The Bitten Word

Soba Noodles with Eggplant and Mango

From Plenty: Vibrant Vegetables from London's Ottolenghi by Yotam Ottolenghi

At the end of last year, Plenty -- a new cookbook from London Chef Yotam Ottolenghi -- was turning up all over the place. It was mentioned in just about every magazine we receive, and we saw it on dozens of best-cookbooks-of-2011 lists. 

A few weeks ago we reserved it from the library to see what all the fuss is about. 

And let us tell you: It was love at first sight. 

This book grabbed us at the introduction. Although Ottolenghi is not a vegetarian, he has written a column called "The New Vegetarian" for a British newspaper. This book is essentially a collection of recipes from that column, so it's all vegetables from the point of view of a meat eater. Often, recipes will include suggestions of what meat to serve along with the dish. Most of the recipes, though, look substantial enough to serve as the main dish of any meal. 

As you know, we usually find ourselves at the carnivore end of the scale. But we've wanted to cut back the amount of meat in our diet. If you're looking to do the same, Plenty may be all the inspiration you need. 

The book is categorized by vegetables ("Funny Onions," "Roots," "Leaves," etc.) and there are at least a dozen dishes we're eager to make. A Caramelized Garlic Tart. Chard and Saffron Omelettes. Sweet Corn Polenta. We're dreaming of spring and summer already. 

But one dish lept out to us from the page: these Soba Noodles with Eggplant and Mango. 

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: Roasted Squash and Polenta Torta with Red Onion Marmalade

Fine Cooking (October/November 2011)

Here's just about everything you need to know about this Polenta Torta, in a series of five photographs. 

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! 

Beet Green and Bulgur Soup with Poached Eggs

Fine Cooking (October/November 2011)

Let's face it -- a Beet Green and Bulgur Soup sounds like something you might eat on a hippie commune. We're picturing patchouli, tie-dye and conversations about the merits of firm versus silken tofu.

Well, call us hippies, because this soup is not only simple and quick to prepare, it's also unbelievably delicious. 

Tomato Cobbler

Martha Stewart Living (July 2011)

Even in the height of summer, some dishes justify turning on the oven.

Although usually we're advocates for an oven-free July and August -- trying to instead do all our cooking on the grill or to eat things that require no cooking at all -- we were instantly drawn to this tomato cobbler from Martha Stewart Living. 

Pitched as a "new classic," along with some delectable-looking dishes like these Corn Ice Cream Shortcakes, the cobbler called out to us. 

One look at that savory, biscuit-y crust crowning farm-fresh cherry tomatoes? We couldn't fire up the oven fast enough! 

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!

Spicy Sriracha-Grilled Tofu

Bon Appétit (June 2011)

Tofu. 

If you're trying to de-emphasize meat in your diet, as we've tried to do this year, sooner or later you're going to find yourself eating tofu. We've actually been experimenting this spring with cooking lots of the stuff.

But here's the thing: It's usually pretty bland. 

"Yeah, yeah," you're saying. "Of course it's bland. Like potatoes or rice, tofu is an empty canvas, a culinary blank slate ready to take on whatever flavors you throw at it."

That's true, we guess. But we haven't had too much luck getting tofu to taste like much of anything. Like, say you're eating a yummy veggie tofu stir-fry. The vegetables are full of great flavors, but when you bite into a piece of tofu, it's like, "Oh, now I am eating the tofu part of this stir fry." It's not bad. You're just aware of this little bite of blandness in an otherwise flavorful dish.

Its lack of presence is just so ... present.

Anyway, forget all that. Because this Spicy Sriracha-Grilled Tofu is the hottest, spiciest thing we've eaten in ages.

Asparagus Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce

Fine Cooking (April/May 2011)

Though we've tackled lots of culinary challenges here on The Bitten Word, we've never successfully made fresh pasta. The few times we've done it, it has turned out fine, but it's never knocked our socks off. We want to learn to do it well, but it just requires us making the time to practice. We haven't done that yet, so making fresh pasta perpetually remains on our list of culinary beasts to slay. But this is not a story about learning that skill.

When we first saw the photo for Asparagus Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce in Fine Cooking, our first thought was, "That looks so good but we're not sure we're up for making fresh pasta."

The good news about this recipe:  You don't have to make fresh pasta. And it's awesome.

Garlic-Herb Pinwheels and Harissa-Sausage Pinwheels

Everyday Food (April 2011)

When you have guests over for dinner -- or any get-together, really -- it's always nice to have some snacks for them to nibble on. After all, depending on how the cooking is going, you may have some time to kill. We've served more than our fare share of late dinners while entertaining, so we're always sure to have some sort of snack on hand in case, you know, dinner actually ends up being served at 9 p.m.

And while crudités, crostini and a bowl of nuts are great, they can get a little tiresome, so it's always good to have a few other tricks up your sleeve. We love to serve something that's easy to make but also impressive on the plate, like pinwheels: pre-made dough filled with flavors of your choosing, rolled up, sliced and baked. 

For our book club meeting last week (where we also served Bagna Cauda Dip with Assorted Vegetables), we wanted something simple and tasty, so we were happy to see these Garlic-Herb Pinwheels in Everyday Food. And they inspired us to try our own version -- a Harissa-Sausage Pinwheel.