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Good day. I roasted a pig in a box, as I realize I’ve been doing it for close to 20 years. I had a perfect Coca-Cola float with vanilla ice cream, in a tall paper cup with a long spoon and a wide straw. I cooked without recipes: elegant salads made with rounds of late summer tomatoeschopped cheese quesadillas, raw Boston mackerel, and I read a lot of books. Most days there was fishing, adventures in the woods, and plenty of naps. Rough-winged swallow chicks across the road left the nest, learned to feed themselves, and left for Florida with their parents.
This was a fantastic vacation. I’m grateful to my friends and colleagues for covering for me while I was away and I’m delighted to be back.
What good cuisine awaits us. My colleague Eric Kim developed this excellent recipe for karaage, Japanese fried chicken (above), after eating chef Kaoru Ayabe’s version at 750 Myrtle Diner in Brooklyn. It’s a perfect weekend meal: chicken marinated in ginger, soy, and sake, then dipped in egg, coated in cornstarch, and slowly fried at 320 degrees until a firm, golden crust surrounds the moist, flavorful meat.
Featured recipe
Chicken Karaage
Watch Eric develop the recipe in this lovely and informative video on our YouTube channel and then make it yourself for dinner. Add a miso soup with mushrooms if you want something other than chicken.
The Jewish New Year begins this afternoon at sunset: Rosh Hashanah, a time of inner renewal, of sweet celebration. Large meals are common every night of the festivities, and if you still need ideas on what to cook, I present to you our very The best Rosh Hashanah recipes.
Maybe Joan Nathan’s recipe for skirt? You could make it early on Saturday morning and it would be perfect for dinner. Or there is Joan’s recipe for baked fish with pomegranate saucewhich he adapted from one cooked by Iraqi artist Oded Halahmy. Honey Pie? Tsimmes? Pull Safely.
Going in a completely different direction, you might consider Sohla El-Waylly’s new recipe for pizza salad – literally a pepperoni pizza in salad form. Fry pepperoni strips until crispy, then use the spicy rendered fat to fry breadcrumbs seasoned with the flavors of New York slice shops: oregano, garlic, and red pepper flakes. These go on top of a crisp salad of romaine lettuce, black olives, pepperoncini, red onion and milky mozzarella tossed with a grated tomato vinaigrette.
Whatever you do, cook! Thousands and thousands of recipes await you in New York Times Kitchen. The weekend is a perfect time to experiment with new flavors and techniques, and to bring deliciousness into your life and those around you. Yes, you need a subscription to read our offers. Subscriptions are what make this entire enterprise possible. If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll consider subscribing today. Thank you.
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Now, it is very far from having anything to do with the filling gelatin donuts or do Duck confit, but I came across a great read while I was away. There were relatively new releases, including the fantastic “Criminal manifesto“Colson Whitehead and a big-hearted beauty”Heaven & Earth Grocery Storeby James McBride. Please read them.
But I also found some deep cuts, if you’re interested in the dustiest shelves in the library. “Loon Lake”, by EL Doctorow, for example, published in 1980 (and reviewed in The Times by Christopher Lehman-Haupt). That’s a great, strange, magical, strange American novel.
Finally, I bought some amazing miso at the farmers market in Brunswick, Maine, from Go-En Fermented Foods in Whitefield. If you have the opportunity to do it yourself, do it. Go-En is the business. I’ll see you on Sunday.