I can’t imagine where I’d live if I didn’t live in New York. Someone said to me the other day, “I would love New York if it weren’t for all the people. I don’t want to have to talk all the time.” I corrected him, because he had it reversed: the magic of New York is that you don’t have to talk to anyone if you don’t want to; anonymous is your middle name. You can go for days without saying a word, even if you decide to leave your apartment. In a place outside of New York, I fear my extroverted introverted self would magically grow a turtle shell rather than attempt to make small talk all the time.
Of course the city doesn’t appeal to everyone. In fact, as I said to my dad on our podcast not long ago: New York is one of the few places (Los Angeles is another, I think, especially when it comes to the Dodgers, but that’s another story) that people feel like they can freely talk shit about. “How can you do this?”, and “Everything is so much harder in New York!”, and “Raising kids in New York must be crazy.” But imagine if we said that to someone who lived in, like, Topeka, or Sacramento, or Peoria? Unacceptable. (To be clear, I’m not speaking badly about any of those places — I deliberately chose places I’ve never been to and know little about.)
That doesn’t mean that I can’t complain about New York, though. I love our apartment, but for someone who truly wants to cook a lot and take pictures of food that actually look good, it leaves something to be desired. Despite the light we have in our place (a lot!), it’s hard to find a decent spot for impromptu pics. (To be clear, I have no desire to be excellent at this — I just don’t want all my food to look tan. Green food should not look tan).
Our kitchen is a rare New York kitchen that gets complimented by friends, because it’s “big” (by New York standards). And finally, “just” six years after Covid (God, I got sick of cooking in 2020), I’ve started actually enjoying cooking again. But we get to go to Cape Cod in the summer, and when we do that, I feel even more inspired to cook. Is it the trees? Is it the continuous birdsong? Is this what the rest of you, outside of the city, feel on a regular basis?
Maybe it just is the space thing. The kitchen in Truro isn’t just good in comparison to those in its proximity; it is spacious, it has good flow. So this summer, I cooked a lot while we were on the Cape — we went out to eat, but way less than in previous years. (I confirmed this when I looked at my credit card statement. All that fried fish and oysters add up!) And most of it was happy cooking with very little time constraint or crunches or stress about “will it be good enough???”.
I was surprised that my streak continued when we got back to New York. I hope it lasts through the winter and beyond. Here are some of the things that I’ve really liked making and eating over the last couple months. Would love to hear about yours, too.
Buffalo shrimp: This is a weird, creative recipe (in a very good way)! I had good shrimp in the freezer and consulted my copy of Fast, and I love buffalo flavors, and voila. You cook shrimp in butter and hot sauce and make a relish to top it with (mayo, celery, blue cheese, etc). I paired it with brown rice, which I liked, but next time I’m going to try it on some golden brown and crunchy toast. This was super easy and is on my “make again” list.
These peanut butter brownies from The Kitchn: My mother-in-law was making a delicious vegetable enchilada meal for us all and someone asked about dessert and I got down to business. I wanted brownies, but they needed to have peanut butter. These are good and cakelike and, again, very easy. Next time, I might do them with Teddie because using the recommended Jif or Skippy made the brownies a little too sweet for my savory loving self. I didn’t take a pic — we ate them too fast.
Jamie Oliver noodles: Aside from the “takes 12 minutes” fib (maybe if you’re an absolute chopping magician?), this recipe is a new favorite. TASTY. Gonna make it a lot this winter — it’s very cozy. I tripled the recipe for Nick and me and it was more than enough — and the leftovers were appreciated.
Baked pasta from How to Cook Everything Vegan: Fake cheese weirds me out. I am not a vegan, though, so that’s okay. Regardless, I was interested in this recipe, which uses a blend of silken tofu and nutritional yeast as a cheese substitution. If you’re craving a baked pasta but don’t, for whatever reason, want all the cheese that comes with, this is a terrific version. Holden liked it, too! (He’s gotten less picky over the last year or so, but still.)
These chicken wings from Dan Pelosi: Nick’s birthday was October 1, and when we asked him what he wanted for his bday dinner, he mentioned chicken wings. I am (excuse me) chicken when it comes to deep-frying — I’m going to do it soon, I really am, and I will tell you when it happens — so I found these baked wings and all three of us loved them. Highly recommend making homemade ranch for dipping.
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