Greens Greens and Nothing But Greens

Plus: A New Cookbook Arrangement, Zesty Chicken Breasts with Broccoli Rabe, and a Rainbow Cookie Sundae.

Mar 11, 2024

Hey everyone,

Oh New York weather, you trickster, you. There you were, convincing us that it was spring — giving us a 55 degree day, sunshine smiling on all of us as we took a long walk to Park Slope — and then, like Lucy with the football, you yanked away the sunshine and replaced it with whatever is happening right now. It’s in the 30s. It’s very windy. I wore a scarf when walking Winston this morning.

Here’s Winston on that sunny day, when a bunch of girls on the street asked if they could pet him:

So we had a little taste of spring to come, and we had a taste of it in the kitchen too. That’s because I whipped up a green shakshuka using green garlic, Swiss chard, and collards that I scored at the farmer’s market.

This is less a recipe and more of a technique: you just cook some onions in olive oil with the chard stems and green garlic stems and then eventually add all of the greens with some salt. If it’s cooking too fast, you can add a splash of water to slow it down. Here’s a video I made of the process:

@amateurgourmet Green shakshuka. 🍃🥚🥚🥚🥚🍞 #greens #eggs #breakfast #cooking #eating #food #foodblogger

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And for those who want a more traditional recipe, here’s a post I did a few months ago called Eggs on a Green Blanket with an actual recipe that should set you up pretty nicely.

You know my cookbook collection? Well it recently grew a little out of hand.

As you can see, there was a lot to work through there.

Because I have shelves in my kitchen, I decided to feature the cookbooks that I use the most in that choice spot. I have a soft place in my heart for British cookbooks, so those are now on the upper left….

To the right of those, my Asian cookbooks, and then some Eastern European books (currently hidden by “How to Cook Like a Jewish Mother.”)

On the middle shelf: American books, modern French (I moved my old French books — of which I have many — to a different shelf entirely), and Italian behind my Angela Merkel juicer.

Then on the lower shelf, can you guess the organization? Hint: it’s based on the two major places where I’ve lived the longest. That’s right: New York cookbooks on the left, California cookbooks on the right, with Jewish cookbooks in the bottom right corner. (“No one puts Jewish cookbooks in the corner!”)

Feeling much better about things now. (There’s a whole other shelf system with my baking books.)

On Friday night, I whipped up some chicken breasts and broccoli rabe for dinner.

I ordered the breasts (which came with a little drumlet attached; I think this is called an airplane cut?) from The Meat Hook, along with the broccoli rabe.

So how did I make it all so sparkly? Easy: I browned the chicken in a metal skillet, skin-side down, until golden brown, then I finished it in a 425 oven until a thermometer read 155. I removed the chicken, added a pat of butter, and then deglazed with lemon juice (scraping up the brown bits) and reduced it until I had a sauce, which I poured all over the chicken.

As for the broccoli rabe: I just boiled it in salted water until tender.

Then I dressed it in a Caesar-ish dressing with anchovies, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and lots of Parmesan.

My only regret is not shocking the broccoli rabe after boiling it: it got a little soggy while it sat. But it was still delicious.

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Finally, on Saturday I met up with our favorite old pal Ryan O’Connell who was visiting from L.A. and was totally frustrated because we got Covid just as he landed… thank God I tested negative just in the nick of time before he left.

We went to Mel’s in the old Del Posto space and wow, it didn’t disappoint.

The pizzas were based on our favorite pastas: one a Norma (on top), one a Guanciale (on bottom) which gave off Amatriciana vibes.

The pizzas were light and flavorful and had the perfect amount of crustiness.

But the highlight for me was the dessert. If you know me, you know that I love rainbow cookies. So how not to fall in love with this rainbow cookie sundae???