FRIENDSHIP FOOD + kindness + ways to help each other

Coming up: Stories and recipes and new projects

Hello! Hello!

I’ve written at least six drafts of this letter over the past month and finally decided to just announce some changes to xoxoDorie: After almost three years of writing and after almost 200 posts, I’m moving the newsletter from completely free to a mix of free and paid subscriptions, with more of what you’ve told me you want about food, travel, recipes and the stories that make them come alive. I’m also hoping to put more kindness into the world: Each month, I’ll be donating a portion of the subscription fees.

Change is tough for me — I’m a second- and third-guesser. But a bunch of guesses later, I know that many changes turn out to be good and I’m convinced that this one will be really good. I think of it as a change for more: There’ll be more writing, more recipes, more chances for us to share ideas and more opportunities to work together as a community and to help others — I love all of this, but I especially love that we’re going to have a new chance to do good.

How I Came to This Change: The Backstory

When I was writing  xoxoDorie on Bulletin, Meta supported my work. But that ended more than a year and a half ago when Bulletin shuttered and I moved the newsletter here to Substack. I was urged to set a fee for the newsletter then, but I resisted and chugged along on my own.

Well, not really on my own. For years, I’ve had two extraordinary people working with me: Mary Dodd, my incomparable recipe tester — we’ve worked together for almost 15 years! — and Antonella Iannarino, the tech/layout/copyediting genius, without whom nothing would ever reach you, at least not in a form any of us would like. Their work has tremendous value and so, while I worked pro bono, of course I paid them.

Funny, I was going to say that no one should work without pay, but then, I did.

For all the time that Substack has been home to xoxoDorie, I’ve written the newsletter, created recipes for it, written those recipes, had Mary test them, and responded to your excellent comments. I did all this work with love and joy and I was so thankful and happy to have you with me. But I did this without pay, even though it’s work that has value, too. Recently, Jesse Kornbluth, who writes the Head Butler newsletter, commented on how because everyone writes, it’s hard to ask people to pay for writing. I nodded as I read this. Those of you who are writers, or creators of any kind, are probably nodding, too.

I love writing the newsletter. I love writing it for you. And I love hearing from you. But I need your help to keep it going. Support the newsletter and I’ll give you more.

Here’s what I’m planning:

✔ You’ll hear from me more often (if you want)

I’ll be writing more frequently, sending more special stories and more recipes more often. I said that xoxoDorie will be “mostly paid,” an odd term but I couldn’t find another to explain that there will always be posts that will be free and open for everyone to read and comment on — these will come at the casual cadence that you’ve been used to from me. But there will be additional posts each month and these, along with full access to the jam-packed archives, will be for paid subscribers.

✔ There’ll be a new feature: FRIENDSHIP FOOD / recipes for sharing

I’ll tell you more about this soon, but just as so many of you baked along with me when the world was topsy-turvy and the daily news was bleak — maybe you remember/maybe you were part of my COOKIES + KINDNESS project — I want us to cook and bake together and to bring back the idea and the pleasure of sharing food as a way to build communities, start conversations and just be together in a sweet and kind way. It helped before and I know it will help again.

✔ There will be STORIES

The stories will be wide-ranging — I want to stretch a bit and tell you more. There’ll be stories about Paris, of course; about books and cooks and bakers, people I want you to meet and happenings I want you to know about; many stories will be behind-the scenes; some will be memoirish; and many will include recipes.

✔ There will be sneak peeks of my new WORK IN PROGRESS

I’m writing a new book — KITCHEN CAKES DORIE’S ANYTIME CAKES — and there’s so much to do on it, so much that I think you’ll find interesting and so much that I want to tell you about. You’re the people I want to give the news to first, the people I want to hear from and the people I’d love to bat around ideas with. Look below for details on the #TEAMCAKE subscription bonus.

I've got a new project - hint, hint, it's sweet

✔ And best of all — there’ll be the OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO HELP OTHERS

My plan is to send a portion of the money that I receive for this newsletter to organizations that are feeding and caring for people most in need. This is something that I do on my own, but together we can do so much more. As a group, we can decide who we will support. Think of it as another form of FRIENDSHIP FOOD.

I know that as much as I hope you can join me and help to make this community stronger, not everyone will be able to or will want to and I understand. Whatever you decide to do, there’ll always be room at my table for you and there’ll always be something for everyone.

I love all of you and I love how our group has grown over the years. I don’t want to lose touch with you. You all mean so much to me.

#TEAMCAKE BONUS: Upgrade by May 28 and you’ll be among the first to sample a work-in-progress recipe from my new book, KITCHEN CAKES DORIE’S ANYTIME CAKES.

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Catch up on some of the top posts from xoxoDorie

A very good stay in Paris

Would you eat this invisible cake?

Eating in Italy: the list

Not so rough-to-make quick puff pastry

A bushel of bits and bobs, books and questions for bakers