Caesar Salad with Seared Scallops

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel for a meal. Especially not in the summer, when it’s often hot and humid enough to make the stove a scary place. I seem to wind up with so many heads of lettuce in the summer, too—from my CSA or farmers markets or friends—that I have to play a version of pin the tail on the donkey with them that involves lettuce heads, not donkey tails.

Calamari Braised with White Wine, Tomatoes & Spinach

Spring has been really snoozing on the job. Rather than bursting with cherry blossoms, the new season has only brought soggy, sort-of snow and below-freezing nights. This might be our latest bitch and moan as we bundle up in scarves on the subway each morning, but it’s actual, literal bad news for local orchards. Seems that peaches in Upstate New York may not make an appearance this summer, unless these small-scale farmers have the time and resources to bundle their trees … Read More

Pasta with Fresh Tomato and Anchovy Sauce

Too many tomatoes. That’s something I didn’t think I’d ever be saying earlier on in the summer, or, least of all, during the colder months we’re heading into now. But currently, in the Northeast, it’s tomato mayhem. For the last several weeks, I’ve gotten more and more reinforcements of tomatoes from my CSA. I had my volunteer shift last week, and was given the task of sorting tomatoes. There were far too many for the (many of them vacationing) members … Read More

Spaghetti with Anchovies, Kale & Breadcrumbs

If you’re looking to scrape together a meal from seemingly nothing, here’s one way to really hit it out of the park. In fact, breadcrumbs really do need to be scraped, swept or otherwise salvaged from a scattered mess on the counter to do this dish right. Minced anchovies and garlic create a tasty olive oil infusion to coat the pasta with, and some spare greens like kale, or just a shower of fresh parsley for garnish, combine for a healthy … Read More

Pickled Pepper, Anchovy & Egg Sandwich on Rye

posted in: Recipes, Seafood | 7

I love sandwiches. But I can’t remember the last time I made one with slices of cold meat. I suppose it’s partially reactionary, as I was sent to school with turkey breast, salami or ham tucked between two slices of bread each day growing up. Now it’s the fixins’ I care about most. The more, the merrier. And open-face means there’s no chance the sandwich will get smushed by an apple.

Salade Me-coise (and Trials & Retribution)

Trial: I get on my bike to run some errands, including a grocery store trip to get ingredients for a classic French salade nicoise. I have a craving for slick, smushed beads of brininess otherwise known as olives. It’s almost ninety degrees outside. I get out of the store, unlock my bike, and get on it only to find that the back tire is sagged like an empty sail.