Rhubarb and Cod

Mozzarella Schnitzel with Tomato Chili Salsa

August 20, 2025 No Comments

This recipe is part of a larger dinner party menu you can find on my Substack. The category is Night of 1000 Tomatoes, and it features five courses centered around tomatoes. You can find the recipe booklet and a handy party prep schedule here.

I’m a big fan of schnitzel. When I was in university, my biweekly indulgence was a chicken schnitzel sandwich from a campus pub. Looking back, I realize it wasn’t a particularly compelling sandwich, but when knockoff cereal was your norm, you tend to covet a crisp chicken cutlet no matter its quality level. The pub where I got that sandwich recently closed, so the nostalgia has been real. And that nostalgia reawakened a schnitzel-related idea I’d been toying with years ago: vegetarian schnitzel. Now, when approaching this quest, it seems only natural to start with tofu, but it just didn’t feel right to me. Then it hit me, Mozzarella Schnitzel. Essentially a mozzarella stick in a “cutlet” format. It couldn’t fail. Well, it could and it did. But eventually it was a success, and that’s why we’re all here.

Drinks

Celery Gimlet

August 6, 2025 No Comments

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This recipe is part of a larger dinner party menu you can find on my Substack. The category is Sandwiches, and it features five sandwich-inspired courses, yet none of them are actual sandwiches. You can find the recipe booklet and a handy party prep schedule here.

I’ve always found mixology intimidating. I feel like I don’t know enough to add my voice to the din. When it comes to cooking, I have endless internal resources. A vast culinary vocabulary of flavours, pairings, and textures. An armoury of techniques, in-the-field fixes, and quick shortcuts. I don’t have that when it comes to beverages. My partner does, but I do not. I only recently learned what fino sherry is, so I’m not exactly in the know, you know? But how did I acquire that culinary thesaurus of textures, that barrage of technical skill? I did it through trial and error, through burnt cakes and pizzas ordered after dinner defeats. I did it through 15 years of trying. Perhaps, I can do the same with cocktails. So this is me, trying. And today’s Celery Gimlet is, in my less-than-informed opinion, my most successful try yet.

Cakes, Dessert

Black Sesame Cake with Sour Cherry Glaze

July 30, 2025 No Comments

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This recipe is part of a larger dinner party menu you can find on my Substack. The category is Bowl of Cherries, and it features five Korean-inspired courses centered around cherries. You can find the recipe booklet and a handy party prep schedule here.

I love how deliciously low-maintenance loaf cakes are. How approachable, snackable, and generally unpretentious they are. Sure, they may not elicit the same ooo’s and ahh’s a layer cake would get. But I’ve never seen a single person decline a slice. And decorating a loaf cake? Well, let’s just say, it’s a lot easier than those fancy lambeth cakes. Today’s Black Sesame Cake with Sour Cherry Glaze may be a humble loaf cake, but it makes an impact when it hits the table. Between the contrast of the dark, airy cake and the hot pink sweet and sour glaze, it brings considerable style to the table. The addition of sour whipped cream dollops and maraschino cherries solidifies its retro charm. And no, you don’t need a turntable or much more than a piping bag and tip to pull this look off. So let’s jump right in!

Snacks, Starters

Bloody Mary Oil

July 16, 2025 No Comments

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This recipe is part of a larger dinner party menu you can find on my Substack. The category is Italian Heatwave, and it features low or no-cook courses inspired by the food of Southern Italy. You can find the recipe booklet and a handy party prep schedule here.

Good bread, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar are a combination that can’t be improved upon. It’s tart, chewy, unctuous perfection. But can it be expanded upon? Can you “yes, and” a plate of dipping oil into a whole new territory. Apparently, you can! Behold this Bloody Mary Oil. This beauty boasts a pool of golden olive oil, flavoured with garlic, minced sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped celery leaves, horseradish, and red wine vinegar. Essentially, if you can find it in a Bloody Mary, you will find it swimming in this oil. The result is a dip that can make a good baguette disappear in record time. This recipe takes approximately 5 minutes to prepare and requires no cooking. This is summer eating at its finest. So let’s dive right in!