Molly Baz

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut onions into 3/4 inch thick wedges and place in cast iron skillet or roasting pan. Cut garlic heads in half and place in skillet nestled with onions. Drizzle 3 tablespoons olive oil over the onions and garlic, sprinkle with about a teaspoon of salt and toss gently. Adjust garlic heads to they are cut side down in the pan.

In a small bowl combine 1.5 teaspoon salt** (I used a Kosher chicken so cut back quite a bit on the salt, Molly uses 4 teaspoons in her recipe), 1 tablespoon paprika, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon black pepper and 2 tablespoons olive oil mixing until a paste forms. Place the chicken breast side up on top of the onions in the skillet. Rub the paste all over the chicken – really get into the nooks and crannies and underside of the chicken!

Roast the chicken for 50-65 minutes, giving the onions a toss after 30 minutes. My bird got a bit too dark, you can tent with foil if it starts to get too dark for the remainder of the cook time if this happens to you.

Sprinkle the onions and garlic with the dill. Carve chicken and return on top of the onions and garlic for serving. Slather with that dijon for maximum pastrami sandwich vibes.

Day Before

1. Mix together the white miso (½ cup), sake (½ cup), and 3 tablespoons of the sugar, then wisk together.
2. Cut your pork up into inch or two thick steaks, then add into a bowl with the miso marinade, cover and put in the fridge overnight.

Day of

1. Cut the cucumber into very thin slices, put into a small bowl with 1 ½ teaspoons of salt, mix up and put in the fridge until you need them again
2. Take the pork out of the bag over a bowl, letting the marinade drip in. Scrape all of the marinade off of the pork with the side of a fork and let it drip into the bowl. Add ½ cup of water to the marinade and put the pork on a plate.
3. Get a pan HOT (as hot as you can get a pan). Dab the pork with a paper towel and put vegatable oil (2 tablespoons) and a pinch of salt on the pork, and try to cover all surfaces.
4. Put the pork on the pan and turn down the heat a little and let the first side cook for 2 minutes. Flip the steaks to an uncooked side and cook for another 2 minutes, repeating until a temperature probe says the pork is 145° internal.
5. Let the pork rest on a plate, then drain the cucumbers of liquid and add unseasoned rice vinegar (2 tablespoons), gochujaru (1 teaspoon), and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Toss to coat.
6. Cut the pork off the bone, then serve with the cucumbers and the sauce drizzled on top.
7. Heat up the marindate in a sauce pan on low heat, stirring constantly, until it browns and thickens a little bit.
8. Enjoy!

Preparation

FOR THE SHRIMP:

1. Combine salt, sugar and 6 cups water in a medium pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

2. Using a pair of scissors, snip through the shrimp shells, down the backs of each shrimp, stopping right where the tail begins. You're not going to remove these shells until after they're cooked, but this will make it a hell of a lot easier to peel them. If you see any dark veins running down the line that you snipped, use a paper towel to pull them out.

3. Have a timer at the ready — shrimp can overcook very easily, so you need to be prepared. Once the water comes to a boil, turn off the heat, add the shrimp and cover. Set a timer for 4 minutes; the shrimp should be pink and turned from translucent to opaque.

4. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with ice water. Drain the shrimp and plunge them into the ice bath. Let sit until very chilled, 10-15 minutes.

FOR THE DILLY HORSERADISH CREAM:

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the crème fraîche and prepared horseradish.

2. Finely chop the shallot and dill leaves. Add the dill to the crème fraîche along with the chopped shallot.

3. Finely grate the zest of 1/2 lemon into the crème fraiche mixture and squeeze in the juice. Cut the remaining 1½ lemons into wedges for serving. Season with salt and lots of black pepper.

TO SERVE:

When the shrimp are completely chilled, peel and discard the shells, leaving just the tails attached. Transfer to a shallow serving bowl full of ice cubes (or over crushed ice if you're fancy). Cold shrimp is key! Serve with the lemon and Dilly Horseradish Cream.

1. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil.
2. Make the egg mixture: In a medium bowl, whisk together 4 egg yolks and 1 whole egg. Whisk in 2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (½ cup).
3. Start the sauce: Dice 1 (4-ounce) piece of Spanish chorizo into ¼-inch pieces.
4. Thoroughly drain and rinse 1 (14.5-ounce) can of chickpeas in a fine-mesh strainer.
5. In a large Dutch oven, combine the chorizo and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Cook over medium heat until it just starts to sizzle, about 3 minutes.
6. Add the chickpeas and stir well to coat in the oil. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally and crushing some of the chickpeas with the back of a wooden spoon, until they are crisp in some areas and the chorizo has leeched out some of its red oil, 5 to 6 minutes longer. Coarsely grind lots of black pepper into the pot to bloom the pepper and bring out its aroma. Remove the pot from the heat.
7. Cook the pasta: While the chickpeas cook, add the rigatoni to the boiling water and give it a stir. Cook according to the package directions for al dente. Scoop out and reserve 1 ½ cups of the pasta water, then drain the pasta.
8. Whisk ½ cup of the reserved pasta water into the egg and Parmesan mixture until well combined.
9. Bring it all together: Transfer the pasta to the Dutch oven along with about half of the remaining pasta water. Turn the heat to medium-low and stream in the egg mixture, stirring vigorously and constantly with a spoon, until the pasta is coated in a thick, creamy, pale yellow sauce. You will see it magically transform from a raw egg mixture to a slightly thickened creamy sauce. Add a splash or two more pasta water if it looks a little too thick and could be saucier.
10. Finely grate the zest of ½ lemon into the pasta. Taste and add more salt and black pepper if you think it needs it.
11. Serve: Top with more grated Parmesan and black pepper and serve.

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Spread the nuts out on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven, flip the nuts over and allow them to cool.
3. While the nuts are toasting, make the dressing. In a big bowl, zest the peel from about a quarter of the lemon. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze all of the juice into the bowl.
4. Whisk in the cottage cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper. 
5. Cut the cucumber into small rounds or slices. (The choice is yours.)
6. Open up the big bag of salad and add it to the bowl with the dressing. Toss thoroughly to cover every leaf.
7. Add the cucumber, dill and nuts before tossing the salad again. Taste a leaf and add more salt and pepper as needed.

Prep your mise:

✦Pat 2 New York strip steaks dry with paper towels. Season all over with 2½ teaspoons kosher salt and a generous amount of ground black pepper. Set aside for at least 15 minutes.*

✦Finely chop 1 large shallot.

✦Thinly slice 2 garlic cloves. Firmly smash 2 additional garlic cloves to really break them open so that they are able to release a lot of flavor when theyhit the skillet.

✦Place 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns in a sealable plastic bag, seal the bag, place it on your countertop, and crush with the bottom of a small saucepan to coarsely crack them. If you have a mortar and pestle, use that! They should be coarser than ground black pepper.

Cook the steaks:

✦Heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat for 4 minutes.

✦Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to the skillet. Add the steaks and cook, undisturbed, until a deep golden brown crust forms underneath, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook on the second side until equally golden brown, 3 minutes longer. (If the steaks have a fat cap, upend them on their sides, stabilizing them with tongs, and sear the edges, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes per edge.)

Baste:

Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add 1 tablespoon butter, 3 thyme sprigs, and the 2 smashed garlic cloves to the pan. Use a spoon to continuously baste the steak, about 2 minutes. If you’ve never basted a steak and want to learn how, right this way! Insert your instant read thermometer into the thickest part of the steak. Once it registers 120°F, transfer it to a cutting board to rest.

Make the pan sauce:

✦Add 2 tablespoons butter to the skillet along with the sliced garlic, shallot, and crushed peppercorns. Cook, stirring often, until the shallot and garlic are softened but not browned, 4 to 5 minutes.**

✦Turn off the heat (cognac is flammable!) and add 1⁄3 cup cognac. Return the skillet to medium heat and cook until the cognac has mostly evaporated andyour spoon leaves streaks in the skillet when you stir, 1 to 2 minutes.

✦Add ½ cup heavy cream, bring to a simmer, and cook until it coats the back of a spoon, about 1 minute. Season with kosher salt.

Serve:

✦Slice the steak against the grain. Not sure what the grain is or how to find it? Right this way. Transfer to a serving platter.

✦Pour any resting juices back into the skillet and stir them into the sauce. Spoon the sauce generously over the steak, season with flaky sea salt, and serve immediately.***

*This will give the salt a chance to penetrate the meat, so it won’t fall off the steaks when you sear them.

**Cooking the peppercorns helps bloom their flavor and infuses the butter with peppery heat in a way that simply stirring them in at the end does not.*

**The sauce will thicken and congeal as it cools down, and it won’t feel as luxurious on your palate.