Recipes for when you would do anything for love, but you won't do that (turn on your oven)
Dissociating from apocalyptic climate news and making classic hot weather dishes to pretend it's just a normal summer.
Hello, chefs.
I’d like to start by refusing to apologize for getting Meat Loaf stuck in your head today. It’s a gift! Thank me later!
In stark contrast to last week’s dreamin’ schemin’ wantin’ vibes, I’ve been trying to plant my feet back on earth this week. I’m returning to some habits that make my brain feel nice: morning hikes on the Radnor ridge trail, quickie Headspace meditations every day (8 day streak, baby!), sticking to my daily social media limit instead of clicking “15 more minutes” every time I get locked out, eating vegetables, etc.
Also, it’s green bean season, and if you’ve never experienced the gift of snapping green beans off the vine to snack on while you’re outside, I am sorry. I can’t explain it but man, what a rush.
For the first time in what feels like months (actually, it probably has been months), we had a full house for Sun fam din this weekend. If you want a reliable dopamine hit every week, make a Sunday dinner tradition; Sunday scaries lose their bite and your community gets deeper.
It’s been hotternhail in Nashville, so we had (mostly) chilled dishes, except for this focaccia and this crab dip which tbh was the star of the show. I attempted to recreate Folk’s asparagus and crab dish but honestly you should just make a reservation and eat it there. One thing you should definitely try, though, is serving a platter of sliced summer tomatoes drizzled in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and topped with spicy garlic breadcrumbs (just crumble some stale bread, drizzle with chile oil and minced garlic, and bake til crispy).
Ok love y’all! Go get ‘em this weekend!
-Faith
Beer chicken
This was a weekly staple at my house in the summertime when I was growing up. Now I know why: it’s stupid easy, cleans the we-probably-shouldn’t-drink-this beer out of the fridge, and naturally, is delicious. It’s also ideal to make for guests, especially given my recent history of setting grills on fire (yes, on fire, like actually running to get the extinguisher), because you cook the chicken on the stovetop and just finish it on the grill.
If you’re making this for guests, you can do this step a few hours in advance: Drop a bunch of chicken drumsticks into a big stock pot and cover with beer. Cheaper the better. No measurements here; lots of drumsticks = lots of beer. You’re going to boil these suckers, so be sure the top of the chicken is covered by at least an inch of beer. Note: I recommend doing this step in advance because 1) it takes a minute to get that thing boiling and 2) your house is going to smell like a brewery for a sec.
Cover and bring to a boil. Boil for ~20 minutes or until your drumsticks are cooked through. Remove the chicken onto a baking sheet to let rest. If you’re doing this in advance, cover and refrigerate.
~30 before you’re ready to serve, heat up your grill. Be sure to check that grease trap, fam 🥴. Clean your grates and rub them with an onion or a potato if you wanna be professional here.
Pour a bunch of BBQ marinade—I’m not talking about the red kind, I’m taking about the vinegar-based kind, specifically Chiavettas, and if you’re not from Buffalo, do yourself a favor and just order it—into a bowl.
Dip each drumstick in the marinade and then pop on the hot grill. Once they’re all on, brush them with marinade again, cover, and let cook until that side is CRISPY. Brush again, flip, brush again, and cook til crispy. Whenever you have a chance to brush them, seize it.
When they’re ready, drumsticks should be crispy all over and basically falling off the bone.
Mocha icebox cake
I’ll start this recipe by Yossy Arefi with a note that apparently Nabisco discontinued the chocolate wafers that everyone and their mother uses for icebox cakes, and the world is in a panic. Not to worry, I just used Oreos (or in this case, the GF version of Oreos), separated them, and scraped out the filling.
In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, combine and beat until stiff peaks form:
3 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
4 tsp instant espresso (btw, keep this stuff on hand, it’s great in baking or for an emergency espresso martini)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch of salt
Line a loaf pan with two strips of saran wrap—one length-wise and one width-wise—so that each side has a decent overhang. You’ll end up wrapping the overhang over the top of the cake.
Spread ~ half of the cream mixture in the bottom of the pan. Take a chocolate wafer (or the cookie part of an oreo) and spread one side with a good dollop of the cream mixture. Stand it up in the corner of the pan and repeat until you have a row that extends from one short end of the pan to the other of vertical cookies with cream in between them. Repeat with more rows until the pan is filled, probably ending up with 4 rows.
Cover the cookie layer with the rest of your cream, wrap tightly with the overhanging saran, and refrigerate for at least one day. Freeze for about an hour before serving. Top with a dusting of cocoa powder if it feels right.