Stanley Tucci ate leaves on the internet so I did too

& what Shakespeare, Charli XCX, and Einstein have to do with measuring time in the kitchen

Author

Saanya w/ SOIRÉE & Pepper
September 05, 2024

ICYMI, my name’s Saanya Ali and I’m the founder of SOIRÉE, a platform, newsletter, and social community dedicated to reviving the “lost art of entertaining” and making food, and the culture around it, FUN…as it should be. Whether online or in person, using tech-y consulting acronyms or excited shrieks in the kitchen, I love to learn food, love food, love food lovers, explore the connections that sharing that love can bring, and host a lot of dinner parties.

The SOIRÉE newsletter has merged with Dash by Pepper, so you’re now reading SOIRÉE x Pepper. Each week, we’ll explore basic home cooking tips, hosting how to’s, food history and science deep dives, and share some of our favorite recipes, picks to shop, and invitations to fun foodie events. I’m so happy you’re here :)

P.S. You can find SOIRÉE on our website, TikTok, and Instagram!

Salad Hacking 101

Salads, much like the classic rom com "quirky best friend,” are an often overlooked character at the dinner table. That said, with a little love, a makeover from Paulo, a few accessories, and a touch of extra screen time, they have the potential to steal the show. With the right formula, you can turn your bowl of "Yes, mom. I promise I'll eat something green" lettuce into a culinary masterpiece.

Here’s how -

Dressing (The Costume)

Picture this: Your salad is the girl next door; bland and unassuming in torn jeans and a baggy tee. The dressing is the sparkling prom gown that turns her into a swan in the eyes of "hunky, yet wildly misunderstood, “That’s your dream, dad. Not mine" quarterback.

Dressings fall into two categories: Vinaigrette and Creamy.

A traditional vinaigrette is made up of a fat and an acid—think: olive oil and balsamic. But they also leave a lot of room for experimentation and play. Try different vinegars, citruses, and even a bit of rendered bacon or duck fat or throw in some herbs, mustards, honey, or miso to level up. Here’s a lemon basil vinaigrette we love!

Creamy dressings, on the other hand, are the high maintenance divas of the high school—blue cheese, Caesar, or ranch. They bring the drama and pair well with only specific greens. Like Goldilocks and her bed and Cinderella and her slipper, a dressing and its greens need to fit "juuuuust right." Check out our How To guide on salad greens for a handy flavor pairing cheat sheet.

Greens (The Cast)

When you think salad, you think...green. The leaves are the stars of the show. The most common salad lettuces are: iceberg, romaine, bibb, kale, spinach, radicchio, escarole, spring mix, endive, butter, arugula, frisée, and mesclun.

Each one has a unique personality and friend group that it gets along with best. Check out this video for more details on how to pair your salad leaf with the perfect dressing. 

Grains (The Supporting Characters)

Farro, bulgur, couscous, rice, and quinoa are the supporting characters that add a bit of depth to the plot. The friends that are met along the way to keep audiences engaged and help the stars grow. If you want to shake things up, toss in some squash or potatoes for a plot twist relationship that nobody saw coming.

Protein (The Genie, Mr. Miyagi, Rafiki, and Mary Poppins)

Every movie needs that one guiding light character that helps the rookie realize their full potential. Similarly, every salad needs a reliable protein to balance out all of the veg and keep you energized and full. Meat, fish, cheese, and eggs (and for the veggies—tofu, tempeh, chickpeas, and nuts) are the wisened characters with an added “been around the block” depth to them.

Toppings (The Extras)

Toppings are like the memorable one liners that you quote years later. Fresh herbs like mint and basil are witty, flavor-filled zingers, spiralized vegetables are sneaky cameos, pickles are curious, unresolved sub-plots, and roasted vegetables like eggplant and peppers are niche references that you only understand after watching them 52 times.

Food History 101: The mob ‘Got milk?’

If you’ve never heard of the Chicago Milk Wars of 1933, buckle in, because this is some Succession x The Godfather crossover episode level drama.

TLDR: The mob ran the milk industry.

In the 1930s, Al Capone and his crew of mobsters realized that Prohibition was ending so they were about to lose their primary source of cash—bootlegging. To preempt this, they staged a hostile takeover of something that was a sure thing (i.e. couldn’t be shut down and would be a cash cow…literally) a dairy farm.

The mob bought Meadowmoor Dairies, slashed the, formerly fixed, prices of milk and dairy products, and went head-to-head with unions. There were bombings, beatings, and busted milk trucks. So essentially people literally cried over spilt milk. Check out this Stuff You Should Know podcast on the history of the Milk Wars.

How time moves differently in the kitchen

Yesterday, my brother walked into the kitchen and told Alexa to play Guess by Charli XCX. The oven was on, girls night was in full swing, he grabbed my phone from the counter, flipped it around and recorded our pajama clad karaoke. Our giggling drowned out the “probably don’t play this song in the car with your mother” lyrics, and for a moment, time in the kitchen stood still. Nothing needed to start marinating. Nothing needed to come off the stove or go into the oven. I was wearing one oven mitt, balsamic glaze dripped off Julie’s fingers, the noxious fumes of halfway chopped onions accosted the postage stamp-sized room, and Ellie stopped her cast iron deglaze. The culinary purpose of the kitchen was to be our stage. Everything could wait until after our 2 minute 23 second “Brat Rave.”

In Christopher Kimball’s podcast, Milk Street, he reminded listeners of the classic Shakespeare quote from As You Like It—“Time travels in divers paces with divers persons. I’ll tell you who Time ambles withal, who Time trots withal, who Time gallops withal, and who he stands still withal.” There is no place where this is so true as it is in the kitchen, where time ticks by a different clock.

The kitchen lives on its own plane that transcends the numerical, and it all depends on what you’re doing. Like Einstein said, “time is relative.” A watched pot never boils. But somehow 90 seconds feels like 3 when you have to flip 10 scallops at once and you will live the longest 15 minutes of your earthly existence when you’re peeling potatoes, shelling broad beans, or pitting stone fruit for jam. Kimball goes on to provide the solution to this universal kitchen time warp. “You can escape time [in the kitchen] with wine and music,” he says. Personally, I’d simply add “company” to make it an even time defying trio. 

Breaking News From the Food World

  • 🎥 Dominic Sessa has been cast to play Anthony Bourdain in the upcoming biopic on Bourdain’s life and career, ‘Tony’.

  • 🎾 It’s U.S. Open season and that means that the internet is bombarded with Honey Deuce + demure manicure photos (I am literally just a girl, so…me too), but if you’re not making the trek up to Arthur Ashe, we’ve got the recipe:

    • 1.25 ounces Grey Goose vodka

    • 3 ounces fresh lemonade

    • .5 ounce Chambord

    • Skewer of 3 honeydew melon balls

  • 🍳 Stanley Tucci said to eat leaves on the internet and I’m not questioning it. In his most recent instagram reel, he posted a foraging haul that included dandelion leaves and red currants. He explained that he couldn't wait to use the leaves in a salad with a vinaigrette and hard boiled eggs. Dandelion leaves are amazing sources of vitamins A, C, and K as well as folate and vitamin E. This makes them great for reducing inflammation and promoting healthy liver functioning.

As always, please reach out if you have any feedback for how we can improve your experience on Pepper 🌶️