Hi everyone,
Hope you’ve had a wonderful week! Doug and I have been enjoying being in LA. In a couple of weeks, we’re heading to a friend’s wedding in India, and we’re so excited because we’ve never been there before. As you know, we love traveling to new places, and I’m sure the food is going to be amazing as well.
This week, we’re switching things up a bit. I’m so excited to highlight one of my friends, Corre Larkin, whose debut cookbook, Season to Taste, comes out November 10th. You might have seen her videos on Instagram or TikTok at @cocolarkincooks. Below, she’s sharing a little more about her story and the one recipe you need to make from the book.
But first, here’s a recipe for caramel apples. My mom always makes them in the fall, and they always feel so festive. Honeycrisp apples are my favorite to use, and they’re so yummy covered in caramel and chopped peanuts.
What I Cooked Last Week! ↓
Caramel apples
This is how my mom makes caramel apples every year. They’re so easy and delicious, and such a fun way to get into the fall spirit!
You can download the PDF recipe above and watch the video here :)
Flourless Black Bean Chocolate Cake
This is my friend Erika Kwee’s recipe (@thepancakeprincess), and it’s so moist and fudgy you’d never know there are beans in it. My mom made it for her friends and everyone loved it.
Turos Csusza
This four-ingredient Hungarian dish is the ultimate comfort food for my husband. His mom made it for him growing up, and now I love surprising him with it.
Tomato Ricotta Pasta with Basil Parmesan Oil
You can make the most magical and creamy pasta if you roast tomatoes and ricotta and then mix in some garlic and pasta. It gets finished with a delicious basil and Parmesan-infused oil.
Meet Corre Larkin 👩🍳✨
Corre has been cooking since her mid-20s, always just for fun and for the love of food. For years, she shared her recipes on her Instagram Stories and saved them to her Highlights. When a friend asked her to put them all in one place, she started a TikTok account, even though she’d never been on TikTok before. While she was still working full time, the account quickly hit 100,000 followers.
About three years ago, after selling her last business, Corre decided to see if she could turn her hobby into a career. She went all in, started a Substack and an Instagram page, and the whole thing took off. Her debut cookbook, Season to Taste: Comforting Recipes You Won’t Find in a Restaurant, is all about her “simple is better” approach to cooking, and it comes out November 10th.
A Q&A with Corre 💬
Take us back to the beginning. What first pulled you into the kitchen, and was there a moment when you realized cooking was going to be more than a hobby?
I have been cooking since my mid-20s, and always for fun and for the love of food. Around three years ago, I sold my last business and decided to see if I could turn my hobby and passion into a career. Luckily for me, it worked!
How did you decide to start sharing recipes on TikTok and Instagram? Did your following build quickly, or was it more of a slow burn? And was there a specific point where you realized you could actually do this full time?
I used to post my “recipes” on my Instagram Stories and save them to my Highlights on my personal page. A friend of mine asked me to just put them all in one place, and I chose TikTok. I had never even been on TikTok before. I was still working full time at my regular job, but the TikTok account hit 100k followers pretty quickly. A few years later, I decided to go all in on this career and started a Substack and an Instagram page. At that point, when I went all in, this whole thing took off.
What are three underrated ingredients you think people should cook with more?
Anchovies, fennel, and dill.
Congrats on your debut cookbook, Season to Taste! Your whole approach is “simple is better.” What’s a dish people assume is complicated that’s actually shockingly easy once you know the trick?
Potatoes dauphinoise. It looks complicated because of all the layers of potatoes, but it’s really only a handful of ingredients and a mandoline.
From the book, what’s the one recipe you’d tell a first-time reader to make tonight?
The four tomato pasta. There is no one who won’t love it.
Corre’s Spaghetti with Four Tomatoes 🍅
Spaghetti with Four Tomatoes
Serves 4 as a side or 2 as a main
Do you ever make something and know instantly it’s going to become part of your family? This recipe was inspired by a dish we had in Italy at a restaurant called Luce. I didn’t get the recipe while we were there, and in fact started making it back home kind of by accident. I was making my weekly tomato pasta for my kids. After I started, I noticed I had a bunch of different kinds of tomatoes. I asked them if I should try to re-create the Luce pasta and was met with a slightly doubtful “If you can. . .?” I knew that the dish had four different tomato varieties and lemon zest and was a very saucy sauce. So I added the four different tomatoes and got out my immersion blender. This sauce is incredible. It’s silky and flavorful and so easy to make, yet it feels special. It’s since become as popular in our home as my weekly Simple Tomato Pasta (also in the book) and, during the warmer months, even more popular.
Ingredients
Fine sea salt, for pasta water
¼ cup olive oil
3 anchovy fillets
3 garlic cloves, chopped
½ teaspoon dried chile flakes
4 cups chopped tomatoes, preferably a mix of varieties (see Cook’s Note)
8 ounces spaghetti
¼ cup hand-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more to finish
1 tablespoon cold salted butter
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest, plus more to finish
Flaky sea salt (optional)
Instructions
Bring a big pot of water to boil over high heat and season with enough fine sea salt so that the water tastes as salty as the sea. Meanwhile, in a cold large saucepan, add the olive oil, anchovies, garlic, and chile flakes. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up the anchovies with the back of your spoon, until the anchovies are dissolved and the garlic no longer smells raw, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and give them a mix to coat. Cover and cook until they are completely soft and broken down, 15 to 20 minutes.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until it’s 1 minute shy of al dente according to the package instructions.
Meanwhile, transfer the sauce to a high-sided bowl and use an immersion blender to blend until smooth, then return the sauce to the pan. (Alternatively, you can use the immersion blender right in the pan to puree.) Cook the sauce over medium heat until it’s reduced by a quarter and thickened slightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the Parm, butter, and lemon zest. (Note: It’s important you don’t use any lemon juice. Don’t get excited here and think to add that too.) Using a whisk, whisk it well until the butter is melted. Now taste it. If it needs salt, add some now. It will depend on your anchovies.
Transfer the pasta with tongs directly to the sauce. Swirl it in the sauce for 1 minute. It’s a very saucy sauce and meant to be somewhat runny. Resist the urge to add cooking water.
Plate up and then finish each plate with a ladle of additional sauce right over the pasta, another tiny bit of lemon zest, and a small dusting of Parm.
Cook’s Note: For the four tomatoes, I use Cherubs, another darker on-the-vine variety of cherry tomato, heirloom tomatoes, and another variety of medium on-the-vine tomatoes. You don’t have to use all four varieties; you can use one or two or whatever you have. Chop the larger tomatoes in half.
Congrats again to Corre! I hope you’ll pick up a copy of Season to Taste and make this pasta. Let me know if you do!
Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
Love,
Maxine
I love both of you ladies & your content❣️