hot kitchen? cool cure.

i can't believe that it was only

weeks ago 

that i was complaining

about the never-ending winter,

the delay of spring

and how i could use a little

warmth.

because now?

now it's hot.

and humid.

and i have the hair to prove it.

in some ways it's nice:

to walk the streets and see

people tucking away

salads

from their sidewalk seats

in front of restaurants,

to slip on flip-flops

before running out the door,

to actually crave

the watermelon piling

up in bins.

but every year, i somehow

forget that as soon

as the days border

on heavenly outside,

inside, they're sweltering.

we're lucky enough to have two

permanent air conditioning units,

but when it is extra hot,

they are no match for our fourth floor

apartment.

and the kitchen usually 

suffers first.

so this weekend, 

after avoiding an entire 

saturday of cooking,

i braced myself for sunday night.

what i really wanted was fish,

but i knew that involved

either standing

over a steaming

stove

or facing the extra heat

provided by a 400 degree oven.

instead, i made one of my

hot weather standbys

(although, honestly, i don't 

think i've ever before

had to pull out the dish in april).

it's a toss together pasta 

from giada,

who i happen to really enjoy

(i'm willing to discuss why

if anyone disagrees).

yes, this means a pot of 

scalding water,

but the recipe

is so quick and easy,

that i can put a flame

under the pot of water,

make the sauce

and be out of the kitchen

before even the first

tiny bubble boils

to the surface.

here's what you do.

chop garlic in the food

processor. add:

spinach

goat cheese

salt

pepper.

whirl together.

done.

easy.

ready for pasta.

and so bright, so pretty.

then. 

spinach leaves wait 

in your serving bowl

and when the pasta - 

whole grain which i love

(less guilt, nuttier flavor,

chewier texture) -

is perfectly al dente,

you dump the lot

on top of the veggie.

the heat and steam

from the penne wilts

the greens just enough.

tossed with the sauce

and sprinkled with cheese,

it's the perfect in-and-out

of the kitchen

solution.

it's that simple.

spicy from the garlic, smooth without

cream, just the right temperature

thanks to mixing hot and cold together.

it's pesto-like, minus the oil, nuts and

drop-by-drop dripping.

and, it's a good way to sneak in a vegetable -

and goat cheese - to the unsuspecting.

often, like most, i think,

pasta makes me feel guilty.

but, when it's unbearable

in the house, i can work in

a vegetable

and 

the dish requires only

as much time as it

takes for the penne to cook,

i can honestly say,

this dish is nothing to feel

guilty about.

especially if you don't have

an air conditioner

in your kitchen.

whole grain penne with spinach and goat cheese

adapted from giada de laurentiis

the recipe is so simple, that i almost feel like you don't need the nitty gritty details, that the above is enough to go on. but i will give it to you anyway - you never know when another heat wave will come through and who wants to think then?the original recipe used 1 ounce of cream cheese, which to me is a waste of a purchase. instead of buying a bar, i always up the goat cheese. also, the garlic is raw, which i'm fine with, but if you're sensitve to such things, don't hesitate to reduce it by a clove or two. the great thing about this dish is that it's great as is when it's too warm to focus on an extra step, but can also really shine when mixed with halved graped tomatoes, grilled shrimp or torn basil.

1 box (16 ounces) whole grain penne

3 cloves garlic, ends trimmed and halved

1 bag (6 ounces) baby spinach, divided

3 ounces goat cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons grated parm

in saucepot, bring water to a boil; add salt. when water returns to a boil, add whole grain penne. cook according to package directions. just before draining, remove 1 cup pasta water. drain pasta. 

meanwhile, place garlic cloves in food processor; pulse until chopped. add half the spinach leaves, goat cheese, salt and pepper; process 1 minutes, or until mixture is smooth.

place remaining spinach leaves in serving bowl. as soon as pasta is drained, transfer to serving bowl on top of spinach. add spinach sauce. let mixture sit several minutes; toss together. if you need more liquid, splash in cooking water. season mixture with salt and pepper. sprinkle with grated cheese.

business trip breakdown

the night before

i "suggest" that he just

skip the trip.

they'll understand, i say.

he suggests back, that he 

can, but probably,

as a result,

could lose his job.

he gives me the option.

i say he should go.

day 1

he leaves at four in the 

morning. 

after work that night,

i go out to dinner

with friends,

at sushi lounge in hoboken.

i get my favorite spicy scallop roll.

at home, i watch 13 going on 30,

fall asleep with the tv

on and honestly, rather enjoy the day.

day 2

i have a hard day at work. 

i planned to cook for jenn, but

cannot get myself near the kitchen.

we go out for dinner and laugh

the whole time. somehow, 

it took us hours to eat what

it took others an hour to enjoy.

the lights turn off while we're still

cooking our noodles.

i realize, at the end of the meal

that i never opened the diet coke

i had asked for,

and to my surprise,

came in a can. 

i toss it in my pocketbook.

day 3

i wake up determined to cook

jenn breakfast. i peruse all

my cookbooks, checking

off each item that i didn't have:

spinach,

ricotta,

berries,

cheddar,

tomatoes.

sadly, the list goes on.

i leave jenn with a plateful

of concord and muscat grapes

and decide to make goat cheese

frittatas. they are a disaster.

my new mini pans smell like they're

burning. the eggs, are, in fact,

burning. i dump them in the

garbage and feel inadequate.

later, that night,

i wait with my father for 

my sister and her boyfriend

to return from cancun.

we get a text that says,

how's asia star for dinner? 

totally craving sushi.

so we go.

here, i have my other favorite roll:

snow white, which is white tuna over spicy yellow tail.

i don't speak to larry until after nine.

it's been hours since i've

started worrying that something

unspeakable has happened.

he's fine. just working.

day 4

i wake up and i have no 

idea where i am.

i realize that i'm in my 

sister's bed and have actually

slept until after 10, shocking

on many levels.

my sister and father and

i visit what about a bagel?

and i have delicious

whitefish salad on a flagel.

i remember how much i 

like whitefish salad.

later, my mom and i discuss

salts, and the merits

of different kinds,

for at least 10 minutes.

my sister looks...bored.

when larry calls after 5,

i'm grumpy for no reason 

and am not up for

talking. when he calls

back at 7:30, before going

to dinner, i feel guilty

and try to be a better

conversationalist.

i think about watching

the amazing race,

but it doesn't seem right

without him.

that night i cannot sleep.

day 5

i have a normal day at

work. when i drive

home,

it's pouring. 

i drive carefully,

and make the 

decision to just sort of

sit and not do anything.

it's hard.

i'm bored.

i'm tired of his

business trip.

day 6

i have a very weird

day at work, accompanied

by an odd schedule.

i find myself without

anything to do from 12:30-4.

i run errands and then realize

there is not enough time

to go home before

i have to go back to work.

i buy magazines and head

to mitsuwa, excitedly.

i order, what is deemed,

a side dish of 

rice,

crab flakes

and 

ikura

for lunch.

it is $2.95.

i'm in heaven.

then i realize i didn't 

get a drink.

in a rare moment of clarity,

i reach into my bag,

and pull out the 

can of diet coke from friday night.

i read food and wine and

stop for an extra second

at the sweet potato and andouille pie,

wondering why some recipes

just immediately suck me in and

others take a long time

to seem like a good idea.

at 11:15 that evening, i'm driving home from

work. it's raining again.

i'm very tired.

and i realize, i miss larry a lot.

i'm ready for him to come

home, for us to hang out

and for this going away

business to be done,

at least until june,

when he's headed for berlin.

once home, i cannot sleep.

i watch all of american

idol and housewives of new york

city. i hate kelly. i realize

that i really want to make larry something

to welcome him home, something

that i would never normally make,

something that is very obviously,

just for him.

i remember the extravagant savory

sweet potato pie and know that it

will be his welcome home meal. 

i have a plan. i can sleep.

day 7

i drive home from work in the rain.

once i get there, i learn that i didn't 

actually have cornmeal for the crust

like i thought i did. 

it's pouring now.

i decide that this pie will 

have to be made in my standard pie shell.

but i'm bummed.

i roast the sweet potato. 

the recipe had called

for several small, 

but i, 

not paying attention,

had bought one 1-pounder. 

after 45 minutes,

it's still hard as a rock. 

i up the temp to 400˚f

and cook the sucker for 30 minutes more.

then, i have to wait a long time for 

it to cool.

in the meantime,

i mix together the crust, chill it, roll it out

and realize that it is so hot in the kitchen,

there is no way for the finished

product to be tender and flaky.

i chill the dough, in the pie plate

for 30 minutes,

before filling with dried beans 

and baking.

i remove the plate from the oven

to cool and

a little piece breaks off (not ideal).

i taste it and am glad for the extra

chilling. the texture is perfect.

somehow, it is now late. 

i'm sleepy.

i debate stopping at this point

and preparing the filling

the next night, but i realize

how much i would regret it 

in the morning. 

i make the mixture, which

is ridiculously easy (and to me,

ridiculously indulgent)

and at 10:34,

place the pie in the oven.

as i'm putting it on the rack,

i think, this looks like 

melted velveeta cheese.

when it comes out of the oven,

4o minutes later,

i think, this looks like

cooked velveeta cheese.

i leave it out to cool.

3 in the morning, i am woken up

from the couch by larry,

home almost 7 days to the hour

after he left.

i stumble to wrap the pie

and

put it in 

the fridge.

the next day

i am disappointed to realize

the store doesn't have mustard

greens that i wanted to make the 

accompianing salad.

i buy kale instead.

i get home and the house smells

delicious, like a spicy

simmering marinara sauce.

did you cook, i ask?

yes!

we argue for a few minutes

over whose meal we will eat,

both of us advocating for the 

others person's dish.

we decide on his because he 

added shrimp to his sauce.

a minute later, we learn

that not only did we both make

dinner, we also both

ran the dishwasher that morning.

the next next day

i go to a different store

that has mustard greens.

i'm excited.

we heat up the pie

and i toss together a very

easy simple salad

of mustard greens, apple

and toasted pecans in a 

homemade buttermilk dressing.

the pie, thank goodness,

does not taste anything like

velveeta.

the crust is incredibly flaky,

the filling so smooth

and creamy and the dots

of andouille, spicy,

but not overwhelming.

the soft supper is perfectly

balanced by the crisp cool

salad.

we eat dinner in our pajamas,

sharing a bottle of beer

and

watch the yankee game.

sweet potato and andouille pie

adapted from food and wine magazine

the original piecrust called for cornmeal, which i think would have been delicious. i used my traditional crust, which i've provided the recipe for here. if you're one of those freaky people (like me) who tastes the raw dough, don't be alarmed if the crust tastes overly salty, it will even out by the time it's baked. also, i used turkey and chicken andouille instead of the traditional pork. i think it worked out well. other than that, i obeyed the recipe pretty well. i very, very much wanted to reduce the cream to whole milk, or at least half and half, but i was very worried that it would break in the oven.

1 pound sweet potatoes, scrubbed and pierced with a fork

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chopped and chilled until ready to use

2-3 tablespoons ice cold water

3 links chicken-turkey andouille sausage (about 9 ounces), chopped

1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 large cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground sage

1 cup heavy cream

fresh ground pepper

3 large egg yolks

heat oven to 400˚f. wrap sweet potato in aluminum foil and roast potato 1 hour, or until tender. unwrap and let cool. 

reduce oven temperature to 350˚f.

meanwhile, in food processor, combine flour, salt, sugar and butter; pulse just until pebble-like pieces form. with motor running, drizzle in 2 tablespoons ice water; process just until mixture comes together. if you feel the mixture needs a bit more liquid, drip in a drop at a time. remove dough from mixer and flatten into a disk; wrap in plastic wrap and chill 30 minutes. on floured surface, using rolling pin, rolling out dough into 13" round; transfer dough to pie plate by rolling dough around rolling pin and unrolling in plate. gently press dough firmly into plate. tuck overhang under. at this point, if you feel it is very warm in your kitchen or the dough has gotten too warm, place pie plate in fridge and chill 30 minutes more.

prick bottom crust several times with fork. cover dough with foil; fill with dry beans. bake 30 minutes or until crust is barely set. remove foil and dry beans. bake 10 minutes more, or until the crust is dry and very lightly brown. let cool.

in large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat, cook andouille 5 minutes, or until golden brown, stirring occassionally. add onion, garlic and dried sage; cook 5 minutes more, or until softened. let cool slightly.

peel sweet potato; place in food processor. add cream and puree until very smooth. season with salt and pepper. add egg yolks and process until incorporated. transfer the filling to a large bowl and stir in andouille mixture. transfer to crust, smoothing top. bake 45 minutes, or until the filling is set (this took me 40 minutes). let cool on rack 20 minutes; cut and serve. you can also make it ahead, cool completely, cover and chill in the fridge. reheat in oven.

mustard greens with apple, pecans and buttermilk dressing

adapted from food and wine magazine

the recipe that runs in food and wine features watercress, but mentions the donald link, the original creator of the recipe for his new orleans' restaurants, uses mustard greens. i am a huge fan of the spicy green, much more so than watercress, so i jumped at the chance. if you're not a fan of the leaves, try it with watercress or even romaine. i added toasted pecans and played with the proportions of the dressing, which in the end, i was glad about. it's extremely light - and gives the greens a very light coating. if you like your salad very dressed, i would make more of the dressing.

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 pinch sugar

kosher salt

black pepper

2 tablespoons corn oil

1 bunch mustard greens (about 10 ounces)

1 large granny smith apple, cut into matchsticks

1/4 cup pecans, broken into large pieces and toasted

in small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper; drizzle in corn oil, whisking constantly. 

stem mustard greens; tear leaves into bite-size pieces. combine greens with apples and pecans; drizzle with dressing and toss to combine just before serving.