What I've Been Cooking & Eating This Month

A warm-weather roundup featuring lots of blueberries, sungolds, and butter

Jul 15, 2025

Hello and happy Tuesday from Brooklyn! Today, I’m sharing a little roundup of what I’ve been cooking and eating this month — a mix of high-summer produce and laid-back, cobbled-together meals. This feels like an accurate reflection of how I like to eat this time of year, which is to say simply and seasonally, without skimping on butter.

A cloudy but warm morning walk (or leap?) with coffee this past weekend

What I’ve Been Cooking and Eating This Month

Spicy Shrimp Pasta
This spicy shrimp pasta was a riff on a recipe by

Colu Henry

for “More Shrimp Than You Think Pasta,” from her cookbook Easy Fancy Food. I suspected I’d like the recipe because I always like Henry’s work. This was no exception!

As the name suggests, the recipe leans heavy on the shrimp (and vegetables) and lighter on the pasta, while still offering the incomparable comfort of a pasta dinner. You chop the (generous) amount of shrimp and toss it with a sauce made of fennel, red onion, and chilies, all cooked down in butter and fennel seeds. Only then do you add the hot pasta and finish the dish. I love the idea of a more-stuff-than-pasta pasta, and now I’m brainstorming ways to replicate it with other proteins and vegetables.

Mozzarella with Sungolds & Basil
This classic summer side was one of my favorite things we ate while on Long Island in early July. Prepared by Teo’s aunt, Alex, the platter featured sungolds (my first of the season!), torn mozzarella, and plenty of basil, dressed simply with balsamic vinegar, peppery olive oil, and flaky salt. A beautiful thing — and one I’m glad we return to every summer without feeling the need to reinvent.

Asparagus & Sausage Quiche
I love when you don’t know what you’re craving, and someone serves you what you didn’t know you wanted. This asparagus and sausage quiche — sourced from a Long Island farmstand and served for lunch — was just that. Fluffy egg, sagey sausage crumbles, and sweet, grassy asparagus, all encased in pastry. “Well that goes down the gullet easily,” said Teo’s uncle.

Left: Mozzarella with Sungolds & Basil, Right: Asparagus & Sausage Quiche

Warm-Weather Tian
I had the honor of testing a couple recipes and working a day on set for

Rebecca Firkser

’s debut cookbook, Galette, which came out in late June. Let me just say: galette lovers, you need this book. It’s full of precise, beautiful, varied recipes, and Rebecca’s voice is warm and confident and exactly what you want in your ear as you bake something new. I made the Warm-Weather Tian at home the other night to celebrate the book’s release — and conveniently, you can find the recipe on Substack here.

BLTs
Enough said.

Madison Fare Frozen Yogurt
Madison Fare is a gourmet food shop on the Upper East Side that’s apparently gone viral on TikTok for its luscious, towering frozen yogurt. I didn’t hear about it on TikTok — a local friend tipped me off — but now I can confirm: the hype is justified. It’s not cheap, but I can’t imagine a better frozen yogurt. The owner is friendly, the shop’s proximity to the park (and my favorite cookbook store) makes it perfect for a summer afternoon. I ordered the plain flavor, which is always my fro-yo preference — sweet-tart and silky-smooth. Next time I’m springing for the same base with the viral Sicilian pistachio paste topping.

Blueberry Pancakes
Summer joy. Especially when you can pick the blueberries yourself.

Blueberry pancakes from beginning to end

Cornmeal Shortcakes with Cream & Jam
Ahead of an event I helped cook for this past weekend on Fishers Island (more on that soon!), I tested a few cornmeal shortcake recipes for the dessert course. The clear winner was a variation on Claire Saffitz’s shortcake recipe in What’s for Dessert, which has officially become my go-to. At home, Teo and I ate the cornmeal shortcakes warm from the oven, with whipped cream and a generous spoonful of our favorite jam.

Hot Polenta in a Mug
During the studio shoot last week for my 9-to-5, I styled and shot a couple recipes featuring polenta, which meant that I was lucky enough to enjoy one of the all-time greatest snacks: piping hot polenta in a mug. When you salt it assertively, the cornmeal’s earthy, nutty flavor really comes through. Yes, it looks like slop. Yes, it tastes like heaven.

Connecticut-Style Shrimp Rolls
I love a lobster roll — but only when it’s Connecticut-style: warm and buttery. That said, lobster is expensive, and while I’d love to eat a lobster roll every week this summer, that’s not exactly a budget-friendly habit. So when I came across a recipe for Connecticut-Style Shrimp Rolls, a lightbulb went off. Lobster isn’t the only form of seafood that wants to be tucked in a toasted roll and drenched with butter. Enter: this weeknight dinner, which I served with corn on the cob (another vessel for butter) and a side of leeks and sungolds, cooked down until meltingly soft and sweet.

Ann’s Blueberry Cake
I’ve mentioned this blueberry cake at least a few times on The Dish — a reflection of how much I love the recipe. Passed down from Teo’s late grandmother, Ann, it’s a cornmeal-based cake that isn’t too sweet, studded with a generous amount of blueberries. It’s as good for dessert with whipped cream as it is for breakfast with a cup of coffee, which is exactly what we modeled this past weekend on Fishers Island. On our first night, the beloved blueberry cake served as Teo and his twin Nico’s birthday cake, perfectly baked by their mom, Mary, and crowned with golden candles. The following two mornings, it was breakfast, warmed in the oven and devoured with a side of bacon and moka pot coffee.