Pressure Cooker

What do you cook when you're on a deadline?

Short post today, since I’m scurrying to get some things out the door before my mini-vacation next weekend, this post is more of an invitation for you to join in: What do you cook (or eat) when you’re up against a deadline? Do you default to microwave nachos as you power through assignments? Or do you take meditative breaks while poaching an egg? Perhaps most importantly, do you outsource the food provisioning until you hit your goals—or does that add a new layer of anxiety? I’m very interested in the relationship between mood, stress, and the kitchen, and particularly curious if, when our feet are held to the fire, we run from the work of assembling a meal or use it as a moment of respite or welcome distraction. (There is undoubtedly a gendered component to this as well, especially since the impulse to caretake through cooking can be subconsciously reinforced from a very young age, it’s actually very hard to yield control of the kitchen regardless of how capable your partner is. So I’m sure there’s lots to unpack here, and not just on my therapist’s time…)

Reply below with your observations, and I’ll incorporate them into a future post!

(Next week, stay tuned for shots from our forthcoming trip to Newport and dipping our toes into the Gilded Age!)

Recommendation: There’s a wonderful interactive feature in the NYT Style Magazine this week on a community of women artists and creators, and in particular a section titled “Legends and Heirs,” which allows senior members of the cultural landscape to endorse and uplift younger women who deserve a boost. I loved all of these entries (Paula Vogel endorsing Sarah Ruhl, Margaret Atwood endorsing Mona Awad, Marlee Matlin endorsing Teyana Taylor) but I was especially enthralled by Madhur Jaffrey’s endorsement of Michelle Zauner (aka Japanese Breakfast, aka the author of the astonishingly beautiful memoir Crying in H Mart). Jaffrey recognized Zauner as a kindred spirit, and Zauner reflects that right back at her, saying “We’re both people who are interested in different types of creative media and pursue them with genuine interest and sincerity. Through the years, she’s acted and done a cooking MasterClass and written children’s books, cookbooks and a memoir. She’s someone who has continually just done what she’s wanted to do, even if it’s not a straight career path.” I’d always thought of Jaffrey—as I now do Zauner--as one of those spectacular creative and compassionate women who have built exceptionally rewarding careers by pursuing all their interests, rather than sticking to one specialty or lane. I tend to have interest creep, which luckily has been rewarded by getting to take my passion for food across so many fields and industries, and so seeing these two exceptional women side by side renewed my sense of possibility. (But the whole portfolio is fabulous, so please give it a read.)

The Perfect Bite: This was a rare week where multiple people ended up cooking for us, and I was so thrilled to sit at someone else’s table. On Friday, we joined at another family’s table where they made an incredibly decadent pot of French onion-soup inspired macaroni and cheese, and had I not been on dinner guest behavior, I would eaten it straight from the pot. Insanely delicious. Then last night, a dear friend made us a tourtière, a traditional French-Canadian meat pie that’s been heavily spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Served with a green salad with a tangy dressing, it was a perfect meal on a chilly April evening, and one that reminds me that literally everything is better in pie form. Two nights of great eating in a row, no complaints here.

Cooked & Consumed: Not entirely sure how it’ll come out yet, but I defrosted a pound of goat meat and set it to marinate in a Jamaican jerk-inspired blend of spices for the last 24 hours. Hoping to roast it to perfection tonight and serve with some butternut squash and broccolini…we’ll see how it turns out. Whatever the results, I doubt very highly that this will be my last foray into goat cooking, given how many fantastic recipes people offered me on Twitter. Next stop, curry, birria, and many, many meals to come.