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Hi from Chicago! We drove up on Friday to attend our good friend’s wedding and we are having the best time. More on that next week. Today I have another summer no-recipe recipe for you guys and a funny update.
Remember a few weeks ago when I mentioned asking people if they like Kansas City and never once getting a firm yes? Well, I got one! I’m currently obsessed with a little local wine shop, Big Mood Natural Wines. We joined their wine club, go by every Thursday for tastings, and have been popping in to try new bottles. Richard, one of the owners, was explaining wine to us one day when I changed the conversation and asked about him. He has lived on both the west and east coast but is originally from Kansas City. When I asked if he was liking being back he enthusiastically said “I love it!!”
Marco and I immediately made eye contact and smiled from behind our masks. He knew what I was thinking and I was thinking about how I needed to update you guys. So that’s one single person that definitely loves living here. I’ll keep asking around and let you know if I find more.
Some real talk for my KC peeps: you need to check out Big Mood Natural Wines. As the name suggests it is all natural wine. The shop is adorable, the inventory is always changing, and the owners are awesome. Thursday wine tastings are $5, or free for wine club members, and you can sit on the patio with friends and enjoy a bottle. We stopped by their one year birthday party last week for a glass of wine and a birria taco from Tacos Valentina. 10/10 on the birria.
A few months back, we had a Lambrusco (from Helen’s Wines) while eating dinner with friends at Jon and Vinny’s. I snapped a picture with the hopes of grabbing a bottle back in KC, only to find out that it isn’t distributed in Missouri 😡. I asked all the wine shops we go to and you know who was able to get it a week later…Big Mood! They have won my heart!
Wing It Recipe
Before stonefruits are gone for the season I highly suggest making a salad with them. Today’s no-recipe recipe is a Nectarine + Beet Salad. Grab these ingredients:
Nectarines, ripe but still firm
Beets, roast/steam and peel them or get pre-cooked from the store
A handful of baby arugula
Lots of fresh basil
A shallot
Toasted almonds, chopped
Feta
Olive oil
White balsamic vinegar
Slice your shallot into rounds or half-moons. Place the slices in a small bowl and cover with a few tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar. Let them sit while you prep the rest of the salad.
Slice the nectarines and beets into wedges that are the same size. Scatter a handful of arugula on a serving plate. Arrange the nectarine and beet slices on top. Tuck in a ton of basil leaves and tear the large ones in half.
Add the shallot slices. Sprinkle chopped almonds over the whole thing and crumble some feta around the salad. Drizzle the white balsamic that the shallots soaked in and olive oil over the whole salad. Season with some S&P and enjoy!
This week was the second week of my Easy Summer Grilling series in The Kitchen Club. Three flavor-packed and uncomplicated grilling recipes for all levels of grillers. Our second recipe is Tangy Honey Grilled Chicken! You can watch it go down in my Instagram story highlight and get the full recipe by becoming a paid subscriber and joining us in The Kitchen Club.
For the month of August, you’ll see lots of grilling articles and recipes in The Weekly Recap newsletter too.
Join us in The Kitchen Club to get this recipe, last week’s Grilled + Marinated Zucchini recipe, and become a grill master!
Stuff to Read
The Washington Post announced they are switching to fine sea salt in all of their recipes. Interesting!
Recipe Inspo
Watch This
I mentioned Paris Hilton’s new cooking show last week. It’s ridiculous and moronic but I had a few laughs. If anything, it inspired me to put on my 5-inch heels and a nice dress before I cook dinner.
Watch it on Netflix, here.
Places I ate
At the beginning of the year, Port Fonda went through a big scandal. They closed for a few months, were bought, and have re-opened. Before the closing, we were regulars at Port Fonda and the food was a little inconsistent but always good. Our first meal since the reopening was the same, just good. Didn’t blow us away but we will be back to try again. My paloma was meh, my fish tacos were great, and my Taki Ceasar reminded me of pre-covid times. Culinary Virtue Restaurant Collective (Char Bar, Mickey’s Hideaway, Beer Kitchen) bought Port Fonda. Their restaurants are solid, which gives me hope for Port Fonda.
Thing Everybody Needs
Every time I post a video wearing gloves I get tons of messages about why and when I wear gloves in the kitchen. I wear them any time I don’t want my hands to get dirty. I hate meat hands so almost always when handling meat. Beets stain your hands and I pop one on before touching a beet. When assembling prepared food that will be served to someone, always wear a glove. Gloves are great! We all need gloves!
Animal Cuteness
Summer grilling wouldn’t be complete without grilling corn…
See you next week, M.