Monday: Some housekeeping + newly published content + I'm sharing the recipe for the mini air fryer meatloafs I made on Instagram last night!
PS: I"m working on a queso story! Please pitch me the most inventive queso dishes your client has on their menu :)
Hi, friends!
Happy Monday!
First, some housekeeping: Everyone who RSVP’d for tomorrow’s Holiday Gift Guide Pitching Zoom Webinar should have received an email from me this morning with their confirmation and log-in credentials. If you didn’t, drop me an email and I’ll get you sorted out.
If you didn’t RSVP and still want to come…unfortunately, I can’t help you (I know, I’ve gotten a bunch of emails to that effect over the last few days since registration closed).
We are at full capacity and we can’t fit another person in. Not our choice, I assure you! It’s Zoom’s rules. But, it’s exciting that there was such intense demand and hopefully we’ll be able to do something else together very soon…
Also: You may have seen I made mini air fryer meat loafs last night on Instagram. A bunch of you DM’d me after asking for the recipe, so I’m going to share how to make it yourself right here, right now.
(It’s crazy easy! Start to finish in under 30 minutes!)
My meat loafs are a bit of a southwestern spin on the traditional. I also purposefully do mini ones for two reasons - easier to make it work in an air fryer and since I am doing this with freezer meals and meal prep in mind, I can make one for this week and freeze the other for another week (perhaps when I am coming home from travel and don’t feel game to start cooking!)
Ingredients
1 lb ground meat — I used turkey, but chicken, beef, whatever is fine here. Keep it lean if you can!
½ cup matzo meal or panko bread crumbs
1 shallot
1 jumbo egg, lightly beaten
One packet of taco seasoning (or whatever seasoning you prefer -you can obviously use your own homemade blends too!) - if using a packet, reserve about 1/3!
For the glaze
One can of enchilada sauce
The rest of that taco seasoning
Instructions
This is so easy. Just mix all the meat loaf ingredients in a bowl. Don’t over mix tho because you don’t want it to get tough.
Shape the loaf: Shape the loaf into a loaf shape. Do your best. My frien Shari said mine looked like a hamsa! It kind of did. But, I mean, do your best! It’s delicious no matter what shape comes out..
Part of the beauty of me doing mini loaves is that they are smaller, which will help with more even cooking in the air fryer. But obviously, do what you prefer. One bigger one is fine too.
Set your air fryer to 350°F (Preheat too if you can!). You. may want to make a boat of aluminum foil under your loaves to catch any grease and avoid smoking (or you can reserve those drippings to make a gravy after, up to you!)
Put your loaves in air fryer basket. Add a drizzle of that enchilada sauce and cook for about 18 minutes.
After the initial cooking time, add the rest of that enchilada sauce and taco seasoning and brush it evenly over the top of the meatloaf. Put it back in the air fryer and cook for an additional 7-10 minutes.
You’re going to want to let the meat rest for a few minutes before slicing so the juices can redistribute. Now slice and serve. This variation on the traditional will be a bit spicy and savory and smoky and so delicious.
Upcoming travel: I’ll be in the greater LA area the latter part of next week for Malibu Food & Wine (so excited!), and then after the festival completes — and yes, I’ll be there for its entirety so if you are there too lets say hi!, I’ll move onto BH and WeHo for a few days. If you are interested in knowing more about this super cool festival, I wrote a preview about it for Yahoo Creators over the weekend. Check it out, it’s really going to be so cool and I’m so excited to be attending.
I’ll also be in Fort Lauderdale (very briefly) in mid-November (just for about 24 hours or so before a cruise).
Also: Who will be in NY for NYCWFF this fall? I’ll be here, there, everywhere and hope to see you, too!
(And yes, I’ll be in Miami for SOBEWFF this winter as well, of course!)
Book your consulting session!
I still have some space available for September!
I can join your team on Zoom, a phone call, or in-person and do a team Q&A and answer any of your questions about planning events, mailers, trips, pitching, followups, etc — giving you a very necessary media perspective. Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com if you are interested in chatting more and setting something up :)
I’m now contributing to the Yahoo Creators platform, writing a wide range of lifestyles topics: check out my author profile to see some of my most recent pieces! (This is updated daily - usually multiple times daily - so you’ll want to keep checking it out for new content!)
Limited-time deal on ad placement!
I’m offering a seasonal special on advertising in this newsletter. I’d love to place your sponsored posts and advertising in this Substack, which goes out to nearly 10,000 media professionals every single day.
Note: I do limit advertising to only what would be of interest to my readers, but am open to both short paragraph blurbs and dedicated posts - if you are interested in chatting details and scheduling something, please email me at alywalansky@gmail.com today!
Tools of the trade
Looking to up your affiliate marketing game?: Affiliate marketing is complicated, and it seems that the landscape keeps changing. If you are looking to be prepared for gift guide season and all other shopping-related content, you may want to try the Ultimate Masterclass and Introduction to Affiliate Marketing for Publicists. It's a brilliant course and it'll answer all your questions (including some you didn't know you had!)
Press Hook is where journalists, newsletter writers, and podcasters source expert quotes, hi-res images, product samples, affiliate info, and brand story angles — all from vetted brands in one searchable hub. It connects journalists and brands in what feels like a really user-friendly, organic way and I use it often to browse for sources and products aligned with my current projects and I’ve often found precisely what I need, when I need. Give it a try!
Newly published or freshly updated
Since people are often asking about the status of stories from a while ago, and I only share stories in this newsletter that were published or updated in the current week, I have created a list of my author pages at various publications to which I contribute. Bookmark it and make your life a bit easier.
Yahoo Creators: Check out my author profile (I have several new stories a day across the lifestyles umbrella, so that’s the best way to stay updated!)
Southern Living: How To Cook A Perfect Steak Every Time, According To Southern Chefs.
Food Network: Popeyes Is Revamping Its Wings
Food Network: Crumbl Reimagines Dubai Chocolate as a Brownie
Travel + Leisure: These $15 Earplugs Relieved My In-flight Ear Pain.
Apartment Therapy,:The $6 Office Supply a Travel Pro Always Puts in Their Suitcase
Forbes: 17 Must-Try Hearty Sandwiches For When The Basic Options Just Won’t Do
Southern Living: Southern Bartenders Reveal The Summer Cocktails They Actually Drink Themselves
Food Network: Olive Garden’s Never-Ending Pasta Bowl Is Back, and It’s a Better Deal Than Ever
The Kitchn: This “Brilliant” $10 Le Creuset Storage Gem Is a Game-Changer for Your Pots and Pans
Forbes.com: 15 Delicious And Creative Ways To Enjoy Potatoes
RetailMeNot: 41 Best College Student Discounts
Travel & Leisure: This Portable Door Lock Is Traveler-loved
Food Network: A Beloved KFC Side Is Finally Returning Nationwide!
Travel & Leisure: I’m a Travel Writer, and This Seat Cushion Is My Secret to Arriving at Destinations Pain-free
Travel & Leisure: 15 Amazon Business Casual Clothes for Summer Travel.
Southern Living: The One-Pan Cheesy Meal I Make Whenever I'm Too Tired To Cook
Travel & Leisure: 6 Best Business Travel Airplane Outfits, From $12
Travel & Leisure: I’m a Travel Writer, and I Swear by These Packable Ballet Flats for Comfort, Support, and Long Days on My Feet
Travel & Leisure: I Found the Perfect Walking Shoes to Prevent Sore Feet During Travel — Score Styles on Sale Up to 62% Off
If you or your client are featured in any of these stories, I super appreciate any social media shares! Please remember to tag @alywalansky and the outlet.
Here’s what I’m working on:
Be sure to read the below list carefully. Many are stories I posted about yesterday, but some of yesterday's stories are no longer listed and a few new ones have been added since yesterday. This (below) is everything that is still a currently open opportunity as of today.
Please remember when pitching me: Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com - do NOT just hit reply on this newsletter, or there’s a good shot your email will be lost in the heap. Give your email a subject line that makes it clear which story you are pitching me for — it’ll help you in the long run.
Please consult my industry insights guides on submitting expert commentary, sending emails that will catch a journalist’s attention, how to craft pitches journalists will say ‘yes’ to, and the right and wrong way to submit photos, if you need any extra guidance before sending your pitches.
Forbes
Before pitching: Please be sure to refer to my photo submission guidelines for help with photo submission best practices!
One of my favorite comfort foods is queso - you’ll always see me ordering it when my soul needs a hug, and National Queso Day is in a few weeks. So, I’m looking for fun queso presentations at bars and restaurants around the country. What fun things are you doing with YOUR queso? Please pitch in this format:
Name of dish
Restaurant, city, state, website
Description of dish
Quote from chef about dish (plus name and title of person quoted)
Image and photo credit (I prefer links to attachments!)
thanks so much, and have the best day <3
aly