Setting the table
Our November happy hour, plus preparing for a season of cooking, eating, and gathering
Hi friends,
Welcome to This Needs Hot Sauce, a newsletter by Abigail Koffler about cooking, dining out, and making the most of it.
I wanted to announce that I’m hosting my next happy hour on Tuesday, November 19th at Win Son Bakery. Longtime readers know how much I love Win Son and their new bakery is awesome any time of the day. Nighttime is just heating up as they recently got their liquor license. Come by starting at 6:30 for natural wines, cocktails, fried chicken and lots more (they’re extending the happy hour for us). Friends/coworkers/people you’re dating are more than welcome. Let me know if you’re coming so I have a headcount!
Now, let’s dive in.
Something to cook:
This week, I was on a taco kick. I made sweet potato tacos on Friday night and have been eating the leftovers since. I use the seasonings from this recipe and doctored up some refried beans with onion, cumin, and chili powder. The toppings are always lots of fun. I had avocado with lime, salsa, lime wedges, and a quick slaw with purple cabbage, cilantro, scallions, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, and salt. Add lots of hot sauce and pepita salsa.
My parents made tacos last night for dinner with Dale and Teal and they were a hit. They made these pickled then grilled vegetables which were so good cut up in a taco (they did carrots and beets and radishes). A little labor-intensive, but fun.
Julia and I hosted book club and are here to remind you that a baked brie is always a good idea. Trader Joe’s goat brie is under $3 and perfect with some jam on top.
It’s important to have a cake recipe you can whip up for a casual celebration. This vegan chocolate cake totally fits the bill (and it does not taste vegan). Mom and Dad made it for Dale’s birthday and it’s very good with vanilla Talenti. Also, I’m sending out a subscriber-only email with my go-to desserts in each category (cookies, cakes, brownies/blondies) this week. Sign up now to get a copy!
Something to order:
We celebrated Dale’s not 30th birthday at Le Fanfare, which is such a cozy date spot. I always get the trofie with dandelion green pesto and we had to celebrate with their chocolate tart, which is a little bit salty like all the best chocolate desserts.
Lizzi and Julia and I got oysters at Goodnight Sonny and wine at Lois on Halloween. People watching is always fun that day and we got to see kids on our way over and adults on our way home. Goodnight Sonny has a huge range of oysters on their happy hour menu so race there by 7. Lois also has some good snacks, especially the burrata and the kale flatbread. And all the wine is on tap, so you can taste a few before ordering.
Dale and I had birthday brunch at Quality Eats uptown, which was really good. I would come back for drinks and curly fries, they were so good.
Sandra, Frida, Zeke and I got brunch at Cafe Rue Dix, a Senagalese place in Crown Heights. The menu has some more traditional dishes along with some brunch classics like huevos rancheros. We split the fattaya, which are similar to empanadas and I got eggs in kale “cupcakes” with lots of the housemade Senegalese hot sauce, which was very spicy. Their coffee was really good too, with steamed milk and a bit of spice.
Something to read:
Loved this history of the diner menu and how it got so long
I wrote about a new natural wine shop in Williamsburg from Andrew Tarlow
We should all shop more in the bulk food aisles (it’s trendy in France)
With the #metoo stories coming out from the wine world, helping wine professionals stay healthy and safe is even more important. It’s such a boys club.
In this week’s Smart Mouth newsletter, I got to rave about the tahini milkshake from Goldie.
It’s so great to see a feature on Calvin Eng, Win Son’s talented Chef de Cuisine.
If you want to cry, this story about how widows cope with mealtime should do the trick.
Now, let’s talk about Thanksgiving. I have a few friendsgivings to prepare for and am very inspired by you guys!
Zeke has his contribution set: I’m definitely going to be making this butternut squash tarte tatin again this year. It's a gorgeous and delicious dish that's secretly easier to make than it looks. Just have to remember to put a pan under the springform this time so the caramel doesn't leak out and smoke up my entire apartment again. (What a mess.)
Kaitlin already went to a friendsgiving: I'll be contributing either a sweet potato casserole w/ pecans and marshmallows or mom-mom's famous sweet bread loaf.
I seem to forget this every year, but the holiday season is overwhelming. Celebrations are so special and it’s really great to see people you might not see often, but there’s also stress around hosting people, finding the right thing to wear, eating vegetables in addition to desserts, etc.
It’s full of ups and downs and in that spirit, I wanted to play a little game this week: rose, bud, thorn. A rose is something you like about the holidays (for me it’s cranberry sauce and our annual latke party), a bud is something you’re excited about this year (trying a new recipe, seeing Vanessa Hudgens attempt to play triplets), and a thorn is something you’re not a fan of (I can’t get behind eggnog).
I can’t wait to read your responses, feel free to be creative.
A scheduling note: I’m headed to Guatemala on Thursday and won’t send a newsletter next Monday. I lived in Guatemala for a year after college as a Princeton in Latin America fellow with Cojolya, a women’s weaving association. It was an incredible and challenging year and I’m so excited to return and see so many dear friends. I’ll share some food photos on Instagram if you’d like to follow along! I hope to see you at happy hour on the 19th and will share updates from Guatemala once I’m back.
Happy eating and thanks for reading.
xo, Abigail
This Needs Hot Sauce is a food newsletter and community by Abigail Koffler. After nearly two years of free content, a paid edition is here! Subscribe now for exclusive content.