Call Her Chef!
Covering all the things from my first spatchcocked chicken to wedding cake goals, ramp season and more!
What I’ve Been Thinking About:
🎂 Justine made her own wedding cakes with the theme of one flavor that is old, one that is new, one borrowed and one tiramisu. Dare I say, this idea takes the cake?! I’m truly obsessedddd with all of the personalized touches she had on her wedding day.
🌎 We recently watched the José Andrés episode from Chef’s Table: Legends and I can’t recommend it enough. He’s incredible and I was so glad they talked about World Central Kitchen. (As a reminder, it is veryyyy easy to setup a recurring small donation!)
🦐 A food-adjacent PSA: OPI has apparently changed their shade of Cajun Shrimp, but kept the name. Consider this a wellness check. How are we feeling about this?!
❤️ During our trip to Maine last month, I purchased my first-ever L.L. Bean tote at the flagship store and had “Cookbook Club” embroidered on it. She’s now my entire personality and I take her everywhere.
What I’ve Been Eating and Cooking:
Hellooooo my little wild ramps! Yes, ramps are typically (always?) wild, but that’s beside the point! I have missed you all greatly and am happy to pop my head out of the neverending wedding planning hole I’ve been in to catch up. It feels like I’m in the phase of wedding planning that solely consists of searching through the infinite pages of google for the perfect pair of shoes that are comfortable, simple, classic, rewearable (did I make that word up?) and will allow me to gracefully walk in gravel down the aisle and throughout the night. Is that too much to ask?! (Seriously though, send recs.)
Have no fear, I still have been cooking away as I get waves of motivation and small bursts of creativity. Some recipes old, some recipes new. Yes, I took advantage of ramp season. Yes, it is nearly over, so I apologize in advance if you can’t find any ramps of your own. That’s why ramp season is so exciting!!!
Before we get into what I’ve cooked, let’s talk Trader Joe’s. I don’t go very often because the two locations in Columbus are in no way convenient, which means I typically only make the trek on the weekends and have to deal with the infamously terrible parking lot designs that each Trader Joe’s sits beside. All that to say, here are 3 items that make it all worth it:
My friend, Abby, introduced me to their Amarena Cherries. Here’s what you must do: Take a spoon, drizzle a little of the syrup over ice, plop in a cherry, then top with a crispy Diet Coke. Say it with me: little treat!
Scandinavian Swimmers. I am not a gummy candy person (give me all the dark chocolate!), but these are my kryptonite and arguably better than Swedish Fish.
Another (literal) little treat: Hold the Cone’s. I’d only ever had their peppermint flavor around Christmas time, but recently found the coffee flavor and am forever changed.
We did take a quick jaunt to Maine for the tasting with our wedding caterer, but we packed so much in that I’ll save it all for it’s own post. Teaser alert!
I kept my promise and made the pistachio tiramisu I talked about in my last newsletter. Make it. You won’t regret it. If you’re local, you can find pistachio butter at Littleton’s. They had a different brand than the one she utilized for her recipe and I found it pretty sweet on its own, so I decreased the amount of sugar used. One jar was just shy of the amount called for in the recipe but I didn’t feel like I was missing any. Oh, and I bought this cold brew rather than make my own espresso, which was a great shortcut. I’m sure a true Italian would taste the difference but no one else will notice!
And now, we talk ramps. I followed Justine’s recipes for ramp oil and butter. I first used the ramp oil by drizzling it over stracciatella cheese one night for a classic girl dinner. I also used it in place of regular olive oil to make a caesar dressing for this recipe where, yes, I did in fact spatchcock a chicken all by myself. Call her Chef!!! Not pictured below is the amount of smoke emanating from my oven which seems to have resolved now that we’ve deep cleaned it. I would never blame the chicken for the smoke (and it didn’t burn, so the culprit is still relatively undetermined). Lastly, I had some friends over for dinner and made the recipes from this post, along with a whipped feta dip that I drizzled the remaining oil on. The ramp butter was used on toast most mornings, but I’m seriously considering utilizing the extra that I froze for this recipe.
Last but not least, my mom, sister and I took a virtual cooking class with Julia Turshen. This was the second class of hers that we’ve done and had a blast! We made pineapple margaritas, chicken + roasted tomato enchiladas and mango sorbet with lime + tajin. If you’re in need of an upcoming Mother’s Day gift, a gift card to her classes is it!
Whew. That was a lot! Please tell me what you’re eating, cooking, and doing this spring! We’ll chat again soon!