Get Your Holiday Orders in This Week! The Alt-Weekly, Issue No. 6, Friday, December 5, 2025 (Patreon)

Notes, News, and Nerdiness from JKLA World HQ

Hello Frienjis! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving last week (or at least some time off to relax if you don’t celebrate it). I spent the week with my family in New York and Montana where my daughter Alicia was able to finally fell her first fir (I.E. chop down a Christmas tree) and declared herself a lumberjack.

After roasting my seventh turkey of the season on Thanksgiving day, I’m finally turkeyed out, but I maintain that turkey is something that should be enjoyed all-year-round. It’s like chicken, but more plentiful and flavorful.

November and December are always interesting months to work in this field. On the one hand, they are the busiest time of year as recipe searches spike and everyone wants to know how to make their end-of-year holidays memorable and successful. On the other hand, they time I want to spend with my friends and family, the holidays themselves, and my signing and events calendar mean that getting into and maintaining a workflow and production schedule can be extra challenging.

Does this happen in your industry as well, whatever that may be? How do you deal with it?

Thanks for Your Donations to Farestart!

One piece of amazing news: Lena’s idea to make stuffing out of local chain Dick’s burgers led not only to some true decliousness, it also helped us raise over $15k (including the matching $5,000 donations from Dick’s and myself)  for Farestart, a local non-profit organization that offers training and placement programs in the food industry for folks who, due to life circumstances, have difficulty finding employment. Just because the active fund drive is over, doesn’t mean it’s too late to make a donation!

Thanks so much to everyone who donated, to Dick’s for their enthusiastic involvement and matching donation, and all the folks at Farestart doing such wonderful work.

Make sure to get Holiday Book Orders in by December 10th!

It’s busy season for bookstores, especially small, independently owned ones like Book Larder here in Seattle, so to ensure that they’re able to get books out to you on time, make sure to order by December 10th! Why order from Book Larder? Two main reasons: it’s awesome to support small businesses, and Book Larder is the only place where you can get signed and personalized copies of my books. Place your order by December 10th, indicate who you want the books to be signed to and where in the world they should be delivered, and me and the folks at Book Larder will do the rest to ensure you get your signed book in time for the holidays.

If you’re local to Seattle, come say hello and get your book signed in person at my live signing next Friday, December 12th. (You need to sign up for a time slot through Book Larder)

There are Still some Shi-Toku Knives Available!

The shi-toku is a brand new knife design I’ve been working on for a few years that combines the elements of a Japanese santoku with the curved tip of a Western-style blade, which makes it supremely useable. It’s the knife I’ve always wanted.

There are a handful of Vonhelmick x Kenji Shitoku Knives still available! These hand-forged knives are one of a kind heirloom-quality collectors items designed for knife enthusiasts and serious cooks who value the best materials and finest crafstmanship. There are still a dozen or so left in our final batch of the year, and they’ll ship in time for the holidays (and come individually numbered with signed certificates of authenticity from myself and bladesmith Gordon Hanson).

Not looking to spend that much on a hand-made knife? You can pick up the KAN Kitchen version of the shi-toku instead. It features the same basic shape and design, but constructed with 67-layer stainless Damascus steel with a VG-10 core for easier maintenance and a more budget-friendly price point. These, too, can ship in time for the holidays!

What I’m Cooking

This week I published a video for my New York Times recipe, Stir-Fried Potatoes with Hot and Numbing Spices. It’s a riff on a dish I had in Xi’an, and a truly delicious and unique way to serve potatoes. You can watch the video and get the free gift link to the NYT recipe from the link.

Have I written too much about Smashburgers? Maybe. But this particular article is all about how you maximize those crispy, lacy edges. There are smashed burgers, and there are smashburgers. The article will show you what makes all the difference.

What 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.

I had an excellent hand-carved pastrami sandwich at USA Brooklyn Delicatessen in midtown Manhattan last week, recommended by my old friend Ed Levine.

My partner Tessa had some pizza from Carmine’s in Williamsburg waiting for me and the kids when we arrived in New York. What a welcome!

I love a good breakfast sandwich and good value, and Eastlake Market in Eastlake, Seattle, serves a shockingly and surprisingly good one, especially if you like that whole “steamed together in wax paper” vibe you get from a good NYC bodega breakfast sando.

I’ve always maintained that a good BLT is not a bacon sandwich, it’s a tomato sandwich dressed with lettuce and bacon, but I can still appreciate a good winter BLT for its own merits. Other Side Market and Deli in Eastlake makes an excellent one with meaty, crispy bacon, plenty of lettuce, and a garlicky mayo on toasted bread.

Braises and Stews

It’s December and things are getting cold and wet here in Seattle, which means one thing: Stews and braises are on the menu. What’s the difference between a stew and a braise, you may ask? Honestly, not that much. Both methods involve slowly simmering tough cuts of meat in a moist environment until their connective tissue breaks, the meat softens, and the sauce thickens up from the released gelatin. The only real difference is that stews are typically made with smaller cuts of meat, while a braise is made with larger cuts.

If you can stir it, it’s a stew. 

Stew Meat Science

I want a great stew. You want a great stew. Let’s work together to make that a reality. In this article on Serious Eats, I laid out the baseline rules you should be following to improve any beef stew. 

I also have a whole series of Stew Science deep dives. Find out if stew really tastes better the next day, why longer cooking isn’t better, the optimal way to brown your meat for a stew, what the best cuts of meat for stewing are, or how much liquid you should use when stewing or braising.

Or you can see some of my answers over on YouTube: Learn more about how you can tell when a braise is done or watch an experiment on braising liquid levels.

Bangin’ Basics

With those rules established, we can make some pretty delicious dishes! Dive into my All-American beef stew (also linked above), this pressure cooker version, or a YouTube tutorial for the visual learners. 

For a good chicken dish, try this crispy–yes, crispy!–braised chicken with carrots, kale and tomatoes or this easy one-pot approach with bacon and cabbage.

This old school Texas-style chile con carne is made with chunky beef, dried chiles, and not much else. The way it should be.

For a porky option, try my Easy Pork and Three Bean Chili.

This Chicken Chile Verde is one of my most popular recipes of all time; low-effort, high-reward recipes tend to achieve that status. Want it even faster and easier? Use the pressure cooker.

Beyond the Basics

Ropa Vieja–the national dish of Cuba–packs enough flavor to keep it interesting while remaining a deeply comforting, hearty meal. 

Once you’ve mastered the American beef stew, it’s just a hope skip and a jump to take the same basic rules over to Hungarian goulash–a hearty stew of beef and paprika (or make its avian cousin, chicken paprikash)

This next recipe takes one pot, includes no measuring, only has five ingredients, and is ready in under 30 minutes. Not sold yet? What if I told you it features ridiculously tender meat, perfectly cooked potatoes, and a rich, flavorful broth? Alright, surely you’re sold on this Colombian chicken stew by now.

If you’re just looking for some juicy, flavorful braised meat without necessarily diving into a bowl of stew, this smoky and spicy chicken tinga makes for the perfect taco filling.

Not enough tacos? Make this beef barbacoa.

And if you’re not feeling meaty, no worries. This vegan black bed and sweet potato chile packs all the same flavorful punch.

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!