The Month When Cooking Feels New: An October Letter from the Editor

Until three days ago it was still 90 degrees in Ohio where I live. And then, just like that, the air cleared and my kids went apple-picking and I woke up dreaming of cooking on the weekend. I know it’s very bad manners to talk only about the weather (so boring! Especially when we live in such interesting times!). But it’s unfailingly reassuring to me, when the heat breaks and the trees smell like fall, to feel the truth that no matter what else is happening in the world, and what other worries and stresses our lives bring upon us, the seasons still move and things can, after all, actually change.

New things are in the air, including for us here at Kitchn, and this month is so incredibly exciting: Can I tell you all about it?

This month we return to Cooking School, the 20-day program we first launched five years ago to help you become a happier, more confident cook. So much has changed since then, and Cooking School has changed too: We’ve relaunched with a fun, fresh primer on cooking just a little bit smarter and a little bit better, with an all-new set of extremely good and fun videos. (Watch the first one above!) Cooking School is hosted by Grace and Meghan, two of our incredible food editors, and our aim is to teach you precisely what we think is important in cooking, and to do it in a way that feels both fun and doable on a weeknight. Have you signed up yet? It’s not too late — we would absolutely love to have you join us! Even if you’re a good, accomplished cook, we think that you’ll learn something new. And new, after all, is what October is all about.

Secondly, I am thrilled to introduce you to something else new: the Kitchn Collective, a small, hand-picked group of food writers (all parents!) who we will hear from monthly as they share smart, kid-friendly meal plans, recipe finds, and a virtual potluck that we hope inspires you as you cook for your own families. These six women are all bloggers and writers who are close to my heart, and picked by me personally as people I follow and appreciate in their take on living well with food and kids. This officially launches tomorrow, in partnership with Bounty paper towels, and we’ll introduce you then to the members of our first-ever Kitchn Collective.

And that’s not all. So many good things happening at Kitchn this month, including the following:

• Our October Cookbook Club launched last week with Indian-ish by Priya Krishna. Are you in?
• A Halloween porch potluck party, with some brand-new recipes that you are really going to want (speaking of which, have you seen these pumpkin patch brownies?).
• The secrets of grocery shopping at Aldi when entertaining and hosting.
• More of our extremely popular Skill Showdowns (poached eggs!) and Recipe Showdowns (pumpkin pie!).
• A still-top-secret-but-very-fun Instant Pot feature that I have to bite my tongue and not tell you all about yet!
• And plenty more of the series you love, from Power Hour Meal Prep to Grocery Diaries to Cooking Lessons.

As always, talk to me here (and on Instagram — my DMs are open!) about what you like, and what you’d like to see more of from us here at Kitchn. It’s a season of new and we’re up for anything.

May your Snickers all be full-sized this Halloween,
Faith

Our letter from the editor appears the first Monday of every month.