The Morning After newsletter highlights hangover food like this “dirtbag charcuterie” plate.
Ashlie Stevens
During quarantine, Ashlie Stevens came to the realization that one of the things she missed most was good hangover food.
“I realized I missed all the places I would eat on a Saturday morning…the diners, the Jewish delis, the bistro down the street, and I realized that this is something I wanted to chronicle,” says Stevens, who writes about food and food professionals for Salon.
So, two months ago, Stevens debuted The Morning After newsletter. The newsletter arrives the first Saturday of each month, and each issue includes a chef-inspired recipe for a hangover cure dish, a hydrating drink and a playlist of music that’s indicated for “a morning best spent on the couch.”
“One of the things that people are missing a lot of in the pandemic is these rituals we had around food and drink,” she says. “There’s going out on Friday night, but how are you going to kick off the weekend? And does the waiter know you by name or the barista know your drink? Those are the things we really took for granted – the people who enhanced our lives.”
It’s these people – particularly the chefs and bartenders and baristas – who are featured in The Morning After newsletter. “This is a way to spotlight what they’re up to now, and this is a way to share the recipes people crave,” Stevens says. “Definitely, the idea of these rituals surrounding our food is nearly universal. I hope my newsletter might give people a sense not of normalcy but invoking nostalgia for other times and also looking forward to what we can enjoy once the pandemic dies down”
The first issue includes a recipes for molletes and agua fresca, while the second issue focuses on “dirtbag charcuterie” and matcha lemonade. The two recipes come with a playlist she’s curated that you can listen to on Spotify.
“Molletes are just these beautiful, open-faced Mexican sandwiches with slathered on ingredients on a roll with hot sauce on top and a fried egg,” Stevens says. “The recipe comes from Jackie Alpers’ new cookbook, Taste of Tuscon. It was exciting to put something out there and showcase some of the work that writers like Jackie are doing during the pandemic.”
Dirtbag charcuterie, which is highlighted in this month’s issue, is “inspired by charcuterie and snack plates from a variety of different restaurants,” she says. “When I wake up, after a night drinking, I want some salt, creaminess and a little bit of protein. I have a couple of dips like miso butter with pretzel sticks, sliced radishes and cucumber, and I have replaced the typical cheese with fried mozzarella sticks. Basically, it’s taking bits and pieces of what you are craving and presenting them in a cohesive fashion and then lounging and (nibbling) on it while you’re relaxing.”
The newsletter itself is free, but paid subscribers get extra recipes, chef interviews and city guides. The subscriber options include $7 a month, $70 a year or pay what you want.
“Subscribers get special content,” Stevens says. “One of the things subscribers will get are city guides to the best places to eat after a night out. Once people are able to get back into traveling, and let’s say you find yourself in Nashville or North Carolina or San Diego, where can you go out for some good food after a night out drinking?”
A portion of all the subscriber fees is donated each month to a different food and/or drink-based charity. This month goes to the United States Bartenders ‘Guild Relief Fund, and next month, donations go to the Okra Project. “I love food that is visually really fun,” she says. “It’s hard to make your dishes look like restaurant quality, but a snack plate has a lot of color and a lot of variety and when you snap a pic and post it on Instagram, maybe it feels like you’re back at brunch.”