Latest news with #Sargasso
The Guardian
29-04-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Guardian
Wanted: new sauces and dressings to jazz up weekday cooking
What sauces and dressings can I make to rejuvenate weekday meals?Sauces and dressings give dinner life, making even the simplest meals taste better. The formula, says Gurdeep Loyal, author of Flavour Heroes (published in June), goes something like this: 'You need two things: a really good fat and a really good sour.' Sure, that fat could be oil, but it doesn't have to be. 'It could be an egg yolk, it could be avocado, but if it's oil, go for a flavoured one,' Loyal says, and in place of the usual acid suspects (vinegar or citrus), try the likes of gherkins, capers or preserved lemons instead. 'My go-tos are preserved lemon whizzed up with a bit of their brine, some garlic-infused olive oil and maple syrup. Or avocado blitzed with gherkins, gherkin brine, a bit of sugar, if you want, and perhaps herbs such as chives or tarragon. Or chilli-infused olive oil blitzed with a teaspoon of tamarind.' These powerhouses are a dream on pretty much anything, he says, from a roast kale salad with chickpeas to baked butter beans or even as a dip for pizza crusts. For William Gleave, chef-patron of Sargasso in Margate, meanwhile, 'Something with anchovies is always nice, because it goes with so many things'. For him, a 'classic stolen/borrowed from the River Cafe' comes out tops: 'It's essentially a dressing with lots of chopped anchovy, grated garlic, red-wine vinegar, lemon juice, oil, black pepper and chilli flakes,' which is to say it's bright, umami-rich and versatile. 'Spoon that over everything from grilled fish to lamb or pork to crunchy veg, and it will feel as if you've put in a load of effort, even though it's super-simple.' Another shortcut to big flavour is zhoug, says Marc Summer, founder of Bubala, which has just opened a third restaurant in London's Kings Cross. 'Whizz up a load of different herbs – coriander, parsley, mint – with oil, garlic and hawaij [a Yemeni spice blend with lots of black pepper, cumin and coriander].' That will transform meals in seconds: 'Add it to pasta for an amazing herby sauce, or to fried onions, much as you might a curry paste.' Summer is also a big fan of crunches, especially when apricots are involved. 'Make it as you would a chilli crunch, with lots of fried shallots, garlic and Sichuan peppercorns, then add hot oil, dried apricots and harissa for a really amazing, smoky-sweet oil.' Drizzle over yoghurty roast carrots or blanch some noodles, add tahini and top with the crunch: 'That's so tasty.' And remember, it's the small things that count, so while the harissa's out, Summer suggests combining it with honey and using as a marinade for vegetables before roasting: 'That adds flavour quickly and puts a stop to same-old weekday meals.' Tahini sauce, meanwhile, is Xanthe Ross's salvation': 'It feels indulgent,' says the author of Stay for Supper, 'and it'll instantly jazz up roast veg and salads, or use it as a dip.' You'll most likely have all the ingredients (tahini, lemon, olive oil, sometimes honey and water) knocking around, anyway. That said, you can't go far wrong with a classic vinaigrette, either, but mix up the vinegar element to keep things interesting. 'It's hard to make in small quantities, so have a batch in the fridge for the week,' she says. 'That's good on so many things beyond a green salad, such as tomatoes on toast for lunch, although the French might hate me for saying so.' Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@
San Francisco Chronicle
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘Fashion as art': Ayesha Curry stuns in custom GapStudio dress at SFMOMA Art Bash
The hottest couple at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's Art Bash fundraiser brought a golden lustre to the evening. Restaurant and lifestyle entrepreneur Ayesha Curry attended the institution's annual fundraiser gala on Wednesday, April 23, wearing a custom gold Zac Posen for GapStudio dress on the arm of the designer. Posen is Gap Inc.'s vice president and creative director as well as a new board member at the museum, which has a long association with Gap's founding Fisher family. (Robert J. Fisher is chairman of the board and SFMOMA has a long term loan of the family's storied art collection.) Curry's husband, Golden State Warrior point guard Stephen Curry, was in Houston playing the Rockets (the team lost 109-94) while Posen's fiance, dancer and choreographer Harrison Ball, was on the East Coast for the premiere of his latest ballet 'New Ancient Strings"at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. 'It's gold denim for our golden girl, and who doesn't love a 'Flashdance' cut?' Posen joked of the off-the shoulder dress, which was cinched with a gold-coated denim corset. 'It's coming (to GapStudio) in T-shirt dresses in a few months.' The new GapStudio collection made its debut online and in stores in April with elevated versions of brand signatures like denim and belted trench coats. Celebrities like actors Anne Hathaway and Timothee Chalamet have also debuted looks from the new line, further adding to the star power Gap has been amassing since Posen joined the brand in February 2024. Curry revealed that it was her first time visiting SFMOMA, but said that seeing the museum had long been on her 'bucket list.' 'I was speaking to my sister and my husband around the kitchen table and brought that up, then a couple weeks later I got invited to this and said, 'It's a sign! '' Curry told the Chronicle. 'I'm really happy to be here. It's my first time, but it won't be my last.' Curry completed the look with a pair of western-inspired boots and noted that she appreciated the versatility of Posen's design. 'You can dress it up and wear it to an event like this, you can elevate it, or you can dress it down,' said Curry. 'That's truly San Francisco style.' For Posen, whose father Stephen Arnold Posen is an artist in New York, joining the museum board feels like a full circle moment. 'Early in my career there was an exhibition on glamour here that I had a piece in, made of hay and straw from my 'Sargasso' collection,' said Posen, recalling 2004's 'Glamour Fashion, Industrial Design, Architecture' at SFMOMA. 'I was an intern for many years as a teenager at the Met Museum Costume Institute. That intersection between art and fashion can be a real crowd draw, but it can also build amazing storytelling,' he went on. 'I grew up in museums, they changed my life.' The designer teased that he's currently working on 'a top secret project' with SFMOMA. Could it be the museum's first full fashion exhibition in 42 years? SFMOMA Director Christopher Bedford noted that the Issey Miyake celebration 'Bodyworks' in 1983 was the last time fashion was given a starring role at the museum but that a few pieces had shown up in recent exhibitions like 'Get in the Game: Sports, Art and Culture' in 2024. 'I'm really interested in the idea of fashion as art,' Bedford told the Chronicle.
