The Bitten Word

Blueberry Pancakes

Saveur (October 2008)

For two years, whenever we have made pancakes, we've used a recipe for "Basic Pancakes" from the September 2006 Everyday Food. In fact, while our other back issues of Everyday Food are exiled to the office, we keep this issue of the magazine on the shelves of our kitchen just for this recipe, returning to it time and again.  It's simple, effective and produces very good pancakes.

The October breakfast issue of Saveur includes a recipe with a new twist on pancakes, with a recipe for Blueberry Pancakes that includes seltzer water and yogurt.

Do these new ingredients pay off?

Pork Rib Roast with Creamy Polenta and Braised Collard Greens

Bon Appétit (October 2008)

To celebrate Zach's recent birthday we wanted to cook a nice Sunday evening meal that fit the newly chilly weather. 

Bon Appétit's recent feature on "America's Foodiest Small Town" -- Durham-Chapel Hill -- not only made us want to run off and become farmers, but also contained this mouth-watering dish from Piedmont restaurant. 

Pork, collard greens and polenta can all be extremely tasty on their own. How well do they work as a combo?

Dark Gingerbread Pear Cake

Gourmet (October 2008)

We wanted a great dessert to cap off our autumnal dinner with D and R, and this one fit the bill perfectly. The pears at our farmers market are in peak season, and the taste of a pear is just so evocative of fall.

This gingerbread is delicious -- dark and satisfying, but not too sweet. It really lets the ginger taste sing. And matching the gingerbread with a pear is a really lovely combination.

We did make one big alteration to this recipe, though, and we were very happy with the results!

Risotto with Butternut Squash and Sage

Bon Appétit (October 2008)

We had our friends D and R over for dinner the other night. With a serious chill in the air for the first time, we wanted a menu that was full of great fall flavors.

For us, that means favorite go-to dishes like a roast pork tenderloin, Brussels sprouts with bacon, and roasted root vegetables like carrots and parsnips.

And to those we now add a new fall favorite: This absolutely amazing risotto with butternut squash and sage. Each bite is like a taste of the very essence of Autumn.

Herbed Roast Chicken

Cook's Illustrated (September & October 2008)

Food magazines are stocked with roast chicken recipes. 

Almost every month, at least one of our magazines contains such a recipe, but we rarely make them.

We've previously professed our love for the Barefoot Contessa's Lemon and Garlic Roast Chicken.  We've probably returned to this recipe more than any other -- a well-stained and heavily creased print-out of it is tucked between two cookbooks in our kitchen.  It's our favorite way to end a weekend, the perfect Sunday night meal.

The recipe for Cook's, titled "Improving Herbed Roast Chicken," caught our attention, because although we make roast chicken all the time, we rarely make it absolutely slathered in herbs, as Cook's does in this recipe. 

Can it outdo Contessa?

Moscow Mule

Bon Appétit (October 2008)

When we go to the beach, we love to make Dark & Stormys -- a simple mix of rum and ginger beer over ice.

(Accompanying the Dark & Stormys, we've been known to eat -- and we promise this is only on vacation -- Cape Cod potato chips dipped in peanut butter, but that's a shameful story for another time.)

With the weather turning cool and the beach far behind us, we toast the start of fall with the Dark & Stormy's brighter cousin, the Moscow Mule.

Pasta with Sausage, Basil and Mustard

Food & Wine (October 2008)

We know what you're thinking, because we thought it, too.

Mustard in pasta?

That's right, kids.  It's in Food & Wine's October feature about the "30 Best Fast Dishes Ever." 

Does this dish deserve a place on that list?

Classic Eggs Benedict

Saveur (October 2008)

 

We certainly weren't in the market for another food magazine, but a couple months ago, when we received an offer for a low-cost subscription to Saveur, we couldn't resist.

And with the October issue devoted entirely to breakfast dishes, we're glad we didn't!

We love to eat breakfast.

During the work week, we do a quick breakfast -- most often quick cooking oats, protein shakes or Kashi cereal -- but on the weekends, one of our favorite things to do is to make a nice big breakfast. We like to make biscuits or pancakes or slow scramble eggs with white pepper.  And we live for bacon and sausage.  (You can take the boys out of the South . . .)

First Look: Food Network Magazine

If you read as many food magazines, websites and blogs as we do, you've probably already heard about Food Network Magazine. 

It doesn't hit newsstands until October 14, but the good people at Hearst were kind enough to send us an advance copy. 

How does Food Network Mag stack up to Gourmet, Bon Appétit and our other beloved magazines?

Pear-and-Jicama Salad

Martha Stewart Living (September 2008)

On most nights that we cook for the blog, our menu only features one dish from a food magazine.  The others items cooked those nights -- be it the main dish or a side -- are typically other recipes we like or just things that we make up as we go along.

We made an exception, though, when deciding what to serve with Chili-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin.  We wanted something that would complement the flavors of the pork.  We had to look no further than the same page of Martha Stewart Living, opting for the Pear-and-Jicama Salad the magazine recommended.