Happy Saturday. Starting next Friday, we’ll be coming to you with a new newsletter — called Weekend Non-Negotiables — designed to help you plan for the weekend ahead. In that spirit, here are a few of my non-negotiables for this weekend:
Purchase a pair of so-called French-Girl Birkenstocks — which combine the quietly chic look of a suede loafer with the ease and comfort of a slip-on clog.
Trade my beloved scarf coat for “fall’s most elegant outerwear.” Not only is it the closest you can come to wearing a blanket outside, but it also makes any outfit look more expensive.
Repeat my latest (sorry, only) makeup trick: micro wing eyeliner. It’s super subtle, actually achievable, and makes people think I sort of know what I’m doing.
Try this brilliant Notes app hack. If you, like me, can never remember if 60 degrees is warm enough for a sweatshirt or cold enough for a coat, I’m convinced this will solve our problems.
— Melissa Goldberg / Senior Editor / Washington, DC
Too Tired to Cook? Make This Quick, Easy, and Impossibly Flavorful Pantry Recipe
theSkimm
Can someone explain why, in the year of 2025, we’re still categorizing some dishes as “appetizers” and others as “mains”? Particularly when most recipes can be whatever you want them to be? Just take Dan Pelosi’s Crispy Artichokes & Marinated Butter Beans. The pantry-friendly recipe — included in his latest cookbook, Let's Party — delivers maximum flavor with minimal effort: Canned artichoke hearts are seared in a skillet until they’re brown and crispy, while canned butter beans marinate in an herby oil. Pile it all over a bed of tangy Greek yogurt, serve it alongside crusty bread or fluffy pita, and you’ve got the most crowd-pleasing appetizer in town. Or, be like us, and call it dinner.
The Time Commitment: Thirty minutes, give or take.
Key Tips: This recipe is endlessly adaptable. Don’t love Greek yogurt? Ricotta, labneh, or even store-bought tzatziki work equally well. No butter beans? Use cannellini, navy, great northern, or garbanzo beans instead.
Other Takes: For more ways to exercise your culinary free will, try...
Crispy Halloumi With Tomatoes and White Beans. It’s loaded with the only cheese that matters, comes together in one pan, and takes 30 minutes — so no wonder a commenter called it “one to keep forever and make weekly.”
Greek-ish Salad Dip. Is it a dip? Is it a salad? Does it matter when it’s packed with feta and pickled red onions and served with hunks of toasted bread?
Chili-Roasted Sweet Potatoes Over Garlic Labneh. Topped with feta, pomegranate seeds, and a healthy amount of herbs, this peak-fall recipe is impressive enough for company, but simple enough for a weeknight.
PS:Want more where that came from? Dan Pelosi’s going live with Skimm+ for a holiday cookie demo. RSVP here to save your spot.
