And the Oscar Goes To...Baked Pasta
False spring, bridge walks, and delicata squash tempura
It’s March and the first day really felt like it. The temperatures soared to around 60 and everyone rushed outside to soak up the sun. Leah and I enjoyed bagels and iced coffee in McCarren Park with a healthy dose of people and pet watching, before wandering around and window shopping. The wind picked up by mid afternoon, but Dale and I bundled up and walked across the Williamsburg bridge for pizza. By evening, the real feel was in the 20s again and it was time for hats, gloves, and layers. I changed my outfit many times and loved the brief, fleeting moment of sunshine and the collective excitement in the air.
Last week, I shared ten things that are feeling good with paid subscribersand this week, I’m sharing my family’s mandelbrot recipe, which I made yesterday. Once again, my terrible oven made recipe testing harder than usual but these cookies are really good and they keep well.
Now, let’s dive in.
Something to cook:
My lunch last week was rice and beans. I got some heirloom white rice at the Meat Hook (splurging on groceries there is a treat, I just ignore all the meat) and it cooked up perfectly. I seasoned, heated and smashed some black beans and sauteed some kale with onions. Each container had rice, beans, kale and aged white cheddar. I brought a big container of salsa to the office to top each bowl and I did not get sick of eating it. We’ll call that a win.
James and Julia hosted me for the bachelor and he made us homemade pizzas. I was very impressed. The dough is America’s Test Kitchen’s recipe and he used Rao’s sauce, and a combo of mozzarella and tallegio cheese. He also made a caramelized onion jam and sauteed mushrooms. It was a real treat on a Monday and was great with this chilled red with cherry notes.
I had a few people over to watch the Oscars and in addition to mandelbrot, I made baked pasta (inspired by this one Chuck and Hailee made). It’s pretty classic with tomato sauce and mozzarella and I added dollops of pesto ricotta and some pecorino cheese based on the video. Paired with garlic bread and a refreshing fennel, raddichio salad Tilden made, it was a great Sunday dinner. If you’re making any baked pasta recipe, broil it at the end. Too many leave this step out but you simply must have crispy edges, they’re the best part.
Something to order:
I treated myself to a Lella Alimentari frittata one morning and need their recipe. It’s always got jack cheese and vegetables and the texture is great.
Dale and I got Tacombi takeout one night, which always hits the spot. Consistency is key.
I ended the week with Yellow Rose tacos with Rose and Mandy. I could get tacos every day and their bean and cheese ones are very good. They charge for salsas now which I don’t love–I’d rather pay more for a taco and have it come with salsa
Leah and I soaked up the sun with Dunkin iced coffee and Frankel’s bagels. I thought their veggie cream cheese was really good.
Dale and I walked to Scarr’s and employed my favorite trick which is ordering a pie so you can sit down and skip the line. A small pie is perfect to split for lunch and a large pie just means you’ll have leftovers.
Saturday night was girls night. Leslie, Isa, Frida and I gathered to belatedly celebrate Leslie’s birthday and gab. We went to Winona’s, where we split a bunch of dishes, all of which were really good. My favorites were the raddichio caesar, the tempura delicata squash and the vodka pasta with mushrooms and the service was great and not too rushed, which is what you need for a proper hang. We had chocolate cake for the birthday girl which was served with yogurt instead of whipped cream for some tanginess.
Something to read:
is so good. Loved her piece on living in Florida indefinitely.I’m excited for
’s next book, the sequel to2022 gift guide pick, Honey & Spice. The cover was just revealed.Behind the scenes at Long Beach’s Gusto Bread
Ann Friedman spoke with Alice Driver, who writes about the immigrant workforce that processes America’s meat.
Is the lip balm index the new lipstick index? From
How to Take Leisure Seriously from
Some activities for slowness from
. I need to write more letters.This really made me laugh and feel better about my endless to do list: 50 confessions that will reassure you that nobody has their shit together
Love
’s move away from AmazonI need to get back to deleting Instagram on the weekend, this was a kick in the butt.
Meet the twenty something nuns. I’m fascinated by the support group for women who have left nun life because the nuns were too cliquey!
Ramadan Kareem to all observing. Loved
’s reflections on the holiday.Have a good week! I wrote this before the Oscar’s but I do love having a sunday night television plan and other rituals to get through the week—very excited for Thursday’s Traitors finale.
xo, Abigail