Food & Wine (June 2008)
No Southern dinner is complete without fried chicken. In our case, we decided to go for "fried" chicken, using Food & Wine's recipe for Buttermilk Chicken with Crispy Cornflakes. Once we get through all the recipes for this dinner, you'll understand why we went with a lighter chicken.
Continue reading "Southern Dinner: Buttermilk Chicken with Crispy Cornflakes" »
Everyday Food (May 2008)
As we've alluded to before, we're both originally from the South. As such, we have an affinity for both sweet tea (thank goodness there aren't many places in town that serve it) and bourbon (thank goodness it's available everywhere).
With Spring hitting on all cylinders and the Derby just behind us, we couldn't pass up Everyday Food's Bourbon Mint Tea. Since we were having a group of friends over for a Southern dinner, we thought this was the perfect cocktail to start the evening.
Martha Stewart Living (May 2008)
As we've said before, sometimes it seems like dessert without chocolate just isn't dessert. It's like a palate cleanser while you're waiting for the chocolate dessert.
But this Limoncello Gelee was the perfect way to end our recent Italian meal. It's light and tart, with an effervescence that sparkles on your tongue.
Martha Stewart Living (May 2008)
Although the Fresh Pasta with Favas, Tomatoes and Sausage is plenty of food for an entree, we wanted to add a nice, tasty vegetable on the side. These Brasied Baby Artichokes seemed like just the thing.
Neither of us has ever cooked very much (okay, at all) with artichokes, but this dish sounded like a great, simple place to start.
It didn't turn out very well (largely because I [Zach] misread one crucial direction). Now that we've cooked with artichokes, though, we're eager to try some more dishes with them.
Continue reading "Going Away Dinner: Braised Baby Artichokes" »
Bon Appétit (May 2008)
We live in a transient city. In my first few years here, I attended well over a dozen going away parties and it seemed that just as I had met people with whom I really wanted to be friends, they were moving away for grad school or other cities or experiences.
The longer we live here, we continue to meet wonderful people and make new friends. Some have stuck around, but other have needed to go, and the going away parties continue.
We knew and liked Will & Haven, but didn't know them all that well. Having them over for dinner seemed a great time to both say goodbye but also get to know them better. In some ways, there's no better way to get to know someone than cooking with them, especially when it's two novices trying to make homemade pasta.
While Will & Zach were in the kitchen wrapping asparagus, Haven & I attempted pasta in the dining room. This recipe doesn't demand fresh pasta, but we thought it would be fun to do with guests. For the pasta, I used a Gourmet recipe from Smitten Kitchen that I had saved last year.
A brief note about our pasta-making history: We have only attempted fresh pasta once before, well over a year ago, when we purchased a pasta machine. That time, we were making dinner for new friends -- Regi & Kate -- and the pasta, while not inedible, was very fat and too chewy. Since then, the pasta machine has remained in the closet, ashamed and collecting dust.
But hey -- we're adventurous and not afraid to revisit pasta, so the machine came out, got dusted off, and we were ready to get started.
Continue reading "Going Away Dinner: Fresh Pasta with Favas, Tomatoes, and Sausage" »
Food & Wine (May 2008)
Our friends Will and Haven recently left D.C. for the other Washington. Before they moved, though, they said they wanted to cook something for The Bitten Word. For their Going Away Dinner, we wanted a meal that was delicious, of course, but also fun for a group to make together.
We had them over last week, on a positively gorgeous Thursday evening -- late spring in D.C. is one of the most glorious times of year anywhere (take that, Seattle!). We settled on a light, refreshing Italian menu that showcased some delicious in-season vegetables.
The meal could not have gotten off to a better start, with this appetizer of Pancetta-Wrapped Asparagus with Citronette.
Continue reading "Going Away Dinner: Pancetta-Wrapped Asparagus with Citronette" »
Everyday Food (May 2008)
To cap off our meal with our friend Whitney, she picked out this peanut-butter pie from Everyday Food. It sounded like a winner: A simple, creamy, chocolatey, peanut-buttery icebox treat.
But the results weren't quite what we'd hoped.
Gourmet (May 2008)
Our friend Whitney was in town staying with us last week, and she said what she really wanted to do was cook something with us for The Bitten Word. We were happy to oblige.
Whitney picked out this delectible fish from Gourmet (which we served with salad greens and Asiago Potatoes), and it turned out to be a huge hit.
Continue reading "Horseradish-Crusted Whitefish with Remoulade" »
Gourmet (May 2008)
"You Asked For It" is a recurring feature in Gourmet, where readers write in and request recipes for their favorite dishes from restaurants around the country. It's a great idea for a column. Many of us have dishes we love at our favorite restaurants. Personally, we've never asked for a recipe in a restaurant. It seems unseemly somehow, like asking your great-granny if that's her real hair or a wig.
There are many recipes we'd like to request, but only two we've requested so far. This weekend, we ate at Paolo's in Georgetown, and had their amazing Cayenne and Espresso Steak Salad -- always one of our favorites. The other recipe we've requested is the Tempura Green Beans from The Red Cat in NYC.
C'mon Gourmet, help us out!
Cook's Illustrated (May/June 2008)
On a recent weekday night, I was home alone -- a little tired and cranky from the day. The weather in our nation's capital was still cool.
And I was in the mood for only one thing: a big bowl of pasta.
It was the perfect time to make Cook's Creamy Tomato Sauce.
