Gearing up for summer dinners
A round up of everything I cooked this past week
Hello! I had the thought the other day that I should be streamlining my socials and this newsletter just a little bit more. Aka make everything a bit more cohesive and connected! So, this post is all about what I made for dinner this past week, which accompanies the video that I just posted on Instagram and TikTok. Think of it as a deeper dive into the short clips that I strung together. Since this newsletter was born out of my desire to write about my private cheffing menus, it’s intrinsically linked to my socials where I have been posting “come private chef with me in New York City” videos. So, I’m linking the two media channels even more by giving deeper insight into everything I cooked this week and how it came about.
My week starts on Tuesday because I didn’t cook for myself on Monday and ends on Saturday. I really like this realistic depiction of how often I cook at home in a week. Seven days of eating at home is unrealistic for most of us—I like to eat out, too! Plus, we need to save room for spontaneity. So, I think five out of seven days is a pretty good place to be and I hope to spark some new dinner ideas for you!
I took so much inspiration from all the amazing Farmers Market produce at the moment, the sunny weather at the beginning of the week, and leftovers willing to be repurposed in my fridge. You will see summery produce popping up in these dishes as I’m trying to find new and tasty ways to utilize these ingredients.
Tuesday: Creamy Corn Pasta with Pan-Seared Salmon and Roasted Sprouting Cauliflower
The inspiration for this amazingly creamy corn pasta came about by a happy accident. I was recipe testing a few days before this and misread the recipe, thinking it said 8 corn on the cobs instead of 3 (I know, very different!). I was halving the recipe so I bought 4 cobs when I really only needed 1 1/2 and ended up with an extra 2 1/2 cobs. Then by mere coincidence, I received a Substack email from Caroline Chambers with this exact creamy corn pasta recipe. It was kismet! I knew I had to make it and I seriously cannot say enough good things about it. It really was SO creamy and silky, perfectly coated the noodles, and came together so quickly. I paired it with pan-seared salmon that got exceptionally crispy and roasted my all-time favorite type of cauliflower—sprouting cauliflower—from the Farmers Market. It’s a younger variety of cauliflower that has long and thin stalks, is more tender, and has a nuttier and sweeter flavor.
Wednesday: Chicken & Eggplant Parmesan with Roasted Baby Zucchini and Arugula Salad
When I was babysitting on Monday, the little girl told me she had eggplant parmesan for lunch and it stuck it my mind, becoming an instant craving. I found some heirloom tomatoes at the farmers market and had some really good mozzarella and a piece of chicken that had to be used in my fridge so I knew it was meant to be. I decided to grate the tomato sauce for a lighter, more summery take and cooked it down with lots of sliced garlic and a basil sprig until it thickened. I pounded the chicken as thin as I could and used eggplant for myself. I did the classic dredging and breading and then shallow fried them before topping with the tomato sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan and broiling until golden brown spots speckled the cheese.
I roasted the cutest baby zucchinis from the Farmers Market and made a very simple arugula salad with sliced radish and cucumber and a red wine vinaigrette for the side.
Thursday: Scallion Trout Burgers with Blistered Shishito Peppers and Crispy Coconut Rice
Ever since I learned that there’s a Farmers Market vendor with ground trout, I buy it every week to make trout burgers. They’re so easy to customize the add-ins to your meal—whether that’s Asian, Mediterranean, or any other cuisine. These patties are so easy to assemble and cook, don’t make the kitchen reek of fish like when pan-searing a filet, and are so satisfying. I made Mediterranean-inspired ones for my friends the other week with feta, capers, Dijon, blitzed arugula, and zhoug and they declared it one of my best meals yet. The fish is SO fresh and not too fishy.
For this particular meal, I went Asian-style with scallion, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and rice vinegar. I just pan fry them for a few minutes and they come out perfectly every time. For the sides, I made shishito peppers and crispy coconut rice. When I was checking out at a different Farmers Market vendor, I stumbled across shishito peppers and immediately grabbed them. I love a pepper in the summer—blistered with a splash of vinegar just screams summer to me. The crispy rice was kind of the inception of this meal because I had a ton of my favorite coconut rice (I fangirled about it here) leftover from a few days before that I really wanted to use up. Objectively speaking, the best way to repurpose leftover cooked rice is making crispy rice. It will always be a crowd pleaser. You simply heat oil in a skillet, add the rice in a thin layer, and cook until it gets golden brown and crispy, then flip and repeat. Crispy coconut rice may be the best kind yet.
As I was eating this, I thought it would probably feel a touch more complete with a sauce. Maybe a spicy mayo or something along those lines to drizzle on top. Next time!
Friday: Raw Fish Summer Rolls with Tahini Dipping Sauce and Tahini Vermicelli Noodles
On Friday, I had a dinner picnic in Central Park with my friends. We had the intention of watching Shakespeare in the Park but apparently the actors move around the park after every scene and our desire to sit, eat, and chat rerouted that plan to be just a plain old picnic. It was just as fun (if not more!). My friends requested summer rolls for a light, veggie packed, and colorful meal. I’ve made similar ones before with raw salmon and tuna—inspired by a restaurant in New Orleans. Inside the rolls were the raw fish, cucumber, radish, purple snap peas, little gem, mint, and opal basil. The last time I made these I added vermicelli noodles but this time I decided to make a noodle “salad” on the side instead. Personally, I don’t love the noodles in the roll—I find it makes them big and bulky and takes away from the other flavors inside. I tossed the vermicelli noodles with a tahini sauce, radish, arugula, and scallions. There was extra tahini on the side for dipping, which is a requirement for summer rolls of all kinds. It was delicious!
Saturday: Zucchini Blossom Quesadillas with Guacamole
Every summer, I make a rendition of this quesadilla with zucchini and squash blossoms. I love it. Sometimes, I grate the zucchini directly into the grated cheese but this time, I bought little globe zucchinis and thinly sliced them into rounds on a mandolin. I patted them dry of excess moisture before adding to the tortillas to avoid the quesadillas from getting soggy.
Earlier in the week, I was buying my favorite buffalo mozzarella from Riverine Ranch at the Farmers Market and asked the vendor about this twisty cheese that I had never seen before. He said it was Oaxaca and that they have actually won awards for it. I bought it immediately, knowing that quesadillas were in my future.
I used Siete cassava tortillas and they crisped up really nicely in the pan. To assemble, I grated the Oaxaca and layered it onto a tortilla, topped with the zucchini, torn squash blossoms, and small pieces of cooked skirt steak. I layered with more cheese to create a seal and another tortilla. I made guacamole for the side to scoop on top.