Your New Forever Strawberry Shortcake Recipe 🍓

Plus: Sugar Snap Pea Cacio e Pepe, Tart Vinegar, and Links Links Links.

Hey everyone,

If you don’t have strawberries in your kitchen right now, I’m mad at you!

I mean look at how glorious these strawberries were that I bought at the farmer’s market yesterday. The Garden of Eden could never.

It being my friend Jonathan’s birthday, and knowing that his favorite dessert is strawberry shortcake, I decided to give Claire Saffitz’s recipe a whirl.

What makes this recipe so special is the mixture of cornmeal and buttermilk in the batter; plus hints of lemon zest and vanilla.

It’s a terrific recipe and the absolute best time to make it. I’m including the whole thing in a PDF for paid subscribers at the end of this post!

On a similar note, the sugar snap peas at the farmer’s market yesterday were glorious too.

That’s why for Jonathan’s birthday dinner, I decided to whip up a sugar snap pea cacio e pepe, riffing on a recipe from Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden.

Joshua McFadden’s recipe is for Sugar Snap Pasta alla Gricia, which has pancetta. He also has you make a cacio e pepe butter, which is kind of annoying.

My take simplifies things: you cook spaghetti and then add slivered sugar snap peas moments before the pasta finishes cooking. Then you lift everything into a pan with the black pepper butter sauce.

To finish, you add tons of cheese (Pecorino and Parmesan) and pasta cooking water and stir stir stir until everything is glossy and emulsified.

I’m including that recipe at the end of this newsletter for paid subscribers too! There’s never been a better time to become a paid subscriber.

Hey, do you like vinegar? Check out what I ordered from the Tart Vinegar company.

I first spied these vinegars at Cookbook in Echo Park and I had vinegar envy. Because I’m writing a column for Food52 now where I compare food things, I bought these for a potential story.

Sadly, they’re all sold out now, but I’m loving the subtle flavors that perfume these bottles. Especially the celery vinegar, which I used to doctor a mustard-based potato salad from Leite’s Culinaria and that I served alongside seared swordfish.

If you’re looking for a new twist to your salads and stews and soups, etc., bookmark Tart vinegar and enter your email so you’ll know when they’re back in stock.

Now for a lot of links I’ve been saving up, just for you!

• Horses chef accused of physical abuse and… killing cats?! I won’t be eating there again (Eater);

• Martha Stewart makes the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue at 81 (Deadline);

• This is the Most Complicated Dessert in NY (Grub Street);

• Kneading scone dough? Edd Kimber recommends it (The Boy Who Bakes);

• Soleil Ho attends a secretive anti-Trans dinner in SF (SF Chronicle);

• Ben Mims gets the recipe for Dunsmoor’s pork and chile stew (LA Times).

That’s all for today, folks!

See you back here on Thursday….

And if you’d like the recipes for Claire Saffitz’s Strawberry Shortcake and Sugar Snap Cacio e Pepe, click ahead.

Your pal,

Adam