dip for dinner

There’s a bit of a food thing going on in the Hulu series.”Only murders in the building” I often think. It begins in the show’s second episode: At an apartment lobby memorial for a deceased neighbor, debt-ridden Oliver Putnam, played by the incomparable Martin Short, rushes toward a table of free candy bars.

“You know, this is all I eat: sauces for dinner,” he says. “I bet I haven’t had a main dish for years.”

That practice really hits home when it’s time to turn on the air conditioning. I do not want to cook. I want sauces for dinner! Shallow bowls of whipped ricotta, tubs of creamy hummus, molcajetes of chunky guacamole.

My mom might scream, “Sauces can’t be dinner!” But with a colorful assortment of crudités, fluffy pitas or crunchy chips, and a reverence for free will, they certainly can be.

During the summer at my house, there are three main categories of sauces: no-cook sauces that I can mix with a fork, no-cook sauces that I can throw into a blender, and sauces that require just a little bit of heat.

The first one is reserved for the days when my tank is in E. We are talking about chop and stir pico de gallo with chips from a bag. Or a simple seasoned yogurt dip like ranch dressing or enriched with feta and sumacserved with lots of cucumbers and peas.

In the middle are the dives that I break for last-minute entertainment.. Nothing attracts friends like the text “Dips for dinner?” a spread of five minute hummus, muhammara and Greek Goddess DipPrepared with cookies and vegetables guests picked up on their way, it has the power to fuel hours of conversation.

When it’s hot out, a sauce that requires any amount of cooking is really worth it.. Babaghanouj It always is, as you can easily char eggplant on a grill (or directly on a stovetop burner, for which smaller eggplants are better). This guacamole with roasted corn it’s summery and a little meatier, the burnished kernels adding nice hints of sweetness amongst the smooth avocado.

Finally, there is spinach dip with garlic, yogurt and dill, which requires boiling a kettle of water. You pour it over frozen spinach until wilted, then squeeze out the liquid and process the vegetables with the rest of the ingredients. Is that technically cooking? I’ll let you be the judge.

Speaking of sauces: If you live in New York City or Philly, have you tried salatim in laser wolf? The Israeli restaurant on the rooftop of the Hoxton Hotel, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is just one of many restaurants featured on our great interactive guide about where to eat this summer in New York, from my fellow newsletter writer Nikita Richardson and our colleagues at the Food desk.

There are recommendations for veggie empanadas in Queens, potato and cheese khachapuri in Brighton Beach, and meatless burgers in Kingston, among many other delicacies and places.

Give it a try and get that summer wish list going! Thanks for reading, and see you next week.

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