Welcome to Stir the Pot, a project by me, Michelle Albanes-Davis. Never heard of me? I bet you or someone you know has one of my cookbooks.
My recipes have become a staple in home cooking around the globe since the publication of my first book in 2014 which was an instant #1 New York Times best-seller. I’ve been shaping what hits plates in North America and in restaurants world-wide ever since. My five cookbooks, published in over 8 different languages, can be found here. I headed an award winning brand, Bad Manners for 12 years, as the sole recipe creator along with writing the brand’s popular weekly newsletter, The Broiler Room. Then I quit (read about it here and here) and started
.But this isn’t the Michelle Show.
Why subscribe?
I don’t want to be the star of Stir the Pot. I want to build a cool, goofy corner of the internet for all of us to hang out in and eat good food. I am the friend that all of you readers have in common, not the ego everyone has to stroke. You’re joining our friend group and we’re so fucking happy you’re here. When you subscribe, you’re part of our club and that means:
- weekly Saturday newsletters about food, the environment, domestic labor, and the occasional personal essay.
- these posts are meant to be jumping off points for further discussion in the comments which are active as hell. No need to agree with everything, but keep it curious and respectful towards each other. Again, I’m not the star. We all want to hear from you.
-occasional recipes. I keep all of the new recipes behind the paywall because I need to make rent and my 2 cats and dog are always hungry. But I do have a deep catalog of work that I like to pull from and share with everyone.
-occasional midweek food and environmental news round-ups to keep you in the know. These are light and funny because I know you don’t need help hearing bad news these days.
I know what I’m doing. I’ve been writing and cooking online for more than a decade so I’ve got a lot of practice. I’m not here to recycle old arguments about whether a hot dog is a sandwich and waste everyone’s time. You’re cool and want to read cool sh*t. That’s what I want to give you.
Maybe you like to cook or just like to read stuff from people who do. I keep it informative, a lil silly, but most importantly I want to expand the way all of us view our food system, cooking, and our place in all of it. We all need to eat like we give a f*ck, one day at a time. Got something to say? I’m always in the comments interacting with anyone and everyone who wants to continue the conversation. But if you really want the juice, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Why pay?
Don’t let all the success fool you, writing recipes doesn’t make you a millionaire. The bills don’t care about your subscriber count. I’ve put the recipes behind a paywall because I think they have value. If I bound them all together in a book, they’d cost money. Instead, here at
I send out a brand new recipe each week to my paid subscribers. Think of it as an evergreen cookbook where a new page appears each week. You also have access to all the recipes I’ve created over the years from my archive at , my archive on my site, and the archive from The Broiler Room. It’s a damn fine deal. But that’s not all, when you become a paid subscriber you also get:- access to the Stir the Pot Pot-cast, where I cook a recipe from start to finish right there with you. Think of it like an audio recipe where I keep you company in the kitchen but you don’t have to stare at a screen. While we cook, I share lots of tips, tricks, and facts about the food we’re making that I could never put in a recipe. It’s fun and very chill by design.
- access to The Supper Book Club where we get together and read fiction, nonfiction, and even some cookbooks to expand our ideas around food, the environment, homecooking, and our place within it. We read one book a month and vote on the next one together so things stay interesting. We meet once a month online, very lowkey, and chat about what we’ve read. Participation is never required but we’d to hear what you think.
- you get support. A lot of people online can be hard to reach but not me. Aside from the comment section, I’m accessible in our subscriber chat or over email to answer any and all cooking questions you have within 48 hours. Don’t know what to substitute for an ingredient you can’t find? Need suggestions for what to make for a dinner party? I’m there for you. That’s part of the paid subscription baby!
I’m here to help you improve your relationship with food, shop smarter, and talk some sh*t along the way. Things may get personal. They will certainly get weird but I won’t spam you. I’m too tired.
When I’m not cooking, I’m on the couch in my LA apartment with my wife Kyria, dog Harlow, and two cats Clementine and Kamala.
