The Alt-Weekly, Issue No. 1 (Patreon)

The Alt-Weekly, Issue No. 1, October 24, 2025

Notes, News, and Nerdiness from JKLA World HQ

Hello folks—old and new—and welcome to the very first edition of The Alt-Weekly!

It’s been a foggy, drizzly, chilly, and—most of all—busy week here at JKLA World HQ. We just launched our new Patreon tiers (which you already know, since you’re getting this email—thank you!).

Huge thanks to the folks who helped make it happen:

Lena Davidson, my production manager  who ensures that everything behind-the-scenes goes off without a hitch;

Erin Kelly, who’s steering community management;

Kari Ashley of Mainstay Design Co., who built our beautiful new website; and

Andria Sato, who’s behind our new branding and logo design.

It’s an incredible group of creative, passionate people, and I’m so grateful to be working with them.

Cookbook Progress!

My next cookbook is in the works! I’ll be revealing more details about it in the weeks and months to come, but it’s gonna be a big, fat one, similar in scope to my first book, The Food Lab. As you all know, this time around I’m looking for your help in making this book the best, most useful one yet. With that in mind, folks in the Cookbook Club tier will be getting a survey over the weekend to find out what kind of home cook you are. What recipes you look for, what your cooking and shopping habits are, what kind of equipment you’re cooking on at home, and what gets your appetite going.

After that, you’ll be receiving new recipes-in-progress every few weeks to test out at home, discuss in the Cookbook Club chat room, and offer feedback to me and Lena here so we can make sure the recipes work for everyone.

New Knives are Almost Here!

This week I’ve also been finalizing details on a new knife I’ve been developing with my friend Barney Lund at KAN Kitchen. It’s a descendent of the custom-forged Shitoku I released last year with knifemaker Gordon Hanson of Vonhelmick. It’s a brand new style of knife that takes the three qualities of a Japanese santoku knife—slicing, dicing, and mincing—and adds a fourth: rock-chopping. It’s a the knife of my dreams, and one that excels at virtually any kitchen task you can throw at it.

While that hand-forged blade was built for pros and collectors (and had materials, maintenance needs, and a price-point to match), this new KAN Shitoku is designed for the home cook: lighter, easier to maintain, and far more affordable—but still wickedly sharp.

Both knives—a new batch of the Vonhelmick Shitoku and the KAN Kitchen Shitoku—go on presale Sunday, October 26th. KAN Shitoku will be live when we send the drop links in the morning and the Vonhelmick Shitoku will go live at 12 PM Pacific, exclusively for Super Frienjis and Cookbook Club members. You’ll get an access code that morning. Last time, the Vonhelmick knives sold out in four minutes—so don’t sleep on it! (They make excellent holiday gifts.)

New Oven and Pan Line!

We’ve also dropped some exciting new gear I’ve been developing with the folks at Our Place: 

The Pistachio Wonder Oven Pro, is a brand-new countertop oven that convection roasts, bakes, toasts, reheats, dehydrates, air-fries (with a real top-mounted fan, just like a true air fryer), broils, and proofs. It also features steam infusion, for superior toasting or reheating of crusty breads and bagels.

The Brushed Steel Titanium Pro is a first-of-its-kind pan line built with a clad layer of titanium. It’s designed to offer some of the low-stick performance of nonstick cookware (without any coatings or toxic chemicals), the even heat distribution and oven safety of stainless steel clad pans, and the searing power of cast iron—all in a dishwasher-safe, easy-to-clean pan backed by a lifetime warranty.

There’s no such thing as a magic pan (trust me, I’ve looked)! The Titanium Pro may have some cutting-edge tech behind it, but it’s not immune to trade-offs. I’ll be posting a full breakdown soon comparing it with clad stainless, carbon steel, cast iron, and classic nonstick—what it does best, what it doesn’t, and how to know if it’s the right match for how you cook.

These have been a long time in the works, and it’s deeply satisfying to see them finally out in the world. I hope they spark your creativity and make your kitchen time even more joyful.

What I’m Cooking:

Here are some of the new recipes and videos from the week:

Host an excellent Gringo Crispy Taco Party with this homemade beef filling recipe.

Smoky, hot, and bright Charred Salsa Verde.

Classic Pico de Gallo.

Whey the molcajete or mortar and pestle makes Great Guacamole

The keys to Great Italian Subs (or heroes, or hoagies, or grinders, or spuckies, or whatever you want to call’em)

Instead of meatballs, make one great big Italian Meatloaf.

Turn that leftover Italian Meatloaf into Meatloaf Parm Sandwiches.

Where I’m Eating:

You can find a running list of over 100 of my favorite spots in Seattle over on my Apple Maps Let’s Eat guide.

Excellent fresh bagels from Hey Bagel! in U Village and Backyard Bagel in Fremont.

A French dip and tuna melt from Otherside Market and Deli in Eastlake.

Detroit-style pizza from My Friend Derek’s in Tangletown

An excellent In-N-Out-style burger and Explosive Pepper Wings from West Wings in West Seattle.

Other Things That Happened This Week:

Tasting Notes on Tour: My partner, violinist Tessa Lark, are locking in dates for the 2026 season of Tasting Notes, our multisensory food-and-classical-music show. After debuting with the Seattle Chamber Music Society in 2024 and taking it on the road in 2025, we’ll return to Seattle next year (with both the Chamber Music Society and Town Hall) and add stops in Vancouver, NYC, and San Diego. Stay tuned for details.

Tech Meets Knives: My old friend Scott Heimendinger (AKA @SeattleFoodGeek) stopped by to demo his new ultrasonic chef’s knife—the first of its kind. It vibrates at 44 kHz in order to make cutting easier and to prevent food from sticking. We had a fun time slicing tomatoes, cucumbers, and potatoes; I’ll share a few highlights over on Instagram soon.

Sho Speath’s new book Homemade Ramen came out, and he showed me how blending fried sardines can create a luscious, umami-rich sauce for Dirty Mazemen.

The Mariners were eliminated from the MLB postseason. Boo.

Some Eggcellent Recipes to Get You Through the Week

As is typical with my new projects, I like to start things off with my favorite ingredient: Eggs.

I’ve tested and written more about eggs than any other subject I can think of, and cracking an egg is probably the task I’ve repeated more than any other in the kitchen. So, it only felt right to put together a collection of eggcellent recipes to get you through the week for this first newsletter. 

First–you want to know the best way to crack an egg? I tested that.

Scrambled and Fried Eggs:

Fried eggs are the backbone of my kids’ breakfast plates. Watch “Four Ways to Fry Eggs” or read more about why cream-fried eggs just really work.

Separating the yolks from your eggs can help you get them egg-stra creamy with my Egg Yolk Scrambled Egg recipe.

If you want to rock out with your wok out for breakfast or brunch, Whompoa-Style Eggs are one of my favorite techniques, creating waves of soft scrambled eggs that look like the skin of a Shar Pei. A delicious, quivering, golden Shar Pei.

Here are a couple of Egg and Rice breakfast bowls, both raw and fried.

If you make espresso in the morning, gloriously tender, moist, custardy eggs are about 45 seconds away with these Magic Espresso Want Eggs.

Eggs with Bread:

For a crowd-pleaser, try this Foolproof Eggs Benedict complete with techniques on how to perfectly poach your eggs ahead of time and hand-blender hollandaise.  

Matcha Toast with Soft Eggs is my take on Singaporean kaya toast with eggs.

Looking for egg sandwiches? Try out my Origami Egg Sandwiches for a one-pan breakfast with a twist (er, fold), or my McMuffin-inspired Breakfast Sandwiches.

Eggs for Lunch

Easy Egg Drop Soup is sure to come in handy as the days get colder.

And for an indulgent meal that works any time of day, dive into these Chilaquiles Verdes.

This Japanese Egg Salad Sando is made with soft shokupan with a jammy boiled eggs in the middle.  

You’re all good eggs. Thank you for being here! 

Thank you again for joining me as a Frienji of Kenji here on Patreon. I want my content here to serve you and your needs in the kitchen. Comment down below what recipes, techniques, or topics you’d like to see me cover!