The Saison Journal
With projects flourishing and Saison being busier than ever, I’ve been looking for a meaningful way to share it all with the Saison community. From dinner parties to farmers market visits and the beautiful projects we’re working on, I’m so excited to capture and share these moments with a seasonal journal. I’ve been so touched and blown away by the support on this journey so far and thank each of you for your sweet, encouraging words.
xx Sammy
Cooking & Dining
The transition from late Summer to early Fall is always a bittersweet one for me, and also the beautiful time of the year. While my heart aches as we bid adieu to the sun drenched days dotted with dripping fruits and tomato sandwiches, the shift in the season welcomes a new wave of jewel toned fruits and flowers so vibrant and alluring I can’t resist the switch. Plums, pluots, eggplant, figs, dahlias, zinnias, grapes and goldenrod sweep the markets and fill my countertops. The simple, effortless recipes I relied on all summer morph into slightly more complex ones, filling the air with warm, fragrant flavors. I find myself turning to rustic bakes like cornmeal cake studded with plums and figs, savory squash galettes and beautiful focaccias topped with concord grapes and rosemary.
One recent Saturday afternoon, under the warm September sun, I set a table outdoors and experimented with a late summer peach tiramisu. It’s a simple, delicious dessert I will certainly make again, and imagine would be delicious with plums or blackberries in lieu of the peaches. I encourage you to give it a try while the last of the peaches linger around the market.
Follow the recipe here.
In The Studio, Lately
After a summer spent cooking al fresco, swimming in creeks and drinking wine under the stars, I’m thrilled to be back in the studio doing what I love most. September has been busy busy, from catering beautiful breakfasts and lunches for some of our favorite fashion brands to setting up a celebratory lunch backstage at Ulla Johnson’s SS24 show at Powerhouse Arts. Almond and raspberry petit fours, shaved zucchini caprese sandwiches, beautiful tomato salads topped with castelvetrano tapenade and ricotta salata, cardamom rose parfaits and fig tartlets have been constants on the menu lately.
While this season is filled to the brim with catering orders, the holiday season is on my mind. Every year I dream up something delicious and fun to gift for the holidays in collaboration with my dear friend and very talented designer, Devin Sullivan. We are currently putting together the finishing touches and tastes of the Saison holiday gift collection. I absolutely can’t wait to share this year's collection with you (think vintage floral print tins and delectable cookies). For those interested in larger or custom gift orders for the holidays, I encourage you to reach out now to get started.
Below a few snapshots from backstage at Ulla Johnson's runway, custom gift boxes for Rose Inc, and a breakfast for Breitling.
Flowers, Always
Flowers make their way into every order around here and are perhaps my biggest inspiration in and out the kitchen. Subtle floral flavors like rose, jasmine, and chamomile are infused into shortbread, cakes, and custards and almost everything I bake is topped with flowers and petals. By stroke of luck or maybe fate, one of our friends and neighbors in the Catskills, Madelyn Ringold-Brown, is a flower farmer and has absolutely been rocking my flower world.
Situated in an idyllic hamlet in Andes, New York, Madelyn's flower farm (@niknaks_flowerfarm) is picture perfect, bursting with the most beautiful blooms. Tucked into the mountainside and overlooking the valley, it's a dreamy spot tended to with so much love and care. One recent afternoon, as we chatted about all sorts of edible flowers to try out, our dogs played and we filled buckets with zinnias, dahlias, cosmos, borage, dill flower, salvia, forget-me-nots, snapdragons and pansies. Madelyn is a wealth of floral inspiration and her garden is a true testament to it. I'm so excited about our new partnership and having Madelyn's blooms incorporated into your orders. It brings me so much joy to have a personal connection to where I source my flowers, especially when I know how much love is poured into them.
With Saison, my goal has always been about creating thoughtful and meaningful connections and this one feels so right. Every change has happened organically and the community surrounding is growing into one I am endlessly inspired by.
Notes on where to buy flowers in NYC:
Union Square Green Market: Wednesday and Friday mornings, May through October are my favorite times to go. My tip is to go early, stroll with a coffee and soak in all the beauty amid the hustle and bustle of the city.
28th Street Flower Market: The flower market is a place I frequent for inspiration, special orders, or in the colder months when the bloom disappear from the farmer’s market. I usually go with a visual inspiration board, budget or have put in an order ahead as I can easily get carried away.
Alive Herbs: A favorite spot in my neighborhood for dried petals and spices.
Gourmet Sweet Botanicals: A reliable, online destination for edible flowers, herbs and specialty produce that changes seasonally and always have something beautiful to offer.
Stay tuned for the next one and drop a line to say hello!
With Love, Sammy
Published 10 • 3 • 2023