On Our Minds and in Our Carts: An Emulsification Success Story

1. Not bánh mì

My sister and I are both married to lovely gentlemen who, when they do cook, produce good food, but generally prefer to rely on the women of the homes for their dinners. Yes, yes, it’s our burden to bear.

When they do cook, though, both Nick (my husband) and Jeff (Emma’s husband) have a go-to list of things that they feel comfortable making and they tend to work from that. Nick makes a couple dishes that his mom or dad made for him when he was little, like rosemary chicken (Nick does rosemary night, though, and adds rosemary to everything on the plate) and a pasta with broccoli rabe, beans, and pine nuts; or he’ll make pasta with vodka sauce (this recipe). Jeff makes a killer eggplant parm; pulled pork is also on his list, as is this Bánh Mì-inspired sandwich from How to Cook Everything Fast. (From the original, I should say, not the updated Fast. I’m not sure why it didn’t make it into the new edition — I’m gonna ask the author.)

I’ve been meaning to make The Sandwich for ages now. We have a really good Vietnamese place close by, called Banh, with bánh mìs that are coveted by many. When the craving hits, I generally order from Banh, but this week, I decided to finally try Jeff’s (my dad’s) sandwich.

It’s excellent. I used Bittman’s baguettes, which come two to a pack and are the perfect size for bánh mìs (use code KATE20 for 20% off your first box). There are a few different components to the sandwich, all totally easy. You start by shredding radishes, cukes, and carrots (food processor is definitely the easiest way to go here; I hate manually shredding vegetables) and letting them sit in a bunch of salt and sugar. Cook ground pork in garlic and ginger and soy and fish sauce; make a spicy mayo. Warm your bread. Pile all the ingredients onto your baguette, along with cilantro sprigs. Is this sandwich a “real” bánh mì? Absolutely not. But it’s a really nice home alternative that worships at the alter of the true sandwich, and for 30 minutes of work, that’s pretty amazing.

And since I’m talking about things I’ve made and liked, this lasagna soup from the New York Times was also a hit here. I know it’s not “soup weather,” but it spoke to me and the boys and I enjoyed it very much. – Kate

2. Real deal peaches

I wait all year for good peaches, and The Peach Truck delivers sweet and juicy perfection straight to my door. I always have grand plans for these peaches — cobblers and pies and sorbets — but for the most part they disappear (mostly because I’m eating them over the sink with juice dripping down my arm) before I get a chance to make something with them. They’re fragrant enough to perfume the entire kitchen, and perfectly ripe.

If you manage not to eat your peaches all right out of the box, I suggest enjoying them in this Layered Granita with Lemon, Peaches, and Strawberries; as a quick Peach Compote with Rose Water to put on top of vanilla ice cream; or in Mark’s Any-Kind-of-Fruit-Clafoutis. – Holly

3. Emulsi-failing

I grew up with two parents who made excellent salad dressings without trying. They didn’t do jarred dressings, and if you tasted the simple dressings that either of them made, you’d understand why. Yet I cannot for the life of me emulsify, which, in my opinion, is what takes a dressing from good to outstanding. I’ve tried whisking, I’ve tried blending, I’ve tried adding oil slowly in, I’ve tried adding the oil in all at once. Nothing ever works. Maybe one time out of thirty I’ll get emulsification.

Enter the Beast. It’s a fancy mini blender that comes with multiple jars — for smaller jobs and bigger jobs — and for some reason, the very first time I used it, my dressing immediately emulsified. I don’t know if this thing is magic or if I got lucky, but I’m happy that I can finally make creamy dressings from just olive oil, vinegar, and seasonings.

I’m planning on writing more about my journey with the Beast — that’s how much I love homemade salad dressings — stay tuned for that. For now, the Beast is having a flash sale with 15% off sitewide that ends today. (20% off the GO Cordless — not the one I have, but apparently it’s an Oprah favorite.) – Kate