Alex Ruder played time with friends on KEXP this past weekend. Always cool to hear your music on the radio and imagine aliens listening to it millions of years from now.

This is very much a delicious version of boomer mom dinner. (Stolen from cafehaillee.com).

Ingredients:

• ½ cup fresh lemon juice, from about 4 lemons
• ½ cup olive oil
• 4 tsp 12g diamond crystal kosher salt *
• 6 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 Tbsp oregano
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 2 pounds yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed clean and cut into large wedges
• 6 bone in skin on chicken thighs, (about 2 lbs)
• ¼ cup chicken stock
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 425ºF.
• In a small bowl combine lemon juice, olive oil, salt, garlic, oregano and black pepper.
• Add potatoes to a 9×13” baking dish and pour half of the lemon olive oil mixture over. Toss to coat.
• Add chicken thighs on top of potatoes and pour the remainder of the mixture over the chicken. Rub mixture all over.
• Pour chicken stock around the chicken and over the potatoes.
• Bake until chicken is deep golden and cooked through, about 50-60 minutes.
• Remove chicken thighs from pan and set aside to rest. Turn broiler on to high and broil potatoes until golden brown, about 6-8 minutes.
• Top potatoes with parsley and dill.
• Serve chicken with potatoes and pan juices. The pan juices are so good in this don’t skip them!

Notes:

• If you don’t have diamond crystal kosher salt, use the weight measurement for the salt, as 4 tsp of Morton kosher salt will yield a much different (too salty) result.

Part one here.

My mix after their set paid homage to the aesthetic and practice of deep listening which underlies the diverse range of sounds the space showcases.

Light and Sound Design is a treasure. One of the few remaining DIY spaces in the city, it features a vintage sound system sourced in part from Magick City (RIP) and custom light installations built by the volunteers that run the space.

I’ve been to many shows at L&SD, but only recently got the honor of DJ’ing there in support of Will Shore’s group, pedestrian, a 10-piece improvisational group which he led via conduction, an interactive method of conducting developed by Butch Morris in which the players have an equal role in guiding the direction of their playing.

My mix before their set aimed to set a mellow vibe centered on percussion-forward tracks around 80bpm. Part two here.

I love the yuba verde sandwich from superiority burger. It’s the closest vegetarian approximation of deli meat I’ve had and also references a Philly Italian Pork Sandwich which is delicious and filled with broccoli rabe. I adapted this from my memory and also the intro paragraph to the Bittman Project’s knock-off, but I haven’t read that full recipe because it’s paywalled. My version adds cheese instead of a bean spread as well as mayo, so it’s def not vegan, but arguably more delicious. I’ve also used kale instead of broccoli rabe which is easier to eat in a sandwich, though I did miss its bitterness.

Ingredients

For the vinaigrette / yuba marinade

• 1.5 cups olive oil
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 lemon juiced
• 1 tbsp capers
• 1/6-1/4 of a preserved lemon
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2-3 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 cup packed parsley
• salt and pepper to taste

For the broccoli rabe:

• 1 bunch brocolli rabe
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper

For the kale (if using instead of brocolli rabe):

• 1 bunch kale
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 lemon
• salt and pepper

For the yuba:

• 1 pack of yuba (5 oz)

For assembling the sandwich:

• kewpie mayo
• cento hoagie spread
• 1.5 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese.
• 2 heros
• other optional goodies (sliced tomatoes, pickled carrots, etc.)

Instructions

Make the vinaigrette and marinade the yuba:

• Combine vinaigrette ingredients in a blender and pulse until its creamy and a nice light green color. Add salt and pepper, blend, and taste until it’s right.
• Pour a bit of vinaigrette in the bottom of a medium-size tupperware container. Separate the sheets of yuba and layer one sheet at a time pouring vinaigrette between each sheet like you were assembling a lasagna. Reserve the leftover vinaigrette.
• Let the yuba marinade in the fridge for at least an hour.

Make the broccoli rabe:

• pre-heat the oven to 400-425
• toss the broccoli rabe with olive oil and salt and pepper
• bake for ~ 20 minutes. you might want to take the leaves out sooner or else they’ll burn.
• before assembling the sandwiches you might want to roughly chop the brocolli rabe so it’s easier to eat.
• NOTE: you can save some time by baking the brocolli rabe with the yuba

Make the kale (if using instead of broccoli rabe):

• cut out the kale stalks
• roll the kale up and cut it into thin strips
• dice the garlic and set aside
• heat the oil (on high) in a pan until it’s smoking
• add the kale and stir for about a minute until it changes color
• add the garlic and stir for 15-20 seconds
• squeeze the lemon juice over the kale and stir to incorporate
• turn off the heat and add salt and pepper to taste
• remove from the pan and set aside

Make the yuba:

• pre-heat the oven to 400-425
• lightly grease a baking sheet (you might need two) and lay the yuba out so no sheets are overlapping
• bake for ~10 minutes until the yuba starts to bubble up off the pan and turn light brown
• finish under a broiler on high until the yuba has some brown spots, but don’t let it burn! this step helps give the yuba the taste and texture of smoked meat

Toast the bread and melt the cheese:

• lightly brush olive oil on each half of the heros
• cover the top half in grated cheese
• place in the oven for 3-4 minutes
• NOTE: You can save a bit of time by doing this while the yuba is browning under the broiler, but just put the bread on a lower rack.

Assemble the sandwich

This is only my suggestion. Assembling a sandwich is a personal journey:

• On the bottom half of the hero, lather mayo and hoagie spread.
• Stack up the yuba on top.
• Place the kale/broccoli rabe on top of the melted cheese
• Optionally add other goodies on top of the yuba (sliced tomatoes, spicy pickled cucumbers, whatever you like!)
• drizzle some of the vinaigrette marinade on top of the yuba and kale/broccoli rabe.
• put the two halves together.

Eat!

My first real job out of college was on 53st and 6th, right across the street from the original halal guys truck and I would eat it all the time for lunch. Even back then there could be a line down the block and you had to show up early to beat the lunch rush.

I made this copycat recipe last night and it was convincingly accurate, maybe even better than the real thing. I was out of cumin so substituted coriander, put less mayo in the sauce than it called for, grilled the chicken instead of sauteed, and used brown rice instead of white basmati in a rice cooker. You could probably make this with tofu or tempeh, too.

Ingredients

For the chicken:

• 2 lbs chicken breasts 900 g, about 6
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon oregano powder
• 1 teaspoon all spice or seven spices
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika powder
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil for cooking

For the white sauce:

• 3/4 cup Greek yogurt 170g (6oz)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise 115 g
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1-2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For the rice:

• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 1/2 cups basmati rice, soaked for 20 minutes then rinsed until water runs clear
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock or 1 stock cube dissolved in 2.5 cups hot water
• salt and pepper to taste, a pinch of each

To assemble:

• 1 chopped tomato
• handful chopped parsley
• sriracha sauce

Instructions

For the chicken:

• In a bowl, add all the ingredients for chicken marinade, like the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic cloves, all the spices and the salt and pepper. Combine until well mixed, then add the chicken breast and toss to coat evenly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinade for 1-2 hours. (meanwhile you can make the white sauce).
• Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet on medium high heat, then add the chicken. Cook for 5-6 minutes each side, or until golden brown and cooked through.
• Remove chicken to a cutting board, and let it rest for 10 minutes, before chopping roughly into 2 inch cubes.

For the white sauce:

Mix together all the ingredients for the sauce, and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

For the rice:

• Add the butter to a large saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add the turmeric and cumin, and stir for 1 minutes or until spices are fragrant.
• Add the basmati rice, and toast the rice by stirring around in the pan for 4 minutes. Add the chicken stock, plus a pinch of salt and pepper to season. Stir and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes.
• After rice cooking time, once all the water has been absorbed, remove pan from the heat and set aside for 15 minutes without disturbing. After 15 minutes, fluff gently with a fork.

To assemble:

Place the rice in your serving platter, top with the chicken, the white sauce, and chopped tomatoes and parsley. You can add some pita bread too. Optionally, but recommend, drizzle with sriraracha sauce!

Thank god that Spotify is providing mental health resources to artists who are struggling because they can’t earn a living wage from streaming.