Is it spring where you are? I hope so!
Happy Friday, friends! I had a great short trip to London last week to do some research for Royal Holiday, I went to museums, visited lots of landmarks, and had a delicious afternoon tea, among other fun adventures. I'm now deep into edits for the book, so it can be ready for all of you to read this fall! But don't forget, The Wedding Party comes out July 16, and I'll soon have some book tour locations and dates to tell you all about! And next week I'll be in New Orleans for Book Lovers Con, so if you'll be there, please say hi!
Okay, so just this week when I was on my way to Trader Joe's, I was thinking how much I love their frozen chocolate croissants, but how I wished there was a savory version. AND THERE IS. My new obsession is their frozen Ham and Cheese Croissant Dough Squares, and I cannot believe that this product has been out for almost a full year and I had no idea. One thing about them that's even better than the chocolate croissants is there's no need to take them out of the freezer the night before; just pull them out when you preheat the oven in the morning and bake! I anticipate that I'll be eating these a...lot over the next few months.
Also, I looked at the calendar this week and was suddenly shocked that it's already May -- I'm still not used to it being 2019, and we're already five months in? But this May is an incredible book month -- there are so many out that I've already read and loved, and others that I can't wait to read! Two that come out next week are just so fun. First, The Key To Happily Ever After, by Tif Marcelo, which I told you about in an old newsletter -- it's a fun, emotional, thoughtful book about sisters and their complicated relationships and love and family. Second, The Unhoneymooners, by Christina Lauren: this book is so funny I lost it in public numerous times while reading it, but it's also so warm and touching and joyful that I teared up a number of times too. There's also a lot about the bond between sisters in The Unhoneymooners, and if that's something you're a sucker for like I am, you'll love both of these books so much.
I made the best salad for Easter dinner, and I've been recreating it with slight variations ever since. If you like a good spring salad, see below! All of the amounts can be varied, so do what works for you!
Spring Vegetable Salad
One head butter lettuce or romaine or a few heads of little gem lettuce, washed and chopped
6 stalks of asparagus, ends trimmed, cut into bite size pieces
20 sugar snap peas, ends trimmed, cut in half or thirds
1 half avocado
6 radishes, sliced
a handful of pepitas
ricotta salata
(Other additions: boiled egg, sliced strawberries, other lettuces, herbs)
Dressing
Lemon juice (or white wine or sherry vinegar)
shallots or green onions or green garlic
Dijon mustard
Olive oil
Salt
(I also often add anchovy to this dressing too)
To make the salad:
Boil a big pot of water. While the water is boiling, make sure the lettuce is washed and dried well (speaking of, I adored this piece about salad by Samin Nosrat this week, and the way the chef talked about washing lettuce), and put it in your bowl. When the water comes to a boil, toss in the asparagus and the sugar snap peas and blanch them for about a minute, and then scoop out and toss into a bowl of cold water. If you want to (I usually do) toast the pepitas in a dry frying pan over medium heat for a few minutes, just until they brown. Dry the asparagus and sugar snap peas off well, then add to the lettuce, along with the cubed avocado, pepitas, and radishes. Shave or crumble the ricotta salata on top. Enjoy!
To make the dressing:
The right proportions for a vinaigrette is about one part acid to three parts oil -- I never measure anymore, and do it to taste, but this helps when you first start making it. Put your lemon juice or other acid in a measuring cup (I use a measuring cup because it makes it easy to pour out at the end, but you can use whatever), add salt and the chopped shallots etc. if you're using them, and then whisk in the dijon mustard. Let that sit for a while as you prepare everything else for the salad, then drizzle in olive oil slowly, whisking and tasting as you go, until the mixture is right for you.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Jasmine
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