Bon Appetit – September 2019

8 – SEPTEMBER 2019

PHOTOGRAPH BY M

ICHAEL GRAYDON + NIKOLE HERRIOTT. FOOD STYLING BY ALISON ROM

AN. PROP STYLING BY KALEN KAM

INSKI.

Editor

’

s Letter

BY THE TIME LABOR DAY weekend sputters to a close, I’ve
hit Full Tomato. Absolute Corn too. Basil, see you next year.
Whether or not fall is actually in the air, I’m ready to flip the
page on the calendar. Spareribs on the grill give way to short
ribs in the oven. Sun Gold–tomato spaghetti segues into
creamy mushroom fettuccine.
At some point I’ll inevitably pester my wife, Simone, about
whether we can plan some sort of dinner party. “I feel like we
haven’t had anyone over in ages!” Because to me this time of
year means the return of Cooking Season—back to work, back
to school, back to the kitchen.
And that’s the ethos behind this spirited issue. We’re sharing
the kinds of recipes, game plans, and let’s-do-this-thing! inspi-
ration that will carry you through to the holidays. We’ve moved
the Hot 10, our celebration of America’s Best New Restaurants,
to the October issue, at which point you’ll have spent so much
time braising and roasting and chopping and mincing that
you’ll need a night out, yes?
But for now, how about you step away from the grill and get
reacquainted with your oven—you know, that box that makes

big hunks of meat and pulled-from-the-earth root vegetables

all glazy and caramelized and impossibly fragrant? It’s what

Alison Roman turns to so deftly in her “Steak House Night in

America” feature (p. 68). Having attended a party a few years

back in which Alison smoked out an entire apartment while

individually searing off a half dozen dry-aged rib eyes, I’m glad

she’s finally heeding the common-sense cooking advice that

so many of us resist—to make it easy on yourself while still

making it delicious. In this case, she lets the oven go to work on

a prime rib roast and a gang of baked potatoes, while a serve-

yourself martini bar keeps her guests more than occupied.

Our 16-page “Fall Playbook” (p. 52) answers all manner of

other pressing concerns, like what to do when it’s 6:26 p.m. on

a Monday and you still don’t know what’s for dinner. (Hint: Take

a peek at our cover.) In “Yes, You Can Galette That” (p. 86), Carla

Lalli Music argues that you should take advantage of all that

ripe end-of-summer fruit to make the tastiest, most forgiving

home-baked dessert there is.

All told, these are the recipes and strategies that will make

you forget all about your swimsuit and your long, lazy week-

ends. Because, really, starting right now, it’s the best time of

year. It’s Cooking Season.

Back to

the Kitchen

Adam

approved this

photo even

though it has

anchovies.

ADAM RAPOPORT

editor in chief

@rapoport on instagram