Hi! It’s Alix. If you’re used to seeing me pop up in videos on social media, I’m sure you’re surprised to see me here. Well SURPRISE! I have been a Cooking Content Creator on the internet for a really, really long time. I hate to age myself, but almost a decade to be exact. I even started as a failed food blogger! So why then has it taken me this long to start a newsletter? Well I don’t care much for the news and letters are nice but now a days the only ones I get are from the IRS.
Truthfully, my head has been in cooking video land since the day I picked up a camera, which was my first day as an Intern at BuzzFeed Tasty. (Yes, somehow I convinced them to hire me without having any prior film experience, but that’s a story for another day!!!) Last year, I finally came up for air long enough to write my debut cookbook, SCRATCH THAT, and since then something in me has shifted. It woke up a part of me desperate for something different, a different way to share. It even woke up a part of me that loves to WRITE! Shocking, I know. What I’m really craving is a new means of connection, that’s what all of this about after all, to foster a community of likeminded people. A space for us to learn together, grow together, laugh together, and eat together. To put myself out there in hopes that you (yes you!!!) also feel seen and heard, and full. Not just full of food, but FULL OF LIFE!
“People who love to eat are always the best people.” - My queen Julia Child
Although I’m technically considered a cooking creator, if you’ve followed me for a while, you know that I don’t just post recipes or food. I like to (over)share lots of different parts of my life; from my travels, to my home, family, fashion, spirituality, my relationship…OH and that brings me to Zoya! My partner of three years. As I have fallen in love with her, you have fallen in love with her too (and I don’t blame you, have you SEEN her dimples?!?!?) Zoya is Persian, a female founder, speaker, fruit peeler, and all around great human. As we already do virtually everything together, (virtually & IRL) I thought it would be fun to add one more thing to our plate. THIS NEWSLETTER. God I hate that word, let’s just call it a twosletter. Because for the price of ONE you get TWO! Zoya and I are like yin and yang, so if you don’t like me, you’ll probably like her, and if you don’t like her, you’ll probably like me, and if you don’t like either of us, well then I can’t help you, move along!!!
We’ve named our twosletter A to Z, for obvious reasons- our first names, and for less obvious but still obvious reasons- it encompasses literally anything & everything that we are so eager to talk about. Food is our main passion but neither of us have ever been happy being just one thing. In a world that’s obsessed with putting us in boxes, have the courage to live outside of the box. Wow how profound of me. Can someone confirm if that’s already a quote? That sounds like a quote.
To grow a social media following, the advice is always to niche down and stick to one thing. While that does work, I’ve found it comes at a cost, because humans are complex and varied. One day you might wake up feeling empty and depleted, the thing you were so passionate about no longer lights you up but only feels like work. I’ve gone through these cycles before (again I’m a decade deep in this career!) and while I’m sure my “numbers” would be higher if I just stuck to food, I will always choose to follow that fire within. Even when it doesn’t make much sense. So this space may be a beautiful, chaotic mess of a lot of things, but you know me, I love to make a mess. Thank YOU for being here. LET’S STACK THIS SUB!
WOW would ya look at that, I’ve just inspired myself for my very first recipe! A STACKED SUB SANDWICH. If this recipe doesn’t convince you to subscribe, I don’t know what will! This is also a great time to mention, that that is exactly how I develop my recipes. I like to let the process happen naturally, drawing inspiration from my everyday life. If you’ve seen my videos, you know I love to include allll the behind the scenes moments. I don’t want this to be a space you come to, get a recipe, & leave. I want to pull back the curtain of my own process so that you can find your flow, because once you get those creative juices flowing, it’s impossible to stop. That process is what got me where I am today in my career, and guess what…It’s probably not good for business for me to tell you that anyone can do it, but I’m less interested in making you dependent on me for recipes and more interested in empowering you to tap into your own creative well, whatever you choose to use that well for! Cue Kacey Musgraves.
Ok, this was so fun. I love you and enjoy this recipe!!!
Love your friend in food,
Alix
“Zoya, do you have anything to say?”
“I have a lot to say…but I'll save it for next week” - Zoya
STACKED SUB SANDWICH
just a really really really good sandwich
Servings: a lot, it’s a giant sandwich
Ingredients:
1 large soft french loaf
freshly grated parm (optional for cheesy bread)
1/4 head iceberg lettuce, finely shredded
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon hot honey
a big pinch of kosher salt
a few cranks of freshly cracked black pepper
a sprinkle of Italian herb seasoning (optional)
2 tomatoes, sliced
1/4 yellow onion, thinly sliced (I use a mandolin)
measure with your heart:
mayo & mustard
capicola
genoa salami
ham
prosciutto
provolone
pickles & pepperoncinis
lays potato chips (trust)
Prep:
Set your oven to broil and sprinkle the top of the loaf with freshly grated parm. Pop the loaf in the oven to melt the cheese WATCHING IT VERY VERY CAREFULLY BECAUSE THE BROILER IS VERY VERY HOT AND IF YOU TURN AWAY AND TRY TO MULTITASK YOU WILL FORGET AND IT WILL BURN, I AM VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS BECAUSE IT HAPPENED TO ME.
Once the cheese is melted, take the bread out of the oven and slice it in half to open it up. Set aside.
Sprinkle the sliced tomatoes with salt and set aside. In a small bowl, toss the shredded lettuce with the EVOO, red wine vinegar, and hot honey. Season the lettuce with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning if using.
Spread the bread with mayo and mustard, layer on the meats, provolone, lettuce mixture, tomatoes, pickles and pepperoncinis, and Lays potato chips.
Carefully close the sandwich, if you overstuffed it like I did you’ll have some spillage. Either stuff it back in or eat it as a little snack. Slice the giant sub (I recommend using a serrated knife) into 2 inch pieces and eat your heart out!
Ok now for real, TTYL!
From A
I'd like to think WELL SURPRISE in the first paragraph was an special easter egg shout out for me and me only!