Staying In No. 9

The perfect batch cocktail.

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Welcome! This is “Staying In,” a weekly 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. What should I write about next? Feel free to leave a comment on this post or submit your idea here. And don’t forget to check out pdxrecs.com for even more recommendations. Enjoy!

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It’s a little ironic that I run a food newsletter when my brother is the real chef. He’s a cook at Junior’s, a cute and tiny neighborhood diner tucked away on SE 11th between Hawthorne and Division. If you crave a stack of pancakes as large as your plate or a perfectly goey Eggs Benedict, I highly recommend going. In addition to a classic diner breakfast, you might also get a celebrity sighting. According to my inside source, in the past few months Kate Brown, Earl Blumenauer, and the Shins have all dined at Junior’s.

My brother is the kind of guy who can open up the fridge and make something out of nothing. This inventiveness means he’s often responsible for menu specials at Junior’s. Most recently, he’s been serving up Spanish Migas. Instead of the typical tortilla chips and tomatoes, Spanish Migas uses bread and grapes as the starch and fruit. I’m very skeptical grapes and eggs go well together, but Will said it’s been a hit on the menu, and so I’m sharing the recipe as this week’s breakfast item. Because I love you and trust you, Will!

In the spirit of stuff my family is into, this week I’m also sharing a batch cocktail recipe my mom made for her backyard party the other week. Apparently every month, about 30 people in their neighborhood get together to socialize and snack. Whoever’s hosting provides a cocktail, and everyone else brings a dish to share. I can’t believe this is my parents’ social life, while I have to reschedule several times before successfully meeting up with friends.

Anyways, if you’re looking for a batch cocktail for your next summer backyard hang, thank my mom for the perfect recipe.

✨ Inspo ingredients for the week: tomatoes and avocado ✨

DINNERS

• Grilled Apricots, Burrata, and Ham | Grilled Bread

• Chorizo Tacos | Guacamole

• Sticky Miso Salmon Bowls

• The Best Gazpacho | Cheese & Crackers

BREAKFAST

• Spanish Migas

DRINK

• Belmont Jewel

DESSERT

• Ice Cream Sandwiches

Notes:

• I plan on eating Gazpacho on Monday night and then as lunch throughout the week with a little arugula salad and cheese and crackers. You could buy a few extra tomatoes at the grocery store and make BLTs, too.

• The cocktail is portioned for 14 but can easily be reduced or increased.

Grilled Apricots, Burrata, and Ham

Travis Lett | Food and Wine

Summer cooking is tough. We’re blessed with tomatoes and zucchini and berries, but it’s also hot and there are fifteen things I’d rather do than be stuck in my kitchen.

Enter: the grill.

Here’s a grilling recipe that RR heads (trying that out for size) know includes my favorite combination: cheese and fruit.

Although the recipe calls for apricots, you could use plums or peaches instead. Whatever you choose, it’s going on the grill. Everything else—the arugula, raddichio, ham, and burrata—are tossed in a light vinaigrette and assembled on the side. This seems easy to scale up or down depending on how many people you’re feeding, and shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes. This could also be a great excuse to head over to Sauvie’s Island and pick the peaches yourself.

Chorizo Tacos

It’s surprisingly difficult to find good chorizo at the grocery store. I had resigned myself to never making good chorizo tacos at home, but then I found Don Felipe. This small family operation sells their chorizo at farmer’s markets around town (but can also be purchased online or delivered in PDX!), and I always have a pack or two in my freezer for a quick weeknight meal.

Don Felipe’s chorizo comes in three varieties: chorizo verde, chorizo rojo, and chicken chorizo. The verde contains pumpkin seeds and might not be the conventional option, but it’s my favorite. For a simple weeknight meal, all you have to do is heat up the chorizo and serve with lime and tortillas. For a little extra sumthin sumthin, you could also make an onion cilantro mix by dicing up onion, mixing with chopped cilantro, and adding a little bit of lime juice and salt.

Guacamole

Esteban Castillo | Chicano Eats

I’m on a Chicano Eats kick (see: last week’s beans recipe). Here’s another staple recipe from the book.

In theory you shouldn’t need a recipe for guacamole, but I honestly have a tough time getting the proportions and ingredients consistently right, so this is the recipe I turn to when I’m in need.

Sticky Miso Salmon Bowls

Andy Baraghani | New York Times (Gifted Link)

If you made the very green pasta salad from a few weeks ago, here’s another recipe from NYT newcomer Andy Baraghani. He has a big following on Instagram, but it’s been fun to see him contribute to my favorite cooking app.

TBH I picked this recipe because of the adjective “sticky.” It’s enticing, it means honey is involved, and I want a teriyaki-like feel in a bowl. This recipe calls for making a quick marinade, coating the salmon quickly before a short broil in the oven, and then placing it on top of sushi rice alongside any other topping you might want. I’ll be using sliced cucumber, avocado, and radish, as pictured.

Gazpacho

Julia Moskin | New York Times (Gifted Link)

Again, it’s tomato season. And again, I don’t really want to stand in front of the stove. Gazpacho is a heat-free recipe that delivers on my two demands. When it says the recipe takes 20 minutes, it genuinely takes 20 minutes. You essentially throw all of the ingredients into a blender, and call it good. I don’t know why I don’t make this on a weekly basis during the summer. Just remember to make it a little earlier in the day so that it can sit and let the flavors meld.

Serve alongside cheese and crackers, salad, grilled meat, etc.

Spanish Migas

Jose Andres

Like I said in the intro, this recipe is inspired by my brother. The one I linked is not exactly what he serves at Junior’s (head on over there to try it before it’s gone!), but contains the same essential ingredients: bread and grapes. It’s from Chef Jose Andres, who is known for his Michelin Star restaurants and philanthropic work through World Kitchen.

To prepare, make the migas (crunchy bread) first and then add in the chorizo pimenton mixture followed by fried eggs and grapes. Then, let me know what you think in the comments!

Belmont Jewel

Serves 14

INGREDIENTS

• 21 oz. bourbon

• 28 oz. lemonade

• 14 oz. pomegranate juice

• Lemon wedges to serve

DIRECTIONS

1. Fill a medium-sized drink dispenser or several Mason jars with the bourbon, lemonade and pomegranate juice. Stir.

2. When it’s time to serve, place the dispenser alongside a bucket of ice and lemon wedges. Scoop ice into a Rocks glass, fill with the bourbon mix, and top with a lemon wedge. You could also top with a little seltzer for some bubbles.

Ice Cream Sandwiches

Deb Perelmen | Smitten Kitchen

I love those little ice cream sandwiches that stick to the roof of your mouth and look like a relative of the Oreo. They’re tidy and give you the best of both worlds: ice cream + cookie. Here’s a fairly straight-forward recipe for ice cream sandwiches from Smitten Kitchen I’m making this weekend and then eating all next week as a little treat.

Here’s how it works: bake a thin cookie in a sheet pan, cool, cut in half, and then spoon ice cream between the halves and cut into individual servings. Parchment paper serves as a form of transport, ensuring you don’t tragically break the cookie as you move it around during assembly.

Ingredients note: apparently, the key to getting the cookie to look and taste like Oreo is by using black cacao powder, which I’m skeptical I can find without ordering online. But if I do, I’ll let you know on Instagram so you can buy it, too.