Beach Blanket Bachelorettes

So yes, I've been very busy this month and I missed a You Are What You Eat for the week. I'm very sorry. I will be busy running around like a dizzy cockroach til after Sept. 9, the day my dear friends Winnie and Chris get married.

My big event for this weekend was Winnie's bachelorette bash in fanancy Wainscott, close to Bridgehampton. No, the Hamptons are not my stilo, and we don't usually roll like that -- in fact, this was my first time in the Hamptons, and I've lived in New York City for over 7 years. But our friend has a friend who has a house there, so all 22 of our X chromosomes and ovaries got to convene in a pretty little beach house there. It was heavenly. We gabbed, exfoliated, played Scrabble on the beach, discussed the merits and demerits of feminine products, and participated in all manner of pre-marital rituals which I cannot reveal here.

And of course, everyone being a friend of Winnie's, we cooked up a storm and ate like queens. I lugged four bags up to the house for the weekend, and most of it was food from the Friday Greenmarket. When cooking at a weekend rental, there are a few essentials I like to make sure I bring with me: my santoku knife, a paring knife, a cutting board, garlic, and olive oil. Butter and parmigiano reggiano came too. I also hauled up a few pounds of peaches and nectarines (from Migliorelli -- divine, especially the scarlet-skinned nectarines, exploding with juice), four ripe tomatoes from Sycamore Farms, two loaves of rustic bread, a few pieces of cheese from Bobolink Dairy Farm (the semi-soft drum cheese was especially good), a gorgeous bunch of basil, candy-striped and red beets from Yuno Farms, and ten ears of white corn from Sycamore Farms.

Seems like overkill, I know, especially considering that I am my own sherpa, but I suspected that the pickings within walking distance of the house wouldn't be as excellent as the bounty in Union Square, and I was right. There was a small fruit and vegetable stand by a corn field between the house and the beach that was done up to look all country quaint, with overpriced fruit and vegetables piled up in teal woodpulp baskets. But selection was limited and I could tell the fruit was not from 'round these parts. I correctly guessed that the huge cherries were from Washington, and I think the peaches were from California. I saw a cardboard box in the back stuck with all the peach stickers they had peeled off those peaches -- I guess PLU numbered stickers don't really fit with the wholesome roadside stand image. Seems like a crime to be selling out-of-town tennis ball peaches when the locals are so good right now, but I'm not sure the Hamptonites care.

Saturday night's grand feast included pan-fried Spanish mackerel with fennel, sage and butter, seared scallops, and an array of vegetable sides. The most surprising dish (to me) was a fabulous herb-laden pasta dish my friend Jeeyoon made. Simple, green and robustly aromatic, it's an herbacious expression of excess in a light, summery dish. It's also an excellent side for fish. I'm fudging a recipe from memory here, changing a few steps and adding a little garlic to her recipe for bite -- though it was delicious without it.

Spaghetti with herbs and cherry tomatoes

1 1b. package of spaghetti
2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
Olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 large bunch parsley, stems removed
1 smaller bunch dill
1 handful of sage leaves
1 small bunch basil
1 bunch mint
Salt & pepper
Grated parmigiano

Cook spaghetti according to directions. Halve the cherry tomatoes. Mince all of your herbs. Gently heat up a good amount of olive oil, about a cup, in a saute pan. Add garlic and cook for a minute over medium heat, but don't let it brown. Add your cherry tomatoes and toss them around for another minute. Toss the minced herbs with the tomatoes and garlic and turn off the heat. Toss your cooked spaghetti in the herb tomato mixture. Add more olive oil to moisten as necessary and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with grated parmigiano. Serves 10 side dish servings if you've got 5 other courses as we did. Otherwise, I would say it serves 4 main or 6 side.

On a side note: I had a fabulous, fabulous weekend with the girls, but the Hamptons -- let's discuss. I get it -- clean beaches, blue blue ocean as far as the eye can see, an easy if crowded train ride away from the city. But the ostentatious houses with 20 foot privet hedges are a little gross, as are the abundance of codpiece sports cars and the lushly irrigated gardens (I'm from California -- as far as I'm concerned, the world is experiencing a perpetual drought.) Is there some dress code written into the city ordinance that requires women of a certain age to plump up their lips, blond up their hair, and wear white capris and fishing hats? Do the men receive standard issue pastel polo shirts once they've broiled on the beach to the precise shade of borscht? I know I shouldn't be surprised, but what's up with the J. Crew catalog homogeny? I definitely felt like an outsider. I guess I'm a bit too low rent for les Hamptons. Not that I would kick any of those houses out of bed.