Everything I Cooked in April
to get out of a cooking rut. plus 5 cookbook recs to get you started
It’s funny what happens when winter ends. April came with a sort of awakening—the cherry blossoms bloomed and I started wearing color again. I think I expected everything to fall back into place once the light stayed and the ramps sprung and the weather turned. But that’s of course not how these things go. What I mean by awakening then, is the realization that certain things in my life required some serious renegotiation, manual shifting, or massive overhaul. I went back to Boston for a few days, from which vantage it’s easy to see my life in New York with some clarity. I spent mornings at the one coffee shop in my hometown, walking past the high school where I spent my freshman year, right as students were running to homeroom. God, how I missed being in this kind of a rush.
In the afternoons, I would return to my mother’s kitchen where everything is made from scratch. Every meal is an opportunity to reset. My mother loves recipes. She prints them out and keeps the ones she likes in a manilla folder on the counter, the same way she keeps the boarding passes she prints and the notices for upcoming appointments. It’s agonizingly archaic and absolutely my favorite way cook—completely devoid of distraction or ego. We followed a recipe for homemade pesto and cobbler with spring fruit. We marinated steaks and breaded chicken. And I remembered that sometimes it could be that easy. To cook to the slow rhythm of someone else’s sensibility offers the kind of surrender that makes you realize how tight your grasp had been on things that don’t matter.
The following are not recipes per se. They are simply the matters of awakening. Of remembering that some of the biggest shifts in our everyday happen in teaspoons of cardamom and tablespoons of lemon juice. That coming back to myself really meant coming back to the kitchen and cooking in the way of simple flavors, simple techniques, and a patient attention to simple instruction. They serve no more purpose than temporary reprieve.
Whole Spatchcock Chicken
with wild garlic butter and root vegetables
1 medium head of fennel
3 medium carrots
1/2 large yellow onion (or 1 whole small onion)
1 small head of celery (about 5-6 small or 3-4 large stalks)
1/4 cup olive oil
The juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup (ish) dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
For the Rub:
1/2 cup (ish) wild garlic butter–you can use regular salted butter with 1-2 cloves of freshly grated garlic but it’s not really the same–room temp
1/2 cup freshly chopped parsley
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp red chili flakes, optional
Method: Preheat your oven to 400°F. Chop the vegetables into 1-inch (ish) pieces—no need to be exact. Scatter them in the bottom of an ovenproof dish.
In a measuring cup, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, white wine, and chicken stock. Pour over the vegetables and toss to coat, then spread into an even layer.
In a small bowl, mix together the butter, parsley, lemon zest and juice, and black pepper.
Place the chicken on top of the vegetables, making sure it sits flat. Generously season the skin with salt and pepper. Then, using your hands, rub the butter mixture all over the chicken, massaging it into the skin in a thin, even layer.
Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil, then baste the chicken with the juices from the pan using a spoon or baster. Return to the oven for another 30–40 minutes, until the skin is crispy and the internal temperature reaches 165–170°F.
Remove from the oven and baste once more with the pan juices. Let rest for 10–15 minutes before slicing.Serve over rice pilaf or with crispy potatoes.
Pesto Pasta (adopted from New York Times Cooking)
2-1/2 cups fresh basil leaves (no stems)
1 tablespoon walnuts
2 medium cloves garlic
Zest and juice of 1/2 large lemon
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Method: In a food processor, combine basil, walnuts, and garlic and pulse until very finely minced. Then, with the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil and process until smooth. Season with salt (and grated parmesan, if you like).
Boil your pasta (we always use farfalle) according to package instructions. Before draining, reserve about ½ cup of the pasta water. Drain and let the pasta cool for 5–10 minutes, then toss with the pesto, adding a splash of pasta water as needed to loosen it. This can be served warm or cold! (If cold, it’s really nice as well with some fresh feta and sliced tomatoes.
Tuna Salad over Greens with Honeycrisp Apple and Fresh Herbs
Method: To the greens (preferably little gem or a spinach mix) add half of a honeycrisp apple, cut into small cubes and a handful each of parsley and dill, roughly chopped. Dress in a simple vinaigrette, I prefer the juice of half a lemon and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
For the tuna, I use Fishwife tuna in olive oil (supermarket tuna in water also works), 1/4 cup chopped celery, about 1 tbsp chopped dill, 1 heaping tablespoon of mayo (I like Primal Kitchen’s made with avocado oil) a teaspoon of dijon mustard, and tons of pepper. Salt lightly or season with celery salt. Mix and spread over your greens. It’s a perfect lunch or dinner.
Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler
From this recipe my mother found online.
Rhubarb Compote
2 cups fresh rhubarb
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Juice of half a lemon
Method: Slice the rhubarb into thin, even pieces, about ¼ inch wide. Add to a saucepan with the remaining ingredients and mix until the rhubarb is coated in sugar. Set over low heat and cook for 35 minutes to an hour, until the rhubarb has broken down and softened and some of the liquid has cooked off.
You can use the back of a fork to break it down further into more of a jam, but I like to keep mine a bit more intact for spooning over yogurt or ice cream.
Coconut Rice Pudding
with leftover rice
I made rice for dinner the other week for poke bowls and had tons left over. To make this (not an exact science, I fear), I added 2-1/2cups coconut milk, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1 tsp vanilla, and a pinch of salt to a medium saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t burn.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together 2 egg yolks (save the whites for a frittata or breakfast scramble) and 1/4 cup maple syrup. Once the coconut milk is steaming and hot to the touch, remove it from the heat.
Working with about 1/4 cup at a time, slowly stream the hot coconut milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so the eggs don’t cook. Repeat with another 1/4 cup, continuing to whisk.
Then slowly pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan, whisking constantly. Return to low heat and add 2 cups leftover rice, 1/2 tsp cardamom, and a pinch of cinnamon. Stir to combine.
Cook over low for about 10 minutes, until the coconut custard has thickened. (To test: dip a spoon in, then run your finger across the back—if the line stays clean and doesn’t fill back in, it’s ready.)
Remove from heat and let cool. Spoon into a wide bowl and top with the rhubarb compote.
Cookbooks I’m Loving
Six Seasons: A New Way With Vegetables, Joshua McFadden
Weekend Recipes, Jess Elliot Denison
The Four Horsemen, Nick Curtola
The Barefoot Contessa: Modern Comfort, Ina Garten
Good Things, Samin Nosrat
Yum, loved this.
Everything looks soooooo delicious! xo