Think of all the pastabilities
Plus, cookies in a flash and more Philly favorites
Hi friends,
Welcome to This Needs Hot Sauce, a weekly newsletter about cooking, eating out, and making the most of it. If you’re reading this anywhere near New York City, you should come to happy hour this Thursday, June 27th at the Tuffet (details here). Bring friends!
Now, let’s dive in, and be sure to read to the end for your favorite pasta shapes.
Something to cook:
I made hummus last Monday and spun it into a few lunches and snack dinners. I use a blender but a food processor works better. Is it worth it to make homemade hummus? It tastes a lot better, but isn’t always practical, so I make it when I can and also buy it sometimes. If you’re buying hummus, you can make it taste a lot better by topping it with some fresh olive oil and spices (paprika, cumin, or za’atar).
I was in Philly this weekend to celebrate the life of my great great Uncle Herman, who died last year at the age of 100. Relatives came from all over the country to honor him and of course, eat. Margie and Lizzi set up a beautiful spread, including this cucumber salad from Plenty that was so refreshing.
Living in Guatemala gave me a lifelong appreciation for Ducal refried black beans. I get them at a Mexican market near me and always jazz them up with some sauteed onion, cumin and chili powder. I made a tostada for dinner last night by topping a crisped up corn tortilla with the beans. You can add whatever you want on: pickled onions, avocado, salsa, scallions, but I just had some spinach and hot sauce. More ideas here.
The evening got even tastier when Julia popped out of her room at 8:22 and said, “is there anything we can bake?”
Google was way too overwhelming so I grabbed Julia Turshen’s Small Victories cookbook and realized we had everything we need to make a half batch of her Feel Better Soon cookies (we skipped the dried fruit and used extra chocolate). They came together so fast, in one bowl, AND were ready in time for Big Little Lies. We baked them for 9 minutes for a softer cookie, which I prefer, and they’re even better the second day. Side note: I love freezing cookie dough but this is a looser one that would not freeze as well. Make a half batch and share your cookies with friends.
A sustainability update: I am collecting my food scraps for compost! Inspired by tips from Emma and Frida, I grabbed a ziploc bag last week and started saving things in the freezer. I’ll bring in to the Union Square Greenmarket once it’s full (they collect four days a week and it’s relatively convenient, though I wish there was a closer option). The bag is filling up fast with kale stems, apple cores and onion peels and I’m kicking myself that I didn’t do this sooner. I got messages from some of you that you want to try, so let’s do it together! #thisneedscompost am I right? You can find NY collection sites here and Philly just launched a bunch of new ones (thanks Emily for sharing).
Something to order:
Lissette invited me to a dinner hosted by Centrum and cooked by Scott Conant. It was at the very cute Little Owl Venue in the West Village and I loved the decor (there were flowers and actual fruit on the table, which is a great centerpiece you won’t have to throw away). The food was great, especially the beet hummus with parmesan crackers.
Julia won the Oklahoma lottery and I got to be her lucky plus one. The show was great (her tip to win: set a slack reminder to enter each day) and we got to try the famous intermission chili, which is vegetarian and very good.
Before the show, we grabbed dinner at Aria Wine Bar. I went to their West Village location last month with Teal and the uptown one is also quite good. We really liked the pastas, especially the gnocchi, and the little carafes of wine. If you want a reservation but there are none online, give them a call and you might get lucky.
I headed to Philly on Friday evening to see Nicole. It was very last minute and so lovely. If you’re planning to visit Philly this summer, which you should, I have more suggestions in this newsletter and this one (or just email me because I always love to talk about Philly). The train is less than 90 minutes (shorter than some podcasts, which is crazy) and the city is the best. We got a lovely outdoor dinner at Harper’s Garden. The halloumi salad is really good, as is the shortcake.
On Saturday, we executed a pretty damn perfect lunch by getting tahini shakes at Goldie (learn how they make their falafel here) and then walking up the block for hummus from Dizengoff. Dizengoff hummus is so smooth, and each order comes with a fresh pita, hot out of the oven and some israeli salad. The shakes are filling, so I’d split one order of hummus for an ideal meal.
We did a progressive dinner with a stop at the South Street Beer Garden (get a beer, not a cocktail), drinks at Parc (their wine list is wonderful and it felt like being back in Paris with an epic bread basket and endless people watching), and Korean food at Southgate. It was a short but sweet visit and I can’t wait to be back later this year.
Something to read:
What Juneteenth means to four African American Chefs
Take a lactaid before reading about this dairy breakfast in Wisconsin
Thank you Into the Gloss for this Top Shelf with Claire Saffitz
Love a food media gripe: I hate when the Grub Street Diet talks about LA. Personally, I hate when someone who doesn’t seem to like food writes one…
Speaking of good Grub Street diets, Lukas Volger, creator of #28daysofoatmeal, shared his.
An oral history of Serious Eats
Offices are the worst and lunchtime shaming is one of the (many) reasons.
This video of the Democratic candidates sharing their favorite foods is incredibly awkward. The Cut ranked their answers to see whose choice was most haunting.
Need to attend a pasta social club party
Some fun spritz ideas, with or without alcohol
More on Oklahoma’s intermission chili and how it’s made
A look at some of the city’s most devoted regulars. This warmed my heart
Eater is hosting a Young Guns Summit at the end of July and more programming info is coming out later this week, so grab tickets now. I’ll be in California and am so sad to miss it!
Low Stakes Hot Take: Buying Lunch Isn’t a Waste of Money. I’d still rather spend money on dinner than lunch, but everyone should define wasting money for themselves and being overly prescriptive or moral about things like eating food is quite unhealthy!
Also applicable for non parents: Today’s parents think they lack the time or skill to throw dinner parties. They’re missing out.
For Bushwick Daily, I wrote about The Gradient, a female-owned vegetarian cafe and bar that you won’t want to leave.
Cheese plate season is in full swing, so check out our This Needs Hot Sauce Special Edition: How To Create a Perfect Cheese Plate. My friend Charlotte, who worked as a cheesemonger, shared all her best tips!
Now, let’s talk about your favorite pasta shapes. My body is ready.
Alicia goes for nostalgia: My favorite Pasta Shape is entirely a childhood thing. My dad would make red peppers (a favorite of mine to this day) with bowtie pasta and balsamic vinaigrette. It by no means objectively the best shape, but it is my favorite.
My dad can’t quite narrow it down: I think my current favorite is bucatini but I like many different types.
Delia is also #teambucatini: I fucking love bucatini. Slurpy like spaghetti but thicc and satisfying.
Julianne is full of love: My favorite pasta shape... I think I'm going to get yelled at but HONESTLY I just love pasta so much the shape doesn't matter. Love is love and I don't discriminate. #BodyPastative
Angela knows what she’s talking about: I'm Italian, so I have *many* strongly-held pasta shape opinions, but my favorite has to be orecchiette. First off, the name is so fun to say - I love to exaggerate each syllable a la Giada. They cook quickly and always maintain a pleasant chew. And of course, the dome shape is ideal for trapping sauce and bits of veggies, meat, etc.
Hilary agrees: I love orecchiette for its versatility- the shape goes well with just butter/oil and parm or sauces, or mixed in with lots of veggies and stuff. Good for spoon or fork!
Nicole is blessing us with this twitter thread: So glad you asked about favorite pasta shapes, because I look for any excuse to revisit this unreal twitter thread. My favorites to get fancy are gemelli and mafaldine, but spaghetti is the pasta to end all pastas in my book.
First time, long time reader Emma: I feel so passionate about the pasta shape conversation! I think cavatappi is hands down the best. It's like penne's cooler cousin, so it's perfect for baked pasta dishes, especially baked mac and cheese (Westville does it with cavatappi and it's so good). I also think it holds any type of sauce well and it's long enough that it can almost play the role of a long pasta. Also, it looks pretty and fancy.
Thank you for sharing all of your favorites. We can all try something new next time you’re at the pasta aisle and can’t narrow it down.
This week, let’s talk about grilling! I don’t have a grill in my apartment but I love grilling at my parent’s house (well, actually I love watching my dad grill while drinking a glass of wine). Do you grill? What’s your favorite thing to grill? We make great grilled pizzas with dough from our favorite local pizzeria and I also love grilled halloumi and grilled pineapple or stone fruit.
Have a great week and I hope to see you on Thursday! A cheese plate awaits.
Happy eating and thanks for reading.
xo, Abigail