sarah copeland — Journal

LENTIL SOUP || ALL THE WAYS

Hello! How is everyone doing this side of the ball drop? We are good—healthy, which feels like a small miracle. Feeling more playful (also miraculous—levity always is). And still experiencing the same waves of energy that have categorized the last two pandemic years.

The good news: there are recipes specifically made for this kind of cycle; Fall-back recipes that are always nourishing and delicious, that flex beautifully with ambition yet offer ease, when needed. Like today.

One such recipe—Red Lentil Dal— is the very thing I cook most often; the soup that is on our table once a week in any season, and any year—certainly the last three. It’s everything you need it to be, every time.

CRINKLY GINGER MOLASSES COOKIES

If you had to choose only one cookie for the rest of your life and only that cookie, forever, which would it be?

I know, that’s just plain mean. But if I absolutely had to choose, my desert island cookie would be ginger molasses. Even over my favorite chocolate chip. (Yes, shocking). I admit that our proximity to Christmas might make me slightly biased in this choice, but truly—-a chewy, slightly tangy ginger-forward cookie doesn’t get old for me. It very rarely risks being too sweet, or too dry or too meh—which frankly a lot of cookies of the world can be.

A good molasses cookie is a memory. It’s a feeling—a whole mood.

TRIPLE GINGER-CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES

Do you ever have a cookie that you just can’t get out of your mind? Maybe it’s the first taste of a Levain bakery cookie on a visit to NYC. Maybe it’s your grandmother’s ginger-molasses…or the very first bit of the simple Tollhouse cookie of your youth, fresh from your mother’s oven.

For me, there are a few ultimate cookies. Dorie Greenspan’s World Peace Cookies (any version—her latest 2.0 appears in her latest book, Baking with Dorie) is one of them. This cookie—-A Triple-Ginger Chocolate Chunk Cookie, in Susan Spungen’s excellent book Open Table that came out right as the pandemic hit, is another. Just looking at these photos can warm me head to toe. I can feel the melt of that chocolate, the crisp edge the dusting of sugar gives the edges. And that’s just the photo. Wait until you make them.

HONEY GRAHAM CRACKER SQUARES

Let’s get this right out in the open: Some people’s aggressive (public) holidaying has had me in hiding the last few weeks. Well, not hiding exactly, but hunkering inside, holidaying with my own people—privately (ie. off the ‘gram and other social). It’s not that I’m a scrooge or Bah! Humbug! Far from it. I live for Christmas. We got our tree the Sunday after Thanksgiving (a real beaut), it’s officially trimmed (this year, I hunted down charming old vintage ornaments that make me happy every time at look at them) and All I Want for Christmas radio on Pandora (yes, still Pandora!) is playing around the clock.

Also, there have been cookies: lots of cookies, and it’s only just beginning.

But, when other people’s tinsel-dripping twelve-foot trees and perfectly gilded mantles have you feeling envy, instead of inspiration, it’s time to tun out. Is the point of holiday-ing to spread joy, or to show off how much you have it together in life?

RADICCHIO WITH FETA, PISTACHIOS AND SALTED HONEY

Hi friends! Happy December. I’m about to shower you with a half-dozen new cookie recipes in the next two weeks, so how about a palate cleanser before we begin?

We spent thanksgiving this year with dear friends who hail from California and Spain, and our menu was tapas style—croquettas and Spanish tortilla, Jamón and Manchego, along with pickled mushrooms, homemade focaccia, confited turkey and many shaved salads (like this one). I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, shaved bitter salads are the unsung hero of holidays meals, so I’m sharing another with you, from Food52’s latest book, Big Little Recipes, by Emma Laperruque.

The genius of this salad is in its simplicity—radicchio, feta, pistachios and honey—just five (yes five!!) ingredients. In short: EASY. There’s always time to make this salad, even amidst the business (and busy-ness) of holidays.

BITTER GREENS SALAD WITH CITRUS AND HAZELNUTS

And so it begins, a five month-addiction to citrus fruits that starts just shy of thanksgiving and doesn’t end until the snow thaws. I’ll be finding little orange-hued peels on side tables and radiators and under the couch until I’m filled with deep regret…except breaking the habit for my kids means no more succulent little snacks at my desk-side, either. So I’ll keep buying—rather hoarding them—by the bushelful.

Citrus is a winter game changer—between meals, certainly, but at them, too. They are single-handedly responsible for keeping salads on our table even when my body craves warm, filling foods. Because a little citrus-laced salad, actually, is the thing that makes warm, filling foods that much more delicious. Take Thanksgiving….

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BUCKWHEAT-FENNEL CRINKLE COOKIES

One of the first truly remarkable cookies I learned to bake when I became a professional cook was a chocolate crinkle cookie, which we made in the tiny pastry kitchen at Savoy restaurant, a then New York Times three-star restaurant where I cooked and baked under Peter Hoffman. We made 2 perfect cookies which appeared on the pastry menu night after night, along with a seasonal pastry and three delicate sorbets. Later, at Cafe Boulud, where I worked the pastry line, I learned the recipe for two more perfect cookies—the recipes for which I jotted down in a tiny notebook that I now keep in a safe, like a brick of gold.

Bad cookies are a dime a dozen, but truly great ones come from truly great, thoughtful bakers. Bakers who don’t want to eat sugar just because. Bakers who want you to feel treated without tipping the scales. Bakers who know your time and ingredients are precious and when they give you a cookie recipe, it’s going to be truly worth it.

My friend Aran Goyoaga is such a baker.

MISO DARK CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

In the previous several years of having school-aged kids, my kiddos have had babysitters, after-school clubs or play groups to entertain them after hours many days of the week, while I worked. Now that they’re bigger, it’s strangely possible to pick them up from school, buzz them home for a snack and set them loose to run in the yard, while I aim (key word: aim) to get a few more things done at my desk, in earshot of where they play. It’s a system I’m slowly adjusting to: our new After School. Mostly, I like it.

Some days, After School comes hard and fast. On those days, cookies help, especially a week out from halloween, when we’ve got chocolate on the brain. This mama especially likes it if the cookies have an element of intrigue, like MISO.

CREAMY ROOT VEGETABLE MASH (FAST!)

One of my Dad’s favorite food stories to tell is about the time he took the whole young family (me, my three-siblings and my mom) to a phenomenal four-star French restaurant 40 stories up in one of Chicago’s iconic skyscrapers. During the meal, the waiter served my dad an expertly executed rack of lamb, then made the rounds doing table side service of the chef’s flawless potato puree (or, mashed potatoes). The waiter dolloped a delicate swoop of puree on my dad’s plate, with flair, and this warning: “And don’t you dare ask for more.”

If you have my first book, you’ve already heard this story, but it perfectly exemplifies how my family feels about a creamy mash, completely lump-less, and luxuriating in butter and cream. But, a flawless mash doesn’t always need to error on total decadence to taste divine.

BIG-FLAVOR (INSTANT POT) BOLOGNESE

As satisfying as a spaghetti-and-meatball dinner is a quicker way to get there is a big, bold Bolognese (or Ragu a la Bolognese, a ragu that hails from Bologna), which takes a quarter of the time to reach maximum flavor in a multicooker. I gave a LOT of thought to how much impact I could get from a quick-cook meaty sauce in a short amount of time, before including this recipe in INSTANT FAMILY MEALS. In short, I hesitated. But then, I dug in my heels and worked hard to solve some of the problems I worried about—and added ample amounts of harissa, good red wine and the best San Marzano tomatoes to make sure I could win the flavor equation on this one.

INSTANT FAMILY MEALS || MY NEW COOKBOOK!!

I have so much to tell you, I really don’t know where to start—which is why, of course, this post is long overdue! I’m here to announce that my newest book, INSTANT FAMILY MEALS, arrived safely into the world just two weeks ago, and is already changing the way families do dinner.

I say that both sincerely, and modestly—It’s not me, it’s the pressure cooker. It’s a game changer for busy families, especially now. And this book—which is chock full of the favorites I’ve been leaning on in a tough year, coupled with the big flavors of food I miss most from restaurants and take out food—is right on time to help your family.

INSTANT FAMILY MEALS (COMING SOON!!!)

It’s a hard day time in the world to announce something new. We lost another great Friday—Ruth Bader Ginsberg. But if I learned one thing from RBG, it’s to stay the course. Keep putting one step in front of the other. Do what you were put on this planet to do.

I have a lot more to offer this world than just recipes, but for the moment, I’m called to help families and in particular, parents, create a richer, safer, healthier, more vibrant life for themselves and the ones they love. I’m called to support mothers and fathers and caretakers in their journey to raise healthy, vibrant humans. One way I do that is through recipes, and this year, in particular, it’s through recipes that are spot on delicious, and easier than ever to put together and put on the table.

So, without further ado, I give you Instant Family Meals, my new book. It’s the next best thing to me being able to bring over a pot of Turkey Meatball Soup with Macaroni and Kale to your house tonight or a creamy, Double-Chocolate Cheesecake. It’s a warm bowl of porridge on a cold winter morning, a spicy, steamy vat of Kimchi Stew. It’s Bolognese in half the time and a Double-The-Veg Pot Roast so heady and satisfying the family will be begging for leftovers. In short, it’s a little help—a boost—a slim book packed with BIG FLAVOR recipes your family will love, crave and lean on in this taxing time in our history. Recipes that will nourish and delight, and also give you a little break.

MELON, RICOTTA AND SNAP PEA SALAD WITH GREEN APPLE AND CHILES

It’s rained a lot the last few weeks, and the only upside of that is forced incubation (movies! baking!) and juicer melons. Cantaloupe, or muskmelon as my mom called it, and any such variety like French Cavaillon melon—are right up there for me with watermelon (and if you know me at all, you know watermelon always tops my charts).

András has been working long days all of July, and Greta has been invited on some outdoor play dates with friends in our Covid pod, leaving me and Mátyás to spend copious amounts of solo time together. After 6,972 hours at home alone, I have to keep reinventing things to keep it special—for me, and for him. Mátyás is not a good solo player, so it’s hard to find space to garden, create, cook, shoot and style on my own—things I crave—unless I give him a cartoon. So several days this week I did exactly that. It’s amazing what a half hour in the garden with a melon, a handful of green things and a single slab of cracked limestone that transports me to Italy, or Hungary—can do for the soul.

PEACHES WITH BURRATA, PROSCIUTTO AND FRESH HERBS

Few things say summer to me like fresh, juicy peaches. When it's this hot and cooking is off the table, this simple combination of peaches, burrata, and prosciutto is the perfect lunch or twilight dinner fix. You hardly need a recipe for something so simple and intuitive, but I thought I’d share how we make it, with a little visual inspiration for maximizing peak summer.

BLACKBERRY-BANANA-SMASH ICE CREAM

The world is a challenging place right now. There is a lot of sorrow, but also a lot of momentum and love and support for Black Life Matters. Hearts are opening. Minds are changing. Love is growing.

Maybe it doesn’t seem like it, perhaps, because there is a lot of turmoil too. A lot of sad stories being shared. A lot of violence. A lot that is hard to understand, for little people, certainly, but for big people, too. But still, love is growing.

So what does that have to do with ice cream? Well….

READ ON FOR THE RECIPE

HOLIDAY STYLE: THE PIANO

I have a thing for pianos. Ours isn’t a fancy one, but it’s meaningful—and I love nothing more than having it played. We had this little upright beauty even in our tiny 420 square foot city apartment, despite the precious space it took up, because making music—or having the ability to make music in the home—is joy.

A close second to having our piano played (ideally, but someone way more skilled than me—including Andras or Greta), is styling it for parties or the holidays. For years I didn’t have a bar cart, or a sideboard, so the piano had to do—it became a staging ground for cheese boards and delicious nibbles and tucked away treats.

It’s not hard to do this at home if you, too, have a piano. Here’s a little inspiration ( if you need more—I have a whole PINTEREST board dedicated to PIANO MOMENTS, here) plus a few tips and tricks for playing up this special part of your home this holiday.

ENTERTAINING, HOLIDAYSarah CopelandDecember 17, 2019sarah copeland, Edible Living, food styling, Food Photography, holiday, holiday menu, piano stylingComment

HOLIDAY MEAL: CRISPY, CHEESY POTATO PANCAKE

The first Christmas tree Andras and I bought together was an 8-foot blue spruce for our 8-square-foot studio apartment in New York City, just two months after we married. I remember how the way I looked at him, carrying that tree like it was no big deal, ignoring the prickers or the weight of it, crossing our busy streets to our quiet cul de sac on the East River. That night I lit candles. I made a perfect omelet, salad and a chocolate pie. He put on music. We both smiled, a lot.

That was 11 years ago this year. Honestly, it’s been a looooong, time since we put that kind of effort into a meal just for us.

$CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES \\ HOLIDAY STYLE$

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES \\ HOLIDAY STYLE

How many of you cookie swap? Well, I’d be lying if I said I’d been to a cookie swap in the last five years, but it was one my favorite thing about holidays growing up. My mom was a cookie swap queen. And by that I mean, mostly, she baked her standard pale and crispy and perfectly uniform sugar cookies in the shape of bells and holly and trees and mittens, and let us sprinkle on the sugar, dutifully took them to the church cookie swap the first Sunday in December, and came home with a box overflowing with two dozen snowballs (Mexican Wedding Cookies), Peanut Butter Blossoms, homemade toffee, and in later years, those little round pretzels with melted chocolate and M and M’s meant to look like red-nosed reindeer. You can pop back several of those in just one bite.

A FRIENDLIER FRIENDSGIVING: CHEESE BOARDS + OYSTERS (2)

It’s a week until the big day, and I’ve been touting ease around here all week. And I mean it—this menu (and this dessert) are epically easy in the grand scheme of all things holiday. But you didn’t think I would leave it at that, did you? Even simple menu planning requires some knowledge, and how to. I’m here for you.

To pull off the Friendliest, Cheese + Oysters Thanksgiving, Ever (as I’m calling it) you will need a small handful of foods that can be curated from a single grocer, or a few local markets. Keep your shop quick and easy, leaving you time to play stylist (if you like that kind of thing) arranging your meal across a single sideboard, atop your piano, on your kitchen island or even a dresser that’s been cleared for the cause.

For the food….

A FRIENDLIER FRIENDSGIVING: CHEESE BOARDS + OYSTERS (1)

I remember everything about the first year I didn’t go home to be with my parents on Thanksgiving. It was the fall after I met my (now) husband. I’d already lived in New York for a long time, but it was the first year I felt like there was something in the city worth sticking out a major holiday for. I cried a little at the thought of missing that special family time, the epic meal, the allocating of chores--I would brine the turkey (as I was the only one who knew how, or why it mattered), my sisters would tackle creamed corn, dad was on mashed potatoes, my brother flexed his cranberry relish card while my mom made pies--all the perfect pies. But I also wondered what new and perhaps (one day) meaningful new traditions might join them.

That morning, Andras made me the most horrible buckwheat pancakes known to man. I cried miserably. It was a disaster. But, in true Andras fashion (after all, I later married him), he made up for it--taking me on a slow, cozy bike ride to Chinatown for the most soul-warming steamed pork buns which we ate, street side, from crinkly brown paper bags. It wasn’t a perfect new tradition, but it was a stepping stone…

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