Good morning! Today we have for you:
Visiting friends in the country over the weekend, I got to walk a long, idyllic rail trail, find some bursting local berries and eat a goat that had been barbecued whole on a giant grill at the farm where it was raised. The meat was unbelievably good, soft and shreddable with a fall-off-the-bone texture that reminded me of pork, and a flavor almost lamblike in its earthiness. The leftovers we were lucky enough to tote back to the city are going to be feeding us for several more dinners, mainly because a whole goat is a lot of food, but also because it’s the kind of meal you don’t want to end.
The slow cooker in Sarah DiGregorio’s slow cooker hoisin garlic chicken lends a similar melting texture to chicken, which boasts a mildly sweet, complex flavor. It’s an easy recipe with a huge payoff since there’s practically nothing to chop except for the garlic, which gets tossed into a slow cooker along with chicken thighs, hoisin, balsamic and tomato paste. Then leave it to simmer gently for a couple of hours, until the meat soaks up the sauce and mellows into submission. Even without the giant grill, the litter of farm kittens (there were kittens!) and our leftovers for days, this chicken is still GOATed.
Featured Recipe
Slow Cooker Hoisin Garlic Chicken
More food for thought
Summer vegetable grits with basil gremolata: To make her vegan version of this Southern classic, Jenné Claiborne simmers grits in soy milk until creamy, and then tops them with sautéed zucchini, cherry tomatoes and a pungent mix of basil, lemon zest and garlic. It’s a comforting, speedy and very satisfying dish.
Adana meatballs: Seasoned with cumin, crushed red pepper and garlic, Sue Li’s zippy little meatballs draw on the traditional flavors of Turkish kebabs. The white onion and red bell pepper kneaded into the ground meat (a combination of beef and lamb) add moisture and sweetness while some garlicky yogurt on the side makes a creamy, puckery dipping sauce.
Greek salad with sardines and beans: Just in time for too-hot-to-cook season, Ali Slagle’s briny salad combines tinned fish and canned white beans in a protein-packed meal brightened by feta, olives and red wine vinegar. And it’s all served tossed with cherry tomatoes and cubed cucumbers for a juicy, cooling crunch.
Basil and tomato fried rice: Enlivened with fresh bird’s-eye chiles, ripe tomatoes and plenty of garlic, Hetty Lui McKinnon’s recipe is on the zippier side of fried rice dishes, tinged with herbal, peppery notes from the handful of basil stirred in at the end.
Bananas Foster pound cake: The intense, almost candied flavor of Millie Peartree’s Bundt cake comes from the brown-sugar-and-butter flambéed bananas folded into the batter. With a dense, moist crumb and a delicate, bourbon-scented frosting, it’s a stunning dessert that you can embellish with ripe summer berries.
That’s all for now, except to mention that if you’ve hit any technical snags, you can email the ever-patient people at cookingcare@nytimes.com for help. And I’m at hellomelissa@nytimes.com if you want to say hi.
I’ll see you on Sunday.
