Friday Food Finds
Kristin Donnelly: What can she NOT do?
I’ve spent a good bit of time over the past year discovering what it means to be a freelancer and what it takes to write a cookbook. It has been a challenging (in a good way, mostly) journey with a decent learning curve, and someday when I have more perspective, I may write more about it. Today though, I’m here to highlight one woman who has made my experience a little less isolating and a lot more navigable: Kristin Donnelly.
Kristin is the author of two cookbooks, Modern Potluck (Clarkson Potter 2016) and Cauliflower (Shortstack Editions, 2018); and the co-author of two others, The Chef’s Garden (Avery Publishers 2021) with Farmer Lee Jones and Rice is Life (Chronicle 2022) with Caryl Levine and Ken Lee of Lotus Foods. She has also worked as a project manager, recipe tester, consultant, and editor with many other cookbook authors.
Prior to getting into cookbooks Kristin was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and she still produces recipes and other editorial content for them and many other publications. Additionally, she works as a freelance copywriter for several brands, including her own lip balm company, Stewart and Claire.
Kristin is also an accomplished teacher and guide with a savvy entrepreneurial spirit. Last year, she and three other talented cookbook authors (Andrea Nguyen, Kate Leahy, and Molly Stevens) started a podcast called Everything Cookbooks, which dives deep into every aspect of the cookbook industry (and beyond). Independently, Kristin also shares her own expert tips, advice, and knowledge on freelancing in general, and food and recipe writing specifically, via her blog, weekly emails (you can sign up for free from the bottom of her website), and classes.
In addition to all of her aforementioned projects, last fall, Kristin started a newsletter called Mission: Dinner. Through brief yet comprehensive and engaging instruction, Kristin presents one new recipe per week to her paid subscribers — free subscribers get one recipe per month plus occasional bonuses. The goal of Mission: Dinner is to expand subscribers’ weeknight dinner repertoires with minimalist recipes.
That’s what I appreciate most about Kristin’s newsletter; it’s a genuine effort to help busy individuals and families put dinner on the table without a lot of fuss, mess, time or ingredients — each recipe uses five-ish ingredients (not counting certain staples) and takes 30 minutes or less to make. Plus, Kristin crafts each newsletter edition so that you get not only the full recipe, but also ingredient swaps and additions, as well as extra tips on how to approach the recipe. All these little enhancements make it especially easy to put any one of Kristin’s recipes on repeat, which I have!
If I haven’t sold you yet on trying one of Kristin’s recipes or subscribing to her newsletter, she has generously shared one of her preferred dessert recipes from Modern Potluck for you to try. As Kristin puts it, “this is my kind of dessert. Nutty and not-too-sweet and you can make it in the food processor.” I encourage you to give it a spin and discover for yourself, the incredible food and recipes that Kristin creates.
Bourbon-Pecan Cake with Chocolate Chunks
Reprinted with permission from Modern Potluck by Kristin Donnelly, published by Clarkson Potter, 2016
Makes one 9-inch cake This decadent, slightly boozy cake is based on a naturally gluten-free almond torte, in which the nuts are ground and act as the “flour.” To get the nuts to the right consistency, you do need a food processor or powerful blender. You can also substitute pecan meal or flour or any other nut meal, and mix up the cake in bowls. - 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and softened, plus more for the pan - 9 ounces pecans (about 1¾ cup) - 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar - 3 large eggs, at room temperature - 2 tablespoons bourbon - 1/3 cup all-purpose flour - 1/4 teaspoon baking powder - 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup) - confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Butter the paper. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the pecans in the pan and dust with 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar. In a food processor, pulse the remaining pecans with the remaining 1 cup sugar until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the 1/2 cup butter, the eggs, and bourbon and pulse until smooth. Add the flour and baking powder and pulse just until incorporated. Add the chocolate and pulse just until incorporated (a few pulses). Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the lower third of the oven, rotating the pan halfway through, for about 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto a serving plate or board and peel off the parchment paper. Dust the cake with the confectioners' sugar, if desired, and serve warm or at room temperature. Potluck prep: The cake is best within 48 hours of baking, but can be wrapped and held at room temperature for up to 5 days.
I hope this edition of Friday Food Finds has given you lots of inspiration for meals to come. As always, please let me know your thoughts and ideas as they pertain to my work and what you have going on in your kitchen. It’s a great pleasure to interact with you and learn about what you have cooking or baking in your kitchen.
If you know someone who would enjoy Balanced Diet and/or Mission: Dinner, please share this post with them.
And finally, thank you for being here!
Best,
Charlotte