Under The Weather

But at least we have ice cream...

Hi friends,

Welcome to This Needs Hot Sauce. This week was sub par on the food front, as I spent half of it under the weather with an “upper respiratory virus.” Shoutout to urgent care for the vague diagnosis and shoutout to you all as we start this rainy week. Let’s dive in.

Something to cook:

I am very particular about peanut sauces so trust me when I say that this peanut soba slaw is way better dressing than this miso peach slaw I tried last week. Don’t abandon your favorites. Cookie and Kate is my go to for peanut dressings: this one is also a winner.

How to improve any dinner party 1000%: bring frozen cookie dough and bake it in time for dessert. I walked to Julianne and Ian’s carrying a box of Maldon salt (the best) and got a few odd glances, but it’s #worthit when you end a meal with warm cookies covered in flakey salt.

My mom got the most beautiful tomatoes, which we dressed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little bit of goat cheese (not pictured). Perfection.

Isa and Noah made a version of this marinated zucchini, substituting yogurt for ricotta.

I had my very own cooking disaster on Friday. I wasn’t feeling well so I slept in and decided to make myself toast for breakfast. I had some bread in the freezer, which I defrosted in the microwave and then toasted in the broiler. It looked beautiful and I got creative, topping half with peanut butter and jam and half with avocado.

Well, friends, freezer burn is real because I took one bite and almost chipped a tooth. The center was rock hard and I wound up scraping off the toppings to eat on their own and heading straight for the couch, where I watched The Last Five Years and cried only a little. You win some, you lose some.

Looks can be deceiving when it comes to toast

Something to order:

There are a lot of restaurants in Williamsburg, but I’m always amazed M. Shanghai is not more crowded. They have a patio that’s either heated or air conditioned depending on the season, the best spicy vegetable dumplings (they come with peanut sauce and are a Smitten Kitchen favorite), cold sesame noodles, excellent soup dumplings and nice low prices. If you’ve never been, you must try it and you probably won’t even have to wait.

We had a great dinner with Julianne and her parents and followed up with dessert at Fortunato Brothers, an Italian bakery with exceptional gelato. Their pistachio is so nutty and I think the Stracciatella is my favorite, but you’ll definitely want to sample a few flavors. Their cookies and espresso are good too and there’s a very friendly cat.

Julia and I had a night of trying new things on Tuesday. First we did happy hour at The Immigrant, an East Village wine bar with an insane happy hour – until 6:30 all of the wines are $8 by the glass. That’s including the fancy ones that are normally $14. We tried a few and both chose a greek orange wine. The bartender even let us split a second glass. They have a beer bar, the tap room, right next door, if that’s more your jam.

For dinner, we moseyed to San Marzano, a formerly cash only pasta spot often visited for bottomless brunch. The quoted 25 minute wait was actually less than 10 and soon we were seated with a sub $30 bottle of wine and a sea of pasta choices. We started with a very fresh arugula salad and then split two pastas: pappardelle a la norma with eggplant and mozzarella and rigatoni with pesto. The pasta is fresh and everything was way better than it needed to be at those prices. Yes, the tables are close together but it’s New York. You’re eating cheap and delicious pasta, it’s all good.

Julianne and I had a scenic dinner at North Brooklyn Farms to celebrate minigrow’s new menu. Minigrow is a new concept from Honeygrow, a fast casual spot that launched in Philly. They have three locations in New York (which I haven’t tried, tbh) but the food at this event was really good: especially the spinach noodles (made by the same company David Chang uses), the mushrooms, and the house pickled chiles.

For hanging with friends or impressing a date, the Topaz is a great bet. The cocktails are good (they take a few minutes, which is a good sign), the happy hour, which includes $6 old fashioneds, goes till 8 and there are many types of seating, for either groups or a duo.

If you have to go to urgent care, you should at least get ice cream afterwards. I got cookies and cream from Davey’s and honestly, it helped a lot.

Coffeeshop dispatch:

I only went to one last week (horrifying, I know): Think Coffee on 8th Avenue. It’s huge, with tons of seating, and wifi.

I also embraced byo coffee, carrying a jar of iced coffee around while I do errands. No shame in the money saving game.

Something to read:

I spent maybe 30% of my sick day watching the Bon Appetit youtube channel, specifically Claire Saffitz’s series Gourmet Makes, where she recreates junk foods. Start with the latest oreo one and you’ll be hooked.

Oprah’s date night secret involves cooking

What’s Food Network’s role in the age of Netflix?

Missy Robbins, of Lilia, shares her Williamsburg favorites. She has a new restaurant opening next month right by Domino Park.

101 Simple Salads via Cup of Jo

Is Instagram ruining sushi?

I love Dinner, a Love Story and her account of cooking while on vacation in Italy makes me want to buy a plane ticket immediately.

Seriously? The Chicago Poke Chain trying to stop Hawaiian businesses from using the world Aloha.

Another fun video if you’re under the weather/can’t sleep: Serious Eats Staffers Sohla and Stella each make delicious food from a mystery box of ingredients chosen by the other.

A Deez Links recommendation: This longform podcast with GQ EIC Jim Nelson. Come for the Condé gossip, stay for the passionate advice about storytelling.

For Bushwick Daily, I wrote about Chiles en Nogada, a seasonal dish from Puebla that you can try right here in Brooklyn. Give it a read.

Last week, I asked about birthdays and you shared some fun memories:

From Julianne: For my bday I ate cheesecake and a baked brie thanks for reminding me. I highly recommend a Jessi's breakfast burrito for the morning after a birthday party! Plus they have the best coffee so go run & tell that.

From fellow August birthday girl Sarah: I would always have ice cream cake growing up!

I’m a big ice cream fan, especially since my birthday is in late August, and chocolate is always on the agenda.

This week, let’s talk sick day foods. What’s your cozy/comfort/snuggle on the couch food when you feel icky? Reply to this email and let me know.

Stay dry and stay healthy!

Happy eating and thanks for reading (and following on instagram).

xo, Abigail