Welcome to the free issue of Between the Layers: An honest conversation about life through the lens of cooking and baking. For more recipes, consider becoming a Paid Subscriber. Let’s Cook One Last Summer Hurrah - No. 145Grill some perfect chicken, collaborate on spectacular sides & move right into fall, shall we?
WHEN WE HAVE PEOPLE OVER, I gravitate to recipes that can be thrown together easily, cleaned up in a snap, and generate leftovers for lunch the next day. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy elaborate productions—that birthday trout my husband poached in vermouth and fennel was divine. And every so often for work or for pleasure, I build a multi-story cake where you make the filling one day, the cake the next, and then frost with that fluffy white icing that has never, ever taken just seven minutes to make. In this lead up to Labor Day, I gave a thought to how much time we put into cooking and baking. I’ve been doing a lot of the latter working on this new baking book and just spent 48 hours watching salt-rising bread do its thing. But those kind of complicated recipes zap me. When I’m off the clock, if I see an ingredient list get too long, I have the attention span of my granddaughter. What my friend Susan Puckett, who wrote about never repeating a recipe last week, didn’t tell you was that she once had a boyfriend who would take out a ruler—seriously!—if he was thinking about trying a new recipe. If the ingredient list was longer than an inch, he’d pass.
I know that feeling. I, too, am drawn to the recipes with the fewest ingredients. Like grilled chicken that marinates in an easy olive oil and lemon juice mixture or, in a pinch, a bottle of Paul Newman’s Caesar salad dressing. You place boneless chicken breasts or pork tenderloins for grilling in a zipper-lock bag and pour in the salad dressing and marinate in the fridge overnight. I’ve done this with flank steaks, too, and Wishbone Italian is especially good with beef for some reason. A bit like the woman in the shoe with all the children, I’ve made dinner every night, and I’ve written books to help other people do the same. You would think I’d be done with cooking by now, but I’m not. I just love being in the kitchen.
Cooking has never felt like work to meI’ve enjoyed every minute of it, even if there were family members circling like hungry dogs waiting for those magic words, ‘’Supper’s ready.’’ My kitchen smells good. There’s something always in the oven. And it’s filled with my favorite cookbooks and the copper pans I bought in Paris way back when. They sit at the top of an old kitchen cupboard we moved from a dining nook and painted blue when we were renovating this old house. Stacks of black cast iron skillets, each seasoned and cooked in religiously, rest on a sentimental cherry cupboard that once held my parents’ wedding china and crystal that they collected piece by piece. In the middle of the kitchen is an old English pub table my husband bought when he was in grad school in Atlanta. Around it are my mother’s dining room chairs, and I’m sitting in one of them right now.
In what was the worst floor plan imaginable, our kitchen was at the top of the steps coming from the basement, so all groceries and deliveries landed on that counter. Dogs came inside this way, too, and they’d wander into the cooking zone until my mother would yell to my father, ‘’Bill, come get these dogs out of the kitchen!’’ And yet, that cramped, congested space was where I learned to bake, so I have warm memories about how many of us could squeeze into it and cook.
We collaborated.‘’Collaborative’’ is a word I’ve been using a bit lately as it pertains to this newsletter on Substack. I wrote a piece recently for the Substack community of writers on how I write for other writers’ newsletters and they are guests on mine and how I believe this is a good way to build an audience. You can read it here if you like. Collaborating is also a good way to build a meal. Especially this Labor Day weekend, or any long weekend. It’s called potluck in America, and I’d love to know how those of you reading this newsletter elsewhere collaborate on a holiday weekend meal in your hometowns. To me, the best part of potluck is getting to taste other people’s cooking! And to absolutely share the load. But Labor Day, a holiday created to honor the efforts of those who have labored in our country, in my mind is far less interesting foodwise than Memorial Day or July 4. It signals the end of vacation. Back to school and reality. And yet, when you think about it, Labor Day is a beautiful bon voyage to corn salad or peach cobbler while at the same time a tease to fall with a green salad topped with early apples and walnuts or an upside-down cake with those gorgeous blue-black plums. So today, I share ideas to lighten your load the next time you have people over. I offer an easy main dish recipe as well as some suggestions for sides. Side dishes should speak to the season. They should be bright and fun and are like that shocking pink muumuu or loud tropical shirt you don to make a statement. I’m thrilled when someone walks in my door with one of them. Speaking of attention, on Thursday for paid subscribers, I’ll give attention to Dolly’s cake mix and what I really thought about it. You would think Dolly Parton would have collaborated with the Cake Mix Doctor on that cake, right? Also this Thursday, the monthly cookbook giveaway returns! A new copy of the lovely book called Peach, by Amanda Greene and published by The Bitter Southerner will be given away to a lucky paid subscriber. So farewell to summer, don’t labor too long in the kitchen, and have a great week! - xo, Anne What’s your favorite potluck offering? What’s your main that anchors the side dishes? Do you like to collaborate in the kitchen or go it alone? Let’s talk about it!
You Make the Main, They Bring the Sides
And for favorite sides to tote to a Labor Day cookout?Straight from the Between the Layers archives are these picks: Sliced Tomatoes with Ranch Dressing
THE RECIPE: Grilled Chicken for Your CrowdYou can easily double this recipe and cook two chickens at once. Place each chicken in its own bag and divide the marinade evenly between the bags. To save time, omit the from-scratch marinade and pour in a bottle of Paul Newman Caesar vinaigrette salad dressing or your favorite bottled vinaigrette. Makes 6 servings 1 (3- to 3 1/2-pound) chicken 2 lemons, halved 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
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