Toast
Go see: “Hamnet”
Chloé Zhao has masterfully brought Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, Hamnet, to film. Featuring Irish actors, Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, this film displays the emotional depth of Zhao’s work. If you’ve had the pleasure to see Zhao’s movie, Nomadland, with Frances McDormand, you’re aware of how gifted of a director she is. Jessie Buckley brings a strength and vulnerability to her performance gutting you throughout the movie. This is a movie to see alone, for many reasons, mostly for the amount of crying you’ll do.
The film uses historical fiction to tell the story of Agnes, William Shakespeare’s wife, specifically around the time she met Shakespeare. Agnes is known as a witch, but only for her earthly interests and connectedness to nature. Shakespeare becomes raptured with Agnes, professing his desire to be with her. After their family is formed, a troubled and sleepless Shakespeare desires more leaving Agnes and his family for London. During this time a plague ravages all over Europe killing many. In between going back and forth from London and Stratford-Upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s biggest work yet is set to take stage, titled, Hamlet, and Agnes and her brother travel to London for the first show.
I personally seek out movies that will make me cry. I haven’t seen Sentimental Value yet, but I know it will drive me to tears. Why I enjoy movies like, Hamnet, is because they cleanse your soul. The catharsis you get from a great director, a strong emotional performance, a pitch perfect score and a well written script is the art we need to heal. For movies that make me cry, Paul Mescal has been in too many of them. One of the movies that makes me weep uncontrollably is Aftersun. If you haven’t seen it, just know it’s a slow burn with an emotional end, but not in any way you might expect.
DJ Soggy Bottom
Months ago, as I started incorporating improv back into my life, I wrote a simple goal for this year: find a team you enjoy performing with. I got lucky with my 401 class this summer. Our first day of class we were all locked out of the room, half of the performers were late because of the train and when we started performing together the energy was kinetic.
There was always a kind, respectful energy around each class and every show we did together. At the end of our 401, it was obvious we would continue practicing together, shortly after we started booking shows. I cannot be more evangelical about having a goal in mind when starting a creative project. Like most indie teams, the name of the team doesn’t really make sense, or is a byproduct of a Freudian slip. Hence the name, DJ Soggy Bottom.
Tell me more about: Madrid
I’m lusting for a vacation. According to my psychic, she told me that my chart points to a necessity for travel. One city in particular that has my interest is Madrid. A portion of the interest comes from murmurings around the gay men that live in the city. Multiple sources have reported the city is in the top percentile for quality and quantity.
Naturally, I would love to go to a museum or two, watch a film dubbed in Spanish and have a coffee whilst writing in the morning. Hooking up while traveling can be enjoyable and at times a bit disorienting. When I was in Paris in 2018, I met a lovely man named Cristobal from Santiago, Chile. We had a lovely time together and even met up later at one of gay gatherings at Rosa Bonheur in Buttes Charmont. When I was last in Rome, I met a man and the experience was awkward to say the least, but you don’t know until you try.
With all of that said, please feel free to send over some places you enjoy dining at, areas to stay in and specialties to Madrid one shan’t leave without trying.
Toast
When I was thinking about the 2.0 of my substack and a new set of values, I knew exactly where to start, Toast. It’s the foundation for my everyday. It gets me through most of my mornings. Toast is my forever vehicle. Do you ever play that dumb game where people make you choose one starch to have for the rest of your life? Pasta is so close to choking out bread, but bread wins every time for me.
Here are three toasts I’ve made, loved and remain very strict about how they’re made. In my curriculum for composing the proper toast you need to adhere to the following for the greatest amount of success.
Well toasted
Lubed
Seasoned
Portion size
Appeal
Contrasts
If you’re thinking, all this, for toast? I welcome you to kindly unsubscribe. A humble loaf of bread deserves the adornment and elevation we give to so many other things. There is plenty of bad toast in the world. I want to promote the happiest life one could have by making phenomenal toast. If anything, there’s a great egg salad recipe here. I would argue, the fewer ingredients, the more mindful the approach.
Peanut Butter Toast
I was born late and I arrive to most things in life late, but never with a lack of enthusiasm for missing out. Imagine feeling like a freshly born baby your whole life, its quite refreshing.
My friend Alana and I would take trips in San Francisco from Napa on our days off from The French Laundry. We have similar tastes and relished in a little getaway adventure. We’d meticulously plan our stops, making the best without time to avoid nonsense traffic. Also, exhibiting a “type A” trait uniquely in our little restaurant employee bones. One trip Alana insisted on introducing me to Trouble Coffee, an iconic hole in the wall located in the Outer Sunset. They were known for two things, toast and coffee. In fact, San Francisco was having a real toast and coffee Renaissance.
We ordered a peanut butter toast and a classic cinnamon sugar one. As the angsty barista begrudgingly made coffee after coffee, including copious London Fogs, the refined portion of the experience was reserved for the toast. Thick slabs of white bread were toasted to a domestic brown standard and were patted and pierced with softened butter. The honey was thoughtfully held warm atop the espresso machine for ease and fluidity. The cinnamon sugar was becoming hydrated with the molten butter and the laissez-fare disposition had toast in our hands when it was ready and not a moment sooner. Both of these toasts changed my attitude towards toast. I will forever make toast differently because of Trouble Coffee, no matter how cool they were trying to be.
Method:
1 half inch slab of country, brioche or sourdough
softened salted butter
creamy peanut butter, from a natural brand with an ingredient list of peanuts and salt
wildflower honey, more amber in color, nothing too dark or rich like buckwheat or chestnut honey
flakey salt
toast the slab in a toaster (preferably) until golden brown
while the toast is still warm, generously slather the surface of the toast with the softened salted butter.
pierce the toast as if you were docking a pie crust, more irregular and less intentional. Season with a small amount of flakey salt.
add a glazy-style coating of creamy peanut butter while the toast is still warm to activate the peanut butter’s aroma. This also makes it easier to spread. Be aware, too thin and the ratio is off, too much and the peanut butter will dry out your mouth. You shouldn't be able to see toast through the spreading, but there should be enough that it sits atop the toast. Spread with the back of a spoon or offset spatula.
drizzle a small spoonful of honey over the peanut butter and using the tip of a knife, spoon or offset spatula, drag the in swooshes for drama and aesthetics.
finish the elevated toast with flakey salt and serve warm.
Avocado Toast
Los Angeles was and might still be the land of avo toast. There is something to be said about the quality of avocados in Southern California. Regardless, I believe my eight years spent in California grants me full expertise on the matter.
Find avocados with the little stem-bit still attached, there is less likely a chance of spot or premature browning. Also, can’t find ripe avocados? Go digging, not literally, but underneath the mass of avocados there is sure to be the perfect one. Being trapped underneath speeds up the ripening process and honestly the effort is worth the reward. On the topic of ripeness, if it’s soft, it’s not ideal for avocado toast. You ideally want what the Danish called “tandsmør,” which translates to “tooth butter.” That idealistic state of fattiness/softness when you bite into something it leaves marks from your teeth.
Avocado toast isn’t your moment to do a fridge clean out either. Respect the masterpiece that is the avocado. Minimal adornments but a skilled approach yields a memorable avo toast.
Method:
1 half inch slab from a country, sesame or sourdough loaf
extra virgin olive oil
1/2 a ripe avocado per slab of bread, cored, peeled and sliced thin vertically
freshly toasted sesame seeds
silk or aleppo chili
flakey salt
optional: a wedge of lemon
toast the slab of bread until browned.
while the toast is warm, drizzle a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil over the surface. season with flakey salt
fan out the avocado evenly to fill the length of the toast and then gently press the flesh of the avocado into the toast.
season the avocado with flakey salt, sprinkle a generous amount of freshly toasted sesame and a few pinches of silk chili.
drizzle a nice coating of extra virgin olive oil over the top and serve while the toast is still warm.
Egg Salad Tartine
Tartines and toast, oh am I so lucky to have a wee-bit of French under my belt. I couldn’t bring myself to write a third title using the word toast, but I want to exhaust my thesis to the point of disgust.
I love this egg salad recipe, it is by far my tried and true and I’ve developed it to be easy to remember. Wherever I am, however long it’s been, I’ll always be able to recreate the egg salad I hold so dear. Something new I tried is having this egg salad on a tartine lubed with salted butter, consider this a new era of egg salad tartines for me.
Makes 1 quart of egg salad, will make enough for four tartines
Ingredients:
1 small shallot, finely minced
