The Alt-Weekly, Issue No. 2 (Patreon)

The Alt-Weekly, Issue No. 2, October 31, 2025

Notes, News, and Nerdiness from JKLA World HQ

If all’s gone according to plan, Tessa and I are already suited up for tonight’s trick-or-treating with the kids. In reality, though, there’s a good chance we’ll be spending the next six or seven hours surrounded by felt, foam, and hot glue—assembling a full ocean ecosystem to go with Alicia’s starfish and Wombat’s colossal squid costumes.

Read on for notes about the new KAN and Vonhelmick x Kenji knife drops (two different Shitoku™ models for cooks of all levels!), links to this week’s recipes and dining tips, a few reading recommendations, and a cozy lineup of fried rice and rice bowl recipes to get you through the cold.

Hear About me and Tessa’s Reese’s Obsession on Special Sauce

Tessa and I did a joint appearance on my old friend Ed Levine’s podcast, Special Sauce where we chatted about our food, music, and our joint obsession with Reese’s peanut butter cups (which were always the most valuable chip when my friends and I played Halloween candy poker after trick-or-treating each year). There’s something about that extra-roasty, sandy-textured peanut butter that just hits. A few months back I wrote a little post about the wild variety of Reese’s snacks that are now available in gas stations and convenience stores throughout the country. My favorites include the Reese’s Big Cups with Potato Chips and the Reese’s Sticks. What are yours?

Listen to the podcast here

Women in Leadership Breakfast with the Seattle Sports Commission

Last Friday, I had the privilege of moderating a panel at the Women in Leadership Breakfast, hosted by the Seattle Sports Commission. Our session, “Building Your Brand in the Digital Age,” featured Chef Kena Peay, Rally Consulting founder Megan Sheffield, and content creator and sports personality Kayce Kirihara.

It was an inspiring conversation about authenticity, creativity, and representation—how women in sports, business, and media use digital platforms to lead and connect without losing their sense of self. Each panelist shared her own path to building something real online: Kena through faith and food, Megan through humor and service, and Kayce through empowering women athletes to own their stories.

It was a great reminder that in a digital world full of noise, authenticity always stands out.

You can find out more about the organization and sign up for next year’s breakfast here

New Shitokus™ Dropped!

We just had two big new Freinji’s-only exclusive knife drops! First, an additional 100 of the original Kenji x Vonhelmick Shitoku™ knife, and the release of the brand new Kan x Kenji Shitoku™.

The Vonhelmick x Kenji Shitoku is the original hand-forged knife I designed with Oregon bladesmith Gordon Hanson, born from two days of hammering steel in his Falls City forge. Each knife is crafted from 21-layer suminagashi steel with a Shiro2 carbon core, tempered to perfection and finished with black walnut handles accented in my signature Guava Pink and Golden Yolk. It’s a true heirloom blade—razor-sharp, beautifully balanced, and designed to develop character and patina with use.

Take a look at part of the forging process over on my Instagram to see a tiny slice of the insane amount of work that goes into making a high-quality hand-made knife. There are only a few of these knives  left to order, which you can access using the code “ShitokuKV200” over on the Vonhelmick website.The new KAN x Kenji Shitoku, created with my longtime collaborator Barney Lund of KAN Kitchen, carries the same shape, balance, and “four virtues” that define our brand new Shitoku style—slice, dice, mince, and motion—but in a form made for home cooks. Built from 67-layer stainless Damascus steel, it’s light, nimble, and easy to maintain, offering the same performance and geometry as the original without the upkeep of carbon steel. Two interpretations of the same idea: one forged by hand, one forged for everyday cooking.

Order the Kan x Kenji Vonhelmick Shitoku knife here with the code ShitokuKV200

Order the Kan x Kenji Shitoku knife here. Use the code Kenji for a little extra off your purpose. A portion of all sales will be donated to No Kid Hungry, helping to end child hunger in the U.S. 

New Aprons from Hedley & Bennett Coming Soon!

I’m so excited to finally share this collaboration with Hedley & Bennett. I’ve known Ellen Marie Bennett since way back in 2015, when the company was just starting to make waves, and it’s been amazing to watch her star rise (and her family grow) over the years. We’ve been working on this apron for more than a year now, and I couldn’t be prouder of how it turned out.

Hedley & Bennett is an LA-based company that makes some of the highest-quality, most functional, and best-looking aprons and kitchen gear around—trusted by home cooks and restaurant pros alike. Serious Eats even named it the best apron overall in their review. This one’s built for cooks who actually cook—durable, comfortable, and full of personality. The color is my signature guava pink, finished with golden yolk accents and some playful egg-themed graphics, because that’s where all life—and most of my cooking—begins. Huge thanks to the H&B team for bringing this design to life with such care and attention to detail.

What I’m Cooking

This week has been all turkey, all the time as I get ready for the annual Thanksgiving recipe-search rush. This year you can expect a new video and recipe that shows you how to cook a juicy, golden-brown, crisp-skinned bird with NO SPATCHCOCKING involved. That’s right: a whole turkey, with both the breast and leg meat cooked to the right temperature at the same time. Stay tuned, the recipe and technique are coming soon. I’ll also be posting some leftovers-themed recipes, including a hot and spicy turkey sandwich and Tom Yum Turkey Nam Khon, a creamy, hot, sour, and aromatic Thai take on turkey soup.

Eggplant Parmesan “Cutlets” are a new way to make eggplant parmesan, one of my family’s absolute favorite dishes in all its forms. Eggplants are roasted, pressed into “cutlets” and cooked and served the way you’d make a chicken or veal parm. A nice change-up from the classic casserole.

Zucchini alla Scapece is my four-year-old Wombat’s favorite way to eat zucchini, and that’s coming from a kid who barely touches green vegetables. The trick is to shallow-fry zucchini slices hot in olive oil so they turn creamy, nutty, and packed with flavor.

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.

Sancocho and stuffed arepas from Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen in the U District

Tlayudas and suadero tacos from Pancita in Ravenna

Excellent Assyrian brunch from Nineveh in Olympia

Lobster rolls from Jeremy Sewell’s popup at Westward in Wallingford. This Boston-based chef is an old friend of mine and is currently celebrating the launch of his excellent new cookbook, Everyday Chef. He runs the excellent Row 34 restaurants in Boston, where I try and stop every time I’m back in my hometown.

What I'm Reading

Homemade Ramen by Sho Spaeth is the book to get for ramen nerds. He goes in-depth into each of the five elements that form a perfect bowl of ramen. Even better, his recipes and testing are designed to not just help you make better ramen, but to develop skills that will benefit all your cooking. If you want a little taste, watch this video, in which Sho teaches me how to make "Dirty Mazemen". This book is destined to be a classic.

Everyday Chef by Jeremy Sewell is for people who want to know how a beloved Boston restaurant chef thinks about when cooking at home. This recipe collection is designed to be simple, straightforward, and surefire hits for the whole fam.

Padma’s All American: Tales, Travels, and Recipes from Taste the Nation and Beyond is a celebration and a reckoning. It's an exploration of what American food truly is and the immigrant stories that built it. Over the course of 100+ recipes, Padma highlights the diverse communities that define our shared table. It feels like today, it's more important than ever to recognize who we are and where we come from, and this book reminds us that America’s strength (and its flavor) comes from all of us.

Other Things That Happened This Week:

SNAP benefits are being cut this week. Here is a map of local food banks, searchable by location. If you can donate, please do, and lend a helping hand to any neighbors who may need help accessing food. Many local restaurants are also offering free meals for anyone who needs them.

Last weekend I took the kids to Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, because if they would live in the water if they could. Before we left, Lena warned me that spending two days in a humid, kid-filled indoor water park was basically begging for disease. After a (admittedly very fun) weekend trapped inside what felt like a grounded cruise ship, we made it home… and I woke up with pinkeye and a cold. Thanks for the warning, Lena.

Some Comforting Rice Dishes to Get You Through the Cold

Now, let’s turn up the heat and dive into the wonderful world of rice and its many comforting variants. Pop those grains in the rice cooker and let’s get to it!

Fried Rice, Four Ways

Before we can talk fried rice, let’s talk about the rules for fried rice. There are a few things you want to get right to achieve that perfect combination of moist, yet crispy rice before it all goes to mush. 

Try this House Special Fried Rice or Egg Fried Rice to get the feel for it. Once you have the technique down, the possibilities are endless!

In fact, fried rice is one of my favorite ways to use up leftovers. Think outside the box, like these recipes featuring chorizo, corn, and shishitos or blistered green beans and basil.

Same but different: Alright, this one actually isn’t rice at all, but that familiar fried technique is there with this pasta instead!

Comfort in a Bowl

This one is a comforting childhood classic for me. Tamago Kake Gohan (Japanese-style egg rice) has a similar texture to risotto, but far lighter.

Speaking of risotto… this mushroom variant made with the help of a pressure cooker comes out quick and creamy, with little to no stirring required.

There's a reason this New Orleans-style red beans and rice is the favorite dish of Dakota's dad in my children's book, Every Night is Pizza Night: It's pure comfort in a bowl.

And this sanshoku don is a crowd-pleaser for all ages, any time of day.

Over-Rice Essentials

“Serve over rice” is a common instruction in my recipes, and I’m not mad about it. The delicate broth of this oyakodon absorbs perfectly into the bed of rice below. 

Stir-fried eggs with tomato (Fanqie chao dan) is perhaps the most beloved home-cooked meal in China. It's to Chinese breakfast what cereal and milk is in the U.S. It's flavorful, simple, and crazy deliious.

And finally… all this talk about white rice makes me really want some teriyaki. Look back to when I got to know Toshi Kasahara, the man who invented chicken teriyaki as we know it.

Thank You!

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!

And remember: if you join at the annual Cookbook Club membership level, you get to join the crowd testing recipes from my next cookbook, as well as get your name in print in the acknowledgments!