It's 2019, Let's Cook
This Needs Hot Sauce is back with so many recipes, plus our January event
Hi friends,
Happy New Year! Welcome (back) to This Needs Hot Sauce, a weekly newsletter about cooking, eating out, and making the most of it. I’ve really missed you guys and am so excited to be back. I know lots of people are cooking and trying new things this time of year and I’m always here to share recipe suggestions and lend a hand. I’ve also got an announcement about my first 2019 event at the end so let’s dive in.
Something to cook:
True story, my roommate and I made a google doc called Cozy Season to keep track of all the things we wanted to cook around Christmas time. I’m not the most spontaneous, it’s true (but I’m working on it), but we had so much fun.
Here are are our highlights:
Peanut Butter Paprika cookies from Sister Pie in Detroit have a little kick from a salt/paprika/sugar topping and look beautiful. This is a crumbly peanut butter cookie not a soft one (try these if you’re looking for that texture).
Leah and Jason made these chocolate tahini linzer cookies and I got to sample them. They’re so good (the chocolate and tahini really complement each other) and look like a fun project if you have cookie cutters and lots of counter space.
For dinner alongside the cookies, we made The Salad, my kale salad with roasted grapes and butternut squash. It pairs well with cookies and the leftovers are great.
I also made candied ginger from scratch for a gift/to see how it’s done. I made a half batch using this recipe and it all worked out, even without a scale.
For Emma’s birthday potluck, I made a dish I consider an annual event: squash toasts with caramelized onions and ricotta. They’re so delicious and every time I make them, I kick myself for not making them more often. Getting a good bread is really important since the topping is sturdy and you want to avoid leakage. I got an Amy’s bread sourdough for $3 at Bedford Cheese Shop, sliced it, and toasted it in the oven at 400 for 10-12 minutes.
Julia made deviled eggs with miso for the party and we are very proud of her (they were so good). She didn’t use a recipe but mixed the yolks with miso, mayo, rice vinegar and sriracha and then topped them with scallions, sesame seeds and paprika.
To kick off 2019, Julia and I hosted a New Year’s party! I’ve never done this before but wound up enjoying the planning process and actual celebration so much. Also we don’t have a TV and counted down with a laptop on top of the fridge which was very funny.
In addition to (lots of) champagne, we put out quite the food spread:
Party nuts (because it wouldn’t be a party without them)
Spinach artichoke dip served with homemade pita chips and crackers. I doubled this recipe I saw on Grace’s blog and it was perfect. I added lots of black pepper and a little paprika in addition to the salt and baked for 18 minutes.
Chocolate chip cookies with flakey sea salt. This is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve made and they were a crowd favorite. Make the dough a day in advance for best results.
Pigs in a blanket. We got the premade ones and they disappeared so fast.
Emma and Jesse brought spicy hummus from Sahaldi’s and someone brought Tim Tam’s, a chocolate cookie from Australia that I remember enjoying.
Drinks! Everyone drank sparkling stuff or this vodka lemonade that we put in our giant drink dispenser.
The morning after, I made breakfast tacos, served with coffee and coconut water. Good as new.
In 2019, I’ve been eating random leftovers but I made time for cauliflower tacos. The spice blend in this recipe is so good and I don’t bother with the herb sauce (but I do make the tahini).
I’ve been a vegetarian for almost 6 years but until Saturday, I had never attempted homemade veggie burgers. At Dale’s suggestion, we made black bean burgers and they were great! I looked hard for a recipe that wasn’t too complicated or equipment intensive (so many veggie burger recipes have close to 20 components and you need a food processor). These came together, in a bowl with a fork, in under an hour, plus 20 minutes in the oven. We served them in toasted buns with greens, extra feta cheese, sliced avocado and a hot sauce/ketchup swirl. They’re so much more flavorful than store bought burgers (I bumped up the spices and feta cheese amounts) and I’m definitely going to make more this summer to throw on the grill.
Last night Tilden and I gave the Feel Good Food Plan a try with the sesame noodles with crispy tofu (and cucumbers, which were lowkey the best part). If you don’t like tofu, you’ve probably never tried a crispy version! Here you get it nice and crispy (which takes longer than the recipe says, we also cut it into smaller pieces for more crisp surfaces), remove it from the pan and drain and then cook it again with a chile honey glaze. Soba noodles cook in just three minutes, so do that right at the end. We topped with scallions and sesame seeds and the whole thing was so good.
(If you like pickled cucumbers, try this egg scramble with pickled cucumbers and if you have extra soba noodles, try this soba slaw with peanut sauce).
Tilden was making brownies to say thank you to her roommate and we had to sample a few. She used a storebought brownie mix, which is the only way I make brownies (I swear by the this version and last night we used King Arthur), but then amped them up with this matcha glaze (we used earth balance instead of butter) and a layer of sesame seeds. The bitterness of the matcha went so well with the slightly gooey brownie. Next time you want to elevate brownie mix, add a glaze.
Something to Order:
It feels like so long ago, but Lizzi, Leah and I had a lovely Christmas Eve lunch at Westbourne in Soho. It’s an LA inspired counter service cafe where verything is a little hippie dippy and completely gorgeous, from the pottery to the finished plates. We shared a bunch of dishes and the must orders are the mushroom rueben, which is so cheesy, something with halloumi, which is an add on, and the malibu waffle, which is made with buckwheat and served with pumpkin butter. There’s also great coffee and free sparkling water at the beverage station in the back.
I go to Lighthouse a lot but I really can never resist writing about it. Julia and I wanted something fresh right around the holidays and shared the big salad with feta, plus a pot of red curry mussels and a side of their sourdough bread. Paired with a natural white wine from Italy (also the cheapest option), you’ll be very satisfied.
I sometimes work from home and can feel a lil cooped up. The antidote: a neighborhood bar like the Topaz, where excellent cocktails are served in an elegant space that looks nothing like my living room. Even on Christmas Eve, happy hour goes till 8 and includes a $6 old fashioned.
As a proud Jew, Chinese food was a must on Christmas. We went to M Shanghai on the early side, which was great because things were getting packed. M. Shanghai really shines on its dumplings: we got the spicy vegetable wontons with peanut sauce, which are my absolute favorites. Meat eaters love the soup dumplings too. We also got the cold sesame noodles, the pea shoots and vegetable buns.
As I’ve mentioned, Dale lives in prime pizza delivery zone and we continued to take advantage with a pie from Best Pizza. We also got an arugula salad which was really good, with pickled fennel, chickpeas, and shaved cheese.
Coffeeshop of the Week: Little Skips
I wrote part of this at the original Little Skips on Willoughby and it has major West Philly vibes (kind of a cross between Lovers and Madmen (RIP) and the Greenline on 43rd and Baltimore). It’s a bright brick space with a lived in vibe (none of the furniture matches) and the coffee is really good and comes in enormous speckled mugs. There’s a big food menu as well plus beer, wine and sake. And wifi, obviously. Big fan.
Something to Read (longer than usual cause I’ve been collecting links for weeks):
How Diana Davila makes chiles rellenos inspired by chiles en nogada (also a story I wrote last year about Chiles en Nogada in Brooklyn)
This is so true, especially at my parents’ house: why your guests always gather in the kitchen
A food blogger looks back at a year of recipe disasters.
It’s peak January and salad lines are out of control.
I keep linking to Samin Nosrat profiles but I promise this one is great (and she’s one of the few people I’ve heard speak honestly about how weird success can feel)
The history of Jews eating Chinese food on Christmas
A (mostly Queens) food tour of New York with Padma Lakshmi
Breakfast with Ina Garten really sounds like a delight
2018 was the year of the Instagram Noodle Thot Shot
From a Washington Post food reporter: My column’s name does a disservice to the immigrants whose food I celebrate so I’m dropping it.
A bombshell I somehow missed last year: Where can Harvey Weinstein still get a dinner reservation?
Loved to see Noor quoted in this Mayukh Sen story about a restaurant in Jersey City bringing Bangladeshi cooking to the forefront.
A drink trend for 2019: fancy shots (aka very small cocktails)
Another way to think about eating a lot over the holidays: it’s the one time of year we give food the attention it deserves.
A worthy follow up to the excellent NBA pb&J story, this report on the role of coffee in NBA locker rooms (of course the Portland team has a boutique set up)
Have you gotten a Passport to Bushwick yet? They’re being printed right now and soon you’ll be able to enjoy drinks at 19 local bars, all for $25. Use code BROKE for 10% off.
Now, I’m excited to share your 2019 goals!
Julianne: In 2019, I want to eat more Indian food and clams with you. Still not sure if I can get past the snotty consistency of oysters, but I'll keep an open mind in 2019. I want to make this pasta al limone for the crew because it's simple and vegetarian and will be delicious on a cold day (or any day lol). I also want to host more dinners & potlucks in 2019 because I feel like I kinda dropped the ball this very busy year!
Hilary: I want to have a progressive dinner party, get this inherited wheel of cheese that's larger than my head into a fondue pot (on several occasions), and make and trade hot sauces among friends (hot sauce club!?).
Alicia: I really wanna try pasta making, after getting into the fancy pasta bitch's blog. it all looks great.
Margie is going to try Goldie (take me with you!)
This week, I want to talk about Pantry Staples. Inspired by this post, what are the ingredients you always have on hand for last minute dinners?
A few of mine are: tahini, lemons, eggs, red onion, frozen peas, hot sauce, oats, farro or pasta, almonds, peanut butter, and chickpeas. I could probably make three meals from just that in a total pinch.
Reply to this email and share your pantry staples as well as any 2019 questions or requests!
Finally, drumroll please, I’m excited to announce my first event for 2019: a Shabbat dinner (all are welcome and there will be challah) on January 25th at 7 pm. I have limited spots available since it’s at my apartment so RSVP by replying to email and I’ll confirm your spot. If you can’t make it this time, I’ll have larger events in the coming months. See you soon!
Happy eating and thanks for reading.
xo, Abigail
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