Friday 5ive- June 30, 2023

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly-ish post featuring five things that caught my attention this week. It's the last day of June???? How is that possible???

1) One great thing about living where we do in New York City is that come July, we can see all the various fireworks displays that go off nightly from now until July 4th. Last night was the beginning, at first I thought it was someone working on the apartment above us and then I realized it was fireworks.

2) We went back home for the wedding of our dear friend and former neighbor's daughter. It was such a beautiful ceremony and it was great to catch up with all my good friends and dance the night away. We also celebrated four family birthdays- my older son, mom, nephew, and his wife all have birthdays this week so it was a good week to be home. We were able to have a cookout with charcoal-grilled hamburgers, a rare treat for those of us who live in NYC. My brother did a great job with the burgers, they were delicious, and my Tarragon Potato Salad (thanks to Ina Garten) was a hit. The recipe is here.

3) Carol Fitzgerald of the Book Reporter Network hosted a  "Bookacccino Live Summer Reading Event" where she shared titles of upcoming summer books. She covered a lot of ground in just an hour, and there were so many books that I want to read.  Laura Lippman's Prom Mom, Ann Patchett's Tom Lake, and Beatriz Williams' The Beach at Summerly top the list for me. You can watch the presentation on YouTube here.  

4) We watched the entire second season of The Bear on Hulu this week and wow, was it fabulous! The premise this season is that Carmy and the team is preparing to open a fine dining restaurant in the former The Beef restaurant that belonged to his deceased brother. We see members of the team as they learn how to work in a fine dining restaurant and each person gets an episode highlighting their journey. My favorite episode is "Forks", which shows Ritchie's story. You really get a feel for all that goes into running a restaurant, and the final episode of the season had me on the edge of my seat as they open the restaurant for family and friends night. This is a must-watch. 

5) I read Shaun Bythell's The Diary of a Bookseller on the recommendation of one of my fellow volunteers at the Book Cellar. Shaun owns and operates The Bookshop, a used bookstore in Wigtown, a small town in Scotland, and he tells the story in true diary form. Each day he has an entry sharing the days' customer count, the amount of money in the till at the end of the day and what happened that day. He shares stories of customers (some nice, some not so much) and as someone who runs a used bookstore, I could relate to so much of his story. He has a dry sense of humor and I found myself laughing out loud many times. The funniest interactions are between Shaun and his employee Nicki, who is a real trip. You don't have to work in a bookstore to appreciate this book, but if you've ever worked in retail, you'll enjoy. 

I hope you have a safe, healthy, happy 4th of July. Until next time.

Weekend Cooking- An Easy Summer Dinner

This post is part of Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking.  If you have anything related to food, cookbook reviews, novel or non-fiction book reviews, recipes, movie reviews, etc., head over to Beth Fish Reads and add your post. Or, if you want to read food related posts, head over to read what some interesting people have to say about food!

When I attended a discussion with the Barefoot Contessa a few months ago, one thing she said really struck a chord with me (and many others). She said that no one will appreciate the fact that you spent all day making a complicated meal, so why bother? You'll just be resentful.

I totally agree with that sentiment, and in that spirit, I made my husband and son a simple summer meal that they raved about. I had a package of boneless center loin pork chops in the freezer that I picked up when the grocery store had them on sale for $1.99 a pound.

I mixed 2 Tbsp. each onion powder, garlic powder and Penzey's Spices Galena Street Chicken and Rib Rub and rubbed the spice mix on the pork chops. After heating a skillet with 2 Tbsp. of olive oil,  I cooked the chops for about 7 minutes, flipped them over for another 5 minutes or so until done. (Be careful not to overcook them or they will dry out.)

Earlier in the day I made Ina Garten's Tarragon Potato Salad, which is a family favorite. The recipe came from her book How Easy is That? and is really so tasty, you will never make potato salad any other way again.

Tarragon Potato Salad
Ingredients
2 pounds medium Yukon Gold potatoes (6 to 8 potatoes)
Kosher salt
1 cup good mayonnaise
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons tarragon or white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons chopped scallions, white and green parts
3 tablespoons minced red onion
2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
Directions
Place the potatoes in a pot with enough water to cover them. Add 1 tablespoon of salt, bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes, just until tender when pierced with a small knife or skewer. Drain in a colander. Put a kitchen towel over the colander and allow the potatoes to steam for 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes and slice 1/2 inch thick. Place the potatoes in a mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, vinegar, 2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper. While the potatoes are still warm, pour the dressing over the potatoes and toss well. Add the scallions, red onion, tarragon, and dill and toss gently. Allow the salad to sit for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to develop. Sprinkle with salt and serve at room temperature.


Add a fruit salad and you've got an easy, delicious dinner.

The link for my post on Ina Garten's discussion at the Providence Performing Arts Center is here.
If you have a favorite Barefoot Contessa recipe, I'd love to hear about it on comments.