The Alt-Weekly, Issue No. 3 (Patreon)

The Alt-Weekly, Issue No. 3, November 6, 2025

Notes, News, and Nerdiness from JKLA World HQ

Hello Frienjis! This has been a tough week at JKLA World HQ. I was still coming down from a cold only to find that Wombat ended up with the same cold, followed by Alicia, then Lena, and now Tessa have all got it. It’s that time of the year. The good news is that having a cold and turning our clocks back has meant plenty of excuses for comforting foods, and I’ve been souping up a storm this week using the leftovers from all the pre-Thanksgiving turkeys I’ve been roasting.

In fact, we've got a whole collection of soup recipes to get you through the dark days ahead at the bottom of this newsletter.

What are your favorite soups to make in the fall? Leave them in the comments of the post (you’ll have to click through if you’re reading this through your email right now).

Now on to the updates:

Submit Your Questions for the AKA (Ask Kenji Anything) Pre-Thanksgiving Live Stream

I'll be going live next Friday, November 14th, from 2 to 3pm to answer all of your questions. Submit them now over in the Ask Kenji Anything from now until next Thursday. I'll do my best to answer as many as I can when we go live (don't worry, the video will be uploaded if you don't get a chance to watch live).You can find a list of my upcoming live and streaming events over on my website, here.

Knives are Shipping Soon!

We dropped our brand new knives last week, and boy did you guys go for it! The Vonhelmick x Kenji Shitoku 四徳™ run of 100 is all sold out (stay tuned for 100 more that should be ready in time for the holidays), and Barney reports that several hundred of the KAN x Kenji Shitoku 四徳™ have been ordered from locations all around the world, and will be delivered in early December. Take a look at his U.S. distribution map to see where your fellow knife nerds are cooking from:

And Europe ain't too far behind either!

It's so fun to imagine what you're all going to be cooking up with the new knives. Barney and I truly hope you love them, and that they bring you as much joy to use as we had in designing and building them.

Order the brand new KAN x Kenji Shitoku四徳 with this direct link. It's live right now. Use the password Kenji for a little extra off your purchase. A portion of all purchases will be donated to No Kid Hungry

A New Apron from Hedley & Bennet

My new apron from is out! The Hedley & Bennett × Kenji López-Alt Egg Apron—guava pink with golden-yolk accents and egg graphics by Keith Lowe—is built like pro gear but meant to spark joy at home. H&B’s been my go-to since 2015 (they’re the Serious Eats “best overall” pick), and this collab marries their rugged details with my “cooking = joy” ethos. I couldn’t be happier with how it came out. Eggs are the beginning of so many great meals for me, and I hope this apron is the beginning of some great meals for you.

Order the Hedley & Bennett x Kenji López-Alt Egg Apron here. For Frienji’s and Cookbook club members, you can use code KENJI20 for 20% off at checkout Nov 5–Dec 31, 2025.

A Kitchen Essentials Gift Guide

The Strategist recently published a short gift guide featuring ten of my favorite items in the kitchen:

OXO Multi-Purpose Scraper and Chopper — An essential, low-cost bench scraper that makes prep cleaner and more efficient by moving, scraping, and cutting ingredients with ease.

Whirley-Pop Popcorn Popper — A classic stovetop popper that produces fast, crisp, high-yield popcorn thanks to its clever stirring and venting design.

Unicorn Magnum Pepper Mill — A durable, high-output pepper mill with precise grind control and an easy side-loading mechanism that outperforms pricier models.

KariKari Chili Crisp — A Japanese-style chili crisp with perfectly balanced heat, spice, sweetness, and ultra-crunchy garlic chips that actually live up to the “crisp” name.

Masienda Molcajete — A volcanic-rock Mexican mortar and pestle that crushes ingredients for deeper flavor and doubles as a fast, kid-friendly spice grinder.

Primis Imports Early Harvest EVOO — A vibrant, robust, single-harvest Greek olive oil with peppery complexity and vintage-like variation that reflects true olive character mde by my friend Damian Primis.

Combustion, Inc. Predictive Thermometer — A seven-sensor smart thermometer that finds the exact center of food and predicts cooking time to the minute, making precise roasting effortless.

The Chef’s Press (3-Piece Set) — Stackable, vented weights that improve browning and even cooking for everything from grilled cheese to seared fish and veggies.

Spinnaker Chocolate Dark Bar Set — Small-batch, single-origin chocolate from a Seattle maker using custom roasting tech to achieve bright, intense flavors and perfect texture.

Our Place Wonder Oven Pro — My partnership with Our Place: A thoughtfully engineered countertop oven that bakes, air-fries, proofes, dehydrates, and even injects steam for toast that’s crisp outside and soft inside.

Stay tuned for a complete set of gift guides and recommendations.

A Great Titanium Pro Pan Discussion on Reddit

I was pleased to see this in-depth discussion about the brushed steel Titanium Pro Pan (my second collaboration with Our Place) over on Reddit. I’m always interested in how the projects I’ve worked on are being received in the real world so that I can take the feedback and hopefully either improve the project, take note for future projects, or answer questions folks might have. In this case, I relished the opportunity to talk a little bit about where the pan shines and where it may fall short. In short, I think of the pan as a cross between a stainless clad pan (like an All-Clad) and a cast iron or carbon steel pan.

Like a stainless steel pan, it stores plenty of energy for searing, can be used over high heat or in the oven (up to 1,000°F) and distributes heat very well thanks to its aluminum core. The titanium oxide layer gives it non-stick properties similar to that of well-seasoned cast iron or carbon steel, but unlike those materials, this pan is dishwasher safe, safe to use with acidic ingredients, and can be used freely with metal utensils.

It’s not quite as non-stick as a coated teflon or coated ceramic pan, but I’ve found that it’s virtually replaced clad pans and cast iron pans in my own day-to-day cooking.

Order the you can order the Brushed Steel Titanium Pro pan from Our Place here.

What I’m Cooking

I’ve been wrapping up my turkey testing this week. You can expect a full guide to how to roast your thanksgiving turkey next week. I’ve also been cooking a ton of leftover turkey recipes (because I have a ton of cooked turkey.) Thanksgiving week will feature a new turkey leftover recipe each and every day, including Turkey Tom Sum Nam Khon (Thai hot and sour soup with coconut milk), a Sichuan-style Strange Flavor Turkey (that’s a cold salad flavored with chili oil, sesame, soy, and black vinegar), my take on the Ragin’ Cajun sandwich from Other Coast Cafe (that I’m calling the Ragin’ Roman), a Turkey Quesadilla, and probably a couple more as well. And stay tuned for some new (and old) Thanksgiving sides.

Ropa Vieja—Spanish for “old clothes”—was born in the Canary Islands, adopted by Cuba, and embraced across Latin America where it is often called “carne desmechada.” Whate braised beef cooked until it falls apart into tender, juicy shreds that soak up a rich, peppery sauce. In my New York Times version (there’s a free gift link from the recipe post), I used a pre-made pepper-and-onion base from my restaurant days, but at home I go old-school: sear the meat, toss in fresh vegetables, and let their juices build the sauce naturally. The key is stopping the braise once the connective tissue turns to silky gelatin but before the muscle fibers themselves start to dry out. The result is salty, tangy, and just a touch sweet—perfect over rice and beans, in tacos, or even baked into a tamale pie.

Neua Yang Nam Tok, a cold Thai salad which translates to “waterfall beef”—turns day-old steak into a flavor-packed salad. The magic is in the dressing: lime, fish sauce, chilies, herbs, and a hit of toasted rice powder that adds a nutty aroma and delicate crunch. It’s fast, flexible, and endlessly riffable—any steak works (as does tofu, pork, chicken, the herbs are interchangeable, and you can toss in whatever vegetables you have around. The result is a punchy, refreshing salad that comes together in twenty minutes.

Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas and Carrots with Mint, Yogurt, and Turkish Chili Butter is this week’s exclusive Cookbook Club recipe which you can get by joining the club on my Patreon! Chickpeas get roasted until crisp and nutty, the carrots caramelize at the edges, and everything comes together over a cool bed of tangy yogurt, finished with a drizzle of spicy, aromatic chili butter. It’s simple enough for a weeknight but layered like something from a mezze spread: hot and cold, creamy and crunchy, earthy and bright. The chili butter is a very versatile ingredient that’s great on all kinds of dishes, including the Turkish Eggs (çibir) recipe that’s coming to you on Monday

What I’m Eating

This week Tessa performed a solo concert in Sunriver, OR, as a fundraiser for the Sunriver Music Festival. The perfect excuse to get down to Bend for a couple of days where we ended up eating at one of the most surprisingly delicious modern Korean restaurants I’ve ever been to. I also had great pizza and Chinese food in Seattle.

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

Yoli in Bend, Oregon was one of the most surprisingly delicious places I’ve eaten at in years. The chef, Joe Kim was in the kitchen and his partner and wife Laura was working the floor at this small place where creativity was through the roof. Standouts were crispy fried shrimp with a gochujang aioli, nori tuiles with lobster ramyun mousse and caviar, raw yellowtail and apple hwe with scallion citrus oil and nori “caviar,” and locally foraged Matsutake royal tteok bokki.

Hong Kong Bistro is a dim sum spot in the International District. I went with Lena, Tessa, and some other friends after a night of birthday karaoke-ing at Vox karaoke next door. I love a meal that needs a lazy Suzan, and in this case, the turntable was positively overflowing with delicious bites. My favorites were the fried squab, stuffed eggplant, Peking duck, steamed short ribs in black pepper sauce, stir-fried pea leaves with garlic, dry-fried chow fun with XO sauce, and phoenix claws (AKA simmered, fried, then steamed chicken feet).

Capitale in Capitol Hill is a Neapolitan/Brazillion-style pizza mashup with excellent poofy and leopard-spotted crusts and a wild selection of toppings inspired by cities from around the world. It was opened by two Brazilian partners, both named Rodrigo who wanted a place that could capture the flavor of their home in Sao Paolo (one of the pizza capitals of the world). I especially enjoyed the Cosenza made with mozzarella, pecorino, oregano, and their own cured Calabrian sausage, and the Santiago with carne desmechada, blue cheese, and sweet pickled peppers.

Soup Season Has Begun. 

Early November: It’s cold. It’s dark. And most of us in the United States, at least, are storing our energy reserves for a big, thankful feast later in the month. That’s why right now is the perfect time to get reacquainted with some delicious, simple soup recipes that you can cook in big batches and freeze for later.

Americana Classics

My corn soup recipe calls for you to “milk” the cobs (essentially scraping out the milky liquid from the cobs after you cut off the kernels.) Or you can try this pressure cooker version to cut down the time required!

Want something a little heartier? My corn chowder should hit the spot.

As a New Englander, chowder runs thick in my blood. I broke down the elements of a good New England chowder piece by piece over on Serious Eats. 

And we can’t forget the classic chicken noodle for when that inevitable autumn cold finally catches up with you.

Ancient Soups

Leek soups—including the potato-leek variety—date back to the days of yore, and it’s still just as good. 

Miso has been in Japan since around the seventh century… but this kitchen hack to make it with your electric kettle is surely a more recent invention. 

Cabbage soups similar to this Polish kapusniak have long been staples in Slavic countries. 

Rumor has it that egg drop soup was invented in China during the Han Dynasty. But you should try making it today!

Ajiaco is a Colombian potato and chicken soup that is the signature dish of Bogotá where the cool climate and mountain air calls for hearty, filling portions.

Cream of the Crop 

This 15-minute vegan tomato soup uses a gazpacho-like technique where you blend bread and olive oil into the base, achieving that creamy texture while remaining dairy-free. 

Or, you could try literally roasting tomatoes coated in heavy cream. Honestly, either works.

This caramelized broccoli cheese soup is intensely cheesy without sacrificing or covering up that good broccoli flavor.  

Easy, creamy, quick mushroom soup. This soup works with any type of mushrooms, even ones past their prime.

And finally, this Tom Yum soup—made with evaporated milk and nam prik pao (chili jam)—is creamier than the traditional clear broth version you might be used to. Give it a try!

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!