Three Things

Canned Tuna, Soft Shell Crabs, Summer (Re-)Reading

Good afternoon readers and eaters, and happy 80th (!!!) birthday to Bob Dylan. My family’s Spotify most-played list would like to recommend the following songs to commemorate the occasion: “I Threw it All Away,” “Up to Me Take 1,” “Blowin’ in the Wind (Basement Tapes),” “Simple Twist of Fate,” and “Alberta #1.” This week, I hope to devote my monthly podcast to Memorial Day grilling, I just have to figure out what the menu is first. The only thing I know for sure is that Yasmin Khan’s Halloumi Salad and Sarah Keiffer’s Black-bottom pie are almost definitely making the cut. Here are three things to start your week…

1. Start With a Can of Tuna

I can’t call this a Niçoise — I don’t think I can even really call it Niçoise-ish — but no matter, the tale I’m telling is really about that tuna. Lately, I’ve been very into seeking out cans of oil-packed tuna (Cento is always reliably easy to find, but there’s also Pastene, Ortiz, Scout, and Tonino) because, unlike water-packed Bumble Bee which feels more lunch-ish, they seem like the kind of ingredient you can build a dinner around. Especially as those dinners start taking place on warmer summer nights. The oil-packed Italian varieties are richer and more flavorful, and though they are almost always in my pantry, it feels like a small gift to my dinner-making self when I discover them at, say, 5:00 on a weekday. You can scroll down to the second recipe on this post for the salad instructions.

2. Soft-Shell Crabs for Sunday Dinner

We are huge soft-shell crab fans in my house, but only really get to enjoy them in our takeout spider roll a few times a year. Right now, though, they are in season up here in New York and when I spied them at our new fish store (we are so lucky, everything there tastes like the boat-to-market time is, like, one hour) we snatched up a half dozen and, because they are so fresh, served super simply with a big green salad and Andy’s World Famous spicy potatoes. (Coming soon to a book near you!) When I posted this pic on instagram, there was a common theme to the comments from people who swiped up: Intimidation. So here I am showing you how unbelievably easy they are to make. Literally no different than any other fish you’d pan-fry — but probably ten times as special tasting. Now, you just have to find a good fish market.

Easy Soft Shell Crabs
This fed three of us (two crabs per person), adjust accordingly.

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
6 soft-shell crabs
1/3 cup white wine
juice from half a lemon
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
fresh herbs, like parsley or chives (optional)

Add oil and 1 tablespoon butter to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add crabs to the skillet making sure not to crowd the pan. (Do it in batches if necessary.) Cook 5 to 6 minutes total, flipping half way through. Remove the crabs from the pan on to a platter, and add remaining butter, wine, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Turn heat to high and reduce by about half. Drizzle the sauce all over the platter of crabs and serve.

3. Summer Re-Reads

Since my husband is a book editor, he doesn’t get to do a lot of “pleasure reading” if you know what I mean — he’s pretty much always reading with a pen in his hand. But every summer he picks a book for vacation that he can actually enjoy like a normal person would. Last year, it was the much-acclaimed Patrick Radden Keefe book Say Nothing, a true crime story about a murder in 1970’s war-torn Ireland, and this year, in a radical move, he's going with a re-read: THIS classic which I first read twenty-five years ago. I hope it holds up! It made me think that maybe I should revisit some books on my perennial re-read list. (Top 3: American Pastoral, My Antonia, Catcher in the Rye. Do you guys do this?) Speaking of all this nostalgic reading, how much do we love Liz Egan’s ode to summer reading last week? (NY Times, possible paywall.)

Thanks for reading & see you in a few days!

Jenny

Housekeeeping

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