Recipes & Food-Related Ramblings
The world is decidedly scary right now. Our household, like most around the globe, is prepping for weeks of social distancing and potential quarantine. My freezer is set to bursting but I can assure we only have a rational amount of toilet paper in reserve. But that’s not what this post is about. This post is about giving your nerves a break and nothing silences strung-out nerves like Banana Bread French Toast with Stewed Rhubarb.
I’m not usually a source for hit-the-kitchen-running recipe ideas. I prefer to keep things chill, methodical, and occasionally, blissfully monotonous. Meditating on the vastness of the universe while pleating dozens of dumplings – that is much more my aesthetic. But I, like everyone one else, don’t always have time to parse the unknowable truths of the human experience one ravioli at a time. Sometimes I have places to go, people to see and a very small window of time in which to feed myself. And when I find myself in this position, I make this Chicken Farro Skillet with Green Olives and Preserved Lemon.
When I was growing up, roast chicken was a Sunday night staple. Add a side of mashed potatoes and a roast carrot or two and you could call it a party. These days, I still find myself roasting a bird on the occasional Sunday, but the ol’ salt and pepper with a side of potatoes just doesn’t thrill me anymore. To be honest, I don’t think it thrilled me then, I sort of think that’s what I liked about it. And while the classic will always be a classic, I can’t help but mess with that all too familiar chicken dinner. This Gochujang Glazed Chicken is the latest installment in my poultry-related experiments.
For the past couple of years, Cacio e Pepe has been having a moment and it’s not hard to see why. A tangle of pasta dressed in pecorino and a cascade of black pepper – who can be mad at that? But I often wonder what life-long lovers of Cacio e Pepe think about this phenomenon. At first, I’m sure it was a “Duh, where have you been?” feeling. But with the onslaught of Cacio e Pepe-ized foodstuffs, I’m sure they’re feeling a little attacked. Cacio e Pepe chips, fries, pizza, even beignets – it’s probably a little too much. I can sympathize, but I have to be true to who I am and I am incapable of reading a room. So, here I am, adding fuel to the blasphemous fire, with my Cacio e Pepe Pierogies.