Monday, June 17, 2024
Good evening!
Don’t Call It an ‘Ethnic’ Grocery Store [NYTimes, unlocked]
How the Jalapeño Lost Its Heat [Slate]
Is today’s newsletter very very late or is it very early for tomorrow morning, when I sent out newsletter when Monday is a holiday? I’m unclear but, despite the fact that the NYC school year isn’t over yet, mentally I’m already on summer vacation. I’m sneaking off to the beach as often as possible. I don’t understand why we can’t just grill everything, fuss over gardens, read novels all day, and gorge ourselves on cherries and watermelon. I receive a pressing work-related email (I was on the tennis court, sorry) and don’t understand why someone would be emailing over summer break, forgetting as an non-school-teacher adult, I don’t technically have one. No please, explain it to me like I’m a petulant kid.
Fittingly, I’m delighted to talk about picnics this week because this is the time, the season, and the weather to take food from your home to all the better places you’re going to want to spend your days. We want salads that keep well and sandwiches way better than you can buy, and (trust me on this) freshly-baked cornbread in big cubes. We want snack cakes and bar cookies and very refreshing lemonade from an icy thermos. And we definitely want my new cheesecake recipe that’s intended to be quick, portable, and served at room temperature.
Cheers!
Deb
My podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, launched almost four months ago and our ninth episode, is out today, and it’s the first of a two-part Mailbag episode where we answer as many of your questions as we can. You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts and I’ve set up a podcast tab/page where you can keep up on it here, too. We will have new episodes every two Mondays. We’ve been working on this behind the scenes for the last year — I hope you enjoy listening along.
easy basque cheesecake
New! An Easy Basque Cheesecake — you know, the kind with the caramelized top that contrasts gorgeously with the creamy interior — that’s quick to make, fuss-free, and perfectly sized to take everywhere you want to go this summer. I cannot stop making it.
green bean and cherry tomato salad
If you ever need a reminder of how little seasonal vegetables need to shine, Alice Waters is the place to go, because this looks like a happy bowl of summer to me.
broccoli rubble farro salad
A quite simple but very kicky (garlic! lemon! pepper flakes! pecorino!) approach to a farro salad that's as good cold (potlucks, picnics, and weekday lunches) as it is warm (with an egg on top, crispy crumbs, or even burrata).
pearl couscous with olives and roasted tomatoes
Roasted tomatoes and garlic, slivered olives and an herby dressing have made this a summer staple around here for over a decade, with fantastic leftovers too. It's also a surprisingly popular kid lunch, should you have any small people with big demands in your life.
chickpea pan bagnat
A hearty, well-seasoned and picnic basket-/beach cooler-ready sandwich for wherever you go this weekend. Inspired by the pan bagnat, which is the sandwich version of a salade niçoise, I swap the tuna here with a smashed chickpea salad, add layers of crunch, richness, and seasoning and might never look back.
focaccia sandwiches for a crowd
A ridiculously easy, no-knead, no-fuss, quick-rise focaccia you can use to make sheet pans of sandwiches (I have lots of suggestions, including directions for the two vegan ones shown) to whatever parks and picnics your weekend takes you to.
perfect, forever cornbread
This is my summer wish for us: I think we should bring a pan of freshly-baked, thick, buttery, crisp on top cornbread to our next picnic/potluck/barbecue to share with friends and I think it should be this one, my forever favorite. A pat of salted butter on top is mandatory. You'll be so glad you made this.
cherry brown butter bars
These bars are like a cherry clafoutis with brown butter set inside a portable cookie base and if you can resist eating them all before you leave your kitchen, you're going to make so many friends with these.
chocolate yogurt snack cakes
Leave it to the French to master the no-fuss, foolproof, impeccably-crumbed yogurt cake. Leave it to David Lebovitz to figure out how to add chocolate to it.
watermelon lemonade
This is the most summery summer drink I know how to make: low on sweet, high on fresh. We make big pink pitchers of this for kids, and mix it with white tequila, white rum and/or something fizzy for everyone else. [Video below!]
I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers for these warm summer days? I thought you’d never ask! Try the zucchini cornbread and tomato butter, two-bean salad with basil vinaigrette, spinach spiral bread, tomato and corn cobbler, and lamb skewers with crackly vinegar glaze. To finish, I recommend the big crumb pie bars, the blondie chipwich, and/or the strawberry summer stack cake. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.
shop my favorites
Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes including the new braiser! For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.
See you next week!