There’s an article on Food52 today about the poet Jacqueline Suskin‘s new book, Go Ahead & Like It. Its pages are a hodgepodge of images, lists, and sketches–a collection of ‘things Suskin likes,’ built over time.
The editors at Food52 took this premise to heart, and created their own lists.
It sounds simple, but each list was a pleasure–each author so specific and so particular. It’s spiritually satisfying: a reminder to meditate on the small, happy things that wing through our day to day lives. The payoff of such a daily practice is both literary and psychological.
I wrote my own list below. It’s what floated to the surface on a Wednesday morning at the end of April, less than five weeks from my wedding, in my office in Hoboken.
– The words, “pamplemousse,” “murciélago,” and “soup”
– Haroun and the Sea of Stories
– Meticulous trip-planning
– Going to the movies alone, preferably with a giant water bottle and a rice krispie treat
– Mechanical pencils
– Not wearing shoes or pants
– Bright lipstick
– Doughnuts from Doughnut Plant + pie from Four and Twenty Blackbirds
– My in-laws’ backyard in France
– Falling asleep mid-conversation
– Grilled pizza
– The poetry of Lynn Emanuel
– Arrested Development
– Listening to books on tape while cooking, cleaning, or packing
I’d love to read your lists as well. Please leave them in the comments!
For those living the the New York area, I’ll be in Hudson, NY this Saturday May 2nd from 12-4pm for the Fifth Annual Ramp Fest Hudson. 20 chefs (from Hudson + New York City) are set to participate, including plenty of my local favorites like The Crimson Sparrow, Ca’Mea, Swoon Kitchenbar, and Fish & Game.
It’ll be like eating at twenty awesome, ramp-focused restaurants in one day. Heaven.
The event will be held at the Basilica Hudson (handily located across the street from the Hudson Amtrak station. It’s a 2.5-ish hour drive from Brooklyn-Hudson, or a 2 hour train ride from Penn Station). A $30-ticket gives you access to a tasting portion of each dish, live music, and a (cash) bar.
On Saturday, I’ll pick a favorite ramp recipe, and post it on The Roaming Kitchen, so even those far away can participate!
(On a personal note: The Frenchman and I visit Hudson a few times a year, and we love it. The Frenchman even proposed in Hudson, in the middle of a snowstorm! While you’re there, here are some of our favorite places to visit: Grazin’ Diner (diner food, made with fantastic, grass-fed ingredients), window shopping the antique shops up and down Warren Street, Fish & Game (where the Frenchman and I dined post-proposal. It’s a special place.), Kinderhook Farm (a little to the north of Hudson, this is my favorite farm to visit/buy eggs and meat from), Olde Hudson (a specialty grocery store), LICK (for delicious ice cream), and The Spotty Dog (it’s a bookstore AND a bar!)
I think of this as a winter-ish salad that transitions well into early spring. It’s bright, rich, bitter, and creamy all at once.
Trevisano is a variety of radicchio that comes from the Treviso province of Italy. It has red-purple leaves and an oblong shape. I think its gentle bitterness pairs nicely against the richness of blood orange vinaigrette, toasted hazelnuts, and Pecorino.
I ordered the hot honey here or here; it’s my new favorite condiment. However, you can skip it, or cover the salad with an extra shower of freshly ground pepper instead. You could also use a tidge of regular honey. If you don’t have Pecorino on hand, substitute Parmesan or Grana Padano. Serves 6-8.
- ingredients:
- 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
- 3 blood (or 2 standard) oranges
- 4 tablespoons good-quality olive oil
- 5-10 cracks freshly ground black pepper
- 2 ounces (0r 3/4 cup “matchsticks”) Pecorino cheese
- 3 heads Trevisano
- 1 cup roughly chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoons hot honey
- procedure:
- Heat the oven to 350F/176C. Spread the hazelnuts across a baking sheet, and bake for 12 minutes, or until the hazelnuts toast to a chestnut color. Allow the hazelnuts to cool, and then roll them between your palms to remove the skins. Roughly chop, and then set the hazelnuts aside. (Pro tip: days-old toasted hazelnuts smell like freshly baked cookies, and may drive you to cookie madness if left on the counter.)
- Save 1/2 an orange, and then cut the rind away from the remaining oranges. (Reserve the remaining half orange for the vinaigrette.) Supreme the oranges, or simply slice them horizontally. Juice the remaining orange into a jar or small mixing bowl. Mix in the olive oil, and the ground pepper. (Note: I can usually get the 1/4 cup orange juice needed for the vinaigrette just from squeezing the orange peelings, so all three oranges make it into the salad.)
- Cut the Pecorino into thin slices. Stack the slices, and cut the cheese into matchsticks. Remove the outer leaves from the Trevisano. Cut away the base, about 1-inch/2.5cm from the bottom, and then slice each head of Trevisano in half on a bias.
- Move the Trevisano to a large mixing bowl. Add the chopped parsley, chopped hazelnuts, the orange slices, and the Pecorino; add the dressing, and toss by hand. Move the salad to a serving dish. (You can use a bowl, but I think the presentation is prettier in a flatter dish.) Drizzle the salad with hot honey.
Oh I love the idea and i love this combinations…
Delicious!Totally want to try your recipe.Voted for you! All the best!
These look fantastic.These are beautiful!
One of my favorite foods for summer.
Definitely trying your version soon .
The whimsical word “pamplemousse” is also on my list of favourite words.
Aussi, j’aime beaucoup le mot «grenouille». Pamplemousse, grenouille – les deux sont délicieux!
Je suis d’accord avec toi, Eliza, mais “grenouille” est plus difficile à prononcer!
loove this!!! absolutely beautiful
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