Recipes for when your brain is in the French countryside but your body is in Nashville
Pinterest as a manifestation tool, am I right?
Hello, chefs.
I imagine if Beyoncé weren’t yet a performer, she might wake up every day with this nagging feeling that she should sing. Some version of Stanley Tucci who accidentally became an accountant might be thinking, it’s so weird, I just feel like I should be…on TV? Slurping pasta? In Italy? Like the cheetah in Glennon Doyle’s Untamed.
This is me with making beautiful homes. Specifically, at this very moment, it’s making a beautiful cottage someplace in the Tennessee wilderness. Think cozy French country house meets rustic American cabin. Like so:
I just can’t let it go. For probably most of my adult life, when my mind has wandered, it’s nearly always to think about antique kitchen islands and solariums.
For better or for worse, I’ve never been one to be reasonable, if being reasonable means not wanting things just because they aren’t realistic or easy to have. So rather than doing the reasonable thing, which is looking at my bank account and remembering that I don’t have a trust fund and thus shouldn’t be thinking about a project like this, we’re going to look at land south of Nashville tomorrow. Just for fun! Just to look! I’m just browsing, thanks!
So this is me manifesting. I have no idea how it’s going to happen, but I’m telling the universe it’s the plan. And I hope that by sharing it here, I’ll get lots of responses from y’all with advice on purchasing land, building homes, rental properties, the whole nine.
This week, we have recipes to honor my split self: a simple French-inspired meal that is very simple and chic, and a decidedly American dish that I brought to a 4th of July party. Hope you all have a lovely weekend.
-Faith
Recipe that’s not a recipe: simple French-ish salmon dinner
I made this for a friend this week and felt unreasonably cool and Parisian doing so, despite the fact that I’m 95% sure any French person would say “babe, this isn’t French.” So be it.
Make a simple salad: I did kale with sliced onion, apple, and toasted almonds. Dressing is lemon juice, course ground mustard, a bit of oil, salt and pepper.
Make some couscous: My trick to a delightful couscous that feels suspiciously fancy is using some combination of chicken stock and wine for the cooking liquid, then when it’s done cooking, stir in fresh herbs, lemon zest, grated parm, salt and pepper.
Broil your salmon just before serving: Set your broiler to high. Line your baking sheet with parchment, lay your salmon, season with salt and pepper. Brush it with a 1:2 ratio of dijon and olive oil. Broil for ~8 minutes, less for thin cuts, more for thick cuts. Finish with a squeeze of lemon.
I made a garlic yogurt sauce for funsies, but not required—this salmon is super flavorful on its own.
Grilled corn salad with buttermilk feta dressing
Sue Li wrote this one for the NYT, and it’s so delicious that “Faith’s dressing” became a team name for game night. This is a great reason to have a gas grill ready to rock at the drop of a hat in the summertime.
Brush with oil, salt + pep and grill until nicely charred:
6 ears shucked corn
1 bunch trimmed scallions
2 seeded jalapeños
Mix your dressing:
4 oz feta
1/3 cup buttermilk
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1 grated garlic clove
1/4 c chopped parsley
The grilled jalapeños, finely minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Plate it!
Toss lettuce of your choice with a bit of the dressing, just enough to cover it
Plate lettuce first, then corn (sliced off the cob), scallions (cut them into bite-sized pieces first), and 2 sliced avocados. Drizzle with the remaining dressing