I really enjoy your Substack (one of my favourites!) I really enjoy reading your posts about life in the Catskills and on a farm. I found you over the summer and I enjoyed your Cooking with Friends series. It inspired me to create a series of themed dinner parties with my friends in 2025. I also enjoyed your Christmas content (sugared fruits & gingerhouse party). I will add those two ideas into my Christmas traditions in 2025.
Also, seeing you cook with local produce or your garden gave me calming content that I was looking forward to watch or read after a big day. It also made me think about the concept of slowing down and living in the country ( I was born and raised on a farm).
Don’t put too much pressure on you ! I enjoy the content you decide to publish. I don’t expect you to share more of your personal life. In all the content out there, be the master of what you post.
Take the time to process what you are going through. Life is too short.
Thank you so much for your kind words and enthusiasm! I love hearing you you started your own series of themed dinners and that some of these ideas are being incorporated into your own traditions. I'll keep at it in 2025!
I feel like we are all muddling through whatever is going on with social media these days. When my mother died this fall, I posted maybe two things about it and lost followers. Which makes sense, not everyone wants to see and think about that, not everyone can. But it made me hesitate in being open and personal, being messy and honestly human and that’s not good for the work, either. And I’m not convinced the big scale of a “following” is worth all that much in comparison to a few / many who might actually feel a connection.
Thank you so much, Maggie! I'm so sorry to hear about your mom passing. It's really disappointing to hear that people unfollowed because of that. It makes me kind of depressed about the state of humanity if I'm being honest. Ultimately, I think you're right that having a smaller group of people who really care is more worthwhile, for work, social media, and just life in general, right!?
How tragic to lose a beloved friend - and particularly when it’s sudden!
I’ll contemplate your questions but for now wish you joy in those beloved memories. Keep them softly surrounded by your love. Write them down in more detail as a ‘remembrance’ of his presence while they are fresh in your mind. Get the pix off your phone and into something tangible you can treasure - maybe make an online, downloadable book (or a hard copy - old school) to share or even just for you.
I am so sorry for your tragic loss, Alexis. I wonder often at the constant demands for content, attention, and creativity work like social media and Substack put on people who inevitably will have to navigate life’s downs while putting out a public face. It seems incredibly difficult and I feel a lot of empathy for people who do it. I respect and support whatever balance you end up striking for yourself!
I love your hosting tips and menus! The videos themselves are a delight to watch, but you genuinely give me a ton of great ideas and recipes. I love hosting of all kind, and I really like that you mix up the occasion. Currently referencing your holiday menu for a fancy NYE dinner party I’m hosting.
That said, I’m also always looking for healthy, tasty, easy weekday and night cooking. Your squash, lentil, and red curry soup has quickly become one of my favorite recipes for this this season!
Thank you so much, Colette. It's a very weird world to navigate -- I feel so lucky to do this job and don't want to sound like I'm complaining, and yet there's some personal moments that feel really sticky, like this one.
I love hearing that the ideas are inspiring you! I'll keep up trying to balance both types of content. That's really the way I cook at home!
So deeply sorry for your loss. When grief strikes it’s like a passage that changes shape and evolves, it’s truly the souvenir to love and to have been loved. I adore your content on IG, the beautiful slice of your life that you share, your welcoming engagement and willingness to chat too. Beyond the beautiful snippets and nourishing food I wish to you peace and healing as you navigate such a profound loss.
You just put it so beautifully --thank you. And for the kind words about the content! So much more to come in the new year. Wishing you a peaceful 2025 <3
I am so very sorry for your loss. I applaud your honesty. I also grapple with sharing life beyond my food life, and the notion that more followers/subscribers/views equates to (insert mainstream pillar of success here.) FWIW, you’ve inspired me to host more! Keep it up.
Thank you so much, Clare. I know you get it first hand. So happy to hear that these dinners have been a source of inspiration to host more! I love seeing everything you're making and serving too.
Beautiful Alexis, I feel for you so deeply. In this strange online world we all live in, many of us are walking around in invisible pain and still showing up. It's a trying and awkward dance, and I feel it acutely when I hear that this is happening to someone I adore, even from afar. I lack the right words, but I send you love, love, love. May an abundance of love and support surround you today and always.
As for what you share, I'm here for all/any of it. I completely missed your buzz feed phase, but the essence of you is what is so lovely. Everything else flows from that.
Thank you so much, Sarah. You really captured how it feels -- a weird, awkward dance. It's actually felt like a relief to share it. There's some peace in that. More to come in the new year!
Thanks for sharing your tragic news. Such a brutal loss. Hopefully this community can offer some comfort when you need it.
I really love your content - weekday meals, hosting for friends, general tips and scenes from your beautiful garden and farm are all great. Take the time you need. We'll be here
I’ve follow you on instagram and look forward to your content. I enjoy your cooking with friends series and it’s inspiring. I’ve also bought your cookbook and have been cooking my way through. I’ve gotten many compliments on the meals so thank you. I look forward to your next book.
As for additional content, I do like the moments when you show us what you have on rotation for dinner and how you use seasonal produce. You’ve also encouraged me to use ingredients in an unexpected way. This has furthered my cooking knowledge. I appreciate your work!
Thank you so much, Noureen. I'm so glad you've been enjoying my first book. I can't wait for you to cook through book 2! This is really helpful feedback. Noted for the new year!
I’m so sorry about your loss and admire your vulnerability with this post!
I’ve been a long-time follower of yours on Instagram and your content is some of my absolute favorite! You make cooking look so laidback and approachable so I’d be super interested in learning about staples you keep in your kitchen—whether that be ingredients, spices/herbs/condiments, pantry items, kitchen utensils, etc. I would also love to see practical weeknight recipes (so helpful!), more on cooking for friends/hosting, life in the Catskills and life on a farm. I loved your tour of your garden from awhile back, for example.
In terms of content from Side Dish, I feel like everything you post is amazing but I’d love to see more behind the scenes stuff about the farm, what life is like upstate, and also how you’re feeling about the industry!!! Excited for a new year!
I'm so sorry for your loss Alexis. Thank you for being vulnerable with us all. Please don't put too much pressure on yourself, take some time x
Re: content
I absolutely love all your content. Everything you share is amazing and inspiring.
I would love to see more of your beautiful home and interiors, favourite cookware, and even where your stunning clothes are from that you cook in! Love your cooking for friends series so much.
I want to start out by saying sorry for the loss of you friend, I too just loss a friend sudden. So sad. I enjoy all your recipes and have your book Last Bits. I close my instagram account because I got hacked. I’m been a big foodie all the way back from Julia Childs days on channel 28. I just had family Christmas with braised lamb shanks, grilled veggie lasagna layered with three kinds of cheeses and pesto, and etc. thank you happy new year
I'm so sorry to hear that. It's really just the worst feeling, isn't it? I hope you're taking it easy right now. Wishing you a very peaceful new year <3
So sorry for your loss. I totally get the 2am brain racing. It’s all the things you don’t fully process in the waking hours popping up in the middle of the night. Sometimes it helps to share more thoughts during the day or switch something in your bedtime routine, and hopefully you’ll be a little more rested.
I would love weekday recipes as well as recipes for a gathering. Your Cooking with Friends series has been great to watch and read about. And reading your Substack about life on the farm interests me, especially gardening.
I'm so sorry that you've had such a rough go - it does seem as if trouble comes in bunches. The stretch between September 30th, and December 6th is difficult for us because we have 6 anniversaries of loss during that time (Two on the same day, five years apart). All you can do is keep moving forward. A friend, Pamela Dolan, recently posted something that I found very helpful - “Right foot, left foot, breathe, pray. Steady on, friend. We love you.”
As for Side Dish - I would love to see practical, seasonal recipes, with the occasional dash of something fancy.
Sorry for your loss Alexis.
I really enjoy your Substack (one of my favourites!) I really enjoy reading your posts about life in the Catskills and on a farm. I found you over the summer and I enjoyed your Cooking with Friends series. It inspired me to create a series of themed dinner parties with my friends in 2025. I also enjoyed your Christmas content (sugared fruits & gingerhouse party). I will add those two ideas into my Christmas traditions in 2025.
Also, seeing you cook with local produce or your garden gave me calming content that I was looking forward to watch or read after a big day. It also made me think about the concept of slowing down and living in the country ( I was born and raised on a farm).
Don’t put too much pressure on you ! I enjoy the content you decide to publish. I don’t expect you to share more of your personal life. In all the content out there, be the master of what you post.
Take the time to process what you are going through. Life is too short.
Happy New Year !
Thank you so much for your kind words and enthusiasm! I love hearing you you started your own series of themed dinners and that some of these ideas are being incorporated into your own traditions. I'll keep at it in 2025!
I am loving the hosting content!!!
I feel like we are all muddling through whatever is going on with social media these days. When my mother died this fall, I posted maybe two things about it and lost followers. Which makes sense, not everyone wants to see and think about that, not everyone can. But it made me hesitate in being open and personal, being messy and honestly human and that’s not good for the work, either. And I’m not convinced the big scale of a “following” is worth all that much in comparison to a few / many who might actually feel a connection.
Thank you so much, Maggie! I'm so sorry to hear about your mom passing. It's really disappointing to hear that people unfollowed because of that. It makes me kind of depressed about the state of humanity if I'm being honest. Ultimately, I think you're right that having a smaller group of people who really care is more worthwhile, for work, social media, and just life in general, right!?
How tragic to lose a beloved friend - and particularly when it’s sudden!
I’ll contemplate your questions but for now wish you joy in those beloved memories. Keep them softly surrounded by your love. Write them down in more detail as a ‘remembrance’ of his presence while they are fresh in your mind. Get the pix off your phone and into something tangible you can treasure - maybe make an online, downloadable book (or a hard copy - old school) to share or even just for you.
I love this. Thank you <3
I am so sorry for your tragic loss, Alexis. I wonder often at the constant demands for content, attention, and creativity work like social media and Substack put on people who inevitably will have to navigate life’s downs while putting out a public face. It seems incredibly difficult and I feel a lot of empathy for people who do it. I respect and support whatever balance you end up striking for yourself!
I love your hosting tips and menus! The videos themselves are a delight to watch, but you genuinely give me a ton of great ideas and recipes. I love hosting of all kind, and I really like that you mix up the occasion. Currently referencing your holiday menu for a fancy NYE dinner party I’m hosting.
That said, I’m also always looking for healthy, tasty, easy weekday and night cooking. Your squash, lentil, and red curry soup has quickly become one of my favorite recipes for this this season!
Thank you so much, Colette. It's a very weird world to navigate -- I feel so lucky to do this job and don't want to sound like I'm complaining, and yet there's some personal moments that feel really sticky, like this one.
I love hearing that the ideas are inspiring you! I'll keep up trying to balance both types of content. That's really the way I cook at home!
So deeply sorry for your loss. When grief strikes it’s like a passage that changes shape and evolves, it’s truly the souvenir to love and to have been loved. I adore your content on IG, the beautiful slice of your life that you share, your welcoming engagement and willingness to chat too. Beyond the beautiful snippets and nourishing food I wish to you peace and healing as you navigate such a profound loss.
You just put it so beautifully --thank you. And for the kind words about the content! So much more to come in the new year. Wishing you a peaceful 2025 <3
Sending you so much love Alexis ♥️ keep on shining, I love everything you create!!
<3333
I am so very sorry for your loss. I applaud your honesty. I also grapple with sharing life beyond my food life, and the notion that more followers/subscribers/views equates to (insert mainstream pillar of success here.) FWIW, you’ve inspired me to host more! Keep it up.
Thank you so much, Clare. I know you get it first hand. So happy to hear that these dinners have been a source of inspiration to host more! I love seeing everything you're making and serving too.
Beautiful Alexis, I feel for you so deeply. In this strange online world we all live in, many of us are walking around in invisible pain and still showing up. It's a trying and awkward dance, and I feel it acutely when I hear that this is happening to someone I adore, even from afar. I lack the right words, but I send you love, love, love. May an abundance of love and support surround you today and always.
As for what you share, I'm here for all/any of it. I completely missed your buzz feed phase, but the essence of you is what is so lovely. Everything else flows from that.
Thank you so much, Sarah. You really captured how it feels -- a weird, awkward dance. It's actually felt like a relief to share it. There's some peace in that. More to come in the new year!
Thanks for sharing your tragic news. Such a brutal loss. Hopefully this community can offer some comfort when you need it.
I really love your content - weekday meals, hosting for friends, general tips and scenes from your beautiful garden and farm are all great. Take the time you need. We'll be here
Thank you so much <333
First, I’m so sorry about your loss.
I’ve follow you on instagram and look forward to your content. I enjoy your cooking with friends series and it’s inspiring. I’ve also bought your cookbook and have been cooking my way through. I’ve gotten many compliments on the meals so thank you. I look forward to your next book.
As for additional content, I do like the moments when you show us what you have on rotation for dinner and how you use seasonal produce. You’ve also encouraged me to use ingredients in an unexpected way. This has furthered my cooking knowledge. I appreciate your work!
Thank you so much, Noureen. I'm so glad you've been enjoying my first book. I can't wait for you to cook through book 2! This is really helpful feedback. Noted for the new year!
I’m so sorry about your loss and admire your vulnerability with this post!
I’ve been a long-time follower of yours on Instagram and your content is some of my absolute favorite! You make cooking look so laidback and approachable so I’d be super interested in learning about staples you keep in your kitchen—whether that be ingredients, spices/herbs/condiments, pantry items, kitchen utensils, etc. I would also love to see practical weeknight recipes (so helpful!), more on cooking for friends/hosting, life in the Catskills and life on a farm. I loved your tour of your garden from awhile back, for example.
Thank you for sharing your work with us!
Thank you so much, Lauren -- for the kind words and years of support! This is really helpful feedback. More to come in the new year <3
In terms of content from Side Dish, I feel like everything you post is amazing but I’d love to see more behind the scenes stuff about the farm, what life is like upstate, and also how you’re feeling about the industry!!! Excited for a new year!
Thank you so much, Abena! Will absolutely share more about life here. So many thoughts on the industry....that'll be a work in progress.
I'm so sorry for your loss Alexis. Thank you for being vulnerable with us all. Please don't put too much pressure on yourself, take some time x
Re: content
I absolutely love all your content. Everything you share is amazing and inspiring.
I would love to see more of your beautiful home and interiors, favourite cookware, and even where your stunning clothes are from that you cook in! Love your cooking for friends series so much.
Alexis, I’m so sorry for your loss and sending you so much love!
I want to start out by saying sorry for the loss of you friend, I too just loss a friend sudden. So sad. I enjoy all your recipes and have your book Last Bits. I close my instagram account because I got hacked. I’m been a big foodie all the way back from Julia Childs days on channel 28. I just had family Christmas with braised lamb shanks, grilled veggie lasagna layered with three kinds of cheeses and pesto, and etc. thank you happy new year
I'm so sorry to hear that. It's really just the worst feeling, isn't it? I hope you're taking it easy right now. Wishing you a very peaceful new year <3
So sorry for your loss. I totally get the 2am brain racing. It’s all the things you don’t fully process in the waking hours popping up in the middle of the night. Sometimes it helps to share more thoughts during the day or switch something in your bedtime routine, and hopefully you’ll be a little more rested.
I would love weekday recipes as well as recipes for a gathering. Your Cooking with Friends series has been great to watch and read about. And reading your Substack about life on the farm interests me, especially gardening.
That's exactly it! It happened again last night and I was in more acceptance which actually made me fall back asleep faster.
Noted re gardening! Every year I swear I'll share more and then get nervous it's not interesting to people, but I think 2025 is the year.
I'm so sorry that you've had such a rough go - it does seem as if trouble comes in bunches. The stretch between September 30th, and December 6th is difficult for us because we have 6 anniversaries of loss during that time (Two on the same day, five years apart). All you can do is keep moving forward. A friend, Pamela Dolan, recently posted something that I found very helpful - “Right foot, left foot, breathe, pray. Steady on, friend. We love you.”
As for Side Dish - I would love to see practical, seasonal recipes, with the occasional dash of something fancy.
Hang in there!
Oh my gosh, that is so awful. What timing...
I love that message so much. Thank you for sharing it! And for the feedback, too.