Dinner in a Box

I pride myself on being able to adapt to my surroundings. But last night my skills were put to the test. I have never lived on a submarine, nor been forced to prepare a dinner from the confined innards of a bomb shelter. I do, however live in New York City, the city where grown men and women will pay for an apartment with a mini-fridge and a hot plate as their kitchen as long as the rent is low. My friend Josh, G-d bless him, is a great man, yet the kitchen in his apartment looks more like a doorless janitor’s closet complete with fridge and stove. It is, to understate, small. Yet even the smallest plants can bear fruit, so into the closet I went to prepare dinner. Josh took his turn in the kitchen first, mixing two huge martinis. Then with a proper slug of vodka, I was ready to cook.

I opened Josh’s fridge and managed to conjure up 2 frozen Chilean sea bass fillets, three orange baby bell peppers and three organic eggs. Hiding there was also some honey, soy sauce, chicken stock and butter. Because size can be the crux in a tiny kitchen, utilizing the oven as much as possible, is always best. So I preheated to 350F. A non-stick sauté pan was heated to medium heat, and lightly doused with Italian olive oil, butter, and a dimple of honey. As the honey began to bloom, I sliced the peppers in half and put them in another pan to sauté with some oil, salt and pepper. Our first pan was now at temperature and in went the fish to the pan, then into the oven with the both of them. The ease of a small kitchen begins to show its self as you begin to need ingredients, you’re never more than a few inches away. Yet getting overwhelmed can be an issue. So before you start cooking a single thing, make sure you take everything you need and lay it out on your coffee table, or somewhere else there’s room.


We added some stock and butter to the pan with the peppers and the same to the fish, plus the fish got a splash of soy sauce. I found some asparagus in the veggie bin and a small hunk of Manchengo in the door of the fridge. With a vegetable peeler, we peeled the asparagus into stringy slices and the cheese to match, then tossed with salt, pepper and olive oil. Raw vegetables are always a great complement to a rich dish. They can offer a crisp texture without compromising the integrity of the main ingredient. As a final element to the dish, I used some scrambled eggs loosely scrambled. Loose eggs always get a bad rap, but nothing quite compares to their supple sweetness that always broadens the depth of the dish it accompanies. The perfectly crusted fish held its ground amongst the embrace of the soft peppers and shaved asparagus salad, which finished the presentation.

Elation and jubilee cannot fully describe the picture, the taste nor the pride we both felt from creating such a remarkable concoction. Needless to say, the savory softness of the eggs contrasted the sweet saltiness of the milky, flaked fish fillet. Then the peppers harmonized with the sharp bitterness of the snappy asparagus.

It was a meal to remember, and luckily cleaning was a snap. Small kitchens always make that final step easy. Josh and I finished our second round of martini’s, and together we sat on the balcony sharing our third martini, and the sound the city.

I’ll keep cooking and writing, enjoy your holiday’s everyone!

Ciao