Bon Appétit (July 2016)
"You haven't been to All Purpose?"
"OMG how have you not had the fried chicken at Maketto yet??"
"Surely you guys have done the tasting menu at Kinship?"
"Conosci? Kyirisan? Convivial? Masseria?"
"Pineapple and Pearls? You haven't even been to Pineapple and Pearls???"
No.
We haven't been to any of these buzzy Washington, D.C., restaurants.
Here's why.
Continue reading "Corn Salad with Hazelnuts, Pecorino, and Mint" »
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Food & Wine (June 2016)
We promise not to be one of those couples who, you know, goes to Japan and then everything we say is about Japan. ("This sushi's fine, I guess, but it's nothing like what we had at Tsukiji in Tokyo...")
HOWEVER. We need to talk about Kewpie mayonnaise.
Kewpie mayonnaise is the most popular mayo in Japan. While we were there, we saw it on lots of stuff, most notably -- and most deliciously -- atop those amazing okonomiyaki pancakes. According to the Kewpie website, it was the first mayonnaise to be introduced in Japan, in 1925. And it's been a fixture on Japanese tables ever since.
Three things you need to know about Kewpie mayonnaise:
2. Kewpie is thicker, richer and creamier than other mayonnaise. It's also got more of that crave-worthy umami flavor. (Thanks, MSG!)
3. It is a secret-weapon ingredient in this amazingly delicious Kohlrabi Slaw with Harissa Dressing.
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adapted from Gourmet (May 2008)
Novelists steal stories from their friends. Food bloggers steal recipes.
Not too long ago, we had dinner at the home of our friends Shane and Joe. Joe mixes phenomenal cocktails. Shane is an incredibly talented cook. Shane had made an array of Indian dishes, but to start the meal, he served an amazing salad featuring the most wonderfully balanced salad dressing. It was salty and sweet, with an unusual flavor we couldn't quite put our finger on. We loved it, so of course we asked for the recipe. Turns out it's one of Shane's favorite recipes, clipped from a 2008 issue of Gourmet (look it up, kids). Shane graciously shared the recipe with us. And now here we are, sharing it with you.
It's good timing: If you're following us on Instagram, you may know that we're freshly back from Japan (as in we landed a few hours ago, can't sleep, and are writing this post in the wee hours of the morning). And this recipe is based on a famous salad from Natori, a now-defunct Japanese restaurant in New York City's East Village.
We have loads of things to share with you from Japan. (And so much great food!)
But right now, we're going to go make a batch of this dressing and have a much needed salad.
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Martha Stewart Living (April 2016)
If we tallied up all the money we spent at farmers markets last year, we're afraid we might be aghast.
You see, we're avid farmers market goers. We live for the asparagus of the spring, the stone fruit of the summer, apples in the fall, and, well, we kind of bide our time through winter's bleakness waiting for spring to come back around.
We went to the market fewer times this winter than any of the last five years. We just weren't feeling inspired to haul out of our house on cold Sunday mornings. We hated buying our eggs at the supermarket instead of from the wonderful man we see at the market, but for some reason, and with no real discussion about it between the two of us, we largely opted out this winter.
We made our return to the market two weeks ago. It was a cool Sunday morning. We were hoping for asparagus. There was none to be found (still too early), but there were ramps, which was fun to see. And, as there were the few times we hit the market this winter, there were big, beautiful beets.
We love beets, be they raw, marinated, or slawed (just go with it). But we rarely make them, and we're sorry to say that that's largely because of the mess. They stain. It's ugly. And we recognize that it's more a mental hurdle than any real obstacle. The stain, after all, goes away quickly.
It's a hurdle we need to overcome. Because beets are delicious! (Quiet down, haters.)
We dusted off our beet apprehension, and got to making these Roasted Beets with Dill-and-Chive Yogurt Dressing.
Continue reading "Roasted Beets With Dill-and-Chive Yogurt Dressing" »
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A Bitten Word Recipe
For our recent dinner with Mark and Ryan, we had the main dish -- Coconut Chicken Curry with Turmeric and Lemongrass -- and we had the side, that deliciously addictive Persian-Style Rice with Golden Crust.
We needed a salad.
With the global flavors of the meal as inspiration, and specifically the Persian rice, we decided to improvise a Middle Eastern salad. Using a few things we had on hand, we made a basic vinaigrette dressing with a Middle East twist: pomegranate molasses. We've mentioned this ingredient before, but if you're not familiar with pomegranate molasses, it's a thick, syrupy reduction of pomegranate juice. It's popular in Turkish and Iranian cuisine. Don't let the "molasses" fool you: This isn't sweet. In fact, it's mouth-puckeringly tart. A little goes a very, very long way.
We're fortunate enough to live less than a block from a Middle Eastern grocery store. But you may be able to find pomegranate molasses in the International aisle of your supermarket, or at a specially food store. (And there's always the Internet.)
For the salad itself, we kept things very simple: fresh spinach, some chopped dates for sweetness, and pomegranate seeds for variety and color (and to complement the pomegranate in the dressing).
The finished salad was exactly what we wanted: fresh and bright and slightly exotic without overwhelming the other foods on the plate. It turned out great!
Continue reading "Spinach Salad with Pomegranate Molasses Vinaigrette" »
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Bon Appétit (January 2016)
Until recently, it's been an incredibly mild winter here in Washington, D.C. But now, two weeks into January, we're already feeling cold, damp and gray, gray, gray.
So when when we saw this salad and its explosion of color in the latest Bon Appétit, our faces lit up. The crazy tangle of red, orange and yellow, spiked with green pistachios, was like a breath a fresh air -- and a nice change from all the heavier foods we've been eating since Thanksgiving.
In the end, of course, a beet-and-carrot salad is, well, a beet-and-carrot salad.
This one, it turns out, is all about the curry dressing.
Continue reading "Beet and Carrot Salad with Curry Dressing and Pistachios" »
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Cooking Light (November 2015)
When we sat down to think about this year's Thanksgiving trends, we definitely had this salad in mind. It hits on two of the biggest themes we noticed: Vinegar and Ancient Grains.
So basically this salad is super trendy for Thanksgiving 2015. But there's a more important reason you should make it: It's incredibly delicious.
Continue reading "Thanksgiving 2015: Shaved Apple and Fennel Salad with Crunchy Spelt" »
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220 Thanksgiving Recipes from 10 Leading Food Magazines
Yesterday, we were all about the trends, sharing what's in and what's out for this year's Thanksgiving feast.
Today, it's all about the recipes. Below, we've categorized all 220 recipes from the 10 magazines we're tracking this year.
Of course, the November issues of these magazines feature many more recipes than this -- in order to make this list, the recipe had to be part of an explicit feature about Thanksgiving. (If a recipe doesn't have a hyperlink, it means it isn't yet available online.)
Explore the list and share your thoughts: What sounds amazing? What sounds too wacky for your table? What might you try for this year's feast? Let us know in the comments -- and happy cooking!
TURKEYS
Porchetta-Style Roast Turkey Breast (Bon Appétit)
Barbecue Spice–Brined Grilled Turkey (Bon Appétit)
Glazed and Lacquered Roast Turkey (Bon Appétit)
Two-Hour Turkey with Gravy (Cook's Country)
Applewood-Smoked Turkey (Cooking Light)
Brown Sugar–Cured Turkey with Apple-Bourbon Gravy (Cooking Light)
Rosemary-Orange Roast Turkey (Cooking Light)
Citrus-Herb Roast Turkey & Gravy (Fine Cooking)
Chipotle-Butter Turkey (Food & Wine)
Citrus-and-Butter Turkey (Food & Wine)
Porchetta-Spiced Turkey with Pan Gravy (Food & Wine)
Roast Turkey with Polenta Stuffing (Food & Wine)
Soy-and-Sesame Turkey (Food & Wine)
Maple-Whiskey Turkey (Food Network)
Classic Roast Turkey (Food Network)
Lemon-Pepper Turkey with Bacon Gravy (Food Network)
Southwestern Turkey with Chipotle Gravy (Food Network)
Herbed Turkey (Martha Stewart Living)
Molasses-and-Cider-Glazed Turkey (Martha Stewart Living)
Tamarind-Glazed Roast Turkey (Saveur)
Slow Smoked and Spice-Brined Turkey (Saveur)
Dry-Brined-and-Marinated Smoked Turkey (Southern Living)
GRAVY
Gravy-Braised Turkey Legs with Cipolline Onions (Bon Appétit)
Classic Turkey Gravy with Thyme (Bon Appétit)
Maple-Whiskey Gravy (Food Network)
Classic Gravy (Food Network)
Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy (Cooking Light)
Make-Ahead Gravy (Southern Living)
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Food & Wine (August 2015)
If you don't mind, we'd like to start off today with a mini-rant.
We are so over recipes and restaurant menus with meat-dish names for vegetarian plates. In fact, we thought this was already a played-out trend two-and-a-half years ago, when we wrote about a "broccoli carpaccio":
Quick tangent: Can we talk for one second about the word "carpaccio"? We know it's a very trendy thing right now to treat vegetables as hefty meat entrees. From coast to coast, chefs in progressive restaurants are serving things like cauliflower "steaks," carrot "tartare" and beet "carpaccio." Can we please cut that out? We love vegetables at least as much as the next guys -- honest! But we find this trend a bit eyeroll-inducing. We swear, the first time we see a turnip "meatloaf" on the menu, we're walking out.
Like with today's recipe: Why oh why is this called a "crudo"? A crudo is a dish of raw fish or, more rarely, raw meat.
We already have a word for raw vegetables on a plate. It's a salad.
Okay, now that we got that off our chest, here's what you really need to know about this dish: This salad is incredibly delicious.
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Food & Wine (August 2015)
Never fear, Bittens! We're still here.
We've just been away on vacation in Cape Cod for the past few weeks.
Here's our vacation by the numbers:
It was a decadent, hilarious, fun-filled few weeks with friends.
But now we're back. Back to sanity. Back to the gym. Back to healthy(ish) eating. Back to (thankfully) more summer.
After a big few weeks, it's time to get back in touch with our good old friend Salad.
And we turned to this Charred Tomato Vinaigrette to help reintroduce us.
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