Entertainment
10 Things I’ve Learned Writing This Column
It’s hard to believe I’m saying this, but today marks the last time I am officially writing this food column for Cup of Jo. I say “officially” because I plan to still contribute now and again, I’m just pulling back in order to focus on some upcoming personal projects, so I won’t be chiming in every Wednesday, the way I have been for almost seven straight years. SEVEN YEARS! How lucky I am to have been a consistent part of this wonderful community for that long — I’m so grateful to all of you for reading, for teaching me so much, for reminding me that every single person on earth seems to have a strong opinion about Trader Joe’s. To mark the occasion, I wanted to round up my most memorable moments…
1. Most Satisfying Thing In General: Giving Other Food Writers a Platform
This has been the best part of the job by far — finding and introducing you to food writers and cookbook authors. The Cup of Jo community is powerful and engaging and food writers are always thrilled to be part of it through their recipes. To name just a few memorable cameos: Yasmin Fahr’s Sausage Meatballs with Halloumi and Tomatoes (above; Bee Wilson’s Magic One-Pan Pasta; Sohla El-Waylly’s Chickpea and Chard Stew, Hetty McKinnon’s Cabbage Carbonara, Leah Koenig’s Chicken Soup; Odette Williams’s Pasta with Vodka Sauce; Dan Pelosi’s Pastina for a Bad Day. The amount of talent out there will never not amaze me.
2. Most Visited Recipes, Personally Speaking
I don’t just write this column, I use it. Like constantly. There are some recipes I return to more than others, though: Brooks Reitz’s Lazy Man’s Ratatouille, Priya Krishna’s crowd-pleasing Matar Paneer, Andrea Nguyen’s Tofu Bánh Mì. If I hadn’t already memorized my Smashed Pea Toasts with Ricotta (above), Roast Chicken and Pan-Fried Fish Sandwich, they’d be on this list, too. And every time a dinner-party host asks “Can you bring dessert?” I head to the comments section on this post for inspiration.
3. Most Visited Recipe, Most Recently: Sara Forte’s Blackened Salmon with Tropical Pico
Have you made this yet? I mean, it’s a perfect recipe. I only just wrote about it in May, yet it’s graced my table at least a half dozen times since, including this past weekend. Tip: I often pick up pre-made mango salsa to fast-track the pico.
4. Most Visited Recipes, by the Numbers
But forget what my favorites are, here are three posts that were hugely popular strictly by the numbers: Taste Test: What’s the Best Vanilla Ice Cream (that surprised me), Ali Stafford’s Same-Day Peasant Bread (I remember this one blowing up the internet), and Five Recipes Worth Memorizing, including my go-to tofu prep and all-purpose salad dressing.
5. Most Controversial Moment: How to be a Good Guest
I had no idea I’d be poking such a bear with the topic of “fashionable lateness.” Lesson learned: Most of you do not want dinner guests showing up 15 minutes late, even if they text ahead to let the host know.
6. Second Most Controversial Moment: The #1 Thing I’d Tell New Parents About Family Dinner
I stand by it to this day: If you have a kid under age three, don’t bother.
7. Most Fun to Write: The Basics
In pursuit of the new and the novel, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that people don’t necessarily need to know how to de-bone a sea trout — most cooks just want to make a good dinner every night and have a pleasant time doing it. Writing about basic, real recipes has always been my wheelhouse, so it makes sense that they’ve been the most fun posts to write. I’m thinking: The Only 5 Salad Dressings You Need; 9 Easy Family Meals We’ve Loved to Death (that was hilariously fun); How to Upgrade a Regular Green Salad; an ode to Frozen Vegetables and one to a humble head of cabbage. In the sweets department, it was my Old-School Chocolate Mousse (above), plus my Crisp for All Seasons and Dorie Greenspan’s Everything Cake, both of which could be categorized as a “one recipe fits all.” I also think I need to make that mousse this weekend.
8. Most Viral: A Potato Salad Trick
I’ve always believed that if I can give readers even the tiniest way to make their lives better or happier, then I’ve done my job. There was never a more clear (or tiny) example of this than the time I told people “When making potato salad, toss your potatoes in the dressing while the potatoes are still warm and therefore optimally absorbent.” It’s the most popular post I’ve written on Cup of Jo.
9. Most Impactful Comment: “Eat less meat,” instead of “Eat no meat”
More specifically, in response to my book The Weekday Vegetarians, a Cup of Jo reader wrote something like “It’s a better approach to convince more people to eat less meat, than to convince fewer people to eat zero meat.” I wish I could find the comment and the reader who said this (is it you?) so I could thank them for every one of the 100 times I repeated it at a book event or in an interview. So well said, and so true.
10. Most Emotional: Secrets for Stress-Free Family Dinners
I remember when Joanna asked me to write this story — an evergreen topic — and I thought, I’ve written about family dinner for a dozen years now, how am I going to come up with something new? But I had never written about the topic as an empty nester looking back, and it surprised me how easily the words came, and how emotional it was to write the story and realize I was the “Perspective Person” now. Eras end. Kids grow up. And I’m so lucky I’ve been able to write about all of it here on Cup of Jo.
Did I miss anything? Thank you for reading, everyone. You can always find me on my newsletter, Dinner: A Love Story. And I can say with great confidence that you are in excellent hands with my successors: Alex Beggs, Christina Chaey, Kelsey Miller, and many other talented writers Joanna has lined up for 2025. I, for one, cannot wait.
P.S. An ode to rituals (the first time my byline ever appeared on Cup of Jo) and how to get your kids to talk at dinner.
(Photos: Chocolate mousse, Yossy Arefi; Bread, Alexandra Stafford; Family dinner: Chelsea Cavanaugh)
Entertainment
SNL opens with another Pete Hegseth press conference
Saturday Night Live returned from a brief hiatus Saturday with a cold open depicting a joint press conference between Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and FBI Director Kash Patel, with “Master of None” creator Aziz Ansari playing the latter.
Colin Jost’s Hegseth hit the familiar beats at the podium — performative machismo, military bravado, and repeated jabs at the secretary’s well-documented drinking habits. This time, Hegseth arrived at the mic hauling an oversized pitcher of scotch, which he assured the room was his one for the day. He then fielded questions from the press about the administration’s handling of U.S. strikes on Iran, dismissing each reporter with the particular brand of smug confidence that has become central to Jost’s portrayal of the character.
Ansari’s Patel proved to be the sketch’s standout, arriving to defend his tenure at the FBI and proceeding to do so poorly. The bit’s centerpiece involved Patel simultaneously denying and admitting that he had locked himself out of his work email for 36 hours after forgetting he had changed his password to “kashmeoutside69.”
Funnily enough, Patel was reportedly locked out of his FBI email in real life and believed, at least momentarily, that he was being fired. As the sketch demonstrated, the distance between SNL’s Cold Open and the actual news cycle has rarely felt smaller.
Entertainment
NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 3, 2026
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition will require some knowledge of popular U.S. sports and pop culture.
As we’ve shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.
Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections: Sports Edition?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication’s sports coverage. The sports Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
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Here’s a hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Here are today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
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Yellow: In Good Shape
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Green: Current NFL Head Coaches
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Blue: Famous Sports “Curses”
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Purple: Starts of Big Ten Names
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition #586 is…
What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?
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In Good Shape: AGIL, ATHLETIC, FIT, STRONG
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Current NFL Head Coaches: COEN, GLENN, REID, RYANS
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Famous Sports “Curses”: BAMBINO, BILLY GOAT, MADDEN, SI COVER
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Starts of Big Ten Names: BOIL, BUCK, CORN, HAWK
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.
Entertainment
The DJI Mini 5 Pro drone is $500 off right now at Amazon — save on this content creator favorite
SAVE $500: The DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is on sale for $1,099 at Amazon. That’s $500 off the list price of $1,599.
$1,099
at Amazon
$1,599
Save $500
What’s going to happen to the drone market in 2026? Due to legislative pressure on DJI imports in the U.S., there is so much uncertainty at the moment. We expected stock issues by now, but we’re actually seeing strong discounts on some of the best drones in the DJI range.
The DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is on sale for $1,099 at Amazon. That’s $500 off and close to the record-low price.
The DJI Mini 5 Pro offers a huge 1-inch CMOS sensor, so whether you’re shooting 50MP stills or 4K/120fps slow-motion, the dynamic range more than delivers. The DJI Mini 5 Pro also makes use of forward-facing LiDAR that powers the new Nightscape Omnidirectional Sensing, meaning it can dodge branches, power lines, and buildings even when you don’t have eyes on your drone.
This popular drone offers 42GB of internal storage, meaning you can actually capture a full session of 4K footage without needing an external card as backup. That can have a massive impact for content creators.
Mashable Deals
Save $500 on the DJI Mini 5 Pro this weekend.
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