Hello!
I hope everybody had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving holiday! For my celebration, I headed over to a Friendsgiving where we had Asian hot pot. I know—my friends and I are weird! None of us are crazy about traditional Thanksgiving food. But don’t worry. I still made sure there was at least one pie at the table (I chose this black bottom chocolate pecan pie, though it was a tough decision between that recipe and this chocolate chess one).
Additionally, I spent the week mostly offline (with the exception of helping some of you guys troubleshoot my recipes on Wednesday). It was incredibly rejuvenating and made me realize that I should scale back on the content calendar I had planned for December. Because last month, I felt like I was killing myself to get a bunch of Thanksgiving recipes lined up for November. And while many of you did make my recipes like (My Better Version of) Libby’s Pumpkin Pie, Black Bottom Chocolate Pecan Pie, and Chocolate Chess Pie, some of the ones I prepared didn’t get as much love and attention (like this Salted Honey Parker House Roll recipe, which y’all are definitely sleeping on, and My Best Easy Vegan Pumpkin Pie Recipe, which, I kinda get—nobody’s ever that excited for vegan pumpkin pie, lol).
But that’s totally okay! I know you guys are overloaded with options, and I’m happy to be a part of your table whenever I can be. But it just made me realize that there’s no point to churning out recipes two to three times a week like I did last month. Baking is still a time consuming hobby and privilege for most folks!
So instead of focusing on providing quantity over quality, I figured I’d spend December focusing on just a few holiday baking recipes that I really love instead. Like this ube crinkle cookie recipe—it’s an old recipe, but I make it yearly. So watch out for it on Instagram (or maybe even my fledgling TikTok) soon!
In Case You Missed It: New Recipes and Posts on Hummingbird High
And in case you missed it, I published the following new recipes and posts on Hummingbird High. Here’s a round-up of everything new:
Below are pictures of the two most popular recipes from the month—Black Bottom Chocolate Pecan Pie and My Best Chocolate Birthday Cake—to inspire you:
Food For Thought
This past month, I also spent a LOT of time thinking and reading about food beyond the baking recipes you see on this blog. Here are the ideas and issues that resonated with me:
- “Who Owns A Recipe? A Plagiarism Claim Has Cookbook Authors Asking” in The New York Times. I think I shared something similar last month, but this is another great article talking about the ownership of recipes and how their creators often don’t have the power to exclusively own the recipes… with the exception of the anecdotes, headnotes, tips, and tricks that accompany them. You know, the stuff that people complain about because it makes them scroll for too long (why yes, I am feeling ✨spicy ✨as I write this).
In any case, maybe we should all pull a Taylor Swift and “re-record” our master recipes with even more writing and detail, lol. Kind of like the 10 minute “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version From The Vault)” that everybody seems to love. Except you know us food bloggers would just get more people telling us to shut up. And on that note, I’ll shut up now, lolllll.
- “The Loss at The Heart of Guy Fieri’s Entertainment Empire” in The Atlantic. I’ll admit, I’ve never been the biggest fan of Guy Fieri himself. I’ve always found him to be shrill. I also know a handful of restaurant owners and their staff members who have been featured on the show; none of them had particularly heartwarming things to say about him. Despite this, his show apparently does a good job of showcasing a diversity of cuisines made by folks from all different backgrounds… maybe it’s time for me to rewatch?
- “How To Make Really Good Bread” in The New York Times. Famed food writer Mark Bittman talks about the shifting mindset towards bread in the United States, exploring how the pandemic explored more folks to bake bread at home. He also hopes that whole wheat bread baking will be the next big thing after our collective sourdough craze. I definitely agree!
Recipes and Resources To Save
And here are the recipes and cooking-related resources I saved these last few weeks:
@hummingbirdhigh more #shelflove #booklove #booktok #letsgo #givewithallyourheart #onlineshopping #baking #thankfulfor #yum
New Cookbooks To Try
So many of my friends, acquaintances, and peers wrote amazing cookbooks that came out last month (or are about to)! Here are a few of my faves:
Finally, On A Lighthearted Note
Okay, whew! That’s all for now, folks. I hope you all are staying safe and healthy! Please let me know how you’re doing in the comments below, and feel free to share the ideas and issues that are floating around in your heads, too.
XO
Michelle
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Weeknight Baking:
Recipes to Fit your Schedule
Over the past several years of running Hummingbird High, I kept a crucial aspect of my life hidden from my readers: I had a full-time, extremely demanding job in the tech world. In my debut cookbook, Weeknight Baking, I finally reveal the secrets to baking delicious desserts on a tight schedule.
