the up's and downs of a month cooking in nyc

and a pea pasta recipe, because it is finally spring!

wow guys, it’s been a minute! so much has happened between my last post and now—it’s only been a month but i’ve been to nyc and all the way back again.

i’m not going to lie, i didn’t have an ounce of time to write while in nyc, with three pop-ups and all the prep, planning and execution that comes with that kind of work, it was another crazy busy month. so i appreciate your patience! but that now means i have so much to tell you!

the pop-up’s

we had the cutest little sublet on the upper west side, which was a nice change to where we usually stay when we go to nyc (brooklyn, LES, east village) but we loved it. we were there for a month, so i even joined a gym and got into a little routine. it was cute!

now, let’s get into the nitty gritty.

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bar americano

i have a lot of things to say about this pop-up, and honestly, i am still gathering my thoughts on the whole thing.

my first pop-up was at bar americano in greenpoint, brooklyn. it is a vermouth and cocktail bar that we stumbled across last year and had a very nice time sipping on their cocktails as well as a few bites—in the october sun, no less. and ever since then, i had been in talks with them to pop-up—they reached out to me in january initially, which all came to fruition this last month. i did a full basque-style menu for the first time ever with some signature chloe cooks dishes too (my tortilla española recipe as well as my anchovies with orange zest and black pepper). overall, i was very pleased with how every single dish turned out, but it didn’t some very without some very intense hurdles.

this pop-up took a lot of prep and i was in the restaurant for 2 days prior to the pop-up it’s self for prep tasks. i had originally been told i would have the help of their resident chef to help me with all the prep, but unfortunately that was not the case and that became clear as the days unfolded and i felt a little blindsided if i am honest—if i had known just how little help i was going to be getting i would have employed my own prep person / sous but, we live and we learn. the whole experience with him, it was a lot.

he also said he would help me with all the ordering, which i welcomed as it is a very different set up to la. to put it into perspective—i shop for everything myself here. i shop at the farmers market for most of my produce and various other vendors for everything else. in nyc you order almost everything from vendors, which i was less familiar with and so chef *kindly* offered to help. in hindsight, i should have monitored his ordering more from a monetary perspective (i’m still clearly learning about doing pop-ups in other cities and what that actually entails), and that is absolutely on me.

but, i trusted that he would order correct quantities and products based on our in-depth discussion and order meeting that took place earlier in the week, based of reservations that they had for my night so far and then their experience with walk-in’s, but it was far from the case.

let’s be frank here, i lost quite a lot of money because of the crazy over ordering (i’m talking multiple gallons spanish of olive oil that was not specified from my end, 40 potions of pork—which is insane, considering the reservations maxed out at 40, and clearly not every-table is going to order the pork—that’s just common sense you would think), and there was so much more. luckily, the bar manager agreed that ordering 40 portions of pork was absolutely ridiculous and kindly offered to buy back the pork that was not used. he was as stunned as i was tbh. to say i was shocked when i saw their ordering invoices, is an understatement. it felt like sabotage, and the male toxicity coming from that kitchen was overwhelming. the amount of times that he completely ignored me when it was just him and i in the kitchen and i was directly addressing him with very specific questions was absolutely insane. so much so, i had raise my voice somewhat (which i never, ever do in my kitchen) and address it.

but, i got through the evening with gritted teeth, oh, and the end of my finger chopped off too. despite my finger being in quite a state, i stayed to finish service no matter what, but ultimately ended in urgent care. the docs were very sweet and stitched me up good and proper but i was sad for so many reasons that night.

as i said, these things are all learning curves, but this was a really big one. i felt extremely blue for days following this event (and not because of my finger), and did a lot of inward thinking. sometimes i think life presents these challenging moments to teach you things, but i am genuinely so used to working with incredible, respectful people that it threw me for a loop. i’m okay now, and i know male toxicity in kitchens is nothing new, but i wanted to speak on my experience because i do have a platform and it’s not okay. it never will be.

to be reached out to initially, to be asked to come and cook, to be ‘welcomed’ into a space like i thought i was, to then be treated like that was crazy to me.

however, despite everything, the food was never impacted. in fact, was really pleased with how all the food turned out and i had so much incredible feedback from the guests, so over the weeks that followed some of my animosity towards this pop-up dissipated because i had time to reflect, but it was perhaps the most stressful pop-up i have ever done because of all of this.

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happier grocery

where do i begin with happier? what a stark contrast from the week before. let’s just say that.

happier grocery is a very chic grocery store on the edge of soho, right on canal st. i went in for the first time when i was visiting nyc in january, and was in awe not only from a produce perspective (they source a lot of their produce from natoora and local farms) but also aesthetically—it is so chic. they reached out in febuary to ask if i might be interested in being the next chef at their ‘house party’ series as part of their 365apartment, which sits directly above the grocery store. the apartment is a loft studio space, with a full kitchen and again, designed top to bottom, in a very chic way. of course, i jumped at the chance. i was to be the chef following pierce abernathy, who was the guest chef the month before. i have been such a fan of pierce (and his substack—don’t skip the dip) for so long, i felt like i had big boots to fill.

from start to finish i could not have felt more supported—their entire team were incredible which in turn allowed me to do my job really well, and dare i say—let me shine. they fully supported me through the ordering process and were on hand the entire time for any questions that i may have had or if i needed things at the last minute, we could run down to the grocery to grab anything we needed.

days prior, thanks to the wonderful world of the the food community, i managed to recruit two of the most wonderful women sous chefs that i have ever had the pleasure of working with. again, never felt more supported, more validated in my cooking and opinions, with the recipes that i provided them to work from. all of it. we got on so well that after our first long day of prep sofia, phoebe and i all decided that we needed wine and so wine we did. this was my first foray into ha’s snack bar, but more on that later. after ha’s we all decided that we would walk to the 14th street subway (a good 30 minute walk) because the evening was so warm and we were having so much fun talking and getting to know one another. and it felt glorious to experience what felt like an evening on first day of spring in nyc, just walking—feeling so fulfilled after a long day of prep.

the next day, even my sweet friend, sara tane, popped in to help with a little prep too.

each night we sat 40 people, and it was just some of the most fun that i have had cooking in a very long time, in large part to everyone that i had the pleasure to work with. i was so pleased with how all of the food came out, and so were the guests—which is the most important thing! the servers that were recruited by happier could not have been anymore of a pleasure to work with—for those two nights, we really all were part of, what felt like, a very well oiled machine in the best way possible. and best of all, we had FUN! so much fun!

if i could do it all again tomorrow i would! and i hope i get more opportunities to work with happier again. and i believe i will—we have to manifest things, right? let’s just say, it’s looking like i will be back in nyc for work late summer / early fall so stay tuned.

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creamy garlic-pea sauce with bucatini and crispy prosciutto

this recipe was inspired by a wishbone kitchen recipe from a few years ago, which i loved and was obsessed with for a while, but mere’s was a little more simple and honestly perfect for a mid week meal.

inspired by the river cafe kale sauce recipe (tried and true) i thought it might be fun to add garlic to the water when cooking the peas and then indeed add ricotta when blended, just like the kale sauce recipe.

and would you know it, it worked a bloody treat! this is still simple, but just amped up a little. and so here is the recipe for my version of this insanely delicious pea pasta. and feel free to use a shorter pasta shape too like rigatoni or cavatelli, as both work really well here.

happy spring, everyone!

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1 lb pasta of choice

2 cups of fresh de-podded peas, or defrosted frozen peas

4 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup pasta water

1/2 cup of ricotta

1/4 cup of olive oil

3 pieces of prosciutto, grilled

1/4 cup of pecorino or parmesan

salt

pepper

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begin by getting two pots of water boiling—one for the pasta and one for the peas. salt the pasta water well, it should be salty like the sea to season the pasta from within.

next set the oven to 350 and set the prosciutto onto a small sheet pan, and then into the oven to crisp up for like 5-7 minutes.

drop the pasta first and cook to the packet instructions, minus 2 minutes—as the pasta will continue to cook in the sauce. set aside some pasta water when draining too,

once the pea water is at a rolling boil, turn the heat down to medium and drop the peas and garlic into the water. continue to cook over medium heat for no longer than 5 minutes.

drain the peas and garlic and then blend with the ricotta and olive oil to create a rich and creamy green sauce. season to taste.

drain the pasta and stir in the sauce, adding more of the reserved pasta water where needed until desired thickness.

serve in your favorite bowl with pecorino, a drizzle more olive oil, the prosciutto crumbled on top and lots of flaky salt.

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of course, i there is more to report on from nyc too, but that will be for next weeks substack.

where i ate, what i did and actually—how happy i was to get back to los angeles. as much as nyc is pretty much a second home at this point and i am incredibly lucky to be able to go as often as i do for both work and pleasure, los angeles is where my heart is and this trip really solidified that for me.

we’ll talk about my first keens experience with emily, my incredible long lunch at borgo and last but not least, i need to tell you about stissing house my perfect upstate birthday with friends!

until then, talk soon

xo