July 2011

If you lived in New York City any time in the last 40 years, you've definitely eaten cold sesame noodles straight from the takeout carton. They were hugely popular in the 70s and 80s, and there is a deviant but delicious Silver Palate recipe that's still hugely relevant. The classic version of the dish is defined by chewy noodles, a peanutty-sesame sauce and a not-entirely-incidental garnish of crisp cucumber slivers. Just the thought of them is enough to make you dial Empire Szechuan on a hot summer night. But if they don't arrive exactly how you like them, with the perfect balance of creamy, spicy and sweet, it can be hugely disappointing—the "fridge-flavored nostalgia" Sam Sifton cautioned against in his 2007 Times piece lauding this legendary dish. So why not learn to make cold sesame noodles yourself? Next thing you know you'll be blasting the soundtrack from Saturday Night Fever and making reservations at Mr. Chow.
Read More...

Can't stand the heat? Get out of the kitchen. But if you live in the complete sticks, where restaurants and take-out are really not an option, the kitchen is where you ultimately wind up when you feel hungry. The solution is often the grill, or you can abandon fire altogether and opt for cold leftovers, chilled soup, composed salads or even ceviche. But if you happen upon some screaming yellow zucchini and are looking for an easy supper, here's something that's all inspiration and no perspiration. In addition to the squash, you'll need a knife, pine nuts, basil, parmesan, a lemon and some good olive oil. Leave your hearty appetite at the door. This is a light repast for those summer evenings when you're feeling like a cat on hot tin roof. If you're still hungry, eat a pint of ice cream...
Read More...

Some of my favorite places to travel are in Southeast Asia—Thailand, Laos, Vietnam. The people are very welcoming, the cultures ancient, the landscapes lush, the spas wonderful, the local textiles beautiful and the food absolutely fantastic. I love coconut-milk-based curries, sticky rice, laab, green papaya salad and all the exotic fruits. My mouth waters just thinking about it. The fresh herbs, bean sprouts, lettuce wraps and tangy fruits, and the classic combination of hot, sour, salty and sweet flavors, are to me the ultimate cuisine. So it will come as no surprise that my bible in this genre is Hot Sour Salty Sweet by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. If you'd like to try making some of this food, I highly recommend it. Many of the recipes are from home cooks and street vendors and, while they may require some ingredients you might not normally have on hand, most of the techniques are fairly basic. We gave a dinner party this weekend and the menu featured dishes from all the countries mentioned above. And it tasted quite authentic, if I do say so myself. 
Read More...

It's about time I gave you a peek at the garden. Things got off to a slow start what with a certain person getting into a spot of trouble in Indonesia, and a certain other person having to rush over there for 2 weeks, but eventually tiny plants were purchased and placed in the soil. And then it rained. And then it got incredibly hot for a few days, and then it got really cold. And then it rained some more. A lot. A ton. Each year brings its own particular set of weather patterns, and the resulting garden is a clear reflection of that. Compared to last July's splendor, we are behind. The lushness is just starting to creep into the vegetable garden after a few solid days of sunshine. My herb garden is bedraggled, the parsley battered. The native plants that we put in last year, though, are, for the most part, doing quite well. Our stone paths are flanked with honeysuckle and fragrant sumac, and the wild raspberry has gone, well, wild. Just now it's beset by Japanese beetles, which chew the leaves into lacy patterns and can strip a plant in the short time it takes you to go inside and down a glass of icy lemonade. Every day I pluck off dozens and drown them without remorse in a cup of soapy water. It's a jungle out here.
Read More...

On this very day last year, I was also writing about popsicles. Strange synchronicity. Although thoughts do tend to turn that way when the mercury soars and fresh fruit abounds. The thing about popsicles is that they are SO EASY to make. Frozen liquid, that's all they are. So you could puree bananas with almond milk and caradamom. Or blend coconut water with fresh blueberries and mint. Or even juice some carrots with a little ginger and freeze that. Willing to turn on the stove? Cook strawberries with honey and a dried ancho chile. Puree it then freeze. You don't really need a lot of involved recipes to make popsicles. Your imagination and what's in the fridge can be your guide. That said, Fany Gerson's new book Paletas (Spanish for popsicles) is quite handy. From yogurt with berries to apricot-chamomile to mezcal-orange, she'll steer you toward original combinations, many of them quite adult. Not that you won't feel like a kid again when you're slurping something sweet and icy from a stick.
Read More...

Salsa verde has more than one guise. In Italy it is a cold rustic sauce vaguely resembling a pesto of sorts but very light, fresh and tangy. Generally it features parsley, capers, onion, garlic, anchovies, vinegar, olive oil and lemon, but may also contain a bit of crumbled white bread, pickles, mustard and other green herbs. It's an opportunity for you to experiment a bit and make it as you like. This is most definitely not the salsa verde you would find in a Mexican restaurant. That one contains tomatillos and chiles and is a whole other conversation; or post, as the case may be. Nor is it quite the same as Argentina's famed chimichurri, which is missing the umami wallop of anchovy. Incidentally, if you still think you don't like anchovies and you leave them out of this sauce, you will be depriving yourself of a great taste sensation. I understand how you might be turned off by the little oily fillets with their hairy-looking bones and fishy aroma, but once they become part of something else—a Caesar dressing, say, or this sauce—they lose their identity and simply impart a rich depth of flavor that is like nothing else. Not to mention they're really good for you. So, salsa verde: the perfect summer sauce to slather on everything grilled, from fish and shrimp to chicken and steak. My other favorite way to eat it? As a dip for garden-fresh raw or lightly blanched vegetables.
Read More...

These are the best ice cream sandwiches. Yes. I know we all have a certain fondness for those semi-industrial rectangular ones we enjoyed as children—with that thin, cakey cookie that sticks to your fingertips, right? But these trump those. These are so big and fat they turn Chipwiches to shame and bring grown men to their knees. These are rustic, hand-hewn beauties. It's about the cookie, sure: melted bittersweet chocolate, best-quality cocoa and semisweet chips make for a lot of rich, fudgy goodness. But what you put between that dark embrace can send you soaring to the heavens. Might I suggest homemade mint ice cream? Or perhaps a creamy vanilla speckled with real seeds and offset with a slather of sweet, sticky cajeta (goat's milk caramel)? We served both on the 4th and I heard no complaints, only soft moans of ecstasy. If you have a big mint patch out back in some shady spot, all the better. I use our spearmint with its subtly cooling, herbaceous flavor, but you can experiment to see what you like. And no, it doesn't taste like toothpaste. By the way, forget the food coloring. The very pale green you'll get is so much more beautiful than that lurid artificial hue.
Read More...

July 4th may be my favorite holiday. It has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with freedom. It's a chance to celebrate the founding of this country which, though seriously flawed and in grand decline, is still the place I choose to call home above all others. This year, we also raised a glass to gay marriage in New York! What a day. It dawned clear and warm after days of torrential rains and lightning storms. G had to stand outside in the downpour for hours the day before to smoke the first half of the 60 pounds of pork we served to the hoard of hungry revelers. It was nothing short of heroic. Gin cocktails were sucked down, pickles were scarfed, ice cream sandwiches demolished. Groups congregated in the screened-in porch, on the lawn and front patio, and even in the house. Dogs frolicked and begged. Screams of laughter rang out, joints were passed and kids got purple popsicle juice everywhere. In short, a great party. 
Read More...

We're expecting 60 people at our house for pulled pork on the 4th and I am up to my eyeballs in chores! The bustle around here is impressive. And guess what—THE BATHROOM IS FINALLY DONE!!!!! I even had a new shower curtain made from one of those antique batiks I got in Indonesia. I promise to post pictures very soon. Anyway, all this to say that I'm much too busy to be writing here, but I couldn't resist sharing a few snaps I took at a lovely party the other night. Cooking for such a crowd gives me renewed respect for caterers. How do they manage to keep doing it night after night, for people they don't even love? I imagine they work like dogs. This party we went to, a 50th birthday celebration for a dear friend of many years, was intimate and beautifully orchestrated. It didn't hurt that it was being thrown by hosts of impeccable taste and sophistication, in the most beautifully appointed pale-grey apartment. Would it surprise you to know the owner is one of the pivotal geniuses behind the Martha Stewart brand? And the other host is the co-author of this gorgeous tome. Every detail was perfection, including the artful nibbles by Gaylinn Fast. 
Read More...