Friends, hello.

This week I finally had a chance to experiment with the suggestions some of you made regarding how to get a shiny crust on my brownies.

Many of you noted that heating the sugar sufficiently was important as was beating the eggs into the batter very well.

I did this, and I also made a few other changes: I swapped in Droste's for Hershey's because one of you told me about the concerning levels of lead found in Hershey's chocolate, and I used 3 eggs as opposed to 4, my mother's suggestion for making even fudgier, chewier brownies.

You can see the result of my experiment above. It's not the prettiest — I wish that shiny, papery top layer would extent just a wee bit more to the edges — but it is progress! And the brownies were DELICIOUS. Thank you.

I've updated the recipe with these notes and will continue to experiment this week. More soon.

What to Cook Right Now?

I have long relied on this simple chicken recipe to get dinner on the table over the years. It calls for minimal ingredients and work, and it is generally loved by all.

But sometimes even the prep for this recipe feels like too much — slicing shallots, grating parmesan... who has time? Sometimes, too, I don't want to open a bottle of wine just for the recipe, and with olive oil being so expensive, sometimes I don't want to use so much of it.

And so I've pared the recipe down to this: salt, pepper, butter, water. This is what I do:

1. Place 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs in a 13-inch oven-safe skillet. Season generously with kosher salt (1 teaspoon per pound). Place skin side up.
2. Pour 1 cup of water into the skillet — I do this by lifting up one of the thighs to make space for the water to enter and seep around the others.
3. Pour 1 stick of melted butter over everything. Season generously with pepper.
4. Bake for 45 minutes at 425ºF.

​

The result? Crispy skin, juicy meat, lots of well-seasoned juices to spoon over rice, which I make in the Instant Pot.

Friends, what are you cooking right now? Currently, these five meals have been on heavy rotation:

• ​tacos (double batch)
• pasta with tomato sauce​
• ​chicken curry​
• ​chickpea curry​
• ​pizza​

I could use some inspiration. Please share here:

Detroit-Style Pizza

In Friday's pizza newsletter, I wrote about Detroit-Style Pizza, which I've written about before, and which I've found over the years tricky to get right. In this post, I focus on the crust and three tips for nailing it.

What I'm Craving: Noodles

​Hetty's Life-Changing Udon Noodles (very simple, very tasty)

​Sichuan Noodles with Chilies and Scallions​

​Maangchi's Japchae​

​Rad Na Thai​

​Ginger-Scallion Ramen Noodles​

Thank You

Thank you to all who have already pre-ordered my new cookbook, Pizza Night. You've likely heard this before, but pre-orders are so important — they signal to bookshops and other retailers that there's excitement about this book, which in turn encourages them to stock their shelves with it.

If you are new here, Pizza Night will be published on April 16th and includes 52 pizza and 52 salad recipes, one combination for every week of the year, as well as five simple desserts.

5 Free Resources Available to You

• ​8-Video Chopping Tutorial​
• ​5 Secrets to Foolproof Bread Baking 🍞🍞 (email course)
• ​Sourdough Demystified 🍞🍞 (email course)
• ​Pizza School 🍕🍕 (email course)
• ​Pizza Every Friday: A Friday Newsletter for Pizza Enthusiasts