Honey Mustard Chicken, Breakfast Biscuits, and "Materialists"

Last November, I became an AMC A-Lister. This means I’m allowed up to four movies a week at any AMC for one monthly payment. While I had heard about the movie passes of old, I had never bitten the bullet and signed up myself. But, as I finish out my 20s, I decided the cold, dark winter months would surely be more sufferable with movies. At $25 a month, this seemed like a safe bet.

My movie going preferences are simple: Always with an outside snack, never during prime time. In my ideal world, it’s 10 AM on a Saturday and I’m strolling into AMC Village 7 with a fresh sesame bagel and cream cheese from Brooklyn Bagel and a tumbler of the same establishment’s better-than-expected drip coffee. There might be four other people in the theater with me. I will spread out and lounge, snuggled up on one of those red signature recliners prepared to be content for the following few hours.

Winter turned to spring, and spring has, as of yesterday, officially turned to summer. Now going to the movies on a regular cadence is less about holiday blockbusters and more about free air conditioning. Tomorrow, while it’s 98 degrees in Brooklyn, I’ll see the (allegedly) last Mission Impossible and for the first time in my young life be thrilled that a movie is upwards of three hours long.

While there are still summer smash hits I’m looking forward to, my most anticipated film of the season was Materialists, starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal. They (read: the internet) told me it would revive the rom-com, and the trailer indicated we’d be receiving at least one movie montage similar to what we could count on in 1997. The styling? Gorgeous. The cinematography? Clearly making New York City a character in its own right, as the Good Lord intended. I counted down the days. In the meantime, I made dinner.

Here’s what I made this week: Honey mustard chicken with cucumber herb salad, pickled carrots, balanced breakfast biscuits, broccoli beef, and Greek plates.

Honey mustard chicken with cucumber herb salad

I’d love to tell you Materialists only got better with time. But it was, in fact, quite the opposite. The first third of the film had great chemistry, with characters and script I believed. But unlike the rom-coms I hold so dear, development seemed to take a backseat for the second half of the movie. It was…cold. It didn’t compel me to follow what my mind knew to be true or listen to my heart.

Considering how charming and likable Johnson, Evans, and Pascal have been during their press run, this shocked me. If you have a winning combination, all you really have to do is put the pieces together. But even if you marinate the chicken to perfection, you’ve still got to know when to take it off the stove.

That line is nearly cheesy enough to be in a rom-com. Dare I say it’s still better writing than Materialists gave us.

I’ve been making this honey mustard chicken marinade for a few months now and it has, I’m thrilled to report, only improved. Take a pack of boneless chicken thighs and add them to a mixing bowl with honey, whole grain mustard, a little olive oil, and pomegranate molasses. Add salt, pepper, some freshly grated garlic, and mix—let it sit in the fridge for about a half hour. Once ready, you’ll cook the chicken on medium heat in your cast iron skillet until done (165 degrees).

I paired this with coconut rice (1 cup water, 2 cups coconut milk), and a cucumber herb salad that simply requires you to smash a few cucumber pieces, drizzle them in olive oil, top with flaky salt and freshly cracked black pepper, fresh mint and fresh basil. muddle it together and presto! The most refreshing side you’ve ever had.

Pickled carrots

Food trends are something I've spent a lot of time thinking about these last few months. I’ve found myself writing sentences like: “While I have long considered tinned fish to be très chic, it took me a little while to crack open a lid myself.” This is what happens when your industry can’t make a hire without putting you through the wringer of edit tests for every. single. position!!! Whatever.

Along with a revived, re-written adoration of tinned fish, pickling has been hot on the scene for the last few years. They’re the Pedro Pascal of summer cafe menus—you literally can’t get away from them. And you know what, I like it. A little brine never hurt anyone. (Actually, quite the opposite—gut health much?) Pickled carrots are my pickled veg of choice, and I make them following a very simple pickling technique.

Combine one part water, one part white vinegar in a sauce pan. Stir over a medium heat, adding in course sea salt, black and pink peppercorns, three garlic cloves, and sprigs of fresh thyme and fresh dill. Once the liquid has warmed through, add it (and all your herby extras) to a mason jar that contains cleaned, peeled carrots. Lid your jar and let this sit in the fridge for 24-48 hours before opening.

Balanced breakfast biscuits

There are two principals I will fight until the day I die: Breakfast is required and in-his-prime Matthew McConaughey is the greatest rom-com lead to exist. Both of these stances have yielded great debate amongst friends and family, lovers and strangers. I know, I woke up this morning and, thanks to a macro-balanced breakfast, am prepared for whatever disputes may be thrown my way.

McConaughey cynics, I ask you to re-watch How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Failure to Launch, and The Wedding Planner before you present your case. I’ll wait. For those of you who doubt breakfast, I have a solution in the here and now: Meal prepped breakfast biscuits.

The inspiration for these sausage and broccoli biscuits comes from @theconsciousnutritionist, one of my favorite PCOS-forward Instagram accounts. While my recipe slightly differs from Hannah’s, they both aim to start your day on the right foot.

For my breakfast biscuits, mix nine large eggs, 1.5 cups of almond flour, a bag of broccoli florets (finely chopped), a pound of hot Italian breakfast sausage (cooked down in a skillet before mixing), 1 tsp baking soda, one cup of cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper to taste. This combo should make about 16 breakfast biscuits, which will then be baked at 400 for 14 minutes. I usually batch these and then wrap them in individual portions (two biscuits) in the freezer for an easy breakfast as the week goes on.

Fine, I’ll join you and re-watch How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, too.

Broccoli beef with brothy rice

My meal prep client’s subscription is coming to an end—only because she’s a teacher and the school year wraps this week. While I’m sure she’ll realize that having food in the fridge is equally helpful in the summer, we’ll let her live in peaceful “yay, I’m free!” bliss for the time being.

To close out her six months of lunches every week, I repeated one of her favorites: Broccoli beef with brothy rice. I (mostly) follow this recipe from Averie Cooks. Since I was gifted Fond beef bone broth recently, that’s what I used in her rice. Luckily, there was an extra serving for me, so the whole house got to enjoy this one.

That was kind of the mantra we used while picking family movies growing up: Something the whole house can enjoy. This meant animated films were kept to a minimum (my Dad isn’t a fan), and annoying, whiney characters were never allowed on screen. We watched Remember the Titans a lot. My mom’s favorite rom-com, The Proposal, was also queued up on a semi-regular basis. A big city woman goes to rural Alaska and has a change of heart towards her incredibly good looking, secretly rich assistant? Now THAT is character development! THAT is backstory! And there’s an endearing Granny and a little dog that almost gets kidnapped by an eagle? Those writers came to work.

That’s another thing about Materialists: We don’t meet any of our three leads’ friends or family. There’s no quippy aunt, best friend, or older sibling who can’t help but get involved. Sure Evans’ character has (supposedly long-time) roommates, and Johnson briefly tells her co-worker she’s dating Pascal, but these characters can barely be described as supporting. Are we really inclined to believe that three shockingly hot people are operating solely out of their own intuition, without anyone to act as a sounding board for their decisions? That’s not how people live, or fall in love! We yap! Because we’ve gone to therapy and we know that a lone wolf mentality is for the birds!!

Greek plates

No one likes to hear “we have XYZ at home” when takeout is all their heart desires. But, as fast casual dining in New York City is an average of $17 a bowl, learning to DIY your favorite chain is a necessity. Enter: My Greek plates that are really just at-home Cava.

The above, “foundational” Cava plate includes: Shawarma chicken, pita, whipped feta, hummus, and cucumber tomato salad. The pickled red onions are out of frame (read: still in the fridge), but present in spirit.

I have a lot of good news about these plates. First, a majority of the elements can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge (the pita is best warm). And, each aspect makes a lot when you prep it, so you’ll have plenty to munch on throughout the remainder of your week!

Let’s break down this plate: The chicken is inspired by Molly Baz’s Cook This Book (marinate your chicken in whole fat Greek yogurt, freshly grated garlic, lemon juice, cumin, chili powder, a pinch of cinnamon, salt and pepper). The pita recipe is from Lena over at Lena’s Kitchen. My hummus recipe simply requires you to whip out a food processor, throw in a can of (cleaned) chickpeas, some tahini, lemon juice, and a couple of ice cubes. Play around with your taste and texture until you’re happy. Similarly, the whipped feta goes in the food processor with some honey, oregano, and a little olive oil. Round the meal out with cucumber and tomato salad (chop ‘em up, add salt, pepper, and a drizzle of good olive oil). My not-pictured pickled onions use a 1:1 warm water to white vinegar pickling ratio before letting them soak in the fridge with whole peppercorns and a little flaky salt. Ideally, let them hang out for 24 hours, but you can make these the same day if needed.

What I will give Materialists is that Johnson’s character was most charmed by Pascal when he took her to a very nice, expensive meal. It’s a good look, and not one that many of us can, financially, pull off. But I would wager that it’s just as sexy to flip fresh, hot-from-the-stove pitas for a dinner guest to enjoy. You’re handing someone warm bread and offering them multiple dip options—nothing says “I love you” quite like that.