the summer of '09
plus: braised chickpeas with zucchini and pesto
Monday, July 22, 2024
Good afternoon!
The Rise of the Hipster Babka [Hey Alma]
The Etymology of ‘Pickle’ [NYTimes, unlocked]
Why Do So Many Food Documentaries Seem to Think We’re Stupid? [NYTimes, unlocked]
For the last few years, in the hot, lethargic days of July, I’ve taken a look back at what I was cooking 15 summers ago, which is a fun thing you can do with a long-running cooking blog. The summer of 2007 was a profoundly delicious one with the debut of a quick zucchini sauté that remains a staple. The summer of 2008 introduced dry-rubbed ribs, a forever favorite squash and potato torte (with a new video below, too), and a dimply plum cake that would be absolutely perfect this week. But none have amused me as much as this collection from the summer of 2009, when I was a million weeks pregnant but still had the whim to bake a blueberry boy bait, despite having no idea that I’d be having a boy, a tomato and corn pie (that becomes a truly outstanding cobbler in Smitten Kitchen Keepers), and so much more (lobster rolls! the most classic birthday cake!) below. I hope you enjoy this fit of nostalgia as much as I did.
Cheers!
Deb
braised chickpeas with zucchini and pesto
New: Chickpeas are braised in broth and olive oil with zucchini, onion, and garlic until they’re plump and almost falling apart, then we stir in pesto, burrata, and parmesan and scoop the whole blissful lot onto grilled bread and repeat again every week for the rest of summer. We can’t get enough of this.
cantaloupe salsa
Ingredients I've found that don't taste good chopped, dressed with lime juice, onion, chiles, cilantro and salt, and eaten with tortilla chips: basically none. But cantaloupe -- yes cantaloupe -- is kind of special.
mediterranean pepper salad
This is one of my favorite, crunchy, colorful and happily lettuce-free salads and I've been making it since the beginning of time aka since I moved to NYC and fell in love with the version they sold at Zabar's but didn't have the budget to make a habit of it. Problem solved!
horseradish potato salad
This potato salad is one of my favorites: heady, sinus-clearing horseradish softened in and balanced by a creamy dill and chive dressing that’s a welcome accompaniment to whatever we throw on the grill.
lobster rolls
Halfway through July and we haven't made lobster rolls yet? We cannot let this continue. These are my favorite best-of-both-worlds (butter, mayo) lobster rolls, here shown as sliders for a party, but equally good in a few hearty sandwiches you don't have to share with anyone.
grilled eggplant and olive pizza
A very good argument for a pizza night, on or off the grill.
tomato and corn pie
Among iconic summer dishes, this tomato and corn pie is the undisputed champion. Every bite screams summer. Gourmet updated the Laurie Colwin and James Beard classic in 2009 with market-fresh corn and a biscuit-like crust and the result is so good, it will be your new summer habit.
blueberry boy bait
In 1954, a 15-year-old in the Pillsbury Bake-Off junior division made this cake which she'd named after the effect it had on boys... which causes most of us in 2024 to roll our eyes. The cake, however, transcends -- buttery, cinnamon-sugared and speckled with fresh blueberries, it's basically impossible not to like.
best birthday cake
This is It, this is what I consider the Best Birthday Cake out there: two moist and flavorful vanilla cake layers swathed in a shiny, simple chocolate frosting.
peach and crème fraîche pie
Streusel, hunks of quartered peaches and crème fraîche bake into a lightly sweet, luxe pie like no other.
melon agua fresca
A good agua fresca — “fresh water” — will taste like you managed to liquefy a piece of fruit without altering it one bit, and a great one will make you forget, even temporarily, exactly how much steam is coming off the sidewalks downstairs.
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.
My podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, launched this spring. Our tenth episode and season finale is the second 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. I hope you’ve enjoyed listening along to season one.
herbed summer squash and potato torte
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 the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser, which is back in stock! 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!
