Staying In No. 49
Green garlic pasta, a better wedge salad, and a Thai stir fry.
Welcome! This is “Staying In,” a Sunday newsletter with recipe ideas for your week ahead. Every other Thursday I also publish a “Going Out” edition where I review a restaurant, bar, or activity here in Portland. Want even more recommendations? Check out pdxrecs.com and follow RR on Instagram at @rileysrecs. Enjoy!
Hello! I’m back from Mexico, and suddenly it’s picnic-in-the-park season here in Portland. The weather is sublime.
If you’re looking for a good picnic spot, I recommend:
Irving Park: Bring a Frisbee or a soccer ball and set up camp in the big field.
Mt. Tabor: For views of downtown and the reservoir.
Mock’s Crest: Portland’s hottest club. So many twenty-somethings. So many aesthetic picnic spreads.
Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden: for a relaxed, less-crowded spot. Admission is $9.
My favorite picnic dinners are:
Cheese and crackers and salad (get everything you need at Providore Fine Foods!)
BLTs and Kettle chips (but assemble when you get there to avoid soggy sammys)
Pizza (but order from somewhere close to your final park destination to make sure it’s still hot)
Burritos (get them wrapped in foil to keep warm!)
I did see someone full-on grilling a New York steak on a date at Mt. Tabor the other day, which I respect, but the man was doing too much.
For the days when you’re not having a picnic in the park, here are a few meal ideas.
-Riley
✨ Inspo ingredients for the week: bacon and cilantro ✨
DINNERS
Spring Pasta with Peppered Peas
Chili Crisp Wedge with Crispy Shallots and Yogurt
Peruvian Roast Chicken with Spicy Cilantro Sauce
Pad Kra Pao | Rice
LUNCH
BLTs on Dos Hermanos bread
WEEKEND BAKE
Grand Central Jammers
Notes:
Bacon is used in the pasta, wedge salad (optionally), and BLTs.
Recipe for Grand Central Jammers here. I had some today for a family brunch, and now I want more, so I’ll make them my weekend bake.
Here’s the Dos Hermanos bread I’m using!
I’ve made the Peruvian chicken a handful of times now. And it’s delicious every time. It’s exactly what I want to cook now that it’s officially time to take out the grill. Recipe here.
Spring Pasta with Peppered Peas
Alison Roman | A Newsletter
I went to the Woodstock Farmer’s Market today and got some green garlic (along with some BEAUTIFUL Oregon strawberries), and it inspired me to make this pasta dish from Alison Roman. If you don’t have green garlic, no worries. She offers plenty of substitutions. The objective is to follow this simple formula: pork fat + lots of black pepper + spring vegetables. But I am a rule follower and hate making substitutions, so I’ll follow as written.
Chili Crisp Wedge with Crispy Shallots and Yogurt
Kenji Lopez Alt | The Recipe with Kenji and Deb
Mmmmm wedge salad. Why does it always sound so good? Probably because it’s an excuse to eat bacon and blue cheese. But this wedge salad from Kenji Lopez Alt doesn’t actually call for the traditional bacon and blue cheese toppings. Instead, it keeps things fresh and balanced with a yogurt-based dressing and bright tomatoes and radishes. Okay, I’m listening!
The Instagram video linked here does a great job of showing how simple it is to make this salad. But the video doesn’t do a great job of showing ingredients and proportions. So I listened to Kenji and Deb’s podcast where they discuss the recipe and wrote down the steps as best I could for you here:
DIRECTIONS
Microwave the fried shallots. Instead of making them on the stovetop, like Kenji does in the video, just take the sliced shallots and vegetable oil, put them in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave until golden brown. I’ll use two whole shallots and enough oil to cover the shallots by a half-inch. Use a slotted spoon to remove shallots from oil and place on a plate lined with paper towels. They’ll crisp up on their own from there. Sprinkle with salt.
Make the dressing. Chop up about a cup of cilantro. Mix with 1/2 cup of yogurt and 1/2 cup of mayo. Add a teaspoon or so of garlic powder and onion powder. Grate a garlic clove. Add a squeeze of lemon. Season with salt to taste.
Chop up vegetables: About a bunch of radishes, a pint of cherry tomatoes, and a handful of green onions. Cut your iceberg lettuce into wedges.
Assemble. Line the plate with the dressing. Put the lettuce wedges on the plate, followed by all toppings. Add more dressing and sprinkle dollops of chili crisp to finish.
Pad Kra Pao
Kendra Vaculin | Bon Appetit
I love anything that resembles larb: stir-fried pork with fish sauce, chilis, and basil. This recipe fits the bill and should be an easy weeknight dinner that comes together in about 20 minutes. The recipe author suggests making your eggs first and then cooking the meat in the leftover oil. But I cannot fathom why you’d want to let eggs sit out for that long. So I’ll make mine at the end. If you don’t have all of the ingredients listed, there are plenty of substitutions.
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