Messy Kitchens

My messy kitchens is the heart of my home, and maybe we have that in common?

Me in my parents' kitchen, 1982

The Internet says my kitchen is dirty and my knickknacks and clutter are gauche signs of failure. It tells me that my kitchen is something to be concealed, and tries to sell me a second (scullery) kitchen to conceal any actual kitchen stuff (photo below)! But even if I “updated” my kitchen to that stark white-on-white-on-chrome HGTV kitchen, there was no way I could use that kitchen for more than a day and have it look like the ones on tv.

I do love it when my kitchen is so clean that it feels like a fresh box of crayons; however, messy is the default state of my kitchen. Within minutes of cleaning my kitchen, there are stacks of lunch boxes, opened cookbooks, butter softening, beans soaking, scattered coffee grounds, pet toys, kid toys, herbs in water, and cereal boxes waiting to be put away. My messy kitchen is the mis en place of full lives: everything is ready to hand, ready to be picked up and used as the day unfolds. Home kitchens are where 8^th graders do algebra, where toddlers shape play dough, and where dishes are washed, They are where cookies are baked, tears are dried, pets play, and where people eat, socialize, and live.

I adore photos of messy kitchens. They energize me. When I see someone’s messy kitchen, I am dropped into their bustling lives. I can see the (dis)organization of lived reality reflected back at me. I can see the beating heart of humanity. Fuck those who try and tell us our kitchens are embarrassing. Messy kitchens are beautiful and give me hope for a common future.

I’ll show you my kitchen if you show me yours?

Famous Copy Cat Rochester Salty Bread

This bread is a Rochester staple. It's so addictive that people here call it "Crack Bread." It's kinda like focaccia, except maybe a tiny bit like a savory fried dough, except, not really like either of those. It has a crust that shatters when you bite into it, giant air bubbles and a the softest pillowy texture. It's perfect as a base for your favorite dips, a side for burrata-caprase salad, or just tearing off warm salty hunks as you stand in the kitchen waiting for the rest of dinner to be ready.

When we first moved to Rochester all I knew about the local food scene was that there was Rieslings, lots of beautiful small farms, and garbage plates. I now know about Hot Whites and Chicken French, which are both delicious, but my favorite local delicacy has to be the Salty Bread.

Rochester Salty bread is sold at some of the best Rochester area bakeries under different names and comes with a more than a little drama. As a result, you cannot find the recipe for Salty bread, Salt Bread, Salty Bianca Loaf, Crack bread, or whatever you want to call it, anywhere! I've done some deep Reddit digging and the recipe is no where. There were rumors that the original bread might be a super hydrated bread (over 100%). Some thought that maayyyybe Salty Bread was ciabatta bread, but I had a different idea. (Ciabatta isn't as hydrated as I think Salty Bread has to be to get that ultra soft texture).

I'll tell you what I did, I based my Copy Cat Salty Roc bread on King Arthur Flour's recipe for Pan de Cristal . Pan de Cristal is a spanish bread that is equal parts water and bread flour. I then treated the pan de cristal almost like a focaccia, and I have to tell you, the results were dancing in the kitchen good. If this is not how Rochester Salty bread is made, maybe the professionals should switch their recipe. You have to make this bread. You have to. It's going to change your life.

NOTE ABOUT FLOURS: I used King Arthur bread flour for this recipe. I do not know how well this recipe will work with all purpose flour, but given the high hydration ratio, I would not risk it.

NOTE ABOUT KEEPING TRACK OF RISES: With 5 different kneads or "folds" it can be tricky to remember where you are in this recipe. I have found that the best thing to do is get an old envelope and make a little "cheat she

et" like the one in the photo. Just make a little check list and mark off each time you handle the dough.

NOTE ABOUT BAKING TIMES AND TEMPS: I do not have a pizza stone. Or i do.... but it's a long story. I used an upside-down cast iron pan as my pizza stone. I did notice a difference when I used the pan vs just putting the bread on the oven rack. I think a pizza stone would work as well, if not better than an upside down cast iron pan. Please pay attention to how brown your bread gets. It should be a dark golden color. That's really the best way to evaluate donness.

NOTE ABOUT SALT: You must use a flake salt to finish this bread. You can use between 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of flaked sea salt per loaf. 1/2 teaspoon will make a loaf that closely resembles the standard Rochester Salty Bread.

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Salty ROC Bread

Takes 5-6 hours: 1.5 hours active time. Equipment: mixing bowl, 8x8 or 9x9 square pan, two sheet pans, parchment paper. OPTIONAL but recommended cast iron pan or pizza stone, scale. Time 5-10 hours. bake time 18-25 minutes. This makes two smaller loaves. enough to serve 6-8 people. It doubles easily. I always double it and give some away.

Ingredients

250g bread flour (2 cups plus 1 tablespoon)

250g water (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon)

1/4 heaped teaspoon instant yeast

1 and 1/2 teaspoons Diamond brand kosher salt (or 3/4 teaspoon table salt)

about 1/2 cup olive oil

2-3 tablespoons semolina flour, optional

1/2-3/4 teaspoon flaked sea salt (I use Maldon)

STEP ONE

Get a scrap of paper and write out your version of the time table (see photo above).

Oil a 9x9 or similar sized pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, combine water, flour, yeast and kosher or table salt. Use a stiff spatula to mix until evenly combined. Pour dough into your oiled pan. Cover with plastic wrap, and set to rest for 20 minutes.

STEP TWO

Pour a few teaspoons of olive oil over your fingers and then fold your dough like you're folding the sides of a tart up towards the center of your dough ball (like a "gordito crunch wrap."). You're going to do about 10 folds. The dough may seem too goopy to work with for the first few folds, but you should actually feel it tightening up/resisting a bit as you reach 10 folds. Re-cover the dough with the plastic wrap. Allow dough to rest for 20 minutes.

STEP THREE

Uncover your dough and rub a few teaspoons of olive oil on your hands. Don't remove your dough from the pan. Do 4-6 half folds: Fold dough in half, rotate your dish 90 degrees, fold in half, rotate, etcetera. You should feel your dough taking on shape and stiffening up. It's like you're folding a piece of paper and it gets harder to fold it with each consecutive fold. Cover and let rest 20 minutes.

STEP FOUR

Uncover your dough rub olive oil on your hands, fold dough in the pan, again. You're going to do 4-6 half folds just like you did last time. And, again, you'll feel the dough taking on shape and stiffening up. Cover and let rest 20 minutes.

STEP FIVE

Oil hands and repeat the process again, folding dough in the pan 2-4 times. This time you should really notice it resisting and tightening. Cover and let rest 80-90 minutes. After 80-90 minutes, dough will be bubbly looking and should fill your pan.

STEP SIX

Cut 2 pieces of parchment paper and spread them out on your counter. Use olive oil to lightly oil each parchment paper and then, optional: dust one with about 1-2 tablespoon of semonlina flour. Set the one with the flour and oil onto a baking sheet and set aside. Gently pour the dough out of your square pan and onto the first piece of oiled parchment paper. Then, use a lightly oiled bench scraper or large knife to cut your dough into two equal length pieces. Gently lift each slab of dough onto each of the parchment lined baking sheet. Allow dough to rise, uncovered for about 2 hours. (In the photo below I was making a double recipe).

STEP SEVEN

After dough has risen for about 1.5 hours put your pizza stone, or clean, upside down cast iron skillet on a rack in the middle of your oven (see note above). Preheat oven to 440 degrees or 420 convection. The goal is to allow your stone or cast iron skillet to heat through.

STEP EIGHT

When your oven and stone/skillet are preheated, measure out about 1-2 tablespoon of olive oil and using a silicone brush or pastry brush gently brush olive oil over top of your loaves of dough. You don't want to dough your bread or the extra oil will just run down the sides of your loaf and burn. Sprinkle 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of flaked sea salt over top of each loaf and slide bake on top of your pizza stone/cast iron pan for 17-20 minutes. After about 12 minutes rotate your pan and check to make sure the oil is smoking (if it is, turn the oven down 20 degrees). Continue baking until the loaves are deep golden brown. Remove them from the oven and, with a clean brush, immediately dab each loaf with another tablespoon of olive oil. You don't want to displace the salt, but you want to boost the olive oil flavor.

Allow loaves to cool before eating. We love to use it for appetizers, as a table bread, for sandwiches, or just rip hunks off and eat it on the go. Store wrapped in parchment paper, or an unsealed plastic bag so that the salt doesn't make the bread wet. Salty ROC Bread is best the day of, but reheats well in the oven at about 400 degrees and fantastic reheated on the grill.

Linguine with Tomatoes and Brie

For our family, this pasta marks the start of High Summer: those hazy, lazy days when all we do is sit around eating piles of fresh tomatoes and sipping Campari and Proceseco.

Linguine with Tomatoes and Brie is beyond luxurious. The tomatoes, brie, olive oil and pasta water form a creamy, earthy sauce that's cut by the bright acid from the tomatoes and cheese, and spiked with fresh basil and black pepper. (And, in practical terms, if you'd like to take a break from Caprese salad, this will check all of the same boxes while giving you something delightfully different).

NOTE ABOUT "THE SILVER PALATE COOKBOOK": The Silver Palate Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins was the cook book that introduced me to the idea that meals could be artistic, playful, and even seductive. When I was a kid, I would flip through this cookbook imagining glamorous dinner parties with friends and romantic country picnics with Luke Perry. Some of the recipes in the Silver Palette now seem dated, and the flavors are a bit heavy handed, but many recipes, like their famous Chicken Marbella are absolute classics. Linguine with Tomatoes and Brie is an update of their "Linguine with Tomatoes and basil" only I cut way back on the raw garlic and oil, upped the tomato, and added some pasta water. I think these changes take this recipe from the chunky 80s to a more nuanced palate of the 2020s.

NOTE ABOUT TOMATOES: Linguine with Tomatoes and Brie can only be made once those thick, juice, enormous tomatoes grow in abundance. You cannot make this with grape tomatoes or grocery store tomatoes! Don't try! It won't even come close. To make this, you need those almost squishy tomatoes whose skin is ready to burst and whose juice spills out on the cutting-board.

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Linguine With Tomatoes and Brie

Serves 3 as a main and 5 as a side. Easily doubled. Time: 15 minutes, plus 2 hours (hands off) to marinate and then 30 minutes to boil water and cook pasta. Special equipment: none. Adapted from Linguine with Tomatoes and Basil from Silver Palate Cookbook, 1979

Ingredients

• 4 large very ripe tomatoes (about 1.5 lbs)

• 1/2 pound mild brie cheese COLD

• about 1 cup basil leaves, plus 4-6 large basil leaves set aside for garnish

• 1 medium-large clove of garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon diamond kosher salt, (plus more for pasta water and to finish)

• about 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1/4 cup medium-good quality extra virgin olive oil

• 1/2 pound linguine pasta

• 2-4 tablespoons pasta water

STEP ONE

Using brie right from the fridge, cut of as much of the brie rind as you can without loosing too much cheese, then cut brie into roughly 1 inch cubes and put into a large, heat safe serving bowl. Next, cut tomatoes into large, bite size pieces and add to brie along with any tomato seeds and juices. Mince garlic and add to bowl and then cut basil into strips and add to the bowl as well. Pour 1/4 cup olive oil over the whole thing, sprinkle salt and pepper over top. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 2-3 hours. On a hot day 1-2 hours will do, on a cooler day you might need 3 hours. Over the next few hours the brie will melt and the tomatoes will macerate becoming soupy, and the whole thing will smell divine. I highly recommend sampling just to see how things are progressing.

STEP TWO

Bring pot of salted water to boil and then cook linguine to desired donness. Remove 1/4 cup of pasta water, and then drain pasta. DO NOT RINSE PASTA. Add drained pasta to the bowl with the tomatoes, basil and brie.

STEP THREE

Allow pasta to melt the brie, and then gently begin to toss the pasta and sauce together. Add about 2 tablespoons of pasta water and toss again. You should now have a rich sauce and all but the largest chunks of brie will have melted. Add a splash more pasta water if needed. Garnish with torn leaves of fresh basil and more black pepper. Serve right away. Pairs well with some bread to sop up the juices and a bright lemony summer salad.

Linguine with Tomatoes and Brie can be stored in a covered container in the fridge for about 3-4 days.