#riverheadtable

Earlier this month award-winning author Lidia Yuknavitch could be found in a restaurant basement kitchen, seasoning steak and mashing potatoes. Riverhead Table served dishes inspired by Lidia’s “extraordinary” (Kira Wizner, Merritt Bookstore) and “gutsy” (Kirkus Reviews) forthcoming story collection, VERGE, to journalists, writers and fans at Emma’s Torch, an incredible restaurant and cooking school for refugees in Brooklyn.

We designed our menu to reflect three specific themes from the collection: water, earth and flesh. We feasted on grilled shrimp and cheesy Cepelinai – a nod to Lidia’s Lithuanian background – made from scratch by Lidia; we drank wine flown in from the Oregon Wine Country, curated by our friends at the Willamette Valley Wineries; and we all listened hungrily as Lidia divulged the secrets behind the characters in her stories in a conversation with author and friend Melissa Febos.

We hope you’ll put together your own VERGE dinner party at home! Check out the recipes we used below, along with some photos from the evening. Special thanks once again to Emma’s Torch and Willamette Valley Wineries for partnering with us for this event.

Grilled Shrimp with Oregano and Lemon

This is a super easy dish to make for a crowd. We couldn’t manage to find metal skewers, and we were a bit too nervous to use bamboo skewers over the restaurant’s high-power stove, so we decided to use a good ol’ nonstick skillet and sauté them, just about a minute on each side. Shrimp cook quickly so they really don’t need to stay on the pan for too long!

Lithuanian Cepelinai: Potato and Cheese Dumplings with Vegetarian Gravy

This dish was a challenge. After many demos we simply could not boil the dumplings without them completely disintegrating in the pot! Our last resort method of pan-frying each tennis ball-sized dumpling turned out to be our saving grace. So when you’re trying this at home you can follow the recipe exactly as written until you reach the part where you’re supposed to throw the dumplings into the water—instead whip out a nonstick skillet, add a teaspoon or two of olive oil and pan-fry each side until golden brown. They should look like oversized gnocchi in the end! Top with gravy and enjoy.

Skirt Steak with Chimichurri

This dish was a big hit! It’s tender, flavorful, and kind of pretty to look at. And it’s a great way to serve steak to a whole bunch of people at once.

Roasted Eggplant with Za'atar

Because we had several other hardy dishes on the menu we knew that not everyone would want an entire half of an eggplant for themselves. We decided instead to cut the eggplant into cube, which allowed people to scoop as much or as little as they wanted on their plate. There are a ton of different ways to dress the dish so we went with farro and seasonal tomatoes, with a yogurt sauce on the side for drizzling.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Some people say brussels sprouts are so over, but thank goodness we don’t know any of those folks! This is always a popular option to serve as a vegetable side, and it served us well at Lidia’s dinner.

Fresh Herb Fruit Salad with Honey and Lime

This was a simple, fresh dessert to end a big meal. It’s also easy to make in batches for a lot of people!

Marlon James proved himself to be quite a master chef last time he hosted the Riverhead Table for his Man-Booker Prize-winning novel: A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVEN KILLINGS. So when we read his latest novel—the instant New York Times bestseller BLACK LEOPARD RED WOLF—we knew that we would have to invite him back to #RiverheadTable.

And as you’ve probably noticed, Marlon’s been on the road a lot for this book. Some highlights include chatting with Seth Meyers, sharing a meal with Michael B. Jordan (who is by the way taking on the challenge of adapting this genre-blurring novel into a movie!), giving the J.R.R. Tolkien Lecture at Oxford, and talking to George R.R. Martin about fantasy. Despite his crazy schedule, Marlon capped his food-filled weekend on Grub Street Diet by pairing up with the award-winning chef, Evan Hanczor, and treating us with a ten-course dinner as epic as the book.

Epic meals require epic collaborations, and this time, we teamed up with Chef Evan’s Tables of Contents and Food Book Fair, and the sold-out dinner was hosted at Chef Evan’s Egg Restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The evening was a feast for all five senses from the moment diners walked in: a playlist co-curated by Marlon and Raia Was played in the background, burning custom candles filled the space with fragrances inspired by the book (courtesy of Tanwi Nandini Islam, author and founder of fragrance company HiWildflower), the beautiful cover art served as the visual motif, tying together everything from cocktail napkins to name cards,

and of course—the food! Each course was appropriately accompanied by a bookmark detailing the passage from the book that inspired the dish, which included:

Dates, spiced nuts, and cured pig from La Quercia in medieval pouches

Spicy bone-broth soup, beer from Brooklyn Brewery, and palm wine

Crispy chicken skin, sorghum bread with butter and fat with soft-boiled egg

Blood sausage topped with cream and berries

Textures and shades of green

Lemongrass, fish, and blood

Goat tartare—yes, you read that right!

Crocodile and ugali porridge

Charred antelope

Goat curry—Drew Broussard can attest that it was a big hit of the night!

Millet porridge with extra honey

All of these served with specialty cocktails provided by Forthave Spirits

As the courses wound down, Chef Evan and Marlon shared some food for thought with diners, touching on topics ranging from their creative process in the kitchen and on the page, literary allergies, food imageries in the novel, cultural appropriation, and much more. The perfect evening rounded out with Marlon sipping on coffee and signing books, (sold at the event by McNally Jackson Books), and guests were sent home with an enviable gift bag containing: BLACK LEOPARD RED WOLF enamel pins, BLACK LEOPARD RED WOLF-inspired custom-made candles, and a bag of Egg Restaurant’s famous granola.

BLACK LEOPARD RED WOLF is, fortunately, a trilogy—meaning that we can look forward to at least two more epic Riverhead Tables in the near future. A huge special thank you to everyone who made this night possible!

Chefs from Brownsville Community Culinary Center, who helped Evan and his team in the kitchen

Author Wayetu Moore’s nonprofit, One Moore Book, that publishes culturally sensitive and education stories for children of countries with low literacy rates and underrepresented cultures; proceeds from tickets went toward this amazing nonprofit

Volunteers from Riverhead:

Glory, the mastermind, the architect behind all the Riverhead Tables

Claire and May-Zhee, who were on their feet all night serving food and pouring drinks

Kevin and Helen, who greeted guests warmly at the door

Brooke, who captured the event beautifully in photos

Here are some pictures from the night, and the rest can be found here!

Lesley Nneka Arimah has had quite a year! We knew we wanted to do a Riverhead Table with Lesley from the moment she said that one of her favorite things to do in New York is finding new Nigerian restaurants to try with her friends. 

That was, oh, over a year ago, before she exploded on to the national literary scene. Her fantastical and revelatory story collection WHAT IS MEANS WHEN A MAN FALLS FROM THE SKY won multiple prizes--most recently the prestigious NYPL Young Lions Award and Kirkus Prize in Fiction--and was named a best book of year by The New Yorker, Buzzfeed, NPR, The Root and dozens more publications. 

We were finally able to step into the kitchen with Lesley earlier this month, and the meal she put together was worth the wait. There were no recipes to follow: just Lesley working from memory to teach us how to make a delicious home style Nigerian lunch with a Cajun twist. 

Huge thanks to our friends from Well Read Black Girl for joining us!   

MENU:

Coconut Rice

Garlic Shrimp

Plantains

Zobo Cocktail

Coconut Rice

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium onions, finely chopped

5 shallots, minced

3 green bell peppers, diced

4 large tomatoes, diced

6 cups water

2 bay leaves

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

4 sprigs fresh thyme

salt to taste

1 tsp paprika or ground red pepper

2 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder

2 14.5-ounce cans coconut milk

6 cups of parboiled rice, rinsed

Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onion and shallots and cook for several minutes, until translucent. stir in all other ingredients except for the coconut milk and rice, bring to a boil, and let simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes. Add coconut milk and return to a boil. Taste for seasoning. Stir in the rice  and reduce the flame to low. Cover the pot (make sure it is well sealed) and let the rice cook for approximately 30 minutes without opening. Let stand covered for 10 minutes. Fluff before serving.

Garlic Shrimp

2 pounds unsalted butter

2 heads of fresh garlic, minced

2 4.5 oz jars of minced garlic

1 tablespoon paprika

2 2-oz cans low-sodium Old Bay Seasoning

3 lemons

6 lbs raw, peeled, tail-on shrimp (16/lb or larger)

Melt the butter (yes, all of it) in a large sauté pan over medium heat. When it is bubbling, add all of the garlic, paprika, and Old Bay Seasoning. Stir to combine. Add shrimp, raise heat to medium-high, and toss, making sure all of the shrimp gets coated in the sauce. Squeeze on lemons. Cover and let cook for 6-7 minutes, turning occasionally, until shrimp are fully and evenly cooked. Serve with the rice, topped with the sauce.

What two pounds of butter, garlic and seasoning looks like!

Plantains

15 very ripe plantains (they should be heavily speckled, almost black), peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced about ¼ inch thick at most

Vegetable oil for deep-frying

Place oil in a deep skillet or wok and place over medium-high heat. Test whether it is hot enough by dropping in a slice of plantain. If the oil starts to bubble around the plantain immediately but does not smoke, it is ready. Add the slices but only as many as you can fit without crowding. Cook until golden brown on one side, then flip and brown on the other. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on a baking sheet covered with paper towels. Keep warm in a low oven (200 degrees) until serving.

Lesley supervising editor Becky Saletan at the plantain station.

Zobo Mocktail

1 pound of dried hibiscus flowers

1/4 pound ginger, cut into 1-2 inch slices

8 limes

10 cups of water

Cheese cloth

2 cups sugar

Place 8 cups of the water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the hibiscus flowers and ginger slices. Once the water boils, reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. In a small saucepan, make a simple syrup: mix the sugar with the remaining two cups of water, bring to the boil, and stir until the sugar dissolves; let cool. Strain the hibiscus-ginger mixture through cheesecloth, gathering the cloth and squeezing to get all of the juice. Fill a pitcher ¼ full with the hibiscus-ginger concentrate and stir in freshly squeezed lime juice and syrup to taste. Serve over ice in tall glasses, adding vodka to turn it into a proper cocktail!

After cooking we toasted to Lesley and her wonderful book with a couple of bottles of palm wine! Then we dug into the most satisfying meal we’ve had in ages. 

When we decided to build our next Riverhead Table around THE STARS IN OUR EYES—“a fast, fun look at celebrity culture” (Washington Post) by the luminous Julie Klam—we knew immediately that we wanted to host a Classic-Hollywood-Steakhouse-Slash-Oscars-Viewing-Party style cocktail event. There would be glitz! There would be glam! There would be mini steaks on toast and lots of champagne! 

So we gathered a couple dozen friends—just the usual pals like Meg Wolitzer and Roz Chast to name a few (excuse us while we fan girl in the corner)—at the beautiful Upper East Side home of New Yorker writer Patricia Marx to celebrate Julie’s new book with cocktails, crudités, and more. We hope you’ll try some of these fun party recipes during award season! 

MENU

Shrimp Cocktail

Crudités Vegetables with Remoulade Sauce

Crostini with Steak and Horseradish Cream

Mini Wedge Salads

Chocolate Mousse

+ a cheese platter from Whole Foods because, well, it isn’t a Riverhead party without a cheese platter.

(Julie Klam channeling Ina Garten)

INA GARTEN’S SHRIMP COCKTAIL (Recipe from Food Network)

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

1 lemon

Kosher salt

2 pounds large shrimp in the shell (about 30)

1/2 cup chili sauce (recommended: Heinz)

1/2 cup ketchup (recommended: Heinz)

3 tablespoons prepared horseradish

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco) 

Cut the lemon in half and add it to a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the shrimp and cook, uncovered, for only 3 minutes, until the shrimp are just cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl of cool water. When the shrimp are cool enough to handle, peel and de-vein them. Keep cold until ready to serve. For the cocktail sauce, combine the chili sauce, ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Serve with the shrimp.

CRUDITÉS VEGETABLES WITH REMOULADE SAUCE (Recipe from Epicurious.com)

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings; dip makes 3/4 cup

1 bulb fennel, sliced

1 bunch radishes, trimmed

1 bunch small young carrots, trimmed and peeled

2 Belgian endive heads, trimmed and leaves separated

2 small Persian cucumbers, quartered lengthwise

4 teaspoons kosher salt

For the remoulade:

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoons capers, rinsed and chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste 

In a large bowl or resealable plastic container, combine vegetables with salt and 4 cups water and stir to combine. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (and up to one day). In a small bowl, combine yogurt, mayonnaise, capers, lemon juice, mustard, and parsley. Stir well to combine and season with salt and pepper to taste. Drain the vegetables well and serve alongside the sauce.

DO AHEAD: The vegetables can be prepared, covered, and refrigerated up to 1 day ahead of time. The sauce can be made up to 2 days ahead of time.

CROSTINI WITH STEAK AND HORSERADISH CREAM (Recipe from Williams Sonoma)

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 28 servings 

1 1/2 lb. flank steak, trimmed of excess fat

3 Tbs. olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 Tbs. prepared horseradish

3 Tbs. sour cream

1 French or sourdough baguette, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices (about 28)

Paprika for garnish 

Season the steak and make the horseradish cream

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Place a rack in a roasting pan. Brush both sides of the steak with 1 Tbs. of the oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Place on the rack and let stand at room temperature. In a small bowl, whisk together the horseradish and sour cream.  Make the crostini Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet and brush lightly with the remaining olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake until golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a platter.  Cook the steak Preheat a broiler. Broil the steak until firm but still quite pink in the center, about 6 minutes per side. Let rest for 5 minutes. Cut the steak with the grain into slices about 2 inches thick, then thinly cut the slices crosswise across the grain.  

Arrange 1 or 2 slices on each crostini, top with a dollop of the horseradish cream and sprinkle with paprika. Transfer to a platter and serve at room temperature.

MINI BACON AND BLUE CHEESE WEDGE SALAD (Recipe from Brit&Co)

Total Time: 1 hour (mostly spent assembling!)

Yield: 12 servings (more if you’re conservative with your lettuce leaves) 

Ingredients for the salad

1 heads iceberg lettuce

1 pint cherry or baby plum tomatoes, each one sliced in half

1 package of bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled

1/2 red onion, chopped (optional)

Blue cheese dressing (store-bought or homemade)

Blue cheese crumbles

cocktail toothpicks 

Ingredients for the dressing

3 ounces blue cheese crumbles

3 tablespoons buttermilk

3 tablespoons light sour cream

2 tablespoons Lemonaise Light (or mayo)

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Pinch of sugar 

Pinch garlic powder Salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place your slices of bacon on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until it reaches your preferred level of crumbliness. Slice your tomatoes and onions according to the above guidelines while the bacon is cooking. 

Make Blue Cheese Dressing

Full disclosure, we used store bought blue cheese dressing. (We had a limited amount of time to cook so we had to take some short cuts!) But here’s how to make the dressing if you have the time: In a small bowl, mash blue cheese and buttermilk together with a fork until mixture resembles large-curd cottage cheese. Stir in sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, and garlic powder until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Mini Salad Assembly

Slice a head of lettuce in half through core. Cut each half into three wedges. Cut each wedge in half again. Keep in mind that each mini salad needs around 3-4 lettuce leaves. Spear 2-3 tomato halves with toothpick and secure into each lettuce wedge or stack. Drizzle with blue cheese dressing and sprinkle with bacon bits, chopped onion, and more blue cheese if desired. Season with salt and pepper and serve! 

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE DESSERT (Recipe from Chowhound.com)

Total Time: 2.5 hours

Yield: 15 cocktail servings

**We highly recommend using an electric mixer for this recipe (unless you intend to replace “arm day” at the gym with the making of this recipe—in that case by all means use a regular whisk) 

5 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 cup very cold heavy cream

3 large egg whites (no traces of yolk), at room temperature

Sweetened whipped cream, for serving (optional) 

Fill a medium saucepan with 2 inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Place chocolate and 1/4 cup of the heavy cream in a large heatproof bowl. (Place remaining cream back in the refrigerator until ready to use.) Nest the bowl over the saucepan, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Melt chocolate, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula, until smooth and combined with the cream. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and set aside to cool slightly. 

Place egg whites in a second large bowl and whisk vigorously until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes (make sure the bowl and whisk have no trace of oil or fat, or the whites will not whip properly); set aside. (Alternatively, you can use an electric mixer.) Clean and dry the whisk (or your beaters if you’re using an electric mixer). Place the remaining 3/4 cup heavy cream in a third large bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. (Alternatively, you can use an electric mixer.) 

Using a rubber spatula, fold half of the whipped cream into the melted chocolate, then gently stir in the rest (try not to deflate the whipped cream). Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate-cream mixture just until there are no longer large blobs of whipped cream or egg white (do not overmix). 

Spoon the mousse or pipe it from a pastry bag into serving cups and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve with additional sweetened or flavored whipped cream if desired.

We have to admit -- we’re pretty good at catering parties. Give us a call if you’re interested in hiring us for your next event. 

Just kidding about that. But, seriously, keep scrolling to enjoy some photos from our classic Hollywood cocktail party and don’t forget to go buy a copy of THE STARS IN OUR EYES by Julie Klam!

(Riverhead Books Executive Editor Jake Morrissey raises a glass to Julie Klam.)

(Roz Chast.)

(Meg Wolitzer.)

(Patricia Marx says a few words about THE STARS IN OUR EYES and Julie Klam.)

(A dedicated reader.)

We’ve had some fantastic Riverhead Tables over the past year. From taking over Ruffian Wine Bar & Chef’s Table for a Pakistani feast with Mohsin Hamid to cooking an Eat, Pray, Love inspired meal with Elizabeth Gilbert in her home kitchen, we consistently found new and creative ways to celebrate our authors and their books through food. 

Earlier this month we took things up yet another notch with our very first public event at the 2017 Food Book Fair, which was held at the famous Ace Hotel in Manhattan. If you’ve somehow never heard of the Fair, it’s the one weekend a year when famous chefs, food + drinks writers and restaurateurs come together to celebrate food in print. There are book signings, panels, cooking demos…the works! To be included on the same event schedule as, oh, Food52, Cherry Bombe, Mario Batali, April Bloomfield, Melissa Clark and so many others was MIND BLOWING. 

We invited Riverhead authors Emma Straub and Katie Kitamura to help us host a boozy Greece-Meets-Brooklyn brunch party inspired by their novels MODERN LOVERS (representing Brooklyn) and A SEPARATION (representing Greece). We served small bites of sausage, spanakopita, parfaits, mimosas and more to a room full of book lovers, foodies, and friends. Even April Bloomfield stopped by to check us out! It’s an overused expression but we believe it’s a fitting one to use in this case: 

We. Couldn’t. Even. 

Since we weren’t able to cook the food as we normally would, we decided that the next best plan of action would be to ask some of our favorite Brooklyn based food businesses to help us out by donating some of the main ingredients. And, girl, did they deliver. We want to give an enormous THANK YOU to The White Moustache, The Meat Hook and to our dynamite friends at Jones of Boerum Hill for helping us make the event a success! And we wouldn’t have been there at all if the Food Book Fair organizers hadn’t invited us to participate in the first place, so THANK YOU to Kimberly, Amanda and the #FBF2017 team for everything.   

Thanks to everyone who decided to spend their Food Book Fair experience with us. For those who didn’t, check out our photo recap below! 

The Menu

A Do-It-Yourself Mediterranean “Avocado” Toast Bar

Spanakopita

Breakfast Sausages

Toasted Fennel & Garlic Sausages

Greek Yogurt with Fresh Berries, Honey and Granola

A special tasting of The White Moustache’s new line of probiotic tonics in various flavors (yum!)

Mimosas

April Bloomfield and Emma Straub. 

Sentences about breakfast from Modern Lovers and A Separation.

Breakfast sausages from The Meat Hook! We also served their Toasted Fennel & Garlic sausages. 

Fruit parfaits featuring Greek yogurt from The White Moustache! They’re based in Red Hook, Brooklyn but you can find their delicious products in a store near you. 

The White Moustache also just launched a new line of refreshing probiotic tonics in different flavors. Guests at our event were able to try honey lime (our favorite!), passion fruit, honey lime and fresh ginger. 

What food item is more “Brooklyn” than avocado toast? We wanted to put a Riverhead Table twist on the concept, so we created a DIY Mediterranean toast bar packed with hummus, tzatziki, figs, olives, cheese, eggplant and more for people to use to create their own personal toast masterpieces. 

The spanakopita (Greek spinach pie) was a hit, too! 

December is half over, which means the holiday season is here and a New Year is just around the corner. We made many delicious meals this year—from jerk lamb chops with Marlon James to spicy Indian curries with Elizabeth Gilbert--so forgive us if It’s hard to believe that we’ve actually arrived at our last #RiverheadTable post of 2016! 

It was also a big year for THE MOTHERS, the debut novel by rising literary star Brit Bennett that took America by storm. You probably saw it on TV, heard about it on the radio, glimpsed it at your local ice cream shop, and you definitely read about it in all of your favorite magazines. 

Real Simple was one of the big magazines that brought THE MOTHERS to the masses. They called it “stunning,” “heartbreaking” and “brutally honest,” all of which are #accurate descriptions. We asked Real Simple if they would partner with us to make a dish inspired by Brit’s novel, and they not only said “yes” but they made our food reality show dreams come true by inviting us into their test kitchen to broadcast the entire process on Facebook Live! (We knew we would be famous one day, we just had to be patient.) 

Because THE MOTHERS is set in Oceanside, California and Brit herself is a Southern California native, we decided to recreate a beloved SoCal dish: the breakfast burrito. Breakfast burritos are laid back but hearty, and—just like what happens in the novel—it can get a little spicy if you let it. We used Real Simple’s basic recipe and added some fun twists to customize our burritos the way we like them. 

Special thanks to Grace, Samantha and Dawn of Real Simple for making this edition of #RiverheadTable the coolest one yet! And, as always, no Table would be official without our custom aprons from Jones of Boerum Hill. Want to watch us make burritos and talk about THE MOTHERS in Real Simple’s test kitchen? Check us out here: https://www.facebook.com/realsimple/videos/10154195923823163/

THE MENU

Breakfast Burritos with a variety of toppings

Mimosas (obviously)

The Riverhead and Real Simple crew with Brit Bennett!

Real Simple's Breakfast Burrito (Serves 1 | Total cooking and assembly time: 20 minutes) 

1 tbsp olive oil

2 large eggs, beaten

Kosher salt and black pepper

1 oz sliced Monterey Jack

1 oz sliced deli ham (or any meat you want, really!)

18-inch multigrain flour tortilla, warmed

Hot sauce (optional)

Fresh cilantro leaves (optional)

Any other toppings you like! 

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the eggs and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the eggs are just set, 1 to 2 minutes. Wrap the eggs, cheese, ham, and cilantro (if desired) in the tortilla. Serve with the hot sauce, if desired.

We prepped fresh spinach, diced fresh onions, pickled onions, salsa, green peppers and more to fill our burritos.

Brit on egg cooking duty.

Assembling what will eventually become breakfast burritos...and tacos. (Sometimes you just have to go with the flow!)

Behind the scenes at the first official #RiverheadTable and Real Simple Facebook Live.

Finished burritos! 

Filling some of our burritos with pickled onions. Delicious! 

Real Simple’s Food Director, Dawn Perry, pours mimosas to toast to THE MOTHERS.

Cheers!

Vanilla. Pepper. Cloves. Cinnamon. Nutmeg. According to Steven Johnson’s latest book WONDERLAND: How Play Made the Modern World these are the spices that make the world go round, some even as far back as 1721 BCE in Syria! When we consider the food we eat—from Thanksgiving meals to that giant bag of Doritos sitting in our snack drawer—we don’t always think about what goes into them, and we’re not just talking ingredients, here. We’re also talking about history. As Steven writes, “Like many forms of delight, the taste for spice propelled us far from our roots—not just geographically but also existentially. That strange new taste on the tongue that would send any child into howls of pain could be savored by an adult, its pain turned into pleasure. Spices enlarged the map of possible desires, which in turn enlarged the map of the world itself.” 

So for this edition of #RiverheadTable we decided to focus on these five core spices to show just how propelling and versatile they can be. Special thanks to Steven for being on grill duty, and thanks as always to Jones of Boerum Hill for our fashionable aprons!

Cacio e Pepe (Serves 11)

Ingredients

2 lbs dried spaghetti (2 boxes)

8 cups baby arugula or spinach

4 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more to serve

1/2 tbs black pepper, plus more to taste

1/2 cup lemon juice (or more if you like super lemony pasta)

2 tbs red pepper flakes, plus more to taste

8 tbs minced garlic

1-2 sticks of unsalted butter

1/2 cup EVOO 

In a large pot of heavily salted boiling water, cook the spaghetti to al dente according to the package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water (it comes in handy), then drain the pasta. 

(NOTE: You might have to do the next couple of steps in two parts, depending on how big your skillet actually is.) In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Make sure it doesn’t burn! Add the olive oil, then add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and black pepper and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. 

Add the lemon juice to the skillet, then toss in the drained pasta and toss to coat. Add the cheese and toss, adding the pasta water, a couple of tablespoons at a time, just to help the cheese coat the pasta. Add the arugula or spinach and toss until it wilts, about 1 minute. Season to taste with additional salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Serve with more cheese.

Riverhead staffers Jessica and Kevin on the pasta station!

WONDERLAND author Steven Johnson marinates the salmon.

Salmon with Vanilla Balsamic Marinade (serves 11)

Ingredients for Marinade

6 tbs EVOO

1 shallot

2 tsp dried parsley

2 tsp dried basil

3/4 tsp brown sugar

3/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

3 tbs balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract   

Ingredients for Salmon

11 salmon filets (or half of a large salmon, deboned by your fish guy/gal if you can’t do it yourself)

Salt and pepper

Vegetable oil 

For the marinade, combine the olive oil, shallot, parsley, basil, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard and vanilla paste into a food processor and puree. Pour evenly into two containers and set one container aside.

Preheat your grill. (NOTE: If you bought half a fish we recommend slicing it into three large pieces.) Brush each filet with canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Brush the tops of the fillets with the marinade, then discard any leftover marinade.

Place the filets marinated side down on a grill rack over direct heat. Grill for 8-10 minutes or until dark grill marks appear and the marinade begins to caramelize. Turn the filets and grill for 3 to 4 minutes longer. Serve with the reserved marinade.

Oven Method: Don’t have a grill? No problem! Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Place your marinated salmon on a lightly greased baking pan and cook for 15 minutes or until done the way you like it.

Steven really enjoys being on grill duty!

Simple Kale Salad (serves 11)

Ingredients

Kale (we bought one large box but feel free to buy in bunches--3 should do)

7 tbs EVOO, plus more if necessary

1/3 cup lemon juice, plus more if necessary

6 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup grated parmesan, plus more for serving

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large mixing bowl put the kale, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic cloves, parmesan and salt. Using your hands start massaging the kale salad and continue to do this for about 3-4 minutes (you want the kale to reduce down to about half of what you started with). Taste the salad and add pepper and continue to massage for another few seconds. Taste again and adjust seasoning accordingly.

Spice Cake (with Vanilla Ice Cream)

Ingredients

1 cup milk

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup unsalted butter, softened until easily spreadable

2 cups dark brown sugar

2 1/2 cups bleached all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp ground cloves

Vanilla ice cream  

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour a metal or disposable foil 9-by-13-inch pan. Whisk dry ingredients and spices in a large bowl. Mix milk, eggs and vanilla extract in a 2-cup measuring cup.

Beat softened butter into dry ingredients, first on low, then medium, until mixture forms pebble-sized pieces. Add about 1/3 of the milk mixture and beat on low until smooth. Add remaining milk mixture in two stages; beat on medium speed until batter is just smooth. Add the sugar; beat until just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Pour batter into cake pan.

Lydia from our marketing team masters the Kitchen Aid. 

Bake until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the cake's center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Set pan on a wire rack; let cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the pan perimeter and turn cake onto rack. Let cool then serve with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream!

The right spices can make even the simplest of meals stand out! Don’t be afraid to play around with them in the kitchen and enjoy the delicious meal you end up with.

Setting the table for our Wonderland inspired dinner.

Special guest model/chef Scully :)

Cheers to spices!

Bring on the eats.

**BONUS** We decided to take the concept of “playing with our food” to the next level by also partaking in some weird (but awesome) tasting experiments. We each dissolved one mBerry Miracle Fruit Tablet on our tongues to see how the flavors of various fruits and cheeses would change. The results were surprisingly delicious. Lemons tasted like lemonade and green apples tasted pleasantly sweet instead of tart!

How do you design one meal around the concept of creativity? That’s the challenge we faced when we found out we would be sharing our next #RiverheadTable with internationally beloved and bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert to celebrate the paperback release of her latest book BIG MAGIC. We tossed a few ideas around before Liz’s brilliant editor, Rebecca Saletan (who you’ve probably seen in other #RiverheadTable posts like this one), suggested we focus on color. Bingo. After all, BIG MAGIC’s cover art depicts a literal explosion of vibrant color, and the book itself is all about finding the courage to pursue your boldest creative impulses. And is there no more colorful cuisine than that of South East Asia, which also happens to be a region Elizabeth Gilbert explored in a little book called Eat Pray Love?

With an arsenal of recipes in hand for brightly hued curries, sunny saffron rice, fruit sorbet and more, two carloads of Riverhead staffers drove out to Elizabeth’s beautiful home in Frenchtown, NJ for a day of creative cooking!

Thanks as always to our friends at Jones of Boerum Hill for our custom Riverhead aprons, and a special shout out to Rosa and Emily of Marie Claire! They bravely rolled up their sleeves to peel shrimp and crack coconuts (on the sidewalk with a hammer) alongside us. If you somehow didn’t catch their epic Facebook Live tour of Elizabeth’s house then you should definitely do that here ASAP. 

We hope you’ll try one or all of these recipes for your next book club or dinner party! If you do, don’t forget to tag us using @riverheadbooks and #RiverheadTable.

THE MENU

Fresh green salad with edible flowers

Paneer Makhani (Indian cheese in butter-tomato sauce)

Baked tandoori shrimp

Basmati Rice with Cinnamon Saffron

Chapati bread

Coconut, red chili and mint coriander chutney

Cucumber-mint raita

Homemade blueberry, strawberry and mango sorbet

Hibiscus tea

Lots of white and red wine, because why not?

FRESH GREEN SALAD WITH EDIBLE FLOWERS (6 servings; 5 minutes total cooking time) From Martha Stewart Living

1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

12 cups tender baby salad greens (about 5 1/2 ounces)

1-2 packages edible flowers (We bought ours from the lovely folks of Windfall Farms!) 

Combine vinegar and mustard in a bowl. Gradually whisk in oil, then season dressing with salt and pepper. Toss dressing with greens and top with flowers. Serve immediately.

Elizabeth Gilbert and a very colorful BIG MAGIC-inspired salad.

Emily from Marie Claire using a widely used method called “hammer and sidewalk” to open coconuts for our chutney recipes.

NOTE: You’ll need a good blender or Vitamix for the following chutney recipes! And if you don’t yet know what “tempering” means, we suggest reading this helpful NPR article before you begin. It never hurts to learn new cooking techniques, especially when they are integral to a culture’s cuisine!

SOUTH INDIAN COCONUT CHUTNEY (makes approx. 1 cup; 10 mins total prep/cooking time)

Ingredients:

1 cup of grated coconut (We cracked open fresh coconut but pre-packaged is also fine. No judgment here.)

1/4 cup of roasted Bengal

3-4 of green chilies

1/2″ piece of ginger

2 tbsp of chopped cilantro

3 tbsp plain whole-milk yogurt

For tempering:

1 tsp of oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp of urad dal

1/4 tsp of asafoetida or hing

1 of dry red chili, torn into halves

1 sprig curry leaves

Grind together the coconut, Bengal gram, ginger, coriander, green chilies and salt. Add about 3-4 tbsp of water until you get a smooth consistency. Add yogurt and mix well. Next, heat oil for tempering in a pan and add the ingredients for tempering in the order listed above. When the mustard seeds start to pop, dunk the contents into the yogurt mix and stir.

RED CHILI CHUTNEY RECIPE (makes approx. 1/3 cup; 10 mins total prep/cooking time)

Ingredients:

1 cup of peeled and sliced shallots

10-12 dry red chilies (you can add less or more, depending on how spicy you like things!)

1 pinch of asafoetida or hing

1 small piece of tamarind (or 1 tsp tamarind paste)

1-2 tsp of salt (adjust to taste)

2 tsp of oil

1 clove of garlic

Heat the oil in a pan and add the chilies. Keep the flame on low and fry for one minute until the chilies start to look glossy and smell roasted. Remove the chilies and add the sliced shallots to the same pan. Fry until golden. Add the hing, garlic and salt. Stir and then turn off the flame. Add the tamarind. Cool completely and grind with the chilies in the blender until it becomes a smooth paste.

 Art Director Helen Yentus considers a piece of tamarind.

MINT CILANTRO CHUTNEY (makes approx. 1 cup; 10 mins total prep/cooking time)

Ingredients:

2 cups of fresh cilantro leaves

1 packed cup of mint leaves

2-3 green chilies

1/4 cup chopped onions

2-3 cloves of garlic

1 pinch cumin

1 heaping tsp chaat masala

1/4 tsp sugar

A squeeze of lemon or lime juice

Adding a little bit of water a time, grind all ingredients together to a smooth chutney. Taste as you go along and adjust the ingredients (even adding salt, if you prefer) until you reach a flavor you like.

Publicity Director Jynne Martin gives the mint cilantro chutney a nudge. 

CUCUMBER-MINT RAITA (Makes approximately 8 servings; 15 min for prep + 2 hrs minimum refrigeration) From Bon Appétit

Ingredients:

1 large unpeeled English hothouse cucumber, halved, seeded, coarsely grated

2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt

1/4 cup packed chopped fresh mint

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp plus pinch of cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper 

Wrap the grated cucumber in a kitchen towel and squeeze until dry. Whisk the yogurt, mint, cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper in medium bowl. Add cucumbers and toss well. Season raita to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. (You can also refrigerate it up to one day ahead of time.) Sprinkle the finished raita with a pinch of cayenne pepper before serving.

BASMATI RICE WITH CINNAMON SAFFRON (Makes approximately 4-6 servings; 10 min prep; 3 hrs inactive time; 37 mins cooking time)

From Madhur Jaffrey’s “From Curries to Kebabs: Recipes from the Indian Spice Kitchen” 

Ingredients:

1 tsp saffron threads 3 tbsps hot milk 1/4 tsp ground cardamom 1/4 tsp sugar 2 cups basmati rice 2 tbsps corn, peanut, or olive oil 2 medium cinnamon sticks 2 2/3 cups water 1 teaspoon salt Place the saffron on a piece of foil. Fold some of the foil over the saffron and crush it with a rolling pin or wooden potato masher. Put the crushed saffron in a small cup. Add the hot milk, cardamom, and sugar. Mix with a small spoon and set aside for 3 hours. (NOTE: We definitely did not let the saffron sit for 3 hours and the flavor came out great. You should be fine after an hour!)

Put the rice in a large bowl and wash in several changes of water. Drain well then add fresh water to cover generously. Leave to soak for 30 minutes. Drain well again. 

Pour the oil in a heavy, lidded pan that will just hold the cooked rice comfortably and set over medium heat. When the oil is hot, put in the cinnamon sticks. Stir for 10 seconds, then add the rice. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir the rice around until the grain look translucent, about 2 minutes. Add 2 2/3 cups of water and the salt. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce the heat to very, very low and cook for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat. Carefully lift the lid and quickly dribble the saffron milk in any haphazard pattern. Quickly cover again and leave for 10 minutes. Mix the rice very delicately with a slotted spoon before serving.

TANDOORI SHRIMP RECIPE (Makes 4 servings; 40 mins prep time; 10-15 minutes cooking time) 

Ingredients:

Bamboo skewers, soaked in water before using

1 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined, tails on (tiger prawn preferred)

Olive Oil, for basting

1/2 tbsp chopped cilantro

1 lime, cut into wedges 

Marinade:

1/3 cup whole-milk yogurt

1 tsp finely minced garlic

1/2 tsp Garam Masala

1/4 tsp chili powder

2 tbsps lime juice

1 tbsp oil

1 1/2 tsps salt or to taste

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Red coloring, optional 

Mix all marinade ingredients in a medium or large bowl. Stir well. Add the shrimp to the mixture and marinate for at least 30 minutes, or best for two hours. Thread the shrimp onto the bamboo skewers, set aside. Line a large baking sheet (or two medium sheets) with aluminum foil or parchment paper and arrange the shrimp skewers in a single layer. Using a small brush, baste both sides of the shrimp with the oil. Roast for 10 minutes or until the shrimps are cooked. Broil for 1 minute or until the top surface is slightly charred. Remove from the oven, garnish with chopped cilantro and serve immediately with lime wedges.

MADHUR JAFFREY’S FRESH INDIAN CHEESE IN BUTTER-TOMATO SAUCE (Paneer Makhani)

(Makes 15-20 servings; 30 mins prep time; 15 mins cooking time) 

Ingredients:

3 lbs fresh Indian cheese (paneer), cut into chunky cubes (pictured above)

6 cups (2 28-oz cans) tomato puree

4 fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped

1 quart heavy cream

3 tbsp peeled and finely grated fresh ginger

4 tsp garam masala

3 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp sugar

4 fresh hot green chilis, finely chopped

2 tbsp salt

1 tsp red chili powder

1 tbsp ground cumin

4 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi), crumbled (optional)

freshly ground black pepper

1 stick unsalted butter

4 tbsp olive or peanut oil

2 tsp whole cumin seeds

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro 

Combine the tomato puree, cream, ginger, garam masala, lemon juice, sugar, green chili, 1 tbsp of the salt, chili powder, ground cumin and fenugreek leaves in a large mixing bowl. Stir thoroughly and set aside. Put the cubed cheese into another bowl. Add 1 teaspoon salt and some black pepper. Toss well to mix. Put the butter, oil and cumin seeds in a medium, non-stick pan and set over a medium heat. Put all the cheese cubes in the pan in a single layer and brown them very lightly on at least two sides. Pour the tomato sauce over the top and carefully stir to mix. (Use two pans if it looks like the sauce will overflow.) Bring to a simmer, then heat very gently for 4–5 minutes, stirring with a light hand as you do so. Sprinkle the fresh coriander over the top before serving.

Director of Marketing Kate Stark peels ginger for our blueberry ginger sorbet.

NOTE: You’ll need a good blender or food processor, plus an ice cream maker for each of the following sorbet recipes! 

BLUEBERRY GINGER SORBET (Makes approx. 3-4 cups; 40-50 mins active cooking time; 4 hours total)

Ingredients:

4 cups blueberries, washed (about 1 1/4 pounds)

2 tbsp minced ginger

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsps lemon juice, to taste

1/4 tsp kosher salt, to taste

Purée blueberries and ginger in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add sugar and blend for 30 seconds. Add lemon and salt, blend, and adjust to taste. Strain purée into a bowl and transfer to refrigerator; chill for 2 to 3 hours until very cold. Churn sorbet in ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer sorbet to freezer to firm up for 2 to 3 hours before serving.

MANGO SORBET (Makes approx. 3-4 cups; 40-50 mins active cooking time; 4 hours total) 

Ingredients:

4 1/2 to 5 cups ripe mangoes, peeled and diced (about 2 pounds)

1/4 cup water

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp lime juice, to taste

1/2 tsp kosher salt, to taste 

Put diced mangoes in the blender with water and blend on high speed until very smooth, about 30 seconds. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a large measuring cup, pushing purée through strainer with a spoon, until you have 3 cups of purée. Reserve remainder for another use. Transfer strained purée into a large bowl and whisk in sugar until well dissolved. Whisk in lime juice and salt in small increments, adding more to taste. Chill purée in refrigerator until very cold, 2 to 3 hours. Churn in ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions, then transfer to airtight container and chill in freezer at least 4 hours before serving.

STRAWBERRY SORBET (Makes approx. 3-4 cups; 40-50 mins active cooking time; 4 hours total) 

Ingredients:

2 quarts strawberries (about 2 1/2 pounds)

1 cup sugar

2 tsps lemon juice, to taste

1/2 tsp kosher salt, to taste

Remove tops from strawberries and purée in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add sugar and blend for 30 seconds. Add lemon and salt, blend, and adjust to taste. Strain purée into a bowl and transfer to refrigerator; chill for 2 to 3 hours until very cold. Churn sorbet in ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer sorbet to freezer to firm up for 2 to 3 hours before serving.

HIBISCUS TEA (Makes 2 quarts; 5 mins prep time; 25 minutes “cooking” time)

Ingredients:

2 quarts water

3/4 to 1 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you would like it to be)

1 cup dried hibiscus flowers

1/2 cinnamon stick (optional)

A few thin slices of ginger (optional)

Allspice berries (optional)

Lime juice (optional)

Orange or lime slices for garnish

Put 4 cups of the water and the sugar in a medium saucepan. Add cinnamon, ginger slices, and a few allspice berries if you would like. Heat until boiling and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat. Stir in the dried hibiscus flowers. Cover and let sit for 20 minutes. Strain into a pitcher and discard the used hibiscus flowers, ginger, cinnamon, and allspice berries. Add remaining 4 cups of water (or if you want to chill the drink quickly, ice and water) to the mixture, then chill. Alternatively, you can add ice and chilled soda water for a bubbly version. Add a little lime juice for a more punch-like flavor. Serve over ice with a slice of orange or lime.

***

It was a gorgeous evening and our hostess happened to have the most beautifully decorated wrap-around porch, so we decided to have an outdoor dinner party! Our BIG MAGIC / EAT PRAY LOVE meal was feast for the eyes as well as for our hungry bellies. Keep scrolling to see more behind the scenes photos from our day with Elizabeth Gilbert. 

Senior Publicity Manager Liz Hohenadel sets the #RiverheadTable on Elizabeth Gilbert’s porch.

Head Designer Taylor Grant, Associate Publicity Al Guillen and Marketing Manager Mary Stone prep the shrimp!

Rosa of Marie Claire in one of our custom made Jones of Boerum Hill aprons.

Celebrating BIG MAGIC in paperback!

Liz and Liz (ha!) decorate the salad with edible flowers.

Our hostess with the mostess. Let’s eat!