Spicy, Giant Crunchy Corn by Alison Roman

I truly can’t believe I’m writing this. The final recipe. 

There were days when I wished time would speed up so I could arrive here. There have been far more days when I wished time would slow down to delay things a little longer. I wish I could go back and taste certain dishes for the first time, feel the rush of those small victories all over again. I wish I could relive all of the conversations and community shared around those meals. 

For a whole year, my social life has primarily revolved around a cooking project. For a whole year, I’ve filled moments of solitude, of dreaming about the future, of rest, of worry, of exhaustion - with cooking and writing. It would be impossible to count the hours spent on this project, but there’s really no need to do that. I would do it all over again. 

It feels sort of odd to end such a journey with a recipe as simple as spiced corn nuts. Somehow this one slipped through the cracks till the very end. Yet, after what’s felt like a marathon of the past month, perhaps it’s fitting to end with a snack that only requires baking corn nuts in oil, then tossing them in nutritional yeast and aleppo pepper. What results are highly addictive and oddly irresistible toasty corn kernels - perfect for a party or sharing with coworkers the next day. A dish meant to be shared. (I couldn’t for the life of me find quicos, so I used the Love Corn brand of corn nuts, which are less salty).

This project started out of a desire to reincorporate my artist-self back into my daily life. After years of studying theater and making art all the time, the years since have felt drier, lacking. This project changed that by providing an outlet for self-expression and personal growth all in one. I don’t want to go back to my old way of being. I’m ready to keep going. 

This is not the end. I believe it’s only the beginning.

225 recipes cooked, 0 to go. Goal: Complete.

Smashed Eggs and Fancy Fish on Crackers by Alison Roman

Now that I’m two-thirds of the way through this project, I’m starting to face up to the more daunting and/or “ew, not for me” recipes in Alison’s books. Some of them I’ve already made (like the sour cherry and sesame galette, or the grilled branzino with lemons all of the ways), and had surprisingly good results. A few of them (like the whole roasted snapper) I’ve deemed “good, if you like that sort of thing.” 

Smashed eggs and fish on crackers is one of these “good, if you like that sort of thing” recipes. I’ll probably never make this again, but if cured fish paired with mayonnaise and a jammy egg sounds like a fun party to you - you’ll love this. 

Amongst the many topping options that Alison gives, I made my snack with: 

• Half a gluten-free Everything Bagel, toasted

• Mayonnaise 

• A six-minute egg (yum! So easy! 6 minutes!) 

• Slices of Dad’s Scotch Gravlax (I have SO much to say about it here)

• Parsley 

• Flaky sea salt

149 recipes cooked, 76 to go.

Avocados with Everything by Alison Roman

I grew up in sunny Southern California, where citrus is cheap and avocados are aplenty. Californian cuisine is famous for finding creative ways to incorporate avocados into just about any recipe (and charging you an extra $3 for it too). My aunt and uncle who live in Redlands have a backyard full of avocado trees, and a few times a year we’d come home from a visit carrying a large grocery bag full of unripened avocados. We’d wait patiently for at least a week, checking them every morning to see if they were ready for a bowl of guacamole yet. Those were special days. 

I’ve only been to New York once, and there I ate the best bagel I’ve ever had. An Everything bagel, toasted, with chive cream cheese. My breath smelled awesome for the rest of the day. I’m a sucker for anything super salty and umami-y, so naturally the Everything bagel is my favorite. (Since going Gluten-Free, I tried to make my own sourdough bagels with Everything-but-the-bagel seasoning. Sadly, my attempt thoroughly failed. I’ll try again someday with a different recipe.)

Combine my hometown and one of my all-time vacation spots, and what do you get? Avocados with Everything! Half an avocado, sprinkled with lemon juice, and Everything seasoning. Eat with a spoon for breakfast, lunch, or a snack. It’s ripe with nostalgia. 

79 recipes cooked, 146 to go.

Slightly Sticky Walnuts with Sesame and Sumac by Alison Roman

The first 20 recipes in nothing fancy fall under the “Snack Time” category, and this was the first one I’ve made. I love snacks, so why did it take me 3 months to dabble in this category? I think because my ideal snack and Alison’s ideal snack aren’t super aligned.. 

Alison likes fishy snacks like trout roe on toast and anchovies with potato chips. Alison reaches for bowls of fancy olives and sesame dips. She appreciates a good shrimp cocktail. While I’ll eventually have to try all of those things, and may even like some of them, they’re not what I crave when I want a tasty snack to perk up my afternoon. I like pickles and tortilla chips. I want a tangerine or a bowl of honey-mustard pretzels. 

Another snack I can totally get behind are flavored, roasted nuts. Alison and I absolutely agree on that. So enter these slightly sticky walnuts! 

These walnuts are a quick, easy, and super tasty snack that’s fancy enough to appear at a party and humble enough to be an ordinary day treat. 

To make these tasty walnuts, toss 4 cups of raw walnut pieces in maple syrup, tahini, olive oil, raw sesame seeds, a pinch of cayenne, and salt and pepper. Bake the nuts on a baking sheet and parchment paper for 20 minutes at 325. As soon as they’re a golden brown and removed from the oven, sprinkle with flaky salt and ground sumac. 

The result is a good balance of salty and sweet, and a fun crunch from the nuts and sesame seeds. They’re addicting. If these nuts are any indication of how I’ll like the other snack time recipes, then good times are yet to come.

50 (!) recipes cooked, 175 to go.