Notes from the Kitchen #3

A diary of the dishes defining my February

Hello from Vermont! Teo and I spent the weekend up here with friends to celebrate my birthday (26 today!), and we lingered a couple days longer to soak up the mountain air before heading back to Brooklyn. Our Vermont stay has been magical — chatting on the couch over coffee, making snow angels, tending to the wood stove, singing folk songs, playing ping pong. And when I first arrived, my mom and friends surprised me by decorating the house in pink for a pink-themed party in honor of my little self (see below!). The ultimate birthday gift is to feel seen by your people, and I can really say that I do.

In other news, I’ve (finally) launched the chat feature for The Dish, which you can access via the Substack website or app. I’m hoping it’ll become a place where we can all share what we’re cooking, ask questions about food, and offer suggestions on what to make next. I'm ready to be your personal menu planner, so please go forth and use the chat if you need some meal inspiration.

Today on The Dish, I’m sharing some notes on things I’ve cooked recently, or that loved ones have cooked for me. There will be breakfast burritos and birthday cake!

Cooking & Eating

Pork Katsu Sandos on Black Sesame Milk Bread Rolls
One of my favorite spots in Brooklyn is Chef Katsu in Clinton Hill, a Japanese counter-service spot. I almost always order the Pork Katsu Burger with Miso Sauce, which consists of a pork cutlet and shredded cabbage slaw on a plush bun with miso sauce. It’s a perfect food, and I credit Chef Katsu with my current fixation on katsu sandos. Earlier this month, I made my own version at home, with homemade milk bread rolls.

For the katsu, I used pork loin and followed Rie McClenny’s method in Make It Japanese, which she models here. For the spicy mayo, I jazzed up regular Hellman’s with Sriracha, lime juice, and salt, and for the slaw, I tossed thinly sliced red cabbage and fresh cilantro leaves with lime juice, salt, and sesame oil. Since I had the time and was feeling ambitious, I made my own rolls using Kristina Cho’s recipe for milk bread dough, shaped into rolls and sprinkled with black sesame seeds post-egg wash. But store-bought potato rolls would’ve been great, too. Side note: I posted about these sandos on Notes, and they got a surprising amount of love! My conclusion: nobody can resist a crispy cutlet.

Chicken Marbella
I was rummaging through my fridge the other night, seeking dinner ideas, when I realized I had almost everything I needed to make Chicken Marbella. This delightfully retro dish, made famous by The Silver Palate Cookbook, is a favorite of mine, with its signature mix of prunes, olives, and a briny, sweet-savory sauce. A quick trip to the store for some chicken thighs, and I was ready to cook. I (loosely) followed Rick Martinez’s recipe for Weeknight Chicken Marbella on NYT Cooking, and we ate it with rice and kale, both cooked in chicken stock.

Make-Ahead Breakfast Burritos
Make-ahead breakfast burritos are 0% chic and 100% delicious, and every time I make a batch, I feel irrationally proud of myself for taking the time to make my life easier. I developed this recipe for New Mexico-Style Breakfast Burritos at work, and it’s a good one if I do say so myself — simple and vegetarian, with green chile, potato, egg, cheese, and a side of salsa verde. Last week, however, I made breakfast burritos with hot Italian sausage, cheesy eggs, and lots of sautéed spinach, which were also excellent.

Cinnamon Rolls
Although my friend Johnny (whose birthday was yesterday!) couldn’t make it this weekend, he still managed to deliver a batch of homemade cinnamon rolls by sending them up with other friends (shoutout to Jan and Victoria’s cinnamon roll delivery service). I must say: Johnny has mastered the cinnamon roll. Maybe one day I’ll get the recipe if I’m nice.

Birthday Cake
My friends Hannah and Alex planned ahead and showed up in Vermont with a Claire Saffitz cookbook and ingredients to make me a birthday cake, because that’s the kind of people they are. Knowing I’m a chocolate girl, they made me Claire’s chocolate buttermilk cake with silky chocolate buttercream, and it was absolutely lovely.

Ginger-Rosemary Tea
Hannah and Alex also brewed a pot of tea with fresh ginger and rosemary that was so soothing I felt it must be mentioned even though I don’t have a photo.

Low-and-Slow Roast Chicken
I followed my own advice last night and roasted a chicken low and slow (300℉ for three hours) with baby potatoes and plenty of rosemary, thyme, and garlic. This method has never failed me! It took me five minutes to assemble, filled the house with the most glorious scent as it cooked, and turned into dinner last night and lunch today for me and Teo. If we weren’t leaving tomorrow, we would’ve made stock with the carcass, too, stretching the chicken even further. Roast chicken, especially cooked this way, is one of my favorite things to make and eat.

That’s all for today! Thank you so much for reading.

More soon,
Phoebe