The $10 Item That Improved My Cooking (It's not a food)

Plus, my thoughts on the North Brooklyn pizza scene & midweek reads

In my last apartment, we had an electric stove and a very weak oven. I got used to adding lots of extra time for things to cook and I burnt the bottom of lots of things. I would experiment with putting things on different racks (there were only two) but baking remained a challenge for the full year and half I lived there. When we moved here in December, I was excited for a gas stove, which I prefer. Stovetop cooking was immediately easier—pans actually heat up quickly. There’s definitely one burner that’s more powerful than the rest, but I can make scrambled eggs, boil pasta water and do all my other necessary cooking. I noticed some issues with the oven when I made my first batch of chocolate chip cookies. They took way longer than normal, which I attributed to my impatience at the oven preheating (I’ve never had an oven that dinged when it reaches the desired temperature, maybe someday).

Then, I pulled the trigger and ordered a $10 oven thermometer.

Oven thermometers are recommended by so many food professionals and I somehow resisted for years. If you’re a holdout like me, I’m here to tell you how wonderful they are and how much they’ve simplified my cooking and baking. The one I got is from Amazon (but you can also check your local hardware store or kitchen supply store) and it’s oven safe. It hangs from the middle rack and gives you an accurate read of just how hot your oven is. Since getting it, I’ve learned my oven is off by about 25 degrees so I adjust the temperature I set it to. I’ve also observed that sometimes if it’s on for a while, it will pass the set temperature and get too hot, so I might need to turn it down. It’s easy to check it by popping the door open for a second and I am absolutely converted. Especially if you like to bake, the thermometer is a must have. It’s made my cookies more consistent and helped me make banana bread without having to add a bunch of extra time (because I actually had the oven at the proper temperature). I don’t typically bake more sensitive items like cakes but for those, having the right temperature is even more important.

Do I wish I had an already accurate oven? I guess, but it’s not really something I can control as a renter and this is such an easy fix. If you’re in a similar situation, I think you’ll appreciate having one too. I don’t have a grill but the product can also be used on outdoor grills, which could be helpful as well! Here’s the link again (not an affiliate link) if you want to join the oven thermometer party. If you have a simple kitchen item that’s changed your life, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

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Midweek Reads (I share reads every week in the Monday issue, these are some special extras)

Black pepper is such a common seasoning that it can be an afterthought. I love this deep dive into different types of pepper, including white pepper, which is used in many Southeast and East Asian dishes.

How couples watch TV: A Valentine’s Day Investigation. TV can play a big role in a relationships, whether romantic or friendships. We all have those shows where it would be a betrayal to watch without the other person (I watch Bachelor with friends and Dale and I have watched so many shows together including Love is Blind, Insecure, Love Life Season 2, and back in the day, Game of Thrones). It’s fun to hear the rules couples have for choosing a show and sticking to a schedule.

During the peak of Omicron, I watched all of Selling Sunset. Chrishell is arguably the star (and Davina is the real villain) and she has a new memoir out that I probably won’t read but I will read articles about. Linking in case you are a fan as well. I’m ready for the next season.

It’s fashion week in New York and I’ve been seeing glimpses of the shows and street style photos on social media. The fashion industry has its issues, especially in how it treats people with larger bodies and people who aren’t white. I really admire Janelle Okwodu, who wrote candidly about how the industry has changed in the past 15 years, the struggles of getting dressed for work in such a fatphobic industry, and how people treat her when she doesn’t meet their physical expectations.

Millennials are killing the wine industry! This article is slightly more nuanced, but I wish it focused more on how and why the wine industry doesn’t reach millennials rather than talking about how the right marketing campaign could change everything. Also, wine can be expensive and millennials have been historically screwed by the recession and more.

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Recommendation Station is the TNHS advice column for paid subscribers. Have a question you want answered? Reply to this email or send me a message on Instagram. I’m here to help.

Q: As a fellow pizza lover, I'm super curious how all of the places in the neighborhood / NYC broadly stack up for you. (I'm a Leo die-hard but tried Ops over the weekend and it shook me to the core it was so good). From Leo to Ops, Ace's to Emmy, Paulie Gee's to Montesacro, L'Industrie to Roberta's, the list goes on and on, what are your favorites, and how do you decide where (and what) to eat when?

A: I love this question and can tell we are kindred spirits. First of all, New York pizza is one of the many reasons I can’t imagine living somewhere else. I eat pizza quite frequently and grew up on Dani’s House of Pizza in Kew Gardens (a classic slice shop known for its sweet sauce) and Nick’s Pizza in Forest Hills (brick oven pizza). We really have incredible options in the area and I visit many of them, depending on my mood. I don’t have an official ranking, but I’ll share my thoughts and preferences. In general, I look for a place that I can visit relatively easily (I’m willing to plan ahead but don’t want to wait for hours), has multiple items on the menu I want to eat, has something besides pizza, like a salad, and has a good wine/drink situation since it will be a sit down situation. There are other great pizzas in the city that I haven’t tried because, as you can see, I don’t have to travel far for great pizza.

I love Ops and am so glad you loved it as well. Ops and Leo are owned by the mostly the same people and I’ve been to Ops more often. Both make pizza with a naturally fermented crust and specialize in natural wine. I absolutely love the restaurant’s atmosphere and I have so many good memories there. I’ve been with my parents, with many friends, with my cousin and fellow natural wine fan Lizzi (she had her birthday here a few years ago and we had a blast). The rotating pies at Ops are always so good and vegetable forward and their seasonal salad is also a must order (I’ve had it in November and in August and it’s great at both times). I love their wine selection too and always get great recommendations. I used to go as a walk in because they didn’t take many reservations, but now I’d definitely recommend a reservation on a weekend.

Leo is also very good and it’s in Williamsburg, where I spend more time. It’s a great spot to meet friends and the pizza is really good (the pomodorini pie is my favorite) as is the Caesar salad. I think the space is slightly less special (it’s larger than Ops) and the vibe is a bit less distinct. If I could only keep one, I would keep Ops but I like both.

Leo has great outdoor seating, which is clutch for a restaurant that opened in 2019

I visited Roberta’s, which is sort of the OG of the modern Brooklyn pizza scene (it opened in 2008), more often when I first moved to Brooklyn in 2017. I used to live quite close by and would go on off hours. The downsides of going are the long wait and the fairly high prices. The menu doesn’t change much so you have to be in the mood for the bee sting. I like the outdoor bar area and have gone for drinks (their bread and butter is a great snack). I wouldn’t really get takeout from here because of the price and because I’d rather eat that style of pizza fresh out of the oven. They have a salad there that I love and need to attempt at home.So it’s good but not really in my current rotation.

Ace’s (I haven’t been) and Emmy Squared are both Detroit style pizza, which isn’t my favorite type of pizza. I like Emmy Squared’s other menu items (they have a great brussels sprouts salad) and it’s a good group dinner spot but I don’t crave that type of pizza because it’s a lot heavier and you can eat less of it. I’d definitely rather do a group dinner at Leo than Emmy Squared and they’re on the same block.

Montesacro makes pinsas, which are a thicker Roman style pizza. They are really good, but my favorite thing there is the cacio e pepe so I don’t think of it as a pizza spot, though I really like it as a restaurant. I’ve never been to Paulie Gee’s in Greenpoint, mostly because I’ve heard the wait times are so long and I have great pizza closer by (I’ve been to the slice shop but it was after a bar so obviously I thought it was amazing). And L’Industrie is one I need to frequent more. It used to just be a slice shop, but they recently expanded to have more seating and I want to check it out. Their burrata slice is incredible and they use really high quality ingredients. It’s a great spot to grab a snack slice if you’re running errands and get hungry.

Not on your list, but I have to shout out the two pizzas I probably eat the most: Scarr’s in the Lower East Side and Williamsburg Pizza. Dale introduced me to Scarr’s and it’s absolutely delicious. They mill their own flour and put so much care into each pie. They also have a killer vegan caesar salad (I would love the dressing recipe). We’ll pick up takeout from there or sit at the bar in the back (they have a small but great wine selection and some fun cocktails) and it’s near many other great spots (I’ve gone after oyster happy hour because you have to eat a lot of oysters to be full). And Williamsburg Pizza is our go-to for delivery (I think of the other spots you mentioned as sit down restaurants that specialize in pizza). We get the margherita or the grandma with half pepperoni for Dale and a pie is enough for two meals. It reheats well and is always good (it was the first meal we had in this new apartment after the movers left). I also want to try Mo’s, a general store with pizza. I’ve gotten coffee there but need to come back for pizza.

I’ve definitely sat on a random stoop to eat Scarr’s pizza

If you made it through all these thoughts, thank you! Let me know if you agree/disagree/have another favorite pizza spot! How lucky we are to be alive right now.

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Thank you for reading and supporting This Needs Hot Sauce! Feel free to forward this to a friend who’s passionate about pizza!

xo, Abigail