Welcome to the latest edition of Food52 founder Amanda Hesser’s weekly newsletter. Hi, I’m Amanda.packed with tips on food, travel and shopping, Food52 activities and other topics that catch your attention. Get inspired: sign up here to receive their emails.
August is a strange month at Food52. It’s tomato season, which means we’re ready to maximize our nightshade consumption (we’re doing a Tomato-thon this year; don’t miss the fried tomato sandwiches). But it’s also the start of our holiday freight train. Produce from all over the damn world starts showing up at the office, our photo studios kick into high gear, and Jojo, our general manager, starts playing Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” at planning meetings to get everyone in the mood.
Attention all tomato lovers: Food52’s Tomato-thon is now underway
Read the article
In the coming months, I’ll share my picks for the best-selling holiday products, but in the meantime, here are a couple of items I’d order before they sell out:
- This 1920s style Italian glassware is only available through us.
- These bread baskets are made from wood pulp and manufactured right here in Brooklyn!
- These assorted colored glasses. Our buyers asked me to tell them about other glassware from this brand, but I like the texture of this set. Plus, it’s my newsletter. I’ll do whatever I can think of, for crying out loud! (I’ll send a set of glasses to the first person who emails me the movie reference: (email protected).)
Anyway, back to tomatoes, corn, and stone fruits. Cesar did something really cool with a Basque cheesecake with thrice-burned corn, infusing the cream with burnt corn kernels. And Nea paired a peach and burnt corn salsa with shrimp tacos.
Baking queen Dorie Greenspan and farmer-turned-chef Abra Berens will answer member questions at our upcoming Cookbook Club AMA. Sign up here.
A couple of weeks ago I shared my newsletter reading list and asked you to give me yours. Here are some of the responses:
From Maggie:
- I love Restaurant Dropout, which is a companion to Zoe Barrie’s TikTok series: clever ingredient prep for a week’s worth of dinners that always look really good and fresh.
- I always enjoy the deep dives in Anne Helen Petersen’s Culture Study, and I love reading about upcoming cookbooks in Paula Forbes’ Stained Page News.
- I also need to promote my new newsletter: What To Drink shares fun cocktail (and non-alcoholic) recipes and tips, plus beer, wine, and books I recommend.
From Paul:
I don’t have three recommendations worth sharing, but I often turn to this food newsletter for a laugh. I think you’ll find it well-written and perhaps a little… ridiculous. (And Paul is right: I love it.)
From Stephanie:
From Patti:
Civil discourse with Joyce Vance
From Selinda:
Neil Patrick Harris’ Wondercade: A World of Food, Drink, Entertainment and Magic
We’ve been experimenting with our product photography and I wanted you to be the first to see it. Let me know if you have any feedback on (email protected).
Happy tomato season!
Amanda
Before starting Food52 with Merrill, I was a food writer and editor at the New York Times. I’ve written several books, including Cooking for Mr. Latte and The Essential New York Times Cookbook. I played myself on Julie & Julia (I hope you didn’t blink, or you might have missed the scene!). I live in Brooklyn with my husband, Tad, and twins, Walker and Addison.
