Every winter, we counter the chilly winds and grey skies with bowls of cassoulet, one of the heartiest meals on the planet. We cook duck legs for hours, letting them luxuriate in warm, herbed duck fat until they are fork-tender. Then we layer them with cannellini beans cooked with slabs of bacon from a local farm until tender, chunks of garlic sausage and leg of lamb, and a scattering of thyme and onions. We top the whole thing with a thick blanket of garlicky breadcrumbs and even more duck fat (why not?!) and slow-cook it in the oven until all the ingredients have melded together in something that makes us feel like we are deep in the French countryside, eating the kind of meal you remember always.

The Sunday Dinner Club cassoulet nights date back to when we launched our underground supper club more than 16 years ago. These are our most popular dinners of the year and have become a time-honored, beloved SDC tradition. We love filling the dining room with longtime fans and new friends seeking the warmth and community that inevitably come with a cassoulet night.

Life may have changed, but that doesn’t mean we have to give up our cassoulet. 2021 will be our 17th year of cooking cassoulet with you, and we aren’t going to let a pandemic get in the way of sharing bowls of meaty goodness and chasing them down with glasses of rich, red wine and scoops of chocolate mousse. So, friends, let’s cassoulet again—this time, at your place!

Cassoulet is a zine all about the magic that happens when a couple dozen cool, fun people sit down together, nibble on a few snacks and a bright, tart salad before diving into bowls of rich, meaty cassoulet and ending the night with a dollop of chocolate. This zine is produced by the SDC team, along with our friends. Maggie Hennessy is a food and drink writer and restaurant critic, and Chandra Ram is a food magazine editor and cookbook author. Silvia Hidalgo is the designer who creates the gorgeous invitations and menus for our dinners. Together, we’re excited to share our stories and memories of cassoulet nights at SDC, a plan to help you get started, recipes for traditional and vegan cassoulet, plus snacks, wine pairings and a cocktail to whet your appetites for this burly feast, a sweet, light[ish] dessert, and even a tip on the best way to eat leftover cassoulet.