Welcome to the first installment of Side Dish, my newest creative endeavor in the form of a twice-weekly newsletter (maybe even triweekly? Stay tuned!). By subscribing to Side Dish, you’ll get new recipes, dinner party inspiration, a first look at my cookbook To the Last Bite, interviews, tips, takeaways from my favorite food industry friends, product recommendations, and discussions. You’ll also get updates on my latest YouTube videos and published recipes and articles. I’m sure this newsletter will evolve with time, and I welcome your input to make this the best and most useful it can be.
When I first went freelance almost three years ago, people asked me if I had plans to start a newsletter, and I repeatedly told them no. I felt similarly about starting a newsletter as I did a YouTube channel, which was that the prospect of both was overwhelming due to time and financial constraints. And honestly, at that point I really didn’t know what my ~vision~ was for my life or career.
Fast forward to the present day, and while I certainly don’t have my life figured out, I have a much better sense of what I want to say and share. I moved back East one year ago to my childhood home in the Catskills in upstate New York from Los Angeles. Being home has been a reminder of how incredibly lucky I am to live in such a special place, but it’s also been a wake-up call as to how far removed so many of us are from rural living and what exactly that means. I’ve been shadowing my mom in her expansive garden, taking careful note of how to plant garlic for the coming spring, how to organize plants, and the painstaking work of digging up and storing dahlias through winter. There’s a sense living here that everything is cyclical, seasonally of course, but also in how we live. Any scraps go to the compost or to our flock of 20 chickens. We eat the chicken eggs, and we use the compost for our garden. We have the ability to literally see where the beef we eat is being raised from the top of our hill. It’s a privilege I don’t take for granted—and I want to share my observations and learnings with you.
What that means for my cooking style these days is a real effort to shop seasonally (I’ll let you know how that goes come February) and locally when possible. Since we live 15 minutes from the closest grocery store, I’ve also become increasingly conscious of creating dishes from what we already have in the pantry. Recipes and no-recipe recipes will be approachable and easy to follow, with notes on swaps and substitutions, along with how to cut down on waste or excess whenever possible (I swear I’ll make it fun!).
Before we get to the good stuff, I have to address the elephant in the room. With Substack you have the option to subscribe to Side Dish for free, but there’s also a paid option for $5/month. While I want everyone to have access to my work, by being a paying subscriber, you’re giving me the ability to keep creating this type of content, plus you’ll get some exclusive recipes. If you have questions, comments, or concerns, shoot me an email at hi@alexisdeboschnek.com, and we can talk about it!
While you’re here, have you watched my latest YouTube video? Just because Thanksgiving is over doesn’t mean stuffing (dressing?!) season is.
