I Crisped and Made a Crisp in PTown

Plus: Lobster Rolls, Ice Cream with Sprinkles, and Chicken for the Week.

Hey everyone,

For the past eight years we’ve been going with our L.A. friends to PTown (aka: Provincetown). This year was an extra important year because, as many of you know, last August — right after the Ptown trip, in fact — we moved to New York. It was really important that we keep the Ptown tradition going this summer because it was a chance to stay connected to our nearest and dearest on the west coast. Alas, Craig booked a TV directing gig in Vancouver and it was on my shoulders to represent.

One thing I’ve never done in Provincetown is cook. In fact, the first two years that we went I announced that it was “impossible to cook in this kitchen” at the AirBnB we rented, claiming it was too small and too hot. Then our pals Kevin and Conor proved me wrong and made fabulous meal after fabulous meal year after year and made me look really bad in the process!

Well this year I was having none of that, so on the day of the Kevin and Conor dinner I said I would make dessert. And then whipped up a berry crisp!

The truth about a berry crisp is that it’s one of the easiest things to make in the world. First you mix your berries in a bowl with sugar, lemon zest, chopped fresh ginger (for a little zing), salt, and corn starch (if you have it) or, if you don’t (as I didn’t), flour.

Then you pour it into a 9X13 pan and start on your topping. Our pal Jake (who was a new addition to the trip) offered to help me out and here he is at work combining butter, oats, brown sugar, salt, and flour with his hands.

He thought it was funny when I stopped him for “massaging the butter” instead of “pinching.” Did I ever mention how unpleasant I am to cook with in the kitchen? I’m working on it!

Once you have pea-sized chunks, you sprinkle it all over the fruit and bake in a 350 oven for 50 minutes or so until the juices are bubbling and the top is nicely browned. Here it is served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

If you make it ahead (as I did before going to the beach) you can reheat it later in a 300 oven until warm.

My years of not contributing to the P-town dinner have come to an end!

As for what Kevin and Conor cooked, Kevin made an incredible zucchini pasta (not too dissimilar from the Stanley Tucci zucchini pasta) and Conor helped grill a steak with our friend Alex. Here’s the finished plate:

A lovely dinner on a summer night, don’t you think?

As for the rest of your trip, I stuffed myself with lobster rolls at The Canteen — still a favorite spot, especially for the frosé and back patio.

One day we all went shopping and I went to my favorite kitchen supply store there, Utilities, and purchased the colorful olive oil cruet you see on the right.

I also bought mini Le Creuset salt and pepper grinders, a confetti-handled mini whisk, and jellyfish napkins.

Did I mention ice cream? We had ice cream at Lewis Brothers and I had the vanilla soft serve with rainbow sprinkles, a very nostalgic treat.

As you can see, it was a delightful week — I was only sad Craig couldn’t be there!

Oh, and here’s everyone on a boat:

In an effort to look better for my shirtless boat picture next year, when I came back on Saturday I decided to eat more protein and less carbs. So last night I grilled a ton of chicken marinated in olive oil, chipotle sauce (from a can), lime juice, salt and pepper.

That’s both a mixture of boneless, skinless thighs and boneless, skinless breasts for me to use over the course of the week.

For dinner, I made tacos with corn tortillas, a yogurt chipotle sauce (as easy as mixing Greek yogurt with the leftover chipotle sauce in a can), and a pico de gallo made with heirloom tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, and salt.

(I toasted the corn tortillas directly on the gas burners in my kitchen. A great trick!)

Not bad for a not-pasta dinner! More protein-content coming soon.

Hey, let’s look at some links:

• Any Fruit Crisp (this sort of inspired me to make mine; Taste);

• Blue Cheese or Caviar? Ice cream toppings get weird and wacky (The Guardian);

• 18 Times Square Restaurants Where New Yorkers Actually Eat (Eater).

That’s all for today, folks!

See you back here on Thursday….

Your pal,

Adam