It's finally spring! Seeing those poor souls around me trying their best to curb the seasonal allergies, watching their immune systems crash, I find myself going back to my roots, back to the magic that is green algae. If you don't about this little miracle seaweed, let me fill you in.
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This feels like a concentrated pesto, minus nuts (although you can add those too) that you can subtly boost the flavors of red meats or roasted veg. Instead of thyme, you can also sub in and out sweeter herbs like marjoram or mint.
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Sunchokes, also called Jerusalem artichokes (even though they have nothing to do with either Jerusalem or artichokes), are probably my favorite vegetable out there. They're roots of sunflowers and look knobby and tuberous like ginger.
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I had never heard of a sunchoke (also called Jerusalem artichoke) until my first bite during my stage (aka internship) at The Spotted Pig. Their fall menu featured an escarole salad with roasted sunchokes, bitter parsley, capers, and a creamy and bright lemon dressing. It was one of the best, simplest salads of my life and the humble sunchoke was the unremitting star.
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The burnt oranges and shades of the turning trees in the autumn always point me to the colorful root vegetables dotting the stands at the Union Square Greenmarket. Carrots, in particular, are everywhere - in shades of purple, orange, red, and yellow. I never appreciated carrots with their sweet flavor until I started roasting them. Roasting carrots with honey and butter brings out their nuttiness and sweetness.
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Gigante beans (aka massive Giant Greek style baked beans) seem about as Greek and homey as spinach pie or raki (pr: Rah-KEE, Greece's version of moonshine, made from the leftover skins, twigs, and mash from Grapes. They don't waste anything). Every place that had them, they were the star of the meal. For a game, Alicia and I had a rating system of our favorite beans. If you fly into Crete, you'll most likely fly into the north coast town of Chania. Ruled by the Turks and then the Venetians, the history alone paints such a gorgeous colorful landscape here.
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We are back from Greece and the signs of Autumn are in full effect in New York City. In the final week at Comet on Broadway it was difficult to focus on anything else than that shortly my toes would be kicking up pink sand at Grecian beaches, perched on top steep cliffs with roaming goats, or peering out over the shimmering Aegean Sea like Homer in the Illiad. Greece was even better than expected, I can't believe Alicia had to talk me into going. And let me not forget about the FOOD.
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Bringing a bottle of wine to your host is of course nice (we are a little obsessed with lambrusco at the moment and love introducing the refreshing tingle of a fizzy cold red wine to our friends) but if you want to take it a step further as a guest, I always feel like pulling something delicious out of the oven for a late night snack is the perfect unexpected treat at the end of a good meal and perfect for socializing around the table. And the leftovers make for the perfect breakfast the next morning. Your host will inevitably invite you back.
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Who can say they don't love banana bread? Warm out of the oven, perfect for late night snacking, broken into a bread pudding, or battered into french toast, it might just be my all time favorite bread to throw together and is also the perfect excuse to use up those spotty overripe bananas. Also, whose Mom didn't have this in her cooking arsenal growing up? It's so nostalgic and it makes your house smell lovely.
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