Spring is just about here, so we're feeding our plants a special juice, making sure our luggage doesn't go AWOL with some new tech and brining our chicken in pickle juice. What more could you want?
EAT
SR
Pickle Brined Chicken, Anchovy Trove Strap yourselves in for this!
Get as many skinless, boneless chicken thighs as you need to feed your crowd (a good guide is four thighs for 2 people). Pop them into a container where they fit fairly snugly and then cover them in pickle brine! A mix of pickled chilli and Sicilian olives will give you that perfect sweet, salty, tangy mix. Leave them in the brine for at least 1 hour but longer is better - this wet brines your chicken and seasons it from the inside out. While this marinates you’re also going to mash together a few generous tablespoons of unsalted butter, grated garlic, a splash of Worcestershire sauce and four or so finely chopped anchovy fillets. Pit a generous handful of those fat green Sicilian olives you used the brine of earlier and tear them roughly as you go, and chop up a couple of the pickled chilis, and a big handful of parsley while you’re at it.
Once your chicken thighs are done brining take them out of the fridge and let them come up to room temp. Pat them dry and sprinkle them with salt, pepper and a tiny bit of sugar to help them caramelise. Throw them into a hot pan with some olive oil and let them cook on one side - pushing the edges down to get them crispy - until the chicken is only a little bit pink on the top side. The bottom should be nice and golden and crispy. Flip and cook for a couple of minutes to finish it off on the other side.
Take out the chicken and now it’s time to make your pan sauce! Glug in a generous pour of wine - it’ll bubble up fiercely and then you scrape up all the good fond on the bottom as the alcohol cooks off. Add the butter mixture to the pan and melt it down letting the anchovies disintegrate and the raw edge of the garlic come off. Toss in the olives and chillis just to warm through, then pour that sauce alllll over the chicken along with a healthy sprinkling of that chopped parlsey! You want to serve this with a salad and crusty bread to soak up allll the delicious juices.
SM
Wholebeast Butchery, Marrickville is a cornucopia of delights in suburban Marrickville. Come for incredible quality, hand-cut meat and enjoy the plethora of tips and tricks your local butcher has!
READ
SR
Marshmallow, Victoria Hannan (published 30 August) manages to be gripping, sad, and grimly funny all at once. Not to be missed.
SM
Chinese-ish, Rosheen Kaul and Joanna Hu straddles the line between what’s authentic in Chinese cooking, and dishes that have evolved into being - not FUSION - but something entirely new and delicious.
BUY/DO
SR
Apple Air tags for your luggage to avoid check in luggage disasters if you’re heading overseas.
SM
COS oversized shirt is perfect if you’re looking for a crisp white shirt upgrade. Nice and boxy with one big patch pocket.
The Fast Five!
SR
Prawn toast seems to be having a moment! Find it on the menu at La Salut sometimes and Lucky Prawn at Hawke’s Brewing’s always. Send your favourite recipes through to SoRo please!
Cornersmith Waste Hack Reels are silly short reels from the very talented guys at Cornersmith that take you through a different ways to minimise your food waste.
Coconut La Croix! Buy it by the can! Buy it by the case! Can get it in person at Redfern convenience store or Crown St grocer.
New Maggie Rogers album! Surrender was somewhat overshadowed by the fact it came out the same day as the new Beyonce but we think this one will also be in high rotation.
Keep a list of guaranteed Karaoke song bangers in your phone! Ridiculous yes, but when everyone’s drunk and you’ve only got an hour, it really comes into its own.
SM
3-pack Muslin Face Cloths, Eve Lom to upgrade your face cleaning experience, and leave yourself with smooth smooth skin.
Piccolo Bar, Kings Cross has been in the back alley of Kings cross since the 50s, but has recently started serving a dedicated negroni menu. Take a leaf out of SoMo’s book and try a negroni sbagliato.
Is Pork and Coriander the underdog option for frozen dumplings. Head to your local dumpling shop and pick up some to takeaway frozen.
Arnold Circus Stool,in pale eucalypt can be a stool, a little table, a wine holder for next to your bathtub.
We the Wild Grow Plant Food + Tonic for when your plants just need a little va va voom.
Hasta pronto!
S&S
Be Prepared for Lushness
a karaoke list is BRILLIANT, i always hem and haw over it for endless minutes and then just wind up doing mariah carey's "heartbreaker" and no i CAN NEVER hit those notes esp not drunk, you've saved me