The weeknight early bird special š„”
and recipes to add to your weeknight rotation, one vegan + one definitely not vegan.
Welcome to A standing reservation! Thanks for reserving your table. If youāve found your way here via pure luck and havenāt already reserved your standing reservation, pencil yourself in the book and weāll be sure to serve you up something good:
The countdown
This newsletter is starting to feel more like a countdown than a newsletter. Itās day 73 out of 90. Apparently, and news to many of the people who have applied for my type of visa in the past, but, apparently the Italian consulate has 90 days to process this type of visa. The usual processing time being within a few days and up to 2 weeks. But somehow, someway, mine is on day 73. It wouldnāt be so bad if it werenāt for the fact that the consulate has also been holding my passport for 73 days. Iāve missed trips with friends, Easter with family, time with my own family back in the US, and most importantly the time Iāve missed at my job that Iāve been looking forward to beginning since I started applying for the role back in 2019. Mind you, the position ends at the end of July so the deliberation over giving me this visa is a bit excessive considering the fact Iām not asking to stay for the next 5 years. Iām back in limbo like we all were during the pandemic years and itās pretty hard to wrap my head around. But hey, thus is life. We take the good with the bad and we keep it moving.
Which is why this drama brings me to the recipes in todayās newsletter. Two recipes for very non Italian foods. By the way, I have been making these recipes long before this visa saga so itās all OK. I still very much care for my Italian partner and all my Italian friends and family. And yes, I canāt believe Iām saying this, but yes, I still want to move to Italy. Call me freaken crazy.
The restaurant circuitā¦early bird edition
When I was growing up, my grandparents used to pick me up from school and weād go āout to dinnerā together. I use quotes around āout to dinnerā because it was 3pm. Yes, the early bird special. We had our circuit. It usually went something like thisā¦
Monday. Four Seasons Dinner. Run by a Greek family, we sat in the non smoking section but sometimes the smoking section if our waitress had her tables there. (funny story about our waitress in the āneed a happy momentā below). My grandma would order an open faced hot turkey sandwich with gravy. Sheād take a few nibbles and ask for a to-go box which would end up in our fridge at home. On the way out, if we didnāt order a slice of cake from the cakes rotating in the display case (I remember a strawberry cheese cake) weād take home an elephant ear. A crispy, sugary, cracker type of fried dough that was almost as big as an elephant ear, carefully wrapped in thin cellophane for easy transportation. While weād wait for my mom to come home, my grandma would take the box from the fridge and a fork from the drawer and sneak a few more bites. She loved leftovers and I always loved watching her pretend she wasnāt hungry but say in her sweetest voice, āBarbara, let me show you what I brought youā and then sheād grab the fork and have just a few more bites.
Tuesday. Sallee Teeās. Past the fish tank that used to sit in the middle of the dinning room and off to the left, was a specific table that sat up against the glass looking over the river. There was no other option for a table - if my grandfather liked a specific waiter, they came to him. Salad bar and a pickle bar were both mandatory and included in the early bird special. Most of the time I was sent up to the long array of chilled salads to pick up the goods. No wonder where I get my love for pickles. Sal (yes, Sallee Tee himself) would come round to the table, shake my grandfathers hand and usually sit down for a chat with my grandfather over a martini. My grandma would order a bucket of steamers for her and I to share and sheād usually end up ordering something like a basket of coconut shrimp. Again, famously packed up and returned to our fridge for leftovers. Sadly, Sallee Teeās is a distant memory as itās no longer operating.
Wednesday. Barnacle Bills. Burger heaven. Served on a classic hard roll or Kaiser roll as we call them in New Jersey, Barnacle Bills cooks their burgers on the flat top griddle right behind the bar. You can even order your burger rare if youād like (always was a shock to me when traveling to other states and not being asked how Iād like my burger cooked). And medium-rare to rare is how we ate them. Cheddar cheese sauce, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo on the side. Crinkle potato chips (crisps for my UK readers) on the side. Every once in awhile a chip would catch the cheese sauce and the angels sing! Barnacle Bills has changed some small details since my childhood. They changed crinkle chips for smooth chips and the kaiser roll feels different - itās not the same. But, what is a constant (now being over the legal drinking age) is their long island iced tea - which theyāre known for and if you know, you most certainly know.
Thursday. Zacharyās. Booth in the bar, always. Weād squeeze in across the green cushions, my grandma so small that I can imagine her tiny feet dangling off the booth bench and her chest just coming to the height of the table. Pizza pies, steaming hot and balancing a top a metal pizza stand. Thin crust, crispy edges, sausage, pepper, and onions. Certainly there was always a root beer (soda for those who might think I was drinking beer after school) for my grandma and me. I vaguely remember possibly fried calamari with marinara sauce coming out as an appetizer? Or buffalo wings? Regardless, the pizza was great and you guessed it, weād order a pie to-go to bring home to my family.
Friday. Little Szechuan. Might have been the best of them all. A BYOB Chinese restaurant. An establishment in our area thatās sadly changed ownership since the pandemic. Iām sure a well needed break for the family run business after being a staple in the community for 40 years. Weād get to the restaurant around 3-3:15pm and weād be the only ones in the restaurant. Have no fear, of course, we had our table. Because it was a BYOB, my grandfather would bring his own martini fixings. A metal shaker, filled with ice, vodka and either an olive or a lemon twist for garnish. My grandma and I would drink a pipping hot pot of Chinese tea and dishes like eggplant with garlic sauce, beef chow fun, shrimp in lobster sauce, wonton soup, wonton chips with duck sauce and Chinese mustard for dipping, honey barbecue spare ribs, pepper steak and almost alwaysā¦an order of mu shu pork would hit the lazy susan. The mu shu pork was totted out on a cart with all its accompaniments - thin Chinese pancakes, sliced green onions, hoisin or plum sauce. The waiter would make the first few for the table, expertly wrapping and tucking the edges of the pancake under itself to make pockets of pure joy. This ālinnerā (lunch/dinner) was and still is a favorite memory of mine. The comfort of the dining room, the dishes, the tea, my grandparents. I was one lucky kid.
Now, youāre probably thinkingā¦Paige, did you really eat out at restaurants this often? Short answer is, no. Long answer, kinda? This is somewhat of an idea of the long list of favorited and frequented restaurants that my grandparents went to every week. For me, this was the best part of my day. I had the freedom to chose what I wanted, everyone in the restaurant knew us, and I got to hang out with my best friends - my grandparents. So itās no wonder I cherish really great restaurants to this day. The experience of dining out is tangled with some of my favorite memories.
Iām curious to know. Did any of you have an experience similar to mine? Eating out? Restaurants? And if so, is there a specific restaurant or dish that still sticks in your mind to this day?
Silken tofu, poached chicken, cucumber salad.
Thatās a mouth full. Youāre getting 4 different recipes for the price of one newsletter which is in fact a FREE newsletter. I recommend enjoying all of these recipes with some sticky sushi rice or any rice/noodle will do the trick! The dressings and sauces are divine so youāre going to want an extra vehicle to enjoy all that soy goodness. Oh, and for-warning. These are probably not recipes for those following a low sodium diet. I wouldnāt suggest eating them all in one sitting and maybe not every night but hey, when you find a winner recipe, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. So I hope youāve brought your appetite. Letās dive in.
Silken tofu with spicy sesame soy dressing
Ingredients
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon chili oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 scallion (reserve some for garnish)
Few sprigs of cilantro for garnish (omit if you donāt like)
Method
Combine soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, chili oil, rice vinegar, sesame seeds and scallion in a bowl. Make sure to dissolve the honey in your mixture. Drain your silken tofu and place on a plate. Spoon your soy mixture over the silken tofu and garnish with reserved scallions and cilantro. Enjoy with steamed sushi style rice.
Spicy cucumber salad
Ingredients
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon chili oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 clove of minced garlic
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 large cucumber or 4-5 mini cucumbers
Method
Wash and slice your cucumbers into chunks, rounds or even use the back of your knife to smash and roughly chop. Combine all the ingredients and add to the cucumbers. Serve with rice and enjoy!
Bang bang chicken (and a recipe for a basic chicken broth)
Ingredients
5 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Chinese sesame paste (not to be confused with tahini - Chinese sesame paste is made with toasted sesame seeds making it much darker and nuttier).
2 tablespoons chili oil (more or less depending on how you handle spice)
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons grated or finely chopped ginger
1 clove of grated garlic
1 scallion sliced, whites and green
Sesame seeds to sprinkle for garnish
Few sprigs of cilantro for garnish
1/4 cucumber, sliced into sticks for garnish
Poached chicken & broth
1 whole chicken
1 yellow onion, slice in half with skin on
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
3 bayleaves
5 stalks of parsley (whatever you have)
1 stalks of celery
1 head of a leek (I had one leftover so it went into the pot, if you donāt leave it out)
Method
Combine soy sauce, Chinese sesame paste, chili oil, honey, ginger and garlic in a bowl until smooth. Set your bowl aside. In a large pot, add your onion, black peppercorns, bayleaves, parsley stalks, celery, top of leek, and your chicken. Cover with cold water and bring the heat up slowly to a simmer. Allow the chicken and aromatics to simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size of your chicken. The juices will run clear from the chicken once itās cooked through. Carefully remove your chicken from the pot and place in a bowl to cool before handling. Allow your stock to simmer away for another hour or more until itās reduced and the flavors have concentrated. If you can handle the chicken, behind to remove the meat. Set aside the meat and put the bones back into the stock pot to allow the stock to become even more flavorful and concentrated. Strain your stock, keep in the fridge and use within one week.
Shred or carve your chicken, allowing some of the less fatty skin to stay on the plate for serving. Add your soy and sesame sauce to the bottom of the dish and arrange the chicken meat on top. Your meat should be tender. Top with scallions, cilantro, cucumber and sesame seeds. Serve with sushi rice or noodles.
Until next time at a standing reservationā¦
With love & snacks,
Paige
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Letās chat!
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Need a happy moment?
Our waitress from the Four Seasons diner dated one of the band members from the Monkees. She was constantly flying to Florida to be with him and so every time sheād come back from a trip and wait our table we got to hear all the fun stories about dating a Monkee. We went to this diner so often and got to know this waitress so well that I even did a school assignment on The Monkees. AND even better, our beloved waitress scored me a signed autograph but none other than, Davy Jones. Such fun memories made while dining out with my two favorite people. Below is a picture of my grandparents in Newark, New Jersey where they grew up and met each other.
ALSO making bang bang chicken soon :) loveee this whole combo
I played the violin as a kid for about 5-6 years and even played in the OC youth orchestra! We had practice once a week for like 3(?) hours and it was a bit of a drive. Mom always picked up In N Out, Carl's Jr., Jack in the Box and Del Taco on rotate (literally in that order) to-go so I can eat it on the ride over from school. Fast food, growing up as a cali kid was pretty typical!
Fri or Sat night, we frequented a Chinese restaurant called "King's Garden", that served Korean-Chinese cuisine. Legit got the same thing EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. Black bean sauce noodles, spicy seafood broth noodles, shrimp fried rice, sweet and sour pork AND my favorite "Perfume Chicken", which was basically CRISPY fried chicken soaked in a vinegar soy dressing, on a bed of cucumbers. And we always went at 4:30-5P for the early bird special but also, so we can be seated in one of those "private"ish rooms so me and my siblings can run around LOL.