Recipes you should know volume 7

The anniversary edition

Hi, friends. Monday marked two years of this newsletter, and if there’s one thing I’m gonna shout from the rooftops, it’s how damn proud I am of what it has become.

What started as a desire to have a place where my recipes could live permanently and be easily accessible outside the world of Instagram, and where I could wax poetic (read: ramble on) about all things food and eating and cooking and life has grown into a community of 12,000+ lovely subscribers and an archive of over 150 recipes.

Everyday I pinch myself that this is my job. That you guys are reading my words, making my recipes, and sharing them with your friends and families and loved ones. It is truly the coolest thing to me, and I am so, so grateful and glad that you are here!! I launched this newsletter with a dream and a hefty dose of imposter’s syndrome, so to see it grow every week is truly beyond my wildest dreams.

I’m hopelessly devoted to my (at least) once-a-week newsletter cadence and making sure that I am testing and sharing recipes that aren’t just regurgitations of whatever is trending on social media, but are instead unique, fresh, fun, and, most importantly, delicious. Things that will elevate the everyday and make you excited for a random Wednesday night but also make you want to invite your friends over on Saturday and share it with them, too.

So, in honor of the occasion, I thought it would be fun to do a roundup of some of my earliest newsletter recipes for you. They all fit the Saturday Table vibe — elegant but approachable, and always delicious.

Some of these recipes are for paid subscribers, some are not. If you aren’t a paid subscriber, now is a great time to become one. I’m offering 20% off new subscriptions until the end of this week. C’mon, you know you wanna.

1. Chicken Cutlets with Caesar Celery Slaw

My first-ever newsletter recipe and my first recipe to ever go viral on social media. Crispy chicken cutlet, creamy celery Caesar slaw. Now I’m not saying I invented the idea of putting a celery slaw on top of a cutlet, but I am saying I never saw anyone do it before I did. Anyway, this is the OG Saturday Table recipe, and one you should definitely make soon if you haven’t yet.

2. A Middle Eastern-ish Roast Chicken Feast

My first-ever paid recipe! At the time, I only felt comfortable putting a paywall on this because it was actually a menu with multiple recipes (cocktail and dessert included!). Still to this day I consider it to be one of the absolute best meals you can make in the summertime.

3. Baba’s Sarma

I forgot about this little series, where I would go over to my dad’s and have him teach me how to make one of the Armenian dishes I grew up with. We started with sarma, aka stuffed grape leaves. Baba’s version is very lemony, which is just how we both like it. Now we live together so… I should definitely restart this series. What do you think?

4. Stone Fruit Pudding

If tiramisu, Magnolia Bakery’s banana pudding, and stone fruit season had a love child, this would be it. My husband asks me to make this on repeat when it’s stone fruit season and I gladly do because we all want to eat it on repeat. Make it in individual servings or make a big dish to share.

5. Fried Eggplant Over Whipped Ricotta With Tomato-Olive Salad

Summer on a plate. Cool, cream ricotta, crispy eggplant cutlets, and a zippy little salad to finish it all off.

6. Carrots Over Herby Rice with Garlic Labneh

Proof that veggies can damn well be the star of the show! The rice is in and of itself worth making, the garlic labneh adds creaminess and tang, and together it all makes for a spectacularly satisfying and incredibly flavorful veggie dish.

7. Shawarma-Spiced Chicken Cutlets With Za’atar Tahini Slaw

All the best Middle Eastern flavors, presented in a way that is decidedly very untraditional. A cutlet with a salad on top is one of my favorite combos, and this one packs so much crunch and flavor.

8. Spicy Red Pepper Paste Bucatini

A tomato pasta that packs lots of heat thanks to Calabrian chilis and Middle Eastern red pepper paste. Quick, easy, elegant, delicious.

9. Cod Simmered in Tomato Sauce with Zucchini, Olives, and Herbes de Provence

Clearly I had not caught on to naming your dishes something quick, cute, and catchy yet. Today I’d probably call this Summery Cod Provençale or something of that nature. But though the title is long (and incredibly descriptive), this one is a quick stunner.

10. Olive & Onion Pot Roast

My take on the viral and very famous Mississippi Roast, made with olives instead of peperoncinis, French onion dip mix instead of ranch, onions, tomato paste, and a whole stick of butter. Never said it was healthy, but it is damn delicious. One of my most popular newsletter recipes!