Ask Digestivo: How Easy Is That?
You look happy and healthy (not me, if you ever cared to ask Digestivo 🤓)
We’re back, sweet readers, with another round of Q&A (mostly A) to feed your hungry minds. On the docket this week: how to be the barefoot contessa without really trying, and suggestions for a reader in a pandan pickle. If something’s troubling you, we beg, we implore, we BESEECH you to send us your questions at askdigestivo@gmail.com hahahaha!!!!!!! Also maybe see a therapist.
What are your favorite lazy person/actually easy recipes for entertaining?
-AS
With public desire for casual chic feasting at an all time high and a post-ish pandemic languish permeating all forms of activity, I (JS) would anchor my response in the Ina doctrine: in true contessa fashion, lean in to good, in-season ingredients served family style and keep a respectable quantity of chilled vino at the ready.
Some one (ish) and done ideas that have served me most recently: A shrimp boil. She has everything a sheet pan dinner wants, without requiring you to turn on your oven. I have no regional alliances when it comes to seafood boils (or authority for that matter), so follow the flavor profile that speaks to you! Buy a trusted spice blend or make your own (I’m partial to Gabrielle Hamilton’s homemade Old Bay) and boil in water for at least 30 minutes for a aromatic base, then throw in baby potatoes, corn cobs cut in thirds, wedges of red onion, sliced, par-cooked sausage, and the shrimp (preferably shell on) in that order. Potatoes will need the most cooking time and shrimp the least. Feel free to riff on your inclusions. Serve in large bowls finished with a few ladles of broth, plenty of butter, and maybe a salad if you’re feeling like something green.
If you’re looking for something a bit lighter, may I suggest steamed clams? In a large, lidded Dutch oven, saute some shallots and garlic in butter, then add Italian sausage or chorizo to brown if you’d like. Add scrubbed clams (I like littlenecks), pour in about half a bottle of beer, bring to a boil and cover for 10 minutes or so until the clams open – you could easily swap the beer for white wine, sake, sherry, and probably something nonalcoholic (sound off in the comments sober fam!). Once again, finish with extra butter, a flurry of fresh herbs, and some crusty toast to soak up that salty broth.
As a well-documented and, frankly, proud lazy person, my (SB) approach to this question takes into account both ease of preparation and ease of clean up. The latter is particularly impactful in my apartment which not only lacks a dishwasher, but also lacks a manageable sink; I like to host in a way that makes use of big platters and bowls, disposable plates (sorry to the planet, I usually opt for theoretically compostable wares), reserving my hand-washing time for real glassware for everyone’s chilled wine.
The easiest spreads make use of the show-off produce of the season, embracing simplicity in the style of the contessa’s iconic blue button down. Think: heirloom tomatoes sliced with sea salt and a little vinegar, laid out on the table, with some mozz or burrata if you’re feeling so moved; radishes and a compound butter (JS: green goddess!); this watermelon salad from Bon Appetit, punched up with fish sauce and savory elements; buttery, savory corn.
For cooler times, toasting a couple of roasting pans of sliced bread with plenty of olive oil and some garlic makes for a great base for some DIY hors d'oeuvres: my (SB) lazy ass likes to set out bowls of things like these creamed mushrooms, whipped ricotta, baingan bharta and allow my guests to serve themselves. Inspired by my mother, I am also a big fan of baked brie when turning on an oven is an option; the format takes well to a host of toppings and I’ve enjoyed experimenting with jam, chutney, and nuts.
One of the first party foods that I (SB) remember losing my mind over was a large bowl of mast-o musir prepared with labneh, which my high school friend Laila’s mother iconically served with potato chips. It has since become a mainstay in my party arsenal — the perfect combination of satisfying and decadent — contributing, surely, to my belief that part of what a party provides is the excuse to eat something sinful and delicious that you have not been intimately involved in preparing. I am partial to simple preparation involving labneh, black pepper, shallots, and a little olive oil, but you might investigate versions with charred shallots, sizzled scallions, dill, honey and nuts… the list is really endless. Serve with assorted crudite and potato chips (Ruffles with ridges preferred; I [JS] would splurge on Cape Cod russets #coastalelite) and let your guests snack away. Even easier, I’ve (SB) never been able to resist my Texan uncle Raghu’s extremely easy queso: a jar of Xochitl chipotle salsa and some velveeta in the microwave, served with corn chips and margs. A big platter of homemade hummus with a hearty topping of your choice served with pita works rather well, as well. Jake did a deep dive into his process in an early issue, here.
On the dessert front, let stone fruit and berries do the heavy lifting – it’s no secret that this newsletter is obsessed with any and all variations on David Leite’s blueberry crumble, but if you’re looking for no-bake options, you’d be hard pressed to find something better than the Briermere Farms-via-Missy Robbins-inspired cream pies I (JS) wrote about in our second issue. A bowl of cherries on ice is chic and maybe even sexy? (Sorry.) And no one was ever particularly disappointed with good (read: Haagen Dazs) ice cream. If you’re feeling kinky, I (SB) have had my eye on this viral TikTok recipe for a brown sugar and sour cream dip for fresh strawberries. Yes, it’s weird, but isn’t that kind of why we’re all here?
I have some dried pandan leaves in my pantry. What do I do with them?
-All Pandan with Nowhere to Go
Lucky you! Rumor has it that in addition to being delicious, pandan leaves are also useful in relieving arthritic aches and pains, headaches, and joint discomfort. On the simplest side of things, a knotted pandan leaf can give steamed rice a lovely aroma and flavor and chilled pandan water makes for a refreshing summer beverage. I (SB) am a big fan of pulut hitam (see above), a glutinous rice porridge that also makes a great dessert and breakfast dish (I [JS] would be curious to sample a chilled version of this, perhaps sweetened with some condensed milk per my co-editor’s suggestion). Making a little pandan simple syrup could infuse your lemonade and cocktails for much of the summer; friend of the letter Eric has also suggested cutting out the sugary intermediary and straight up infusing a clear spirit with the leaves.
PETITS FOURS
The Gossip Girl reboot is not good and I’m (JS) 100% going to watch it anyway, if only because Chris Rovzar teased a Vulture reality index redux (real ones know). Speaking of “how do you do, my fellow teens?,” I’ve got a fever, and the only prescription is listening to Olivia Rodrigo’s good 4 u on repeat.
Summer reading season is in full swing and I (SB) breathlessly made my way through Sanjana Sathian’s Gold Diggers this weekend and cannot recommend it enough.
The Frito-Lay strike once again reminding Takis hive that they’re on to something.
For those who’ve pondered the age-old question “is a hot dog a sandwich,” we ask you: is whipped cream a sauce? (IOHO: No ❤️ )