making WGWW goofproof

a.k.a. meet Haley!

Hi friends!

It was so nice to tell you all about my parents last week and share about how we worked together on WHAT GOES WITH WHAT. If you missed it and want to learn more about them (they’re way cooler than me!), you can read the whole thing here:

Thanks for all of your sweet notes about them. Those comments really brought a smile to my face (and theirs, too). In the same spirit of sharing behind-the-scenes about my new book and introducing you to people I love, I wanted to dedicate today’s newsletter to the one and only Haley Scarpino. If you’ve taken any of my online cooking classes, you already know Haley. She’s my right hand in class and moderates the chat and just brings such a great spirit and energy to the room (the Zoom room, that is). My classes would be far less fun without her.

In addition to helping with my classes, she’s also a newsletter editor for Serious Eats, Simply Recipes, and Real Simple. She used to run a very wonderful prepared meal service called Valentine Kitchen and she’s an incredibly talented knitter. I just love her!

On top of all of that, Haley is a gifted recipe tester who pays incredible attention to detail. So when it came time to cross test all the recipes in WHAT GOES WITH WHAT, I knew she was the one to do it. Since she has been with me in so many classes, Haley knows my cooking style probably better than anyone. Knowing that she’s made every single recipe in the book makes me feel extra confident about it being a reliable book that you can trust. I do not take any reader’s time, energy or money for granted, which is why it was a no brainier to invest in Haley’s work on the recipes.

So without further ado, here’s Haley and a short Q&A I did with her about working on the recipes and on my classes.

Meet Haley Scarpino! Here she is with a big platter of grilled lemon chicken <3

How did you feel when I asked you to test the recipes? Was it daunting?

I immediately felt really excited. Then I got really nervous. I questioned if I was even qualified to do such a thing. I had to talk myself into believing that I could do it. It was exactly what I had been working towards. It feels really scary to get exactly what you want, when you reach your goal.  

It didn't feel daunting at all. Once I got my brain right and realized I could do it, I felt sad for it to end—like when you start a really good book and never want to finish it. 

How did you go about working the recipe testing into your day-to-day life?

Like most people, not wasting food is really important to me. I wanted to figure out how to make 100 recipes without wasting a thing. I set up a schedule of recipes that went well with other recipes. We ate the recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything in between. I gave food to friends and family members if it was helpful OR if I knew they would love a particular recipe. And when I simply had too much food, I donated it to our local community fridge.

What do you enjoy about recipe testing?

I enjoy all of it, honestly. I love getting everything organized and figuring out which recipes go together. I love making little menus out of all the recipes. Or sorting out which recipes share ingredients. How long does a quart of buttermilk last? How many recipes have buttermilk? Those types of things. I love the problem-solving. 

I love grocery shopping. I love nothing more than making a good list and then figuring out which stores I need to visit. I love going to the grocery store. They are my happy place (I know, I'm weird). 

Most of all, I love the minutiae of every recipe detail. Exactly how much salt tastes perfect to me. Did it take 5 or 7 minutes for the onions to get perfectly translucent and golden? I love getting lost in a recipe. 

The only part of recipe testing I don't like is hauling my groceries down to the basement. I keep my recipe testing ingredients separate. I have a refrigerator and shelving in our basement dedicated to recipe testing. I hate hauling everything up and down. Once it's down there, though, I love getting everything organized. 

What do you find most challenging about recipe testing?

The hardest part for me is separating my opinions about food and cooking from whether a recipe works and is good. Just because I don't like a particular ingredient doesn't mean the recipe is not good. What drove me to start cooking is that I'm incredibly particular about food. I like things a certain way (who doesn't?!), and I wanted to figure out how to make food I love. I'm not someone who loves ALL food. I'm a picky eater. However, I need to separate that and figure out if a recipe works and is successful.

As someone who knows the book so well, how would you describe WHAT GOES WITH WHAT? Asking for a friend…

Haha! I LOVE this book. I think I told you once that I feel like an auntie to this book. It's not mine, but I left little impressions here and there. Here is what I love about it, it's different! If you can't tell, I'm a very detail-orientated person. I love directions and guidelines. I THRIVE in a structured environment. This is why I love recipes and cookbooks so much. However, this book has pushed me away from following a recipe and has taught me to trust my cooking instincts. Before this book, if a recipe said add ½ teaspoon of kosher salt, that is exactly what I added. Now, I view recipes as jumping off point. I think there are a lot of people like me, and I believe this book will really open their culinary world, which is very exciting!   

Any tips for anyone looking to get into freelance recipe testing?

For me, it's about working with people I admire. If there is someone that really inspires you, reach out! You'd be surprised. I loved you, Julia, from the first time I saw you on Ina Garten's show years ago. I started following you on Instagram and kept an eye on what you were doing. That really worked out! I couldn't love working with you more! 

Also, recipe testing is NOT for everyone. It takes a lot of organization and precision. Most of the time I spend on a recipe is not cooking it. I spend the most time making lists, grocery shopping, taking notes, and typing up feedback. So, make sure that's something you enjoy as much as cooking. 

You also moderate the chat in all of my online classes - what's your favorite part of that??

Learning! My role is to answer questions or help get questions answered, but I have learned so much. We talk about it in class, but the crowd-sourcing of questions is the best part. I will always remember that

Jordan Smith

(@helloitsjordansmith on Instagram) helped answer a question about cream to whipped cream ratio (one cup of cream equals about 2 cups of whipped cream). I have learned to use slightly less GF flour because it absorbs more liquid. Those are just a couple of examples, but the combined knowledge of everyone in a class is amazing.

Also, class is really fun. I always look forward to it, and I always have fun. There is nothing I would rather do than talk about food on a Sunday afternoon with the nicest people! 

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WHAT GOES WITH WHAT will be out on October 15th! If you’re thinking of getting a copy, please please please consider preordering it. My spiel about why preordering matters so much) is right here. All preorder info is at juliaturshen.com/wgww.

If you’d like a signed or personalized copy, I’ll be doing those as always through Oblong Books, my local independent bookstore. This is where to order from if you want me to sign a copy or to make one out specifically to you or anyone in your life. If you preorder a signed copy from Oblong, you will also get a little special something which I can’t tell you more about right now because it’s not done yet but it’s in the works and is sooooo cool and it involve my parents!

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And before I let you go! I’m so excited about the podcast episode I aired today!! It’s with Alex Lau, who is a food and travel photographer from San Francisco. When not sitting in car rentals and airport terminals, he is the proud owner of three dogs named Rocco, Ellie, and Nina. With the rest of his free time, he trains and competes as a nationally ranked powerlifter. 

I followed Alex’s work for a long time before learning about his dedication to powerlifting. When I competed for the first time in February 2023, I posted something about it on Instagram and Alex reached out to me saying how excited he was to see a fellow food person in powerlifting. I can’t tell you how sweet it was to get his message and encouragement. It was a joy to speak with Alex and hear more about the role of lifting in his life. I hope you enjoy our conversation. You can listen HERE or wherever you listen to podcasts!

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Okay, that’s everything I wanted to tell you today! Thanks for being here and take good care. xoxooxox