On the list: cooking up a great vacation
Fleeing from hot city pavements to pebbly sand beaches or lakeside retreats is a summertime ritual. And once you're out of town, the cooking, too, moves outdoors and becomes less a chore and more of a group activity. The kids husk corn, the artists set and decorate the table, the men -- why do men who otherwise don't cook love to grill? -- man the fire, and the cooks in the group, well they head for the kitchen.
Summer meals are no fun in a new rental in a town you don't know. If you haven't thought ahead, suppers aren't fun even if you've owned the house for years. But with a well-stocked pantry, grocery shopping can be as simple as a quick trip to the fishmonger or farmer s' market. No one wants to spend a beautiful day shopping for milk and eggs. Before heading off to your favorite spot, stock up as much as possible in the city. If you look into the cars crawling along Route 3, headed for Cape Cod, you'll see coolers lined up in the back seats. On island ferries, too, there are rolling coolers and hampers of food.
Rebecca Okrent, a poet who currently resides in Cambridge and summers on Lieutenant Island in South Wellfleet, stops at Trader Joe's for prepared sauces and Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge for rare spices. At Formaggio, she gets Turkish urfa peppers, which she uses to season steamed cauliflower and grilled fish. On her way to Cape Cod, she might swing by Sid Weiner and Son in Fall River, a retail and wholesale company known for specialty cheeses, oils, and vinegars. And ordering from atlanticspice.com makes buying teas and spices as simple as reaching into the mailbox.
Settled into Wellfleet, Okrent might make a dish she calls "too-simple-for-words" roasted peppers, which includes red and yellow bell peppers, a hot fire, capers, anchovies, and fresh basil.
For Cecily Pennoyer, co-owner of Long Island-based Pennoyer Newman, manufacturers of resin-stone-cast garden pots, planning meals for her summer getaways demands forethought. Every year she and her children sail from Cape Cod to Maine on a 56-foot boat. This adventurer has plenty of advice. "When you first come to a place where you will be for two to three weeks, you want some meals ready for the first few days," she says. Preparing a few dishes ahead of time will allow you to settle in, enjoy the surroundings, and still dine well.
With everything at your fingertips, cooking is a breeze. Whip up your own meat rubs, barbecue sauces, salad dressings, and marinades -- or buy them. Essentials like olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper might well be all you'll need to dress everything from salads to vegetables to meats and fish headed for hot coals. With sugar, flour, and butter, you can turn any stone fruit or berry into a crisp, crumble, or shortcake.
Every cook has favorite ingredients. Okrent's include garlic and fruity olive oil, Trader Joe's Cuban mojito sauce for marinating fish, and fast-acting yeast from King Arthur. "I'm so into no-knead bread," she explains. The secrets to Pennoyer's refreshing summer table are her garden vegetables and spicy V8 juice, both used in her gazpacho. "With gazpacho, I feel you get everything that is good for you all in one go," she says.
Some people who go back and forth from the mountains or beaches to the city carry a list of necessities in their BlackBerrys. Others know instinctively what they need. Customize the list (at far left) to your needs and the length of your getaway. For a weekend trip, ground beef for hamburgers, buns, condiments, and a six-pack may suffice.
It goes without saying that the longer the visit, the longer the list. Summer residents who are in it for the long run -- who will be part of the migration to the city on Labor Day -- need stacks of provisions. If they're not careful, they may be crossing back over the bridge with a car full of groceries. Or they may be so comfortable, they decide to stay away longer. 