Hello, chefs.
Coming to you this morning tip-tapping away in bed, waiting for my coffee guy (also fiancé) to bring me a cup and enjoying every single second of a slow Saturday morning. I think I’ve emptied the tank of every emotion in the last week and I’m reaaaaaally looking forward to a nervous system reset this weekend.
I woke up this morning from a dream about spreadsheets to a thunderstorm, which in regular times would be such a gift–I LOVE a stormy, lazy weekend—but this morning made me very sad. For the last 11 years, every time it stormed, I’d think about a certain very good boy with storm anxiety, but this week we said goodbye to Boone. I’d be remiss not to mention Boone’s absence in this newsletter, which in many ways he is at the center of: I moved to Nashville shortly after my brothers brought him home, and where there was a Sunday family dinner, which is truly how I learned to cook, there was a Boone begging for leftovers. We’ll miss him so much. It’s been awhile since we lost a family dog, and and I’m reminded again how crazy it is that we sign ourselves up for this kind of inevitable loss. But the only thing worse than losing a dog is never loving one at all.
Whew. Back to the aforementioned nervous system reset—we are cooking out some big feelings this weekend.
If you’re writing your grocery list for tomorrow night’s TV event (the Usher concert? Taylor Swift’s proposal? Football?) and can’t decide what to make, might I suggest a wing night with some Korean BBQ inspiration? We had these wings with a crunchy creamy cucumber salad and sweet potato fries that came up juuuuuust short of good. It’s a me problem though, not a sweet potato fry problem, so that menu (with a gochujang ketchup combo for dipping) still gets my vote.
Here’s my problem: we recently “upgraded” our toaster oven to an air fryer/toaster oven combo, and while I wanted to be thrilled about my life as an air fryer girl, I have yet to make something in there that is markedly better than what I would do in the regular oven or stove. Am I doing it wrong? Are y’all getting crispy, delicious things out of your air fryers, specifically this one? Teach me!
-Faith
p.s. For an easy way to save and store the recipes I share every week, save this Notion page. Use the magnifying glass to search.
Korean BBQ-inspired chicken wings
Toss a flat of chicken wings (make sure you cut the “wing” part from the “drumstick” part first, if yours are attached) with a bit of canola or vegetable oil, salt, and pepper. Bake at 400 for an hour—they should come out nice and crispy.
Make the sauce: in a small saucepan, combine 3 tbsp gochujang, 3 tbsp soy sauce, 3 tbsp water, 2 tbsp sugar, and 4 minced garlic gloves. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 3-4 minutes. Take off the heat and add a splash each of rice vinegar and sesame oil.
When the wings are done, toss them in the sauce and top with sesame seeds and scallions.
Cucumber and avo salad
Chop up a cucumber (or several, if you’re feeding more than two people), an avocado (do 1-1 cucumbers to avocados), and as many scallions as you like. Add to a bowl.
Toss with a drizzle each of sesame oil, soy, and rice vinegar. Add a good sprinkle of salt and red pepper flakes. Toss kind of aggressively so the avocado starts to break up and make the dressing more of a creamy situation. Top with sesame seeds and more scallions, if you like.