What I drank on vacation
Plus a few new cookbooks I'm excited about
My parents recently relocated from Oregon to a spot that’s closer by, so we headed up to their place for a few days of R&R (rain and raucous children) before a long lakeside weekend with friends. There were BLTs and paddleboards and all sorts of good summer things.
While I sadly did not try this impressive treading-water eating-a-whole-cucumber move, the drinks were very good.
Sometimes you need to eat an entire cucumber
Steal these ideas for your August travels—or for happy hour at home.
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To sip:
The ideal cocktail/snack combo: A pitcher of martinis (8 oz. Forthave Blue Gin to 1.5 oz. Dolin dry vermouth) is so much better with a plateful of gildas made with piparra peppers, really good anchovies, and these slightly vermouth-y olives. Warning: You always need more gildas than you make.
Pretty California Syrah: Pax Wine Cellars, 2022 Syrah Nellessen Vineyard. These grapes weren’t picked until November; the wine balances velvety, olive-y fruit with remarkable brightness.
Is Lapo’s Non-Alcoholic Negroni anything like a Negroni? Nah, not really. Black currant juice and clove are big players here, plus hibiscus—it’s almost like a juicy, bitter twist on Jamaican sorrel. I’m tempted to play around with it as an ingredient—will it spritz if you add a little sparkling NA riesling? Can you turn it into a pretty nice bitter sour? I’m betting yes.
Savoia Americano: This aperitivo is citrusy and crisp, somewhere between a bitter like Campari and a sweet vermouth. You could add gin for a more robust cocktail, but I wouldn’t fuss with it—it’s good simply poured over ice.
To read:
We don’t (!) have (!) to just be one (!) thing (!) (see: drinks newsletter that insists on recommending novels) so I love that my friend Ali Rosen, author of this truly speedy dinner cookbook as well as Modern Freezer Meals, has been writing fiction in addition to cookbooks for the past few years. Alternate Endings, her latest novel, is a fun New York-goes-to-Ireland romance that I just didn’t want to end.
We are entering The Big Season for cookbook releases, and as usual I fear for my sagging bookshelves. There’s Joe Yonan’s epic Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking, created in collaboration with a superstar team of recipe developers. I have my eye on the Gochujang Tofu with Edamame Mint Purée, the charred cauliflower with an almond-butter enriched korma-like sauce, and a tofu preparation that leans on lemon and pickle brine to mimic feta’s tangy personality.
If you’re teetering on the edge of kitchen burnout, you’ll find doable back-to-school dinner inspiration in What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking, a collection of quick meals (organized by how quick) from Caroline Chambers.
I have bookmarked so many recipes in Plantas, Alexa Soto’s masterpiece of meatless and dairy-free Mexican recipes.
In bad news for anyone else who absolutely doesn’t have space for more cookbooks, I’ll keep sharing more recommendations as the season unfurls.