try a little tenderness pt.2
...questions about cooking, san francisco recommendations and a little recipe for you
what do you listen to when you cook?
i don’t listen to podcasts while i cook. i reserve podcasts for when i am showering in the morning and evenings or when i’m getting ready for the day. when i’m cooking, it depends on my mood or what i am cooking. sometimes i can be cheesy and listen to my bossa nova playlist while making a big pot of pasta. other times, especially in the morning, i like listening to something softer and gentler on the ears like aphex twin, washed out, mary lattimore and hania rani while making my coffee or hot cereal or toasting my bread for my runny eggs. if i’m feeling particularly moody or melancholy, i like listening to a lot of max richter, jonny greenwood, slow meadow, erik satie, joep beving, beach house and nils frahm. other times, when it’s a really beautiful and sunny afternoon or early evening and the sun is still streaming through my windows, i love listening to cat power, cate le bon, okay kaya, dean blunt, wet, drake, lana del rey, solange, bandalos chinos, blood orange or pearly drops in my kitchen. i enjoy making playlists so if you would like to follow me on spotify, my username is at leeleeb.
what’s a special technique you lean on to add flavor?
i don’t think i have a special technique because truthfully, most of the time, i have no idea what i am even doing. sometimes i feel like that character in that roald dahl book, george’s marvellous medicine, where he’s throwing a bunch of shit in a pot. but! what i do know is i like using a lot of shallots and fresh garlic and green onions (so a lot of alliums, really) and a lot of fresh herbs (chives, chervil, dill, mint, cilantro). i also think salt can be very under utilized (or overly utilized) and it can make all the difference. acidity is also very important. a splash of a beautiful vinegar. a healthy squeeze of fresh lemon juice. these things that seem so small can make a dish really, really vibrant.
what is your favorite dish to make in the 4 seasons?
fall: a big pot of corona beans made in an allium broth served with fresh herbs and a splash of persimmon vinegar. eaten with crusty bread slathered with salted butter.
winter: a beef stew with chunky onions, carrots simmered for a couple hours with a hefty pour of a good red wine. eaten with mashed potatoes made with yukon gold potatoes, a lot of butter and milk so it’s that really beautiful buttery color and silky and a side of garlicky lacinato kale.
spring: my go to spring sandwich!! it is how i celebrate spring every single year. sweet baguette with tarragon dijon mustard, a jammy egg, seared asparagus, pickled red onion, radicchio and little gems dressed in olive oil/meyer lemon/flaky salt/ pepper, a lot of dill/mint/chervil and freshly grated parmesan.