075: Digestivo gets an F- on the Bechdel test in a whole new way
Plus, TikTok-approved Healthy Coke options to get you through Pride season
(JS) Well readers, we’re back. Thankfully, to the best of my knowledge – a deeply niche and oftentimes scattered constellation of memories and half remembrances – there are no new crushing disasters to reflect on since we last found ourselves in your inbox, so this week I’m just coasting along; no thoughts, just vibes. I’m feeling especially smooth-brained of late, so in the spirit of queer joy, I’m choosing to keep this intro radically short and exceptionally sweet. Be gay! Do crimes!
A few bites I’ve enjoyed as of late:
Mushroom toasts two ways, both via the Marlow empire: decadently sauteed in butter and cream, and a zingy quick pickle served with a dollop of creme fraiche
Flank steak loosely alla pizzaiolo – grilled, sliced, then dragged through an anchovy-and-caper-forward quick tomato sauce, and topped with a garlicky olive salsa verde (more on that below)
Gregory Gourdet’s asparagus salad with sunflower seed furikake; the dressing, which was good if a little thicc, was excellent cut with soy sauce and agave, then spooned over soft tofu with scallions
(SB) Welcome back, sweet readers, to what we hope is your favorite food newsletter. This week, for me, has been been a mostly pleasant-ish blur of sweaty digital archive perusing and tortured writing punctuated by a steady regimen of tour-guiding and park-picnicking. I’m very grateful to be eating food again. I’m also grateful the Supreme Court didn’t go too crazy on the first Monday of June. Much like anti heroine extraordinaire Carrie Bradshaw, I too have been walking a great deal around the streets of New York for mental health (and, unlike Carrie, for money). I’m doing my best to stop and feel the summer, because it’s passing by whether I like it or not…! I advise you to do the same.
Here’s what I ate:
More dumplings than I had any business eating from Kai Feng Fu and about three tons of japchae during the Q-Wave x AAFC Summer Picnic. It was certainly an honor just to be Asian.
A makeshift Shepherd’s Pie with some Korean BBQ flavored Phil’s Finest ground beef and buttery potatoes.
A fantastic negroni at Long Island Bar. Have you read negroni season recently?
PS: In the spirit of sustenance – both physical and mental – your humble narrators are trying out a new publication schedule. We’re taking the next week off, after which, this newsletter will hit your inboxes three times monthly: one classic issue (like this) and one Ask Digestivo, plus something a little different! Change is hard, but so is cranking out 1500+ words weekly for zero doll hairs – likeminded businesses looking to throw some coins and/or product our way can reach us at askdigestivo@gmail.com
USE A CONDIMENT: Olive Salsa
(JS) Broadly speaking, olive-based condiments can be a hard sell. For many, the phrase conjures up tapenade, the bitter and sometimes bracingly salty fixture of the ‘90s California Mediterranean pantry. My most recent brush with the stuff was in my Levain Days™ (ca. 2012-2013), where we hawked flatbread pizzas slicked with the dark mauve spread and dolloped with goat cheese, another staple of the Clinton era gourmand starter pack – a decent UWS lunch option, but consistently the third most (i.e. least) popular choice behind the versions spread with sweet caramelized onions and lemony artichokes. Top Chef’s tuile-wielding champ might have us believe the ‘90s are back, but I can’t say I’m stoked for the return of this particular sauce.
In lieu of tapenade, I urge you to consider the joys of a roughly chopped salsa concocted with Castelvetranos – for many, these considerably more mild olives are the gateway to a full blown o-love affair (you can take the girl out of the millennial-branded CPG startup, but you can’t take the millennial-branded CPG copy out of the girl). Introducing their buttery flesh into a simple parsley-based salsa verde offers pleasant textural variety and invites further adaptation.
Alison Roman’s vinegar chicken with crushed olive dressing folds in pan drippings and gribnes from chicken thighs roasted on a sheet pan, but you could certainly make something similar (sans poulet) on the stovetop. Sauté thin slivers of garlic in EVOO until golden brown, then use the fragrant fry oil for a one-two garlic punch. While you’re at it, use the oil to bloom a pinch of Aleppo pepper, or stir in a spoonful of preserved chiles. Fried capers are always welcome at this table. An acid rounds things out – a hit of white wine or sherry vinegar is my preference, but lemon juice will work in a pinch. Preserved lemon can work so long as you’re careful with your salt.
Much like your standard salsa verde, this pairs with most anything simple and summery: Spoon over grilled meats, fish, and veg; serve alongside squeaky halloumi and roasted tomatoes; stir it into grain bowls, a mayo-free potato salad, or perhaps some polenta.
TIKTOK TRENDS: The Grinder Sandwich
(SB) It really has not been a season for ambitious kitchen projects for your girl. To my dismay, my reserves of energy are recently most often spent trying to make myself do the various tasks and projects that I have committed myself to for either money or fame (ha) rather than cooking thoughtful meals. I’ve also entered that destructive pattern so many of us know so well: there’s no time to properly organize the kitchen, things get put away wherever they happen to fit, an atmosphere of chaos slowly mounts, and suddenly… cooking is not a creative pursuit but simply the means to the dubious end of keeping the old flesh prison going for another day. Luckily, my few remaining dopamine receptors do seem to continue to be responsive to the Infinite Scroll and I have been consuming a fair amount of TikTok. And, thanks to the ways of the algorithm, I couldn’t help but gaze upon many, many iterations of its latest viral sensation (no, not Covid): the Grinder Sandwich.
If you, too, have been following along at home you’ll know the grinder comes in many shapes and sizes but relies heavily on one core element: the grinder salad. The salad – a mix of shredded iceberg lettuce and thinly sliced onions tossed in a dressing made of mayo, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, sliced pepperoncini, and minced garlic – is layered onto one's preferred assortment of deli meats (salami, capicola, ham, mortadella, turkey all make appearances– go crazy, do you), topped with sliced salted tomatoes, a squeeze of lemon, and some sharp cheese (the vanguards over on FoodTok are using provolone, parmesan, and shredded mozzarella). Sometimes, the bread and cheese are toasted until bubbling. Occasionally they are also doused in garlic butter; those Gen Z metabolisms are not playing around.
Luckily for my rapidly aging millennial ass, the ease of just cold cuts and a pre-made salad topping net out to a pretty indulgent mid-day meal. It’s arguably kissing cousins with our favorite Nancy Silverton chopped salad, dolled up with a little mayo and some carbs as a little treat for living so valiantly through both a pandemic and late-stage capitalism. However, the spin on this that I am most eager to try substitutes roasted butternut squash for the lunch meat, throws on a little arugula, and crushes some olives into the salad in homage to my sandwich crush, the Vegeitalian.
We R Who We R (Smitten Zucchini Pizza Stans)
(JS) After two years of writing this newsletter I personally think I sound like a broken record – how many times can I tell you that the leftovers taste better after a night’s rest in the fridge? To know thyself be true. Patron saint of easy weeknight cooking Deb earned an early permanent rotation placement back in July 2020 for her summer squash pizza, a most pleasing dish that I could have sworn I mentioned time and again, but a quick skim of the archives suggest we somehow never gave this recipe the full feature treatment.
Zucchini is hardly the sexiest pizza topping (signature JS trope: admitting the recipe sounds lame). It’s also high on the list of cooked vegetables that risk tasting like hot water (and another: advocating that things taste better room temp). But with about ten minutes of active time, patience, and a little trust in yours truly, I guarantee I’ll make a fan out of you.
Adapted from Sullivan Street Bakery, the ingredient list is almost alarmingly brief, even including the subrecipe for Jim Lahey’s basic pizza dough. Yet the whole more than exceeds the sum of its parts (again, something I’ve said before). You might be tempted to zhuzh things up with some fancy cheeses or anchovies, but I beg that you don’t. Or at least not for your first time – make this as the Good Lord Deb intended. I – a documented heathen – have frequently swapped the somewhat cher gruyere for a more economical sharp cheddar. Once when I was short on zucchini I rounded things out with grated onion to a half decent result. But seriously, stick to the recipe and you will be richly rewarded.
The pizza dough can be mixed in all of two minutes; with a half decent box grater, prepping your zucchini should require another three or four. With a little forethought, it’s a dish that you could easily throw together between calls. You can always hold the dough in the fridge once it’s risen, and the zucchini will actually benefit from an extended salting; getting your zucchini and dough going at the same time leaves you more interrupted email/TV time. After your zucchini has sufficiently wilted, give it a good squeeze; wrapping it in a kitchen towel and wringing it is an excellent method, but your bare fists will certainly suffice. Mix with your grated cheese, salt to taste, then add a heavy dose of black or red pepper and set aside.
Oil a half sheet pan or two quarter sheets – I’m partial to the latter to maximize on crispy edges – then stretch your dough to fit the pan. Don’t stress about achieving an even thickness throughout, but patch up holes to the best of your abilities. Worst case scenario, you’ll end up with a bit of frico on the crust. Spread your zucchini and cheese mixture evenly over the pizza, then sprinkle with breadcrumbs and place in an oven preheated to 500°F. Bake for at least 25 minutes, keeping it in until the crust is verging on bien cuit; it’s very difficult to overbake, but sufficient bake time is what takes this basic mix of ingredients from good to sublime. At the risk of repeating myself, let me remind you once again that zucchini fresh from the oven will lack discernible flavor. Allowing the pizza to cool for a ten or more minutes will yield a more flavorful result; it should come as no surprise that I find this delightful at RT.
PERMANENT ROTATION: This week’s round up comes from friends of the newsletter Beans and Monique, both of whom are on SB’s permanent rotation group chat. Monique, ever a fan of the reliable Smitten Kitchen oeuvre, has been whipping up the Jacked Up Banana Bread with the welcome addition of chocolate chips and a heavy hand with the spices. She’s also been making these steak sandwiches but subbing in portobellos for meat. For those who haven’t been doing much intense cooking, Beans recommends “spinach goat cheese quesadillas and pasta with jarred sauce,” noting that sometimes you just need a little assembly-line-style sustenance. They prefer Rao’s for a little saucy indulgence ;)
WISH LIST
(JS) In a twist that will shock exactly no one, I want these Rachel Antonoff “Dorinda” bike shorts covered in sardines.
(SB) I’m really not in a position to be dropping this kind of money on a beach chair, but I sure have been admiring these colorful leisure loungers from ITA.
(JS & SB) We’d be lying if we said we weren’t curious.
Do you care that we’re on Instagram? Honest question.