Catching up
Miss you
Happy Sunday! I missed you — did you miss me? Have you been cooking? I have, but it’s been more batch cooking, quick after-work dinners, and large-format stews. Lots of beans, lots of microwave burritos.
The truth is that I have been working a lot. And I spent a lot of time in front of a screen. So most weeks I’ve been so zapped that I have no inspiration or desire to write. Things have balanced out for me a little which has been nice — a lovely benefit of getting incrementally better at a new job — and just enough people have recently asked me: “So, is the newsletter over?” So I put pen to paper tonight because of course it’s not over. It’s never over.
Let’s talk food highlights of the last few months. Ones that come to mind: a perfect margarita, sturdy, crunchy potato chips drizzled with Cholula, lentil sweet potato curry soup, lemony Tuscan white bean stew with tiny ditalini, very Jewish apricot glazed chicken, chocolate covered dates with peanut butter and salt. I have all but stopped eating eggs except maybe once a week. I’m rediscovering my love for my mini slow cooker, letting dried chickpeas mingle with onion and garlic overnight while I sleep.
I’m torn about what to share with you tonight because we just have sooooo much to catch up on, don’t we? Also, I’m pretty sure we’ve discussed the chocolate covered dates and the lentil stew already. That settles it: I’m going to tell you how to make the apricot chicken. Forgive me, for this recipe is as always a method and an approximation rather than an exact science. Trust yourself!
Marinade:
roughly equal parts apricot jam, soy sauce, and olive oil (maybe 1/4 cup each)
shake of garlic powder
black pepper
drop of white vinegar (maybe a tablespoon)
Mix it up and see if it tastes good. If the proportions are right, it will taste DELICIOUS and you’ll want to drink it.
Pour it over a bunch of bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks (or any cut of chicken, honestly — it would be amazing on wings) and give it a little massage to make sure the marinade covers everything; put in a Pyrex with high sides and bake it at 400 for 45 minutes. When you take it out, the sauce should be all bubbly and caramelized. Carefully spoon that molten bubbly sauce all over the chicken and let it get all glossy and coated and deep brown.
I know I don’t do a good job of telling you quantities, so just trust yourself, okay? Like, if you’re just making this for yourself and one other person, maybe do 2 tablespoons each of apricot jam/soy sauce/olive oil. But let me just tell you that this is a crowd pleaser and you should make it for people you love. I, in front of guests, practically licked the leftover marinade off the plate.
What’s on the menu this week? Packed lunches include Banza pesto pasta salad with baby spinach and pulled chicken with salsa verde over rice and beans. Sumo oranges every day, of course. I’ll be sad when the season ends.
I’m still working my way through a giant head of cabbage, so dinners will likely include cabbage in some form — sautéed with garlic, butter and chili flakes; stir-fried with tofu and Mala seasoning over white rice; crunchy and raw in a chopped salad with chicken, brown rice, and pumpkin seeds. Cabbage is having a moment right now, as epitomized by the $19 charred cabbage appetizer I had at Claud, which by the way was worth every penny. Perhaps even more notable was the Crispy Salad at Insa which was a perfect pile of finely shredded cabbage with peanuts and herbs and some kind of mysteriously perfect tangy dressing. I’m here for it: cabbage inspo is everywhere.
I realize I mentioned the perfect margarita without telling you how to make it. Here’s the basic formula: juice of 1 lime + 1 shot of tequila + 1/2 shot of Cointreau per person, served shaken, ideally poured in a lowball glass over one giant ice cube.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my favorite meal of the last two months, which was cooked for me by Zach, who is starting to get more comfortable in the kitchen. It was a glorious platter of eggplant meatballs, but the real star was his spaghetti pomodoro — a perfect way to learn about the science of flavor.
Okay, that’s it from me for now! Missed you dearly and happy to be back. Can’t wait to hear how you’re doing and what you’re cooking. See you soon! Love ya!