Would you ever rinse a banana?

Our produce washing confessions. [View this email in your browser]( [Bon Appétit Newsletter Banner Yellow]( C is for cookie week It was cookie week at Bon Appétit (really more like cookie month) and over the weekend I baked both the new [Basically brown butter wedding cookies]( and the [double pecan thumbprint cookies]( from our holiday issue. Between the two I went through four sticks of butter, a mountain of powdered sugar, and the new Kurt Vile record at least three times. I loved the crumbly texture of the wedding cookies and the way the double layer of powdered sugar turns velvety, like puppy chow. But the thumbprints stole the show. The cookie dough is nutty pecan flour, and the filling is frangipane, a gooey-delish pecan, espresso, and butter paste, sort of like the inside of an almond croissant. With the extra frangipane—I kept saying it over and over, that bouncy word I’d never used before, to break it in: frang-i-pane!—I made good use of it on toast for breakfast all week. The most popular recipes during cookie week: [Brown Butter and Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies]( [Double Pecan Thumbprints]( [Brown Butter Wedding Cookies]( [Snickerdoodle Party Cookies]( [Zebra-Striped Shortbread Cookies]( (these are cookie creator Chris Morocco's favorite, because they have the simplest flavor, and therefore go the best with coffee) They call me big tuna Big Tuna tried to blame slow sales of [canned tuna on millennials]( ignoring the fact that so much canned tuna is watery cat food and maybe customers have wised up to the good stuff? Nah, def the millennials and their lack of can openers. What will we ruin next? Saltines? Lorna Doones? The planet? The economy? The game BINGO? You HAVE to read [This wonderful oral history-style piece in GQ about Anthony Bourdain]( as told to by his closest friends and colleagues. It’s poignant, funny (see the stories about his reluctant college days above), revealing, and ultimately heartbreaking. Cookbook Club travels back to 1982 On Wednesday, over 20 BA staffers schlepped recipes from Martha Stewart’s timeless first book, Entertaining, to the Upper West Side for our third [#BACookbookClub](. It was the only location that felt right for dishes like gelatinous salmon mousse and Boursin-stuffed snow peas. The whole affair was hosted by Julia Kramer (her coffee table has an ice bucket built into it!!!!), and everyone brought their A-game. Molly Baz crafted an epic croquembouche-meets-flower-vase. Chris Cristiano pinned shrimp to a head of cabbage like some sort of cruciferous voodoo doll. And Julia encased bottles of gin and vodka in flower-y ice. Feel inspired to host your own cookbook club? [Here’s our how-to on that](. Enthralled... ...by [this Instagram video of Cardi B eating gigantic crab legs on a private jet.]( The white sweater, the way she cracks the legs with her teeth like the [mermaid in Splash]( does with the lobster, the platter of what I think is pasta on the side—amazing, all of it. Unnecessary food meme of the week I’m stuffed cheeseburger stew! Unnecessary food feud of the week A debate about salad spinners during a meeting turned into a confessional. Apparently a lot of BA staffers don’t really wash their vegetables at home. Ya filthy animals! Well, including me, last night I definitely didn’t wash the fennel I bought for a shaved salad. Sorry, dinner guests! Associate social media manager Emily Schultz said she just “brushes” any visible dirt off, then she mimicked the brushing so we could really visualize this in action. “A quick rinse” said associate editor Alyse Whitney. “If I SEE dirt or FEEL dirt then yes, but otherwise no,” editorial assistant Emma Wartzman typed in Slack, adding she never washes dill. Alyse said she never washes chives. Restaurant editor Elyse Inamine only washes watercress and lotus root!! How specific!! (Some people were pro-washing, like Epicurious digital director David Tamarkin, who said: “I wash everything. Every little thing. I wash and spin dry my herbs.”) “If it’s organic and looks clean and was sold in a bag or package, nah,” said senior food editor Anna Stockwell. Food director Carla Lalli Music washes all lettuces and leafy greens, and “apples, most of the time.” A haunting possibility. Test kitchen manager Gaby Melian said “non-organic fruits with edible skin (apples, pears, etc) get a soak of water and apple cider vinegar to remove that pesticide residue,” and then she dropped this bomb: Have a nifty weekend, Alex Beggs Senior Staff Writer What do you think of the BA newsletter? Send us your thoughts at staff.bonappetit@gmail.com. [Advertisement]( [Powered by LiveIntent]( [AdChoices]( Get The Magazine [Bon Appétit] [SUBSCRIBE]( This e-mail was sent to you by Bon Appetit. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, [bonappetit@newsletters.bonappetit.com]( to your address book. View our [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe]( Copyright © Condé Nast 2018. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.