The Friday Letter.
CurtisJ’s weekly note from the kitchen — one recipe, one technique, one short opinion. Friday morning, no filler.
— 2026 —
The shoulder, and what to do with the rest of it.
A pork shoulder is not one dinner. It is four. Here’s the math.
A small case for the rice cooker on the counter.
Stop apologizing for it. The whole secret is already there.
Three things to do with day-old rice.
A garlic-fried, a chazuke, and a musubi. None of them are sad.
How to buy ahi at the fish counter without asking twice.
Color, grain, and the knuckle test. A short field guide.
A Mai Tai, the way the old bartender taught me.
Two rums, fresh lime, real orgeat, and absolutely no umbrella.
On the plate-lunch arrangement, and why it works.
Two scoops of rice, a scoop of mac salad, and the whole logic of a meal.
The case for cold things at a hot dinner.
Pickles, sunomono, and a cold pour. The smartest course on the table.
A butter mochi for the end of a long week.
Chewy over crumbly. Always. Twenty minutes of work, ninety of patience.
What I keep in the pantry, and what I do not.
Six bottles, three jars, and the salt that does the heavy lifting.
The shoyu chicken argument settles itself in the pan.
Reduce the gravy. Tip the rice underneath. Eat sitting down.
A Valentine, of sorts, for the home kitchen.
No reservations. No dress code. The smallest dinner that works.
On haupia, and why it is harder than it looks.
It is set, but barely. The barely is the whole point.
The next letter goes out Friday morning. Catch the next one before it lands in the archive.
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