Staying In No. 44
New Seasons Sesame Sauce. Jacques Pepin Risotto. Salted Rosemary Shortbread.
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!
My brother Will is a big Goodwill guy. Yes, Will is good at Goodwill. The other week he found a Wolff knife for $5 in pristine condition.
Because he’s so talented at thrifting, almost all of his kitchenware is second-hand. So are his cookbooks. They’re mostly the old classics that everyone is probably throwing out to replace with Alison Roman and Carla Lalli Music ones. Think: Jacques Pepin, Julia Child, Martha Stewart, etc.
I flipped through some of them for inspiration this week. And I noticed how much has changed in what we expect from a cookbook. Back then, home cooks seemed to want as many recipes as could possibly fit cover-to-cover. Techniques were more complicated, pictures were sparse.
Now, it’s all about the cover art and buzzy recipe names. I prefer these easier-to-digest cookbooks, to be clear. But I feel like someone could write a thesis about the aesthetic evolution of cookbooks. Not to mention, the evolution of domesticity. Someone probably has.
This week’s recipe plan features a few of these “thrifted” recipes. Alongside some of my newer favorites.
Happy cooking!
✨ Inspo ingredients: rotisserie chicken and butter lettuce ✨
DINNERS
Risotto with Vegetables | Broccolini
Rotisserie Chicken | Celery and Apple Salad
Sesame Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Lemon Fusilli Pasta with Arugula
LUNCH
Arugula, Farro, Goat Cheese, and Beet Salad
DESSERT
Salted Rosemary Shortbread
Notes:
For lunch, I’m just going to buy all of the ingredients at Trader Joe’s (the 10-minute farro is a lifesaver!) and make a quick salad with a simple lemon vinaigrette.
The Sesame Chicken Lettuce Wraps use a New Seasons-specific Sesame Noodle Sauce. If you don’t live in Portland, a tahini or peanut sauce would work as a substitute.
Lemon Fusilli Pasta recipe here.
The butter lettuce is used in both the sesame chicken wraps and the apple and celery salad.
Risotto with Vegetables
Jacques Pepin | Essential Pepin
When you cook a classic like risotto, you want to turn to the OGs. In this case, Jacques Pepin. If you’ve never made a risotto before, the most important thing to know is that you’ll want to gradually “feed it” with stock as you stir. Typically, I add stock bit-by-bit. But in this recipe, Jacques calls for adding the stock in three additions. Works for me!
Celery and Apple Salad
Jacques Pepin | Essential Pepin
If you skip the part where Jacques tells you to peel the outer husk of the celery, then this recipe should take no more than 10 minutes to make. You’ll slice the cucumbers and the apples, toss with lemon juice and sour cream, and serve over lettuce leaves. You could reduce the sour cream by half if that’s sounding too heavy. There are no photos of this recipe online, but I imagine this will look somewhat like a chicken salad on top of a bed of lettuce.
Sesame Chicken Lettuce Wraps
New Seasons Market
I thought I knew all of New Season Market’s secrets—the specialized recycling bins in the parking garage, the Jacobsen Sea Salt rotisserie chicken, the shockingly inexpensive cost of coconut milk, the boxed Mac and Cheese. But then I realized they make stir fry sauces in partnership with Boke Bowl, and now I’m even more in love.
So this week I’m going to use their signature Sesame Noodle Sauce to make rotisserie chicken lettuce wraps (I promise this isn’t spon-con. If I could only be so lucky!). The recipe doesn’t seem to live anywhere outside of this Reel, but that’s enough to figure things out.
INGREDIENTS
1 head butter lettuce
1 rotisserie chicken
2 bell peppers
4 green onions
Peanuts
Sesame Noodle Sauce
DIRECTIONS
Wash and separate the lettuce leaves. Place two leaves on top of each other to create a sturdy foundation for the rest of your ingredients.
Slice bell pepper into thin strips. Then chop into one-inch pieces.
Slice the green onion.
Roughly chop peanuts.
Shred the rotisserie chicken.
Layer everything onto the lettuce leaves.
Drizzle with sesame noodle sauce.
Salted Rosemary Shortbread
Carla Lalli Music | Food52
If you’re someone who needs a little something sweet with their coffee or tea in the morning, this cookie recipe is for you. Savory shortbreads are easy to make, feel acceptable as an everyday indulgence, and make your mid-morning coffee in between work meetings feel special.
These shortbread cookies from Carla Lalli Music get their flavor from rosemary and grapefruit zest, but are highly versatile. Feel free to swap for any citrus zest and herbs like thyme, sage, or lavender.
Going Out No. 23: Pacific Standard
Going Out No. 18: Bluto’s
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