Too Hot To Cook? Here’s What To Do

Hey all! Welcome back. Apologies for the lack of posts lately. I’ve been busy with other things, or have had a complete lack of motivation to do, well, anything. I get like that when the temperature rises. Here in Ottawa, summer weather generally means either an extreme heat and humidity warning, or a severe thunderstorm warning. One usually just leads into the other, to be honest.

We don’t have central air here at casa du Liz and Zac, so when it gets like this, I usually just lie on the driest surface I can find, point a fan or two at myself and launch into a storm of schvitzing and complaining until the sun goes down. Not exactly conducive to writing hot takes on the restaurant industry (they’re coming, I promise), or writing new articles about local restaurants (one of those coming soon, too), or even any blog posts.

The weather is especially not conducive to cooking of any kind. We still have to eat, though. So, it can be an excuse to put together some quick and easy cheese and charcuterie boards, along with some other easy cold items, for a hot weather spread that won’t make you sweat.

Putting together boards is easy and can be a lot of fun. There’re no recipes, per se, but you can put your own personal touch on these spreads by pickling your own vegetables, or making the bread. Don’t feel that you have to, though. This is meant to be an easy, low-labour way to get dinner on the table when it’s too hot to cook.

Baguettes make for easy ingredient transportation. You could brush them with olive oil and bake them at 200°F for 15-20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking, if you want crisp crostini. I didn’t, on account of not wanting to awaken the oven at all. Feel free to slice on a bias if you want longer slices. Or just slice like I did and get it done.

Charcuterie meats and cheeses are rich, flavourful items. You’ll need acidity to cut through all that, so pickles are the order of the day. Store bought is fine, don’t let anyone tell you what to do during a heatwave. Or mix and match. In this bowl we have some Kalamata olives, some marinated artichoke hearts, some homemade pickle chips and that spicy marinated eggplant in oil that I love so much. I can never make this as good as the store-bought and I’m fine with that.

It’s summertime, so that means it’s also time to get on the tomato train. Grab some delicious local tomatoes, slice them nicely, brush the slices with olive oil and apply kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. A summertime tomato is a special treat, especially when you pair it with some torn basil leaves and an unctuous ball of creamy burrata, drizzled with yet more olive oil. This might be the single best flavour combination of summer.

When considering meats for a charcuterie board, try to vary the flavours and textures a bit. You’ll want about 60-70g of total combined meat per person if this is a shared appetizer and about 90-100g per person if this is dinner. So, divide that by how many meats you’ll want to feature and you’ll have an easy time at the deli counter. Speaking of the deli counter, when was the last time I plugged Seed to Sausage? Those guys are great. If you’re planning on doing a cheese and charcuterie night, you have to pay them a visit. Just wear a damn mask.

Anyways, what we got here was, from front to back, some Genoa salami, capocollo, prosciutto cotto, mortadella, and some dry-cured prosciutto in the back. Serve with a bit of Dijon mustard on the side for those that like it and, BOOM, easy charcuterie board.

Cheese is just as easy, as long as you take a few points into account. You’ll want a bit less per person. About 50-60g total combined cheeses as a shared appetizer, or about 70-80g if a main course. If you’re me, though, it’s more like 110-120g. I likes me cheese. Try to vary the types a bit. Have one hard cheese, one soft, one semi-soft, and maybe a blue. Or, a bloomy rind cheese, like a brie or camembert. We chose shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano, a wheel of Saint-Paulin, and some cubes of old cheddar, marinated in the oil from the eggplant. I told you I love that stuff. Don’t forget the burrata, either. Dangerously cheesy. Add some pickled red onions and some carraway-pickled carrots, and you’re off to the races.

This is a great way to have dinner when it’s too hot to even look at your oven. Open a bottle of wine, lay out these platters and have fun mixing and matching. Summer never lasts long here in Ottawa, so we’ll be cooking over heat again soon. Maybe I’ll even be writing on a more regular schedule! One thing at a time, though. If you’ve got a favorite way to compile a charcuterie or cheese board, I’d love to hear it. Send an email or leave a comment below!