Fire Island Report

And some recipes to get you through the end of summer

For the past four years, we’ve spent a little time each summer in Fire Island, which is always a welcome respite from the traffic-choked Hamptons. We rent our own home during this time to someone who likes crowded beaches and traffic (which there seems to be more and more of every year). It hardly matters to us when we are there, because we tend to stay close to home where you would barely know it’s high season, and we choose strategic times to venture out to go shopping or to the beach.

This year, we decided to rent a house in Fire Island with my stepdaughter and her family. Good weather was predicted for the week. We stocked up on food before we got there by placing an order with one of the supermarkets that delivers to the island. More accurately, they deliver to the ferry dock, and then the ferry delivers to the island. It’s quite a process, and the fees add up! We also stopped at a decent farmstand on our way to the ferry to get some fresh fruits and vegetables to pack into our cooler (which cost $4 to bring on the ferry). There is a very good market close by, and we used that to fill in with fresh items we didn't order in advance. There’s a “tax” on everything you buy on the island, so honestly I’m not sure which is more expensive at the end of the day.

We were all looking forward to some quality beach time, but then things went a little upside down. Firstly, Hurricane Erin started to become more of a threat than initially thought, swirling fairly close to the East Coast. Although we were lucky we didn't have to evacuate, we did have a rainy, windy day spent inside, and then another cloudy, windy day that wasn't quite a washout, as they say. The beach was officially closed starting the afternoon before, and for two more days after that.

At the same time we learned one of the kids had a highly unusual summertime case of the flu, so he was confined to his room, and I headed to the urgent care for a Tamiflu prescription (spoiler alert, nobody else got sick). I realized that my vision of quietly working on my book (which I needed to do) was not going to be realized, so I decided to leave early and return to NYC to hole myself up in my apartment and work. The best laid plans!

Simple, but good! This salad started with the green beans, in an attempt to get some green vegetables into our diets. We had lots of little tomatoes from the farmstand that were starting to attract fruit flies, so I decided to load up the salad with them. Then I remembered a can of chickpeas—always handy! Finally, some shaved parm, which I think we can all agree makes any salad better. This was dressed simply with oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper.

But in the meantime, we had some good simple meals. We also played a home version of Chopped, which my 8-year-old grandson enjoys playing—plus I enjoy watching him learn to cook! We formed two teams of two so he would have some help in the kitchen. The rules are pretty loose, because it’s more about having fun, but I am the sole judge and timekeeper. I choose the protein and the “must use” secret ingredients. I picked a quick-cooking protein, which was skirt steak, and the secret ingredients were cocoa powder and popcorn. They did a really good job, and then we ate it!

I marinated the chickens right after breakfast so they would have plenty of time to soak up some flavor. I turned them several times during the day. Since these were butchered for me, I asked for the backbones, which I grilled alongside the chicken. There are some bone eaters in this family, so these did not go to waste!

The night before that, which was our second night there, I volunteered to make dinner. I got two butterflied (spatchcocked?) chickens from the (very good) butcher counter at the local market—more than we needed for dinner, but I thought it would be nice to have ample leftovers for lunches. I improvised the rest with what we had brought with us. I decided to marinate the chicken with lemon juice, lots of garlic, olive oil, and some bottled “Greek” dressing I found in the fridge, but I needed something else to get some color on the chicken. I wanted soy sauce but there was none in the house, so I opted for peach preserves. I knew I’d have to be careful not to burn it, but guess what? I did! Truth be told, I kind of like burnt chicken. What can I say? I guess it’s comfort food because my mother, RIP, always burnt the grilled chicken. The bottled dressing idea came from her too.

If any of you are still vacationing somewhere, I hope you’ll find something here to inspire your meals this week.

How I cooked the chicken