Friday, May 31, 2024

My simplest grilled salmon, a summertime staple

That's dinner tonight. Breakfast tomorrow: Jordan Marsh's blueberry muffins.
Cooking

May 31, 2024

A white platter holds grilled salmon with lemon wedges.
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.

What to cook when you're cooking for everyone

Good morning. The nest that was empty is empty no more, as children return from college, as in-laws descend, and suddenly we're up a few animals and down a few beds. The grocery bills are back to the mesosphere and yet we're out of milk again, the second time in a week.

I'm at it like a line cook making staff meals for a neighborhood trattoria. Tonight: this excellent simply grilled salmon (above) to serve with orzo salad, thick with salty creaminess and slick sweet cucumbers, diced tomatoes, pops of chickpea, nodes of olive. Have some lemonade with that. We'll talk theories and methods in American studies while we eat.

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Simplest Grilled Salmon

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Tomorrow it'll be Jordan Marsh's blueberry muffins for breakfast, Boston proud, and maybe Philly cheesesteaks for lunch, because how fun would those be to make and devour in advance of an afternoon nap?

Then: barbecue chicken for dinner, the sauce thinned out with water so I can paint it onto the meat constantly, allowing a crust to build without the sugars burning, alongside fluffy Cheddar biscuits, potato salad and a mess of cold, sliced vegetables with green dip. And rhubarb crisp for dessert?

Yogurt can greet Sunday, with plenty of cut fruit, and I'll follow it up with tea sandwiches for lunch. It's surprising how quickly you can get into the rhythm of cooking for a crowd. It hardly seems like work, at least for the first couple of weeks. (When you find yourself flagging, buy cold cuts, extra cereal, interesting cheeses, cherry tomatoes, chips and salsa. Say, "Today, you are on your own.")

Sunday's dinner: steamed lobsters, parboiled baby potatoes rolled in hot butter and lots of roasted asparagus. Oh, stop. I've done the math on this. At least where I stay, it's cheaper to buy lobsters than to order food from the place that papers the neighborhood with menus. Steamed lobster on a Sunday night sends a message: It's summer and we're American, living our lives in an imaginary Elin Hilderbrand novel. Save the steaming liquid for stock!

There are thousands and thousands more recipes waiting for you on New York Times Cooking. As I think I've mentioned before, you need a subscription to access them. Subscriptions support our work and allow it to continue. Would you please consider, if you haven't already, subscribing today? Thanks.

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Now, it's nothing to do with bergamot or prunes, but I had a good enough time watching "A Man in Full" on Netflix that it got me to dive back into the Tom Wolfe novel on which it's based. (Michael Lewis raved it in The Times in 1998.)

Speaking of the old days: Here's Ross Barkan on Jimmy Breslin in The Point.

Staying on message, you should read Abe Streep, in The New Yorker, on Nova Scotia's billion-dollar lobster wars.

Finally, here's Little Feat, "Why People Like That." Play that nice and loud while you're cooking. I'll see you on Sunday.

IN THIS NEWSLETTER

Article Image

Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.

Orzo Salad

By Lidey Heuck

1 hour

Makes 8 servings

Article Image

Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Philly Cheesesteak

By Kia Damon

40 minutes

Makes 4 servings

Article Image

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

BBQ Chicken

By Sam Sifton

45 minutes

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Article Image

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Fluffy Cheddar Biscuits

By Erin Jeanne McDowell

45 minutes

Makes 12 biscuits

Article Image

Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Colin King.

The Store's Green Dip

Recipe from Bert Greene and Denis Vaughan

Adapted by Sam Sifton

10 minutes, plus chilling

Makes 2 cups

Article Image

Craig Lee for The New York Times

Rhubarb Crisp

By Mark Bittman

1 hour

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Article Image

Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Jordan Marsh's Blueberry Muffins

By Marian Burros

40 minutes, plus at least 30 minutes' cooling

Makes 12 muffins

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