The Bitten Word

Pressure Cooker Beef Short Ribs

Everyday Food (September 2012)

Here's something you probably don't know about us: We love a good infomercial. 

There's just something about the rhythm of them, the constant repetition of how amazing the product is. And we love all the tropes: the skeptical husband, the professor/doctor/inventor who gets hauled out to talk about the "science" behind the hype, the black-and-white shaky-cam "there-must-be-a-better-way" clips. There's just something so hypnotic and pleasant about them. (Seriously, when we think about the hours of our lives spent watching the same Magic Bullet infomercial...)

Anyway, an infomercial based on this short rib recipe would start off something like this:

Do you love short ribs but hate how long they take to cook? All that searing and braising and waiting around? There must be a better way!

Introducing Pressure Cooker Short Ribs! All the delicious flavor and fall-off-the-bone tenderness of your favorite short ribs -- in only a fraction of the time!

What's New at Everyday Food

More and more frequently, food magazines are creating tons of content that doesn't necessarily make it into the magazine itself. Perhaps it's a video series, a digital edition, or a feature on their website, but they're all the time introducing new content, new inspiration and delicious-looking food.  

We're starting a periodic column in which we'll check in on one of the magazines we receive and take a look at what's new in print, on the Web, and in social media. Because we were just there a few weeks ago, and because we just read and loved the July/August issue, we're going to kick off the series with a check-in at Everyday Food. 

 

In the Magazine

It just so happens that the current cover of Everyday Food is our favorite in a long time. What a fun photo of an amazing-looking popsicle. The magazine itself is looking great these days. The basic sections haven't changed dramatically. The magazine's long-standing columns are still there ("Dinner 1-2-3," "In Season," etc.).

This year, there are some new regular features: Sarah's Kitchen, featuring recipes from Editor-in-Chief Sarah Carey; Gluten-Free and Meatless Main recipes are now included in every "Eat Smart" column. And it appears that the old "Have You Tried?" column has now turned into "EDF Loves," where the magazine features one ingredient and suggests multiple takes on how to use it. They're all small but positive changes, bringing a fresh take to the magazine. 

And in general we've very much enjoyed the recipe content in the first half of this year. Each issue has had at least half a dozen dishes we've wanted to make, even though only five of those recipes have made it onto the site so far this year. 

We like the new(ish) "My Everyday" feature that started last year, where chefs and bloggers are profiled and then offer a recipe. This month's Marcus Samuelsson installment is the best of that series so far -- his recipe for Fish Tacos with Spicy Slaw is high on our list right now. 

 

Sticky Orange-Glazed Chicken Thighs

Everyday Food (June 2012)

We could name dozens of things we love about getting food magazines each month, but toward the top of that list would be new ideas. Whether it's a tip, a new kind of cuisine, or a product that we've never heard of, we love being exposed to things in the food world we otherwise wouldn't see.

And we especially love when this deals with new ingredients, or new ways to use ingredients that we may not always consider.

This recipe for Sticky Orange-Glazed Chicken Thighs is a great example of that. It incorporates an unusual ingredient that may surprise you.

Our Test Kitchen Tour

As you might remember, visiting a food magazine test kitchen is something that's been on our list of Culinary Resolutions for two years now. 

Last Friday, we finally had the opportunity to make that resolution a reality. Where'd we go? We'll let this photo do to talking:

Yep! We were fortunate enough to be given a tour of the offices of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, in New York. We had the best time!  And of course we wanted to share our photos with you.

So come along!

Edamame Falafel with Spicy Coriander Sauce: A Story in Three Acts

adapted from Everyday Food

Act 1: Wednesday Night, 8:30 p.m.

We're hungry.

We've both had busy days at our jobs, and we forced ourselves to go to the gym afterwards. Now it's late, and we're ready to eat. Fortunately, we've planned ahead: Earlier in the week we purchased all the ingredients to make these Edamame Falafel with Spicy Coriander Sauce.

Three facts make us think this dish will be a home run: We love edamame; we aspire to eat more vegetarian meals; and this dish only takes 35 minutes.

It is firmly in our sweet spot. We are ready to cook.

So we get to work. The chickpeas have been soaking all day, so we pulse them with edamame, parsley, cumin and salt. Falafel are rolled into balls. Oil is heated. Coriander sauce (a mix of sour cream, mayo, coriander and cayenne) is made.

And this is what happens:

Blackberry-Cream Layer Cake

Everyday Food (April 2012) 

Zach's mom and stepdad came to visit this past weekend. It was a gorgeous weekend -- D.C. at its spring finest. We had some delicious meals (including a sojourn out to Four Sisters, the best Vietnamese place around the District), saw a few sights and generally tried to spend as much time outdoors as possible, soaking up the gorgeous spring sunshine.

For dinner on Saturday night, we wanted something light and springy. We did an all-veggie meal of grilled spring onions with a mustard sauce; a yummy asparagus-and-cheese tart we'll write about soon; and a wilted salad of spinach, fresh peas and sauteed red onions (which had a dressing of hot bacon grease, so we suppose it wasn't quite a vegetarian meal after all. Sue us.).

For dessert, we wanted something really special, but still light and springy. Enter this Blackberry-Cream Layer Cake.

No-Bake Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cereal Bars

Everyday Food (March 2012) 

We spent this weekend out in West Virginia. Our friends Charlie and Scott invited us, along with our friends Drew and Ralph, to come out to their cabin for a few days in the country. We jumped at the chance to get out of the city for the weekend. 

You may remember this cabin as the scene of the crime for The Bacon Explosion two years ago. (Never. Forget.) You may also recall that Scott and Charlie introduced us to a lovely libation known as a Porch Crawler. This weekend introduced us to another new drink -- the Pickleback. It's a whiskey shot with a pickle-juice chaser. Believe it or not, we really enjoyed 'em!

Anyway, we didn't want to show up to the cabin empty-handed. So we took a quick spin through the current food magazines, searching for something that we could easily make on a Thursday night, and that would travel well to work on Friday, and then on the two-hour drive out to the cabin. Cakes and pies were out of the question. We needed something easy that would be a crowd-pleaser. 

These no-bake Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cereal Bars looked like just the ticket. We ran to the supermarket on Thursday after work to buy some sugary cereal.

Pasta and White Beans with Broccoli Pesto

Everyday Food (January/February 2012)

Zach's sister Cassidy grew up a very picky eater. Sitting down to a meal was more like entering hostage negotiations between Cassidy and Zach's parents in an attempt to get her to try new things. Even through college, she was extremely particular about textures and colors, and she essentially allowed no vegetables to pass her lips. 

Since then, Cassidy's come around. She started testing the waters with things like cream cheese and olives, and now she'll eat everything from Brussels sprouts to foie gras. She's turned out to be one of the most adventurous eaters we know. (Perhaps she's making up for lost time?)

But there's still the matter of vegetables. Cassidy will eat them, and there are some she even rather enjoys. But she still doesn't think she eats enough veggies. Over the holidays, she told us she wants to get better at "hiding" vegetables into her diet, a la Jessica Seinfeld.

"Hiding them from...?" we asked.

"Oh," she said, "from myself."

Cassidy, this one's for you.

Thanksgiving 2011: Tomato-Olive Stuffing

Everyday Food (November 2011)

Because we've overdone it a bit with takes on stuffings that incorporate sausage and dried fruit, we knew we had to try at least one very different take on stuffing for our recipe auditions this year.

We wanted something that brings unique flavors to the Thanksgiving table, something unlike anything we had served before. 

And we found it with this Tomato-Olive Stuffing from Everyday Food.  

Thanksgiving 2011 Recipe Index: What the Food Magazines Are Recommending

Our Fakesgiving + Our Favorite Holiday Dishes

A little more than a week ago, we had Thanksgiving.

Or really, we had Fakesgiving, our annual tradition with friends and family where we pack as many seats as possible into our apartment, make a bunch of new dishes from November food magazines, and see what everyone likes and dislikes. This year, there were 13 of us. Zach's mom and sister came and helped cook the day before (we literally could not have done it without them), and we made 17 new Thanksgiving dishes. 

(This year's Fakesgiving crowd, minus the two of us.)

Below, you'll see the initial list of recipes we started with: more than 250 Thanksgiving recipes from 10 magazines. To be included in the index, the recipes had to be part of the magazine's Thanksgiving coverage. So this is not meant to be comprehensive -- there are many more recipes in this month's magazines. If the recipe is hyperlinked, it is available online. If not, it's not there yet. 

In preparation for this year's Thanksgiving coverage, we've also created a page of Our Favorite Holiday Recipes. There, you'll find a collection of dishes from Thanksgivings, Fakesgivings and holiday dinner parties past. We'll be updating it as we introduce new content and recipes on the site.

Enjoy the index!