A moment for the bagel
Plus apple recipes, mental health, and hot honey
Last week, a big dream of mine came true. I got to work with Red Clay Hot Sauce for a partnership on Instagram (Red Clay makes my favorite hot honey as well as some delicious hot sauces) and they gave us a discount code! Use ABIGAIL20 to take 20% off any Red Clay products (take a peek at their gift sets to get ahead on holiday planning).
Mental health in the restaurant industry is always on my mind (it features heavily in this story) and I got attend a really meaningful event at Misi in partnership with Coa, a mental health fitness company that aims to treat mental health as a proactive and communal pursuit. They’re giving away 3,000 emotional fitness classes to restaurant workers and hosting a free Q&A panel on October 6th. Pass this along to anyone who might be interested!
Now let’s dive in.
Something to cook:
I really didn’t cook much this week but I relied on cauliflower gnocchi for two satisfying and quick dinners, with a side salad using the lemon vinaigrette from meal prep class (here’s another one I like). I don’t boil the gnocchi, but sauté it with butter, black pepper, and red pepper flakes until it’s a little crispy and fully defrosted. Finish with a drizzle of hot honey.
I’m brainstorming ways to use the apples we picked and apple muffins are in order. They freeze well and make a nice breakfast or snack. These brown butter apple oatmeal cookies also look so good.
I’ve also been reminded of the simple pleasures of peanut butter toast, made with almost burnt toast, the best kind. You can add honey or cinnamon or just let it be.
Something to order:
Hannah is back in the city and we caught up with Julia and Julianne at Leo. Their pizza is so good, with a sourdough crust and they had a chilled Pinot noir on tap. Always get the caesar salad.
I tried a new taco spot, La Taqueria, and might prefer their veggie quesadilla to my usual Los Tacos. It’s stuffed with veggies like cauliflower and mushroom and served with a generous heap of guacamole, pico de gallo and red and green salsas.
Erica and I celebrated Old Fashioned Week with Elijah Craig in the beautiful backyard of Maison Premiere. The oysters and cocktails are always top notch and artfully presented.
Sarah and I tried a new to me coffee shop in Soho, Felix Roasting Co. It’s got lots of space on the second floor for working or chatting, strong wifi, and covered outdoor seating. The furnishings are very luxe, think velvet banquettes and chandeliers, and the prices reflect that.
Family style dinner at Misi with Missy Robbins, Sean Feeney, and the Coa team was such a treat. My favorite dishes were the roasted tomatoes with hot honey, coriander and mint, the fennel salad with walnut, celery, and parmesan, the fettuccine with buffalo butter and black pepper, and the gelato (you can get pints to go).
We continued our annual apple picking tradition at Brooklyn Cider House in New Paltz. In addition to many varieties of apples, they have cider donuts, sparkling ciders, and wood fired pizzas. The pizzas usually take about 45 minutes so order before you get hangry (and get some donuts as an appetizer). Wear shoes that can handle some mud and bring sunscreen. I also bring a pocket knife so we can each have a piece of apple before deciding to pick or not (there are so many varieties to remember).
A theme this week is morning or daytime hangouts with friends and I love it. Natalie, Oset and I had brunch in Fort Greene Park aka bagels and coffee. It was such a lovely and lowkey way to hang out. The bagels were from Bagel World and the coffee was from Bittersweet. 10/10 would recommend this itinerary. Drop a pin so you can find each other and bring a blanket to sit on.
Something to read:
What is horchoffee and have you tried it?
Huge news on the heels of this investigation: NYC Delivery Workers gain right to use restaurant bathrooms. Their fight isn’t over.
I’m hosting a cooking class with the Catcall Collective on October 14th! Join us to make veggie burgers and a cocktail.
Picking apples in unexpected places in New York City (like the BQE)
Please stop romanticizing your child’s lunchbox
A review of the impossible nuggets
The NBA’s Anti-Vaxxers Are Trying to Push Around the League—And It’s Working
Restaurant hosts are at the front of the Covid wars
When did the book become the brand?
Lab grown meat is supposed to be inevitable. The science tells a different story.
Shared some recs in Hitha’s newsletter on routines (have you preordered her book yet?)
A summer of grief and dancing in New York
A Tale of Two Women, One Winery, and Some of California's Most Coveted Bottles
This week, you shared your favorite ways to use apples! Taking notes on these.
Madison uses apples in a savory way: I use apples in a really simple chicken dish (sorry I’m not vegetarian). We make it with shocked breasts, apples, a little cooking white wine, and some light salt and pepper. It’s simple but great!
Rebecca has another apple muffin recipe: Envy apples are the best kind, btw. And you must make these apple cinnamon muffins!!!
Rachel has the apple cider cocktail I didn’t know we needed: Favorite way to use apples: I've been making Jessica Merchant's apple cider margaritas for a decade now and they remain so easy and delicious.
Jen has a literal apple tree which is so cool: We have a huge, productive apple tree in our yard that has the most delicious apples, but we can never seem to use them all! I canned some apple chutney the first year we lived here out of desperation and we ended up loving it, so I come back to it every year now. It's great on curries, samosas, or potato pancakes, and especially as part of a cheese plate. Also, Deb Perelman's apple cheddar scones are stupendous.
Julianne knows apples are key to a good lunch: I love this apple salad we made last year which was: greens base, apple, cheddar, red onion, pecans or walnuts or any nut of choice, and a balsamic glaze (which we made from grilled chicken but you could do without that for sure). I also love to make a dupe of the sweetgreen harvest bowl (farro, sweet potatoes, goat cheese, apple, kale), but really I should say I would love to meal prep that but always forget to actually do it so I never get to actually eat it!
This week, I’d love to hear your best travel tips! I have three weddings in October and cannot wait to celebrate friends and family all over the country. I’m a big proponent of packing lists (I reference ones from past trips to make sure I’m not forgetting things), bringing your own water bottle to fill up at the airport and bringing a good book (sometimes I read a few pages before packing it because there is nothing worse than carrying around a book you’re not enjoying).
This week’s subscriber edition will be all about travel, including some NYC travel tips.
Thanks for reading and have a great week!
xo, Abigail