The Bitten Word

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 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!

Broiled Snapper with Lemon Confit

Don't you hate it when you have all this lemon confit just lying around, and you never know what to do with it but there it is, sitting in your fridge, making you feel guilty for not using it, and then finally you're just, like, "GOD, lemon confit, quit judging me," but the confit just keeps sitting there, staring you in the face?

Okay, maybe not.  

But seriously, we'd made our lemon confit: packed the lemons in sugar and salt and preserved them in the fridge for a couple weeks.

But what to do with it?

Eric Ripert, the chef whose confit recipe we had used, says he uses it to flavor simmering dishes like pork and beans, or to make a lemon butter. They're also apparently a staple of Moroccan and North African dishes. Food author David Lebovitz uses preserved lemons in everything from sauteed vegetables to tapenade to Israeli couscous to ice cream. 

We've come up with our own lemon confit dish -- far simpler than any of those others -- that we absolutely love. This Broiled Snapper with Lemon Confit could not be any easier -- or more tasty or more healthful. We've already made it twice in the past week!

Pickled Watermelon Rind

As we've mentioned many times before, we both grew up in the South, and we're familiar with just about all the Southern staples you can think of.

But there's one Dixie delicacy we'd never tried: pickled watermelon rind.

After we cut up a melon for our Tequila-Soaked Watermelon Wedges, we hated to throw the rind away. So we decided it would be the perfect chance to try our hand at pickling it.

Dark 'n' Spicy

For us, there's no cocktail that captures the spirit of summer quite like a Dark 'n' Stormy.

We don't think of it as a happy-hour, order-it-in-a-bar kind of drink. And it's not really the sort of thing you'd have in a restaurant as a pre-dinner cocktail.

A Dark 'n' Stormy is definitely a backyard, flip flops, shorts-and-t-shirt kind of drink. It's simple to make. And its cool, refreshing, tingly taste is the perfect thing on a hot, sticky summer night.

But we recently were introduced to a twist on the Dark 'n' Stormy that takes it to a whole new place -- using Goya-brand Jamaican-style ginger beer. If you think you like a Dark 'n' Stormy, this version will knock you off your feet!

Ladies and gentlemen, the Dark 'n' Spicy!

Mediterranean Tuna Salad

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.

Turnip-and-Kohlrabi Slaw with Ginger Vinaigrette

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!

Grilled Chocolate Pound Cake with Homemade Peanut Butter Chococlate Chip Ice Cream

Fine Cooking (June/July 2009) | Martha Stewart Living (July 2009) | Food & Wine (June 2009)

For Clay's birthday dinner, we were hopelessly undecided about dessert and went round and round in conversation about it. Should we make a cake?  A pie?  We knew three things for certain:

1. There had to be chocolate. 

2. Dessert needed to seem special but not too fussy. 

3. And we were going to make ice cream. 

As we began to pick out recipes, we found ourselves drawn to three in particular.  We couldn't make them all, so instead we settled on an option that the kids seem to find all the rage these days: a mash-up.

Juicy Buttermilk Pork Chops with Turnip Greens and Herbed Grit Cakes

Food & Wine (July 2009)

In searching for the right main course for Clay's backyard birthday dinner, we knew we wanted to cook something on the grill and to keep it relatively simple.

After a Chilled Pea and Buttermilk Soup and a trio of small summer salads, Juicy Buttermilk Pork Chops seemed destined for our menu.

Balsamic and Brown Sugar Strawberry Shortcakes

Everyday Food (May 2009)

Fresh strawberries are one of spring's great treats. We happened to be in Chattanooga, Tennessee, last weekend and went with friends to The Chattanooga Market, a terrific indoor-outdoor market that is held each Sunday in an old foundry on the south side of town.

It was strawberry central in Chattanooga -- overflowing pints and gallons of plump berries -- and Chattanoogans were snatching them up. We desperately wanted to buy some, but were afraid they wouldn't let us on the plane with them. 

We weren't too upset.  We've started to see the first hints of strawberries in our nation's capital and expect they'll be booming soon.  Although they're not yet available at the farmer's market, they have been plentiful (and deeply discounted) at the supermarket, so we've purchased our fare share.

What to do with them?