Good morning. The backyard birds have largely packed up and moved south along their flyways, leaving just a few cardinals and blue jays to pick at the seeds in the feeder. There’s just the faintest snap to the morning air. False albacore are running hard at Montauk in New York, and the striped bass will follow them soon. Still, I’m holding onto summer just as long as I can.
What that means for me this weekend: a beer-can chicken served alongside a pile of steamed corn and a platter (maybe the last platter this year!) of perfect beefsteak tomatoes. I’ll slice them thick as burger patties and sprinkle them with the fancy flaky salt that I reserve for just that purpose. Maybe some coleslaw with miso dressing, too. And a plum torte for dessert?
These Connecticut-style shrimp rolls (above) could sway me, though. I like how the dish evokes lobster rolls but isn’t quite as expensive to prepare: buttery, garlicky shrimp tucked into crisp-toasted buns. I love these salt-and-pepper shrimp rolls, too, inspired by jiao yan xia, the classic Chinese dish of fried shrimp finished with white pepper and salt. More complicated because you’re frying. But so incredibly flavorful that it’s worth the effort.
Or maybe it’s time to commit to the new season, even if it’s still hot and sticky in the midday hours. I could be convinced to make a broccoli and Cheddar soup for dinner, or a skillet of chicken French. Maybe a beef stew with prunes as if it were snowing in November, or a tater tot hot dish. (If I go hot dish, I’m going to finish the meal with kuchen.)
