Recipes for when you're cooking at someone else's house
Nothing stinky, nothing messy, and for the love of god, no defrosting shrimp in the bathroom.
Hello, chefs.
After a (more or less) two week break from my medium screen, we’re back, baby. There have been many recipes cooked in the interim, some I’ll share here, and others you’ll find on NYT Cooking with my angry comments about cook times. Ask me about Christmas morning eggs.
Every year, I try to get incrementally better at staying in touch with people. I’m shamefully still very bad at this. I rarely pick up the phone, promise visits that never happen, and broadcast my life on the internet as a poor replacement for actual human connection. (Damn, that’s brutal.)
But! Last year was better. I took two trips with friends who moved away years ago, one to Mallorca and another to San Juan Island. This is your sign to reach out to that friend you really miss and plan a long weekend together. I can’t believe I waited until I was 30 to do that. I got better at writing postcards to people just to say hey, keeping addresses updated, and picking up the phone every now and then.
Adult friendships are hard. We’re not living in dorms or side-by-side apartments anymore, and our weekend rituals diverge from blurry Friday nights together to cozy, solo nights in. Many of us land ourselves a live-in partner at some point, which mitigates the “holy shit I need to see another human immediately” panic. What I’m trying to say is that it takes a lot of intention and effort to actually have friends. Who knew?
My house is still under construction, so for New Year’s Eve I told my bff that we were packing up the car and visiting her for the night, dinner in tow. Another thing I’ve learned in adulthood: people kind of love when you invite yourself over. Like please, I beg of you, invite yourself to my house. Please.
Anyway, what do you cook for a nice meal at someone else’s place, when you want to
Prep in advance so you don’t mess up their kitchen
Make something that doesn’t require special tools that they might not have
Spend time catching up, not cooking
???
I have answers for you. But first, an incorrect answer:
One time I went to a party at someone’s house and a guest made some boiled shrimp dish that required raw shrimp to be rinsed and defrosted. They did this in the host’s bathroom, then boiled the absolute shit out of the shrimp such that the house smelled like the musty floor of a fish market. If you find yourself defrosting raw shrimp in your friend’s bathroom, you’ve gone too far. Turn back.
This week:
A delicious meal that can be prepped a day in advance, will survive a 3-hour road trip in the back of a truck, and comes together when you’re ready to eat in two shakes: tangy braised short ribs, linguine and clams, rosemary focaccia, and sticky toffee pudding.
-Faith
Tangy braised short ribs
This meat is genuinely mind-blowing. Thank you Alison Roman. Short ribs can be tough to find, but I was surprised by how affordable they were and how absolutely bomb this dish ended up being.
To prep in advance:
Season 5 lbs bone-in beef short ribs with salt and pepper and let sit at room temp for an hour.
Heat your oven to 300. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large dutch oven on med-high and sear your short ribs on both sides just until golden brown, removing them onto a plate when they’re done. Drain fat from the pot when you’re done.
Put the pot back on med-high and add another 2 tbsp oil. Add 2 quartered yellow onions and 2 halved heads of garlic (yes, with the skin on) and cook for 5 minutes. Add 3 tbsp honey and cook for about 3 minutes, until it turns dark amber brown.
Add 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar and 1/2 cup soy sauce and bring to a simmer. Let it roll for about 10 minutes until it’s reduced by half.
Add 4 cups chicken broth and several sprigs of thyme and bring to a simmer.
Add short ribs back in, bone-side up, and cover the pot. Place it in the oven and cook it (UNTOUCHED!) for 3 hours.
At this point, you can let the dish cool for a bit and put it in the fridge until you’re ready to eat (I recommend this - it lets the flavors really deepen. Ours sat for a day).
When you’re ready to serve, skim off the top layer of fat and pop in the oven at 325 for 30 minutes to warm it up. then increase the temp to 425 and cook for 45 minutes.
When you serve, place the ribs on a platter and top with parsley, chives, a squeeze of lemon, and flakey sea salt.
If you want to eat it right away:
After the 3 hour braise, skim off the top layer of fat, increase oven to 425, and return, uncovered, for 45 minutes.
Linguine with clams
Full recipe linked 👆🏻
To prep in advance:
Make the sauce and stash in the fridge when it’s done. Just heat it up in a skillet when you’re ready to eat.
Chop parsley, zest a lemon, and portion your butter for assembly.
Rosemary focaccia
Full recipe linked 👆🏻
To prep in advance:
Make your dough, cover, and refrigerate it in the bowl until you’re ready to bake (up to two days).
Sticky toffee pudding
Full recipe linked 👆🏻
This thing cooks in a crockpot, which is a godsend when your oven is otherwise occupied. It’s also super complex and impressive-tasting, ideal for a dinner party. You’ll need to have a crockpot and a loaf pan on hand.
To prep in advance:
Combine your dry ingredients in a small Tupperware container.
Make the date mixture and keep it in Tupperware in the fridge.
Toss the brown sugar, 2 teaspoons of espresso powder, and maple syrup in a large bowl with a lid. This is what you’ll use to mix when you’re ready to make the cake.
When you’re ready, add the eggs and melted butter to the big bowl, then your date mixture, then dry ingredients, and you’re ready to rock.