Last dinner for the WFMU 2026 fundraising marathon — The Greatest Hits from what we made previous years:

— Scallion noodles from My Shanghai — probably the most popular dish out of everything I’ve ever made. Each time I quadruple the recipe and think looking at the mountain in front of me: overdid. Nope. Each time they disappear first.

— Alison Roman’s Goodbye Meatballs, basic red sauce meatballs but so different with the addition of ricotta.

— Rick Bayless’s chili from The Mexican Kitchen. It’s the real chili chili — not diluted with tomatoes or beans — pounds of anchos toasted, rehydrated, and mashed to a paste.

— Read braised ribs from Xi’an Famous Foods, sweet licorice melting tender.

— Tom Valenti’s sopressatta lasagna with mushrooms and spinach — spicy and creamy — absolutely the best.

— Spanakopita from Taverna, the easiest fastest recipe and the best because the greens are not precooked but salt drained.

— Andrea Nguyen’s pork water dumplings that pair perfectly with Sichuan chili oil.

— Korean carrot salad from Samarkand. So much history behind this everyone’s favorite — IYKYK.

— Oshizushi from Debra Anderson’s Japanese Table — a hit at every party I ever made it for.

— Back to Xi’an Famous Foods with the smashed cucumber salad.

— And my MIL’s famous carrot cake. Back when I didn’t know how to peel carrots, she made it for us to take to the office when we got married. Tom Brokaw pointed out that was the best carrot cake he’d ever had. And he probably had a few.

#food #cooking #fundraisingmarathon #wfmu #thegreatesthits #dinner