What I Ate This Summer - A Love Story in 5 Dishes

Another sweltering summer in New York City has come and gone, leaving a sticky trail of humidity in its wake. As a huge fan of the summer months, I'm pretty sad to see the season go. But, I can take comfort in knowing that I ate and drank all that the summer had to offer.

Remember in elementary school, when you'd go back to school for the fall, and your teacher made you write an essay about what you did over the summer? Well, here are some of the highlights of what I ate this summer.


William Hallet - Salmon with Long Island corn, lima beans, Holland peppers, butter nage

I don't order fish often in restaurants, and I'm not exactly sure why. I grew up eating tons of seafood, and I love this stuff; I guess I'm scared of someone messing it up. I had this early in the summer on my first trip to Astoria's William Hallet, and it was so nice to have something light, but really substantial and delicious. The salmon was simply seasoned, and served with a light butter nage (sauce) that highlighted its meatiness. The veggies were at their peak, and weren't overcooked. I really enjoyed this.

Traif - Strawberry Cinnamon Baby Back Pork Ribs

Even saying the name of this dish makes me squirm with delight in the most lovely way. Sticky, just sweet enough with a whisper of warm cinnamon. JUST LOOK AT THE PICTURE.

I went here for my good friend Rae's birthday, and we proceeded to have one of the best meals I've ever had. A lot of the meals here are pork based, and it was exciting to have ribs that were a little out of the ordinary.

Fort Reno - The Hot Mess

Oh, baby. The.Hot.Mess.

So, whenever my coworker and I come here for after-work vittles, I without fail, get this. A savory parfait of  pickled vegetables, cornbread, baked beans, pulled pork, and on the bottom: macaroni and cheese. Crunchy, meaty, creamy, salty, sharp. It doesn't look too pretty, but it tastes beautiful to me. And, it's only  seven bucks! Seven bucks for a glass of pretty much everything on the menu. Layered lovingly, just for you.

BonChovie - Fried Anchovies (Heads off)

Anchovies. Such a little fish, yet it inspires so much hatred! I usually think of them as the scraggly little things on crappy take out pizza. So, I stay away from them at all costs.

Enter BonChovie. BonChovie has been a stalwart vendor of both Brooklyn Flea and Smorgasburg. I'd been hearing so many great reviews about their fried anchovies, that I couldn't resist giving them a try.

Thank God I did. So crunchy, so flavorful.... Unbelievable. Nothing like the stinky fish that I'd always feared.  Dunk these in the smoked paprika mayo, and you have seafood heaven.

And last....but never least....


ARE YOU READY FOR THE FIFTH ONE!?


Momofuku Noodle Bar - Fried Chicken Dinner

Two whole chickens.

Two styles: Old Bay Southern Style and Spicy Korean Glazed.

I'd been trying to make the reservation for this dinner for almost a year. This summer, I struck paydirt. Happy Damn Birthday to me!

This bountiful feast of fowl came wish mu shu pancakes, four different sauces ranging from a fiery chili sauce to a savory hoisin, and a bowl of fresh veggies. The idea is, you can either eat the chicken straight up, or make it into tasty wraps.

I think you can imagine how I ate mine.


What did YOU guys eat this summer that blew your minds? Leave a comment and tell me about it.

MOAR ICE CREAM PLZ.

My pal Books holds these epic BBQs at her home every summer, and I've had the bad luck of having to work or have prior engagements every time she's invited me to one. UNTIL NOW.

In honor of my first Books BBQ, I wanted to make a really special dessert. Something with some luscious berries...and something that could use up the buttermilk that I used to make my friend Eric's birthday cake (Red Velvet with Cream Cheese).

A small digression about buttermilk, if you would indulge me....why the HELL do they only sell it in quarts?? I don't use that much buttermilk when I cook/bake and only a pint would suffice. The shelf life ain't that long either! HIGHWAY ROBBERY, I SAY. Whew, it was good to let that out.

So....Strawberry Buttermilk Balsamic Ice Cream, anyone? Now, originally, I used this recipe. But, I made a few changes.

First, the recipe says to puree the fruit, and put it in cheesecloth and drain for a half hour. Then, squeeze out the excess liquid (if your fruit is watery, it will make your ice cream icy and not creamy). I don't have cheesecloth at my house. I didn't have any clean white t-shirts around either (I've used a hanes/fruit of the loom/whatever brand cheap t-shirt, new of course, in lieu of cheese cloth before, and it worked okay). I also tried using a coffee filter...and that worked abysmally. So, I just used a metal strainer.

Then the recipe says to only heat up the buttermilk, salt, and sugar. A 1/2 cup of buttermilk...is not a lot. I was scared that I might burn the sugar, so I dumped in the heavy cream and heated both milks, plus salt and the sugar. 

The recipe also pointed out that because buttermilk has a low fat content, the ice cream might come out icy regardless of how much wateriness I removed from the fruit. I wasn't trying to make ice milk! I wanted ICE CREAM. What other milk did I have that could give me some insurance? I panicked...I didn't really want to go up to the market for whole milk. The cupboard gave me my answer: evaporated milk!

Evaporated milk has had most of it's water removed, about 60%, so I figured that a little bit couldn't hurt. I decreased the amount of buttermilk by a tablespoon or so and put in of that. After that, it was was french style ice cream making as usual:

Mixing egg yolks :

Tempering them into the hot milk mix (add some of the hot liquid slowly to the eggs, making sure to whisk the entire time, then whisk in the warmed eggs into pot of hot milk):

And letting it thicken to the point where it coats the back of a spoon:

Obviously, I'm not being that detailed, so if you need a step by step breakdown, check out my earlier post about vanilla ice cream here.

I left the milk cool a little bit, and then added fresh lemon juice, vanilla, the strawberry puree, and the balsamic vinegar. I added a little more than the tablespoon asked for because I just love the stuff THAT MUCH.

How pretty does that look?

I made this ice cream on a Thurday, and I churned it late on Friday, which was the perfect amount of time to let this age in the fridge. After a 20 minute freezing session, I put it back into the plastic container, pressed some saran wrap onto it's surface to keep out funkiness, and covered it with its top. Stick in the freezer until it's rock solid.

I served it with Chocolate Buttermilk cake with cream cheese frosting and sliced strawberries....a perfect end to a food and fun-filled BBQ.

SO PRETTY!

This is probably one of the best ice creams I've ever eaten. The texture wasn't icy in the slightest...in fact, it was almost like a frozen mousse. Rich, but light and smooth. The tang of the vinegar and buttermilk magnified the strawberries'  summer flavor...it was a HUGE hit. Try it!