Cheryl Alters Jamison’s Summer Berry Recipes

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June 19, 2024

A plate of strawberry pinwheel biscuit pies from TABLE Magazine's recipe

Berries––whether juicy blackberries, perfectly ripe strawberries, or any of the other berry clan––sing of summer. They don’t last long so catch them while you can. Cheryl Alters Jamison shows us how to make the most of them in everything from savory to sweet recipes.

Raspberries were my first summer love. I grew up in the Midwest where our closest neighbor, Mr. Leedy, grew the fetching red fruits. He generously shared pints and pints of them with my family, but was persnickety about anyone entering his well-tended garden. However, I could not resist raiding the raspberry patch, where those dangling little orbs of crimson simply tantalized six-year-old me.

I would wriggle through my home’s hedge into our neighbor’s neat rows of trellised berry bushes, crawling among the thorny canes. The danger of getting scratched, or tearing my clothes, and of getting caught paled, though, relative to the joy of plucking those warm berries, oozing juice, and popping them into my mouth. I invariably was marched back to my parents by Mr. Leedy, and then had to perform some penance, but it was always worth it to me.

Few fruits rival summer’s ripe raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and regional favorites like loganberries, boysenberries, huckleberries, tayberries, and other cousins. Unfortunately, many have been bred in more recent years for sturdiness and shipability instead of peak flavor. When possible, shop at farm stands and farmers’ markets to find more fragile fruits, picked at peak ripeness.

Once you’ve found the best berries, treat them right. Berries begin to deteriorate almost as soon as they are picked, so shop for them as close to the time that you plan to eat them as possible. As soon as you return home, gently remove them from the container and discard any that are moldy or disintegrating. Store them in a single layer on a baking sheet or shallow tray, and cover loosely. Do not wash until you’re ready to devour them, or add them to one of these recipes.

Summer Berry Recipes

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Blackberry-Herb Sauce

Some years ago, I was invited to participate in a grilling demo sponsored by the Weber folks in Portland, OR. I came up with this idea to make use of the area’s iconic berries, in season at the time. I don’t remember much about the day now, except that all of the invited chefs grilled out on the rooftop of a downtown building without catching anyone or anything on fire, and that everyone loved this dish.

Grilled Lamb Burgers with Raspberry-Mint Vinegar Drizzle

Back in the 1980s, influential American cookbook authors Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins of Silver Palate fame, popularized ingredients like goat cheese, raspberry vinegar, and even fresh herbs. One of their dishes that most impressed me was a lamb burger that combined all of those flavors. I’ve made a variety of versions of it over more than three decades. Here’s a tempting summer rendition, using fresh raspberries as well as well as vinegar infused with the crimson fruit.

Spinach Salad with Blueberries & Blue Cheese

Blueberries and blue cheese are lead players in this bright salad, anything but a rote toss-up. Supporting players cucumber, celery, and candied walnuts add texture and crunch. If possible, avoid the nearly flavorless baby spinach rampant in supermarkets today in favor of leaves with a bit of character, like crinkly savoy spinach. For a little more heft, add slivers of prosciutto.

Mixed Berry Stuffed French Toast

Who doesn’t love French toast? This version is a serious morning wake-up call. If you’re familiar with British summer pudding, it may remind you of it, with bread soaking up deeply colored juices. For the best texture, use a somewhat soft bread rather than a super-crusty country loaf.

Pinwheel Strawberry Biscuit Pie

This begins as biscuit dough and then morphs into a wondrous cross between a shortcake and a cobbler, cooked with fresh strawberries and jam in a pie dish. It’s pretty, as well as pretty delicious.

If working with conventional grocery store strawberries, start with a full two pounds of fruit. By the time you rid them of their cottony-white cores, you will have sent a quarter to half a pound to the compost heap. If you can start with truly ripe berries, such as the small frais de bois type often available at farmers’ markets, you can get by with 1½ pounds to end up with your needed four cups. You can substitute another kind of berry, or combine multiple varieties, if you wish. A dollop of softly whipped cream would be a welcome final flourish, as would a little moat of plain cream poured around each portion.

Story by Cheryl Alters Jamison
Styling Anna Franklin
Photography by Dave Bryce

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5 Flatware Sets to Spruce Up Your Table

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Emma Riva

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June 19, 2024

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A backlit set of silverware over a marble countertop background

For something people spend so much time handling, there are a lot of flatware sets out there that seem designed without humans in mind: spindly handles that are uncomfortable to hold, oddly shaped “statement” knives that don’t cut well, and weird spoon bowls that feel bad when you bring them to your mouth. Bon appétit?

Fortunately, there are a lot of well-designed and beautiful sets out there. I’ve chosen five on the more classic side (with a few variations for fun) that avoid overly modern shapes or odd finishes. Any of these would be a welcome addition to your everyday table.

5 Flatware Sets to Spruce Up Your Table

Michele Varian Vintage Hematite Cutlery

A bit moody but still trad offering from Brooklyn-based Varian. (These also come in a silver and a gold finish if you’d prefer that.) Comfy in the hand and beautiful to look at.

Sir Madam Florentine Flatware (champagne matte)

In theory, gold flatware is not something towards which I gravitate. It’s easy to get wrong—too shiny, too glitzy, too ornate. But this set has a burnished, warm feeling that hits all the right notes. (There’s a matte silver set that’s also a knockoutl.)

Crate & Barrel Locale Flatware Set

If you’re looking for something more entry-level that still has a presence (or if you have a really, really large family over for holidays!), this bargain-priced box set from C&B feels great in the hand with classic proportions and a lovely finish.

David Mellor Design Paris Cutlery

Brit David Mellor was something of a flatware whisperer. His sets are famously well-proportioned and designed to be exceptionally functional. Paris, introduced in 1993, is one of his most enduring designs, used in restaurants and on luxury ships worldwide.

Mepra Fantasia Italian Flatware Sets

For something that isn’t OTT but that gives off a cheerful mod feel, this set comes in a range of hues: choose one color or one of six mixed sets. The handles are made of resin reinforced with glass fibers.

Story by Stephen Treffinger / Photos courtesy of Michele Varian, Mepra, David Mellor, Sir Madam, and Crate & Barrel

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3 Hot Product Drops for Summer Shopping

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Emma Riva

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June 19, 2024

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A hanging lamp over patterned grey wallpaper from Farrow & Ball — Screenshot

When summer temperatures heat up, new products sometimes take a siesta until the cooler days of Autumn. But even when everyone is heading to their beach house shares, some brands give us new and beautiful merchandise. When it’s hot out and you’re chilling indoors with the AC, it’s a good time to beautify your space. Check out these five to mentally tag (or put on your vision boards) for the future.

3 Hot Product Drops for Summer Shopping

An intricate gem town wallpaper with a beige chair and a white standing lamp — Barace by Farrow Bill

Farrow & Ball has launched a set of new wallpapers inspired by 18th century patterns uncovered during the restoration of Château de Purnon in the Loire Valley – a project supported by Farrow & Ball. (The papers are named after those who lived at the château in its heyday.)

Faroe by Armadillo, a white round table on a grey rug — Faroe by Armadillo

Armadillo presents a new line of rugs that have an easy elegance that makes them instant classics for summer shopping. In patterns with names like Faroe, Sequoia, and Trellis, they draw inspiration from all over the world. They use natural and sustainable materials with intricate weaves and wonderful textures.

And Vitra introduced its new Anagram sofa (which will officially debut in the Fall) in partnership with Panter & Tourron during 3 Days of Design in Stockholm last week. The new soft seating was developed as “an exploration of the future of the sofa – a sustainable, lightweight, and modular option to respond to our changing lives, habits, and patterns.”

Story by Stephen Treffinger / Images courtesy of Vitra, Armadillo, and Farrow & Ball

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Plant-Based Food is Not Boring

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webpubpro

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June 18, 2024

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A bowl of Rwaki potato dumplings with dill and mushrooms soup in a white bowl on a table with a side bowl of roasted potatoes — Rwaki potato dumplings at Apteka

If you love plant-based eating, this article is not for you. Well, you can keep reading, but I’m not here to preach to the choir about going vegan or vegetarian. What I am interested in is whether you think plant-based and say “ew” or “I’m not interested in that hippie BS” or “tempeh tastes like soggy cardboard.” This latter comes directly from my mom.

A plant-based diet has two simple facts stacked against it: Meat tastes good and human beings do need protein. Many people’s point of entry into plant-based eating, the Impossible Burger, is probably much more processed than grass-fed beef from an organic farm. So, for this week’s “Who Says,” we at TABLE decided to investigate how you skeptics of plant-based eating might give it a successful try.

Yes, Takis and Swedish Fish are Vegan

I started eating plant-based when I lived with two animal rights activists. Their stance on veganism was not rooted in its health benefits—we ate Takis, Oreos, and a whole host of ultra-processed Trader Joe’s branded snacks that probably did some damage to our systems. I stopped eating meat essentially because I stopped cooking with it.

While a common gripe about veganism is that it’s expensive and difficult, cooking meat is also time-consuming and pricey. As a twenty-year-old with no money, it was much easier to live off of Takis than to have to spend ten valuable minutes I could have used to watch TV, drink Modelo, or argue with my parents on learning about how to cook a chicken properly. Ah, the moral high ground of veganism: #cleanliving. Don’t worry, I have evolved since then. I now fall into a category of loosely vegetarian or “plant-based.” I couldn’t give up eggs and cheese, and I will eat oysters at Fet-Fisk.

But thinking about what you eat and why you eat it elicits questions a lot of people don’t actually bother to ask themselves. What tastes good? What do you like to cook? What’s easy and accessible to you? What has health benefits you feel you need? Also, what are your personal standards and values reflected in your food?

Our Takes on The Substitutes

Let’s give a shoutout to some of the meat-substitutes with bad reputations. Associate Online Editor Kylie Thomas mentioned eating seitan almost by accident in a college dining hall. She wasn’t able to tell that it wasn’t chicken. The thing with seitan is it is bread-based, which, if you’re seeking the cleanse angle of plant-based eating, maybe isn’t optimal—though editor-in-chief Keith Recker said “That’s why I like it!”

Tempeh, fermented soybeans, is controversial. Keith gave me a look when I brought it up. But I like frying it in olive oil and putting it in a salad or pasta bowl. Our Director of Operations Star Laliberte sometimes makes patties at home with quinoa and mushrooms and a binding agent like flaxseed to replace store-bought Impossible Burgers. She recommends to just make the effort with something like flaxseed, even if it’s intimidating.

What the Pros Say

But what can you eat if you don’t want to substitute meat with something you feel is lesser? A huge part of it is learning to recognize flavor profiles. The perfect case study is Pittsburgh’s own Apteka (4606 Penn Avenue). Apteka is doing a lot to make plant-based food seem exciting. It’s clearly resonating given that chefs Kate Lasky and Tomasz Skowronski were semifinalists for a James Beard Award and made a 2022 New York Times list of the top 50 restaurants in America. All vegan, but you won’t find any meat substitutes in their recipes. The restaurant advertises itself as “a vegetable restaurant” rather than vegan.

A key example on their menu is Kluski śląskie: Silesian potato dumplings with celeriac, onions, white wine, roast mushroom, mushroom jus, “herbes de Pittsburgh” (a combination of local greenery hand-selected by Skowronski and Lasky), and spring onions. Notice how much mushroom is in there. Mushrooms are protein-rich. The real key is to perfect the method of cooking them to the right texture and unlocking their flavor. Much of the savory experience of eating meat can be matched with mushrooms—much more so than from an impossible burger or other “fake meat.”

When I spoke to Lasky about how Apteka builds out their flavor profiles, she said: “There’s a lot of ingredient building, fermentation, smoking, things like that in our recipes. We also try to be as minimally wasteful as possible and use everything. Celeriac scraps become sauce bases. We save all cores and peels and cook them down into reductions.” Much of what makes Apteka work is that it isn’t just vegan for vegan’s sake, there’s a real philosophy behind it that sees plant-based food not just as a fun trend but as a way of life and an experience. They seek out ways to source their ingredients locally, hence the “herbes de Pittsburgh” in the Kluski śląskie. The Apteka team tries to make the experience of a plant-based meal feel bountiful.

“DIY Cooks”

“Most people choose to be vegan for ethical reasons, not because it’s a culinary experience,” Lasky continued. She and Skorownski are both vegan, but they also see plant-based eating as being about what you can include rather than exclude. “There’s a whole world of things you can do without animal products. It’s actually completely normal to have a meal without animal products.” And while Apteka is fine dining in an earthy, grounded environment, Lasky encourages the people who love their food to try to make their own recipes. “People tell us ‘I’d be vegan if I could eat here every day,’ but we’re only open three days a week!” They also describe themselves as “DIY cooks” who just seek out ingredients at local farmer’s markets and create food based on what’s available.

No pressure to start trying to make James Beard nominated Silesian dumpling recipes in your own kitchen. But plant-based eating forces you to think bigger. Maybe why it inspires such ire is that nothing interesting ever just gets a ‘meh, it’s okay.’ There’s always going to be somebody who hates innovation.

Story and photography by Emma Riva / Photography by Laura Petrilla

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Who Says Girl Dinner is Just for Girls?

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Emma Riva

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June 17, 2024

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a grilled cheese in the middle of a marble charcuterie board with red and purple olives and a variety of cured meats

Last summer, hot takes on “girl dinner” went nuclear. It came from content creator Olivia Maher, who called her own meal of bread, cheese, and cornichons “girl dinner” or a “medieval peasant dish.” As all social media trends eventually do, it eventually got branded as problematic and harmful. A quick browse through the headlines in the food and drink world from July of 2023 gives you something akin to abstract freeform poetry about the subject.

The Washington Post said: “Girl dinner is everything and nothing, all at once.”

Bon Appetit said: “Chill, ‘Girl Dinner’ Is Literally Just A Snack Plate.”

Food & Wine weighed in: “Please Don’t Gender My Dinner.”

The Takeout proclaimed: “Girl Dinner Does Not Exist.”

Fitness influencer Cassey Ho’s brand, Blogilates, then asked, probably rightly, “Are We Overthinking The ‘Girl Dinner’ Trend?”

Girls. (And guys). What were we doing? What kind of brain poisoning did we have in 2023 that every single media outlet decided they needed to say something about “girl dinner”? I feel like we entered a Möbius strip of trying to logic our way into and around a TikTok trend that originated as a joke. I’m a little bit of a hater on this one. I really don’t like the idea of making unhealthy eating habits into a trend instead of learning to make easy things that can still be satisfying, like a quick pasta. I also don’t like the idea of romanticizing the “depression meal.” But the shinier side of the penny is that it makes it a more normal to snack lightly and normalizes a habit a lot of people already have.

Justice for Snacking

Maher’s original girl dinner required some understanding of the culinary arts and did have a touch of class. It wasn’t just Doritos and Sprite. Incorporating a cornichon into your snack plate means you did think about it. Maybe part of what made girl dinner funny and viral was its weird specificity.

But at the end of the day, it’s a buzzword for an idea that has existed since the dawn of time. It could easily be repackaged as an office lunch or a TV dinner. There’s even, bizarrely, a “husband meal,” which is a low-effort meal a husband makes while his wife is out of town. So, the male version winds up just being the exact same thing. Maybe we could just call it…an easy snack?

Girl dinner might better be marketed as impromptu food combinations for those moments when you don’t have time to devote brain power to a recipe. Or when you just have a weird craving. A lot of us have eating habits we might find a little embarrassing. I’ve dipped Cheez-Its in olive oil as an hors d’oeuvre. Girl dinner? No, just a snack I happen to enjoy.

Also, for those of us in media or creative careers, on-the-go eating is a huge part of daily life. My girl dinner when I first became an art reporter was a glass of wine and a coffee before a gallery opening to make sure I was sufficiently both relaxed and keyed up. This was often on an empty stomach. I do NOT recommend it as a long term habit, but I think “reporter dinner” would actually be a pretty revealing rebrand of the low-effort, weird-ingredient meal trend.

Not Only for Girls

On the TABLE website we have many girl dinner options like Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone and Honey Or, the Ultimate Grilled Cheese and Charcuterie Board. And to prove that this is not just for TikTok girls, here are a few iconic girl dinners.

In the 1820s, after being diagnosed with “mental exertion,” poet John Keats ate every single day as a supposed cure for whatever ailed him:

A single anchovy
A small slice of bread

Designer and Vogue editor in chief Diana Vreeland’s daily lunch was:

A whole wheat peanut butter and marmalade sandwich
A finger of scotch

And the secret king of girl dinner is none other than art critic Jerry Saltz, which he chronicled in the 2021 essay “My Appetites.” The Saltz menu is as follows:

Six large black deli coffees, three caffeinated and three decafs, put in the fridge and then throughout the week combined half and half into a 7-Eleven Double Gulp cup with ice, Lactaid, and stevia added
Chicken paillard (which, he adds, he doesn’t actually even know what it is, and describes it as “premade pieces of non-breaded skinless chicken with a teriyaki-ish sauce.)

The overarching idea that I think we need to take home is that there’s no shame in a low-cost, low-effort meal. Let’s take a broader view of this girl dinner trend. Eat what you need to eat to get through the day, but take care of yourself and have a sense of humor about it. You’re not a failure if your dinner is cheese and crackers, but maybe don’t make it part of your identity. (And please, if cheese and crackers is really your go-to, eat a salad, ok?)

Story by Emma Riva / Photo by Laura Petrilla

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A Menu for the Zodiac Sign Cancer (June 21-July 22)

By

Wade Caves

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June 17, 2024

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A strawberry cake in a green plate with whipped cream on top and forks on the side

Why not have your cake and eat it too with a customized menu for the zodiac sign cancer? The nurturing and emotional sign of Cancer in the zodiac, has a history that extends far beyond what you might expect. While it’s easy to focus on the stereotypical traits associated with this water sign, Cancer’s influence is deeply rooted in the ancient world and the rhythms of the natural environment.

How the Water Sign Came to Be

In ancient Egypt, the Sun’s entry into Cancer each year coincided with the annual flooding of the Nile. For local communities, this event was a lifeline. The Nile’s waters revitalized the land, transforming parched riverbeds into fertile plains, and commerce burst forth like wildflowers after a spring rain. The Nile’s flooding opened up trade routes with neighboring lands and distant shores, connecting people and cultures in a vibrant exchange of goods and ideas.

So revered was this sign that the ancient Egyptians placed Cancer at the very beginning of the zodiacal circle. They recognized the inherent dignity and power of this celestial crab, and it’s time for you to do the same. Stand tall and proud, dear Cancer, for you carry the legacy of an astrological powerhouse.

Even today, Cancer is a sign that thrives on connection and exchange. Those born under this sign have an innate love for engaging with others, especially those whose backgrounds and interests differ from their own. Cancerians are the ultimate networkers, building bridges and forging relationships across diverse communities. Their ability to navigate social currents and adapt to different environments makes them natural ambassadors of goodwill and understanding.

Cancer’s Zodiac Sign and the Seasons

It’s important to note that the sign of Cancer and the constellation of Cancer are not the same thing. Constellations are groups of stars visible in the night sky, while zodiacal signs are equal divisions of the Sun’s apparent path throughout the year, known as the ecliptic. The zodiacal signs link to the seasons, not the stars themselves.

The twelve zodiacal signs can be grouped into three categories based on their relationship to the seasons. The cardinal signs mark the beginning of each season and are associated with change and new beginnings. The fixed signs fall in the middle of each season and are known for their stability, determination, and resolute nature. Lastly, the mutable signs stand between the close of one season and the start of the next. These signs are associated with adaptability, flexibility, and the ability to navigate change with ease.

As a cardinal sign, Cancer marks the beginning of summer, a season known for its vibrant energy and rapid growth. This initiating quality is deeply ingrained in your nature, dear Crab. You thrive in environments that allow for swift changes and adaptations, whether it’s in your mood, your plans, or your approach to life’s challenges. Setting and pursuing short- and medium-term goals is where you excel. You have the ability to quickly innovate and insist on the success of your efforts. However, long-term plans that require consistent, unwavering effort may prove more challenging for you, as you tend to crave novelty and innovation. This cardinal quality can apply to various aspects of your life.

New Goals for Cancer This Year

Try new recipes and cuisines to keep your meals varied and exciting. Set short-term goals for healthy eating. Try incorporating more fruits and vegetables into your diet for a week or trying a new healthy recipe each day for a month. Regularly refresh your living space, experiment with new hobbies, or take on projects that can be completed within a relatively short timeframe.
Opt for a variety of activities rather than sticking to a rigid, long-term routine. Try new fitness classes, participate in seasonal sports, or set achievable fitness goals that can be accomplished within a few weeks or months.
Attend events or gatherings that allow you to meet new people and engage in lively conversations, as opposed to more structured, long-term social commitments.

What Qualities Does the Zodiac Sign Cancer Have?

The zodiac signs not only connect to the elements, but they also have distinct qualities to them. The water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces) are collectively associated with winter, moisture, and coldness. These signs have a reputation for calm and composed natures, often remaining even-tempered and not easily disturbed by stress or excitement. The reliable and consistent presence of water types can be a source of comfort to others. Water signs are slow to anger and tend to be excellent listeners. A chief problem tends to be procrastination, or waiting on circumstances to change on their own.

When it comes to diet, water signs tend to want foods that are cooling and moistening. These include fruits like melons and cucumbers, vegetables like lettuce and zucchini, and dairy products like milk and yogurt. Oats and rice are also beneficial for water signs to balance the body’s moisture levels.

However, it’s important to remember that health is all about balance. Sometimes, water sign types can have too much cold or moisture in the body. This can lead to feelings of sluggishness or congestion. In these cases, and throughout winter when your natural constitution can be exacerbated by the climate, consider incorporating warming and drying foods into your diet to help restore balance. Spices like ginger, black pepper, and cinnamon are great for this, as are lean proteins like chicken and fish. Nuts and seeds, such as almonds and sunflower seeds, also fit the bill.

Best Foods to Balance Cancer’s Zodiac Sign

For most seasons, these foods are good for bolstering Cancer’s natural constitution:

Land: Pork, rabbit, duck, goose.
Surf: Oysters, clams, mussels, crabs, lobster, octopus, squid, cod, haddock, halibut, salmon, tuna, eel, trout, catfish.
Grains: White bread, milk bread, soft pretzels, bagels, croissants, brioche, pancakes, waffles, muffins, biscuits, doughnuts, pasta (especially fresh pasta), couscous, white rice, oats, barley (when cooked until very soft), rice pudding, porridge.
Vegetation: Cucumbers, lettuce, melons (watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe), bananas, white rice, oats, milk, cheese, yogurt, zucchini, squash, pumpkin, mushrooms, tofu, seaweed, algae, agar.
Alcohol: Beer, white wine, sake.

In the winter months, it’s advisable for Cancer to introduce a bit more heat and reduce their moisture intake:

Land: Chicken, turkey, lean beef, lamb.
Surf: Anchovies, sardines, herring, mackerel.
Grains: Rye bread, sourdough bread, whole wheat bread, sprouted grain bread, quinoa, brown rice, millet, buckwheat, amaranth, barley, spelt.
Vegetation: Garlic, onions, leeks, chives, shallots, mustard greens, arugula, radishes, horseradish, ginger, black pepper, chili peppers, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds.
Alcohol: Red wine, whiskey, brandy.

The Perfect Zodiac Sign Menu for Cancer

Starter

Greek-Style Greens Galette and Mazza Winery Perfect Rosé

Slow-cooked greens inside a crispy galette crust with fresh herbs might heal any sluggish tendencies in a Cancer. The warmth of Greek-Style Greens and melty feta cheese compensates for those fiery areas that Cancer may be missing. The additional lightness of Mazza Winery Perfect Rosé is place where Cancer can feel at home in the wet and sweet depths of rosé.

Main Course

Simple Pork Chops and Peaches and Southern Right Chenin Blanc

To pay attention to ingredients that Cancer is usually draws to, and those which Cancer requires for fulfillment, we recommend a main course of Simple Pork Chops and Peaches. The pork and peaches speak to the water sign with its mild and soothing nature. This main protein is combines with red onion, smoked paprika, and garam masala for that spiced bite that Cancer may be missing. A glass of Southern Right Chenin Blanc from South Africa carries subtle notes of mandarin and orange in its classic French-leaning flavor profile.

Side Dish

Nana’s Cucumber Salad

Cooling Cucumber Salad is an excellent dish for refreshing water-sign Cancer in the hot summer months. Dive into this bowl full of fresh chopped cucumbers and radishes, drizzled in a light olive oil and apple cider vinegar blend. It’s also a dish that the over-thinking Cancer in your life will appreciate for its simplicity.

Dessert

Strawberry Cake and Mionetto Prosecco Brut

Even though Cancers tend to head towards moisture-filled, cooling foods they still need a bit of heat to balance things out. This Strawberry Cake recipe includes the punch of ginger, nutmeg, and cardamon to contrast the natural sweetness of strawberries. Plus, with the accompaniment of Mionetto Prosecco Brut you’ll get an extra dose of dry, fruity flavors.

Story by Wade Caves

Wade Caves, based in Brooklyn, NY, is an astrological consultant and educator specializing in problem-solving applications of astrology. He teaches astrological divination and astronomy at the School of Traditional Astrology. Wade also publishes his work on world astrology through Skyscript’s In Mundo publishing desk and hosts the World Astrology Summit, a conference dedicated to the advancement of astrology for global problem-solving.

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Juneteenth Mac and Cheese

By

Keith Recker

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June 16, 2024

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An aerial shot of mac and cheese, orange in color, sitting in a blue casserole dish. — The Netflix series 'High on the Hog' made us look at this classic dish with new eyes.

When we bite deliciously iconic American foods like mac and cheese, we rarely take the time to think about how they became “American,” and under what circumstances they were developed. Juneteenth, the commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States, is an occasion to revisit how Black Americans shaped American food culture.

In the Netflix series High on the Hog, writer, editor, and thinker Stephen Satterwhite sheds light on the influence of African cooking and the African diaspora on what Americans eat today. The picture he paints shows clearly that American eating is intimately entwined with ingredients, palates, and skills of Black Americans. It comes from well before our country was even a country. The series is a must-watch for anyone interested in food or history.

In fact, it’s a good idea to binge it all at once, and then revisit each episode with more patience. The personal stories, as well as the historical insights contained within the episodes, need to be savored. The third episode, “Our Founding Chefs,” looks at two enslaved men whose skill in the kitchen made them famous.

Hercules Posey cooked for George Washington for much of his life.

When Washington was required to live in Philadelphia, the first capital of the United States, he transported Posey and other enslaved workers back and forth to Virginia to avoid Pennsylvania laws that called for freedom for men and women living in the state for longer than six months. Posey was allowed to sell food from the kitchen door of Washington’s Philadelphia home, and to keep the proceeds. His food was so popular that his food sales earned him a proper cook’s salary. He was said to be a dapper dresser, and liked to walk the streets of Philadelphia.

Posey was famous for the opulence of his meals. Even a simple family supper consisted of multiple courses of meats and fish, vegetables, pickles and sauces, breads, and a variety of wine and beer. He is also reported to have had a “Gordon Ramsey-like” temper in the kitchen, with little tolerance for mistakes or dawdlers. He escaped to New York in 1797, and lived there, separated from his children, until his death in 1812.

James Hemings cooked for Thomas Jefferson

James Hemings cooked for Thomas Jefferson. His younger sister Sally, also enslaved by Jefferson, had six children with the third president of the United States. When Jefferson became the US Minister to France in 1784, both James and Sally Hemings came with him. James studied various forms of cooking with restauranteur Monsieur Combeaux, with pastry chefs. Evenly, incredibly, he served apprentice in the household of the Prince de Condé. As an important figure in Jefferson’s household, he created meals for the illustrious European guests who came to Jefferson’s table. His food was famously delicious.

In 1793, Jefferson grudgingly agreed to free Hemings as long as he trained a replacement. After two years of training his brother to become a cook, James Hemings was a free man. He lived only a few years as a free man, however, before killing himself. Negotiating life in the early years of the United States cannot have been easy for Hemings, even with a command of French and English and renowned skills as a chef.

Mac and cheese with a tip from James Hemings

One of the dishes spoken about in High on the Hog is Mac and Cheese. Mac and Cheese classic dish that is served at one time or another in every American home. Whether it’s bright orange and comes out of a box, or creamy and bubbling with fresh cheese, whether it’s served as a side dish on major holidays or just a bit of comfort food plated up with love for the kids, it’s part of a long American tradition. James Hemings seems to be one of the skilled chefs that helped make the dish a fixture of American life, and historians at Monticello note that he cooked his macaroni in a boiling pot of half-milk-half-water. The especially silky noodles that result are layered into a baking dish with cheese and lots of butter, and maybe a crack or two of black pepper.

In honor of Juneteenth, we tried Hemings’ milk-and-water boil. The tender, silky-smooth results are delicious. Unforgettable. We’ll never go back to plain old water again. Try it with your family’s version of mac and cheese.

Whenever we make this dish, we will be mindful of James Hemings, a source of this delicious tradition, whose life, and whose extended family’s life, was indelibly marked by slavery. We will be mindful of how our country continues to hear the echoes of slavery. Can the comfort foods we all love inspire us to love one and other more? Let’s try.

Story by Keith Recker / Photography by Dave Bryce

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Lamb Burger with Raspberry-Mint Vinegar Drizzle

By

Emma Riva

-

June 16, 2024

0

A lamb burger sits on a green plate topped with berries with stray berries and mint are scattered on the table.

One of the dishes that most impresses me is a lamb burger that can combine ingredients like goat cheese, raspberry vinegar, and even fresh herbs. I’ve made a variety of versions of it over more than three decades. Here’s a tempting summer rendition, using fresh raspberries as well as well as vinegar infused with the crimson fruit.

A Note on Raspberry Vinegar

Raspberry vinegars vary greatly in their sweetness and actual raspberry-ness. I especially like the A L’Olivier brand which calls it “Vinaigre and Framboise.” This brand contains enough berry pulp to be a bit syrupy. Depending on your vinegar’s flavor, you might want to add a touch more sugar or vinegar to the sauce. Just depends on your preference! Or, you can make your own at home for the ultimate power over the flavor.

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Lamb Burger with Raspberry-Mint Vinegar Drizzle

Author: Cheryl Alters Jamison

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Description

Upgrade your grill game for your next cookout.

Ingredients

Scale

2 lb freshly ground lamb
1/3 cup minced fresh mint
1–1½ tsp salt
6 oz creamy fresh goat cheese, divided into 6 portions
6 slices sourdough bread
Mayonnaise, optional
A couple of handfuls of fresh raspberries

For the raspberry-mint vinegar drizzle:

1 cup fresh mint leaves
¼ cup + 2 tbsp raspberry vinegar or other fruit or fruit-infused vinegar
¼ cup + 2 tbsp white or white wine vinegar
2 tbsp granulated sugar
Salt

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Instructions

Combine the Raspberry-Mint Vinegar Drizzle ingredients in a food processor. Pour into a small bowl.
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium (where you can hold your hand comfortably an inch or two about the cooking grate for 4 to 5 seconds before needing to pull it away).
Mix the ground lamb, mint and salt together in a medium bowl. Gently form the mixture into 12 very thin burger-size patties. The patties should hold together firmly, but don’t compact them or handle them any longer than necessary.
Place a portion of goat cheese on half of the patties, then top each with 1 of the remaining patties, to make 6 burgers. Seal the edges well.
Grill the burgers over medium heat for a total of 5-5 ½ minutes per side for medium rare. Turn so that each side faces the fire twice, rotating a half turn for crisscross grill marks. While the burgers cook, toast the slices of bread on the edge of the grill.
If you wish, slather each slice of bread on one side with mayonnaise. Arrange each burger on a slice. Drizzle with sauce and serve, with each burger garnished with a half-dozen or so raspberries and a few mint leaves.

Recipe and Story by Cheryl Alters Jamison
Styling by Anna Franklin
Photography by Dave Bryce

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Chicken Recipe with Blackberry Sauce

By

Anna Franklin

-

June 14, 2024

0

A blackberry chicken recipe with sprigs of rosemary for garnish

This chicken recipe is inspired by a meeting I had some years ago at a grilling demo sponsored by the Weber folks in Portland, OR. I came up with this idea to make use of the area’s iconic berries, in season at the time. I don’t remember much about the day now, except that all of the invited chefs grilled out on the rooftop of a downtown building without catching anyone or anything on fire, and that everyone loved this dish.

Tips for Making Your Own Sauce

Once you start making your own sauces, you’ll never want to buy them again. If you really want to DIY it, you can try making your own stock, too, either chicken or vegetable. But we all have to start somewhere. The great thing about making your own sauces is that you can taste them as you go and get them to the flavor you want, instead of just going with what you bought. So, taste as you make it and take the time to get it to just right. In this recipe, you also want to pay attention to how much the berries disintegrate, because you can always get them softer, but you can’t go back once they lose their solidity. With any home cooking, it’s important to experiment based on what you (or whoever you’re cooking for!) like, because in your own kitchen, you’re the boss.

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Chicken Recipe with Blackberry Sauce

Author: Cheryl Alters Jamison

Print Recipe

Description

A simple and straightforward but gourmet recipe.

Ingredients

Scale

For the Chicken

6 large boneless skinless individual chicken breasts, pounded ½ to ¾ inch thick
1 tsp freshly milled black pepper
Salt
Vegetable oil spray
Fresh rosemary sprigs, for garnish
Blackberry Sauce (See below)

For the Blackberry Sauce

2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 large shallot, diced
2 cups chicken stock, preferably low-sodium
2 cups blackberries or loganberries, fresh or frozen
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary or ½ tsp crumbled dried rosemary
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme or ½ tsp dried thyme
Salt
Blackberry, loganberry, or raspberry jelly, jam, or preserves, optional

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Instructions

For the Chicken

Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium (where you can hold your hand comfortably an inch or two about the cooking grate for 4-5 seconds before needing to pull it away).
Pepper the chicken and salt it lightly. Just before grilling, spritz the breasts with the oil.
Grill the chicken uncovered over medium heat for 5-6 minutes per side, until opaque but still juicy. Brush lightly with the sauce when you turn the cooked side of the chicken up, and coat the second side when it comes off the grill. Serve hot with the remaining sauce, garnished with rosemary.

For the Blackberry Sauce

To prepare the sauce, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the shallot and sauté until soft, about 3 minutes.
Add the stock, berries, rosemary, and thyme, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the berries have disintegrated, about 20 additional minutes.
Strain the sauce into a bowl, pressing on the solids to extract from them as much liquid as possible. Return the sauce to the saucepan and season it with salt. If the sauce tastes overly tart, stir in a bit of jelly, if you wish to balance the flavor. Continue cooking the sauce until it has reduced to about 1½ cups. (The sauce can be prepared a day ahead to this point, cooled, and refrigerated covered. Reheat before proceeding.)

Recipe by Cheryl Alters Jamison
Styling by Anna Franklin
Photography by Dave Bryce

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The Origins of the Strawberry

By

Kylie Thomas

-

June 13, 2024

0

A white plate in front of a field of grass holds various strawberries in red and white color.

Next time you bite into a juicy, ripe, red strawberry, spare a thought for the three centuries of history, exploration, and botanical adventure origins that bring this seasonal staple to your table. The story starts in Chile. With espionage.

Where the Strawberry Comes From

As the sun rises on the Chilean Cordillera Nahuelbuta, “the mountain range of the great puma,” songbirds and the crowing of roosters announce the dawn. A field of white strawberries with pale blooms awaits the gold-hued sunlight. Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral marveled at the fragrance of the region’s famed strawberry, white, rather than red, with red achenes or seeds: “A delicate scent flies away shy and pleasant, thin as the breeze, intimate as the breath.” The Chilean countryside is fragrant with this enticing scent during New Year’s celebrations.

It is undoubtedly this same aroma that captivated French explorer Amédée-François Frézier (1682-1773) when he arrived in present-day Conception in the early 1700s. And it’s the first clue that hints at how the white strawberry of Chile, journeyed across oceans and arrived in Europe.

A man picks strawberries in a field in the city where the origins of strawberries began, holding a basket in his other hand.

The Birth of a Berry

Hired to spy on Spanish ports and fortifications on the Chilean coast, the young engineer embodied the spirit of the Enlightenment. Guided by a thirst for knowledge, he was equally engaged in mathematics, art, and botany. In the 18th century, minerals, plants, and animals were of utmost interest to intellectual travelers like Frézier. South America, a region mostly unknown to Europeans, brimmed with possibilities for curious botanists. Frézier and his crew enthusiastically collected, dried, and documented botanical samples to stock the ship’s herbarium. But their hope was to do more than preserve dried samples. There was a constant quest to bring back plants useful for medicine, food, or craft which led to the introduction––and later assimilation––of species from around the world.

Near Concepción, Frézier gathered and chronicled remarkable strawberry plants that grew in the area. One that he described as: “Fragaria chiliensis, fructu maximo, foliis carnosis, hirsutis, vulgo frutilla.” In other words, “Chilean strawberries with large fruits and fleshy and hairy leaves, which are commonly called Frutillas.” In his book, Relation de Voyage, he writes, “They cultivate whole fields of a species of strawberry different from ours … Its fruits are usually as big as a walnut and sometimes as big as a hen’s egg. They are of a whitish red color and a little less delicate to the taste than our wild strawberries.”

A man carries a basket through green strawberry plants in a greenhouse where the origins of the strawberry began.

Bringing the Strawberry to Europe

At the expense of the crew’s freshwater rationing and against the odds, Frézier’s crew arrived in Marseille, France on August 17, 1714, with five plants that miraculously had survived the six-month voyage. Fragaria chiliensis quickly spread throughout the botanical gardens of France, England, and Holland. Unfortunately, they did not produce flowers or fruit until one day, at the westernmost tip of Brittany, France, facing the Atlantic, the Chilean white strawberry happened to be growing in the vicinity of Fragaria virginiana. This small, red, wild variety, grew in abundance in the meadows and forests of North America and was cultivated by Native Americans. Thanks to another explorer, navigator Jacques Cartier, it travelled from Virginia to Europe.

A new hybrid was born. Fragaria ananassa, the pineapple strawberry, boasts the size of the Chilean and the color of a Virginian strawberry. It is the first of the modern strawberry plants, whose red fruits now delight us throughout the world in summer.

A person holds four white strawberries in their hands.

The Continuation of a Strawberry Legacy

To this day, Brittany holds a special place in its heart for strawberries, so much so that it has its own Strawberry Museum in Plougastel-Daoulas. Not surprising, since the mild climate of this peninsula in Brittany makes it ideal for growing strawberries whether in the open ground or in hanging containers. Several varieties are popular including the Ciflorette, Charlotte, Mara des bois, and Gariguette.

Story by Chloé Batissou and Esha Chiocchio
Photography by Esha Chiocchio

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Main Course

Simple Pork Chops and Peaches and Southern Right Chenin Blanc

Side Dish

Dessert

Strawberry Cake and Mionetto Prosecco Brut

Hercules Posey cooked for George Washington for much of his life.

James Hemings cooked for Thomas Jefferson

Mac and cheese with a tip from James Hemings

A Note on Raspberry Vinegar

Description

Ingredients

For the raspberry-mint vinegar drizzle:

Instructions

Tips for Making Your Own Sauce

Description

Ingredients

For the Chicken

For the Blackberry Sauce

Instructions

For the Chicken

For the Blackberry Sauce

Where the Strawberry Comes From

The Birth of a Berry

Bringing the Strawberry to Europe

The Continuation of a Strawberry Legacy

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