The founder of the food blog A Kitchen in Brooklyn talks to Kayla Hoskinson '11 about her signature dishes, her favorite New York City restaurants and her least favorite food.
Kayla Hoskinson: How many of the guest bloggers on A Kitchen in Brooklyn are Haverford alumni?
Sasha Coffiner: Other than myself, there are four Haverford alums who are guest bloggers--Robin Klevansky '02, Ariel Hansen '01, Christina Talcott '01 and Charlene Peacock '00, although a couple of them write under pseudonyms. They post from time to time when they get a chance.
KH: How did you meet some of the guest bloggers and approach them to ask them to submit to the blog?
SC: I met them all as an undergrad at Haverford and figured it would be fun to have some of my friends who also like to cook contribute occasionally on my blog.
KH: Did you ever live in the apartments while at Haverford College? If so, did you make use of those kitchens?
SC: Ironically, I didn't. I wish I had though, but I didn't cook at all until I was living on my own in New York after college, and even more so when I started dating my husband, Brad. If I knew how to cook in those days, I certainly would have relished living in HCA.
KH: Do you have any advice for students who have been using such a small kitchen?
SC: Try to keep things simple. Use fresh ingredients - that's the key to good cooking - the quality of the produce and other items that you use. Cooking in a small kitchen should not be that difficult, though. It is really baking that seems to require more space.
KH: What is your favorite restaurant in NYC?
SC: There are so many! Here are a few favorites that stand out: Lupa in the West Village, Blue Hill, Mas Farmhouse, Rose Water in Park Slope, Braeburn--but there are so many others too. I really love eating out in my own neighborhoods of Park Slope and Prospect Heights, in Brooklyn, where there is a big focus on locally grown, organic food.
KH: What is your least favorite food?
SC: I have a few things I dislike. I won't eat anything with olives (except olive oil) or capers.
KH: Do you have a signature dish that you love to make (or that other people love for you to make)?
SC: I have a few signature dishes - my cupcakes are some of my favorite things to make. I once made cupcakes decorated to look like sushi and Alice and Wonderland themed cupcakes, as well. I have a signature Chilean sea bass that I make with an Asian marinade with papaya salsa, too. It is my husband's favorite.
KH: Is there some kind of flavor or technique you have not yet tried in the kitchen that you are dying to use?
SC: I've wanted to try making a dessert using rosewater buttercream and I'd like to try making some of my own pasta and raviolis in a pasta maker. I'm very experimental so there's always something new I want to try. I just got a book about making different flavors of whoopie pies, too, which I look forward to trying out.
KH: Have you taken and used any family recipes from your mother or grandmother (or, of course, father and grandfather)?
SC: I have used some of my mom's recipes on my blog--my matzah ball soup and my mandarin orange and caramelized almond salad both are my mom's recipes.
KH: What do you think about the tradition of having secret recipes (like grandmothers who won't ever share the“secret ingredient”)? Do you think the rise of food blogs like yours have changed how willing people are to share their cooking secrets?
SC: I've never had a recipe that I was asked to keep secret. It's not a big thing in my family. I am always willing to share all of my creations to help others cook too, so that's part of the beauty of a food blog.
