I Went To The Most Gorgeous Breakfast Club in Venice and You Should Too

Plus a Mango Cardamom Flan and Celery Ginger Chicken Soup

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Hello!

This is a busy weekend. My mom is visiting from India, and I haven’t seen her in over a year. I’ve also got one of my aunts and her family from Australia, who are coming here for the first time. As you can imagine, I’ve been cleaning the house aggressively. They’ll be here for a month, traveling across the country sightseeing. It’s also my mom’s birthday this month, and we’re throwing her a surprise birthday dinner (I can’t tell you where in case she reads this email).

Last week, I attended one of the most special, thoughtfully curated, and delicious meals I’ve eaten in LA. It wasn’t at a fancy restaurant but at someone’s home in Venice. When filming a show a few months ago, I met Alper Nakri at the studios. He invited me to his Turkish Breakfast Club (go to the link for details on when and how to get your ticket) in Venice (the locations change every time), which he hosts with his friend Deniz Hotamisligil, who crafts some of the most beautiful knives by hand (check them out; they are remarkable). The atmosphere was casual, and I met several people from different places like this one couple that had flown in from Toronto. We sat around large circular tables on pillows, and our tables were covered with various foods. The way it’s set up and I preferred it this way, you end up engaging and conversating with people you’ve never met. For example,I met an engineer who’s working on cars that can travel on desert sands. Some of my favorites were the rose petal jam, the green fig jam, the various cheeses, the grape and walnut sujuk, the lamb sujuk, and the kaymak (clotted cream with honey). They brought out menemen (Turkish scrambled eggs), various böreks, salads, breads, hot chai, and other dishes during our breakfast. My advice is to go there hungry. Now, I’ve never been to Turkey, and it’s on my bucket list of countries to visit, especially after Nigella Lawson once told me that Turkish breakfasts are one of the most spectacular meals in the world. She’s right!

Have a great weekend; I must clean up before the inspector arrives.

Nik

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Does turmeric change color during cooking?

Turmeric might be one of the most popular spices used in cooking, but it also occupies an important place in laboratories. Turmeric contains a pigment called curcumin that is sensitive to alkaline pH, so when mixed in soap water or with baking soda, it turns red. Watch the video to learn how and why this happens.

It’s still mango season, and I’ve updated my Mango Cardamom Flan for you this week on the blog to include temperatures. I prefer using canned mangoes for this recipe because fresh mangoes contain protein-cutting enzymes called proteases that won’t let the egg and milk proteins firm up (it will cause the flan to curdle). If you use fresh mangoes, please follow the heating step listed in the recipe notes to inactivate the enzyme. I usually get canned mango purée from the Indian grocery store or online; you can use the extra to make lassis all week and maintain your probiotic intake.

For my paid subscribers this week: I’m sharing one of my easy and go-to comfort soups. Though this dish you could eat at any time of the year, it is one of those soups I run to whenever I fall sick with a cold. The soup is rich with the energizing aroma of lemons, a robust peppery flavor (double it up if you want it pepperier), and the bite of thin strands of fresh ginger.