When I think of the foods that truly symbolize growing up on Long Island, one of them has to be the humble corn muffin. Bagel shop (or, as we call it, “bagel place”) and deli culture is something we Long Islanders take very seriously. Both establishments require great bagels, buttered kaiser rolls, bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwiches, thin chicken cutlets, massive slabs of crumb cake, overly sweetened iced tea lemonades (we call them half and halfs), and cakey corn muffins. No matter what you’re ordering, you always ask for the side-car corn muffin, which is cut in half, buttered, and toasted on the griddle. You’ll be handed a grease-stained brown paper bag with a massive, yellow corn muffin inside, with a quarter pound of softened margarine plopped in the center. The muffin is somehow moist yet dry. And most of the time only half of it ends up in your mouth because it shatters into a million bits on your lap. (I still think my parents are cleaning crumbs out of their cars from decades ago LOL.) Despite the mess, they are a sweet and savory staple and something I will forever crave. When creating this recipe, I wanted all the flavors of corn muffins past—but with a slightly less crumbly texture for an even more enjoyable eating experience.
It’s a lover’s thing to start the morning with coffee and croissants, and though I am nothing if not willing, I’m not the best at making either from scratch. French toast is the way I oblige. The sugar at the end is the best part. It caramelizes over heat, and as it cools, sets to a crisp. I still relinquish the role of coffee maker but sometimes steal the grinds to add into the custard for a more toothed grit.
A happy marriage between a roulade and a quiche! Usually roulade is sweet, but the technique works well for a savory treat too. The creamy celery root and parsnip filling adds a touch of luxury and finesse. I usually serve this as an appetizer, but it also makes an ideal veggie entrée to feed 4 people.
I love coconut everything, but didn’t know I needed coconut cake in my life—that is, until I tried the perfection that the pastry team at Stissing House in Pine Plains, New York, has achieved. Since that first bite, I’ve been on a quest to eat all the coconut cake possible and in the process realized that it is the perfect “plain” cake. In my recipe, a moist plain cake is poked with holes which allows all the liquid coconut to soak inside. It’s light, rich, clean and spiced all at the same time. Serve it alone or with vanilla ice cream. Delicacy!
This is a perfect brunch party dish when served with shrimp and a poached or fried egg on each plate. Leftover grits can be used to make griddled grit cakes or saved and warmed for later.
There are many obvious similarities between New Orleans po boys and Vietnamese bánh mì, which are both essential sandwiches in the city. They start with the same style of French bread, are built around meat, and are dressed with cool veggies and creamy and spicy sauces to balance everything out. The natural intersection of these two cuisines speaks very directly to me, so I decided to meld them even further into a single sandwich. It’s a true hybrid, like me, and also extremely đặc biệt!
The bánh mì sandwich is incredibly versatile. I’ve gone with fried shrimp (my favorite po boy) for the filling, coated with a fish- sauce caramel. But you can use any protein from the book—from the Grilled Lemongrass-Marinated Meat to the Curry- Blackened Fish—topped with any combination of pickled carrot, cilantro, and cucumber. Just don’t skip my Vietnamese Aioli. It’s basically an umami bomb that comes together in literally seconds. If you think you hate mayonnaise, try this recipe and it might convert you.
Chocolate and coffee – a match made in heaven. The roasted notes of the coffee give the chocolate a boost, a solid backbone, both perfectly accompanied by the rich flavour that comes from using dark brown sugar, packed full of molasses. To make sure both the coffee and the chocolate have their chance to shine, the two are heated together with the butter and milk, allowing the flavours to bloom. When choosing your coffee, you want to use something ground very finely, so the texture of the cookie isn’t gritty. And, if your instincts say this would be good with a little chopped chocolate added to the cookie dough, trust your instincts.
Omelettes were a huge part of my diet when I was growing up. They were something quick and easy for my dad to make for us when our mum was in hospital in Kolkata for her radiotherapy treatments. We would roll these omelettes up inside flatbreads or place them between two slices of bread toasted in a pan to make a sandwich, then eat them – always with tomato ketchup.
If you haven’t yet had delicata squash, it’s time! You can actually eat the thin, tender, nutrient-packed skin, which means it’s perfect as the base for a quick side dish that even my kids adore. The squash gets a coating of crunchy panko and flavorful Parmesan cheese, bakes until golden, then gets a drizzle of hot honey. I love this paired with Hot Honey Glazed Salmon That Goes with Everything or as a beautiful holiday appetizer or side. My husband and kids love to dip the squash in ranch dressing—figures!
“This is not considered a special-occasion cake, but everyone loves it. It’s an everyday cake to serve with tea.”—Nawida
Flavored with freshly ground cardamom and a little rose water, this cake is made with both all-purpose flour and corn flour (which is milled more finely than cornmeal). It has an ideal ratio of cake, topping, and just a little crunch, which you get from the coarse yellow semolina flour, or sooji in Hindi, that’s dusted on the bottom of the pan before you add the batter. The result is both familiar and exciting—it’s like the best and most interesting corn muffin ever. It’s also the perfect complement to any kind of tea. Nawida usually tops one side of the cake with mild white poppy seeds and nigella seeds, which have just a touch of bitterness, and the other side with black raisins and large pieces of walnut. You can choose just one topping, but both together on one plate make this very easy dessert so much more appealing—and this approach allows everyone to try both. Ideally this should be baked in a rectangular metal pan about 9 by 13 inches (23 by 33 cm) so that you can easily cut the cake into diamond shapes. I use a square metal brownie pan, so the pieces come out a little thicker, but in a pinch you could also use two round cake pans or even muffin tins. Nawida sometimes uses muffin tins shaped like hearts and stars so that it’s easy and fun for her kids to take a piece of cake to school. Just pay attention as it bakes, as the bake time will vary slightly with a different shape of pan. As with the firni on page 299, though you can buy cardamom pre-ground, for this dish I strongly recommend you grind it yourself. It doesn’t take very long!