A different kind of surprise party
Plus a Manhattan happy hour
Hi friends,
Welcome back to This Needs Hot Sauce, a weekly newsletter by Abigail Koffler about cooking, dining out and making the most of it. I hope you had a lovely long weekend and ate very well (our cooking recap is lots of fun today on Instagram).
I’m excited to announce our next happy hour on July 23rd. We’re switching things up with a Manhattan happy hour and a sweet ending…it’s an ice cream happy hour! First, we’ll enjoy happy hour at Linen Hall near Union Square starting at 6 (they have a great happy hour and food) and at 8 we’ll walk a few blocks down to the East Village Van Leeuwen for a cone to end the night (they have great vegan flavors if you’re lactose intolerant and there’s seating). If you just want ice cream, meet us there at 8:15. I’m so excited to try something new and hope you can make it.
Now, let’s dive in.
Something to cook:
I cooked so much this past week, which felt great after a bit of a rut.
Before the holiday, I made a few simple dinners with a yogurt sauce. It’s just greek yogurt (I like fage 2%), lemon juice, salt and pepper and a little diced red onion and the leftovers keep very well. Sometimes I add tahini. I used that as a base for some steamed sugar snap peas, cucumbers and spiced chickeas and it’s so good. The next day, I had the sauce with a fried egg in a riff on Julia Turshen’s fried eggs with lemon and yogurt, which are perfect.
For July 4th, Julianne and Ian hosted a potluck on their roof. They joke that our friend group is a good cooks only zone and it’s kind of true. The fourth wound up being one of our best nights, a dinner that spontaneously became a party. Everyone brought a friend and people just clicked with each other. Plus, we had a summer playlist that led to a few dance parties, fireworks all around us (the Brooklyn street fireworks scene is intense), and lots of food and drinks. There’s a lot of pressure to have a fun summer or even just a fun weekend but so often the best nights are the ones you aren’t expecting to happen. So take things slow and leave yourself space to be surprised. It’s an incredible gift and one I hope you give yourself this summer. Warning: this may mean staying out past midnight on a weekday, it’s worth it.
Now on to the food:
We started off with homemade tortilla chips with guacamole (My recipe is similar to this, but without the chives) and black bean and corn salsa.
Then we brought out two salads and fired up the grill for the meat eaters (Ian made ribs and Bradlee made wings and Tyler did the burgers and hot dogs). I made a delicious summer salad inspired by this with arugula, peaches, heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved mini fresh mozzarella balls and basil. I dressed it with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and wow, it was so good.
Julia made a smashed cucumber salad (subbing chili crisp for red pepper flakes) and let the cucumbers drain for a few hours before dressing them. This makes a huge difference. And you can smash them with a liquor bottle if you don’t have a rolling pin.
For a post fireworks dessert, Julia made this incredible pie using a store bought crust (she says pillsbury is the easiest to work with) and Dale and LT brought vanilla ice cream to go with it. The topping is so good and the lemon gives the filling an extra special touch. A big pie tip: pies take a long time to cool and transporting a hot juicy pie is very hard. Make this first thing in the morning (I wouldn’t do the day before since the crumb will get soggy) and let it cool as long as you can.
We also brought aperol spritz provisions (prosecco, aperol, and seltzer) including sliced oranges for garnish. It was a fun, easy drink to make and not too boozy since we were in the hot sun.
I love a good breakfast taco and made them with Julianne, Ian and Julia after a very sweaty outdoor yoga session. They’re great served with coconut water with lime over ice.
On Saturday, I went to my parents’ house for dinner and Julia and I brought cheese plate supplies. I love using this big board they have and we assembled the cheeses with grapes, nectarine jam, chili lime peanuts (they sell these at trader joes or you can make them) and two kinds of crackers. For dinner, my dad grilled a ton of veggies and chicken and served them with grilled bread and red onion jam, which tasted good on everything. They also made a very summery watermelon feta salad.
A Sunday tv show does wonders for the sunday scaries. Now that Game of Thrones is over, Big Little Lies is filling that void and Julia, Julianne and I have been watching together. This week, we cooked dinner, a summer pasta and a salad full of things we found in the fridge (an almost soft tomato, leftover arugula, half a cucumber). I first made this pasta recipe last summer and it was just as good this time. You have to ignore most of the recipe because it says the tomatoes only need 15 minutes to soften, which is not true (give yourself at least 30 minutes, but it will depend on the tomatoes). I skip the anise and clove, use white wine instead of the vinegar and add pasta water at the end, then stir in fresh basil and parmesan cheese before serving. Julianne got us Rummo spaghetti, which has a really nice bite and does not get soggy. The whole thing comes together in a little under an hour and it’s a very meditative recipe, perfect for stirring while sipping a glass of wine and listening to music.
And a compost update for you all, I dropped off my scraps in Union Square (it’s on the north east side of the market, near the Sephora) and am collecting again. Carrying the bag around is kind of annoying, but I double bagged it and there were no leaks, so I’m keeping it up. Anyone else?
Something to order:
Leah turned 23 last week (!!) and we went to Hearth to celebrate. It’s a classic spot with really good veggies, desserts, and wine. Most of us got the gnocchi which were like clouds topped with cheese and the garlic bread is a must order.
I had a bunch of work to finish before starting the long weekend and needed a way to mentally transition after a busy day. I took my own advice and went to Lighthouse by myself for oysters, a glass of rosé and a farro salad. Their farro salad changes seasonally and the current version has aparagus, fresh cheese, pistachios and lemon zest. Dying to recreate it.
On Friday, Julia and I walked to Greenpoint for lunch at Five Leaves. I tried their veggie burger after not having one on the fourth and really like it. It comes with feta and pickled peppers and a mustardy salad.
Dale and I got Williamsburg Pizza on Friday before watching an earthquake disrupt an NBA summer league game. Crazy times.
In Queens, I got to take Julia to Eddie’s with Leah and very special LA visitor Anjali. It’s the same as always and their coffee chip ice cream is my favorite.
And yesterday, I went back to the Gradient with the Bushwick Daily team for brunch. I had their excellent vegan crab cakes made with hearts of palm. They use old bay seasoning and honestly nailed the texture. Plus, there are very good potatoes and drinks.
Something to read:
Is bread back on the table now? (If you ask me, it never left)
Fully disagree that cold brew is better than iced coffee but as a wholigan I am proud of Bobby’s byline.
The Turks Inn in Bushwick looks insane.
Alsye Whitney on being adopted and being a “bad Korean”
A beautiful Tejal Rao story on cooking with hibiscus
I relate to this story on being vegetarian while traveling. I haven’t been to Thailand but would totally eat the fish sauce.
A trend we can skip: the savory smoothie
I think about this a lot: the cake boss getting arrested.
Messages about women and wine are everywhere. So we decided to learn more from the experts.
The best tahini, according to the experts (I agree with their favorite)
Need to try this ube sandwich
I wish we could stop freaking out about office treats.
Inside the world of a Durian king.
If you’re looking for ice cream, check out last summer’s list which covers tons of cities and grocery store brands.
Now let’s review your heatwave meals. We need fresh and easy ways to stay cool and cucumbers are MVPs.
Frida has a plan: I've been making this noodle dish which really just requires you to defrost some shrimp and heat em with a little bit of oil in pan, and then boil some water long enough to cook rice noodles. Minus prep (honestly I half-ass the cucumbers part, massaging them until ALL the water comes out? cucumbers are mostly water!), it takes less than 10 min to put together. I stir it all up in big mixing bowl, eat while watching Vanderpump Rules, and then save the leftovers for lunch.
Hilary has options: It is cucumbers on repeat. For me, often it is in bean salads of every variety, think black beans or kidney beans or garbanzo beans or pinto, leave beans whole or slightly smash, check out Smitten Kitchen smashed chickpea salad and also other great recipes that will employ your various leftover fresh herbs (woot) and give you great variety in taste. I also love cucumbers in a chopped salad like a Greek chop salad or a tabbouleh or an Israeli style salad (hint: sub bell pepper for tomato until tomatoes are actually good). Lastly I love a homemade spring roll or if I'm not feeling up to putting it into a rice paper wrapper, I will just have a spring roll salad, which comes together very quickly. I've also been snacking on stuffed Grape Leaves, although I buy those instead of making them.
Hillary is taking matters into her own hands: My fave summer dinner is peaches, tomatoes, basil, mozz, and lots of olive oil. I'm growing basil in my apartment basically just to eat this all the time.
Bethany has a hot weather repertoire: Seriously can't wait to hear other people's heatwave dinner ideas because my rotation is getting a little old! My go-tos are:
- A cheese/snack plate for 1 with some combination of cheese, pepperoncini, pickles, smoked salmon or tinned fish, roasted salted nuts, fruit and dark chocolate
- Fridge clean out potato salad! The latest was halved baby potatoes, parsley, soft boiled eggs, pickled peppers, dijon mustard and white wine vinegar. It's pretty hearty alone, but also pairs well with any protein/entree.
- Anything that can possibly be stuffed into green leaf lettuce- my fave is ground turkey with lime, fish sauce, peanuts and cilantro.
- Chicken cutlets from the deli by my apartment (strangely they have both homemade and frozen, and they'll only give you the homemade ones if you ask for them specifically), sliced up and tossed over greens with a quick vinaigrette.
This week, I want to talk about celery, inspired by Isa who is looking for ways to use it. The juice craze seems to have died down, but what do you think about it? How do you like to eat it? Or is it just a garnish for buffalo wings and bloody marys? Fun fact: celery was the avocado toast of the Victorian era. Reply to this email to share your crunchy thoughts.
Have a great week and I hope to see you on the 23rd.
Happy eating and thanks for reading.
xo, Abigail