Can't go wrong
Some old and new classics—from party nuts to spicy ricotta
Hi friends,
Welcome to This Needs Hot Sauce, a weekly newsletter about cooking, dining out, and making the most of it.
Are you RSVPed for duck duck Swan on May 19th? It’s a yoga class followed by a happy hour and free pizza is involved. Sign up so we know how much pizza to get.
Now, let’s dive in:
Something to cook:
I made some of my all time favorite dishes this week so def bookmark these next time you’re scrambling for a dinner or snack.
I love an easy dinner that’s endlessly adaptable. Julia suggested this via Rachel Miller and it’s going to become a staple. The assembly is so quick and it’s a great meal on a bed of lemony kale topped with an egg.
A brilliant idea that I’m only starting to explore: topping ricotta with chili oil. The idea came from Alison Roman’s column in this month’s Bon Appetit (not online yet) and I used leftover ricotta from making this. I dipped some carrots in it but crackers or pita would be excellent.
Tilden has a copy of Indian-ish, Priya Krishna’s very fun cookbook. It’s her mom’s recipes and there’s lots of fun commentary. We tried a lotus root with jammy tomato recipe that was very good and I want to make saag feta soon.
Sometimes I spend all day not in the mood for any specific food and then will have a moment where I know exactly what I want to eat. This happened last thursday after an event and it was a relief to go straight to the grocery store, put on a podcast and make something delicious. The recipe was sweet potato tacos with refried beans, quick pickled jalapeños, avocado, quick slaw, and lime. If you have a gas stove, remember to warm your tortillas directly over the burner.
Julia and I had a house reheating party to celebrate resigning our lease (and getting a rent reduction through the power of negotiation) and I made party nuts with sesame sticks. I buy the mixed nuts in the bulk bin at Whole Foods and supplement with peanuts. I also use coconut oil instead of butter and doubled this recipe. Make some party nuts and snack on the leftovers all week long. And for drinks, we made a scaled up version of this aperol grapefruit margarita.
We have an apartment tradition of making breakfast tacos the morning/afternoon after a party. They’re very simple, just scrambled eggs, black beans with onion and jalapeño, salsa, and avocado. Sometimes we have cheese but yesterday we didn’t. It’s a wonderful tradition and it’s easy to pick up the ingredients while you’re getting party supplies.
Something to order:
I somehow barely ate out this week which was nice after a busy 10 days.
My favorite Thai delivery spot, Sage, is withholding wages from its delivery workers so we had to switch it up. Lily Thai makes a great green curry and delivers very quickly.
I live so close to Williamsburg Pizza and had somehow never been. I fixed that on Friday hours after posting this and wow, it’s so good. I preferred the plain slice to the grandma one and loved the slightly crispy crust.
Something to read:
Cut up fruit is how Asian moms say I love you
An ode to Daily Provisions crullers
The impact of a five minute conversation with Jonathan Gold
How can restaurants support mothers in their kitchens?
This is really cool: Michael Solomonov and Steve Cook brought three of their rising stars to Israel to plan their three upcoming restaurants. They also invited Craig LeBan, longtime restaurant critic of the Inquirer. Both of their accounts of the trip are worth reading, on the food and on the critic-chef relationship. Here’s Craig’s and here’s Michael and Steve’s.
From the big NYT climate package: how you can change your eating habits to reduce your impact on climate change and five “easier on the planet” cuisines. More bivales and vegetables for everyone!
An old article on one of my favorite things to collect: restaurant matchbooks.
The Obamas are starting a kids cooking show.
Why I gave up the New York food scene to work at a soup kitchen.
Jordan Salcito on writing her own rules in the wine and restaurant industry.
Intrigued by this all California wine bar in Greenpoint.
Not getting married anytime soon but vegetarian options at weddings leave a lot to be desired. Even this food writer struggled.
Now, let’s talk about your airport food stories.
From Julia: In October, after a very long and emotionally rough week, I capped it off by having to fly to Pittsburgh to report on the shooting. I literally cried on the way there because I was just sad and exhausted. The number one thing that helped me pull it together was this spicy soppresata pizza, which I got at Forno Magic in the Newark airport, which actually gave Roberta’s a run for its money. It was so good I’m still confused about it. I even reviewed it on Foursquare
Jessica struck gold: By far the best airport food I’ve ever eaten was Tortas Frontera at O’Hare. Thinking “OMG I would eat this even if I wasn’t stuck in an airport” is not a common occurrence while airport eating, but their breakfast sandwich evoked that thought quite strongly.
Bethany has some crucial lounge intel:
Re: airport food, I have a weird love for it even though it's usually not very good. There's something about sitting down for a drink or a meal before a flight that chills me out so I can relax while on the plane, and for some reason I always get a kick out of those funny futuristic places where you order and pay on an iPad. Some other thoughts:
100% with you on seltzer tasting even better in the sky. Dasani's lime sparkling water is surprisingly delicious!
We need a petition to end weird generic airline Chex Mix for good (lookin' at you, United)
During my very brief period as a Priority Pass lounge cardholder, I went to maybe 4 or 5 lounges, all in the US. It's basically the same as a regular airport gate, but with food and drinks. You present your pass when you enter and can usually bring a guest with you as well. The food is totally hit or miss. Some have an open bar and multiple food options (sort of like a grocery store hot food bar), and others have a couple of self-serve bottles of wine and maybe a basket of chips and cookies. I've heard that Priority Pass lounges are better abroad, and Airline/Amex lounges are way nicer across the board! I once spent a 4 hour layover at the lounge Houston where the only food was tomato bisque and blueberry muffins for some reason (ate it anyway because free is free!)
This week, I’d love your Paris recommendations if you’ve got them. I’m going at the end of the month. I’d also love to hear your favorite food Instagram accounts! I’m looking for new people to follow and you can follow me here.
Happy eating and thanks for reading. Spring weather awaits!
xo, Abigail