Hot Takes on Cold Gin and Warm Tofu
Friday Night Likes, the September issue
It’s time for Friday Night Likes - the September 2024 edition - in which we list the top (free or low-cost) things/events/experiences we liked this month.
You know, the best things in life.
Best Early-Autumn Meal: Japanese-Style Mapo Tofu
Rachel's family eats a lot of Mapo Tofu. We usually make the classic Chinese recipe with the standard ingredients — heavy on Sichuan peppers and doubanjiang.
But this month we tried a new way of making our beloved dish, which is a great transition meal from summer to fall - light but warm.
In his excellent book The Wok, J. Kenji López-Alt includes a bonus recipe for Mapo Tofu adapted from a one that his mom (who is Japanese) used to make for him. It's a really subtle take on the spicy Chinese staple.
The recipe calls for mirin and sake (we used Shaoxing wine because that's what we had) which add a delicate sweetness that complements the silken tofu. We also added some extra vegetables to our version - half a napa cabbage and some julienned carrots — to highlight these sweet, subtle flavors which you can augment with chili crisp to suit your spice tolerance.
Best Drink: The Vesper
Pete Wells wrote an article this month about the merits of a wet martini, which if you don't know, is a martini with a heavy dose of vermouth. As two die-hard dry martini fans, we felt challenged by the article. What were we missing? The story was inspired by a vermouth-forward cocktail at Eel Bar - a new restaurant from the same people who run a few shops that we love in Brooklyn.
Here's a photo of Rachel shopping at their other restaurant (The Fly) where she was captured for NY Magazine's the Lookbook in 2020.
While we have to admit, the Spanish-centric restaurant's take on the wet martini using a high quality Spanish vermouth is the best way to imbibe this version of the cocktail, we still find that in general vermouth tends to muddy what we love about a martini - namely that it is crisp, strong, and most importantly ice-cold alcohol.
But there is one "wet" drink we DO like and it's called The Vesper.
It's got gin AND vodka and is made "wet” by using your choice of either Cocci Americano or Lillet.
What we love about this drink is that it's about as strong as they come. The wettening agent (ew?) aka apertif wine brightens the drink instead of muddling it.
Oh! And it's basically a double which means it's a great value for those of us with champagne tastes on a beer budget.
The Vesper
2 oz Gin
1oz Vodka
1/2oz Lillet or Cocchi Americano
Put two coupes on ice. Fill mixing glass with ice and add ingredients. Stir vigorously for 30 seconds. Strain into the frosted coupes. Do your very best to make a lemon flower better than we did :)
Best Show: Bad Monkey on Apple TV+
Bill Lawrence meets Carl Hiassen, South Florida, murder, Rob Delaney playing bad, Vince Vaughn cracking jokes and saving small animals, Jodie Turner-Smith casting spells (aka being hot), and a silly monkey eating grapes. What's not to love?
Honorable Mentions:
Bodkin on Netflix- This comedy/mystery starring Will Forte will make you want to move to Ireland and start a podcast.
Slow Horses on Apple TV+ - Whatever, this has been on a million best-of-TV lists but we just got hip to it and have a huge crush on (the obvious) Jack Lowdon, Kristen Scott Thomas and (the not so obvious) crusty, old Gary Oldman. If you need convincing, listen to Oldman on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.
Only Murders in the Building on Hulu - Speaking of comedy/mysteries about podcasts, and shows that you already know about —DUH, but we have to bring it up because this is the best season yet. If you're like Rachel, you're still barely tolerating Selena Gomez, but falling deeper and deeper in love with Martin Short every year, if it's possible to fall more in love with the greatest comic actor who ever lived.
Best Exercise: Swimming for a FULL hour
We started taking swimming lessons at the YMCA a few years ago. It was terrific to learn something new as adults. It made us feel superhuman even though Jamie still can't dive, and Rachel hits the bottom of the pool when trying to do a flip turn.
Anyway, we weren't great about swimming this summer because we were all about pilates and drinking beer.
But now that school's back in session and we've got our work hats on, we are motivated to turn up the heat on calorie burning. Swimming is the most gentle form of this endeavor. But it also has improved our running game. Nothing is better than swimming for building lung strength and stamina, but we only recently started going a full hour.
Once you pass 45 minutes, it's all endorphins.
Best Music: Anything by a Lesbian in the 90s
After a summer of femme pop icons sweetening our teeth like an ice cold popsicle, we are in the mood for a hearty stew with lots of vegetables. Remember when people wrote songs about more than dumb boys?
Like Galileo by the Indigo Girls? Or What's Up by Four Non-Blondes. Or Talkin’ About a Revolution by Tracy Chapman?
Let's manifest more songs that include legitimate storytelling and don't rely on navel-gazing. Do you have any recs?
Best Movie: Notice to Quit
This week Jamie got to attend the premiere of Notice to Quit, a delightful film about a dad, his daughter and trying to hack it in New York City. (note from Jamie: sometimes my friends make fun of me for still being enamored with New York City after all of these years, but watching our city shot in 35mm on the big screen (it was filmed in all five boroughs!) always makes my heart flutter.
Not only is the father/daughter relationship between Michael Zegen and Kasey Bella Suarez truly moving and a joy to watch, the subject matter – attempting to exist in a city and world that feels increasingly untenable and unkind to anyone below a certain tax bracket, is totally in line with our Debt Heads MO. It’s out this weekend and you should check it out!
Honorable Mentions:
This movie would have been fun no matter what, but it’s also exceptionally artful and thoughtful and inventive — so much so that Rachel saw it in the theater twice. The band also just played at the Knockdown Center in Brooklyn which we did not attend because we are perhaps too old for that crowd. But kinda wish we did.
We love a family dramedy, and Between the Temples is a delightfully subtle take on our favorite genre. Carol Kane and Jason Schwartzman make a wacky if not unlikely pair and the film is at once heartfelt, melancholy and funny. See it with your family if you dare, or your friends if you’re wiser than Jamie. (When the film wrapped, her Nana turned to her and inquired: “What was that about?”) It’s a sweet fall film that will make you feel cozy and seen.
We also re-watched Party Girl during the making of our Vesper video. It's streaming on Peacock, Prime, and Roku. What a goddamn treasure featuring our two favorite things: libraries and parties.
Best Eye Candy: Andrew Scott Portraits for Diaries99
As we like to say around here when we see something so beautiful that we will never get to touch: It's a grief.
We cannot WAIT to see him play Vanya.
Best Book: Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
We've been waiting all year for this. We literally just bought it and haven't even read it yet, but it's our favorite book of the month anyway.
Honorable mentions:
Jamie: All Fours by Miranda July
I’m just short of halfway through All Fours and it certainly delivers on its promise to be extremely hot. It’s been a wild ride, and I’m both thrilled and afraid of what’s to come next. A winning combo!
Rachel: So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
This is an old one, but I only recently read it in its entirety (for Debt Heads research, among other things). Everyone should read this book. It's a real page-turner. No one is as brilliant, funny, and empathetic as Jon Ronson. I’m smitten.
Best Event: One Thing Done
Jamie's former co-worker Julie Piñero hosts a co-working event at different public places throughout the city, mostly Brooklyn. It's a chance to get together with strangers who want to get “one thing done” in about an hour. You join the group, set a goal, hold each other accountable to that goal. Share and celebrate.
As two people who identify as slightly ADHD, we found this model to be highly effective, motivating and fun. We also met a lot of great new people and checked out a new location. For this week, it was a cute cafe in Crown Heights called Barzakh Cafe.
Best Online Videos: Baby Equī (aka Horses, Asses, and Zebras)
Please enjoy this very silly videos of various Equī being very very sweet and cute.
Best Purchase: Pennsylvania Vintage
This may be in Trump country, but it's got the best vintage. So consider signing up to knock doors before November and you can treat yourself to some amazing fashion deals while you're at it.
There is one excellent thrift store in Honesdale, PA at which I've consistently found incredible items. A few years ago, for example, I got this suit for $2 (!!)
This summer I scored a few new/old pieces: this skirt and shirt set that set me back a steeper $4, and a dress for $6. I wore the blue dress to an event recently and got so many compliments to which I obviously replied every time, “THANKS IT WAS $6!"
Happy dawn of autumn!
xoxo
The Debt Heads