Food & Wine (November 2009)
So we've begun our Thanksgiving "auditions," trying out recipes for the big day.
We were drawn to this Fall Harvest Salad for a two main reasons. First -- obviously -- it sounded amazing: fresh autumn greens, roasted butternut squash, pumpkin seeds, pecans. What's not to love?
Second, though, this salad was kind of a redux for us. A second chance.
172 Recipes From 9 Leading Food Magazines
Thanksgiving is food magazines' time to shine. In years past, many of the food mags we read have used their November issues to really push the limits with innovative spins on Thanksgiving faves.
Sure, there are usually plenty of approachable standbys. But the classics usually sit alongside some really envelope-pushing ideas: Throw a Thanksgiving clambake! How about a Pacific Rim-fusion dinner? Truffle-laden turkey! Indian-spiced sweet potato gnocchi!! Vegan French-Vietnamese gluten-free stuffing!!!
Not so this year. From the looks of this year's crop of Thanksgiving food mags, 2009 is all about simplicity and basic, standard dishes. It's the Great Recession, and everybody just wants a big ol' piece of pumpkin pie.
Just look at what the magazines call out from the newsstands:
Martha Stewart Living: "Thanksgiving, simple and sensational"
Fine Cooking: "All the classics made easy"
Food Network: "Easy Thanksgiving"
Bon Appétit: "Thanksgiving made easy"
Everyday Food: "A Thanksgiving menu that's easy to make"
We have nine November issues in front of us, and nearly all of them are focused on "traditional" menus that are very straightforward.
The food magazines may have stuck to the classics this year, but that doesn't mean the options are limited. In the nine magazines we have, there are, in fact, 172 Thanksgiving recipes.
All those options can leave you more than a little stressed out. It's all too easy to get wrapped up in the idea that Thanksgiving has to be perfect and if you don't select the right stuffing recipe, your mother-in-law will break into tears at the table.
But fear not! We've cataloged all 172 options below so that you, dear reader, can browse this year's recipes and make some selections for yourself. Over the next three weeks, we're going to be cooking and writing as many recipes as we can fit in. We'll post our photos and let you know how they turn out.
And as you're gearing up for the holiday, if you have questions, post them here and we'll do our best to answer them.
Okay, ready for the recipes?
Continue reading "Thanksgiving Guide 2009: What the Food Magazines Are Recommending" »
Bon Appétit (October 2009)
We needed a pumpkin last night to make this recipe, so we went to pick one up at our local supermarket.
Unfortunately, there were only two kinds of pumpkins left: massive orbs too heavy to carry home and daintier gourds already decorated for Halloween.
So we strode up to counter with our pumpkin, which was painted with a cute clown face and topped with a jaunty, bright red firefighter hat.
The conversation went something like this:
Checker: "Oh that's a nice pumpkin."
Us: "Thank you."
Checker: "You going to put it on your porch?"
Us: "Uh, no, actually we're going to cook it."
Checker (looking aghast): "YOU'RE GOING TO WHAT?!"
Us: "We're going to cook it for a dish that we're making."
Checker: "Why would you DO THAT?"
Us (mumbling): "For a salad we're making."
And that is what we did.
Pumpkin, lentils and goat cheese sounded, to us, like the perfect combination for an autumn salad. And with Halloween only days away, we thought that this sounded like a great way to use un-massacred pumpkins rather than throwing them away.
Continue reading "Spiced Pumpkin, Lentil, and Goat Cheese Salad" »
Gourmet (September 2009)
We're total suckers for beets. We love 'em. Mixed with bright citrus flavors, they're heavenly. Matched with a good goat cheese, they're mouthwatering. We've paired them with country ham and cornbread, with green beans and mustard and as the focal point of a fancy little appetizer.
But there's one problem we always encounter, a daunting, sigh-inducing hurdle that makes cooking with beets feel like a big undertaking: Ya gotta roast 'em.
Beets taste amazing, but these root vegetables are so dense and hearty that you have to roast them in the oven for a long time to make them palatable. (It's the same reason you don't serve raw potatoes.)
So when we came across this Italian Parsley and Beet Salad in the September Gourmet, we were immediately intrigued for one major reason: raw beets.
Martha Stewart Living (August 2009)
"Y'ALL."
That is not a word we use often -- and it's not a word we use lightly.
But after one bite of this phenomenal, change-your-life salad, we each slammed down our forks, looked across the table, widened our eyes and exclaimed: "Y'ALL."
Continue reading "Corn, Cranberry Bean, and Fried-Okra Salad" »
Everyday Food (July 2009)
Food we love in the summer:
1. Meat on the grill
2. Corn cut fresh off the cob
3. Juicy, ripe, farm-fresh tomatoes
4. Spicy greens from the farmers market
You do the math: How could we possibly turn down this salad?!
Continue reading "Arugula Salad with Grilled Chicken, Corn, Tomatoes and Blue Cheese" »
When it comes to cooking, there's something of a four-point checklist of criteria for every dish: simple, tasty, affordable and healthful.
Usually, a given dish can hit two or three of them. Maybe it's easy and cheap, but it's not very good for you. Or maybe it's a healthful dish that tastes great, but it's pricey and time-consuming to make.
There's one dish, though, that knocks them all out of the park: Tuna salad. It's packed with healthful ingredients, it takes five minutes to make, it tastes great and it costs next to nothing.
It's a quad-fecta!
The only problem with tuna salad? It can get a little boring. You've probably got your favorite, basic, go-to recipe, but let's face it: Eating the same tuna salad again and again can get a little old.
So this summer, we've been making this Mediterranean Tuna Salad. For us, it's been a terrific new spin on tuna, a light and fresh-tasting salad that's a perfect summer meal.
Food & Wine (June 2009)
We're in a little bit of a lull with our CSA share right now. It's the time of the season when we're transitioning from spring vegetables to the summer harvest. We're not getting leafy greens or asparagus spears anymore, but it's not quite time for tomatoes, squash and corn.
In this little interlude, our weekly share has included things like: one kohlrabi, three turnips, some kale, and a smattering of other things, like carrots, onions and chard.
Of course we don't want our veggies to go to waste, but what to do with one kohlrabi? How could we use up three little purple turnips?
Time to get creative!
Continue reading "Turnip-and-Kohlrabi Slaw with Ginger Vinaigrette" »
Food & Wine (June 2009)
We've made it to the final round of our trio of summer salads.
Following the light, citrusy Honey-Lemon Dressing and the rich Creamy Feta Vinaigrette, this Basil Vinaigrette sounded ideal!
Food & Wine (June 2009)
Our salad trio progresses on!
We love the idea of a light, summery dressing, like the Honey-Lemon Dressing we served with watercress.
But we just couldn't resist this Creamy Feta Vinaigrette. It sounded so bold and rich and delicious -- we couldn't pass it up!
