The Bitten Word

Chestnut Soup with Crisp Prosciutto

Fine Cooking (December 2009/January 2010)

Last month, we had a roasted chestnut soup at a restaurant here in DC. Tasting it for the first time was an almost religious experience. Sweet, nutty and silky-smooth, the soup was just one of those foods that instantly warms your soul. We couldn't stop smiling!

A couple days later, we saw pints of chestnuts at the farmers market. We decided to grab some and see if we could replicate that heavenly bowl of soup. By a stroke of luck, we came home, opened our December/January issue of Fine Cooking, and found this recipe for Chestnut Soup with Crisp Prosciutto.

Several days after that, DC got its first snow of the season. For eight hours on a chilly Saturday, fat wet flakes fell silently outside the windows.

Could there be any better day for this soup? We would literally have chestnuts roasting...okay, not on an open fire (our landlord wouldn't like that). But we were excited about the smell of roasting chestnuts wafting through our house while we gazed at the Christmas tree and the falling snow.

The universe, it seemed, was telling us to make this soup.

But the universe had some tricks up its sleeve.

Pork Empanadas with Thyme

Everyday Food (December 2009)

Here in our nation's capital, we have a great little chain of empanada stores called Julia's Empanadas.  In fact, there's one right around the corner from our house. Julia's is a great place to grab a quick bite or a late-night snack.

For those of you not familiar with empanadas, Julia's sums it up nicely on their website:

Every country has one, in Jamaica they're called "patties", in Italy "calzones", the Israelis call them "knishes". We call them "Empanadas". So what's an Empanada? It's a mildly spiced, freshly baked sandwich served hot!!

Maybe it's because we have access to great empanadas, but we had never really considered making them at home. We love them, but Julia's does it so well, could ours stack up? Everyday Food was going to help us find out.

Ham Steaks with Hazelnut Sauce

Saveur (December 2009)

In writing about this recipe, Saveur tells readers that the sauce is "based on a recipe in Mimi Sheraton’s The German Cookbook (Random House, 1965)."

But we think we could have pretty much guessed that on our own. Ham steaks? In a cream sauce?

This dish screams 1965.

It's like something Mrs. Edna Schakowsky of Cleveland, Ohio, would serve for Thursday dinner before her husband's bowling buddies swing by to pick him up.

It's like what Mrs. Francine Flendermann of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, would serve on Monday night when the Dittmeyers come over for bridge.

It's what Alice would've served the Bradys.

The Bitten Word's Holiday Gift Guide 2009

Some of you might be scrambling for gift ideas. Then again, some of you might be like us, sort of lazily drifting towards the holidays.  Maybe there will be gifts, and then again, maybe there won't. A holiday surprise! 

We're trying to keep it simple this year. Rather than just buy a bunch of stuff, we want to give friends and family things that they will really enjoy. 

So here are some ideas for you that we've collected over the last few months.  Have something you'd add to the list?  Let us know in the comments. 

GIFTS YOU CAN MAKE

Full disclosure:  We're not sure either of us has ever actually made a holiday gift for anyone since the sixth grade.

But last December we made Jacques Torres' Cherry-Nut Mudslides (pictured left) and we liked them so much, we still think about them to this day. No doubt the person on your list who receives them as a gift this year year will as well.

December's Real Simple also has a feature about homemade gifts.  We loved their ideas for Infused Vodkas and Chocolate Chunk Hot Cocoa Mix.

The latest Food Network Magazine has an excellent feature about recipes-in-a-jar that can be given as gifts, from Curried Lentil Soup (pictured left) to Blue Cornbread to Christmas cookies. The photos are beautiful and make for festive looking packages.  The full batch of ideas are available on their site.

THE GIFT OF FOOD/GIFT CERTIFICATES

This year's hot holiday gift?  Pork.  You heard it here first.

We're giving a lot of gifts from Western Kentucky-based Broadbent Hams, who has been making award-winning pork products since 1909. We've been Broadbent's obsessed since visiting their store this fall. Here are some items we liked from their store that would make excellent gifts:

• Bacon Trio Gift Pack: Maplewood, Hickory & Pepper! (6 packages for $35).
• Two pounds of classic Cooked Country Ham (2 pounds for $28)
  
• Country Sausage Sacks (50 servings for $20)

If pork's not your thing (Heaven forbid!), a friend introduced us to La Tienda (Tienda.com), an online retailer specializing in products from Spain. They carry everything from food to kitchen gear.  It's definitely a fun site to browse. We already have our eye on this Bomba rice and this Chorizo Soria. 

Our friend Ken is a huge fan of Ricks Picks, a New York based company that makes fourteen varieties of pickles.  Ken, who has excellent taste, recommends the Mean Beans, a spicy take on dilly beans, and the Smokra, pickled okra with Spanish paprika.  With a name like Smokra, how can you go wrong?

More ideas after the jump, including gifts you can drink, read and cook with.

The Bitten Word's Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Apples

We know, we know.  You don't like Brussels Sprouts. We hear it all the time.

Friends come over for dinner, ask what we're having, and -- if it's any time between October and March -- we're most likely going to list Brussels sprouts as one of the dishes. 

Hearing that we're serving them, guests often give a polite nod. Occasionally, looks of disappointment and fear briefly flash across their faces.

But we're undeterred.  You see: we're on a mission to make everyone else like Brussels sprouts, too. 

The Leftovers | Interesting Stuff from November Food Magazines

Here are some non-recipe items that caught our attention in November's assortment of food magazines.

Gourmet

In the (sniff) final issue of Gourmet, John Willoughby has a short but surprising item. 

The Gourmet test kitchen bought eight random tablespoon measurements from a variety of stores, and then weighed the amount of salt each one held.

The results were surprising, with the variance between the largest and smallest at 33 percent -- 33 percent!  As Willoughby points out, this might not make much of a difference in a lot of cooking, but in more precise recipes, like baking, it could make a huge difference in the final result.

Now we need a scale to see how much our tablespoons hold!

Food & Wine

We loved this profile of Athens, Georgia-based supper club The FourCoursemen.  The club was started by two friends who just liked to try new recipes. Over the course of three years, it has blossomed into a full-blown affair, with elaborate dinners for twenty-four guests. Invitations are in high-demand. Their food is beautiful and we want to come to dinner.  Seriously.

Martha Stewart Living
 
We've been hearing about The Lee Brothers' new cookbook, Simple Fresh Southern, all over the place, but it was in Martha Stewart Living that we first saw it featured. 

We haven't yet gotten our hands on a copy, but we're looking forward to checking it out this winter.

If you've already picked it up, let us know what you think!

Follow Us on Facebook

And finally, if you're on Facebook, then be sure to become a fan of The Bitten Word.  It's one more way you can follow the goings on here at the blog.

Baked Apple Dumplings with Cider Sauce

Cook's Country (November 2009)

Thumbing through the most recent Cook's Country, we stopped dead in our tracks at the site of these Baked Apple Dumplings.  

Pieces of apple, enveloped in flaky dough, dusted in sugar and set in a pool of sweet cider sauce?  Adorable and mouth-watering.

They looked so old-fashioned, like something your great-grandmother would make to top off Sunday lunch. 

So we made them the first chance we got.

Reader Reports: Your Thanksgiving Dishes

We had a blast trying out Thanksgiving recipes from this year. Of the 172 recipes in this year's magazines, we ended up making about 20 of the dishes. We wrote about 17 of them here on the blog, and suddenly it was Thanksgiving. 

C'est la vie.  There's always next Thanksgiving!

We were curious about what dishes readers had selected to make this year, so we asked you to send us your take on recipes from this year's food magazines. 

Check out submissions from readers below the jump!

Cinnamon Polenta Pancakes

Food & Wine (December 2009)

Well, we're done with all our Thanksgiving cooking, and we've cleaned out all the leftovers. Our Christmas tree is trimmed. We've hauled out the holly and decked the halls.

In short, we're in full-tilt holiday mode around here.

Which is why we thought these pancakes sounded so delicious. Hearty cornmeal hotcakes warmed by the comforting taste of cinnamon seemed like the perfect, homey indulgence on a gray wintry morning.

We wanted these pancakes to be really special. Unfortunately, we got a big ol' plate of "meh."

The Bitten Word's Day-After-Thanksgiving Kentucky Hot Brown

Washingtonian magazine contacted us a few weeks ago, asking for ideas about what to do with Thanksgiving day leftovers.  Go over to their site to check out our contribution and see recipes from other Washington, DC food bloggers. 

As proud Southerners, we both anticipate the day after Thanksgiving as much as the big feast itself. Why? Kentucky Hot Browns. Clay grew up in Kentucky, and hot browns were a post-Thanksgiving staple in Zach's Tennessee family, as well. This open-faced sandwich takes the Thanksgiving turkey, tops it with bacon and tomatoes, and drenches the whole thing in a warm, gooey, cheesy Mornay sauce. It's not only a great way to transform leftover turkey, it might actually be better than the whole Thanksgiving dinner!