10 Things: Tones, Tarts, Trailers

All my recommendations for what to watch, read, listen to, bake, cook, think about, consider, create, and more for this week

It’s been a minute, so I keep having LOTS OF THINGS TO TELL YOU ABOUT! Which is great. First three are free; seven more under the paywall (including my number one favorite Instant Pot recipe, and it’s not what you think it is).

1. WATCH: Colin From Accounts on Paramount Plus

I thought Patrick Brammall was not from Australia, because he did such a convincing job of being not-Australian on Evil (one of my favorite shows ever of all time, against all odds). But he is, and he made this rom-com TV show with his real life partner Harriet Dyer, and it is laugh-out-loud funny. (I think pretty much anything where a penis is the humor is funny, though, so keep that in mind. There is one penis joke, and boy did I ever laugh out loud.) The premise does involve a dog being hit by a car (watch the trailer, you’ll understand the premise), but then the premise is about that same dog being desperately loved and doted upon forever and always. The dog is called Colin from Accounts. I highly recommend.

2. LISTEN TO: Our fall playlist

Per tradition, I offer this playlist of fall music, new and old, constructed by Luke, Jessica, and me. We add to it all season. I cried while listening to it on a drive recently, so you know it’s not a bad playlist.

3. BAKE: A late tomato tart

If you’ve still got remotely good tomatoes in your vicinity, I highly recommend this easy-enough stunner of a meal, adapted from this recipe by Alexa Weibel at the New York Times.

• Thaw one sheet of puff pastry and roll it out onto a cookie sheet.

• Slice four nice tomatoes into thin slices. Then — and this is critical — salt the tomato slices individually and place between two towels to get all the moisture out. This should take about 15 minutes.

• Brush the pastry with a creamy plant milk, like oat milk or soy milk.

• Slice one red onion into unthinkably thin slices.

• Arrange the tomatoes and onions on the pastry sheet so they form one layer, overlapping just slightly.

• Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees, rotating halfway through.

• Add fresh basil, pesto, and ricotta (tofu or real).

• Finish with a drizzle of olive oil.