hello, gordon

White wine or rosé is my go-to drink in the summer, mainly for sheer ease. Just pour and drink. Repeat.

But for dinner parties, or after an especially long day, it's nice to serve something a little more exciting. Apologies to Paloma, but I think I'm a Gordon girl now. I discovered the Gordon's Cup (adapted from Bon Appétit) via Orangette, my favorite food blogger, and man oh man, am I hooked. It's a summery blend of cucumber, lime, and deliciously herbal gin, served over ice. I was unable to find the original recipe, which I think calls for Gordon's gin, hence the name. An Epicurious search only returned a recipe for "Gordon's pot roast," which doesn't sound nearly as refreshing.

Gordon's Cup
(Serves 1)
One tip: Maybe I'm a wimp, but I found muddling the cucumber a bit difficult. I smashed with all of my might, but several big chunks of cucumber didn't seem to want to break down. So you might want to give your cukes a very, very quick whizz in the food processor–don't puree, just roughly chop–or bash the cucumber slices in a mortar and pestle before muddling it with the limes. You definitely want the lime and cucumber juice to mix, because that's all that cuts the gin.


1/2 of a small lime, cut into six wedges
2 1-inch slices of peeled cucumber
¼ cup gin (I used Tanqueray)
1 to 1 ½ Tbsp. simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, boiled then cooled)
1 handful of ice
Pinch of salt
Sprig of mint

Place the lime and the cucumber in a cocktail shaker or sturdy glass and mash with a muddler or wooden spoon (or food processor, if you're weak) until the lime is juiced and the cucumber is pulpy. Add the gin, 1 Tbsp. simple syrup, and ice. Cover, and shake vigorously three times. Taste and adjust, if necessary. Strain the contents of the shaker into a glass, then sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Serve with or without extra ice and garnish with a mint sprig.

link-o-rama

Speaking of grilling, here's a grilled halloumi and watermelon salad. These cheese-and-watermelon salads are everywhere, it seems. [via Serious Eats]

Always on top of the major issues of the day, Slate offers 12 steps to a better pasta salad. Who knew making pasta salad required a 12-step program? There's a few good tips here (yes to no raw broccoli), but some are questionable, or at least a matter of taste. The writer recommends avoiding acid, like lemon juice, which I don't agree with. I've found that acid, like in a vinaigrette, keeps pasta from being oily and bland. [Via Slate]

Mark Bittman strikes again! This time, with a delectable looking no-bake cheesecake topped with blueberries. I must try this soon. [via the NYT]

A subject dear to my heart, The Kitchn has a roundup of Florida-centric menus, all very appropriate for summer. [via The Kitchn]

Who doesn't like to laugh at creepy looking cakes? No one, that's who! I give you Cake Wrecks. The Internet is a wonderful thing, isn't it?

dinner on the grill (pan)

You'd think standing outdoors around a fire would be the last thing you'd want to do in 80 or 90-degree weather, but somehow cooking outside just feels right in the summer. Especially on a breezy back porch with an iced tea in hand.

Unfortunately, my only outdoor space is the fire escape, so grilling sort of lost its appeal until recently. My mom gave Dan and me a fantastic non-stick All-Clad grill pan last Christmas and while I've used it to cook the occasional piece of meat or fish, I'm finding myself pulling it out of the cabinet more and more these days. Must be grilling season.


Summer dinner on the grill (pan)
Prosciutto and melon with basil
Grilled zucchini salad with feta
Tomato and avocado salad
Salt-crusted shrimp

This is a simple menu based on a few meals I made recently, after Dan and I made trip to the farmer's market and came back with all sorts of beautiful produce. You could easily make only one of the side dishes, and if you do, the grilled zucchini salad is one of the best—and simplest—dishes I've made in awhile. One of my favorite restaurants in Brooklyn is Franny's, a cute little spot mostly known for its pizza. Calling it just a pizza place is a huge disservice to the seasonal salads and decadent pastas and incredible gelato they turn out. If you haven't been yet—really, go now. But what really strikes me about Franny's is the utter simplicity of everything. Most dishes have no more than five ingredients, and yet they taste like nothing you've ever eaten before. Of course that's because the chefs work with local farms and only use organic products, but I also think there's something sort of magic going on in that kitchen. This dish reminded me of something I'd order at Franny's, which is what I'm always striving for when I cook, especially when making vegetables. It's deceptively simple, but tastes like way more than the sum of its parts.

Grilled zucchini salad with feta
Now that zucchini's in season, try to get as many different varieties as you can find. It not only looks pretty, but when the squash is grilled, you really can taste the difference between the different varieties.
(Serves 2 to 4 people)
2 lbs. assorted zucchini
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup, plus 2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup crumbled feta
1 handful mint leaves
salt and pepper

Heat your grill (or grill pan) on medium-high heat. Cut the zucchini into thick slices. In a large bowl, toss with 2 Tbsp. olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. When your grill is hot, place the slices on the grill and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until you get nice grill marks. As the zucchini is cooking, make a dressing by whisking together the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Set aside. Place the cooked zucchini on a large platter and continue grilling the rest of the squash in batches. When all of the squash is done, drizzle the dressing on top. Top with the feta cheese and mint and season with salt and pepper.

Salt-crusted shrimp
Don't be afraid of the amount of salt in this recipe. I was a little unsure at first, but rolling the uncooked, unshelled shrimp in salt keeps the meat sweet, moist and just slightly salty when cooked and peeled.
(Serves about 4 people)


2 lbs. unshelled shrimp
1 Tbsp. olive oil
5 Tbsp. sea salt
2 lemons

Use kitchen shears (or, if you have steady hands, a sharp knife) to cut down the back of the shrimp to pull out the intestinal tract. Leave the shell intact. Wash the shrimp and toss them in a large bowl with the oil. Heat your grill pan. When hot, cook the shrimp for about 3 minutes on each side, or until the shells turn bright pink and the shrimp is no longer translucent. Serve with lemon wedges and peel before eating.

Tomato and avocado salad
Best with peak-of-summer tomatoes. (Otherwise, use halved grape tomatoes.) Serve this with a baguette, and you've got a pretty nice lunch.
(serves 2 to 4)

4 tomatoes, cut into bite-sized wedges
1 avocado, diced
a handful of torn basil leaves
a handful of pitted olives
splash of white or red wine vinegar
splash of olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 cup shaved parmesan

In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, avocado, basil, and olives. Add the vinegar and olive oil, and toss to coat. Add the basil leaves and salt and pepper to taste. Serve, then top with parmesan.

dinner for two

Almost every other Thursday Dan and three of his friends have Lucali Club. It is a not-so-secret society where they sit around and eat slices and calzones at Lucali, a fantastic brick oven pizza place in Carroll Gardens. I also call it Getting Fat Club.

The best part of Lucali Club is that it leaves me a free night with Mindi, one of my favorite people in the world, and wife (eek, we can both say wife now) of a Lucali clubber. Sometimes we eat out, sometimes I cook for the two of us, and sometimes I get really lucky and she cooks for me, like last week. I love watching her chop, and stir, and saute in her little kitchen. The same space where we canned 40-something jars of marmalade and pumpkin butter last Christmas in a very Lucille-and-Ethel fashion. Things got very sloppy, is all I'll say.

On normal nights, we try to keep it simple. Although we're usually eating something good, it's more about catching up than food. We talk about work and bemoan living in New York and how dirty and expensive and unnecessarily difficult everything is. And how when we move to Portland, everything will be great. Or sometimes we go sit outside on the stoop when it's nice out, and the fireflies are darting about, and Brooklyn's hard angles are softened by the dusk. A few glasses of wine in us, we talk about how lovely New York can be and how great it is to live here now, when we can still appreciate it without really being able to afford it. And how someday we'll look back and miss this time in our lives, shared in this city.

And then Lucali Club strolls up, interrupting our precious girl time with their raunchy jokes and name-calling, full of way too many beers. But we love them for it anyway (kind of).

Dinner for two at Mindi's:
Assorted olives (Pitted, which were fantastic. Why don't I buy pitted olives?)
Linguine with crème fraîche, arugula, and lemon
Green beans with butter and shallots
Dark chocolate

Linguine with crème fraîche, arugula, and lemon
Adapted from Amanda Hesser's fun book Cooking For Mr. Latte, this pasta calls for Meyer lemons, but Min and I agree regular old lemons are better because they give you more citrus flavor—not to mention they're also cheaper and in season all year round.

(Serves 2-4)
1 pound of linguine (fresh pasta is best for this)
2 lemons
3 large handfuls of uncooked arugula, cleaned and roughly chopped
1/2 cup crème fraîche (or strained plain Greek yogurt)
1/2 cup grated parmesan, plus a little extra
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Boil water and add the pasta. While it cooks, zest the lemons. When the pasta is cooked, reserve one cup of the cooking water and set it aside. Drain the pasta and place it in a large bowl. To the pasta, add the juice of one lemon, lemon zest, reserved pasta water, parmesan, and crème fraîche. Stir the pasta until it forms a creamy sauce. Add the arugula, and toss until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste, and top with extra parmesan.

link-o-rama

Summer appetizers from Ms. Martha [via Martha Stewart]

Plums aren't my favorite fruit, but this plum caipirinha looks highly delicious. [via The Kitchn]

Good grilling idea: Mark Bittman uses rosemary as fragrant skewers for kebabs. [via the NYT]

Ice cream recipes (and gorgeous photos) from Gourmet that make me simultaneously happy and sad that we don't have an ice cream maker. [via Gourmet]

And an unrelated dose of cuteness: Turtle Attacks Strawberry [via Serious Eats]

summer on a plate

You didn't think I was going to tantalize you with all those delicious-sounding dishes from last weekend's picnic and then leave you hanging with two measly bar cookies, did you? Come on, now. You know me better than that.

It really was quite an impressive spread, but two dishes stood out for me. I'm actually craving both of them as I type this. Number one: homemade, individually wrapped bánh mì sandwiches, brought by our hosts. Part French, part Vietnamese, bánh mì is traditionally a baguette filled with all sorts of goodness like pâté, chicken, pork, and a variety of vegetable toppings like pickled carrots, green papaya, and cilantro.

At our picnic, some sandwiches were labeled "Thai" and had pieces of chicken tossed with basil and a tangy lime and fish sauce dressing. Others, labeled "Vietnamese" were filled with liverwurst, slaw, and fiery jalapeños. Seriously clever and seriously tasty–these sandwiches are perfect picnic fare.

Thai-style bánh mì a la Mark Bittman (and Audrey)
This very loose "recipe" from Mark Bittman's recent 101 picnic ideas story makes about 2-3 sandwiches, depending on the size of the baguette and how hungry you are. To feed a crowd, simply double, triple, or multiply by however many people you're feeding, then wrap each sandwich in foil. Trust me, make extra.


To make: Slice open a good baguette and fill it with chopped or shredded cooked chicken tossed with fish sauce, chili, sugar, lime, garlic, scallions, and Thai basil (or, in a dire emergency, regular).

*Note: For two chicken breasts, I would estimate about 2 Tbsp. fish sauce, 1 Tbsp. (each) lime juice and sugar, 1 glove garlic, 1 to 1/2 minced jalapeño, 2 chopped scallions and a handful of basil. But that's just my guess. Use this as a starting point, then taste and make adjustments.

Vietnamese-style bánh mì
David adapted this recipe from Gourmet, substituting premade slaw from Trader Joe's, which he marinated overnight in a rice vinegar and sugar brine. The original recipe calls for the bread to be toasted but David skipped this step because the sandwiches had to endure some travel time. Check out his super-efficient assembly line!

1/2 lb. daikon, peeled
1 carrot, peeled
(*Or 1 cup store-bought mayo-less slaw)
1/2 cup rice vinegar (not seasoned)
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 (24-inch) soft baguette
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. Asian fish sauce
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 lb. liverwurst
2 jalapeños, thinly sliced
1/2 onion, cut into 1/4-inch rings
3/4 cup packed cilantro sprigs
2 cooked chicken breasts from a rotisserie chicken, thinly slicedLettuce leaves
2 tablespoons mayonnaise

If using, shred daikon and carrot in a food processor fitted with medium shredding disk. Stir together vinegar, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and toss with shredded vegetables (or store-bought slaw). Let slaw stand, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Cut off and discard round ends of the baguette, then split in half. Mix together oil, fish sauce, and soy sauce and brush on cut sides of bread. Spread liverwurst on bottom layer of bread and top with chiles, onion, and cilantro. Drain slaw in a colander. Arrange chicken, slaw, and lettuce on cilantro. Spread top layer of bread with mayonnaise and cut sandwich crosswise into fourths.

Martha's chicken salad with herbs
The other standout dish of the day was our friend Martha's chicken salad. Chunky and creamy, adorned only with a few handfuls of scallions and herbs this is a chicken salad for purists. If you like celery, or olives, or pineapple chunks, this version might not be for you. I thought it was just right. Sadly, I ate it too quickly to snap a photo but you can see it in the first shot, nestled there in all its herby goodness between a handful of crudite and a spoonful of orzo-feta salad.
(Serves 2-4 people)

1 lb. of chicken with skin on (white meat or a mix of breasts and thighs)
1 handful, each, parsley and dill
1 handful chopped scallions
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (Martha likes fat-free Fage)
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper

Fill a large pot halfway with water to poach the chicken. Martha says, "Sounds fancy, is easy. Less water than if you were boiling, and at a much lower temperature. The French, at least according to Laurie Colwin in her excellent food books, say that the water should just smile. I throw peppercorns, garlic cloves (skin on is fine), carrots, and some wine in, too, if I have it. Or some parsley, whatever. Later, you'll have yummy broth. The thing is to not over-boil or overcook." Cook the chicken for about 30 minutes, until the meat is tender and not pink in the middle. More instructions on poaching chicken can be found here.

As the chicken poaches, make the dressing by combining the herbs, scallions, mayo, and yogurt in a large bowl. Add the lemon juice, and stir until combined.

Once the chicken is cooked and cool enough to handle, discard the skin and shred the meat. Toss the meat with the herbed dressing and add salt and pepper to taste. Martha says you can make it at room temperature or cold, and it can be made a day ahead and refrigerated in an air-tight container.

treasure island

Picnics are one of my favorite types of dinner parties. Anthony Bourdain always says food tastes better when you're barefoot. I think food tastes better when you're barefoot and sitting underneath a big tree on a blanket. Really, what could be better? On Saturday, we did just that, joining Audrey and David (of the rendeng) and a bunch of their friends for a picnic on Governor's Island to celebrate Audrey's birthday. It was my first time on the island and I really loved it, from the totally free ferry ride to the rambling, almost empty fields of grass. Although the Manhattan skyline (and Olafur Eliasson's waterfalls) loomed right before us, it felt totally removed from the city in the best possible way.

But onto the food. Sharing a picnic with people you don't know can be risky business. Everyone might have a laundry list of food allergies, or someone might bring a gross, gloppy dip you feel forced to eat, or maybe people will slack and bring nothing at all. Luckily, none of these things occurred and everyone contributed something, creating a truly impressive spread. We had watermelon-goat cheese-thyme salad (brought by Ilana, a lovely Social Eats host–more on that later), homemade guacamole, orzo and feta salad, green beans with walnuts, celery sticks stuffed with chopped cashews and coriander, berries from the greenmarket, spiked mint lemonade–and lots and lots more.


I volunteered to bring dessert, thinking it would be an easy thing to transport not only on the subway, but also on a boat. But immediately after I emailed everyone to let them know, I was stumped. Not knowing who you're feeding makes choosing a recipe tough. Do you go predictable and classic (brownies, chocolate chip cookies, blueberry pie) or do you go surprising and different (chocolate stout cupcakes, dulce de leche dip and fruit, salted caramel cupcakes)? Sometimes it's fun to do something unusual and a bit showoffy, but I tend to lean toward the classics.

I decided on a bar cookie, and after scanning Epicurious and some other food blogs, I decided to go with peanut butter brownies and oatmeal coconut raspberry bars (above). Two options would offer a little variety and a back-up in case disaster struck and one totally didn't turn out, because I had never tried either recipe before. In the end, both were pretty successful; I'd even venture to say they were cookie smackdown-worthy. The peanut butter brownies were more like Reese's Cups, with a chocolate ganache topping and dense chocolate-chip studded peanut butter cake. I always assume chocolate desserts are the most popular with people, but the coconut raspberry bars, a lovely combination of buttery crust, toasted coconut, and sticky jam, went even faster than the brownies.

Oatmeal coconut raspberry bars
I used a lot more jam than called for in the original recipe, from Gourmet. Like an entire jar. But I also cut back the sugar, so it balanced everything out and added more raspberry flavor. Obviously, you could substitute any other fruit jam but I think raspberry complements the coconut especially well.
(Makes approximately 24 small bars)


1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 jar seedless raspberry jam (like AllFruit)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread 3/4 cup coconut on a baking sheet and toast in middle of oven, stirring once, until golden, about 8 minutes, then cool.

Blend together flour, sugars, and salt in a food processor, then add butter and blend until a dough begins to form. Transfer to a bowl and knead in oats and toasted coconut until combined well.

Reserve 3/4 cup dough, then press remainder evenly into bottom of a buttered 13- by 9-inch metal baking pan and spread the jam over it. Crumble reserved dough evenly over jam, then sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup untoasted coconut.

Bake in middle of oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes, then cool completely in pan. The cut bars can be stored in an airtight container. I recommend using cupcake liners to keep them from sticking together.

Peanut butter brownies
I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen awhile ago and it looked so fantastically decadent I filed it away for future use. While my brownies didn't turn out quite as bakery-case perfect as hers, I'm sure they tasted just as good.
(Makes about 32 small brownies)

For brownies:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 eggs plus 1 large yolk
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. salt

For ganache:
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (9 oz.)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking pan.

Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then add peanut butter and beat until incorporated. Beat in whole eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla. Reduce mixer sped to low, then mix in flour until just combined.

Mix in chocolate chips (1 cup) then spread the batter in the baking pan, smoothing the top with a knife. Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes, until brownies are deep golden, and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with some crumbs adhering. Cool completely in pan for about an hour.

To make the ganache, put chocolate chips (1 1/2 cups) in a heatproof bowl. Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan, add the butter, then pour over the chocolate chips. Stir until the chocolate is completely smooth.

Spread the ganache on cooled brownies and let stand until set, about 15 minutes. Store the brownies in an airtight container.