COOKING IN SOMEONE ELSE'S KITCHEN

A LIST OF MY FAVORITE WHATSITS + BRAISED CHICKEN AND CABBAGE

It's a funny thing to live in someone else's space while they live in yours. During a Los Angeles apartment swap earlier this year, there were moments when I caught myself longing for my kitchen back in Brooklyn. I could call those moments temper tantrums, but I would rather not. "Work with what you've got," I would whisper if I missed my cast-iron skillet or immersion blender. I turned to Reddit for solace. A thread titled "Don't you just hate cooking in other people's kitchens?" from six years ago provided a rainbow of advice. Celosia89 pleasantly offered, "The key to cooking in someone else's kitchen is usually putting your energy into making the most of what you have instead of being a snob." A painful truth. Even after reading through 351 bits of encouragement, I found moving through my usual dinner improvisation dance challenging. 

Over the years, I've built up a certain cooking flexibility, especially during my many years working as a private chef. If I ran into a broken appliance or missing tool, I would tell myself, "Work with what you've got!" I made lasagna, chicken stock, and muhammara in weirdly innovative ways. While moving between my clients' apartments and my own, I began to notice the Richard Scarryian similarities of our homes—semi-permanent plaster rectangles designated for daily activities. Most living rooms had a TV and coffee table. Most bathrooms had towels and toothpaste. But not every kitchen had a blender. Or a microwave. Or a Microplane. The kitchen is where I noticed our differences. Could the kitchen be the most intimate of our life boxes?

When I finally returned home from LA and gazed into my cabinets and drawers, my face warmed from the glow of the pots, pans, and tools I've gathered over the years uniquely tailored to my culinary sensibilities. Cooking is so deeply personal, so it's unsurprising that our kitchens are the same. I guess this is just a really long way of reminding you that having the right tools, ones you like and use, is really important to enjoy the rollercoaster ride of feeding ourselves. Don't take them for granted like I did!

What I missed while I was cooking in someone else's kitchen (in no particular order):

1. My cast-iron skillet. I don't particularly like percentages, but if I were to ballpark, I cook about 86% of weeknight meals in my cast-iron skillet. Keeping cast iron seasoned is pretty relaxed, don’t let the naysayers discourage you.

2. A very sharp knife. Cutting is not as fun if you're using a blunt knife. I used to be very diligent about sharpening my own knives at home with my whetstone. Lately, less so. I drop them off at Indulge Kitchen Supplies, which is run by some of the same folks from Bowery Kitchen Supplies in Chelsea Market (RIP)! If you don't have a solid knife, go to a knife shop, hold a few in your hand, talk to someone, and then decide on a knife that feels good and makes you happy. You are using it every day for what could be the rest of your life. Romantic!

3. A large Dutch oven. Heavy-bottomed pots make such a difference. They evenly distribute heat, which makes for even cooking and less burnt disasters.

4. Tongs. I have a pair of stainless steel tongs and the ones with the silicone ends, so I don't scratch my aforementioned Dutch oven. 

5. A mandoline slicer. I eat a lot of sliced cabbage, so it's nice to have a tool that encourages me to eat more of what I'm already into. There is something so angelic about paper-thin vegetables! And the actual truth is that thin slices of anything soak up flavors really well. If you’re a salad person, this tool is for you!

6. A mini mesh strainer. I must confess, I actually have two of these. One is a very fine mesh that I use exclusively to declump my matcha in the morning, and the other is used (almost) exclusively to catch lemon seeds. I am not in favor of single-use tools, but I use both often. I could have hidden this from you, but I'm choosing honesty.

7. A medium mesh strainer. I use this for washing rice, straining sauces, rinsing canned beans, suspending labneh-to-be, and skimming things.

8. A medium stainless steel saucepan. For making a medium amount of rice or pasta, this is your pot. As the name suggests, it’s perfect for sauces but also useful for steaming vegetables, boiling eggs, and many other things. This size becomes incrementally less useful as household size increases beyond four people.

Honorable mentions: a mortar and pestle, instant-read thermometer, paring knife, and Microplane.

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WHAT WE'RE LEARNING: LIVE TV IS WILD!

Recently, I had the opportunity to cook in the most unfamiliar kitchen, one assembled just moments before I began (TV magic!), the kitchen at the TODAY show! You can catch the segment here. I got to share my recipe for braised chicken and cabbage and sweet plantains with my all-time favorite meteorologist, Al Roker! As you might expect, the entire team was lovely, especially Carson Daly, who cooked alongside me! I have more words on this, but I wanted to share the recipe below for anyone that had trouble accessing this on TODAY.com. 

It’s important to note that the scallion-ginger sauce is very versatile. Spoon it over wild mushrooms, mix it into Greek yogurt or sour cream for a fun dip, fold it into steamed rice, or spread it onto bread before toasting. No one should have to live without green sauce. Spread the word.

WHAT WE'RE COOKING

BRAISED CHICKEN AND CABBAGE WITH SCALLION-GINGER SAUCE

Serves 4  

For the chicken: 

2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs 

kosher salt, to taste 

freshly ground black pepper, to taste 

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 

½ head of green cabbage, roughly chopped 

1 small red onion, sliced 

1 cup chicken stock 

For the scallion-ginger sauce: 

4 scallions, thinly sliced 

¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped 

1 teaspoon grated ginger 

1 garlic clove, chopped 

1 teaspoon habanero pepper, minced 

¼ teaspoon ground allspice 

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar 

kosher salt, to taste 

freshly ground black pepper, to taste 

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.  

2. Make the chicken: Pat the chicken thighs dry and season generously with salt and pepper.  

3. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken thighs skin side down and cook without moving, until the skin is a deep golden brown and releases with ease from the bottom of the pan, 8 to 10 minutes.  

4. Once the skin is browned, flip the chicken and brown the other side, about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate.  

5. Add the cabbage and sliced onion to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to release moisture and soften slightly. Deglaze with 1 cup of chicken stock and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet. Bring to a boil and reduce slightly to concentrate flavors, 3 to 4 minutes.  

6. Nestle the chicken thighs back into the skillet with any accumulated juices and place the skillet in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken is supremely tender and the cabbage is soft.  

7. Make the scallion-ginger sauce: In a mortar and pestle, mash together the scallions, cilantro, ginger, garlic, habanero, allspice, and vinegar. Season the sauce generously with salt and pepper, and stream in the olive oil while mashing to thoroughly incorporate. 

8. To serve: Arrange the chicken thighs on a platter with pan drippings, cabbage, and onions, and spoon the green sauce over top. 

SWEET PLANTAINS WITH QUICK-PICKLED RED ONION

Serves 4  

Prep Time: 10 minutes 

Cook Time: 5 minutes 

For the quick-pickled onions: 

½ small red onion, thinly sliced 

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar 

Kosher salt, to taste 

For the sweet plantains: 

2 ripe plantains, peeled and sliced lengthwise  

Unrefined coconut oil, for frying  

Flaky salt, to taste  

1. Pickle the onions: In a small bowl, mix the sliced onions, vinegar, and season with a pinch salt. Set aside until the onions turn bright pink and taste pickled, 10 to 15 minutes. 

2. Fry the plantains: Heat enough coconut oil to generously coat the bottom of a large skillet over medium heat, about ¼-inch up the side of the pan. Test the oil temperature by dipping the tip of a plantain slice into the heated oil—if it sizzles, it's ready!  

3. Gently lay the plantain slices in the oil and cook for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, until deep golden brown on the outside and soft and sweet on the inside.   

4. Transfer cooked plantains to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil. Sprinkle with flaky salt and garnish with the pickled onions. 

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PAID CONTENT IS NOW FREE!

I have one small announcement for free subscribers: all future paid content is now free! Paid subscribers, I am immensely grateful for your financial support. You can continue to support my work (please do), but if money is tight, no sweat. This community of readers is so incredibly special to me, and my hope is that more available recipes will inspire more cooking at home. The North Star!

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DEAR ASH

Do you have a cooking or food question? Please send it my way! You can reply directly to this email, or send your question to foodstar@substack.com.

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Thank you so much for reading!! Talk soon!

Love,

Ash