The Bitten Word

Poached Scrambled Eggs with Goat Cheese Sauce

Food & Wine (January 2012)

We like to think we're pretty good at scrambled eggs. We have a particular way of doing it that makes eggs just the way we like 'em: creamy and soft and delicious. Essentially, it involves cooking them over very low heat and stirring almost constantly. (Also, we picked up a tip a very long time ago from an otherwise ridiculously over-the-top omelet recipe: Stirring eggs with a chopstick or the thin end of a wooden spoon yields perfect fluffy eggs every time.)

We love the way we make scrambled eggs. The only problem is that it can take 15 or 20 minutes of near-constant stirring.

So we were more than a little intrigued by this recipe, which promises perfectly scrambled eggs in only 40 seconds. FORTY. SECONDS.

Chicken Tinga Tacos

Food & Wine (December 2011)

When we're away from home, we miss having a kitchen.

Eating in restaurants every day, three meals a day, for nearly two weeks afforded us a lot of opportunities to try many great dishes in China. But every now and then it's nice to be able to just pour yourself a glass of juice or a bowl of cereal. So at the end of our trip, it wasn't that we were tired of eating Asian food as much as we were eager to cook for ourselves again.

So within days of getting back home, we were tearing through the December food magazines, plotting and planning these last couple weeks before Christmas. 

And the first thing we decided on, in this season of cookies and cakes and roasts and party food was, oddly enough, tacos.  

Thanksgiving 2011: Apple Cider Cream Pie

Food & Wine (November 2011)

As we were selecting the dishes to make for our Fakesgiving, this Apple Cider Cream Pie was one of our earliest picks. Not only did it look delicious, but the recipe in Food & Wine has an accompanying essay by Samantha Bee, which is what initially got us to really focus on this recipe.

We adore Samantha Bee. Her segments on The Daily Show are hilarious. When she talks, we laugh. 

And when she said she loved this pie, we listened.  

Thanksgiving 2011: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Capers, Walnuts and Anchovies

Food & Wine (November 2011)

In this life, some people leave behind great inventions.

Others leave great works of art.

Us? Well, we'll be leaving a bunch of Brussels sprouts recipes -- along with more than a few Brussels converts.

Based on what we've heard from you all over the nearly four years (!) we've been writing The Bitten Word, we've turned more people on to Brussels sprouts than any other single food. We've heard from scores of former sprouts haters who now say they're big Brussels fans.

As for us, we've pretty much never met a Brussels sprout recipe we didn't like. Which is why we were eager to try these Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Capers, Walnuts and Anchovies.

Anchovies? In Brussels sprouts? Um, okay!

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! 

Thanksgiving 2011 Trends in Food Magazines: Pies, Pecans, Ginger and Green Beans

Thanksgiving is coming! Thanksgiving is coming!

And we're ready. We've scoured the magazines, tested recipes, and we're eager talk turkey, recommend dishes, and answer any Thanksgiving-related questions you might have.

We're kicking off our Thanksgiving coverage by looking at the trends in this year's crop of magazines. As in previous years, we've indexed every single one of the November Thanksgiving recipes from the magazines in our rotation. We'll share that list with you on Monday. There are some really exciting (and bizarre) dishes among the more than 250 recipes.

But today we're going to talk about trends. 

As we pored through this year's Thanksgiving features, some clear trends emerged. To illustrate many of the trends in this year's T-Day recipes, we created word clouds, like the one above, which illustrate how frequently certain words popped up. You can click on all the word clouds to enlarge them, so you can take a closer look. 

What's the general theme for this year? Well, for a lot of our magazines, the theme seemed to be, "Thanksgiving 2011: We're Just Not That Into You." Food & Wine and Saveur seem rather light on their coverage. Even Martha Stewart Living, which we would sort of hold up as the grande dame of Thanksgiving entertaining, seemed scaled back. (We hasten to add that we're not saying that's a bad thing -- Lord knows there are plenty of great autumn recipes out there that don't involve sweet potatoes or cranberry sauce.)

But there was one magazine that blew us away this year. You guys know we tend not to single out particular magazines or issues as favorites, but this must be said: Bon Appétit BROUGHT IT this Thanksgiving. Buh-ROUGHT. IT. From its "Feast from the East" feature, which showcased marvelous ideas for an Asian-inspired Thanksgiving, to the "Down South" feature on a Louisiana Cajun Thanksgiving feast, we were enthralled. Four turkeys, a host of awesome side dishes, and drool-worthy desserts (we need that Grape-and-Apple Pie) -- the November 2011 Bon Appétit is a pleasure. Even if you're set on your Thanksgiving menu, consider picking up a copy just for fun.

Anyway, trends.

As you can see from the word cloud above, the usual suspects are, well, the usual suspects. So here's a word cloud showing all the recipe words, minus "turkey," "gravy," "cranberry," "stuffing," "potatoes," "dressing" and "roasted" (a.k.a. the saddest Thanksgiving ever):

Grilled Squash Ribbons and Prosciutto with Mint Dressing

Food & Wine (September 2011)

Like a summer boyfriend who hasn't quite gotten the message, it's the time of year when it seems as if zucchini has overstayed its welcome. 

"No, no, it was an awesome summer! We had some really great times together! It's not you, zucchini, it's us. We just...we need a little break."

Let's call this a swan song to summer squash.  

Incan Super-Power Bars

Food & Wine (September 2011)

Don't you feel like this recipe name is just begging to be followed by an exclamation point? "Incan Super-Power Bars! Power-blasted with ancient Incan energy secrets to give you the boost you need!!! INCAN SUPER-POWER BARS!!!"

No? Just us?

Well, here's a sentence that definitely needs to end in an exclamation point: Zach is running a marathon! (Actually, maybe that calls for an interrobang: Zach is running a marathon‽)

Anyway, yes, Zach's running the Marine Corps Marathon on October 30 here in D.C. It's his first marathon, and he's been training since May. Prior to this, the most either one of us had ever run was the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler, which we've run the past two years.

Sidenote: The team that Zach is training with is called Team to End AIDS. It's a very, very good cause, and all the fundraising proceeds go to AIDS United and the Washington AIDS Partnership. If you'd like to donate to Zach's fundraising page -- even a buck, or five bucks or 10 bucks -- you'd be helping out an excellent organization. And we would love you forever.

As a result of all the running he's been doing over the past several months, Zach has blissfully been eating everything in sight. (Seriously, we should have purchased stock in a peanut butter company this summer....) He's constantly been on the hunt for foods that are nutritious, delicious and full of energy.

Which is why we were thrilled to find these Incan Super-Power Bars (Incan Super-Power Bars!!!).

Eat This Now! 6 Dishes to Make Before the End of Summer

Kids, we've got a little bit of bad news: Summer is nearly over.

But you've still got a little time! Meteorologically speaking, you've got 23 days. And even if you count Labor Day as the end of summer, you still have the better part of a week.

One good use of these waning days? Cook up a favorite summer dish!

We scrolled through our recipe index to round up 6 Summer Dishes that you should definitely make before fall. They're some of our all-time favorites!

 

Raw Corn and Zucchini Salad: This salad is simple, fresh and bursting with flavor. It's the taste of summer in a single bite!

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet and Spicy Fried Peach Pies: There's literally not a single word in the name of this dish that we don't love.

 

 

 

 

Pan-Roasted Corn and Okra: Just four ingredients: corn, okra, oil and salt. It doesn't get simpler, or tastier.

 

 

 

 

 

Best BBQ Chicken with Simple Barbecue Sauce: This is one of the most popular posts we've ever had on The Bitten Word, and for good reason. This dish is a knockout!

 

 

 

Basil-Blackberry Crumble: A crumble is just about the most perfect summer dessert you can find. We've made dozens of variations of this recipe over the past three years. Pick your favorite summer fruit, and get to crumblin'! 

 

 

 

Burgers with Blue Cheese Mayonnaise and Sherry Vidalia Onions: This is probably our favorite burger we've ever made. Sweet, smoky and tangy all in one bite!

 

 

 

 

As for us, we're heading to the beach for a loooong Labor Day week with a houseful of friends. We've got sunscreen, a stack of unread magazines and a bag full of books. We'll do some cooking, and we just may have a cocktail or two.

We'll see you in a week -- it's going to be a fantastic autumn! 

 

 

 

 

Grilled Turnips with Garlic

Food & Wine (July 2011)

As you no doubt know by now, we'll happily grill anything that shows up in our kitchen. Tofu? Sure. Salad? Sandwiches? Absolutely.

So to be honest, when we saw these Grilled Turnips with Garlic, our reaction wasn't as much wide-eyed excitement as it was a simple shrug and an, "Eh, why not?"

Turns out, we shouldn't have been so lackadaisical. These grilled turnips are dynamite!