20 Questions with Cosima

Half a dozen women convened on the phone for Molly O’Neill’s Cook N Scribble, an online food writing workshop. A chime announced someone new on the line. “HI! It’s Molly! Did everyone get their pieces done?” For this inaugural call, the assignment was a taste memory, one single taste. A voice said, “this is Cosima” (the ‘s’ sounding like a soft ‘z’) and she read her piece, describing a melon she ate in Italy every summer when she visited her relatives, honey sweet and not available in any grocery store in the U.S. 

When the six-week session ended, Molly hosted an in-person food media bootcamp and I cleared my calendar to attend. Thrilled to meet my idol, I wasn’t sure who else would be there. It was the phone calls coming to life! Cosima Amelang, Judy Allen, Kim Dolan, Cathy Branciaroli and me.  Molly ushered us around her upstate New York town, visiting the who’s who of farmers, beekeepers and potters. Then the experts arrived at Molly’s barn-turned-kitchen to teach us photography, food styling, recipe formatting and cooking with the season’s bounty. it was a blissful weekend for food lovers and aspiring bloggers. Cosima and I dream about perpetuating the writing, gathering and inimitable networking that Molly initiated.

Visit her blog for more of Cosima in the kitchen and beyond.

What’s your 20 minute recipe? My go-to is sort of spaghetti with pantry sauce. Extra virgin olive oil, smashed garlic, red pepper flakes, capers, canned tomatoes/crushed or whatever I have in the pantry. Cook that super simple sauce and boil the spaghetti, that’s my kind of comfort food when I don’t want to think. It hits the spot! I don’t even strain it, just pick it up with a pasta fork with some of that salty water clinging to the spaghetti and put it over in the sauce. Maybe if I have some parsley I’ll put it on top. If you like cheese and you have it, grate some Pecorino or Parmigiano. 

What’s your favorite city? This is so hard! I’m gonna say Montreal. I went to McGill for four years. Those were some of the best years. If Minneapolis and Paris had a baby, it would be Montreal. It was cool before other places became cool. Tons of good music and tons of good bars. I love the history of the city! It’s very diverse, all the layers upon layers. It’s a great three day weekend spot. 

What’s your favorite restaurant in your current city? These are all hard! That’s tricky, I don’t know if I can pick a favorite. I haven’t even gotten takeout at all lately except for this one place. Lucy in Silver Spring, Maryland. I love Ethiopian food! I love how tasty it is and no nonsense. I got the vegetarian combination because I can’t decide on just one thing. It is so good! They make this really fresh salad with tomato, cucumber, onion and jalapeno. It packs really well for takeout. I miss going in person, too.

Treasured find in the back of your fridge? Laughing! Good question! Capers are definitely one of them, and miso. Anchovy, miso and capers. I’m more of a salty girl than a sweet girl.

Who taught you to cook? My mom for sure. You cannot take the Italian out of her. She’s a good effortless cook. Oh and the relatives in Italy! Growing up we went every year to see my grandpa. A lot of my food memories are attached to him. A lot of my love of food comes from him. It was really great to have a male presence in the kitchen. His gnocchi alla bava (translates to ‘drool gnocchi’) with tomato sauce and Fontina cheese!

Surf? or Turf? SURF! I do love blue crabs, I’m from Maryland. I also love octopus and squid, all that fun stuff.

What’s on your cooking playlist? I love listening to soul music. The Staple Singers, Otis Redding. I just see where Spotify takes me. 

Coffee, tea, or Kombucha? I definitely need a coffee to get started in the morning. I make an espresso on the stove in my Moka pot.

Date night—at home? or out? Depends. Half and half.

Most stained cookbook? The Silver Spoon, one of the Phaidon books. It’s one of the Italian bibles, sort of. The recipes are written in paragraph form. And do you remember Ian Knauer who we met at Molly’s? I LOVE his cookbook The Farm.

Indispensable kitchen tool? My big skillets, I have a big All Clad nonstick and a cast iron. I would be lost without them.

Staple childhood comfort food? Gnocchi, with peas, tomato sauce and Fontina cheese.

What’s your go-to dish for company? Depends on the season. Risotto is a fun one. It’s special and luxurious. You can do it while your guests are there having a glass of wine. Serve it with a nice salad or fresh vegetable side.

Who would you most like to share a meal with? past, present or fictional? There’s so many people! I’ll say Padma Lakshmi. I’d love to just chat with her. Have you seen her new show Taste the Nation? It’s fascinating!

Best thing you’ve ever eaten in an airport? You know what I eat at airports? Caesar salad. I crave something healthy when I travel and it’s not really healthy food, but it makes me feel like I’m being healthy.

Ideal grilled cheese? Very simple. Sourdough with Gruyere. I don’t want much in it and then I love to dunk it in tomato soup.

Favorite pizza topping? Mozzarella. The fresh fresh kind. It’s so good!

Where would you want to take a cooking class? I would love to learn more about Japanese knife skills, so maybe I’ll say Tokyo. Everything is so well executed and intentional.

What’s your Counter Intelligence cooking tip? Maybe people know this already? I don’t really drain my pasta. I don’t use a colander with pasta at all. I have a horrible memory and I never remember to save this bit of pasta water you need to thin out your sauce. I just lift the pasta out and the water is clinging to the noodles when I add them to the sauce.

Three things next to your stove? A hand painted fish plate from Italy, it’s my spoon rest. I have a catch all vase thing for all my utensils and I have a quartet of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper.

Pasta sauce so simple you hardly need a knife.

Cosima’s Super Simple Spaghetti with Pantry Sauce

A recipe in paragraph form. Freestyle for your taste and number of diners.

Boil a pot of salty water for your spaghetti. Heat some good olive oil in a skillet large enough to hold the sauce and cooked spaghetti. Add a couple of anchovies, as many smashed fresh garlic cloves and red pepper flakes as you like. When the garlic is just golden, stir in some canned tomatoes and a spoonful or so of drained capers. Let this sauce simmer enthusiastically while the spaghetti cooks to al dente. Lift the cooked noodles from the pot with some of the salty water still clinging and add to the sauce. Give it a nice stir and serve with chopped fresh Italian parsley and/or fresh grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano.

20 Questions with Sara

How do you feed five hungry boys and a husband during a pandemic? Just ask Sara Martinez, a chef, writer, teacher and mom to five school aged boys. While everyone has been home, Sara describes the scene as cook, clean up. Cook, clean up. And lots of groceries. She continues her work remotely with Wellness in the Schools, teaching cooking and nutrition in South Florida schools, the perfect blend of her chef training and degree in nutrition.

Sara and I met in an online food writing class, Cook N Scribble, led by the late great Molly O’Neill. We furthered our friendship at O’Neill’s Longhouse Food Revival, an annual themed gathering at a barn turned kitchen, cafe and classroom in Rensselaerville, New York. The following year, O’Neill set up a dream trip for our writing group to do our cooking and scribbling at Julia Child’s home in the South of France. Sadly O’Neill became critically ill and insisted that the show must go on without her. Cue Sara who filled Molly’s shoes to help feed and entertain a group of hungry writers. We are eager to return.

What’s your 20 minute recipe? Tutti Quanti, an acidic type of condimentI. It’s Italian for ‘a lot of people or a lot of things.’ I interpret it as anything you have, pretty much anything you have in your fridge you can use. It’s a salt, fat, acid type recipe. It doesn’t have the heat element because you don’t cook it, here the heat is the spice which boosts the flavor. You don’t really feel it tasting spicy. Where I’m from in Venezuela we use an acidic sauce on our root vegetables and meats. It helps cut the richness. It’s really really versatile. For Father’s Day we did a type of Argentinian barbecue with picanha and sausages and served it with the Tutti Quanti.

What’s your favorite city? New York, definitely. I really like southern France, and I love Washington, D.C.

What’s your favorite restaurant in your current city? There’s a special sushi place that I like, Sushi Song. It’s tiny and their sushi is amazing! They have a really really really good roll, the Spiderman roll. It’s salty, sweet, crunchy all in one! 

Treasured find in the back of your fridge? My homemade vanilla extract. I use a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated, make it in a big mason jar. I got a bunch of vanilla beans from Restaurant Depot and made a batch with white rum. I put some of the pods in a clamp jar for vanilla sugar for a treasured find in my pantry.

Who taught you to cook? In my childhood, we had a housekeeper, Augustina. She’s from Colombia and part of our family. I owe it to her! She cooked for us and always made this special rice. I still make it her way. You wash long grain rice to remove the starch, then parch it in a little oil in the pot to get the rice grains coated with oil. Don’t let them brown. Add water, salt and a clove of garlic, then let the water reduce off until you see little holes. Turn it down and cover and cook low low on the stove for 10 to 15 minutes.

Surf? or Turf? I like them equally, I’m 50-50. Mar y Tierra. Though after watching the Netflix documentary Game Changer, I think we should all go plant-based. It’s a must must must see!

What’s on your cooking playlist? Lately I put some dance-y Latin music/Merengue/Reggaetón on Pandora.

Coffee, tea, or Kombucha? I love tea! Cold tea with lemon. Lately I’ve been drinking more coffee, cafe con leche from the Nespresso.

Date night—at home? or out? Out!

Most stained cookbook? Actually it’s a Venezuelan cookbook, Comida Criolla. I want to cook what I can’t have, so I crave the food of my country. Recently we made Pastel de Chucha. It’s layers of poached sea skate which has the flavor of lobster and the texture of soft cod. You layer it with sweet mashed plantains, sofrito with raisins, bechamel and salty white cheese. 

Indispensable kitchen tool? My offset spatula. It’s great for everything!

Staple childhood comfort food? Oh gosh, I have so many! I guess an empanada.

What’s your go-to dish for company? Lasagne/Pasticcio with flan or tres leches for dessert.

Go-to olive oil? We have an Arabic store and they have a great Lebanese olive oil at a great price. I love fruity olive oil! Also Portuguese olive oil is amazing.

Who would you most like to share a meal with? past, present or fictional? Definitely my paternal grandfather. I never got to meet him, seemed like an extraordinary person.

Ideal grilled cheese? Hmmmm. Sharp cheddar. Has to be sharp cheddar! My ideal grilled cheese is from the Penn State Creamery with the tangy cheddar. It’s the best ever.

Favorite pizza topping? I love hearts of palm. It’s awesome on pizza! Mushrooms, artichoke hearts and hearts of palm. Try it, it’s really great!

Where would you want to take a cooking class? In Tuscany.

What’s your Counter Intelligence cooking tip? Always undercook things a little bit. The carryover heat will finish the cooking. Also, cook with all your senses. Look, smell, listen, taste and feel. It’s alchemy, it encompasses everything. When you’re so focused on a recipe, you’re not paying attention to the sensory clues. Use your senses when you write, also.

Three things next to your stove? Crocks with wooden spoons and spatulas, cruet of olive oil, salt and pepper. My kitchen is small so the Nespresso is there, too, because it doesn’t have a choice.

Ready to blend!

Tutti Quanti

Sara’s go-to condiment is so versatile, build and blend to suit your taste. The cilantro and onion are non-negotiable.

• 1 bunch cilantro, including stems, rinsed and spun dry

• 1 small onion, peeled and halved or a fist-sized equivalent of green onion or shallot

• 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled

• 1 ripe tomato OR blend of fresh bell pepper for sweetness and an aji dulce* pepper if you can find one

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• good splash of vinegar/you just want to taste it (can use lemon but gives the sauce a different profile)

• 1 to 2 teaspoons hot sauce (Sara likes Sriracha or Tabasco)

• Salt and pepper to taste

PUT the cilantro, onion, garlic, and tomato or pepper(s) in a blender or food processor.
POUR the olive oil over and add a good splash of vinegar and a teaspoon of hot sauce.

BLEND until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper, adding additional hot sauce for a little more spice and adjust vinegar if you like it more tart.

SERVE with a platter of grilled meats or roasted vegetables.

STORE extras in a mason jar in the fridge.

*aji dulce peppers are a quintessential component of Venezuelan cooking. Sara recommends seeking them.

20 Questions with Serge

Growing up in Madagascar, Serge Razafindrakoto was determined to go to college in America. Beginning at age seven he studied English in Zambia. When college rolled around, he began the snail mail process of applying to American colleges just as he’d planned. LSU was the first to answer and a 30+ year partnership was forged. He earned multiple degrees and worked his way up in the university’s telecommunications department. 

Serge has never met a stranger and loves gathering friends for crawfish boils or jambalaya feasts in his backyard. I landed in the bullseye when I moved into a great neighborhood across the street from Serge. When our neighbor Tabby was being filmed for a Nova program, Serge suggested we celebrate her with a parade. And so we did, along with a little gumbo-fueled block party. 

At the beginning of the year, Serge left LSU in for a new job with Texas A&M. Lucky them! We miss him already.

What’s your 20 minute recipe? I have tons of recipes. Whatever’s in the fridge and I improvise. Ninja stuff! I like making those really simple things that taste really good and you can make it really fast with standard ingredients you can keep on hand. I make a red lentil soup like that! (snaps his fingers). You can make it with broth or water, it’s really flexible. Add some bread if you have it and you have a great flexible meal.

What’s your favorite city? Any city in Europe. Summer in Europe is always fabulous! Long days, everybody’s outside. The mix of the locals and tourists, it’s just happy. I love the little pubs and bars you can go to and the street food and cafes.

What’s your favorite restaurant in your current city? Zorba’s is my favorite in Baton Rouge. I love the souvlaki plate.

Treasured find in the back of your fridge (or freezer or pantry)? Oh it’s gotta be vanilla, vanilla beans from Madagascar stashed away somewhere.

Who taught you to cook? My mom taught me the fundamentals. When I was 12, my grandpa passed away and my mom left for a month. At the time I could only boil a hotdog or fry an egg. When she came back I told her ‘this is not acceptable! I must learn to cook.’ My brother and I would cook on Sundays. We invited our friends over and mom would buy tons of meat. T-bones! And that began my love for the grill. My love for eating and traveling led me to pick up new tips and ideas everywhere I go. Then I moved to Louisiana and learned a whole new set of foods, techniques and ingredients! As part of my hiring package at Texas A&M I wanted to ask for tuition at Brisket University.

Surf? or Turf? It’s gonna be turf. It’s crazy, there was a time in my life when I didn’t care for fish. Now I love everything!

What’s on your cooking playlist? Latin music.

Coffee, tea, or Kombucha? Coffee! Cafe au lait, mostly at home.

Date night—at home? or out? Both

Most stained cookbook? A Louisiana cookbook that a friend gave me in college. I’m a non-recipe follower, I really use them as a reference and tweak accordingly. My brownie bottom cheesecake is my most stained recipe. I had it in college when a woman who made it photocopied the recipe and I’ve shared it around all these years. People ask me to make it for them. It’s become my signature, highly requested thing. I LOVE to cook!

Indispensable kitchen tool? A Japanese knife that I bought at a garage sale. It has a thin 8-inch blade with a bent tip and a worn wooden handle. It’s very versatile.

Staple childhood comfort food? Beef with garlic and ginger. Mom always makes it. It’s a standard, made with beef that has a lot of fat, it becomes the gravy with the garlic and ginger. It cooks long and slow. You serve it with long grain white rice and tomato salsa. You peel and seed the tomato, chop and mix with green onions and salt. In Malagasy we make a chili paste on the side and you can add it to your taste.

What’s your go-to dish for company? It depends! I have Muslim friends and vegetarian friends. An easy thing to do is a roast chicken and the sides are endless. Depending on the season, then there’s something for everyone. And I use butter of course.

Go-to olive oil? Extra virgin olive oil from Puglia. I used to like the Tuscan ones, now I like the more southern ones, Puglian or Sicilian.

Who would you most like to share a meal with? past, present or fictional? Anybody who enjoys eating! If you enjoy eating, you will enjoy the person’s company. That’s what I love about Louisiana. I went to a boucherie at John and Betty Chenier’s farm in Opelousas. If you’ve never been to a boucherie, it’s a real experience, the whole hog. They asked me to make my mom’s hog’s head cheese which is different than the way they make it in Louisiana.

Ideal grilled cheese? Definitely an artisanal white bread with some good cheddar. In Zambia they have this Zam loaf. You cut big hunks of the bread and cheese from the farm. Butter the bread and layer on some cheese. Cook it open face under the broiler until it’s ooey, dark and dripping cheese.

How do you like your toast? Medium well, not charred. Just below the scraping point.

Favorite pizza topping? Oh anything meat!

Where would you want to take a cooking class? There are multiple. I really want to go to Argentina, do the whole carcass and fire cooking. That’s an experience I’d really like to have. I’d like to learn from anyone who wants to teach with the ingredients that they have.

What’s your Counter Intelligence cooking tip? I really think that fresh garlic and fresh ginger are ingredients that can’t be substituted with anything else. I like to crush them both with the mortar and pestle. I even keep a jar of 50-50 in the fridge.

Three things next to your stove? Salt, pepper, oil, maybe a  little pot of ghee in my special ghee pot my friend’s mom brought back from India. And a spoon.

Best thing you’ve ever eaten in an airport? I was in Narita Airport in Tokyo for an 8 to 12 hour layover from Chicago to Beijing. Drank a lot of sake and ate these giant beef bowls with noodles. There was a bunch of us! It was memorable.

What’s your favorite sports team? Gotta be the Tigers! National Champs!! 

Serge’s red lentil soup is a crowd pleaser! Serve with hot chili oil and a squeeze of lemon.

Red Lentil Soup 

I tested the recipe twice (it’s soooo good and soooo easy!) the second time, I quick soaked the lentils in a small bowl of hot tap water just to soften them a bit while I prepped the rest. It shaved a few minutes off the cooking time.

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 small onion, finely chopped

• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed 

• 2 small carrots, peeled and finely diced

• ½ teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 cup red lentils

• 2 to 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock or water

• Salt to taste

HEAT the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

ADD the onion and cook a few minutes to soften, then add the garlic and carrot. Cook a few minutes then add the cumin and stir for a minute to toast.

ADD the lentils (drain them if you’ve soaked them) and 2 cups of your chosen liquid. 

BRING to a boil, season with salt to taste. Reduce heat to medium low and let simmer vigorously until lentils fall apart. Serve with chili oil which you can make while the soup simmers.

Notes from Serge: look at the pot and see how thick it is. Add more liquid if needed. When it’s cooked, the lentils will break apart.

Quick Chili Oil

• ½ cup olive oil

• ½ to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

HEAT the olive oil in a skillet or small saucepan over medium high heat until it almost smokes. Add the red pepper flakes and cook for a few seconds while it sizzles and fills your kitchen with that spicy peppery crackle. 

REMOVE from heat and drizzle a bit over each serving of soup. 

STORE remaining oil in an airtight container in the fridge.

20 Questions with Graison

Flour, water, salt and time are the basic elements of a loaf of bread. Graison Gill, owner of Bellegarde Bakery in New Orleans, takes these ingredients to the highest level to create praise-worthy loaves. Each ingredient is sourced with care and an emphasis on building relationships with each producer. Select varieties of wheat and heirloom corn arrive at his bakery as whole grains and are stone-milled on site before being mixed and shaped by hand. The milled grains are also packaged in small batches, then find their way into kitchens where chefs and home bakers can create at their whim.

One of the first things I do when I visit a city is search for good bread, the farmer’s market, and the makers and growers who are devoted to these crafts. I met Graison at a farm to table dinner at Bartlett Farm in Folsom, Louisiana shortly after moving to Baton Rouge from West Virginia. The event was a trifecta of the South Louisiana local foods scene. I took my seat at the table where gorgeous loaves of bread served as the centerpiece, delightful sensory overload! Throughout the meal I raved about the bread, which I learned at the dessert course was baked by the young man across from me.

The praise for Bellegarde Bakery extends far beyond Louisiana. Last year, Gill was on the cover of Food and Wine’s Makers issue and is a 2020 James Beard Award finalist in the Outstanding Baker category. He and his staff continue to pivot on demand, adding walk-up service to complement curbside pickup and online orders (for flour and pasta) to their retail offerings.

What’s your 20 minute recipe? My cooking is pretty informal. I work with what I have. I recently made some roasted sausages from Terranovas on Esplanade and served them with tomatoes from my garden and radishes from my produce box from Grow Dat Youth Farm and couscous from the bakery cooked in chicken stock. I use olive oil from Texas and Avery Island salt.

What’s your favorite city? I love Biarritz a lot, in southwestern France.

What’s your favorite restaurant in your current city? Saba and Compere Lapin.

Treasured find in the back of your fridge? I keep a pretty tight ship in there, it’s hard to hide things. I guess some tahini from Soom.

Who taught you to cook? My mom and my grandmother.

What’s your go-to dish for company? Something nice from the bakery. Pasta with a salad from my garden or Grow Dat.

Surf? or Turf? Surf.

What’s on your cooking playlist? I listen to WWOZ a lot.

Coffee, tea, or Kombucha? Coffee. A lot of coffee. Congregation Coffee from Algiers. We have it at the bakery.

Date night—at home? or out? Date night at home is good. We are ready for places to open back up.

Most stained cookbook? Cooking by Hand by Paul Bertolli. He was executive chef at Chez Panisse.

Indispensable kitchen tool? Immersion blender.

Staple childhood comfort food? My grandmother’s beef roulade.

Go-to olive oil? Texas Olive Ranch

Who would you most like to share a meal with? past, present or fictional? My grandfather.

How do you like your toast? Warm to the touch, not crunchy.

Ideal grilled cheese? The one with the mayo on the outside, on sourdough wheat.

Favorite pizza topping? Margherita

Where would you want to take a cooking class? A Basque cooking school sounds good.

What’s your Counter Intelligence cooking tip? Don’t refrigerate bread. If you’re refrigerating your bread, you’re buying the wrong kind of bread.

What’s your favorite sports team? There’s a hockey team I like, the Nordiques from Quebec. They became the Colorado Avalanche.

Slow food at its finest. Roasting whole Italian sausages in a hot oven with garden tomatoes is quick to make and long on flavor. Serve with couscous from Bellegarde Bakery and elevate this simple dish to a fantastic feast.

Roasted Sausage with Tomatoes and Couscous

Sauce makes itself when you high-heat roast sausage and tomatoes. I added a handful of fresh basil in place of the radishes.

• 4 links Italian sausage

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes

• Salt and pepper, red pepper flakes to taste

• Handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped, for serving

HEAT oven to 400

DRIZZLE about half the olive oil in an ovenproof skillet (10-12”, large enough to hold the sausages and tomatoes in a single layer) and heat over a medium high burner. Lay the sausages and tomatoes in the skillet, drizzle the remaining olive oil over the tomatoes, and give the skillet a shake to quickly blister the sausages on each side, or use tongs to turn them.

PLACE the skillet in the oven and roast until sausages are cooked through and tomatoes are soft and blistered, about 15 minutes. The juices from the sausage and tomatoes make a lovely sauce with the bit of olive oil.

TRANSFER the sausages and tomatoes to 4 plates, sprinkle with basil and pass salt and pepper to taste. Red pepper flakes are a nice addition. Serve with couscous

Cooking Bellegarde Couscous

The couscous from Bellegarde is coarser than most packaged couscous, therefore takes more than a quick steaming in boiling water. Allow about 8-10 minutes for cooking into tiny nut brown pearls.

• 2 to 3 cups stock or water

• 1 cup Bellegarde couscous

• salt to taste

BRING the stock or water to boil in a small saucepan. Whisk in the couscous and salt and cook at a low boil, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 8-10 minutes. If using the greater quantity of liquid, drain in a fine-mesh sieve, reserving the cooking liquid for another use. (I cooked one cup in three cups of homemade chicken stock. There was about a cup of luscious whole wheat-infused stock remaining which I refrigerated and used the next day to make a light cream sauce)

20 Questions with Janet

Meeting someone in Baton Rouge who knows the West Virginia University fight song is not an every day occurrence. Janet Deal and I met at a coffee date ‘Meetup’ event shortly after we both moved to Baton Rouge. The moment we realized our West Virginia common thread, we became fast friends. It didn’t take long after our first hello that we discovered our shared love of cooking!

Janet invited us over for pizza and is always looking for an excuse to deliver cookies. She recently baked some dog biscuits for humans, decorated to resemble our golden retriever Gus. When she was sampling cookie recipes to prepare a Pittsburgh-style ‘cookie table’ for a bridal shower, we got to be the tasting committee. Her 20-something minute shrimp and pasta dish is a home run!

What’s your 20 minute recipe?  Shrimp and feta over vermicelli. It’s a quick dinner dish that always impresses. It’s super easy, too! You can double or triple it and bring it out on a platter for a great presentation. Add a simple salad and crusty bread. It’s kind of zesty with the nice tangy bite from the feta. It doesn’t taste like just a regular red sauce.

What’s your favorite city? I’m going with Pittsburgh. I’m gonna go with my roots. The coal mining steel worker immigrant population of the yesteryears have left behind a tradition of their cuisines. Irish, Polish, German, Italian, Croatian, Russian, Serbian cuisines. There’s a huge variety of European dishes. 

What’s your favorite restaurant in your current city? The Little Village on Airline Highway. The bread! And the eggplant and chicken parmesan are really really good!

Treasured find in the back of your fridge? The bag of dried oregano from our garden. I found it in the back of the pantry.

Who taught you to cook? I’m kind of self-taught. My biggest influence has been my sister in law. She has taught me the most. She’s pretty adventurous in the kitchen.

Surf? or Turf? Oh that’s a tough one. I’m gonna say steak!

What’s on your cooking playlist? Lately I’ve had the Hallmark channel on. It’s kind of feel good. I might turn a talk show on during the day.

Coffee, tea, or Kombucha? Starbucks flat white decaf with skim milk and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Date night—at home? or out? Could be either. Little Village if we go out. If it’s a home date night, we’ll get crawfish from Just Wingin’ it. I have to give him a plug, they are so good! I think he’s placed in the annual crawfish contest. Their fish tacos are really good, too.

Most stained cookbook? I have condensed a lot of my recipes into a binder. My sugar cookie recipe is pretty stained. It’s been used year after year.

Indispensable kitchen tool? My big spatula from Pampered Chef. It’s really big and great at getting everything out of the bowl. I reach for it a lot. It’s a big spoon and scraper in one. I love that thing!

Staple childhood comfort food? There’s so many, I can’t choose! My mom’s cherry pie. We had a sour cherry tree in the backyard. It was so seasonal, just such a treat. Sometimes she would do a cherry cobbler and that was just as good. Oh yum! 

Who would you most like to share a meal with? past, present or fictional? My dad.

Ideal grilled cheese? Good sharp cheddar cheese, nice thick crusty bread with a lot of cheese. So good! Maybe a little side of tomato bisque.

How do you like your toast? When i was little I liked it pretty dark. My ideal childhood breakfast was two little slices of just right toast and a cup of tea with milk and sugar. I would take that over cereal any day.

Favorite pizza topping? Mushrooms.

Where would you want to take a cooking class? I’ve been doing an online pastry class with Marco Ropke. I’m going to make you an apple pie that I learned. I’d love to find a class in New Orleans, the culture is so steeped in food.

What’s your Counter Intelligence cooking tip? We’ve had some AHA! moments with trying to keep our produce fresh longer. I’ve been using the Meyer green bags for fruit. They really work! They help keep your produce longer, especially now when we don’t go shopping as much. They can keep my bananas for a week! Also wrapping a bunch of celery in foil keeps it fresh for a long time. You can extend the life of strawberries if you soak them in a 4:1 water vinegar solution, then let them dry on a towel. They will keep for days.

Do you have a wellness tip you’d like to share? I love using the frozen riced cauliflower. I made jambalaya with it. The flavors in jambalaya are so robust, it was great. I’ve enjoyed doing a lot of recipe research online. I’ve needed to find recipes that are balanced for the diet I’ve been following for the last four months. I started the Noom diet at the end of January which focuses on the psychology of eating. I’ve lost almost 30 pounds. And with daily lessons, goals coach and recipes it has been great. It’s backed up with science. low carb, lower calorie and low fat and still filling and satisfying.

What’s your favorite sports team? Oh you’re going to make me choose. I’ll say the Pittsburgh Steelers. I don’t want to have to choose between LSU and the Mountaineers. I was born and raised a Steelers fan. It’s in my blood.

A quick tomato and feta sauce dresses up a pound of shrimp for a delicious company-ready dish!

Shrimp and Feta over Vermicelli

Vermicelli is the perfect partner for this sauce. It cooks quickly and is sturdy enough for the chunky sauce. Dried herbs are a time saver and add plenty of flavor.

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided use

• 1 pound small or medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper, plus extra for serving

• 2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed

• 2/3 cup (5 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with their juice

• 1/4 cup white wine

• 3/4 teaspoon dried basil

• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

• 8 ounces vermicelli, cooked to al dente in salted water

PREHEAT the oven to 400.

HEAT 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, rotating the skillet to coat. Add the shrimp and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring a bit, until the shrimp just turn pink, about 2-3 minutes. Reserve the skillet for the sauce.

TRANSFER the shrimp to a large baking dish (13x9 or 12-inch round) and sprinkle with the feta.

HEAT the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet over medium heat and sauté the garlic for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, cook 1 minute. Stir in the wine, basil, oregano, salt and pepper and let the sauce bubble to slightly reduce, about 5 minutes.

SPOON the sauce over the shrimp and feta in the baking dish and bake until the shrimp are cooked through and sauce is bubbling, about 5-7 minutes.

COOK the vermicelli while the shrimp bakes, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking water if needed to thin the sauce.

TOSS the vermicelli with the sauce and serve, dividing among 6 pasta bowls. Pass extra crushed red pepper at the table for a little extra spice.

20 Questions with Laurina

Sometimes new friends feel like forever friends. Laurina Kilby became our friend for life on May 6 of last year, the day she entered my daughter Reilly’s ICU room at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan. She turned our frowns upside down and instantly became our Angel nurse. She is the age of my own daughters and calmed all of us in a precarious situation. Laurina made an effort to check in on Reilly throughout her six weeks in the ICU and when Reilly transferred to a rehab hospital, Laurina visited on her days off bringing us a portable feast.

Now we are home and Laurina scheduled a visit to Baton Rouge for Reilly’s birthday. That’s on hold and our angel nurse is now out of trauma ICU and working in a COVID-19 ICU, an experience she described in a Facebook post that frankly went viral. It is hard to imagine how the healthcare teams cope during this unprecedented crisis. Now our FaceTime calls with Laurina feature the new puppy that she and her husband DJ just welcomed into their lives, planned long before the pandemic.

What’s your 20 minute recipe? We just moved into a new apartment so we are trying to get into a better routine. We are surrounded by great restaurants and our kitchen is tiny, so we aren’t always cooking at home. I do a creamy pasta dish with spinach and shrimp that’s really fast.

What’s your favorite city? Probably here, I love it! The customer service is so great, everything stays open late, I don’t get home until after 9 so I can usually find a place that’s open on my way home.

What’s your favorite restaurant in your current city? There’s a pizza place called Sofia’s, it is the BEST pizza I’ve ever had! They use these tiny pepperonis, they’re spicy. The crust is really thin and crispy. I LOVE it!. In Phoenix where I’m from there’s a burger place that makes the BEST burger with pb&j, sriracha and bacon. Sweet salty spicy. It’s delicious! The warm burger melts the peanut butter, it is soo good!

Treasured find in the back of your fridge? Probably a jar of Claussen pickles.

Who taught you to cook? Actually I didn’t start getting into cooking until I was in college. My aunt has a passion for cooking and is really good at just throwing things together. I would visit her regularly when I was in college and we would cook together. It was so fun! Cooking is really hard in New York, ingredients are expensive, then you have to carry it all home and cook in your tiny kitchen. When i do cook DJ really appreciates it!

Surf? or Turf? Turf.

What’s on your cooking playlist? Actually prefer to listen to a podcast. I like Crime Junkie, I really like it. I also like to FaceTime people when I cook.

Coffee, tea, or Kombucha? Coffee. I’ve been making oat milk lattes. Oh my gosh, it’s the best thing! We bought a Nespresso machine after our trip to Italy. We had fallen in love with affogato and had to make espresso when we got back, so this is perfect!

Date night—at home? or out? Out. I like going out to eat. It’s one of my favorite things! It’s nice being served and not having dishes to wash.

Most stained cookbook? My phone! I usually go on Pinterest, really good recipes and they’re easy to find.

Indispensable kitchen tool? I have a really expensive blender that I love. It’s a Blendtec. You can make really good soups, it will crush a whole apple. Makes great mixed drinks and smoothies and it’s awesome for acai bowls in the summer.

Staple childhood comfort food? I really love meatloaf. And you know what’s funny, the other day I made meatloaf and put gravy on it. DJ wasn’t familiar with having gravy on meatloaf. He likes his with a ketchup sauce.

Who would you most like to share a meal with? past, present or fictional? My mom. I miss her! She was supposed to come visit this week but she can’t with the pandemic. She’ll get here eventually.

Ideal grilled cheese? Sourdough bread from the deli with Gouda cheese.

How do you like your toast? Not too burnt, with butter. Just toasted enough to melt the butter.

Favorite pizza topping? I really like pepperoni and olives.

Where would you want to take a cooking class? I kinda want to learn how to make sushi, that would be fun. I feel like I could learn somewhere in the city, maybe Sugarfish? We had Sugarfish donated to the hospital last week. Each of us had our own huge container. I’ve been in the COVID ICU for 2 months now  and we have had meals donated every day!

What’s your Counter Intelligence cooking tip? I usually follow a recipe as it is the first time through and then change it up the next time to customize it.

Best thing you’ve ever eaten in an airport? I’m a sucker for pretzels, I’ll get Auntie Anne’s when I’m in an airport.

What’s your favorite sports team? I’m only into this because DJ always has them on. The Tottenham Hotspurs. We’ll go out to bars in the city when the games are on. It’s standing room only and everyone’s singing the songs. It’s so great!

Laurina’s creamy pasta dish with spinach and shrimp is lovely for a spring supper

Creamy Pasta with Spinach and Shrimp

Start your pasta water, assemble your ingredients, and you are serving a beautiful meal in 20 flat!

1 pound pasta, we used tagliatelle, borrowed from a neighbor’s pantry (I had angel hair on hand, wanted something a little sturdier. Anything goes here…use what you have or can barter for)

2 tablespoons butter

1 pound shrimp

1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning (out of Old Bay? Tony Chachere’s works great! Choose a seasoning salt that goes well with seafood)

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (definitely a treasured find in my freezer!)

5 ounce bag of fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped

1 cup cream

generous amount of freshly grated parmesan cheese

lemon wedges, crushed red pepper and chopped green onions for serving (optional)

COOK the pasta according to cooking instructions, reserving a mugful of cooking water before straining.

HEAT a large skillet over medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon of butter, swirling the skillet to melt the butter without it burning. Add the shrimp in one crowded layer, sprinkle evenly with the seasoning, and cook about one minute before stirring. Give it all a good toss and when most of the shrimp are just pink, scoop them from the skillet into a small bowl using a slotted spoon.

ADD the remaining tablespoon of butter to the hot skillet and cook the spinach just until it wilts. Stir in the cream, let it bubble for a minute, then add the shrimp back in, stirring to coat.

RETURN the strained pasta back to its cooking pot and add the creamy spinach and shrimp along with a good handful or so of parmesan and some of the reserved pasta water. Toss well with tongs or a pasta tool, adding additional parmesan as desired.

DIVIDE among 6 bowls (or save extras for later if serving fewer than 6) and top with another sprinkle of parmesan, some green onions, crushed red pepper and a wedge of lemon if desired.

20 Questions with Cary

It’s fun to reflect about that first encounter. Cary Charbonniez is certainly my kitchen cousin and our friendship began like an arranged marriage. Multiple mutual friends encouraged us to meet and our first hello was a phone call so long ago that the baby I was bathing when Cary called is turning 20 next month. We met in person a few years later when she was opening Lola’s, her instantly popular pizza restaurant in Charleston. 

Celebrating my 40th birthday on a shutdown Sunday evening at Lola’s is forever etched in my memory. We had homebrew and live music. For Cary’s 40th, it was a fancy impromptu potluck on my patio, a fete I wrote about for my very first newspaper column. Fast forward, Lola’s changed hands (over to Cary’s brother) and I moved to Louisiana. After some years away from the restaurant world, Cary is making a comeback with her upcoming Coco’s on Hale Street. She was scheduled to open last month, just as the stay at home order was shuttering many businesses. The delayed opening gives her some new perspective and optimism that everything will work out. “I’ll open with a limited menu with things that will travel well for takeout. Although we can’t hug each other right now, I want to create this feeling that our customers are being hugged. I’m excited to open, the space looks awesome!”

As we talked this week about pizza, raising kids and our shared love of cooking, we brainstormed for some collaborative Zoom cooking classes. It will be a blast to catch y’all in the kitchen! Virtual hugs and Happy Cooking!

What’s your 20 minute recipe? Frittata. You can vary the fillings with what you have on hand, I’ll tell you some of my favorite combinations. I make this easily once a week and serve alongside a nice simple green salad.

What’s your favorite city? I would go with maybe St. John in the Virgin Islands. That’s where I dream about living. If I wanted to sound sophisticated I would say Saint-Raphaël, France, it’s a sophisticated version of St. John.

What’s your favorite restaurant in your current city? Chow Thai. I get the same thing each time, Pad Horapa, stir fried vegetables with a delicious brown sauce served with jasmine rice.

Treasured find in the back of your fridge? Homemade chili oil. You can throw it into a stir fry or anything for a little heat.

Who taught you to cook? My mom definitely experimented with recipes. She was a very adventurous cook. My grandmother, too. We sat down to a set table every night, napkin rings and all. We traveled to my grandmother’s on Friday nights for a big meal, she would get her electric carving knife out. We would finish late and have tea. They both taught me the act of communing together over food.

Surf? or Turf? Surf for sure. I’m not a huge meat eater.

What’s on your cooking playlist? I’ve been listening to west coast hip hop.

Coffee, tea, or Kombucha? Coffee for sure. If I could walk around with an IV of it I would. My cup of coffee is like an extension of my arm.

Date night—at home? or out? Home. I’m kind of a homebody. I prefer to hang out on our front porch or in the backyard.

Most stained cookbook? I love Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything. You can find almost anything in there. The recipes are really simple.

Indispensable kitchen tool? My chef’s knife. I love my Global knives, I’m a huge Global fan. Or my Microplane.

Staple childhood comfort food? As a kid I was totally obsessed with the frozen Stouffer’s French bread pizzas.

Go-to butter? I always go to Cabot unsalted butter. Coming from my baking days, we learned that unsalted butter is usually fresher and to add the salt ourselves in cooking and baking.

Who would you most like to share a meal with? past, present or fictional? My mom. I have so many questions I’d like to ask her. Having lost my mom as a teen, I would just love to talk with her as an adult. Girlfriend to girlfriend. Talk about parenting and food.

Ideal grilled cheese? Definitely fresh mozzarella with basil pesto and a freshly sliced tomato. I love it on Charleston Bread’s ciabatta.

How do you like your toast? Very dark and crispy.

Favorite pizza topping? I’m a purist believe it or not. I’m a Margherita pizza all the way.

Where would you want to take a cooking class? I love California cuisine. Nothing too pretentious. I’d love to go to California and learn in a small independently owned restaurant. I’d volunteer my services for a week.

What’s your Counter Intelligence cooking tip? Don’t be afraid to use a recipe and don’t get stressed out if you are missing an ingredient. You can usually substitute.

Three things next to your stove? Olive oil, salt and pepper.

Best thing you’ve ever eaten in an airport? I gravitate to a sushi stand. It seems counterintuitive, but I’ve had some good sushi in airports.

Cary leans on frittatas for a quick weeknight meal. This one is Italian sausage, broccoli and parmesan, finished with a shower of fresh basil (from the garden!) For spring, I’m thinking asparagus, leeks and goat cheese.

Cary’s Anytime Frittata

Here’s a little outline for frittata fun: skillet, eggs, spoonful of dairy, cheese, veg’s of your choosing and sausage crumbles if you wish. Finish with herbs and Voila! Lovely for breakfast with a side of fresh fruit, or follow Cary’s lead and serve anytime with a simple green salad.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 3 to 5 cups filling—here I used 4 cups of sautéed broccoli florets and 1 cup cooked crumbled Italian sausage

• 8-10 eggs

• 3 tablespoons full-fat dairy (cream, sour cream, crème fraîche)

• 1 cup grated or crumbled cheese (1/2 cup if using parmesan)

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• chopped or torn fresh herbs for tasty garnish

HEAT the oven to 350 and place the rack in the middle position.

HEAT the olive oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat (if you have a beautifully seasoned cast iron, use this. If you are less confident about your skillet, go with an ovenproof nonstick). Add the raw broccoli florets and toss in the oil. Cover with lid ajar and let sauté/steam for a few minutes while you prepare the egg mixture.

CRACK the eggs into a large bowl and whisk to blend. Add the cream of choice and the cheese. Check on your broccoli—give it a stir. When the broccoli is just tender, stir in the crumbled sausage, if using, and add the salt to the egg mixture, whisk again to blend and pour the egg mixture over the broccoli and sausage in an even layer. Shake the skillet gently to distribute.

PLACE the skillet in the oven and bake the frittata until the center is set but not dry and the edges are light golden brown, about 12-15 minutes.

REMOVE from the oven and let cool briefly before sprinkling with herbs and cutting into wedges for serving. (My C.I. tip: Place a pot holder over the handle so you don’t accidentally grab the oven-hot handle).

Cary’s other suggested combos:

• broccoli rabe, crumbled Italian sausage, parmesan

• spinach, shallots, cherry tomatoes, cheddar, parmesan

• zucchini and cheddar

20 Questions with Gabby

Gabby McGlynn is the consummate hostess, whether she’s teaching a yoga class or entertaining a houseful of friends. She is grace in the kitchen. I met her at a couple of neighborhood gatherings when I first moved to Baton Rouge. She is so enviably fit that I assumed she adhered to a strict food regimen and when I inquired, she answered, “I’ll eat anything. Well I’d rather not have nutria or frog.” It’s fun to see her lighting up the kitchen with a flaming flank steak.

The McGlynn home has a revolving door with four kids and always space for more. They opened their home to neighbors whose home flooded in 2016, housed an NFL football player in the offseason and entertain the entire neighborhood with a skyscraper-sized Spartacus sculpture who is festively dressed for every occasion. He currently wears a surgical mask.

What’s your 20 minute recipe? We eat a lot of pasta! I make a quick tomato sauce with olive oil, onion, garlic and shallot. I love shallots! And I use Alessi crushed tomatoes and a can of whole tomatoes that I puree. I rinse the can with some white wine, whatever’s in the fridge. Fresh cracked pepper and a teaspoon of chicken Better Than Bouillon base. I love to add a drop of fish sauce, it just gives it depth. Without it there’s a little something missing. It’s done in 15 minutes. Right before serving I add tons of fresh parsley and basil. My boys love it on rotini or bowtie pasta.

What’s your favorite city? I LOVE Lake Tahoe. If Danny said we could move anywhere in the US I would pick Lake Tahoe. It’s small town, nature, mountains, the big lake and rivers running through everything and all four seasons. It’s awesome!

What’s your favorite restaurant in your current city? That’s really tough, we never eat out. I do love BLDG5. The food is so fresh and I love the atmosphere. I just feel like I’m tucked away in Austin.

Treasured find in the back of your fridge? Homemade seafood stock in the freezer.

Who taught you to cook? Both of my parents. I grew up in the restaurant business. My dad had three restaurants in New Orleans. I grew up in those kitchens.

What’s your go-to dish for company? Probably Bouillabaisse. It’s visually appealing and it’s just so good! I never make it the same.

Surf? or Turf? Oooohhhh can it be surf AND turf? We do a lot of surf and turf.

What’s on your cooking playlist? A lot of times I put on Amy Winehouse radio and my daughter has a nice playlist on Spotify with some blues and jazz, R&B.

Coffee, tea, or Kombucha? Coffee! Really dark coffee with a splash of Trader Joe’s hazelnut creamer. We have a Nespresso machine, it’s heaven.

Date night—at home? or out? At home, we are homebodies.

Most stained cookbook? Oh I have so many stained ones! Probably Cookery New Orleans Style, one my aunt wrote. It has a lot of recipes from our restaurants.

Indispensable kitchen tool? My little mini food processor-chopper. I couldn’t be without that. And my apron. I can’t cook without my apron.

Staple childhood comfort food? Oh gosh it’s pasta! Gnocchis and pesto, makes my eyes roll. We just had a gnocchi night.

Go-to butter? Kerrygold Irish butter. When my kids see it their eyes get big. It never makes its way to the back of the fridge, it’s always up front.

Who would you most like to share a meal with? past, present or fictional? Maybe Gwyneth Paltrow. I love her cookbook. That’s another one that has torn pages.

Ideal grilled cheese? Alpine multigrain bread (we call it yummy bread) with Havarti cheese and a slice of tomato. Heaven.

Favorite pizza topping? Whipped ricotta. I can’t eat a pizza without it.

Where would you want to take a cooking class? In Italy.

What’s your Counter Intelligence cooking tip? We like to travel the world from our kitchen. The boys will ask, “what country are we going to tonight?” It’s a fun way to explore and introduce new ingredients.

Three things next to your stove? My Google Home, the little mini chopper and my good wooden cutting board.

What’s your favorite sports team? I mean, the Saints! Am I allowed to say anything else?

Just add parmesan! A quick homemade tomato sauce is hard to beat!

Gabby’s Quick Tomato Sauce

a couple of secret ingredients make Gabby’s quick sauce taste like it simmered all day. Keep a batch at the ready to serve with your family’s favorite pasta.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 1 medium shallot, finely chopped

• 3 cloves garlic, minced or crushed

• 1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes

• 1/2 cup white wine

• 1 (28 oz.) can whole tomatoes, pureed*

• a few drops of fish sauce

• 1 teaspoon ‘Better than Bouillion’ chicken stock base

• Salt and cracked black pepper to taste

• heaping handfuls of flat leaf parsley and fresh basil, chopped

Before you chop a thing, heat the olive oil in a wide bottomed sauté pan or preferably a stockpot (the deeper pot allows for some aggressive simmering and less mess) over medium-low heat.

ADD the onion to the hot oil, increase the heat to medium and toss to coat. When the onion just begins to soften, add the shallot, then the garlic. These ingredients will be singing in the hot oil. When you feel tempted to taste a spoonful of this, add the full can of crushed tomatoes and crank the heat a bit. You want to have a lava-like soft boil. Rinse out this can with the wine and add it to the pot.

STIR in the puréed whole tomatoes (*if you have an immersion blender, tip the juice from the whole tomatoes into the simmering sauce, then quick blend the tomatoes right in the can with the immersion blender. Alternatively you can hand crush them or blitz them in batches in your mini chopper or even use a second can of crushed tomatoes. The puréed whole tomatoes add a nice texture.)

ADD a few drops of fish sauce, up to a teaspoon (fish sauce = pantry staple) and the chicken stock base. Give it a good stir and taste.

SEASON with salt and lots of cracked black pepper as desired. Add the fresh herbs and you are ready to spoon this sauce over your freshly cooked pasta. Break out your parmesan grater!

Depending on your sauce level preference, you will likely have some extra for later. When the sauce is cool, spoon it into one or two cup containers and refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to six months. Don’t forget to label with the contents and date, could become a treasured find in your fridge or freezer!

20 Questions with Adam

One of the first gems I discovered when I moved to Charleston, West Virginia was Mountain Stage. I was at the live show in 2011 when the show’s co-founder and executive producer, Andy Ridenour, passed the baton to Adam Harris who has been producing the show ever since. I met Adam a few years later when he attended a cooking demonstration I was doing at Capitol Market. We forged our friendship over music and cooking, occasionally bringing some of the Mountain Stage production staff to Darin Fisher Designer Kitchens for some day-after-the-show cooking therapy.

When Adam brought some fresh ramps back to Charleston from his family’s property in Greenbrier County, we folded the seasonal allium into biscuits. When he and Trish got married, I was thrilled to be invited to contribute to their dessert display. His knowledge of musicians, NPR stations across the nation, the Mountain Stage roster over the decades, and World Wrestling Entertainment is nothing short of encyclopedic. If I could transport three things from Charleston to my new home in Louisiana, it would be Mountain Stage, Charleston Bread, and Ellen’s Ice Cream.

What’s your 20 minute recipe? I’ve been trying to hone my timing for things like this. You know, 30 minute meal is the goal. I try to do my, how do you say it? Mise en place, get all my ingredients ready. Cajun chicken pasta is a good one, it’s pretty simple. We also do a salmon that’s really good, and fast. We do asparagus and top it with a lot of parmesan cheese. My thing has been parmesan cheese. I keep a block handy.

What’s your favorite city? I would probably have to say Chicago. That’s where my wife is from. Lots of culinary diversity. We love a Polish buffet, and there’s a place that does an upside down pizza, like a potpie but pizza. Really I’m a connoisseur of Charleston. I can make anybody feel like a local here. 

What’s your favorite restaurant in your current city? Oh gosh, I hate to single one out. I like Big Joe’s for bar food. I’m not gonna order a burger anywhere else, and they have award winning mac and cheese. I like Kobe for ramen.

Treasured find in the back of your fridge? I have some trout from Greenbrier County in my freezer. I’ve learned to use mustard in just about everything. Dressings, marinades, I even coat chicken nuggets in it before the breading. We have three mustards going. It used to be barbecue sauce, now we’re into mustards.

Who taught you to cook? Can I say April Hamilton? Legitimately, you opened my eyes at the cooking demonstration at the Capitol Market. We make that pineapple fried rice all the time. Who knew it was so easy to make fried rice? My mother did a lot of cooking, but I wasn’t observing that much. My dad was a beef farmer. We ate a LOT of beef. I was a freshman in college before I realized not a lot of people have a freezer full of beef! In college I survived on making the same stuff all the time. Ramen, frozen chicken Cordon Bleu, curly fries. I look back on it now and think, ‘how boring!’

What’s your go-to dish for company? For summer cookouts and street festivals, I always bring my cucumber sandwiches. They are so tasty and refreshing! I have a good recipe. Can that be my 20 minute recipe? You can definitely make them ahead so the flavors get acquainted.

Surf? or Turf? If I had to pick, I’d pick turf since my dad was a beef guy. It’s hard to beat the combo of the two.

What’s on your cooking playlist? We’re listening to NPR, All Things Considered or Marketplace. We listen to less music at home than you would think. Nothing too distracting, maybe some jazz. Now if we’re outside grilling, we like some good country, you know, Alan Jackson, Pam Tillis -- I love her -- or the great Kathy Mattea.

Coffee, tea, or Kombucha? Yes to the first two and absolutely NOT to the third one. The labels are so promising and purifying, but no offense, I think it’s an acquired taste. My first taste was not pleasant!

Date night—at home? or out? Now there’s no date nights out anywhere. Really we’re more likely to go to the Fish Market or get some steaks and cook at home. If we are out downtown, we might hop around to a few spots and get some snacks.

Most stained cookbook? Definitely April’s Counter Intelligence. It opens right up to the biscuits page. We print a lot of recipes off the internet and keep a big binder going. There’s a lot of stained pages in there, too.

Indispensable kitchen tool? I use my cheese grater all the time. I have a cool one with two different sides, one for my parmesan and one for grating for my pimiento cheese.

Staple childhood comfort food? I’ve got a good one. My grandmother coated her bacon in flour before cooking it. My wife calls it farm bacon. You wet it first with water to get the flour to stick, then cook it on low in a cast iron skillet until it gets a golden brown crust. It has a nice sweet taste. Try it you will LOVE it! It’s not something you should eat every day. It’s the ultimate comfort food.

Who would you most like to share a meal with? past, present or fictional? WOW! That’s such a toughie. Do I get to cook the meal with the person? Dinner with Chuck Prophet, the San Francisco rock n roller. He was on the first Mountain Stage show that I interned. February 5, 2006. He’s the first person I saw interact with our band. Watching the process was WOW! Now he has a video with Southwest Airlines (two free bags!) where he’s making guacamole and limeade in San Francisco with his band. There’s always Vince McMahon from WWE. I’d love to share a T-bone with him. I could go on and on. The best way I could show love to anyone is through sharing a meal.

Ideal grilled cheese? Hmmmm, wow, one of the things I made growing up. I like it classic, with a slice of tomato is hard to beat. And with tomato soup of course. I had an experience with a grilled cheese sandwich in Scotland, the first time I had it with tomato.

Favorite pizza topping? If I had to pick one, definitely banana peppers. Pepperoni, sausage, banana peppers, that’s a perfect pizza to me.

Where would you want to take a cooking class? A bread baking class in northern Minnesota, at the North House Folk School in Grand Marais. That’s where it’s at!

What’s your Counter Intelligence cooking tip? Experiment. No sense in sticking to a recipe. If you don’t have an ingredient, substitute!

Three things next to your stove? Pasta strainer, cutting boards, a big container of black pepper. I use it on everything! I always have some citrus close by, too.

What’s your favorite sports team? My favorite professional wrestler is Chris Jericho from Manitoba. He wrestled in Beckley, West Virginia when I was about 10 years old. It was his first job in America. He’s reinvented himself numerous times. He is the GOAT! I’ve always had a special admiration for him. I also love the West Virginia Power.

Adam’s cucumber sandwiches, perfect for company or pack them up for a picnic. Ready in 20 minutes with extra points if you make them ahead.

Adam’s Cucumber Sandwiches

Follow Adam’s lead: first a whisper of soft butter on the bread which keeps the cucumbers from weeping into the bread, and plenty of black pepper. This one is so crucial he texted me to remind me: Don’t forget the black pepper! He also said “the KEY is you gotta mash it down with your hands and cut into 2 bite pieces”

• 12 slices thin sliced white bread (Charleston friends: Go with the Blue Monday loaf at Charleston Bread)

• soft butter, about 2 tablespoons

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

• 1 teaspoon mustard

• 2 Tablespoons feta cheese crumbles

• Black pepper

• 2 cucumbers, peeled in stripes to make it ‘fancy’ and thinly sliced

• 1 carrot, peeled, then finely cut into julienne or grated

LAY out the sliced bread on a large cutting board. Spread each with a whisper of butter on the side facing up.

MAKE the spread by combining the mayonnaise, mustard and feta in a small bowl and mixing to mash the feta a bit. Divide this spread evenly on top of the buttered bread slices, then liberally sprinkle with pepper.

TOP half of the bread slices with cucumber and carrot, then cover with the other spread-topped bread slices.

MASH the top of each sandwich gently with your hand while you cut the sandwich into 2-bite pieces using a bread knife.

PACK the tiny sandwiches into an airtight container and refrigerate overnight, if desired. Keep them in a cooler for your next picnic, or serve them with a spot of tea on the front porch.

20 Questions with Kristin

Kristin Perers and I grew up in the same tiny Florida beach town, yet we didn’t meet until two springs ago, all the way across the pond where she hosted my family for dinner in her East London studio. We were in London visiting our daughter Sara, and Kristin’s brother Rob made the introduction. “Come round to mine,” she said, and our family of five enjoyed a feast fit for royalty in Kristin’s production studio: platters of cured meats and cheeses, a show-stopping phyllo and spinach pie, a salad of market greens freshly dressed, all accompanied by easy conversation about life, London, and our shared hometown.

A professional photographer, Kristin wears tons of hats, always happy painting, drawing, cooking, sewing, gardening. The cookbooks in Kristin’s portfolio bring natural beauty to food art. Working as a photographer in London has been a winding path for her as she describes, “It’s interesting the way my path led me to more and more food photography. In London it’s such a food culture. Everyone I work with is very passionate about where their food comes from. I’m really interested in the whole food system and I have a great interest in nature. Basically food is nature on a plate.” The discussion led me over to Books for Cooks in Notting Hill where I purchased two cookbooks featuring her gorgeous work.

What’s your 20 minute recipe? Something I made up. It’s super easy. I’m trying to go vegetarian as much as possible and I’ve been eating roasted vegetables every night. I serve them with a tahini dressing that has yogurt, lime, honey, garlic, salt and pepper. Maybe balsamic, maybe mustard. Something about that combination. I got the juiciest, tangiest limes at the produce shop. It’s acid, fat, and nuts. Throw it over grilled or roasted vegetables, whatever you’ve got. In lockdown I’ve been making this almost every night, variations on a theme and it’s helped me make friends with my electric oven.

What’s your favorite city? Right now it would have to be London. it’s a fascinating city with so many layers of history. I’m reading The Mirror and the Light, Hilary Mantel’s novel in her Booker Prize winning trilogy, it’s a dive into London’s history.

What’s your favorite restaurant in your current city? I LOVE the gluten-free pizza at Oceanside Pizza on Ocean Avenue. The crust is really good and crispy.

Treasured find in the back of your fridge? You know what I’ve just gotten really excited about and I used to be really snobby about is garlic in a jar from Goya. This makes lockdown! Some people are hoarding TP, I’m hoarding garlic. I have three jars.

Who taught you to cook? The person who influenced me most is my stepmom Susan. She’s of Lebanese descent and introduced me to a lot of different ingredients. Also in London, everybody has dinner parties and as a young bride I learned to cook.

What’s your go-to dish for company? My go-to is my phyllo spinach pie! When I first moved to London, I saw a box of frozen phyllo pastry and the recipe was on the box. It’s nice, you can make it beforehand. Phyllo is so beautiful, it makes a splash. I love the moment of bringing something to the table and people go, “oh how did you do this?!” The best part of cooking is the praise.

What’s on your cooking playlist? I have different things. I have been playing a lot of Mary Chapin Carpenter. Spotify is so great! There’s even a playlist that if you start off with Mary Chapin Carpenter, it DJ’s for you. I love her music. I don’t want too dramatic or dance-y. It grounds you and lulls you along.

Coffee, tea, or Kombucha? All of the above! I love all of them. I start with tea in the morning and move to coffee, then Kombucha in the afternoon.

Date night—at home? or out? We usually have date night out. I do a lot of cooking at home, too. My husband is a priest and Saturday nights he’s working on his sermons at the dining room table while I’m cooking right there in the kitchen. It’s such a nice evening!

Most stained cookbook? Joy of Cooking! Which my mom gave to me when I was 18 and moved to New York City.

Indispensable kitchen tool? I love two of my husband’s vintage kitchen tools, a beautiful thin-edged spatula and an old fashioned rotary crank parmesan cheese grater. It makes the BEST grated parmesan.

Staple childhood comfort food? Chocolate brownies from a box. I always have a box on hand for emergencies. I have a box here!

Who would you most like to share a meal with? past, present or fictional? I would love to share a meal with President Obama. He would be fun and interesting. I would LOVE to know what he’s thinking right now! I’d love to know what he and Michelle talk about. If Michelle could come along that would be all the better.

Ideal grilled cheese? You have to be eating it at the counter of a New York coffee shop. Swiss, bacon on rye, maybe a slice of tomato. Sliced diagonally and ketchup on the side.

Favorite pizza topping? I love feta and anchovies.

Where would you want to take a cooking class? So many places! I was in Sicily last year, maybe I’d like to go there. I have a good friend who lives there. She’s an amazing chef, took us to all the food markets. Cooking is such a part of their culture.

What’s your Counter Intelligence cooking tip? I’m a really simple cook. Going back to tools, one thing I’ve seen a lot of chefs I work with use is a mandoline. I really love it for making coleslaw and thinly slicing potatoes.

Three things next to your stove? Olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil. I got really influenced by Samin Nosrat and her book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. She really got me thinking about the different types of fats and also learning how necessary fats are in your diet.

What’s your favorite sports team? I like watching the tournaments. My boys are Man U supporters and my husband is a Tottenham Spurs supporter. I could never choose one!

Do you have a wellness tip you’d like to share? I’m really into probiotics. I eat yogurts and kefirs with live cultures. It’s really important for your digestion. I also love cultured foods and fermented vegetables like sauerkraut and kimchi to keep your gut healthy.

As we wrapped up our conversation, Kristin said, “I want to change where I want to learn to cook. I want to come to your kitchen and learn southern cooking.” It’s a date! Two creatives from Melbourne Beach, Florida cooking up some fun in my south Louisiana kitchen.

Kristin’s roasted vegetables with tahini dressing — edible art covering the acid, fat, nuts and probiotics bases. Photo credit: Kristin Perers

Tahini Dressing

with a shout out to the ladies at Soom, makers of the best tahini! I ordered a 6-jar case and it feels like I’m sitting on gold.

Less of a recipe and more of a creative blend that matches the season. Grill or roast a palette of vegetables and dress to your taste. Per Kristin’s description: No specific measurements … start with a small tablespoon of tahini and twice that of yogurt …add olive oil if the yogurt is too thick….  then the acid (lime) to taste. Chili flakes for a little heat… mustard or balsamic to suit your vegetable selection.

Play around and enjoy!