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Christopher Kimball's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Weekend Cookbook Challenge: Christopher Kimball's Fudgy Brownies
Review: Everyday Food Recipes - Chicken, Sugar Snaps, Dipped Strawberries
Isn't the cover gorgeous? The recipe, for Skillet Blackberry Cobbler, is actually from the R.S.V.P. section on p. 28 (just in case you had as much trouble as I did finding it). Again, my mantra from last month - it's very hard to screw up summer recipes.
So much yumminess: Blackberries Brûlée with Marscapone Cream; a "caprese-like salad" of sliced peaches, fresh mozzarella and basil; Grilled Steak and Onions with Rosemary-Balsamic Butter Sauce; Grilled Spicy-Citrus Chicken Thighs with grilled corn; Lobster with Herb Butter; Plum Streusel; Citrus Mint Juleps; Bruschetta with Tomato, Avocado, Basil, and Mint; Almond, Apricot, and Cream Cheese Crostata; and Tangy Avocado-Orange Salad. Wow, so much yum, wow.
There is also a beautiful picnic basket (the "Somerset" willow picnic tote) in Bon Vivant that I am absolutely in love with. And, frankly, it's not that expensive for a gift (only $49); not something bought on a whim, but less than a nice pair of shoes, so I might just have to save for it (can I give myself a midsummer gift?)
We'll have to see how the recipes pan out, but it's very exciting.
Posted by georgia at 12:23 AM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
So for some reason I get half my magazines a month ahead of time and half weeks later (and some of my subscriptions don't come at all, forcing me to buy them on the newsstand halfway through the month). This leads me to think that the way I've been reviewing the magazines needs to be revamped. From now on I'll comment as they come, or whenever I read them, and I'll just comment about the things that really stand out to me. Hopefully I'll still be able to make a few of the dishes every month and give my feedback.
The main thing I have to say about the July magazines is that if you only buy one issue all year, now's the time to do it. How can you go wrong with magazines dedicated to summer foods? Everything looks delicious! Gourmet is the Produce Issue, with reviews of how restaurants use local produce (or pretend to) and recipes for Two-Berry Shortcake, Roasted-Tomato Tart, Grilled Corn with Herbs, a beautiful terrine (don't think I'm up for making it quite yet) and Zucchini Ginger Cupcakes. Bon Appétit has the BBQ Issue with Chocolate Scones, Avocado Soup with Ancho Cream, Grilled Corn with Queso Fresco, Chili Powder, and Lime, and Peach and Blackberry Shortcakes with Blackberry Cream. Their burgers are a little too complicated, but so pretty. Living is a little heavy on the red white and blue theme, which doesn't do me too much good now, but so much yum: Strawberry-And-Cream Cheesecake, a salad of Tender Lettuce with Pickled Currants (and pate on baguette), Bing cherry mojitos, layers of red currant jello layered with vanilla panna cotta, Blackberry-Mint Julep, and lots of yummy dips. Lots of pretty lanterns too.
Posted by georgia at 10:46 PM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
So finally, at the very end of June, I gave up my healthy summer eating habits and let myself indulge in a couple of the desserts from Living and Bon Appétit. After flipping through the June issues, I was drawn to two desserts: Bon Appétit's Grilled Brown-Sugar Peaches with White Chocolate and Living's Peach-Raspberry Clafouti.
I started with the Grilled Brown-Sugar Peaches, a quick and easy dessert that was a snap to make after dinner one night. The combination of the white sugar, the cinnamon, and the pistachios was unexpected and interesting, and even though many of the ingredients are inherently sweet, they went very well with the early-summer peach, balancing their slightly tart flavor.
The clafouti was more of a production, with the extra step of poaching the peaches, but the only real difficult part was getting the peaches to break into halves and pitting them. Surprisingly, the harder peaches were easier to work with, because they broke from the pit whole instead of smushing, but it still involved using my thumb as a wedge to get the first half separated and then a nice sharp knife to cut the pit out of the second half. The final dessert wasn't as pretty as the pictures in the magazine, but it was absolutely delicious. It was eggy and infused with vanilla and had the most wonderful texture. The peaches, infused with the vanilla and the flavor of white wine, were fantastic, and I liked the whole thing so much that I ended up eating half of it within a few hours of taking it out of the oven. The poaches peaches on their own would make a great dessert too.
Both recipes are going to get a lot of use in my kitchen and both give me great ways to use all those early summer peaches that aren't quite sweet enough to be enjoyed on their own.
Posted by georgia at 11:35 PM | Comments (3) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
The other day I woke up with the urge to bake; it may have had something to do with the freelance writing piece I was avoiding, or maybe it was because The Guy was home for the day too and he loves cookies. Whatever it was, I had a strong urge to make chocolate chip cookies. After the wonderful success with Christopher Kimball's fudgy brownies I knew I would have to try his classic chocolate chip cookies. I was thrilled to find that this recipe, like the other one, didn't require an electric mixer or any ingredients I didn't already have (we had some Crisco in the cabinet from a while back; we don't use it often, but it stays good for a very long time, so it's good to have). Kimball's notes about the process of creating these cookies mention wanting cookies that puffed up and stayed moist inside while getting crunchy around the edges, and that's exactly what these did. He also wanted a cookie that wasn't so sweet that it sent you running for a cup of milk. For my taste they were still very sweet and went very well with a cold glass of milk, but then that's what a chocolate chip cookie is supposed to taste like.
The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie
1/4 cup Crisco
8 tbsp unsalted butter, softened but still firm
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
10 ounces chocolate chips
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat the Crisco and butter in a medium bowl with a wooden spoon until pretty smooth but with a few harder pieces (about 1 minute). Add the sugars and stir until well blended. Add the egg, egg white, and vanilla and beat until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the batter and mix together until smooth. Add the chips and fold in.
2. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. For large cookies, place heaping tablespoons of dough on the paper with 1.5 inches between the outer edges of the balls of dough. Shape the dough quickly with your hand so that each spoonful is compact and not too spread out.
3. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until tops are lightly browned. Rotate pan front to back halfway through baking; do not overcook.
4. Slide parchment paper onto wire racks to cool. Repeat as needed with fresh sheets of parchment paper.
(Note: don't overcook, or they'll be hard as rocks.)
Posted by georgia at 03:22 PM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
This week we went a little grilled chicken crazy. Maybe it was the long solstice days or our weekend at Cape Cod; or maybe it was just that chicken is easy to make. We tried two grilled chicken recipes on our grill pan, one from Gourmet and one from Living. Both were good and tasted like summer and both were pretty easy to make. The Chipotle-Lime Grilled Chicken from Gourmet was great - the marinade was simple to make and the chicken really took on the flavors of the chipotle Tabasco and the lime juice. I made the mistake of pouring some of the marinade on the rice I made with it (the marinade is much too strong on its own), but the chicken itself was wonderful (The Guy especially liked it). We also made the Lemon-Thyme Chicken Paillards from Living. I was excited because it has specific instructions for using a grill pan instead of a barbeque, which I thought might make the whole process easier. The chicken took the light flavors of the lemon and thyme it was marinated in, but when we followed the instructions the chicken didn't cook all the way through, even though the pieces were very thin. We were able to get the pieces to cook all the way through after putting them back on the pan for a while, but by then then were fairly dry. I'm sure that by adjusting the cooking time we could get it right and it would be very good. So, which will we be most likely to use again? Well, the chipotle-lime chicken only marinated for fifteen minutes and the lemon-thyme chicken had to marinate for at least two hours...so what do you think?
Chipotle-Lime Grilled Chicken
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2.5 tbsp chipotle Tabasco
3/4 tsp salt
6 large skinless boneless chicken thighs
2 tsp mild honey
1. Prepare grill for cooking over direct heat with medium-hot charcoal
2. While coals are lighting, stir together lime juice, oil, Tabasco, and salt in a liquid-measuring cup. Put chicken in a large sealable bag and add 1/3 cup marinade (reserve remainder in cup). Seal bag, forcing out excess air, adn marinate chicken at room temperature, about 15 minutes. Stir honey into remaining marinade until dissolved to make sauce.
3. Grill chicken (discarding marindade in bag) on lightly oiled grill rack, covered only if using gas grill, turning chicken over occasionally and moving it to avoid flareups if necessary, until just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Brush both sides of chicken with some of reserved sauce, then continue to grill, turning over once, until lightly borwned, about 1 minute more. Serve chicken drizzled with remaining sauce.
Posted by georgia at 11:32 PM | Comments (2) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
When Sara and Alicat at The Weekend Cookbook Challenge announced that June's challenge was picnic food, my mind immediately went to desserts. I love to bring desserts to parties because The Guy and I never finish them unless we have some help, and I find that fewer people remember dessert at a picnic, so my contribution is always appreciated (the same goes for interesting drinks, like mint lemonade). And what better dessert for a picnic than brownies? They're transportable, they're classic, and, gosh darnit, people like them. After flipping through a few cookbooks, I decided on the Chewy, Fudgy Brownies from The Dessert Bible by Christopher Kimball for two reasons: One, in the four years we've owned this book, I've never used it (The Guy bought it), and two, it was the easiest recipe I found and I had all the ingredients on hand.
Christopher Kimball himself acknowledges that he prefers lighter brownies, but I love the fudgy ones, so I was excited about this recipe. It was a snap to make (no mixers, stand or hand-held), and almost nothing that could go wrong. The chocolate and butter melted quickly, the ingredients came together smoothly (no beating, folding or worrying involved), and looked shiny and gooey as it glopped into the pan - this is a batter that would be made by Willy Wonka, not Jacques Torres. The only problems I found were that when I went to cut them, two hours after taking them out of the oven, they were so sticky inside that they stuck to the knife and broke apart, and that the foil I had lined the pan with (per the instructions) was imbedded inside the brownies in some places. I let them sit a couple more hours and they became more managable (Kimball notes that these are especially good the day after you make them), and for the sake of simplicity I simply cut off the parts that seemed to have aluminum in them.
Chewy, Fudgy Brownies
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
10 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 and 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup walnuts, in pieces (optional - I didn't use them)
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 X 8- inch baking pan with foil or parchment paper, or grease the pan with butter.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave oven at 50 percent power for 2 minutes, or melt in a saucepan over very low heat. Whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a medium bowl. Add the melted chocolate mixture and whisk to combine (mixture with thicken considerably). Add all other ingredients and mix together with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. The batter will be very thick and somewhat greasy-looking.
3. Scrape batter into baking pan (the batter will hang together like bread dough) and press into place with a large rubber spatula. Bake about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into center. For chewier brownies, bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes. Let cool at least 2 hours in pan before removing, cutting and serving. (The brownies will continue cooking and become chewier as they cool.)
Posted by georgia at 03:42 PM | Comments (6) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
Last week I pulled out the May issue of Everyday Food and tried all three of the recipes I had wanted to try: the Roasted Chicken with Ginger, Chile and Lime; the Gingered Sugar Snaps; and the pistachio crusted Chocolate-Covered Strawberries. I made the chicken without the pickled jalapeños, but it was almost surprisingly good anyway - the ginger and lime add a wonderful pungent flavor to the meat. The only problem was that almost all the spice was confined to the breasts, where it was easy to spread them under the skin. This left the other parts of the chicken with a lot less flavor. Next time I'll try to get every part of the chicken covered in the spices. The sugar snaps, on the other hand, were a disappointment. The flavor was nice, but even with the strings removed, the snaps remained really fibrous and hard to eat. I much prefer them raw and crunchy to warm and stringy, though if one cut them into smaller pieces and cooked them in the liquid longer, it might break down the fibers. The strawberries were perfect - The Guy likened them to nut-crusted ice cream bars, which was a pretty apt description, and noticed that they'd be really good with almonds. I think they might taste even better with almonds, but they wouldn't be nearly as pretty. My favorite thing about the strawberries was that after leaving them in the fridge for only 15 minutes, as per the instructions, they came out firm but not too hard, so the chocolate didn't crack apart and fall off as we ate them and we were able to enjoy chocolate with each bite of strawberry.
Posted by georgia at 11:35 PM | Comments (1) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
I finally got ahold of the premier issue of Imbibe, the new magazine all about things to drink. I love the idea of the magazine since I'm obsessed with great drinks of all kinds, but the execution of the magazine left me with mixed feelings. The topics were great - the front-of-the-book, "Uncorked", had some great stuff and the features were fantastic (a journey through the mezcal, hot chocolate, horchata and aguas frescas of Oaxaca is as good as it gets). The real problem with the magazine was the design, or rather the lack thereof, in the front and back sections of the magazine. The features were well designed and eye-grabbing, and reflected the aesthetics of the pieces' focuses, but the Uncorked items were just slapped on an off-white background without anything to tether them, and as I read it I really noticed how the lack of design translated into what felt like a lack of editorial voice. The fact that each of the Uncorked pieces was a little shorter than I would have liked added to this, but ultimately I think the design gave a different impression of the magazine's point of view than the text did. Throughout the magazine you can tell that the editors are obviously trying to have a little fun with the subject matter, but the blandness of the design made it feel very clinical instead. Hopefully this is just a small setback and the design will improve and come up to the level of the content, because I'd hate for this fantastic magazine to disappear before I can get my fill.
Posted by georgia at 11:59 PM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
I was flipping through Domino at the bookstore today (I know, I know, I should get a subscription) when I found an idea that made me want to jump up and down with excitement: one of their brilliant editors suggests using beakers, the kind you find in chemist's labs, as vases. I have a few very good friends who are chemists and biologists (or, more to the point, chemistry, biology, and bio-chem PhD candidates) and the majority are men. These men are not the kind who have stylish, minimalist vases from downtown galleries or the MoMA design store, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't have something to put flowers in when someone comes over for dinner, and beakers would be perfect (and, for them, very cheap). They would also make fantastic jars to keep pencils or kitchen utensils in, or you could even fill a few with pebbles, leaves, sea glass, or sand and line them up on a mantle.
Posted by georgia at 09:58 PM | Comments (1) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
So many pretty summer magazines!
Bon Appétit
Like
I like the summer parties theme with all the ideas and such pretty pictures; I love the beautiful aprons they profile in Starters and the article on sophisticated sangrias (I can't wait to try them); the idea of a cognac cocktail is great, and the food-themed invites in Bon Vivant are adorable.
Don't Like
I'm not so hot on the idea of doing a Greek meze - the "small plates" craze needs to start winding down now; I'm also less thrilled about their "frugal and fabulous" menu - the idea is great, but you can make better food for the same money
Yum
Cava Sangria, the gorgeous Orange Layer Cake with Buttercream Frosting and Berries, and that decadent menu for the Saturday Night Swell party (now if only I had the funds to make that menu)
Gourmet
Like
I continue to like the new Good Living format, but is it my imagination, or did they lift this straight from Saveur's annual Saveur 100? I love that they've alerted us to the difference between Contadina's "Tomato Paste" and "Tomato Paste Product", Carolynn Carreño's piece about learning her heritage through cooking is great, as is the piece about community gardens and the interesting piece about banana production; I also like the Greece feature (ie, all the parts of the magazine that include writing and a story).
Don't Like
The parts of the magazine that don't include a story: the Tikki Time food might feel less clichéd with a story, and the family reunion on a farm needs one too, despite the pretty pictures. I was also surprised to see the picture of the Design Within Reach mini-chairs made from champagne corks and foils - I saw these elsewhere months ago.
Yum
The Cornish Hens with Roasted-Garlic Aioli, the Chipotle-Lime Grilled Chicken, and the Passion-Fruit Gelée with Basil Cream.
Saveur
Like
The Fare piece about the Cooper-Hewitt's cutlery exhibit (and not only because I worked on it); the focus of the book review: the politics of food; the story of how vichyssoise was created (in America!), and the interesting story about Philippe Rochat "possibly the greatest chef you've never heard of". But my favorite part (and, yes, the one I had the most fun working on) is James Oseland's piece about the Spice Islands.
Don't Like
I have to admit, I'm less interested in the wine stuff - this is probably because I can't afford any of the really good stuff, so I don't have any real knowledge of what I'm reading about.
Yum
Raspberry Brûlée (I'm buying a kitchen torch just so I can make this), the Raspberry Triffle (I tried it, it's worth the effort), the Raspberry Shortcakes (also divine), the morel tart (ditto), and everything Bandanese: the Fish Curry with Potatoes, Festive Yellow Rice, Spiced Ginger-Palm Sugar Drink, Indonesian Spice Cake, Spice-Braised Tuna, and Long Beans with Sweet Soy Sauce, not to mention the Fried Shallots from the Kitchen section.
Everyday Food
Like
How to carve a chicken - very useful.
Don't Like
Baby Spinach Salad with Tuna and Cheddar-Carrot Balls - yuck! The Beef Tacos with Radish and Avocado Salsa, also yuck - why the pointless recipes just so they can do a feature on radishes? Just cut the things up and eat them in salad.
Yum
Roasted Chicken with Ginger, Chile, and Lime with gingered sugar snap peas and roasted onion; Chocolate-Covered Strawberries crusted with pistachios.
Living
Like
This months' clip-art: measuring equivalents and baking pan substitutions are just what I need; the best sources section will be good to have; the article on rosés is great because they're just coming back into style (in the US) and people don't know enough about them; the bark wrapped flower pot with the roses in it is sooo pretty; as is that sheer roman shade (I love the instructions on this - so simple for such a functional thing); the roses section is also gorgeous (I wish I had a garden), and I can't wait to try the fabric bleaching and dying tricks.
Don't Like
I'm not a mini-flag made of ribbons person - it's just too kitchy - and I don't see the need to paint a bunch of baskets a uniform color so they'll look "coordinated" (again, a little too "Cape Cod kitch" for me).
Yum
Ooo, Peach-Raspberry Clafouti - yummy, yummy, yummy; Almond-Berry Coffee Cake and Chocolate Swirl Brioche; and the Cornmeal Crêpes with Fresh Buttermilk Cheese and Blackberries would make my day (yes, I'm a big fan of anything they make with sugar in it).
Posted by georgia at 08:37 PM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
If you missed the Dining and Wine section of Wednesday's NY Times (or just prefer getting your news online to spending the money on bulky paper), check out Alex Witchel's great story about a hostess who knows how to keep her guests laughing (and keep laughing herself).
Posted by georgia at 11:53 PM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
Looking for something new (and quick) to do with chicken, I tried the Sticky Sesame Chicken Wings from Gourmet. They were nice and easy to make (The Guy was nice enough to use his butchering skills to trim the wings into "wingettes") and had a nice flavor to them. I think if I had marinated them longer than the recipe called for they would have been better, but I'd make them again the same way (though maybe not with organic chicken - it was just a little too fatty).
Posted by georgia at 11:42 PM | Comments (2) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
I don't believe that the lack of a grill (or a yard to put it in for that matter) is reason to deprive myself of yummy recipes. So I tried the chimichurri recipe (parsley, shallots, lemon juice, etc.) from the Gaucho Grill article in Gourmet on a regular piece of pan-seared steak. And I'm glad I did - it was wonderful! It was flavorful and summery, good on the roasted potatoes, and a great change for a warm day. All it needed was a glass of that lemonade from last week.
Posted by georgia at 09:13 PM | Comments (1) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
After a couple weeks of a kitchen slump (quesadillas and cereal) I finally broke out the new magazines and my knives.
The first thing on the menu was the Gratinéed Gnocchi with Spinach and Ricotta from Gourmet's Ten Minute Mains. As you can see, it was gorgeous, and we couldn't wait to dig into it. Unfortunately, the taste didn't quite live up to the visual aspect of the dish. It was fine, and the gnocchi (frozen, not dried, because that's what the co-op has) was lovely, but the whole thing lacked spice. I'm not a steamed spinach lover, so that might be the problem, but it would have benefited from some garlic and parmesan (and will next time I make it).
The next dish on the menu this week was the Risotto al Limone from Saveur. I'd been drooling over the picture for weeks, and I was happy with the way it turned out when I made it. Lemony but mild enough not to offend the non-lemon lovers of us (ie The Guy), it was a lovely starter. My only concern is that even after adding an additional scoop of water while cooking, the risotto was almost too al dente. I did halve the recipe, adding the water in 1/2 cup increments instead of full cups, so that may have changed things, but I'd still suggest testing the risotto before you move on to the cream part of the recipe.
Lastly, I pulled a couple of recipes from Living's What's for Dinner section: the Easy Pea Ravioli with Mint and Cornish Game Hens with Lemon and Herbs. The ravioli was an interesting process and kind of sloppy to make (toward the end I resorted to making "pea dumplings" with the wonton wrappers because it was just easier). Since I don't have round cookie cutters I cut them into squares which worked just fine. The end result tasted good, but once I added a little grated lemon zest and parmesan on top of them. For the Cornish Game Hens I substituted a chicken and turned the heat down to 400 degrees. The result was nice, but not as good as some of the other recipes I've tried recently.
Next week? Maybe some desserts...
Posted by georgia at 11:27 PM | Comments (1) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
Hooray! I finally got my first issue of Blueprint, MSLO's newest magazine, aimed at readers in their late 20s and early 30s who value design. I've been hearing exciting things about the magazine for months (when have you seen an editorial staff that looked this fresh?)
So how is it? Fantastic! Chock-full of interesting tips items and articles. And ok, so I've seen some of the ideas before (hell, I've had some of the ideas myself), but the whole issue kept me interested (and reading the actual articles, not just the photo captions).
There are some things they'll have to iron out in this first year of publication - for instance in some sections the pages were so "designy" that the shorter items got lost in the crush, and there was at least one instance of pointless, excessive kitch. And some of the things featured were way beyond my budget (out of 24 shoes in a feature, there were only 2 under $100 - and three over $500).
But ultimately there were far more things that I loved than things I was iffy about: everything in their front-of-the-book section, Perimeter, was great, their makeup spread was interesting and comprehensive, the tai chi article was great, and the charm bracelet article is adorable. My favorite pieces, though, were those on easy party planning and turning scarves into handbags (I told you it was chock-full of wonderful things).
Of course, now we get to the real downside to the magazine - I have to wait half a year to get the second one.
Posted by georgia at 08:19 PM | Comments (1) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
Gourmet
Like
Really loving the articles in the fire theme - didn't think I would since I have no opportunities to grill - but it's really interesting to see how it shaves lives around the world (cooking fish in a kettle, fire as the center of life in the third world, using the natural heat of a volcano to cook, campfire cooking, etc.); love the clip from The Global Pantry (love their previous book too); and a beautiful look into Malaysian food.
Don't Like
Not really interested in the rating of oven mitts (not something I spend any money on), and I'm really disappointed in the Greece feature - what's the point of an article about an "odyssey" if there's almost no scenery in the pictures?
Yum
Too many yummy things! Pa-o Long Beans (I've always seen these in Chinatown and been curious about them); Grilled Skirt Steak, Argentine style; Whole-Wheat Pancakes with Blackberry Syrup; Ricotta Pudding with Glazed Rhubarb; Sticky Sesame Chicken Wings; Orzo with Artichokes and Pine Nuts (maybe this will fix my bad feelings about orzo); Almond French Toast; Strawberry Clouds (meringues, strawberries, cardamom-scented whipped cream); Gratinéed Gnocchi with Spinach and Ricotta; Tapenade-Filled Burgers; Lime Cordial; and Mango Puddings.
Saveur
Like
Breakfast Cereal Cookbook; the focus on Albariños, one of my favorite types of wine; the gorgeous New Zealand pictures (though I'm upset that the recipe for the "fluffy Portuguese tart filled with passion fruit" isn't included); and the Land of Lemons makes me want to go live out of a tent under a lemon tree
Don't Like
I'll admit that I'm not the biggest fan of this month's cover - it's a gorgeous picture, but I just don't like zucchini, so the whole thing is ruined for me
Yum
Roasted poblano meatloaf (with corn Chex in it); I never liked muesli as a kid, but I'm thinking that if I made my own and served it with yogurt and blueberries and peaches, like in the picture, it would be amazing; blueberry brioche; everything lemon: lemon salad with orange zest, limoncello, lemon risotto, lemon custard, and especially mozzarella grilled with lemon leaves (I may have to take a trip home to my mom just to spend a week with her lemon tree); the side mui drink with Chinese dried plums is intriguing; cornish pasties; and corn relish
Posted by georgia at 11:11 PM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
Another weekend, another adventure with my new favorite book, Susan Hermann Loomis' On Rue Tatin. My friend Lily, who is equally enamored of the book, agreed to join me in a night of French food and film, and we cooked for a bunch of friends, making recipes exclusively from the book. The Apples Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Leeks were as much of a hit as the first time I made them, the Apple Roquefort, and Walnut Salad was lovely, the Braised Chicken in White Wine and Mustard was a huge success, and the Tiny Baked Potatoes with Cream were fantastic (when the store was out of chives, Lily opted for dill, and the result was wonderful). But the real treat of the night, at least in my mind, was Mamy Jacqueline's Chocolate Cake. I worried about the texture when I was making it, since the dense mix of chocolate, sugar, egg yolks and flour didn't seem like the ideal texture to fold into whipped egg whites, and I worried when I poured the batter into the pan and it seemed to barely cover the bottom (and I was even using a 9" pan instead of 9.5"). But when the cake was served, all my fears were put to rest. The cake was a lovely, thin treat of dense chocolate that was homey and sophisticated all at once, and as soon as people had finished their first slices they immediately asked if they could have more. This cake is going to take a place of honor in my repetoire as the adult's answer to the chocolate layer cakes of our youths - when I have kids it will not be something I make for their birthdays, but it is definitely something I will make for mine.
Mamy Jacqueline's Chocolate Cake
3/4 cup cake flour
Sea salt
7 ounces bitter chocolate (like Lindt 70%)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, separated
Confectioners' sugar
1. Butter and flour a 9.5 inch rounk cake pan. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Sift the flour and a generous pinch of salt onto a piece of parchment paper.
3. Melt the chocolate in the top of a double broiler over medium-high heat. Transfer the chocolate to a medium-size bowl and whisk in the butter until the mixture is smooth. Vigorously whisk in all but 1 tablespoon of the sugar, then add the egg yolks and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour mixture 1 tablespoon at a time until well combined.
4. In a large bowl whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they are foamy and begin to thicken. Add the remaining tablespoon of sugar and continue whisking until they form soft peaks. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then turn it into the prepared baking pan and bake in the center of the oven until the cake springs back, 20 to 25 minutes.
5. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool to lukewarm in the pan, then turn it out onto a rack to cool thoroughly. To serve, sprinkle it with confectioners' sugar.
6 to 8 servings
Posted by georgia at 11:06 PM | Comments (1) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
Sometimes I think these magazines are marketed like the Summer clothing that shows up when there's still snow on the ground. I've had the May issue of Bon Appétit on my table almost since the beginning of April, so here's the first installment:
Bon Appétit
The Caribbean theme doesn't excite me right away - the pictures, though gorgeous, make me want to lie back with a tropical drink, not stand over the stove in my tiny kitchen.
Like
The pictures (wow, I want to be on the beach!); cocktail sections, both the Caribbean Cocktail and the gorgeous "Mix and Muddle"; the in depth article on rum producers of Guadeloupe and Martinique; and the "Tasting the Caribbean" piece, which finally makes me want to cook.
Don't Like
The long sections about traveling to the Caribbean - if I wanted a travel magazine, I'd buy one.
Yum
Hominy breakfast porridge; "Shark and Bake" fish sandwiches; mango, kiwi, watermelon drinks; Mango-Filled Cream Puffs (the solution to the Beard Papa addiction); Tangerine-Honey Flan with Grapefruit Segments; Guava and Manchengo Phyllo Pouches with Passion Fruit Syrup; Banana Split with Curried Chocolate-Coconut Sauce; and Shrimp, Mango, and Jicama Salad with Pineapple Vinaigrette (I need some real food to go with the desserts).
Living
My God that's an impossible standard the cake on the cover sets.
Like
The info on replacing regular four with whole wheat flour - really useful; Cinco de Mayo decorations are cute and cheap; a Vietnamese Mother's Day - such a lovely article
Don't Like
The clip art - do we really need fake home made? Why not just do real home made? The "Helpful How Tos" aren't even new, and they're all very common things; the leather piece (new ideas, but not easy or practical) though the headboard is lovely.
Yum
Croissants - and you don't even need a stand-mixer; Orange and Buttermilk Parfait with candied kumquats in syrup; Petits Choux with rose creams; Champagne Sorbet with tapioca; Frozen Green Tea Souflés; Easy Pea Ravioli with Mint, Cornish Hens with Lemon and Herbs, and Honey Zabagione with Grapefruit from "What's for Dinner"; Salade Niçoise Sanwiches.
Real Simple
I bought the issue hoping the room makeover ideas would help us pull our apartment together. Unfortunately the section was much smaller than I'd hoped, but there were still some things I really liked:
Like
Lost sock memorial day - a day to throw out your unmatched socks; the idea of using nail polish to mark your keys; the bookcase covers (from Ikea) that keep dust and clutter away and look so cute.
Don't Like
I don't, however, particularly like their "solutions" - they're mostly things that will cost money and add clutter to my life.
Yum
Raspberry-Rhubarb Tart; Pan-Seared Lemon Sole; and Roast Cod with Crisp Potatoes
Posted by georgia at 10:51 PM | Comments (3) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
This week started with the very simple Rigatoni with Tomato Sauce and Ricotta from Gourmet, moved to the bright Spring Vegetable Fricassee with Saffron Cream from Bon Appétit and then finished with a grand finale of Spring Greens with Orange-Fennel Vinaigrette and Dark Chocolate Torte with Spiked Blackberry Coulis from Bon Appétit's Passover feature.
The rigatoni was lovely and easy to make, with simple clear flavors that were just as wonderful cold for lunch as they had been the night before for dinner. The sauce, a combination of good (canned) tomatoes and fresh basil was simplicity itself to make, the dollop of ricotta on the side contrasted nicely with the tang of the tomatoes, and the pecorino grated over everything added the only depth the dish needed.
The vegetables in saffron cream were not nearly as simple either in method or taste, but they were lovely and a nice variation on our usual salads and braised leeks. The sauce soaked into rice nicely and the whole dish added flavor to the simple chicken I served it with. The only thing that would keep me from making it again is the simple fact that I don't really see the point to covering vegetables with tons of cream - it seems to defeat the purpose of eating the vegetables. If I did make it, however, I would leave out the peas. There's just something about peas that brings a dish down to the level of little kid food.
The real hit of the week, however, were the Passover dishes I made with my hostess Barbara. For second Seder we made the Spring Greens with Orange-Fennel Vinaigrette, in which I omitted the fennel (The Guy doesn't like it) and substituted a little lemon zest and some dried cranberries, which don't taste anything like fennel but pack the same kind of punch in a salad. We agreed at the end of the night that we liked it better this way - fennel would have been one taste too many (especially alongside brisket, turkey, kugel, matzoh, geffilte fish and melon). And for the end of the meal we made the chocolate tort I had been drooling over since the magazine first arrived at my door. The cake was surprisingly easy to make (just melt chocolate, whip eggs, and fold them together), and had the most wonderful fudgy texture that somehow wasn't too dense. The coulis (blackberry with allspice, bay leaf, cloves, wine, and cognac) was a wonderful complement to the chocolate, and added a great flavor to the chocolate glaze. A fantastic way to end the night (now I just need to find the alka-seltzer in Barbara's medicine cabinet....)
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I was very excited when I saw the recipes grouped under the heading "Spring Chickens" in Bon Appétit, especially the Mustard-Roasted Chicken with Warm Frisée Salad with Fingerlings and Bacon, because I have three nearly full bottles of different kinds of Dijon mustard in my fridge that I only use for salad dressings. I rushed out and bought the rest of the ingredients I needed, and only after realized that the recipe required me to marinate the chicken "at least 4 hours or overnight." I was so annoyed, because I'm really not exactly someone who preps dinner the night before, but I didn't want to waste any of the ingredients, so I did it anyway. The next night I made the rest of the dish while roasting the chicken, and sat down to a wonderful dinner. The mustard had given the chicken's skin a strong, rich flavor that blended perfectly with the warm friseée dandelion, potato and bacon salad and the balsamic vinegar dressing (which I subbed in for Sherry vinegar). While I'm not thrilled about the idea of prepping dinner the night before again, and I don't really like putting bacon in my salads, this is a meal that I can't wait to have again. It was even good cold for lunch the next day when the greens had wilted from sitting in the dressing over night. Really, surprisingly good.
Posted by georgia at 09:06 PM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
I was in Red, White & Bubbly a few days ago, waiting for them to chill my bottle of Albariño, when I saw it: "The Best Selling Vinho Verde In The World". The bottles were cute, and the wine inside them was so pale that I could easily understand why the Portuguese named it "green" wine. Then I saw the price: $5.95. For less than the price I pay for a single glass of wine at a restaurant I could try the "best selling" green Portuguese wine in the world. How could I pass it up?
The wine was light and refreshing (the "green" in the name actually refers to the wine's young age) and was slightly effervescent. It wouldn't really have enough body to stand up to most food, but it was very drinkable on its own, and I'll bet it makes an excellent summer afternoon drink. Maybe not something I'd spend a lot of money on, but hey, for $6 who cares?
Posted by georgia at 09:49 PM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
So there wasn't tons going on in my kitchen this week, but I did try the Pappa al Pomodoro (Bread and Tomato Soup) from Saveur's Florentine Trattoria story. It took a little longer to make than I would have liked, with the leek-cooking and the simmering and the soaking, but there was plenty of time while it was cooking to work on the rest of the meal and get started on clean-up, so it actually worked out very well. I had a problem with my leeks cooking faster than the recipe anticipated (and turning a little too brown on the edges), but I think that's probably the fault of my dinky little stove (it doesn't have the most responsive dials). I was also surprised by just how difficult it is to whisk together a big pot of soup and soft bread - I really need to work on my arm strength if I'm going to do this kind of thing on a regular basis.
The finished soup was lovely, but had a much milder flavor than most of the soups we usually eat, and neither I nor The Guy was thrilled with it. The next day, however, our friend Anna discovered that it was really good cold, and I played with grating parmesan into it, which made the soup a little more flavorful.
With the soup, I tried the Leek and Brie Bruschetta from Everyday Food, since I already had lots of bread and leeks on hand. It was very easy to make, though I did have the same problem with the leeks that I had making the soup, and tasted just as good as expected. We didn't have as much leeks as the recipe called for, so their flavor wasn't as strong, and the tomatoes had not even begun to brown by the time the cheese had melted, but it was the highlight of the meal none-the-less and something that I will make again soon (maybe even this weekend).
Posted by georgia at 10:39 AM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
Maybe it's the time of year, but I still haven't been bowled over by any of the recipes I've tried from this month's magazines (the Irish stuff from Saveur being the obvious exception). This week's recipes were all right, but not anything that I'd rush to make again. We started with the Fettuccine with Sausage and Kale from Gourmet's "Quick" section, which was very good for a few bites, and pretty easy to make, but not all that special (if you want to try it, remember that it's better with lots of extra pecorino - the three flavors go very well together). We also made the buttered polenta from Gourmet, which had a wonderful texture and was soothing to cook, but was not better than the creamy polenta made with a little milk that we had a couple weeks ago. I had also hoped to make the Maple Sugar Ragamuffins or the Maple Sugar Tartlet, which both looked promising, but the Pear and Dried-Cherry Custard Crisp from Bon Appétit was easier to add to the cooking schedule (and simpler to prepare), so I went with that instead. Unfortunately it was not as good as I had hoped after seeing the picture they had of it. The flavors didn't blend together successfully, and although the picture made it look like the fruit would be accompanied by a lovely smothering of custard, but there wasn't even enough to keep the fruit moist. Very unfortunate, especially since the custard itself, when you could get a bite, was wonderful, as was the crisp on top. Next time I'll use it with a different fruit and a larger ratio of the custard.
Posted by georgia at 11:43 PM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
March may come in like a lion and go out like a lamb (and this week's weather certainly did), but this week's cooking came in with a whimper and went out with a bang. It started with the Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars from Everyday Food, which looked amazing in the magazine, but just didn't wow the mouth the way they wowed the eyes. Maybe if I made them with walnuts they might actually taste like something. Fortunately my experiments with the Irish food from Saveur went much better. I made the Colcannon (mashed potatoes with cabbage and leafy greens), which I served with some garlicky roast chicken, and we finished the meal with the Tipsy Puddings from the same issue. Though not for the faint of heart or the under-aged palate, they were really lovely, and a perfect end to the meal. And the following day the Colcannon leftovers turned into a really nice lunch of colcannon cakes, following the method in the Kitchen section of the magazine. Definitely recipes I'll use again.
Posted by georgia at 09:54 PM | Comments (2) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
This week was not a big cooking week (it was more of the going to Chinatown or ordering take-out kind of a week), but when I finally slowed down a little I did try the Edamame Corn Chowder from Everyday Food. Since the Park Slope Food Co-op doesn't exactly carry creamed corn, I had to improvise with frozen. I also added cream instead of half-and-half (partly to compensate for the corn issue and partly because we never have half-and-half but we use cream for baking and sauces) and Fines Herbes with salt and ground pepper instead of Italian seasoning, because why overcrowd an already crowded spice drawer? The soup was good, but not as good as it probably would have been with the softer creamed corn. Of course, the best idea might be to just use a good corn chowder recipe that I know I like and add the edamame in before it's done (though probably less than the 2 cups in this recipe). I would let it cook a little longer than it did in this recipe too, since the texture just wasn't as soft as I would like, and I would add the bacon back in a few minutes before it was done so that the flavors could all mix.
So that would be my ideal version of this soup, but it's a good idea in whatever form you decide to make it.
Posted by georgia at 10:19 PM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
Well, since I've already started in on the March reviews, I should probably finish up the Feb reviews. This week I finally got to the Feb copy of Living, though not to the lovely craft projects that I wanted to do. I'll hang on to the issue for those and for all the great desserts that I didn't get to try.
This week I started with the Quick Chicken Cacciatore from What's for Dinner, and served it with polenta. Unfortunately my local stores don't carry instant polenta, so I had to make it the hard way (taking notes from the March issue of Gourmet), but I did add some milk and butter and parmesan to the recipe, to mimic Martha's version. The meal was very good, especially the polenta with the sauce from the chicken on it. The chicken was nice, and an interesting variation from my usual recipes, but nothing to write home about (Mom, I guess that means you should stop reading now), and for something that calls itself "quick", it takes an awfully long time.
I also made the Little Lemon Soufflés, which looked like one of the quicker, cuter desserts in the issue. It was quick, and kind of fun to make, but as you can see from the pictures, they weren't exactly cute. The soufflés rose in funny directions and the lemons (Meyer lemons, as per the recipe) turned a very dark gold as they cooked. Looking at the picture in the magazine, I assume that the stylist had the kitchen bake a few dozen of these just to get the three they showed us, then did lots of color correction to get them as cute as they look.
Despite their ugliness they were lovely to eat, though, and The Guy especially liked them. Maybe next time I try them I'll make them in real ramekins, so it will be easier to salvage their appearences when they go lopsided.
Posted by georgia at 10:21 PM | Comments (2) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
Well the first of my March magazines arrived quite a while ago, but the rest of them are now starting to arrive. Gourmet and Saveur are both place-based special issues and Everyday Food is, well, Everyday Food, but I haven't seen a copy of Living, which will have to be reviewed later. So without further ado...
Gourmet
This issue, about Montreal, had the affect of making me really excited about the prospect of visiting a city I'd never thought of visiting before. For some reason Canada is the place all left-wing Americans think of running away too if the whole country goes red, but we don't find it interesting enough to plan a trip to. Canada simply doesn't have the romantic image of Europe or the exotic appeal of Asia or Latin America. Somehow we'd be willing to live there but are not interested enough to visit. This issue changed all that. I can't wait to find a time to visit and explore.
Like:
Taras Grescoe's article about the blending of cultures in Montreal was the thing that really changed my mind, the article about the Charlevoix countryside is beautiful, and The Modern Quarter has me packing my bags.
Don't Like:
The first section of the magazine, Montreal By The Numbers, and the article about hotels make the magazine feel too much like a travel magazine (I only want to read mouthwatering things about the food and fascinating tidbits about the culture).
Yum:
Last month's best dishes were too hard to make (and many of the ingredients too hard to come by), but the Fettuccine with Sausage and Kale and the Straccetti Di Manzo from Gourmet Everyday look wonderful, and I can't wait to make the ragamuffins.
Saveur
A bit of disclosure: I'm doing some work at Saveur for a few weeks, and I love it there, so I might not be as objective as I usually am, especially when it comes to the April, May, and June/July issues. But I do love the March issue. The cover picture alone is fantastic.
Like:
While I like all the Ireland stuff, the small pieces about the people who produce the foods (artisinal butter, cheese laces with seaweed, lamb "prosciutto") are my favorite. From the front-of-book sections, I love the article about Manti, the jokes about food-themed movie titles are great, and, of course, I love the run-down of chocolates. I also found the article about East Coast wineries really interesting since I've heard so much about them recently, and the pictures of citrus in Source are beautiful.
Don't Like:
The idea of a fireplace in the kitchen, presented in Kitchenwise, is wonderful, but I'm not really thrilled with the kitchen it's featured in.
Yum:
There are so many things I want to make. I'm tempted to set a whole day aside to try my hand at manti, Colcannon looks like a great side, Doris Grant's Brown Bread might be a great place to start a career as a baker, I'm totally enchanted by the idea of the Tipsy Puddings with Mulled Wine, and if I do make colcannon I'd love to try the breakfast version of the leftovers. Even the Lamb's Liver with Whiskey and Cream looks amazing, though I'd never make it (not being a lamb or liver eater).
Everyday Food
Like:
I love steel-cut oats, and it's nice to see that other people do too, the idea of poached pears from the microwave is right up my alley (fast, cheap and good), and the idea of making my own tomato soup for grilled cheese is great.
Don't Like:
I can't imagine that many of their readers need pieces on just the chef's knife or cayenne. A comparison of these items in relation to similar items might be interesting, but how many people aren't familiar with them on their own? By the same token a piece about Italian red wines that focuses on Chianti, a red that has been so popular that it was something of a cliché for years, is almost insulting. The celery article is also kind of ick, with recipes like Celery Gratin and Buffalo-Style Celery Sticks that just don't look appetizing.
Yum:
The Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars look delicious, the Celery and Apple Salad with Pecans looks refreshing, the Coconut Cream Tart would be fun, and the Edamame Corn Chowder sounds like a fascinating, yummy take on one of my favorites.
Posted by georgia at 10:22 PM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
What does it say about me that I love owning this book? I like to think it says that I'm starting figuring out how to have and run my own home. I know that it says that I don't want to have all my stained clothes dry-cleaned or buy new clothes when I ruin what I have. To many people (my siblings included) it probably says that I'm (still) a big dork.
The book itself is incredibly useful - how to get deodorant or pen out of a shirt can save your whole wardrobe - but the way it's put together baffles me. Each kind of stain has its own little page or two with descriptions of the stain and ways of getting rid of them, but these pages also have odd little sections about where the stain is most likely to occur (sleeve, pant leg, etc.), what time or year it is most likely to occur, and what time of day it is most likely to occur. Why on earth do we need this? Do we not know that tomato sauce can stain your sleeve while you cook or your lap if you drop your pasta? Do we not know that you can get these stains all year round or that you have to be most careful of them in the evening when most pasta-eating occurs? I doubt anyone who has ever eaten pasta doesn't know these things. And as if the existence of these sections was not confusing enough, some stains don't have them. Why is this? Why does salsa have a "Time of Occurrence" section while mustard doesn't? It's really feels like the people writing the book were stretching for content and just threw in the most obvious facts they could possibly find in lieu of coming up with something better. The other section I can't understand is the little section in the middle with pictures of different kinds of stains. Do people really not know what a ketchup stain looks like? And some of the pictures are in really poor taste - do I really need to see pictures of semen and vomit stains? (Of course, it could just mean that someone over at Quirk publishing has a great sense of humor.)
Despite the odd way this book is put together, I'm still going to enjoy owning it, and it's still going to get a lot of use. After all, it's a book that tells me how to get my clothes clean - and it's cute too.
It should probably noted (to save my reputation as a 20-something as well as to give credit where credit is due) that I did not purchase this book myself; it was a wonderful, thoughtful gift from my mother, who held off getting me these kinds of helpful books until I actually wanted and appreciated them. Thanks, Mom.
Posted by georgia at 11:58 PM | Comments (1) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
This was another Bon Appétit week, though with new job stuff taking up more time than I had anticipated it was not a big cooking week. I started with the White Chocolate Cupcakes with Candied Kumquats (if you're snowed in on a Sunday afternoon, why not bake?) and then made the Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Orange Cream (yay for my hand blender - see the soup picture here). Unfortunately these, like the other recipes I tried this week, were not as good as I expected them to be. The cupcakes were trying to be too many things at once (white chocolate, coconut milk and candied kumquats all together) and didn't live up to the hype. The coconut totally disappeared into the other flavors, and the cupcakes themselves didn't have the moist texture I was hoping for. Fortunately the wonderful icing and the candied kumquats almost totally made up for it. While I might not use the whole recipe again, I'll definitely use these two components. I especially love the kumquats - I've always loved them, just popped into my mouth as a little wake-up - and now I actually have something to do with them.
The soup had some of the same problems, but it somehow lacked the depth I was expecting. Though it had the zing of orange zest worked into the cream and the freshness of basil, the basic soup was kind of flat (and tasted entirely too much of jarred red peppers - though I don't know why that surprised me).
So what's going on? Have I lost my ability to pick recipes? I guess all I can do to find out is the same thing I always do after a bad week in the kitchen - just keep cooking.
Posted by georgia at 10:58 PM | Comments (2) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
So it may be a little early to be doing next month's Weekend Cookbook Challenge, but events have conspired to put recipes relating to the theme in my path, so here it is, my take on the theme of Foods in Shades of Orange. Many months ago I was given a copy of the beautiful cookbook The Tra Vigne Cookbook: Seasons in the California Wine Country, but I had yet to crack it until last night, when I finally opened it to make the Roasted Beet, Onion and Orange Salad (I had some oranges that I was afraid would go bad and some hazelnuts left over from a baking project, so the recipe looked perfect). I was planning on eating it with some kind of roasted chicken or turkey or something, but I didn't really like the idea of waiting for meat to cook for an hour.
So yesterday when I came across a recipe for Venetian Pumpkin Risotto in the cookbook The Jewish Kitchen (which I've been going through for a work-related project), I thought I had found the perfect solution. My dinner was fairly quick and painless to make, and consisted of both a dish made with oranges and a dish with a nice orange color (aren't the pictures pretty?), but unfortunately, neither recipe really worked out for me. For some reason the salad was not nearly as good on my tongue as it was in my mind, and though The Guy loved the risotto, I found it drier than I like, and the butternut squash didn't retain much flavor in the finished dish. These problems are probably both my fault, since I'm sure the salad is excellent at the Tra Vigne restaurant, and I didn't use the specific type of rice called for in the risotto recipe (I used plain arborio, the book calls for something more specific) and therefor had to add more stock than I should have. Overall it wasn't a bad meal, but I don't think it's a good sign when you don't want to eat the leftovers for lunch.
Posted by georgia at 12:57 PM | Comments (1) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
Now that my January/February Cook's Illustrated has finally arrived (bizarely, a couple weeks after my March copy), I'm going to backtrack and take a look at it. And since Bon Appétit send their issues out a full month early, I'm going to look at the March issue and catch up with that too.
Cook's Illustrated
Like:
Skillet Chicken Pot Pie - The Guy loves chicken pot pie, and if this is really an easier way to make it, I can't wait! How to cook rice and grains is great to know, the coaching on how different sized pieces of butter affects the flakiness of crusts is fascinating, and a piece about perfecting chocolate mouse is, of course, right up my ally.
Don't Like:
Despite my sometimes obsession with fast, I'm not really one for pesizzled bacon, and I'm definitely not a refried beans person.
Yum:
Pot pie anyone? Maybe with a side of biscuits and a little chocolate mousse for dessert?
Bon Appétit
Like:
More biscuits, and these are supposed to be great; the "Naturalist" chopsticks in Starters are beautiful; Party Improv actually looks kind of inspiring; the article on parsnips is great, because I never know what to do with them and I'd like to try; most of the things in Bon Vivant are beautiful, especially the bowl, the earthenware pottery, and the chocolate-covered crispy rice; and the article on Oregon truffles is fascinating.
Don't Like:
The idea of an article on mozzarella recipes looked good, but the recipes are dissapointing, and the article on bringing steakhouse recipes home left me cold for some reason
Yum:
Cornmeal and cheddar biscuits, arugula salad and oranges slices with Grand Marnier for dessert, Parsnip and Hazelnut Gratin with Bacon, Sautéed Chichen with Parsnip, Apple and Sherry Pan Sauce, Pear and Dried-Cherry Custard Crisp, Upside-Down Butterscotch Apple Sour Cream Cake, and Linguine Avgolemono with Artichoke Hearts and Green Beans.
As for the recipe testing, this week I managed to eschew the many sugary desserts littering the pages of my magazines and stick to the entrees and vegetables (the only upside to my fight with a head-cold). This week was a Bon Appétit week with recipes from both issues. Our favorites were the Green-Onion Risotto and the Thyme-Roasted Carrots from Feb, which we ate together. The risotto was lovely. The unexpected, bright flavor of the orange zest and the fresh green onion added a lovely conterpoint to the rich, comfort-food flavor of the rice. The carrots were also wonderful. Rediculously easy to make, they were mellow enough that the flavor of the thyme really shined through even though it wasn't as visible as I had expected. I accidentally let some of them char a little on the edges, but the flavor actually added to the dish's wonderful taste and drew focus to the carrots' carmelized sugars. Both recipes left us wanting seconds, and I would readily make both for guests.
The Sautéed Chichen with Parsnip, Apple and Sherry Pan Sauce, from the March issue, was not as much of a success. The chicken was fine, and the dish was very edible, but if this was the only way to cook parsnips I would never buy them again. Fine for one night, but no something I'll ever make again.
Posted by georgia at 09:42 PM | Comments (2) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
Have you ever wanted to move to France? Buy an old house with hundreds of years of history and painstakingly restore it? Negotiate the unique cultural challenges of a small city in a new country? Or just spend all your time researching and cooking French recipes?
Well cookbook author Susan Loomis has done it all, and in 2001 she wrote a book that allowed us all to experience it with her. Her joyous, engaging account of starting a life in Normandy with her husband and her young son is a delightful read and a great introduction to French culture. It is also a wonderful introduction to French cooking with descriptions and histories of the dishes she includes after each chapter. The recipes are easy to follow and seem less daunting than most French cooking (due, no doubt, to the explanations and stories that go with them) and delicious. We tried the Apples Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Leeks and the Pear and Honey Clafoutis, both of which were wonderful. Can't wait to try some more.
Apples Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Leeks
4 large apples, cored, one strip of skin removed from the circumference of each apple
1 cup white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc
1 dried, imported bay leaf
Fine sea salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 large leeks, white part only, well-rinsed, and diced
2 tablespoons bottled water
7 ounces goat cheese
2 tablespoons crème fraîche or heavy cream
Freshly ground black pepper
Flat-leaf parsley for garnish
1. Preheat the oven to 400 Fº.
2. Place the apples in a baking dish and pour the wine around them. Add the bay leaf to the wine. Lightly salt the interior of the apple.
3. Place 1 tablespoon of the butter and the leeks in a large, heavy saucepan adn cook, stirring and shaking the pan, until the leeks begin to turn transparent. Add 1 tablespoon of the water, stir, and cover the pan. Continue cooking until the leeks are tender, about 10 minutes, adding additional water if necessary to prevent the leeks from sticking to the pan.
4. When the leeks are cooked, transfer them to a mixing bowl. Add the goat cheese and crème fraîche and stir until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Gently stuff each apple with an equal amount of the goat cheese and leek mixture, pressing it into the cavity and mounding it on top. Top each apple with one fourth of the remaining tablespoon of butter.
6. Bake in the center of the oven until the apples are tender and the goat cheese is dark golden on top, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer one apple to each of four warmed plates. Garnish the plate with sweet cicely or the parsley and serve immediately.
4 SERVINGS
Posted by georgia at 05:34 PM | Comments (2) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
Bon Appétit
Though the picture of white bean soup on the cover is not the most appetizing photo I've ever seen, the themes "Warm & Cozy" and "Desserts for Chocoholics" are looked very promising.
Like:
The Double Seven (a bar that pairs drinks with chocolate) looks very promising; the article on "Wines for Real Life" (wine for the make-up dinner, wine for the post-job-interview meal, etc.) is adorable and funny; the article on winter greens is informative; and the section on chocolate desserts is, of course, wonderful (how can you really go wrong!) Even of the stuff in Bon Vivant is cute and within my price range - the kitchen-themed Valentine's Day cards are adorable, and the chocolate fragrances sound wonderful, if really expensive.
Don't Like:
The "Party Improv" section isn't particularly inspiring, and though some of the Bon Vivant products are great, others, like the espresso cups and the chocolate design rug, are just too kitchy.
Yum:
Kale and Mushrooms with Creamy Polenta, Green-Onion Risotto, Mango Gingerbread with Macadamia Streusel, Lavender Honey Tea Bread, Thyme-Roasted Carrots, White Chocolate Cupcakes with Candied Kumquats, and Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Orange Cream - how am I ever going to choose what to cook?
Cook's Illustrated
For some reason I recieved the the March/April issue but haven't recieve the Feb issue, so I'll try to get one and do that soon. Here's March and April:
Like:
The advice on how to store lettuce is great, as is the tip for cleaning knives with a cork; the article about how to make good marinara in less time with fewer ingredients is perfect for me; the advice on hand blenders is great (especially because they liked the one I just got); their suggestions for making potstickers will complement my dumpling-making activities well; and the guide to bakeware would be great for a beginning cook.
Don't Like:
The picture of leeks on the cover is so beautiful it makes me want to run right out and buy some - and then, of course, there's nothing about leeks in the issue. Where are the leeks? Such a tease!
Yum:
The blue cheese-chive butter in the filet mignon article looks great; the potstickers make my mouth water; and the pan-roasted broccoli may just the the perfect solution for my need for more vegetables and healthier meals
Gourmet:
You can't go wrong with dripping chocolate cake on the cover!
Like:
The Harper's Index-like list of facts is fascinating; the idea of cocktail recipes on your iPod is great (though weren't the "hometown favorites" candy boxes already featured in Chow?); the unusual screen-printed china is très chic, and the chocolate ratings will prove very useful in my kitchen. The article on UglyRipe tomatoes was great, especially since it's hard to tell me something I don't know about my favorite foods; and all the rest of the features are great too, including the article on Southwest cuisine, Slovenian food, and Andy Beckstoffer's take on viticulture. But my absolutely favorite thing is the article on the Chinese New Year feast (maybe a little late, but beautiful and fascinating none the less).
Yum:
Halibut with Citrus Butter Sauce; all the warm winter drinks; chai-poached apricots and plums; cactus, chayote and green-apple salad; celery-root soup with bacon and green apple; and quince calvados crêpe soufflés. I'm never going to leave the kitchen again.
Living
Of course, if I don't come out of the kitchen, I'm not going to be able to do any of the crafts that I'm in love with this month.
Like:
For once I actually like the clip-art project; it's not any cheesier than a normal birthday garland (much cuter, actually). The beautiful picture of the "beribboned bouquet" makes me wish men read this magazine, as does the whole article on Tokens of Affection. The "good thing" about making accordion folders will help with my current home office problem, and the button napkin rings are adorable, as is the idea of using radicchio to make rose prints. The article about the romance of certain food pairings (bacon and eggs, spaghetti and meatballs, etc.)
Don't Like:
The article about weaving on tiny homemade looms looks like too much trouble - not to mention the fact that it reminds me of the elastic weaving toys they make for kids.
Yum:
Chocolate-espresso tart; double-chocolate brownies; raspberry-swirl cheesecake; cake doughnuts; moist devil's food cake with Mrs. Milman's chocolate frosting; caramel pots de crème; caramelized lemon tart; honey-lavender ice cream; little lemon soufflés; frozen tiramisù; creamy polenta; and coconut cookies with passion fruit curd. What's a girl to do?
Posted by georgia at 11:30 PM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
Just learning to cook? Need a little help with the directions? Not sure what something should look like when it's done? Thanks to Cooking For Engineers you don't have to guess anymore. This site, pointed out to me by Mitch, a computer science professor, follows the cooking adventures of its writer, documenting each step in each recipe with Cook's Illustrated-like photos that show you exactly how each thing is supposed to be done (like the one above illustrating how to zest an orange). What a great resource!
Posted by georgia at 11:16 PM | Comments (2) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
This week was all about decadence. It started with a double dose of dessert: Butterscotch Chiffon Pie from Gourmet and the Green Tea Cheesecake from Bon Appétit. The Butterscotch Chiffon Pie was not the least complicated thing I've ever made, and the preparation didn't always go smoothly (even with the use of pie weights the crust shrank, and I'm pretty sure I burnt the butterscotch just a tiny bit), but it was absolutely wonderful. When I served it at a potluck I had people I had never met coming up to me to compliment me on the dessert. Definitely one for the permanent book, despite the hassle.
The cheesecake was also fantastic, and very interesting with the green tea mixed in. I did make it harder than it had to be by not buying the powdered tea (instead I spent my time cutting open tea bags, grinding them in the food processor and shaking them through a loosely woven napkin), but despite the fuss it was really pretty easy to make. My only caveat is that it was a little sweeter than I expected. Next time I might try to make it with a little less sugar. I would also be interested to see how it tasted with jasmine tea instead of the plain green (though I don't know if it would turn the same lovely green color as it baked).
Unfortunately for my liver, the desserts were not the most decadent dishes I made this week. Looking for something to do with a tub of ricotta that was sitting in my fridge, I decided to try the Ricotta Gnocchi with Spinach, Chanterelles and Parmigiano-Reggiano from Alex in the Wynn Las Vegas, featured in Saveur. Since I try to get at least one helping of chanterelles each season it seemed like a perfect dish. It started out well, although I don't think the original chef would approve of the bumpy little balls that I still insist were gnocchi. The chanterelles looked wonderful and the sauce smelled good as I reduced the vermouth and the chicken stock. Then I looked carefully at the rest of instruction #3 - "whisk in remaining butter a few pieces at a time" - and looked at the ingredient list - 3 sticks butter. Um, 3 sticks butter? Yes. Three sticks. I took a deep breath and added them. And yes, I could definitely taste the difference. It was the most decadent, richest dish I had ever eaten, much less cooked. Wonderful and flavorful and much too rich to ever make again (though I may make the gnocchi without the sauce).
To round out the decadent week, I tried the Lady in White drink featured on the White-Hot page of Bon Appétit. It was lovely and smooth, with a very tart flavor, but I think I enjoyed it more the second time I made it, when I substituted a teaspoon of powdered sugar for the egg white.
Next week, Martha's Darkest Chocolate Crepe Cake and the February overview.
Posted by georgia at 11:28 PM | Comments (2) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
This week was not a banner week for cooking and new recipes, but I did get to a couple of the recipes from this month's magazines. Since I have a new bottle of truffle oil in my cabinet (does anyone else's mom use gourmet food as stocking stuffers?) I tried the Tagliatelle with Mushrooms, Peas, and Truffle Oil from the R.S.V.P. section of Bon Appétit. The recipe was originally from North, in Scottsdale, AZ, and hailed as a rich vegetarian alternative. The dish, as you can see, was beautiful, and pretty yummy too, especially with some extra truffle oil on it and really good Parmigiano-Reggiano. The only disappointment was that the dish smelled better when it was cooking than it tasted when it was finished - a cruel twist of fate. The Guy liked it better than I did since he hadn't spent the evening smelling the wonderful aromas of sautéing mushrooms. I served it with a salad of Boston lettuce drenched in the French Vinaigrette from the back page of Gourmet. It was a nice salad dressing, but a little blander than I usually like, so I might have to change it up if I use the recipe again.
I should disclose that I used fresh fettuccine instead of tagliatelle (the recipe allows for this alternative), a slightly fruity white wine, and regular garden peas instead of petite peas. I also left out the parsley since I didn't want to have the rest of it sitting around going bad in the fridge.
The other recipe I tried was the German Apple Pancakes from Gourmet, originally from a 1952. Unfortunately the recipe was not at all what I was hoping for. The recipe is fairly difficult, requiring a lot of slicing to get the apple "matchsticks", and then cooking each pancake separately, keeping each one warm in the oven. Sadly, the work is not worth it. The apple flavor is not strong, and the combination of the apples and the lemon juice taste almost like onions. In the end, it doesn't really taste like either breakfast or dessert. I didn't finish my helping, and The Guy only did after drowning his in maple syrup. So sad - but at least I have my old recipe, which is much easier and totally yummy.
Next week, Butterscotch Chiffon Pie, Green Tea Cheesecake, and hopefully, a lot more.
Tagliatelle with Mushrooms, Peas, and Truffle Oil
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 pound assorted wild mushrooms (such as oyster, crimini, and stemmed shiitake), sliced [I used shitake, crimini, and hedgehog mushrooms]
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 9-ounce package fresh tagliatelle or fettuccine
1 3/4 cups frozen petite peas, thawed
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 teaspoon white or black truffle oil [I added more before I served it]
1/2 cup (about) vegetable broth
2 cups shaved Parmesan cheese
Melt butter with oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; stir 30 seconds. Add mushrooms and sauté until brown and juices evaporate, about 8 minutes. Add wine and boil 1 minute. (Sauce can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm before continuing.)
Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain.
Add peas to sauce and stir over medium-high heat to warm through. Stir in basil, parsley, adn truffle oil. Add pasta to sauce; toss to coat. Add enough vegetable broth to pasta to moisten. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowls. Top with Parmesan and serve.
Posted by georgia at 12:03 AM | Comments (1) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
Last night we had a little impromptu dinner with an old friend who has recently become single. Since most of us are just getting over bad winter colds (and one has just started trying to get over a broken heart), I thought it was the perfect day to embrace this month's Weekend Cookbook Challenge theme of comfort food. A few years ago, when I first fell in love with Jamie Oliver, aka The Naked Chef, and his tv show, I watched him make "Chicken with Milk", a dish that looked so ridiculously easy to make and so amazingly yummy that I still remember it four years later. While looking through my cookbooks last week to find winter comfort food for the challenge, I came across a beautiful picture of a chicken with strips of lemon peel on it, nestled in a deep pot. The picture looked so good, and Oliver had made it look so easy, I just had to see what it tasted like. After browning the chicken I threw it in the oven with a couple cups of milk, the zest of two lemons, a handful of sage leaves, some garlic, and a cinnamon stick, and let it cook, following the instructions to "baste when you remember". While it was cooking, I boiled some potatoes and mashed them with sautéed shallots and basil. The meal took almost no active time, I got to visit with our heartachy friend while the bird and the potatoes cooked, and when everything was ready I just tore the meat off the bird, piled it on the potatoes, and threw some salad dressing on a handful of lettuce for each of us.
And how was it? Was it really as good as it was easy? No ladies and gentlemen, it wasn't - it was even better. The chicken was so moist and the sauce was so flavorful that I would have been willing to do much more work for the same results (haha, I win this round, kitchen gods).
So now, as bad as the weather is, I'm kind of glad there's still lots of winter left - I'm looking forward to making this dish again.
Posted by georgia at 10:30 PM | Comments (1) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
While making the Crumble Pomme Mangue from Chocolate & Zucchini, I remembered the wonderful trick a friends taught me in college for cutting and eating magoes. While she was studying in Taiwan she learned that instead of just peeling the skin off a mango and trying to eat keep your hands on a football of slimy sweetness, it's much easier to leave the skin on and use it to hold the flesh. Simply cut the sides off the mango as close to the pit as possible (this obviously works best if you cut the wider of the two sides, along the flat sides of the pit), then score the flesh into squares, being sure not to pierce the flesh (if you cut with a butter knife and keep your hand under the skin, this should be easy). Then simply turn the piece inside out to reveal a porcupine of fresh mango cubes, ready to be cut or bitten off the skin. The remaining thin pieces of mango still attached to the pit can be similarly dealt with (like the extra piece on top of the large piece in the photo).
The crumble itself was lovely and, best of all, so low on sugar that I didn't feel the least bit guilty polishing off the leftovers for breakfast the next day.
Posted by georgia at 11:55 PM | Comments (1) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
Saveur
Like:
This is the yearly Saveur 100 issue and it's fantastic! Editor-in-Chief Colman Andrews is right, this is a list of "quirky, highly personal, often unexpected choices," which makes it a fascinating, great issue to browse through. I started noting my favorite of the 100, but after aceitunas, Hendrick's Gin, Water Buffalo Yogurt, Sun Gold Tomatoes, Dan Bing, Debauve & Gallais chocolate, and Ossera Serrat Gros cheese, my paper filled up and I realized I wasn't even to #30, so I stopped trying and just enjoyed browsing the list. In addition to the feature, I loved the information about the bakers from Belgrade making bread on Cape Cod, the notes about Screaming Yellow Zonkers and the food 7-Eleven serves in Taiwan, the article about Bierzo wine (I always like to know about interesting Spanish wines), and the one about sopaipillas, a childhood favorite of mine.
Don't Like:
Like other first of the year issues, this one sacrifices much of its usual content to make this special focus possible. This made some of the short pieces about great foods and restaurants around the world a little frustrating, since they weren't accompanied by the usual descriptive stories that allow me to do some armchair traveling and feel like I know something about the places they feature.
Yum:
The flan looks great, and though I've made instant plenty of times I'd love to try to make it by scratch. Out of the Saveur 100 feature I love the Goan Avocado Salad, the Southern Chopped Salad, and the Ricotta Gnocchi with Spinach, Chanterelles, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. The lotus chips also look wonderful, though since I don't fry things I probably won't be able to make them.
Everyday Food
Like:
Though this magazine is not usually one I read for good ideas and tips, the "Freeze It" column about turkey burgers got me thinking about a food I love but rarely remember to make and an easy way to cut back on my daily cooking. I also like the fact that they profiled tilapia, since it's recently become one of my favorite fishes, but I still don't really know how to cook it. The "Dinner Salads" feature, though not inspiring for dinner, did give me great ideas for lunches
Don't Like:
My main complaint about this publication tends to be that it can be condescending to the average person - for instance, do they really need do a feature on Cottage Cheese with sections like "What is it?" and "How to use it?" or one that explains how to read the nutrition labels on the back of food products? I think most readers, whether they're experienced cooks or not, already know these basic things. I'm also not so hot on their regular "smart choices" section - it sometimes seems excessive - though the frittata looks yummy.
Yum:
The Mango and Hearts of Palm Salad with Lime Vinaigrette looks exciting, as do the Steak, Watercress and Orange Salad and the Bean, Corn and Tortilla Salad. But of all the recipes, I really want to try the Artichoke-Parmesan Crostini (looks both delectable and easy), and the Slow-Roasted Tomatoes that look like the ones I loved in Paris.
Cook's Illustrated
The newest addition to my monthly collection, thanks to a Channukah gift from Jen (thanks Miss Bride-to-be), this issue got me so excited. For a cook who is a little less than perfect in the kitchen, it's great to have someone else telling you what the best way to make something is.
Like:
Among the things that really caught my attention in this issue were the picture of an oven rack adjuster (see the burn on the back of my hand for evidence that I desperately need one of these), good ways to make flavored sugar and roasted garlic paste, and a way to use a stovetop grate as a roasting rack. The illustrated guide to beef roasts is very useful, the article on blueberry pancakes should come in very handy, as will the survey of the best baking chocolates. But my absolute favorite part is the part that shows the difference between creaming butter and sugar in the food processor and by hand (which, it turns out is very little, which is great news for all of us).
Don't Like:
I'm not so hot on the article about sauce for green beans - I think green beans are wonderful and adding sauces can only hurt their wonderful taste.
Posted by georgia at 09:39 PM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
Gourmet:
Like:
I love looking back at the recipes and topics of the past 65 years (this is their anniversary issue, so their theme was the favorite dish of each year). I also really liked the letters from readers throughout the years (some very funny ones from the '40s, '50s and '60s), and their two part travel pieces - it's great to see what a place was like when they first wrote about it in the early '40s right next to a description of what it's like now (the islands of the Dalmatian Coast and the city of Hangzhou, China are calling to me).
Don't Like:
I'm not crazy about the fact that such an extreme focus on one idea leaves no room for anything else in this issue. I usually love the essays in Gourmet, but this issue doesn't have any stories, essays or features - it's kind of like one long, if interesting, cookbook.
Yum:
Lots and lots of recipes in this issue that I want to try: German Apple Pancakes 1952 (maybe a nice new version of an old favorite of mine), Steak Au Poivre (with cognac/cream sauce) 1955, Butterscotch Chiffon Pie 1956, Bulgarian Potatoes 1959, Maccheroni Quattro Formaggi Villa D'Este (Macaroni with Four Cheeses) 1970, Pozole Rojo 1999, and Carrot Ginger Dressing 2001 are all at the top of my list . Hopefully I'll be able to get to at least half of them.
Bon Appétit
Like:
The way they've turned the "Best of the Year" part of the issue into a section that doesn't dominate the magazine works well. The Starters section has great things like muddlers for mojitos, notes on food podcasts, and resources for finding environmentally friendly fish. The article about sake is also very interesting. And my absolute favorite part of this month's issue is the story "Top Destination: Ho Chi Minh City", an absolutely intoxicating trip through Saigon's streets and food. (A friend from high-school has offered to put me up in Saigon and show me around if I can get there - anyone want to buy me the ticket?)
Don't Like:
I'm not so hot on the Bon Vivant section this month, which is not surprising, since the house wares are usually out of my price range anyway. The things I'm especially iffy about are the clutch with Swarovski crystal bananas on it (not cute), and the hideous silver ballet slippers with crystals cupcakes on them (definitely not cute). The "Splurge of the Month", however - Dosa teacups - are beautiful. I also was a little disappointed in the "Opposites Attract" home decor article; the pictures were beautiful, but the information in the article wasn't all that special or innovative (sorry Ms. Gunn and Ms. Buckle). Maybe if I didn't live in a big urban area...
Yum:
Lots of things to go "yum" about: Tagliatelle with Mushrooms, Peas, and Truffle Oil (from North in Scottsdale) looks great and not too hard, the Lady in White drink looks yummy, even if I'm not usually into trends, the lobster rolls look wonderful (though if I bought live lobsters I'd just eat them plain), and the Green Tea Cheesecake looks so good that I'm going to go out and buy a springform pan just so I can make it.
Martha Stewart Living
This is also an anniversary year for Martha's magazine - the 15th - and because she has so many different kinds of topics in each issue, the strategy of picking favorites from the past 15 years has worked out so well that this is one of the best issues of this magazine that I've ever read.
Like:
I like wallet guides (I won't use the tip calculator, but the conversion chart will be very helpful on my fridge); the ceramic pots to keep kindling in are a nice idea and might make good presents for my parents; candied flowers to decorate cakes are beautiful (though I've been doing this for years without Martha's help); and the dot-painted china is adorable and a good way to turn mismatched china into a set.
Don't Like:
For some reason I'm often not so hot on the desserts featured in the "Dessert of the Month", and this months Praline Napoleons are no exception - the praline crisp on the top layer just looks so hard that I can't image one could cut into the dessert and eat it without squishing everything. I'm also not so hot about the "Warm Up With Chicken Soup" feature, since it just seems to be covering ground that many cooks already know and anyone can find in any cookbook. I'm also put-off by the "Memories Page by Page" article about scrapbooks - frankly I can't think of a better way to lose all my free time, money and sanity than trying to make a scrapbook like these.
Yum:
Almost everything looks delicious. The "Easy Appetizer" of baked goat cheese looks mouthwatering, Baby Artichokes en Papillote look like a wonderful twist on one of my favorite vegetables, and the twelve cakes in "A Year of Cakes" make me want to lock myself in the kitchen and become a baker. I'm not exactly about to make a cake a month, but I'll definitely keep all these recipes and use them whenever I have occasion to bake a cake. I think the first one I'll do is the Darkest Chocolate Crêpe Cake, because it just looks so good.
Saveur, Everyday Food and Cook's Illustrated tomorrow...
Posted by georgia at 12:12 PM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
Once again I have attempted to make one of the recipes featured in Saveur. Though many people have told me that Saveur is only for reading, not for cooking out of, my fantastic experience with the Creamy Potato-Cheese Soup has inspired me to keep trying them. This most recent recipe, from the article Basques on the Range, was equal parts hit and miss. On the plus side, it's very easy to make, since if you're already in the kitchen making dinner it's very easy to stir the mixture occasionally and turn down the heat when necessary. It's also very close to a Guatemalan recipe that I loved as a kid and have always wanted to find, which made me very happy. On the negative side, the recipe has a lot of sugar - and I mean a lot of sugar! Served hot it was almost inedible, and even cooled it was too sweet to eat much of. I'll definitely use the base recipe again, but with only 1/3 the amount of sugar, or maybe even less. The Basques are a fascinating people, but wow, what a sweet tooth!
Posted by georgia at 09:40 PM | Comments (2) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
If you're heading into the kitchen to make latkes this Hannukah, beware: the process of grating potatoes and cooking them in small batches in hot oil is not the no-fuss kind of cooking we usually prefer to do. So why do we do it every year? Because the resulting bites of oil and potatoes, piled high with sour cream and apple sauce, are one of the best holiday foods around. While there's no way to avoid the time intensive process of frying the latkes (after all, frying them in oil is what makes them symbolic of Hannukah), there are some things you can do to make the process a little easier.
1. Instead of spending an hour struggling with a box grater and cutting yourself trying to grate the last little piece of each potato, shred your potatoes with the grating attachment of your food processor. It works just as well in a fraction of the time.
2. Before grating the potatoes, line a large bowl with a kitchen towel, and put the grated potatoes in the towel. Then, use the towel to squeeze as much moisture as possible out of the potatoes before mixing in the flour and eggs.
3. When forming the latkes in your hands, squish them together as much as you can before putting them in the hot oil, then let them sit for a few seconds before using the spatula to flatten them. This will help them stay together and keep them from breaking into smaller, more easily burned bits.
Last weekend we tried the Apple-Potato Latkes with Apple Salsa from Bon Appétit along with our regular latkes, and they turned out wonderfully. Of course, the only person who could really taste the difference between the latkes with apples and the regular latkes was my sister, the apple lover, but we liked them anyway. The apples salsa was a good recipe, adding a little bit of interest to latkes and giving a little reminder of holidays to come in the new year with its haroset-like taste. And while it did not have the same comfort food feeling that the warm applesauce did, it disappeared off the table pretty quickly.
Posted by georgia at 09:35 PM | Comments (4) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
This week in a flurry of Christmas excitement I tried two new recipes from this month's Bon Appétit: the Gingerbread Truffles and the Pistachio, Raspberry and White Chocolate Biscotti. Both recipes were fantastic. The biscotti were much easier to make than most of the cookies I've made recently because they don't involve beating butter and sugar together until fluffy. Instead, you just beat sugar, eggs, oil and extract together until just blended, then add the dry ingredients. The only part of this recipe that was slightly harder than I had expected was mixing in the nuts, berries and chocolate pieces, since the batter was pretty thick and sticky (you'll notice that the dried raspberries in my picture, which are pretty delicate, did not stay together in nice pieces the way they did for the magazine stylists). Otherwise, they turned out great, except for the fact that I somehow managed to make them a little more short and squat than your usual biscotti, but that's just my bad eye, not a problem with the recipe. The Gingerbread Truffles recipe was just as easy and the truffles have a wonderful gingerbread flavor. They're also denser than some other recipes I've used in the past, making it easier to dip them in chocolate. I will definitely use both recipes again - now if I can only keep from eating all of them myself.
Posted by georgia at 12:50 AM | Comments (2) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
Every Christmas cooks get out lots of cookie recipes - old family favorites, new confections from food magazines, gingerbread men, Mexican wedding cookies, sour cream cookies filled with jam, chocolate cookies filled with peppermint cream, and hundreds more. But the one kind of cookie that almost all cooks make at Christmas is the sugar cookie, those flat, un-spectacular cookies that we cut into shapes and decorate with colored icing. Hundreds of sites and cookbooks offer recipes for these little bits of holiday tradition, so the question is, which one is the best? Which recipe will give you cookies that will look good and also taste like something you wouldn't be embarrassed to serve guests.
This year Gourmet published a recipe for sugar cookies, so I decided to test it against the recipe from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook that my mom uses every year. The cookies from the Gourmet recipe (the hands and feet in the picture) required less time to bake and turned out a nice light gold, and they had a nice sweet taste, but they were so hard to bite into that for a second I was thought I might hurt my mouth. Maybe a good cookie to hang on a tree as an ornament, but not one to serve to guests as dessert. The Martha Stewart recipe (the geese and duckie cookies) had a little less sugar, more butter, and more flour, with the additions of baking soda and a little liquer for flavor. They take a little longer to cook (they're 1/4 inch thick instead of 1/8 inch), and star to burn to a dark brown around the edges before the middles are done, but they have a light, flaky texture and a great taste.
Somewhere there must be a recipe out there that tastes good and looks great - until then, I think I'm going with taste this year.
Posted by georgia at 11:13 PM | Comments (3) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
In an effort to condense our reviews of the monthly food magazines, we introduce a new monthly feature: the magazine round-up. We will review Gourmet, Bon Appetit, Saveur, Living, and any other magazine we get our hands on, and identify the recipes/projects we want to try. We will then review those items in the following weeks. Though we're a little behind this month, this feature will take place on the first Fri of each month starting in Jan.
And now, without more delay:
December Magazine Review
Gourmet:
Contents Section - the Aztec Sluggers recipe looks like a wonderful grown-up approach to Mexican hot chocolate; hopefully we'll be able to try them over Christmas.
Menu - the Popcornography is interesting
Good Living - the peppermint ice cream looks yummy, as does the Beef Stroganoff, but the reviews and other items featured weren't as striking the ones in past issues have been, and although I love the apple peeler that I also suggested a while back, most of their suggested gifts are out of my price range
Drinks- the article about sparkling wines is informative and interesting
Features - Although their cookies are not as visually striking as they have been in past years, the Grasshopper Squares and Chrusti look very yummy, and I would love to make one or both. The requisite sugar cookie recipe is also worth exploring. The piece on a Lebanese restaurant in Indiana was not what I expected from the lead-in, which was dissapointing, but the piece on a Caribbean vacation was wonderfully day dream inducing, and the piece about food enterprises run by women in Uganda is inspiring and fascinating. The Casual Cooking piece is beautiful, if not particularly inspiring to the cook in me, as was the Lowcountry Lowdown article on culinary traditions in Coastal South Carolina.
Gourmet Everyday - Braised Chicken with Apples and Sage - definitely have to try that, and the Butternut Squash Polenta. The Potato and Blue Cheese Gratin also sounds wonderful.
And finally, the article in the middle of the issue has a fascinating duality to it - as a cook, I loved reading about Celia Barbour's trials making "the best cookies in the world", but the descriptions of her staying up late night after night, while a great read, definitely did not make me want to try to make the cookies myself!
Bon Appétit
Definitely the prettiest cover picture of the month, this picture of their cookies is mouthwatering!
Starters - the Tools for the Tree picture is adorable and makes me want everything shown, and the Signature Bowl with Sterling Scribe is a great idea (if only it were in my budget)
Easy Entertaining - the Cranberry and Vanilla-Bean Mimosas look amazing (nice twist on a great classic), and everything else looks great, if less inspired
Cookbooks - A great roundup (and what a pretty picture - the art director does an amazing job all through this issue)
Easy Entertaining - the Carrot Soup with Star Anise and the Bibb Lettuce Salad with Persimmons and Candied Pecans look especially good
Kitchen Favorites - the Cranberry and Tart Apple Gelées and the Gingerbread Truffles both look like must tries, and the Hot Buttered Rum Cheesecakes look great, but it's probably too much of a big project for this year
People and Places - great story of traveling and longing for the tastes of home
Wine & Spirits - interesting, but not as informative as the one article in Gourmet, but the gift list is good
Gift Guide - they look nice, but definatley out of my price range
Features - The Main Attraction looks good, though nothing grabs my attention except for the Green Onion-Parmesan Popovers, and that's only because my mother has a popover pan I can use while visiting her later this month. The Hanukkah party article is wonderful, and I want to try the Pomegranate-Prosecco Cocktail, the two variations on traditional latkes, adn the Cream Cheese, Olive, and Rosemary Rugelach (and good job, editors, for including a substantial article on Hanukkah!) I'm not particularly blown away by the article on Christmas Eve with a Mexican twist - something about the food doesn't really inspire me - and Christmas in a Flash suffers from the same problem. Their cookie piece, however, is inspiring enough to make up for all of that, and I can't wait to try their Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies and the Pistachio, Raspberry adn White Chocolate Biscotti. The dessert article is beautiful, especially the picture of the Poached Pear Tart with Caramelized Pistachios, and The Ultimate European Christmas is a fascinating look into Christmas traditions around the Europe.
Saveur
Fare - fascinating mini-trips through the Fair of the Fat Ox in Italy, the history of the Lower East Side, and the characteristics of the Pakistani sweet-tooth (and of course, a review of cookbooks - how would we survive the holidays without these?)
Cellar - entering their take on the seasonal bubbly, the editors focus on blanc de blancs - very informative
Memories - the story of how one girl came to love chitlins; a nice exploration of her relationshiop with her parents and her experiences growing up
Lives - growing grapes and making wine in Southern California; for some reason it just didn't pull me in - and I grew up around there
Source - a nice introduction to the Grenache varietal and the people who want you to drink it
Classic - the what and how of Hot and Sour Soup; interesting, but I'm not particularly inspired to abandon my takeout and make it myself
Features - a beautiful exploration of Christmas in Moscow, and interesting article on the "mother of Mexican Cuisine," an ode to strudel, and a fascinating piece about the Basque descendents in Idaho; all interesting reads, but they don't make me want to go out and make the effort to cook the dishes highlighted, no matter how yummy they sound (I may make an exception for the Rice Pudding; it can't be that hard to make, and it looks so comfortingly good)
Martha Stewart Living
From My Home to Yours - This year Martha's giving friends bread pudding made of brioche from Balthazar, in special hand-made bowls, with label tags made from a woodcut a famous artist did of one of her trees. Nice idea, but who has those kind of resources? Of course she gives you copies of the tags to make yourself, but who wants to give a gift that's an exact replica of the one the most famous hostess in the country is giving?
Dessert of the Month - this Poppy Seed Grapefruit Torte has one giant flaw: the poppy seeds on the top are so reminiscent of bagles and cream cheese that the pieces of grapefruit sticking out of the cake look like lox. Not an appetizing idea.
From the Garden - Tiny trees are cute, but not inspiring
Find of the Month - wrapping presents in vintage linens is a nice idea, but I'd probably just give them as gifts
Good Things - the idea of making molds of snow to put candles in is nice, but the picture they have makes them look kind of messy; the editors seem to have taken my idea of keeping frozen dumplings in the freezer; putting white light strands in opaque vases looks nice and seems totally doable, and the idea of giving spice sachets is great (just make sure to give them early in the season so they can use them)
Food - the cookies don't look particularly inspiring, but I'll try the sugar cookie recipe to test it against the others, the fuss-free holiday snacks aren't particularly inspired, though the drinks look good (but who thinks a recipe that requires you to juice an apple for an apple martini qualifies as "fuss-free"?)
Entertaining - the idea of buying wine by the case is great, but the bottles she chooses aren't particularly affordable
Crafts - the candles in the form of holiday shapes - especially the pine trees - are really cute (if only I had that kind of time to craft)
Gardening - good useful info about caring for potted bulbs and other holiday plants
Technology - these ornaments made of paper with photos on them might be a fun project with kids, but they're not particularly inspiring; the photocards aren't anything new, but the art director had some great ideas for composing the photos; "digital cameras, demystified" isn't particularly informative, unless you know absolutely nothing about digital
Features - I don't really care enough about pointsettias to read the whole thing, but the pictures are lovely; the pictures in "a feast of flavors" are fantastic and the pât é with pomegranate gelée looks wonderful, as do the eggnog Bavarians, adn I'm definitely going to try to make the pistachio-cranberry torrone; the ideas in "Christmas in the City" are a little too upmarket for me (and no kids are that perfect and clean), the small house decorations are cute in a kind of model train way, and the idea of using baskets of fruit and vegetables, while not new, is a nice reminder of easy ways to decorate; I'm not sure what Martha's obsession with glitter is this year, but the article on glitter kind of makes me think that Glinda the Good Witch threw up all over the set - there is one really great idea (decorating glass pillars with winter scenes in glitter), but this project obviously requires money, time, and skill that I don't have
Fit to Eat - this sweet potato based menu looks good
What's for Dinner - though not usually a fan of this section, these dishes look great; hopefully I'll get a chance to make some
Posted by georgia at 11:13 AM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
For most cooks, most of cooking consists of following recipes. Cookbooks, cooking magazines, and sites like Epicurious.com inspire home chefs, teach them to make new dishes, and introduce them to new cuisines. But as any good chef knows, the mark of a really good, confident cook is the ability to create dishes using instinct, experience, and imagination, not recipes.
Pam Anderson, author of How To Cook Without A Book: Recipes and Techniques Every Cook Should Know By Heart, astutely bases a cookbook on this premise. In a book geared toward novice cooks, Anderson gives a lengthy cooking class that covers everything from soups and salads to ravioli, pad thai and desserts. She picks a type of food and shows cooks how to embellish a basic recipe to create endless spinn-off dishes.
For instance, in the chapter "Simple Tomato Sauce, Scores of Possibilities" she starts with a Simple Tomato Sauce, then lists multiple variations, basing each variation on the "master recipe"; for instance for Tomato-Basil Cream Sauce she lists a handful of new ingredients and instructs the cook: "Follow the Simple Tomato Sauce Recipe, adding cream and basil to the fully cooked sauce. Continue to simmer until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes longer." This same technique is used to teach the reader to make sauces with artichokes and olive, mussels and garlic, and many more. For "Weeknight Stir-Fries" she uses the (longish) rhyme "With onion, garlic and ginger, stir-fry a pound each of vegetables and meat, Then stir in a flavoring sauce for a meal satisfying and complete" as the base for everything from Stir-Fried Chicken with Snow Peas and Water Chestnuts to Stir-Fried Tofu with Haricots Verts and Eggplant, and Sweet-and-Sour Pork with Peppers and Pineapple.
The idea is obviously that once a cook works his or her way through a few of these variations, he or she will understand the basic principals behind the dish and be able to create new recipes. Not a bad way to learn to cook, huh? And maybe a great Christmas or Hanukah gift for the college student or budding chef in your family.
Posted by georgia at 11:36 PM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
This week the authors of I Like to Cook and Something so Clever challenged us to open the first cookbook we ever got and try one of the recipes. I think my first cookbook was Kids Cooking - A Very Slightly Messy Manual, but my first real cookbook was a copy of The New Basics Cookbook that my mom gave me when the boy and I got our first real place after college. When I first got it I marked a few recipes with post-its, but then I forgot all about it and it sat on my shelf forlornly while celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver and Ina Garten took over my kitchen. But a few months ago I picked it up again and started trying out recipes. The Coq au Vino Bianco is fantastic, and the Roasted Chicken Legs with Glazed Shallots (which I make with more than just the legs) has become a staple.
So today, in preparation for the blood drive group I'm getting together this weekend, I opened the cookies section of my new favorite cookbook and took a stab at the Hazelnut Lace Cookies and Lemon Lace Cookies. Both were wonderful - relatively easy to prepare (no need to get out the electric hand-mixer) and had that great lacy texture that makes your cookies look professional and impressive even if you overcook them a smidge. The hazelnut cookies (in the foreground) are lovely, crunchy little wafers with a great hint of hazelnuts (my favorite), but I did change the recipe the tiniest bit, since making cookies with just 1/2 teaspoon of batter (leveled) produced really tiny cookies that cooked too fast and got too brown. For the Lemon Lace Cookies I fudged the recipe just a little more, since I didn't have almonds and my bottle of lemon extract turned out to be empty, but even without the almonds and with vanilla extract instead of lemon, they had a great texture, and a subtle lemon flavor that's really lovely.
Next I'll try to their pinwheel cookies (if only vanilla beans weren't so expensive).
Lemon Lace Cookies
1 cup flour, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cupfinely chopped blanched almonds
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon lemon extract
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter heavy baking sheets.
2. Combine the flour, salt, and almonds in a large bowl, and stir thoroughtly.
3. Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the flour mixture and the lemon extract, zest, and juice.
4. Drop the batter by 1/2 teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake just until they are lightly browned at the edges, 9 to 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cook slightly on the baking sheet before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely
3 dozen cookies
Steffi Berne's Hazelnut Lace Cookies
1/3 cup light corn syrup
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped hazelnuts, skins removed (bake nuts on a pan, shaking occasionally, for 10-15 mins, then pour them into a dish towel and rub to remove skins)
1/2 cup flour
Pinch of salt
1. Adjust the oven racks to divide the oven into thirds. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment.
2. Combine the syrup, butter, and brown sugar in a heavy saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, stirring, until the butter has melted.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool slightly. Stir in the nuts, flour, and salt. the mixture should not be too hot.
4. Using a measuring spoon and a small rubber spatula, drop the batter by level 1/2 teaspoonfuls, about 3 inches apart, on the lined baking sheets. Bake two sheets at a time one on the upper and one on the lower rack, until the cookies have spread out very thin and appear lacy and light brown, 7 to 8 minutes total. After 4 minutes, switch the baking sheets to ensure even baking.
5. Remove the sheets from the oven and immediately slide the parchment onto a flat surface. Let the cookeis cool until firm, about 3 minutes. Then use a metal spatula to carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
6 dozen very thin cookies
Posted by georgia at 11:18 PM | Comments (1) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
I think the real key to a memorable Thanksgiving lies in the successful combining of old favorites and new interesting dishes. Tonight's Pre-Thanksgiving Feast (or "Friend Thanksgiving" as our hosts, Dora and Diane, called it) was a perfect example of this. We had wonderful traditional dishes - the turkey, formerly known as Malcolm, and the mashed potatoes and the gravy and apple pie - and also managed to pull together some more unusual side dishes that captured the essence of Thanksgiving while adding something new to the table. Diane brilliantly added a pile of perfectly round, glistening baked apples to the table that had such a Thanksgiving feel to them that I was surprised more people haven't thought of making them, and I brought a Pumpkin-Chocolate Tart that I found in the November 2003 issue of Living, which managed to keep the traditional pumpkin dessert taste even though the bittersweet chocolate crust kept it from tasting as sweetly cloying as some pumpkin pies.
To make the apples, Diane simply stuffed them with dried cranberries, brown sugar, and butter and baked them in muffin tins with a little water beneath each apple to steam them. The Pumpkin-Chocolate Tart recipe isn't on the Living website for some reason, but it's too good not to share, so here it is:
(ps - I just use a regular hand mixer)
Chocolate Crust
(makes 1 ten-inch tart shell)
1 cup flour, plus more for work surface
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg
4 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Add butter; mix on low speed until butter is the size of small peas, about 5 minutes. Add egg; mix until ingredients come together to form a dough.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to just thicker than 1/8 inch. Brush off excess flour; transfer dough to a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press dough into bottom and up sides of pan; trim excess flush with edge. Lightly prick bottom of dough all over with a fork. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
3. Bake shell until firm, about 15 minutes. Immediately spinkle chocolate over bottom of shell; smooth with spatula.
Pumpkin-Chocolate Tart
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
3/4 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
8 ounces creme fraiche
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Chocolate Crust (recipe above)
2 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate
1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, brown sugar, creme fraiche, eggs, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and cloves until smooth. Pass mixture through a fine sieve set over a clean bowl; discard solids. Pour filling into prepared crust.
2. Bake until filling is set, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool for at least 30 minutes.
3. Set a heatproof bowl, or the top of a double boiler, over a pan of barely simmering water. Melt chocolate in bowl, stirring occasionally; remove from heat. Dip a spoon in melted chocolate, then drizzle chocolate over tart, forming decorative stripes. Refrigerate until well set, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
Posted by georgia at 10:34 PM | Comments (1) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
This week I decided to try some of the recipes from this month's Gourmet in preparation for Thanksgiving. (A couple years ago I learned the hard way that if I want to serve something to my friends and family I should give it a trial run first.) Since cranberry sauce has never been my favorite part of Thanksgiving, I decided to look for an interesting alternative, and I tried two: Quick Cranberry Trifles (from the Contents page) and Persimmon Cranberry Sauce (from "A New Tradition"). Both recipes were amazing.
The cranberry trifle was spectacularly different from the holiday desserts I'm used to; the cranberries gave the dish a wonderful tang that, along with the seductive notes from the Sherry, made this a very sophisticated, very grown-up dessert. The combination of the ice cream and heavy cream for the custard also added a delicate depth to the dish. I made one to eat right away, instead of chilling it, and although the flavors had not mixed and the cake didn't blend with the other ingredients as well as it did in the chilled ones, it was still a wonderful dessert. My only caveat with this recipe is that despite it's name, this dessert is not "quick". Yes, it doesn't take long to assemble, but to make it right you do have to chill it for eight hours (and I'm not really the kind of person who thinks about the night's dessert directly after doing the breakfast dishes). That said, I can't wait to make this again - no matter what time of day I have to start it.
The Persimmon Cranberry Sauce was equally good and, to me, just as surprising, because I'd never had a cranberry sauce that overshadowed the other food on my plate. Yes, the poultry and mashed potatoes and vegetables I ate it with were good - very, very good in fact - but the sauce was so amazing that I couldn't stop eating it. I piled giant clumps of it on my meat, mixed it into my potatoes, and even used it as a topping for my salad. And the best part (okay, the flavor was the best part, but this was good too) is that it's ridiculously easy to make and takes less than fifteen minutes.
Wow - thank you Ruth Reichl and all the folks at Gourmet; I would never have known how much I loved cranberries without your guidance.
Posted by georgia at 11:47 PM | Comments (1) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
After drooling over other bloggers' pictures of their recipes all Fall, I decided to dedicate a week to making all the recipes that I had bookmarked. I started with Gâteau au Yaourt from Chocolate & Zucchini, which was lovely - perfect for teatime and (my favorite test for a dessert) a fantastic breakfast for the next morning.
That night, for dinner, I tried the Spaghetti Squash Gratin from The Wednesday Chef. The combination of squash and the tomatoes was great, though I did think the tomato flavor kind of overwhelmed the more subtle squash flavor. The really great part of this recipe was the combination of the vegetables and the Parmigiano - the flavors went so well together that next time I'm going to mix some of the shavings into the squash instead of just sprinkling it on top (of course, I'm a cheese addict, so what else would you expect?)
To compliment the Gratin (and the steak we made with it), I made a quick salad with mixed greens from the Greenmarket, slices of pear, and Letty's Salad Dressing from Zen Foodism. I don't have the cruet she bases her measurements on, but I winged it with a basic 1:1 part vinegar to oil and added just a tiny bit of water. The dressing was similar to the one I like to make with red wine vinegar, but subtler, with a nice combination of flavors from the garlic and mustard. Josh and I were so happy with it that I made it again the next night (and the night after that). For a salad lover it's so nice to have a new easy dressing to rely on.
Finally, this afternoon I made the Persimmon Bread from the James Beard recipe posted by David Lebovitz. I made it with pecans and a combination of golden raisins and candied ginger, which was nice, even if the ginger overwhelmed the flavors a little bit. Unfortunately, I don't own regular nine inch bread pans, so I made it in a bunt cake pan, and I had to leave it in the oven a few minutes longer, turning the entire cake darker. As far as I can tell, the taste of the cake wasn't changed (it was nice an moist and flavorful), but it wasn't as photogenic. Ah well, maybe it's time to invest in some more baking equipment.
Next week I can't wait to try the Butternut Squash Gnocci from Too Many Chefs.
Posted by georgia at 12:32 AM | Comments (2) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
While I was touring the Grafton Village Cheese Company a few weeks back, I saw this recipe, originally from Saveur, April 2005, framed on the wall. Since I knew I was going to have a lot of cheese on hand and since this recipe looked so good, I copied it down. A few days later, four pounds of cheese still mostly intact in my refrigerator, I pulled out the recipe and gave it a try. It involved many of the steps of the Soupe d'Herbes Potagères, also from Saveur, that I tried to make a few weeks ago without much success, and transferring soup to the Cuisinart to puree is still a pain and makes me wish for a hand blender, but the soup itself proved worth the trouble. It was creamy and satisfying and wonderfully cheesy in a way I didn't know soup could be. Perfect comfort food; I'll definitely make it again.
I couldn't find the recipe online (for some reason some of their recipes are available on their website but others aren't, maybe having to do with who created them), so here are the notes I jotted down standing in the hallway of the Grafton Village Cheese Company, with my notes about my experience cooking it:
Creamy Potato-Cheese Soup
(Adapted from Moosewood Collective's New Recipes from the Moosewood Restaurant)
4 Tablespoons butter
2 Small yellow onions, peeled and chopped
1 Large clove garlic, peeled and minced
2 Russet potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 Small carrot
3 Cups vegetable stock
2 oz. Cream Cheese
1 1/2 Cups milk
4 oz. Sharp Cheddar (such as Grafton Village Cheese Company 1 year Premium Cheddar, grated (about 1 Cup)
Extra grated cheddar to sprinkle on the top
Salt and pepper
(I halved this recipe when I made it, and since I couldn't find Russet potatoes on my way home I used normal white potatoes. I also used Grafton 2 year-old cheese, because I liked it better and it's almost as sharp. When I made the soup, I found that the extra cheese on the top of the soup was a necessity to give it a nice rich flavor - I used a small handful for each bowl.)
1. Melt butter in a pot over medium heat and add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until soft (8-10 mins.) Add the potatoes and carrots and cook, stirring often, until the potatoes are opaque (6-8 mins.) Add stock and simmer until vegetables are soft (about 30 mins.)
2. Working in batches, puree the vegetables and stock together with the cream cheese and milk in a blender until smooth. Return the soup to the pot and heat over medium-low heat. Whisk in cheddar, stirring until soup is smooth and hot. Season to taste. Serve with more grated cheddar on the side.
Posted by georgia at 12:13 AM | Comments (1) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
No, I haven't abandoned the blog, I've just been depressingly sick since Monday morning. Obviously I did not follow my own advice about drinking lots of yummy flavored water (and I did not avoid long bus and train rides - I think the guy hacking behind me on the Boston-NYC bus might be where I got this bug). Now that I'm feeling like myself again, I'm angry that I did not take any of the tried-and-true remedies that have kept me from getting sick in the past. So to remind myself not to be so forgetful next time, I've produced a run-down of the homeopathic staples that have proven themselves in the past.
Oscillococcinum
You've probably seen this advertised during flu season the last couple years. When I first saw the adds, I was really upset by them, because it turns out I'd been mispronouncing the stuff for years. But bruised ego notwithstanding, I'm glad they're advertising, because this remedy really works. Take it when you feel the very beginnings of the flu (it doesn't really work on a full-blown attack), and your symptoms will be much shorter lived. Many times I've been able to avert sickness altogether by taking it the minute I started feeling feverish. But Please Note: you have to take it as the package directs you, ie. one packet every six hours until the package is finished (I think there are 3 to package). And don't forget, it's a homeopathic, so don't take it within 20 minutes of eating, and caffine and menthol can hurt its affectiveness.
Vitamin C
My mom has a theory that if she doesn't blow her nose, her cold doesn't really go to full force. I don't buy that. But she has another theory that if you take 1,000 mg of Vitamin C every hour for the first few hours you feel a cold coming on (remember that scratchy warning feeling in the back of your throat?) you can kill the cold dead before it really starts. And this theory is one I live by. It might not work for the worst colds or the times my immune system's really worn down, but it does wonders otherwise. (How do you know when you've taken too much C? It will start going straight through you. Believe me, you'll notice.)
Esberitox
The most recent addition to my medicine cabinet, this supplement's tag-line is "More Powerful Than Echinacea Alone". And it is. It works great. Take it right when you start to feel a cold coming on and your chances for full recovery or avoidance jump (especially if you double-team with the C). Just remember, any form of echinacea stops working after the first two days, so only take it when you really need it. Ladies, this is especially important for you, because too much echinacea can thicken the outer walls of your eggs, leading to an increased chance of infertility.
Airborne
Ok, so I haven't tried this one yet, but my mother has started using it on trips and has come to swear by it. And if she's good enough to cull through the homeopathics and the supplements and find ones that have really helped me in the past, I'm sure this one is a good one too.
Thanks, Mom.
[By the way, my mom's work with teenagers got a great write-up in the local paper; see the article here, half way down, titled "Speaking From the Heart" ]
Posted by georgia at 12:46 AM | Comments (1) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
I had been dreaming of baked apple for days when I saw this recipe on The Wednesday Chef this week. I was so excited to try a new recipe for my favorite food that I would have run out to get the ingredients that very minute if it hadn't been 1am. I held off until Wednesday evening (funny coincidence) and made them for dessert. I followed the recipe as closely as I could, but since I don't have a melon-baller I cut out the cores all the way through to the other side then inserted pieces of apple into the bottom to act as plugs, and I didn't add cardamon pods (at $9.99 a jar I just couldn't justify the expense). The prep was pretty easy, but basting the apples every five minutes was a little time-consuming and had me jumping up from my work constantly. It wasn't a big deal since I was just checking email and watching Martha's Apprentice, but I usually like to make baked apples for breakfast, and basting every five minutes would not fit with my morning schedule.
The apples themselves, once the basting was done, were great - soft and warm and comforting. The maple syrup added a nice twist, putting me in mind of fall hikes through Vermont, and the wine cut the sweetness and added a little sophistication, making them an adult treat. The golden raisins were much better than the black ones I usually use, but I wasn't as thrilled with the pecans, which I thought were kind of bitter compared to the almonds I usually use. Josh, on the other hand, liked the pecans because of their richness. I added a tablespoon of cream to the mix, which I usually do to cut the sweetness, but Josh ate them plain. We each one, and as soon as we were done we wanted to follow them up the remaining two, but we held off so that we could reheat them the next morning for breakfast.
Posted by georgia at 04:58 PM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
I finally did it! I made something from Saveur. No, it was not escargots or frog's legs, or venison stew -- I made the Soupe d'Herbes Potagères from the article about Augerge du Cep. I loved the descriptions of this restaurant, so I was really excited that one of the recipes looked much easier than the normal Saveur fare. And it was -- easier than the other recipes in the magazine, but not exactly the easiest recipe I've ever found. Trying to keep pieces of leeks and potatoes from sticking to the bottom of one pot while boiling water and herbs in another (30 mins.), then simmering everything together after straining out herbs (another 15 mins.), then simmering with the cream (another 15 mins.), then pureeing everything (in very small batches, because I have a very small Cuisinart), and I finally have a first course.
I have to say, for all the work this soup took, I wasn't really impressed; especially since the restaurant is supposed to be so wonderful (and I'm sure it is!) For the sake of full disclosure, I'll admit that I did throw in some thyme and chives that weren't called for (1 cup of the two combined, 2 cups of the parsley, instead of all 3 cups parsley), but I don't think that was the problem. The fact is, the soup was just bland -- the herbs did very little to make it taste like something other than run-of-the-mill potato soup. Ah well, it was a fun experiment, and I had fun stirring.
Posted by georgia at 11:50 PM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
Since acorn squash have started showing up at the Green Market, I bought one and decided to try the recipes I've been seeing online. The most common suggestion is to cut the squash in half, seed it, and bake face up with a tablespoon of butter and brown sugar, syrup or honey (some suggest syrup and sugar) about one teaspoon each. Some recipes say to bake for 40 minutes, some say an hour, most agree on 375 degrees. I baked them for about an hour with syrup. They got very soft and dark brown to black on the upper edges. The flavor was very good, but the syrup overtook the flavor of the squash themselves, which had their own lovely sweetness when I could get an unadulterated piece. I'm definitely making them again next week, if not this weekend, but I'm only going to put a small drop of syrup in them so I can get a more balanced flavor.
Posted by georgia at 12:29 AM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
When you were in college and you wanted to throw a party on a tiny budget, you made punch. This punch was made of cheap vodka and juices, or maybe even Kool-Aid. This sugary beverage had only two goals: to mask the taste of alcohol for the inexperienced drinkers and to make everyone very, very happy.
These days your guests are a little more discerning. You want to make something that tastes good and impresses your guests but still fits your budget. Our friend Dora solves all these problems by making sangria. It's the perfect solution because you can still buy your ingredients cheap (why waste good wine mixing it with juice?) and people love it. Since I'm partial to white wine, it had never occurred to me to make sangria, but earlier this summer Gourmet had some great recipes for alternatives to the traditional sangria recipe. The Peach White-Wine Sangria is wonderfully refreshing, I can't wait to try the Strawberry Peach variations and the Berry Rose Sangria looks amazing. Just don't make them too long before your guests arrive or there might not be any left.
Posted by georgia at 02:42 AM | Comments (1) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
I know I shouldn't, but every time I'm at the Greenmarket, I stop and look at the nicely stacked containers of summer berries. But the other day, as I gazed wistfully at perfectly ripe raspberries and blackberries, the man behind the table said three magic words: "Three for seven." Three for seven? I thought about the contents of my wallet, and the fact that I hadn't bought any berries of any kind all summer, and gave in. As I walked toward the market's exit, I thought about the Blackberry Peach Cobbler recipe I'd seen in this month's issue of Gourmet and stopped for some peaches.
Unfortunately, when I got home I realized that I had bought two containers of raspberries and only one of blackberries, so I couldn't make the cobbler quite the way it was intended. But I went ahead anyway, making it a Blackberry-Raspberry-Peach Cobbler, and it was pretty good. The fruit was full of flavor, if a little sweet (maybe less sugar next time), and the topping was soft with crunchy bits on top. Not quite as memorable as the brandied peach parfaits from a month ago, but still summery and good.
Posted by georgia at 01:19 AM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
A couple days ago I was talking to a girl at work, and she told me she had made Peanut Butter Cookies over the weekend. Peanut Butter Cookies -- I had totally forgotten about those smushed, sweet, salty morsels of happiness that I loved as a kid. She had too until recently, but she said they were actually good, so earlier this week I pulled up Epicurious.com and got out a jar of smooth Jif. I decided on a recipe for "Old-Fashioned" Peanut Butter Cookies that originally appeared in Bon Appetit in January of 1998, because I already had all the right ingredients. I mixed everything together, rolled it into balls, and smushed them down with the prongs of a fork, just like I did as a kid. And when they came out of the oven, they were just as good as they were when I was a kid. Maybe they weren't quite as peanutty as I had remembered, but they were soft on the inside, crunchy on the edges, sweet, salty and happy making: definitely something to add back into my repertoire.
Posted by georgia at 12:12 AM | Comments (0) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
All month long I was grief-stricken. Although the August issue of Gourmet was all over the newsstands and my friends were happily devouring the articles on cooking in Italy and traveling to Paris, my subscription never showed up. So last weekend, I finally gave up waiting and bought one. And I'm so happy I did -- I love all the recipe ideas!
So tonight, after work, I tried the Chipotle Burgers (p.44) and, because it didn't look too complicated, I made the Brandied Peach Parfaits (p.114) for dessert. [Both recipes are also at Epicurious.com.] The Chipotle Burgers were easy enough, but the end product was kind of boring. The recipe didn't specify tomatoes and lettuce, but I thought they would be a good idea (and the people at Gourmet obviously did too, since they were in their picture), so I bought Boston lettuce and heirloom tomatoes. Adding chipotle to the meat was interesting and the heat they added was good but not really worth buying a whole can of peppers. Maybe if I try them again I'll add more of the adobo sauce for extra flavor. Or try making them with ground turkey, which might compliment the flavors better. What I did really like was the idea of using English muffins instead of buns -- the texture was great. I used the rest of the lettuce and tomatoes to make a salad which was nice with a dressing of red wine vinegar and olive oil with a little salt and sugar dissolved in it.
But the dinner was a distant memory once I assembled the dessert. It was wonderful! The brandied caramel makes the room-temperature peaches seem warm and soft and are fantastic with the softened ice cream (I bought Haagen Daaz, because even though it's more expensive, there's nothing like Haagen Daaz vanilla). Even though this dessert is a little more complicated and time consuming than I usually like, I love it! I actually can't wait to make it again.
Posted by georgia at 11:40 PM | Comments (2) | permalink | TrackBack | Email this post
