Calling all kitchen gear heads and home cooks!

This is Mason from Kinda Healthy Recipes. Welcome to a new email series I’ve been wanting to send for a while now.

In this series, I’ll send you a roundup of my favorite foods, ingredients, cooking gear, or food-related content from the past month.

One quick favor: Since this is something new I’m trying, I’d love it if you could reply and let me know what you think about it and how it could be better.

Here we go!

1. Espresso

What an absolute rabbit hole the world of espresso is! We bought an entry-level espresso machine this year, and after weeks (months) of research and experiments, we can make great espresso drinks.

Is it worth the effort? Yes.

Does it make coffee from most places undrinkable? Yes.

Will you want to buy tons of equipment? Yes.

Is it worth it? You bet.

If you’re looking to get into espresso, I’d recommend James Hoffmann’s YouTube channel and the r/espresso subreddit.

P.S. I’ve added the Breville machine we use, along with any other ingredients/gear I mention in this email, to my Amazon storefront.

P.S.S. Bonus: You can use espresso to make awesome desserts like the brownies above.

2. New York Times Cooking’s Cheesecake

Vanessa and I have been creating YouTube videos centered around bake-offs and cook-offs. For the healthier eaters, check out my protein mac and cheese cook off!

Her first video tested five of the internet’s most highly reviewed cheesecake recipes to find the best. I’m not a huge fan of cheesecake, but man, the NYT cheesecake is something else. It’s tall, light, and fluffy and has a perfectly browned top that gives cheesecake sandwich vibes.

If you need a new go-to dessert, I’d highly recommend it.

3. Parmigiano Reggiano

As part of our California road trip last year, we did the whole vineyard wine-tasting thing. We’re not big drinkers, so the star of the show was the charcuterie board.

It led us down a cheese rabbit hole where we were trying all kinds of unique cheeses. I distinctly remember watching a YouTube video with Vanessa about 74 different kinds of cheese.

I’m telling you all this to say Parmigiano Reggiano will save you a lot of time. At least in terms of hard cheese, it really is the king of cheese. And while it’s good for charcuterie, it’s a huge upgrade in cooking. If a recipe calls for Parmesan, splurge for parmigiano reggiano.

Forget the wine. We’re here to party with Havarti.

4. Enameled Cast Iron

ICYMI, I publicly admitted defeat earlier this year with cast iron cookware. Maybe it’s my OCD, but I’ve just never been able to nail the maintenance. I’m embarrassed at how much time I’ve spent re-seasoning cast iron cookware.

Since admitting my defeat, I tiptoed into carbon steel—same failures for me. Enameled cast iron costs more, but it’s SO worth it to me. You get all the benefits of cast iron (heat retention/conduction, no toxic coatings like nonstick, safe at high temps, etc.) without all the fuss.

You can also wash with soap and cook acidic sauces without any worries about losing the pan's seasoning. No seasoning required!

I LOVE my 11" Staub skillet, and you can get one here (my affiliate link).

But I've had a hard time bringing myself to drop the $400+ on a Staub Dutch oven. So I went with a Made In Dutch oven and have been equally in love.

Stainless steel is a cheaper alternative that’s also a great option. Though I’ve found there’s a small learning curve if you’re not accustomed to cooking with stainless steel. Temperature control and cooking with fat are both a necessity.

5. The Bear

The best show of 2023 and the best surprise of 2022. This show came out of nowhere last year and is an amazing show centered around a family restaurant in Chicago. Light a cigarette on the stove and prepare to be stressed but highly entertained.

Thank you for reading!

Mason