Field Notes
+ a recipe for Crispy Bubble Potatoes
Mid-July brings up many feelings, both the mundane and deeply emotional. It’s been hot, humid and rainy here for most of the month. I’m especially longing for a summer vacation, and obsessively scrolling through sites in hopes of finding something for the last week of August on the Cape that feels affordable for a normal person’s budget. Where are average families supposed to go for a getaway nowadays? Rents were pushing boundaries before Covid but last year they seemed to hit an all-time high, pricing out anything during prime summer weeks, and almost making even pre-peak weeks unaffordable, especially when you calculate all the costs outside of the advertised rent.
I understand paying local tax on a rental. I might even turn an eye to a linen fee. What really gets my ire are the cleaning fees so many people tack onto their rentals. They can range from $150 to $350. Isn’t that the cost of doing business for a seasonal rental landlord? Why not just roll that cost in your weekly rate? It just feels like an additional overcharge when I see it advertised, similar to the resort fees most hotels charge nowadays, regardless of whether you use any of the amenities. Except cleaning isn’t an amenity. A clean house is a non-starter when it comes to renting a house so why do they think this is a cost they should charge on top of the weekly rental?
With August plans up in the air still, and my desire to break out my routine for even the briefest of moments, I decided to book a hotel for 2 nights next weekend to take the kids for a quick getaway to the Cape. It’s a ridiculous amount of driving for 2 nights (10 to 12 hours roundtrip), and while the hotel was a good price for a peak summer weekend, I still keep thinking how that money could’ve been applied to a weekly rental at the end of August. We really need this break, and I’m hoping a little time away in our favorite place jumpstarts all of us a bit.
Next month is 12 years since Michael died. Isabella told me the other day while cooking breakfast she went over the events of that day in her head. Michael had spent that summer of 2011 teaching her to ride her bike. On the afternoon of August 7th, a Sunday, she pushed off for the first time all by herself. I still have the video he took on his Blackberry, “ladies and gentleman, introducing Isabella Rose Perillo” is how he narrated it.
We were supposed to meet on the bench at Mazzola Bakery, a few blocks from our apartment, after I was done grocery shopping. The day ended drastically differently, with Michael collapsed at Isabella’s feet on the sidewalk across the street from the bakery. Nigel, who worked at the bakery, came into Met Food on Henry Street and found me at the checkout. That was when I realized the unthinkable. My husband was dead. I felt it deep in my bones as I ran down the block to him while pushing the stroller with Virginia in it. The look in his dark chocolate eyes was one of shock, and I could feel him saying I’m sorry as his life faded away.
Isabella was 8 years old when one of the best days of her life became her worst in a split second. This is the memory she lives with every day. Sometimes I think back through my own memory of that day, and feel oddly removed from it, watching a re-enactment of someone else’s life, a survival mechanism, perhaps.
12 years is a long time. We’ve done a lot of living, had many new experiences, and yet even in moving forward there’s always a foot stuck in 2011 on that corner of Henry & Union Streets in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. Forward is not linear. Moving forward reminds me of Lombard Street in San Francisco. There are so many twists and turns, and they all seem to live on a hill that poses another set of challenges depending on whether you’re going up or down it. Rarely is life flat terrain.
This became a much heavier post than I intended when I set out to write. I was going to share some things I’ve been enjoying, from books to meals. So, if you’re still here, this is what my true intention was in writing today. I’ve been on a cooking kick lately. Probably sounds odd for someone whose livelihood has revolved around food for the last almost 30 years.
My job nowadays is mostly high level planning and management, far removed from the test kitchen. Long hours left me unmotivated to cook anything more than necessity required for months. Thankfully, for now at least, that has changed, and I find myself cooking more and more for sheer pleasure. I was worried my mojo had left the building permanently!
I hope the weekend has been a gentle one. Be well, and remember to be kind. —xo, j.
What I’ve Been Reading
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Gen X Is in Charge. Don’t Make a Big Deal About It. - NY Times
Savor: a chef’s hunger for more by Fatima Ali with Tarajia Morrell
Inside the Hogwarts of Fashion - NY Times
Corporate Giants Buy Up Primary Care Practices at Rapid Pace - NY Times
What I’m Listening To
Marquee Moon by Television
The Blue Mask by Lou Reed
Pretzel Logic by Steely Dan
Anything ABBA because who doesn’t need a random dance party every now and again. I used to rock Dancing Queen at karaoke with Mikey, and have been known to sing & dance to it on my coffee table.
What I’m Eating
Fritto Misto - recipes abound online but to me this is a no-recipe needed kind of dish. Add some flour to a bowl and season it with salt and pepper. Whisk in enough seltzer (a freshly opened bottle is key here!) until it forms a thin batter but not too runny. Heat 2-inches of oil in a pot, then dip thinly sliced pieces of vegetables into the batter, tapping off any excess. Fry the vegetables until deeply golden & crisp. Some people swear by rice flour or cornstarch in the batter. I don’t particularly love these in a batter but have been working on a dry method for fritto misto that uses these. More to come on that (maybe?).
Homemade Angel Hair Pasta - my recipe is in my cookbook Homemade With Love. I’m thinking this could be a fun cooking class for the fall, too but not sure virtual is the best medium for this class. Thoughts anyone?
A Twist on Marcella’s Tomato Butter Sauce - recipe is here
Peach & Blueberry Galettes - riff on these French Apple Galettes but with peaches & blueberries
Homemade Sourdough Focaccia - recipe is here
Crispy Bubble Potatoes - this was a trend on TikTok a year or two ago. I am not on TikTok (well, I was for a hot second until I realized I hated it) but found out about it from my teenager who has been asking me to make them for at least six months. I finally got around to it a week or two ago, and all I can say is WOW. They are like mini potato croquette balls and worth all the hype. I took some liberties with the Eating Well recipe I decided to used for inspiration. I cooked my potatoes on the stovetop instead of the microwave and also have a higher ratio of starch & flour to potatoes. I also made them much smaller than Eating Well suggested so they would be bite-sized, and kept them as balls instead of pressing down with a fork to create a cross-hatch pattern. I’ll let you decide who’s version you want to try if you cook them (mine is right below!).
Crispy Bubble Potatoes
makes 72 bite-sized pieces
Adapted from Eating Well (original recipe is here)
1 ½ lbs - 672g russet potatoes, peeled & cut into small cubes
2 tablespoons sweet white rice flour
1 tablespoon potato starch
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt, plus more for sprinkling
½ teaspoon ground pepper
Sunflower oil, for frying
Add the potatoes to a medium pot along with enough water to cover them by 1-inch. Bring to a boil, and let cook until very tender when pierced with a fork. Drain the potatoes, then let them cool completely.
Add the cooked, cooled potatoes to a medium bowl. Mash using a potato masher or pass through a potato ricer. Add the rice flour, potato starch, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Using a fork, stir to mix, then use your hands to knead 1 to 2 minutes until it forms a smooth dough (this is very similar to making gnocchi).
Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Starting with one piece, roll it into a ¾-inch log. Cut the log into 9 even pieces, then roll each piece into a ball. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Once all of the potato balls are formed you can cook them straight away or refrigerate for up to 1 day.
Line a plate with a paper towel.
Add 2-inches of oil to a small or medium pot, depending on how many potato bubbles you plan to cook. Heat the oil over medium-high heat. To test the oil is ready for frying, add one potato bubble—it should immediately sizzle & bob in the pot.
Once the oil is ready, add 6 to 8 potato bubbles, being careful not to overcrowd the pot or they will steam instead of frying. Cook, turning once, until deeply golden all over. Transfer cooked potatoes to the paper towel lined plate to drain; immediately sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Repeat with remaining potato bubbles. Serve hot.
Notes for using an air fryer & the printer friendly version of this recipe is below for paid subscribers. Consider becoming one today! Benefits include access to all recipes & occasional e-Cookbooks. Click here for details.
