A Very Fine Spritz by Alison Roman

I tasted my first spritz ever in the hill country of Austria. Sounds idyllic, right? Not quite. Don’t get me wrong, an aperol spritz on a European afternoon is about as idyllic as it can get. But there were other factors swirling around my spritz that took away the awe of it all. 

First of all, I was extremely jetlagged. I was running on about 4 hours of sleep, which never feels good, and on top of that, was dealing with some pretty severe nausea and heat exhaustion. I wasn’t in Austria with my husband or friends who could cheer me up, either. I flew there with my coworkers. And let’s just say, they saw no need to comfort me. Only criticize. My stress levels were at an all-time high. I was there for a pretty cool reason, though. Our client wanted to create a commercial about the elderberries that they source for their natural supplement products. So we travelled with a film crew to capture the elderberry harvest. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, but I spent most of it just trying to convince others that I sort of knew what I was doing. Which can be hard to do when you can’t even convince yourself. 

I look back on that experience and have so much more grace for myself than before. I was brand new to this role. This was my second shoot EVER, and it was in a foreign country that spoke a different language with coworkers who didn’t make my job easier. Amidst the 3:30am wake-up calls and the 14-hour shoot days, my only respite came in the form of spritz’s. The Austrians seem to offer them at every meal! And while my companions ordered beer, my stomach had way too many knots to handle a lager. So I ordered a spritz. 

My dear friend Madeline, who I mention quite a bit on this blog, helped me reclaim the beauty of a spritz shared with a friend. She loves to experiment with simple syrups, liquors and different kinds of bubbly. Madeline herself captures the spirit of very fine spritz. So it was only fitting to make her an Alison spritz when she and her husband Sam came over. 

Alison’s spritz is simple and flexible: one-third liquor, like Campari or Aperol (we chose Rinomato which is on the more bitter side of Amaro’s), one third sparkling water or wine, and one-third regular white wine. Oh, and lots of ice. It’s refreshing, delicious, not anything truly different from other spritz’s, but a nice ingredient ratio to go by. It was a gorgeous evening and we enjoyed our drinks in our sunlit apartment for what would be our last time together there. 

Very fine, indeed. 

128 recipes cooked, 97 to go.

Farro with Toasted Fennel, Lemon, and Basil by Alison Roman

I disobeyed the key ingredient and substituted quinoa. Admittedly, quinoa is not meant to be used here at all. Alison gives a list of five grain options, all of which have gluten, and none of which are quinoa. But alas, there are just some compromises that I need to make so my body doesn’t revolt against me. 

Quinoa doesn’t have the same kind of satisfying, chewy bite that farro has, and it soaks up flavor really quickly. Which I think are two reasons why I wasn’t blown away by this salad. Both of which are not Alison’s fault. But in general, my main critique is that it needs more flavor, regardless of grain choice. It’s heading in a really good direction – frizzled garlic slices and fennel seeds, caramelized lemon and fennel bulb – and I wished it went further! I think it could use lemon juice or white wine vinegar, which I ended up adding. I want it to require parmesan! (Which Alison suggests as an option in the comments, and I recommend taking this advice.) I ate this grain salad and said out loud to our dinner guests, “But I want MORE FLAVOR!” I stand by that wish. 

One element I appreciated is that after the lemon, garlic, and fennel elements are nice and toasty, the grains get added to the skillet with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to become slightly crispy and soak up all the garlicky oil. A crisped grain, IMO, is much more interesting than a non-crisped grain. You know? So this was a nice extra step that I didn’t mind doing. 

And finally, here we have a truly rare Alison Roman moment, where she tells you to garnish the grains with BASIL! Alison recently admitted on social media that she doesn’t love basil, and I wasn’t at all surprised. I had noticed that this herb is hard to find anywhere in her books. She loves her dill, chives, thyme, and marjoram. But basil, and sort of rosemary too, hardly ever show up at the scene. So enjoy this moment where you get to have with basil, because it may be a while until you meet again. 

127 recipes cooked, 98 to go.

Crispy-Skinned Salmon with Spicy Radishes and Green Romesco by Alison Roman

There are two noteworthy X-factors in this recipe that make it stand out from other salmon. And since cooking this recipe a few weeks ago, I can’t seem to get these X-factors out of my head. Jordan is having the same issue. I know this because he’s asked me no less than three times if I can make it again. And when recently asked about his favorite meal from the project, he mentioned this salmon, and his reasons were these two X-factors: 

• Green Romesco

  • What is romesco? A quick trip down Wikipedia Lane tells me: “Romesco is a tomato-based sauce that originated from Valls, Tarragona, Catalonia. The fishermen in this area made this sauce to be eaten with fish. It is typically made from any mixture of roasted tomatoes and garlic, toasted almonds, pine nuts, and/or hazelnuts, olive or sunflower oil, and nyora peppers.”

  • What is Alison’s Green Romesco? Rather than roasted tomatoes, this sauce, made in a food processor, consists of parsley, olive oil, toasted almonds, garlic, jalapeno, red wine vinegar, and smoked paprika. It still maintains the nuttiness and pepperiness of a regular romesco, but boasts more herbal and spicy notes. Leftovers of this romesco make wonderful sandwich additions and salad dressing. 

• Crispy Skin

  • Just a tablespoon of vegetable oil, some salt, and pepper is all it takes to make an irresistibly crispy filet of salmon. I seared each piece of fish, skin side down, for roughly 6 minutes before flipping it over to briefly warm through on the other side. 

  • Warning: Someone please call the Splatter Patrol! Who knew only a tablespoon of oil could make such a mess! I had oily splatters across my entire kitchen floor, I kid you not. If you have one of those splatter guards, now would be the time to use it. If you, like me, don’t own a splatter guard because you don’t like the idea of cleaning one, then prepare thyself. 

  • If you thought you didn’t like to eat the skin on salmon, think again. Crispy skin rules!

The final element to this dish consists of spicy, marinated radishes with vinegar, shallot, and red pepper flakes. They added a nice, bright crunch to everything, and while I enjoyed them, I still would have loved the dish equally as much without them. 

Given that this crispy-skinned salmon is the fourth and final salmon recipe from Alison Roman on this blog, I find it necessary to provide you with a power ranking. You may be wondering what sort of criteria were considered to determine the power rankings. Well, reader, mostly my taste buds. Which salmon did I enjoy eating the most. They are all on the more low maintenance side of cooking – fish doesn’t take long as a general matter. So it comes down to which did I enjoy most. And for me, the answer is pretty clear… 

ALISON ROMAN SALMON POWER RANKINGS

1. Crispy-Skinned Salmon with Spicy Radishes and Green Romesco

2. Slow Salmon with Citrus and Herbs

3. Buttered Salmon with Red Onion and Dill

4. Salmon with Soy and Citrusy Charred Scallions

126 recipes cooked, 99 to go.

Double-Crusted Peach Pie with Honey, Ginger, and Lime by Alison Roman

It’s been a minute! I just took a full two weeks off of this project to relax, reconnect with my husband, and spend time in nature. We spent a few days up in Northern Minnesota in the Boundary Waters, which is a collection of over 1,000 lakes and many islands between the Minnesota and Canadian borders. To get to our campsite, it took eight miles of canoeing and six different portage sites where we had to move all our gear, including the canoes, from one side of an island to another. It was hard work, but very rewarding. 

We spent our second week of vacation mostly in Door County, WI. We biked, hiked, sailed, and ate some surprisingly fantastic meals. I even discovered what Jordan calls “my spirit restaurant.” A magical, thoughtful, incredibly delicious place called Trixie’s. It was so good that we ate there on two different nights. I plan to write about it at some point because it really was that special. 

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Alright, now back to our regularly scheduled programming. Because what you’re really here for is pie. A peach pie. A double-crusted peach pie. A double-crusted peach pie with honey, ginger, and lime. A pie for the summer, for standing apart from other regular fruit pies, for making a statement. 

As per usual, I made both pie crust discs from King Arthur’s Gluten-Free Pie Crust recipe. It’s become a reliable staple for me as I venture further on this gluten-less journey, and I recommend it to all others who find themselves on the same gluten-less road. Once I prepared the dough and let it chill for about two hours, I followed Alison’s suggestion to roll both discs out to roughly 14-inch rounds and then stuck both of them back in the fridge to cool. It was a really hot day, so the butter seemed glad to spend maximum time in the cold. 

Meanwhile, I prepared the filling, which consists of 4 lbs. of ripe peaches, sugar, honey, lime zest and juice, cornstarch, and a good bit of freshly grated ginger. Unlike some of Alison’s other fruit desserts, I actually followed the suggested amount of peaches. In the past, I’ve found that for whatever reason, her quantities of fruit far surpass the capacity of my baking dishes. So I’ve ended up with anywhere from 1-2 lbs. of extra sliced fruit. Not the worst problem to have, but not ideal either. But this time around, I had a feeling that the pie could handle a piled-high mound of slices. And so it could. 

The rest of the process was rather straightforward as far as pie construction goes. One crust on the bottom, filling added, another crust on top with three slices into the dough to allow steam to escape. The whole thing is covered in egg wash and a third cup of Demerara sugar. The tough part is the time! The pie spends roughly an hour and forty-five minutes in the oven, and then it needs three hours to cool! Talk about an opportunity for character development. The pie most certainly tested my patience. 

But boy, the reward was worth it. As I said in the beginning, this is no ordinary fruit pie. The lime zest and ginger, though simple, add complexity and elevate the peaches to a tangy, snappy sweetness. The ginger mellowed out a bit by day two of leftover pie, but it was still the strongest flavor. If you don’t love ginger, don’t cut it out completely, just cut it in half, or reduce it by a third. In my opinion, ginger is the key to a non-boring peach pie. And you don’t want to be boring, right? 

125 recipes cooked, 100 to go!!!!!

Olive-Oil Roasted Vegetables by Alison Roman

​​Life is often a lot like making roasted tomatoes. You cannot decide you want it an hour beforehand. You must plan ahead. In the morning, you turn on the oven and set it to preheat. On a snowy day, this is a welcome action. The summer is a different matter. It’s true that your feelings change depending on the season you’re in. Don’t let that inconsistency throw you, let seasons be seasons.

To prepare the tomatoes, you first must cut them in half. Expose their insides, full of juices and seeds, membranes and pith. You place them in a deep, wide pan, putting all of your fruits in one proverbial basket. Their cut-sides look up, revealing their nearly identical designs. Fresh tomato faces, all in a row, giving you their full attention. You take it in. You choose to notice their beauty. To really look is always a choice. You’re tempted to bask in their fixation, but you know you must move on.

You reach for the large bottle of olive oil and pour it generously over the tomato faces. It is generous because olive oil is costly, and you can’t avoid the fact of expense, even when it comes to tomato sauce. A sprinkle of salt, a toss of thyme sprigs and garlic, and they’re ready for the oven.

Like many worthy endeavors, waiting is most of the effort. Active preparation took only a modicum of time. Now the world watches for your self control. The world of your apartment kitchen, that is. The scents of garlic and thyme perfume your apartment, making it hard not to salivate every time you pass the oven on your way to the sink. You drink way more water than normal. And just when you think you can’t wait any longer, the timer buzzes.

The shriveled, tender tomatoes keep sizzling in the golden glow of olive oil as you take out the pan. With great care, you spoon a tomato onto a piece of sourdough toast. The final touch, flaky sea salt. Some people might think you’re crazy for waiting three hours for this meal. But you know the truth. Waiting makes it all the more delicious.

124 recipes cooked, 101 to go.