debriefing after a week of gluttony

My weeks of newsletter slacking are over. My wedding reception was Saturday, and now that it’s over, I feel like I’ve regained control of my life and my free time. Get ready for me to stop making excuses about why your inboxes are empty mid-week.

But first, can I dwell for a moment on the wedding reception? It was at Maketto, one of my favorite restaurants, which also happens to be just a few blocks away from my house. That meant I got to walk home and put on sweats after the party and then walk right back out to a bar. More importantly: I got to eat pork belly lo mein and scallion pancakes and at least 10 raw oysters topped with a spicy mignonette. The next day, one of my uncles pulled me aside and said he’d never seen a wedding where they just kept serving so much good food. I can’t think of a nicer thing anyone could’ve told me in the aftermath of the best night of my life

dancing in the drizzle in the Maketto courtyard

I’ll write more about the party in a later edition of this newsletter, so for now, let’s move on to the usual lineup, which is slightly abridged due to the fact that I have neither cooked nor opened a book for close to 10 days. Good habits will recommence soon.

… Italian ricciarelli cookies. I made a double batch, using this recipe, for the wedding reception (because three cakes and a half sheet of brownies wasn’t enough), and doing so reminded me how much I love these little guys. I’ve made them a few times, and every time I take a bite, it feels like a victory.

That’s because of a very nice Italian man who confidently and breezily (and not at all meanly) told me there was no way I’d be able to recreate ricciarelli at home. This was last fall in Siena, after I got hangry and barged into a bakery and bought myself one of these powdered-sugar-dusted almond delicacies. One, it turned out, wasn’t enough, so Jesse went back and bought a bag of them, which we shared with my brother and parents and our tour guide, the very nice Italian man in question. He explained that they’re a Sienese favorite, and when I started googling recipes, he told me not to bother. They’re very difficult to make, he explained. Well, take that.

immediately after my baking skills were called into question

The recipe I linked above isn’t perfect (though it’s pretty damn good), and one of my first post-wedding baking projects will be fine-tuning my ricciarelli by digging up some authentic Italian recipes and doing a whole bunch of trial batches. Stay tuned.

… Ploughman’s “The Plenum” vermouth. Jesse and I recently had brunch at Bloomsday Cafe in Philadelphia, and the friend we ate with suggested we finish the meal with a vermouth. I had never realized vermouth was a post-brunch option, and how lost I was without that knowledge. Bloomsday has a huge vermouth list, and of the ones we tried, this one was my favorite. I ordered two bottles immediately, and it’s frighteningly drinkable over ice — a bit sweet and rich and fruity, like a fermented apple orchard.

… as much food as you can stomach from 2Fifty Texas BBQ. I happened to inherit a whole lot of this barbecue after my parents had leftovers from their Sunday night dinner, and I may now eat it for every meal until Friday. If that’s as far as it stretches, I won’t complain. 2Fifty is pretty stunning. Its owners, who moved to the D.C. area from El Salvador, know their way around a smoker, and the Salvadoran influences — especially in the side dishes — make the menu stand out. Don’t miss the wagyu brisket, or the pork ribs, or the corn, or the mac and cheese, or the spicy cheddar sausage. Hell, order the whole menu.