I was smitten with you from the very first moment I saw you walk through that door to Dexter’s bar. I know it is cliché to say something like that, but it’s true, I was smitten with you and I didn’t know it at the time, but I had just met someone who would be such an incredibly wonderful and brilliant light in my life that I feel like I have become a better person for knowing you. Only a few short weeks later I invited you round to my home to have some fried chicken, I joked that fried chicken is my “potion of make american fall in love with me” at the time. I was so desperate to be someone in your life at that point. I can’t wait to cook this for you again in future. I love you, and I am so glad I the stars aligned for us to have the chance to fall in love.
Place the chicken thighs in the buttermilk for at least four hours to tenderise and marinate. When you are ready to fry the chicken, mix together the flour , baking powder and spices to form a dredge. Next place the individual chicken thighs into the flour dredge to make the craggily crispy crust, then place into hot neutral oil a few at a time and deep fry until golden.
This meal is one of those few meals that you made for me, and it is one that will stick with me until I die, much like my love for you. Knowing that there was a time limit on how long we had left together when you were showing me how to make this made me reflect a lot about our relationship and what could have been if just a few things were different. Something I try to avoid doing because what could have been is not what is. But the fact that I sat there, reflecting on our relationship, and pondering what went wrong for you to choose to break your promise to me, means that you had wormed your way into my life in such a way that the fact that I am going to lose you devastated me.
The other day you sent me a message, all that was within it was “I love u <3” and despite how angry I was at you over your refusal to face the consequences of your actions hurt me beyond a meek “sorry”, I felt my unconditional love for you shining through the viscous flood of my devastation. No matter what happens in our lives, I hope you know that I will always have a place for you to rest your head by my side. May your adventures in France be kind to you my darling, I love you too.
Lay out the pizza bases upon two oven trays, cover them in garlic cream cheese before placing a layer of finely mandolined potatoes over top. Distribute the goat’s cheese and mozzarella evenly, alongside chunks of fresh rosemary. Bake the pizzas in an oven until they are golden brown on top, season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
You are one hell of a good friend, I can tell you have so much kindness in your heart. And I am truly glad to have you in my life. Working on the barbeque together was a really good symbol that I have found a place here in Copenhagen. Friends who care enough about me to make it worth staying here in a city that I find hurting me repeatedly. It has been a pleasure to grow close with you are one hell of an amazing friend to have.
Add your chicken legs to a container with the other ingredients mixed together to create a nice marinade. Leave it to brine overnight. The very next day fire up a smoker with cherry chips, once the smoker is up to temperature
To say that I hate you is a lie, I hate what you did to me, who I became when I was with you, and the way you twisted the truth to paint yourself as an angel in our unhealthy relationship, but I do not hate you. I only wish you could have been a kinder and gentler person to me, who loved me for who I was and didn’t try to keep me locked away in your tower for you and you alone. My relationship with you is still hitherto the most important relationship I had in my life, it changed the trajectory of my life so drastically that I don’t think I can begin to imagine what would have been different if you had not been in my life. You taught me some very important lesions too, and for that I will be forever grateful to you. I hope you have grown as a person and reflected on the ways that you manipulate others, and that you have found a life worth living. I still make the poutine with chunked up chicken strips I used to make for you, though now I elide the chicken strips because I am trying to not eat meat.
Cook the fries and chicken strips in a manner of your choosing until crispy, I currently use an oven but an air fryer is amazing for this. Whilst those are cooking, bring the chicken stock up to a boil and add in the rosemary, black pepper, garlic powder, and soy sauce. Once boiling, pour in a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce. Plate the fries and chicken strips with cheese curds evenly dispersed and pour over the boiling hot gravy.
To say that knowing you has been a comfort and a joy would be an understatement. Especially considering the fact that I don’t just get to know you, but that I get to love you and you love me. You are a fantastic light that shines through the darkness, and it brings me so much comfort to know that you are there at the end of the day. I am better for having known you. Before we started dating, on that first visit of mine, you gave me a taste of your vegan mead. I was fascinated by the amount of labour that went into making it, and especially the syrup that tastes like honey that you used to make your deliciously dry-yet-sweet mead. I immediately asked you how to make it, and now it is something I make every spring once the dandelions are in full bloom, thinking of you.
Bring the water and dandelions up to a boil in a large pot before letting steep overnight, the next day strain out all the water before adding in your sugar and bringing the mixture to a boil. Reduce the syrup until it is thick like honey and jar or bottle.
To know that this recipe is one you liked enough to make for others brings me so much joy and love that I cannot easily put into words. You have been such a kind friend that I have come to cherish immensely, and knowing that you have taken a part of me with you and incorporated it into your love for others has inspired me to incorporate more from those I love into my life. You are an inspiration and I am so glad to have you around me.
For the Dough
For the filling:
To make your dough mix and knead your ingredients together until a smooth and taught dough is formed, adding flour as needed. Leave to rest for thirty minutes minimum then form into six even balls and rest further. The filling is simple, chop the mushrooms until they are fine, then cook into duxelles. After the mushrooms are cooked add them to a bowl with your diced onion, mince, parsley, and salt. Work the ingredients together until they form a smooth fars. To shape your Cheburek roll out your dough balls into five millimetre m thick disks, then add a sixth of the fars to half of each disk with a centimetre to spare, fold over the other half of the dough and crimp together. Fry your cheburek in oil until they are golden and cooked through.
The first time I went picking dandelions for my dandelion syrup was with you, we walked through that tiny park near your home that was filled with an ungodly amount of dandelions. We would jokingly call them dan-didly-ions and laugh. I then went home and made my first batch of syrup that I hand delivered to you at your house, which you immediately tasted by making us a pot of herbal tea. The last time we talked was me apologising for how I treated you, and I stand by that apology, you deserved better. I sat in that very same chair I sat in when we drank that tea, with you sitting across from me, and apologised for the way I was a dick. But it was also then where I told you about how I was suffering, and I wished you listened. Without the relationship we had I would have never found the confidence to flee, and for that I am thankful.
Place the loose leaf tea into a teabag and pour over the hot water, let it steep for slightly too long before decanting into mugs and sweetening with the syrup.
I am never sorry for this and never will be, but I am so glad you fell for my mischief, and that you appreciated it, because it means I have one hell of a cool friend who I love talking to so incredibly much. And it is a joy to know that across the Atlantic there is someone who I gel with so easily that we yap away, and also that we share parts of ourselves with each other that aren’t shared with the wider world. You are one hell of a person, and I can’t wait for you to spread your wings and flourish. I also want to say thank you for being incredibly normal in so many ways, you’re a good friend and I cherish you immensely.
Open the bag of salted liquorice expecting a delicious treat, place a piece upon your tongue, and either revile in the splendour of anise and ammonia that dances across your palette, or languish in agony from the cat piss like concoction you just got tricked into eating.
I was sitting on the radiator in your kitchen as we talked about the ways that the more technically obsessed of our ilk seem to worry about how every solution to every problem needs to be infinitely scalable and accessible from anywhere. What started this conversation was me mentioning I finally moved from a digital calendar to a physical one because I needed to make sure that my plans and where it would be would be harder for people to get a hold of. There wasn’t much for me to help with when cooking, but I remembered the recipe you cooked for me with a grace that is only possible for you to achieve. I now cook fül regularly as it is an incredibly easy meal that satiates my lust for devouring food with my hands.
Finely mince your garlic and let it gently simmer in olive oil in a pot, then add cumin and chili crisp, as well as any other spices you desire. Pour in the butterbeans and all the agua faba, alongside a decently large spoon of tahini. Let simmer until the beans are soft enough to mash and mash about a third. Finish with salt and lemon juice and serve with flatbread.
The last ever act of service I did for you was bringing you a beigel with salt beef, mustard and pickles from beigel bake on brick lane whilst you were sick and miserable after contracting tonsillitis. I remember that as soon as I came through the door to your boat you wrapped your arms around me and sobbed, repeating the phrase “I’m so sorry” again and again. I don’t know if you realise this, but I knew you had already decided to break up with me at this point, nobody told me, but I knew the relationship was over. When I returned to London after you broke up with me, I went back to Brick lane and had one. Sitting on the bollard out-front the shop I sat there thinking of you, I wish we ended on better terms, and I am sorry for the part I had to play in that.
Mix together the flour, salt, water, and yeast to form a dough. Knead until firm and place in the fridge to ferment overnight. The next day separate into six boules and roll into thick cylinders, pinch the end of these cylinders together lightly to form a taurus. Place on a clean baking parchment and let proof under a tea towel. Once proofed, bring a pot of water up to a simmer and add in baking soda and a dash of malt syrup. Slowly place the beigels in the water to poach until a chewy crust is just forming, but make sure the crust is not super thick like New York bagels. Bake in an oven until golden on top.
You are such a pain to cook for, all the things I use to make food so incredibly amazing are not an option when cooking for you, but I enjoyed the challenge. Plus, you are one hell of a friend, you stuck with me when I was an antisocial shut in at the peak of my abuse, I cannot put into words what that means for me, and how much of a joy it is to have someone around who knew me from before I met her. The connection that is forged in fire is one that will extend through time and space, I hope you know how thankful I am for you to still be here by my side.
Begin by slicing the courgettes into thin slices and frying them off in a large deep skillet with olive oil. Once all your courgettes are fried throw in some whole cloves of garlic and move them around until the oil is aromatized and the garlic is golden, pull the garlic out once it’s done. Turn down the heat and pour in your passata, add back the courgette and let simmer until the tomato sweetens. Add in the salt, cracked black pepper, and fresh basil leaves. Serve over gluten free pasta.