Home Cooking
Family meals, college food favorites, and a very special staycation
Hi there,
It feels like time is moving very quickly these days and I’m grateful for these chances to reflect on the week that was. Thanksgiving and Hanukkah are fast approaching and I’m unpacking some things, knowing I’ll be packing again shortly. It’s been really lovely to spend time with my parents (they did a Q&A on Instagram that’s lots of fun). Dale and I also did a little Brooklyn staycation to celebrate his birthday. This was our third staycation and I love the format.
Look out for my gift guide next week and I’ll be sharing some Thanksgiving ideas and resources (I’m not hosting or cooking much). And yes, this week’s subject line is a nod to Samin Nosrat and Hrishikesh Hirway’s delightful podcast Home Cooking, which is returning for a Thanksgiving episode!
Now, let’s dive in.
Something to cook:
The night of our move my parents made this vegan chocolate cake for Dale’s birthday. Serve it with ice cream and look forward to leftovers as it keeps really well.
With potatoes from the CSA, my parents made this potato and lentil dish with labneh. It’s good hot or at room temperature for lunch and was also good with greens.
I totally forgot my dad had a wok until I came home and saw it all fired up to make broccoli fried rice. We added crispy baked tofu (pressed and tossed with cornstarch then baked) and served with chili crisp.
Yesterday, my parents and I made saag paneer using Priya Krishna’s recipe for saag feta (just sub the paneer for feta and add more salt). It’s a really quick recipe and so good. To round out the meal, we got some parathas, rice, daal, and samosas from Paratha Wala.
Something to order:
Moving day was chaotic and I had only a few minutes between arriving in Queens and leaving for work. Luckily, my mom got us pizza from Austin Street Pizza, which really hit the spot. We had the New York 2.0 with parmesan and aged mozzarella and the margherita pie with pesto and I’ll be back very soon.
On Thursday night, Dale and I got dinner at Metro Taco, where I hadn’t been since before the pandemic. I got a virgin mojito and their version of a crunch wrap supreme with beans, which was absolutely delicious. They also have such good chips, more like tostadas, so get something to dip (either guac or charred corn queso).
Julianne took a big ethics exam and Hillary, Ian, Justin, Julia, Lissette and I gathered to celebrate at Top Quality in Long Island City, one of the best new restaurants I’ve been to in a while. It’s a beautiful space and they’re opening a speakeasy bar downstairs called Lower Quality—the cocktails upstairs were excellent so a full bar will be great. Lissette took charge of ordering and we split a ton of things: guacamole (so good here), potatoes with mole, esquites, rice and figs, and a bunch of taco fillings, which come with tortillas, toppings, and salsas. The halloumi and mushroom ones were so good and we shared a few desserts. It was one of those dinners where you don’t leave till almost midnight.
Since Dale and I were apart for his birthday, I planned a staycation to celebrate at the new Ace Hotel in Brooklyn (we did a fun one last year as well). We checked in and then headed to Petit Paulette, the sister wine bar of Cafe Paulette) to get drinks with Erica and Q (the wine list at Paulette is always so good). We had dinner at As You Are, the hotel restaurant and I’m still thinking about the Parker House Rolls with roasted garlic butter, which were glowing, the fries, the mussels, and the cocktails (the No Sleep Tonight is a pear tequila concoction that’s perfect for fall).
They also make great baked goods, which you can get at the coffee bar during the day (Dale recommends the rum loaf). The next morning, I took a long walk and then got coffee with Sandra before heading back to Queens. Disclosure: I got a media rate for our room and dinner was comped, thank you to the Ace Team for such a fun celebration.
Something to read:
You’ll cry reading this but this Dear Sugar column on grief always resonates
Multiple Bon Appetit alums are selling shirts with beans on them
On Blood Quantum, a controversial measurement that can affect Native American identity, citizenship, and more.
Omsom’s Kim And Vanessa Pham Are Challenging American Ideas About Asian Food
Alicia Kennedy on taking yourself seriously
Heart of Dinner is such an incredible organization and the founders are Glamour Women of the Year
How refugees in Texas enrich the state’s culinary community
A Patriarchal Tradition that just won’t budge
Single people shouldn’t have Costco Memberships
How to buy nothing new this holiday season
Romeo and Juliet, 25 years later. I remember watching this in middle school.
This beauty uniform speaks to the power of walks
What can you make ahead for Thanksgiving? Erica has the answers.
Now, let’s talk about college food memories! These varied a ton and reminded how weird (and sometimes wonderful) college can be.
Sarah’s had a crepe time in college (sorry for this pun): There was this weird place called Crepeaway right off campus, and as the name implies, they served a variety of sweet and savory crepes. It was like, not that great, but in an area of DC with mostly office buildings and lunch restaurants, there weren't that many cheap options. I'd often treat myself with delivery from there when hanging out or studying with friends. Most importantly, Crepeaway was open until like 2am? maybe later? and college students would go there after going out, drunk off our asses. That means a PACKED crepe restaurant at 1am on a Thursday, tables pushed to the side, people dancing on the booths, etc. WILD.
Julianne is repping FSU with her food memory: The ultimate college food at Florida State University (Go Noles) was one of the famous burgers and fries at Monks (also called Wells Brothers, also sadly closed during the pandemic). There were SO many kinds of burgers on the menu (I heard the veggie burgers were good too!), and the burger and fries meals were always big enough to bring half home. This huge, delicious meal could be yours for only ~$10. Tallahassee and NYC prices couldn't be more different. This is my 5th year in NYC, and although we definitely have the best food in the world (especially Tallahassee, Florida, lol), I still haven't found a burger quite comparable to the ones at Monks...
Kathleen’s college breakfasts in Indy were top notch: I went to college in Indianapolis and all around the city and the suburbs there’s a breakfast chain called Café Patachou that had the most amazing food. I would always get their croissant French toast until I discovered their Omelette You Can’t Refuse (bacon, potato, cheese) and never looked back. It was expensive for my broke college student budget but it made for fun and indulgent mornings after sorority formals or parties or before basketball or lacrosse games. They also had amazing vegan and veggie options and wonderful coffee. I wish they could expand nationally because I would literally go there everyday if I could.
Jen lived on Indian food, which sounds great: When I was in university I was living in a house with four other people in my city's Little India, and across the street from us was a buffet with an attached sweets shop and hot bar. It was a godsend for a broke student because at that time their samosas were 2 for $3, and paneer pakoras 2 for $4!
Hillary’s move in meal really set the tone: I love this question about college food. My first meal on move-in day was at DC institution Ben's Chili Bowl, which continued to be a mainstay for me (mostly after a night out). I love/miss happy hour burgers at Chef Geoff's, brunch at Founding Farmers and Open City, and late-night eats at Jumbo Slice and Amsterdam Falafel. I also became obsessed with Berger Cookies - a Baltimore specialty that the kids I babysat loved, and I can't seem to find them anywhere outside Maryland. And one more addition is the dirty raspberry chai lattes from the coffee shop in the School of International Service building that fueled many, many papers.
This week, I want to hear about your favorite Thanksgiving dishes and traditions (old or new). Reply to this email and I’ll share the answers next week so we can all get some fresh ideas!
Paid subscribers will get my family’s cranberry banana nut bread recipe this Thursday and get personalized recommendations!
Have a good week and thanks for reading.
xo, Abigail