Hi friends!
Summer is in full swing, and you can bet your bottom dollar that I’m doing all my favorite summer activities. Going to the farmer’s market, lounging by the pool, tending to the garden, riding our bikes, and hanging with friends in the backyard once the day has finally cooled off.
We’ve also already taken some really amazing trips this summer. We spent a weekend in Vail— and hot take but I like the mountains more in the summer than I do in the winter. The hiking is beautiful, the weather’s cooler than it is in the city, and there’s way less traffic. We also headed to Kansas City, to celebrate our friends Erin and Michael tying the knot. The day couldn’t have been more perfect. Erin was absolutely gorgeous, and the band was electric.
We also spent a week in upstate New York, visiting Frank’s family. The trip was everything we wanted and needed. Family time, peaceful mornings, fishing at dusk, and wholesome berry picking. We also ate gooooooooood. Lots of pizza — why is pizza so much better in New York? All the fourth of July fixings like watermelon, baked beans, coleslaw, macaroni salad and grilling out. And my favorite — chicken spiedies. I can’t get enough spiedies. Spiedie sandwiches, spiedie salads, spiedie pizzas — you put some spiedie on it, and I’ll eat it.
And while I would love for this newsletter to be sharing a spiedie recipe with you all, unfortunately, the spiedie marinade is top secret. Literally on the back of the seasoning packet, which my suitcase was stuffed with, the ingredients just say “spices.” Maybe one day I’ll try to figure it out, but today is not that day.
Instead, I have two other recipes for you, both of which I also had in New York and can’t stop thinking about. The first is Salt Potatoes, and the second is Corn Zucchini Salad.
Let’s start with Salt Potatoes. Haven’t heard of salt potatoes before? I hadn’t either, but they are exactly what the name implies — potatoes with salt. Well, and butter. But that’s really it. There’s very few ingredients, but a whole lot of them. Don’t be scared by how much salt this recipe calls for. It’s there for a reason. The salt doesn’t necessarily make the potatoes salty, rather it makes the potato skin snappy and the insides creamy. I promise, once you make these potatoes, they’ll become a go-to favorite. They did for me.
Here’s what you’ll need —
3 pounds small yellow or red potatoes, scrubbed clean
1 ½ cup kosher salt — we used Diamond Crystal which is significantly less “salty” than Mortons. If you’re using Mortons, I’d cut this down.
½ cup (1 stick) butter — we used Kerrygold because Kerrygold is the best
Parsley or chives for topping
Start by filling a big — and I mean BIG — pot with water. About 8-10 cups of water. Add the salt and stir, so the water is cloudy and there’s no piles of salt sitting at the bottom of the pot. Add the potatoes, making sure they’re all covered with water. If they’re not, add more water.
Cover the pot, and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, reduce the heat to medium, simmering for 15-30 minutes, depending on your potato size.
While your potatoes are simmering, melt your butter. Don’t let it brown. Set aside.
When the potatoes are fork-tender, remove from heat and drain. Return to the pot. Drizzle the melted butter over the potatoes, and gently stir or shake so all the potatoes are coated. And that’s it — that’s salt potatoes. But if you’re feeling frisky, you can add some black pepper, chopped parsley or chives.
You may be looking at these photos and thinking — those potatoes don’t look small. Okay, you caught me! I made a mistake, and these definitely weren’t small enough. I would recommend you use a fingerling or petite gold (like these), but my whoopsie does prove that you can do this recipe with a larger gold potato, and it’s still amazing.
The next recipe I have for you is Corn Zucchini Salad. Do you ever go to a restaurant, think about ordering something, decide not to, and then someone else at the table orders what you were contemplating — and when they get it, you’re so jealous? You’re kicking yourself for not ordering it, and if you try it, and it’s good — you’re pissed? Well, that happened to me when we went to Revelry Yards in Ithaca, and I didn’t get the corn zucchini salad. My biggest mistake of the week. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so right when I got home, I whipped some up. I’ve since made this thrice. Here’s the recipe—
Corn Zucchini Salad
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cobs fresh corn, kernels cut off
½ red onion, diced
1 jalapeño, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 zucchini, cut into half moons
6 oz crumbled feta
Chives
Before I get into the recipe, a note about cutting the corn kernels off the cob — I hate doing this. There’s tricks like all these listed here, and I never do any of them. I honestly don’t think they work well enough to do, so I just cut the corn off on a cutting board, accepting that I’ll make a mess. If you want to do a handy-dandy trick, you do you boo. But just know that you can also be like me and just make a mess.
In a large cast iron skillet, heat your olive oil over medium-high heat. Add your corn kernels and red onion, seasoning with salt and pepper. Stir so everything is coated with oil and then — even though you don’t want to — step away. Let the corn char, which will only happen if you leave it alone. This will take 5-10 minutes.
When the corn has some color and the onions are soft, add the garlic and jalapeño to the pan, stirring so everything is combined. Cook for another minute or two.
Add your zucchini to the cast iron, stirring so everything is combined. If the pan needs a little more oil, go ahead and add a bit more. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the zucchini starts to cook. You don’t want to cook the zucchini so much that it’s soft mush. Stop while the zucchini still has its integrity.
Turn off the heat and let cool. Transfer the corn-zucchini mixture to a big bowl, letting it continue to cool.
Once cooled, add the feta and chives, stirring so everything is combined. Refrigerate for at least an hour, and serve.
For what’s been giving me life, it’s been my garden popping off! I’m so relieved. I was so worried that my garden was going to flop, but she has persisted!
It was my cousin Jack and his boyfriend Mikey coming into town. We had so much fun exploring Denver, hitting up the annual Tennyson Street Fair and devouring our meal at Mister Oso. Pro tip — get the watermelon aqua chile. It’s to die for.
It was seeing Morgan Wallen at Empower Stadium, Lake Street Dive at Dillon Amphitheater, reading some really great books (The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave, Funny Story by Emily Henry, Atomic Habits by James Clear and A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum), and visiting Alison Roman’s grocery store, First Bloom.
It was our friends Kristi and Grant welcoming their beautiful baby boy into this world. Jackson, I can’t wait to smother you in kisses.
And lastly, it’s my mama being in town for the next two weeks. There’s no better feeling than being with your mom.
Wish I was with you,
Maddie