Dishtillery Turns 1
We Celebrate with... Yogurt??
Thank you for subscribing to Dishtillery! This is our free end-of-the-month newsletter, focused on seasonal foods. It’s our one-year anniversary! We started Dishtillery the last week of June 2020. If you like what you read, please tap on the heart, gift a subscription, and/or share Dishtillery with a like-minded friend. Our issues for paid subscribers, “TILL We Meet Again,” “Tidbit,” and “The Maker’s Mark,” will be going out on July 9, 16, and 23. Thanks again for your support. Without you, we wouldn’t be able to bring you recipes and recommendations from restaurateurs, chefs, artisans, winemakers, mixologists, and, of course, us! And if you don’t already, please do follow us on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook.
DISH: Homecoming Is Always Bagels and Lox
This time last year, frustrated by the pandemic but also fueled by it, Betsy and I started Dishtillery. We saw it as our chance to finally work together, something we'd always wanted to do. We also viewed it as a way of connecting with our parents, who we missed and worried about, and our foodie past, which they had built for us. We dedicated that issue to tomatoes, which will always stand for New Jersey for us, as well as our entree to both cooking and gardening. A year later, I was finally able to hop on a plane and visit my folks. Betsy, who splits her time between Akron, Ohio and Manhattan, had been able to get there a few times already, and she always filled me in on how they were doing IRL. Of course, my parents and I talked a lot; they came to my virtual poetry readings; I took them on Zoom tours of my new house. But there's nothing like seeing each other in person. The last time I'd visited New Jersey, it had been for my mother's birthday in July. I distinctly remember the final meal we shared before I left: bagels, lox, big slabs of rye bread filled with all kinds of deli, and slices of Jersey tomatoes to add juicy flavor to both. I had no clue, of course, that it would be two years before I saw them again. This time, it was my dad's birthday, along with Father's Day, and the cake said so, even though the bakery accidentally gave my sister-in-law someone else's order. Instead of a sophisticated flavor and a genteel "Happy Birthday and Father's Day, Barry," it was outfitted in blue, red, and yellow buttercream, had Oreos in the filling, and shouted, "Superdad!" Which is appropriate anyway. My dad is super. And his Kryptonite is Oreos, oddly enough. Regardless, it was a celebration, and we handled it the way New Jersey Jews do – with platters from Livingston Bagel and Eppes Essen, even though none of us have lived in Livingston for more than a decade. Old habits die hard, but we won't. When we go, it'll be with a bagel and a shmear in one hand, a deli sandwich in the other, and thick wedges of ripe Jersey tomatoes on each.
JK
DISH: Recipes
The Origins of Yogurt Marinades
Let’s be clear: Yogurt is not ice cream. Whew, now that we’ve offended, we can move on. The last few decades have taken yogurt far from it’s presumed origins in Turkey’s 6th century BCE. Now “yogurt” is flavored, crunchy, mixed with just about all you can name – and far from the milk preserved in animal stomachs that created the first firm texture. It’s also far more consistent. Making sweet, creamy treats, often frozen, seems to go hand in hand with yogurt. For some, that’s fine. For us, we’d rather that’d be actual ice cream. Instead, we prefer yogurt as an entire presentation of savory items – sips, marinades, spreads, and toppings. Yogurt is great for baking. (For this we are fans of sweets, but not the super-sweet and fruity.) With baking soda, Greek dairy yogurt adds lightness to cakes and muffins. We are, additionally, fans of yogurt as the ideal marinade base. In college, Jen's roommate Anita introduced her to Indian recipes that do this brilliantly, flavoring the yogurt with a number of carefully calibrated spices. Jen would later adapt that idea for a mango-yogurt marinade, perfect for chicken, lamb, prok, or even a sturdy fish like swordfish (don't overmarinate it or it'll break down), to add to her Mango cookbook. She even won a recipe contest with that one, earning her husband and herself a weekend getaway in an historic inn in St. Augustine. In short, long-lasting yogurt makes a perfect pantry staple, and could even win you a prize. And thousands of years later, science and the fridge do the work that animal parts helped discover. For an extra-easy chicken breast marinade, try 1 cup of Greek yogurt with a clove or two of garlic, a couple pinches of salt, ground pepper and whatever herbs you have on hand from cilantro to oregano. Let sit overnight in the fridge, then pan-fry or grill it. Top with chopped tomatoes and cucumber dressed with lemon and olive oil. It's genius. And there are so many variations on the theme – change out the protein, the spices and herbs, the vegetables on top, or the cooking method – yogurt can keep you going all summer long.
BK / JK
Chip ‘n Dip So You’re Not Bored
It’s that time of year. My birthday month. It’s when I used to enjoy a bag of chips unfettered by guilt and accompanied by the most delicious and traditional Lipton onion soup mix dip. Wise makes an equally perfect green onion version. With my chip consumption more ordinary than occasional these days, this birthday did not offer the same excuse. But I still crave chips. And dip. Which is why I doctored a Greek-inspired tzatziki to take along to a girls’ night a few weeks ago. After the last 15 months, it’s good to remember how a pot luck can work. Careful coordination from the host meant no repeats and every category was covered.
Depending on your conscience pair with veggies, or a lamb burger. But tbh, chips are better if you were less conscientious at quarantine eating than I was.
4-5 inch chunk of seedless cucumber or remove seeds, grated and pressed so liquids are removed*
1 cup Greek yogurt. Let drain overnight if loose*
1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, chopped or pressed
¼ cup minced fresh herbs like parsley, mint and/or chive
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
Ground pepper and salt to taste
Mix. Eat.
*Note: Allow grated cucumber to drain in a coffee filter or cheese cloth; same for the yogurt.BK
DISH: Recap and Coming Soon
Betsy has been in the digital world teaching food, drink, and flower skills. Fully vaccinated, she's also back to planning events. You can hire her for both by contacting her at betsy@theportablegarden.com.
Jen’s article about celebrity chef Lorena Garcia and CHICA Miami came out in HuffPost, as did her Insider updates on the best hotels in South Beach, the best boutique hotels in Miami, the best hotels in Key West, and the best hotels in Destin-Fort Walton. An article about the Everglades for Marriott is also published. Poems appeared in Fatal Flaw, The Shore, Sweet: Lit (the contest issue), and Under a Warm Green Linden. She was also longlisted for the international 2021 Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize (out of 3,000 candidates!). Coming Soon: Jen's pieces on the best beach hotels in Florida and the best beach hotels in the US are forthcoming in Insider. More work on investigating the stages and treatment of testicular cancer will appear on Giddy. Poems are forthcoming in DIALOGIST and three (!!) journals she's not allowed to mention yet. You can hire her for writing by contacting her at kavetchnik@gmail.com. Visit her website at jkaretnick.com.
DISH: Poetry
Summertime brings with it all sorts of critter problems. As you work on your gardens this summer, you might encounter some of them!
JK