Short Month, Long Meals

Welcome to February, we have cookies.

Hi friends,

Welcome to This Needs Hot Sauce, a weekly newsletter about cooking, eating out, and making the most of it.

This week, I’m sharing a recap of my IG live with Julianne of @howtobebrokeinnewyork plus all the usual goodies! And please, save February 21st for our next happy hour, details coming soon!

Now, let’s dive in.

Something to Cook:

I made this “doritos” broccoli (which doesn’t taste much like doritos) last night to have for the week and it’s really good. I added some extra cayenne for a kick and it would also be good with a little nutritional yeast. I skipped the blanching step btw, and it still cooked in 20 minutes. Simple roast broccoli with lemon will always be my favorite though.

I roasted some butternut squash (cut into cubes and roast at 450 for about 30 minutes) last week with the BBQ seasoning blend from Blue Oak in New Orleans. If you have any grilling or barbecue seasoning blends lying around, throw them on some vegetables. It’s seriously so good.

For the Superbowl yesterday, Dale and I made jalapeño poppers stuffed with refried beans instead of cream cheese. We sort of followed this recipe and they turned out really well.

I also won MVP (according to me) by bringing over frozen cookie dough and Maldon salt and baking these up in the middle of the third quarter.

This week’s other major culinary accomplishment was baking a birthday cake for Julianne’s sweet nephew Adam, who turned 10 on Saturday. He requested an oreo cake so we made this (we doubled the cake and kept the frosting level the same since the cakes were a bit thin to slice in half, Ian did a great job frosting and decorating) and the look on his face was priceless. Baking a cake is a two day undertaking to be certain, but it’s also a wonderful act of love.

Something to Order:

The Made Hotel in Nomad has a really cute lobby coffee shop, Paper, that I used to visit for a break from my old office. Now they’re turning that space into a wine bar at night and the first wine list features only women winemakers. I went to a celebration for it last week and the wines are great and mostly American. If you work in the area, consider it for an after work hang (the regular bar is also really nice) and order the Merlot or the Counoise.

Bushwick Daily held the Passport Launch party at Hart Bar and it was lots of fun. The space is really charming and there’s a patio that will be great in the summer. Plus, there’s a grilled cheese pop up in the back with excellent tater tots. Also, if you haven’t ordered a passport, do so here with promo code BROKE. And if you want to check off any spots together, let me know.

Three Guys Gyro in my neighborhood is my go to for the “I have nothing in my fridge” nights. Everything is made to order, including the still warm falafel. Make sure you get all the sauces.

If you’re a wings eater, Old Town by Union Square is the place to go. And if you don’t eat the wings, the blue cheese dressing is still great with carrots and celery.

I somehow found myself in a Starbucks with a sore throat and ordered the Medicine Ball drink, a secret menu concoction of citrus mint tea, peach tea, hot water, steamed lemonade and a little honey. It’s so good and definitely perked me up a bit.

Coffeeshop of the Week: Maman

Maman is a French coffeeshop known for gorgeous takeaway cups and delicious cookies. They also have a full cafe menu that’s pretty pricey so I usually just order a coffee and maybe a baked good. I love to spend an afternoon at the Tribeca or Nomad location (the Soho one is usually pretty crowded) and shamelessly hover for cookie samples. I believe all the locations have wifi but it’s sometimes turned off or restricted on the weekends.

Something to read:

An argument for including baked camembert in your next party menu.

What dry January is like for bartenders

Lukas Volger is back with #28daysofoatmeal, a February challenge that will inspire creativity in your breakfast.

On the new Roberta’s in LA and how yuppie culture gave us fancier malls

Into a new column about vegetarian food and ideas for making lentils more exciting

How Diner changed Brooklyn dining (I’ve still never been here and really need to change that)

Eater has a new newsletter all about shopping (aka stocking your kitchen with the best stuff).

Enjoyed every word of this longread on alternative milks: “People are just looking at every nut that exists and seeing if they can squash it into a milk.”

Stories I wrote:

Open Flame is a queer open mic that’s on the rise in Brooklyn.

At Win Son, Japanese Tongs can handle heavy meats.

And now, let’s recap our IG Live. We’re trying to figure out a way to save it but since neither of us are verified, we can’t upload a long video to IGTV. If you have suggestions, let me know!

We made Burrito Bowls featuring…

Jasmine rice with a little butter and salt

Homemade tortilla chips (you could use storebought ofc or bake or fry your own)

Black beans with vegetables: I sauteed red onion with jalapeño, garlic, and bell pepper until softened and then added two cans of drained, rinsed black beans. Season to your liking, I used paprika, chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne, and salt.

Toppings: Shredded pepper jack cheese, quick pickled jalapeños (thinly sliced and tossed with salt and vinegar before you start cooking), shredded iceberg lettuce, sliced scallions, avocado, salsa, hot sauce, and lime wedges.

The meat eaters also made some ground beef. This would make great leftovers. I’d pack the toppings separately (especially the salsa, chips and avocado) to preserve crunch. Use mini containers or ziploc bags.

Topics

Our favorite tools in the kitchen are simple ones: sharp knives (you can get yours sharpened at Williams Sonoma for $1 per inch if you can’t do it yourself), a big cutting board, lots of small bowls

We both love having people over and here’s how we manage it:

-Have a potluck (and make requests so you don’t have 5 desserts)

-Open the windows before people come over because body heat is real,

-Invite a friend over to cook a new recipe with you (shoutout to Tilden)

-Only invite as many people as you’re comfortable with (I used to do 6 people cause I have 6 wineglasses, Julianne goes by the number of chairs she has)

-Switch up timing. If weekday evenings are really hectic for you, invite people over for brunch or Sunday dinner or a late afternoon snack spread.

On packing food and saving money:
Julianne is a huge overnight oats fan (use this recipe, with a 1:1 ratio of oats to liquid). It’s one of the cheapest breakfasts you can make and so customizable. I buy my oats at Whole Foods, where they’re 99 cents a pound.

I’m a big fan of having roasted vegetables on hand, especially squash or sweet potatoes. Combined with chickpeas, an egg, some avocado, and greens, you’ve got so many meal options.

At coffeeshops (hi Brielle), I typically eat breakfast before I go and always buy some drink. If I’m there for a while, I will occasionally eat some food I’ve brought from home (that’s not smelly ofc). When it’s warm out, I always find a bench to sit on and eat outside but in the winter, it’s really hard. I think as long as you’re a polite, paying customer, people tend to be understanding, but it’s definitely a challenge when you’re working on the go.

Thank you to everyone who tuned in! If there’s a question that didn’t get answered, please reply and let me know. We’ll address it for sure!

Now, let’s talk about cozy meals for when it inevitably gets cold again:

Lily knows how to use TJ’s: My favorite cozy meal is Trader Joe’s butternut squash ravioli with vodka sauce and frozen peas mixed in, sprinkled generously with parmesan! It makes my stomach feel incredibly warm (in a good way).

Hayley stays cozy af: My favorite cozy meal is either red bean chili and cornbread, or a chicken pot pie! So warm and filling. 

Molly has this down to a science: It's so hard to choose a cozy dinner, because most of my meals end up that way! this past Saturday night I cooked for my roommates and we had spaghetti and meatballs. I used DeCecco spaghetti, jarred Rao's marinara (the only jarred pasta sauce I buy!) and Pinch of Yum's anytime baked meatballs, for which I bought the ground dark meat turkey from Whole Foods. Top that bad boy with as much pecorino romano (to save money) or parmigiano reggiano (if you feel like spending dough for the King of Cheese) as you like. Delicious!

Bethany is doing it right: My favorite cozy dinner is chickpea stew, made with whatever I have lying around my kitchen but usually involving some variation of oil, vinegar, tomato paste, assorted veggies, lots of garlic, garam masala and cumin. Made this last night right after I got back from a long flight and it brought me back to life.

This week, in honor of the shortest month, let’s talk about long meals. You know those dinners where everyone keeps lingering, making a million excuses to stay for another drink, bite or tangent? Reply to this email and tell me about yours. In Guatemala, I had so many of these, especially at Celine’s house, which not so coincidentally, did not have Wifi. We would make quesadillas or soups and talk for hours.

Happy eating and thanks for reading.

xo, Abigail

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