Your Friend in Food #2: October 22, 2023
Double pop-ups, riffing on chicken, fun events, and more
Hey friends! Welcome to edition 2 of Your Friend in Food. I’m still figuring out the format and voice of this newsletter as I publish weekly so thank you in advance for your grace as I test out a few options. I would love your feedback on things you enjoy and would love to see! Your support means so much to me.
Thank you to the 32 new friends who subscribed to this newsletter! Welcome :)
Alrighty, let’s dig in!
RECIPE: Selects from Maman & Me, Recipes from our Iranian-American Family
One thing about me is I love a cookbook. Upon getting a new book, I eagerly flip through its waxy pages, taking notes of recipes to make, learning tips on how to stock my pantry and getting misty-eyed over anecdotes sharing the joys of cooking. It’s a really exciting time in the world of cookbooks as we are seeing more diversity and range in cuisines that were not originally recorded through traditional recipe formats.
My dear friend Roya Shariat and her mom Gita Sadeh sent me an advance copy of their cookbook Maman & Me and boy did it spark joy. It’s a beautiful collection of x recipes celebrating their Iranian-American heritage and how food is a core part of the identity. I interviewed Roya on my podcast, The Future of Food is You, earlier this year. It was so inspiring to hear her process for writing the book and how she hopes to inspire other first-generation kids to make canons of their family’s cuisine.
These recipes are exciting, approachable, hearty, and a beautiful introduction to Iranian cuisine. After reading it twice, I’m slowly making my way through the list of faves I’ve said. The omlet, a traditional Iranian scramble with eggs cooked in Roma tomatoes and spices, has become my new favourite breakfast. I tossed some chopped onion and garlic for that allium boost.
I also made the espaghetti which is the Shariat-Sadeh family take on a beefy spaghetti dish with the classic Iranian tahdig to bring the meal together. Unfortunately, I didn’t achieve true tahdig due to my terrible pot but we were able to attain some crunch at the bottom of the pot. I also LOVED pairing the dish with Greek yoghurt for some creamy tanginess and to crave the spice girl in me added some salsa macha as well. I know that the tomato eggplant stew and the herbed lime rice will be in heavy rotation for dinners!
Maman and Me comes out on Tuesday, October 24th and is available wherever books are sold. If you’re in NYC, I will be interviewing Roya and Gita at Time Out Market in Dumbo in partnership with the Museum of Food and Drink. Tickets are on sale here!
If you’re in D.C. and Toronto, lucky you! Roya and her mom will be visiting Labor of Love on October 26th & Bold Fork Books on October 30th.
RIFFING
this is the part of the newsletter where I share my experimental experiences in the kitchen
I recently bought a new Le Creuset skillet and felt inspired to whip up a sizzling dish as a christening of sorts. I was craving drumsticks after a long workout so I popped some into a bowl with a generous coating of olive oil then added some salt and pepper. Measuring from the heart, I sprinkled some cayenne, MSG, cumin, oregano, onion powder, and thyme. Then I let them sit for about 10-15 minutes while I sliced up half of a white onion and bell pepper.
While slicing, I heat up my pan on medium-high heat with some olive oil and about 2tsps of butter. This technique allows you to maintain the buttery flavour without necessarily burning it because of olive oil’s high smoke point. (J Kenji Lopez-Alt breaks down the science here).
Next, I cooked the chicken for roughly 10 minutes on each side. Then I set the drumsticks off to the side, adjusted the heat to medium and added the sliced onion and pepper into the pan. They get to soak in all the schmaltzy goodness from the chicken. I let them cook for about 8 minutes and then deglazed them with a bit of Brightland’s Ramp Vinegar (it’s out of season but find similar ones here).
The onions are slowly getting caramelized and there’s a bit of char on the peppers. Then I popped the chicken back in there and cooked it for 5 minutes on each side! I checked it with an internal thermometer and it read 165°F which is the optimal temperature for cooked chicken.
I served it with some delicious sushi rice and mixed greens that I tossed in a light vinaigrette. With a few more attempts, I may be able to turn this into a legit recipe!
DINING OUT
Pop-up culture is alive and well in CDMX! This week, I experienced two pop-ups that showcased two distinct Asian cultures in exciting ways.
Chalo Mex @ Gaba Condesa
Karishma Sanghi is a Mumbai-raised baker and chef who has had stints working with Richard Hart, the famous Englishman known for transforming Copenhagen’s bread scene. Karishma is now based in Mexico City working on a new project and Chalo, her pop-up series celebrating Indian food. The menu highlighted classic street foods and traditional meals in a wonderful creation.
Personal highlights on the menu were the Sabudana Vada, fried tapioca and peanut balls that were paired with a tangy herb-filled yogurt sauce, as well as the Kadala Kadi, a chickpea coconut curry served with turmeric rice wrapped in banana leaves. To brighten up the meal, we were served sides of green mango salad, a delicious mango achar, and raita, a yogurt-based sauce filled with raw veggies and spices.
The dessert was a phenomenal sesame and ginger cake topped with a silky jaggery syrup, and saffron shrikand, a sweetened yogurt sauce.
The pop-up was hosted at Gaba, a new restaurant/cafe in La Condesa offering dishes with a variety of international techniques in a modern minimalist setting. The bartenders made me one of the best carajllos I’ve ever had. For those of you new to the carajillo, it’s an espresso-based cocktail shaken up with digestif licor 43. It’s perfect after a long meal and this one in particular had these vibrant citrus notes. Definitely will be coming back for that!
Nácar
Japan has been on my travel bucket list for years and until I get a chance to make it over there, I will immerse myself in as many Japanese experiences as I can- especially culinary ones. After Karishma’s incredible lunch, we got to meet some of the other guests, like Chef Brandon!
Brandon Arriga is a real g moving in silence like lasagna. He was the sous chef at Maximo Bistrot for several years and had global stints in high-end kitchens in Copenhagen and Toyko, just to name a few cities. He also spends time in Baja California, fishing and teaching local fishermen ike jime, the Japanese slaughtering technique that maintains the fish’s quality.
Fresh off a six-month residency in Japan, Brandon told us about his new Mexico City pop-up Nacar, which was an homage to his favourite elements of French, Japanese, and Mexican cooking! I knew I had to go!
Tucked away behind La Docena, a seafood restaurant in Polanco, you enter this dimly lit, minimalist speakeasy detailed with beautifully hand-crafted wooden tables and concrete walls. The tasting menu was 8 courses long. Each dish was impressive plus I really enjoyed the pacing allowing you to savour each course.
Standouts for me were the scallion pancake with a generous serving of uni, the spicy mapo tofu served under a bed of rice, and the grilled strawberries served with ice cream and a Shaoxing berry syrup.
Brandon’s pop-up is on till October 28! If you’re interested, more details can be found on Nacar’s Instagram.
BEST BOOK
this is the part of the newsletter where I shared a food book I love!
When I read non-fiction, it’s almost always food writing. There are so many incredible books in the genre and I leave each one feeling a deeper appreciation for food. Spending more time in Mexico City, I’m slowly getting to understand the history and dynamics of the culinary landscape. Laura Tillman’s The Migrant Chef is a beautiful biography of Eduardo Garcia Guzman, the celebrated chef behind Maximo Bistrot, Havre 77, and others!
Laura, a Mexico City-based journalist, first met Lalo in 2016 and spent five years observing the chef in his element, interviewing family members, employees former and present, chefs of other fine dining restaurants, and taking trips to Dubai, Baja California and Georgia. Chef Lalo’s story is evidence of the complex relationship between Mexican-American foodways and the systems that shape each country’s cuisine. As a child, alongside his parents, he picked fruits and vegetables along the migrant route working from Florida to Michigan.
As a teenager, he worked his up through the kitchen ranks at restaurants in Atlanta but that life was soon cut short. After being convicted of a robbery, he was incarcerated and later faced deportation, Lalo started again in Mexico, working at beach restaurants in Baja California to leading the kitchens of Pujol. He is now one of the most celebrated chefs in Mexico and the world!
This book is a beautiful culmination of Laura’s project, setting Lalo’s life within the context of Mexico City’s fine dining cuisine, the transformation of Mexican food on the international scene and how chefs like Elana Reygadas and Enrique Olivera have helped shape that. Highly recommend giving it a read before your next culinary-fueled trip to CDMX.
THE FUTURE OF FOOD IS YOU
Each week on the Cherrybombe Podcast Network, I interview a rising star in the world in around food and drink sharing their story, exciting projects they’re working on their dreams and hopes for the future ahead.
This week, I sat down with Lyndsay Green, dining and restaurant critic for The Detroit Free Press. Lyndsay is the first Black person to hold this position in the newspaper’s history. In her short stint at the paper, Lyndsay was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism and won the 2023 James Beard Award for Emerging Voice in Journalism.
We talk about the significance of her role as one of the only few Black female critics in the country, why she counts Sophia Roe and Joanna Gaines as her inspirations, and how she connects with food outside of the newsroom. Lyndsay and I have a bit of a fangirl moment for Flamingo Estate. Richard Christiansen, if you’re reading this, please invite us over for dinner.
THE FRIDGE DOOR
This is the part of the newsletter where I share links and happenings that I found interesting and I think you will too. If you, dear reader, find something interesting in the world of food and drink, please send my way! I can’t wait to experience and share it :)
Wes Anderson on Ruthie Rogers’ Table 4 Podcast
Our director king offers an inventive take on the podcast interview, shares his love for restaurants as a great place, how he likes to feed people on movie sets, and why the roasted pigeon is his favourite dish.
How did Vanilla Become a Byword for Blandness by Ligaya Mishan (T Magazine)
I am a super fan of Ligaya’s writing and love how she observes food from significant cultural standpoints. I learnt so much in this piece about the laborious process of cultivating and harvesting vanilla as well as how other cultures considered “vanilla” in their vocabulary!
Brunch x L’Appartment4F Merch Collab
Friends of the newsletter Ashley and Gautier are my favourite croissant dealers on the planet. They started L’Appartment4F in their cozy Cobble Hill apartment and have expanded into bustling a Brooklyn Heights bakery with lines spanning city blocks. If you haven’t been yet, try the raspberry croissant and thank me later.
The duo recently partnered with Brunch, a lifestyle brand making products that feel like a vacation, to produce a limited edition collection of aprons, sweaters, slippers, and more. I’m a merch snob and this is some of the best stuff I’ve seen.
These L’Amour slippers will make putzing around the house more fun and the Le Bakery tees are serious enough for a classic tee & jeans look. Check out more of the collection here!
Nasim Lahbici x Farm to People Pop-Up
November 2 & November 3 2023, Brooklyn, NY
Friend of the newsletter Nasim Lahbici, known by his online lahbco, is a fantastic recipe developer and content creator. Nasim grew up in a Puerto Rican Moroccan household and each of his recipes are a beautiful testament to the cooking techniques and cultures he’s learnt. Also, his IG videos are exciting and inventive leaving you eager to make his recipes.
Now lahbco is blessing us with his recipes IRL at a two night pop-up hosted at Farm to People’s space in Bushwick. The perfect event to get us in the mood for Friendsgiving! I’m not sure of the menu yet but I know that dining with Nasim at the helm will make for a memorable night and a chance to connect with friends, old and new.
Get your tickets here for November 2nd OR November 3rd
Fresh New Faces of New York’s Pastry Scene by Service95
Dua Lipa’s Service95 is a well-curated newsletter offering restaurant recs, book clubs, and thoughtful pieces. This week, writer Mahira Rivers wrote a lovely piece on the new guards of the city’s pastry scene. With their inventive treats made in beautiful spaces encouraging pastries to admire and ogle, these bakers are filling our hearts and tummies with joy.
Gone are the days of French bakeries only being associated with white dudes. All the chefs listed have a reverence for classic French pastry techniques but are incorporating flavours inspired by their homelands, like West Africa for Amadou Ly of ALF Bakery and Korea for Lysée’s Eunji Lee. The future of exquisite French pastry is diverse and exciting!!
My new goal is to get to all these bakeries before the year ends which shouldn’t be too hard to do!
See you next week and in the meantime, eat well and be well!
Your friend in food, Abena
P.S. If there is anything you would love to see in the newsletter, let me know!