.
July My favorite part of July was this big, delicious South Indian package by Chitra Agrawal. We had a runaway hit with this review of Tara's amazing chocolate chip cookies (I have fully converted, too). This peach tahini tart knocked me flat, and this lemon pesto made me rethink one of my favorite summer sauces. My favorite July recipe: Jesse's Sweet Corn Blueberry Muffins.
August The highlight of August was Freezer Week (after all, 2020 was the year of the freezer). I particularly loved Eileen Cho's ode to France's frozen wonderland, Picard. We also ran some great recipes from Grace Young, one of my personal cooking heroes. My favorite August recipe: Sheela Prakash's Slow-Roasted Salmon with Garlicky Tomatoes, Olives, and Herbs.
September In September we launched another guide to our favorite and best, but this time it was the groceries we love: Kitchn Essentials: Groceries. (Such a good list!) We published this laugh-out-loud treat of an essay on White Russians, and this lovely piece on potato salad (and so much more). My favorite September recipe: Jessie Sheehan's Apple Honey Challah Pull-Apart Bread.
October Amelia Rampe brought us her spectacular guide to weeknight Filipinx food (her lugaw is high on my holiday cooking list). We peeked inside a few kitchens that owners hope will be their "forever kitchens," including this major reader favorite (all that storage!). This smart guide to fridge organizing was another favorite, as were these ricotta balls (!!). My favorite October recipe: Kristina Gill's Supplì Classici (Roman Rice Croquettes).
November We did something in November we never have done before at Kitchn: Put on an event! Thanksgiving Food Fest was a joyful, inspiring, and fun way to kick off the holidays and I had such a good time hosting it. We shared our Kitchn Essentials one more time with this lively, expert-informed guide to everything you need for drinking and stocking your bar. We also published some pieces I'm really proud of: This one from a chef who lost his sense of taste, and this hot tip on Julia Child's store-bought appetizer. My favorite November recipe: Yasmin Fahr's Garlicky Sautéed Shrimp with Creamy White Beans and Blistered Tomatoes.
December The big story in December (and one we're so proud of) was Quarantine Cookies, the cookie collection from our favorite bakers answering the question: What's the one cookie you'd share with a friend far away this season? So many good ones. Plus, I have already made this brilliant baked potato once, and plan to again. My favorite December recipe: Grace's Skillet Lasagna Roll-Ups with Kale Pesto. And a few more good things … I would be remiss not to give a shout-out to our Cookbook Club; we cooked our way through 12 fabulous cookbooks (see them all here). It's impossible to choose, but Jubilee by Toni Tipton-Martin was maybe my favorite.
We also met many fascinating cooks across the country in our column The Way We Eat. Some ones that I particularly loved: The "dinosaur hunter", the Little Italy butcher Moe and his granddaughter, a NYC firefighter and disaster prepper, a Hamilton original cast member, a TikTok star forager, a traditional healer, a sanitation worker (also a pageant queen!), a truck driver, a pro pie baker, a senior citizen living center pastry chef, and a night-shift plumber.
And then, saving the best for last, we were joined by five new team members this year! You may have noticed their bylines and voices and I want to shout them out! Amelia Rampe is a Studio Food Editor (she has been a hero in writing, testing, styling and shooting so much from home this year!); Carey Polis is our interim Executive Editor, Nicole Rufus is our Assistant Food Editor, Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm is our brand-new Lifestyle Editor for Tools, and Nina Elder is our Executive Food Director. Expect lots of good things from these smart, talented folks in the new year.
Thank you for reading, sharing, and cooking. See you on the other side!
With hopes for good health, Faith  FOLLOW FAITH
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Sunday, December 27, 2020
My very favorite Kitchn posts of 2020
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