Not Girl Dinner*
*Not exactly dinner, and certainly not just for the girls
It’s been hard to know what to write lately. Interrupted sleep and alarms dictating round-the-clock meds that need to be prepped have taken all the extra brain juice that once simmered and created. My boyfriend keeps encouraging me with the sage old advice to write what I know - and that is coming very soon - but right now my daydreams wander to a simpler time. Perhaps an evening of sipping and yapping and having a relaxed girls’ night at home with a friend or two. Last month I had one such night with my best friend, Effie. That’s not her name but it’s what we call each other. It started as “FF” for “Favorite Friend” and then quickly evolved into Effers, Effie, Effo, Effs, and even occasionally Effington.
It started with her texting me a link to a TikTok (which I am famously not on). It was a bag of chips adorned with savory, briny things and some charcuterie. “Oh yeah, that’s totally chip mountain. Have I never made chip mountain for you??”, I responded. Chip mountain became an app in my entertaining rotation about 5 years ago after seeing photos of this masterpiece at Ernesto’s in NYC. If it’s not already clear, a low effort/high impact and riffable formula is precisely the trifecta that I gravitate toward, especially when hosting. Chip mountain can lean in so many directions. Maybe the kettle chips are topped with bresaola and a gifted black truffle delicately shaved, maybe there are tiny nuggets of parm and mortadella. Now i’m fantasizing about dollops of pimento cheese and some rosemary ham to take it in a fully southern direction.
Anyhow, she gasped that in fact I had not and it needed to be remedied asap along with requesting another savory cocktail after the Sungold Tomato Margarita was such a smash hit at our previous hang out. We chose a Thursday evening and the date was set. All I had to do was to figure out what else to make for drinks and dinner. She would bring the tequila as resident “tequiz goblin” and her excellent dishwashing skills for the end of the night, knowing how going to sleep with an untidy kitchen stirs my anxiety.
If your algorithm is anywhere near mine, you’ve probably scrolled through plenty savory cocktails in the last few months. Tomat-tinis, Frozen Olive Oil Martinis, Pickle Brine Margaritas and the list goes on. Unless a martini is of the Espresso variety, it’s just not for me. Alas, I wish I could stomach it. But something about any ratio of gin and vermouth in straight up form leaves me reeling with the sensation I imagine occurs when consuming a glass of chilled acetone. No thank you. But a margarita I can get behind, inherently leaning savory with a salted rim, enough acid to keep it refreshing, and the rounded mouth feel of a Reposado or Blanco.
A few jars of pickly briny things that are not your standard pickle (per Effie’s preferences), a bag of kettle chips, and some super thinly sliced salami is really enough to keep us happy. On this particular night, I filled it out with a simple easy snap pea salad and a focaccia pizza using this dough as the base, topped with sungold sauce, fontina, and some salt and pepper pork sausage from the farmer’s market. Basil being the common thread that tied the two together. But frankly, today’s daydream includes these savory bites and briny sips to fuel some besties chat, dogs on laps, laughter abundant and bedtimes respected. They are also this month’s recipes, from my girls’ night to yours.
