The Bitten Word

Chicken and Israeli Couscous with Tomato and Lemon

Martha Stewart Living (January 2009)

It's been a while since we've cooked anything out of Martha Stewart Living.

We love the magazine, and have continued to read it, but none of the recent recipes really jumped out to us, or if they did, they didn't seem quite right for us.

There was, for instance, a beautiful recipe for Leg of Pork with Cracklings back in October.  But really you need the right occasion to cook a 20-pound piece of pork. And that occasion never seemed to arrive for us.

Then in November, Cassidy brought the Triple-Chocolate Pumpkin Pie to Thanksgiving, which we loved but we can't exactly take credit for making it.  

And we were intrigued by December's Yorkshire Puddings, but we haven't gotten around to making them yet. 

So it's been a dry run with Martha in our house.  But no more!

Meet Chicken and Israeli Couscous with Tomato and Lemon, a dish we demand that you cook this week.

One Year of The Bitten Word

It's hard to believe, but this past Sunday marked our blog's one year anniversary (blogiversary?).

Just over a year ago, we put up our first post and then wrote about our first recipe, Pork Cheek & Black-Eyed Pea Chili. 

Since then, we've had our fair share of both successes and (delicious but hideous) failures.  We were just remarking at how much we've enjoyed the past year.  The best thing, by far, about writing the blog has been hearing from readers, through your comments and emails. 

Over the past year, we've added lots of ways for you to follow our updates.

You can subscribe to our RSS feed or opt to receive our updates via email.

If you're on Flickr, follow our photostream.  If you're a Twitterer, follow us there and you'll get updates on our blog posts, as well as some more random updates. 

Thanks for reading.  We hope you're looking as forward to Year Two as we are.

-- Zach & Clay

Valentine's Day Desserts | Soft Chocolate Cookies with Grapefruit and Star Anise

Bon Appétit (February 2009)

 


Is dessert worth having if it's not chocolate?

We don't think so.

With Valentine's Day approaching, chocolate is definitely on our minds, and probably on yours, too.

Needless to say, you can run the chocolate gamut when it comes to Valentine's. Your dessert can be very simple, like a plate of well selected Belgian chocolates (we're partial to Leonidas, which you can order online).

Or it can be as elaborate as you can imagine. There's a Cocoa Nib, Chocolate, and Citrus Dacquoise in the February Bon Appétit that looks positively stunning. But it's essentially five recipes in one -- including meringues, a chocolate chiffon cake and a blood orange marmelade -- and it looks like it would take the better part of a weekend to prepare.

We found a sweet spot -- pun intended -- with these Soft Chocolate Cookies with Grapefruit and Star Anise.

Fettuccine Carbonara with Fried Eggs

Bon Appétit (January 2009)

This pasta is from a mouth-watering feature in the January issue of Bon Appétit called "Anything With an Egg on Top." The photo of this carbonara -- served with a delectable, gooey fried egg -- looked so wonderful, it made us want to forget any healthy eating we were attempting to do in the New Year.

Funny thing, though.  The magazine put the dish on the cover sans its central (and most indulgent): the big, nasty, delicious fried egg itself.

Maybe with so many people trying to eat right in the new year,  Bon Appétit thought that showing the carbonara in all its fried egg glory was just too much for more delicate readers.

But we were willing to give it a try. 

Fennel-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Fennel Wedges

Gourmet (February 2009)

Two summers ago, while visiting some friends in Belfast, Maine, we had the opportunity to eat at the most amazing vegetarian restaurant, called Chase's Daily. 

Now it's no secret that we're big meat eaters, and needless to say, we don't frequent vegetarian restaurants very often. 

But Chase's was one of those meals that stays with you.  At the height of summer, the restaurant was serving the freshest vegetables (you could even buy fresh produce there to take home) that were wonderfully prepared.

The dish that we have thought of the most since that meal is Braised Fennel, which was absolutely magical.  We'd only eaten fennel as an accompaniment to other flavors, never as the main event.  This fennel was very simply prepared -- just lightly braised and dressed with salt, pepper and perhaps a touch of balsamic.  It was lovely and one of the best dishes we had eaten that year.

Even though we loved it, we've never purchased or cooked with fennel. 

So isn't it high time that we get our fennel on?

Tandoori Chicken

Cook's Illustrated (January & February 2009)

One of our New Year's culinary resolutions was to cook Indian food. (Thanks for all the great suggestions of Indian cook books, everyone!)

So when we saw this tandoori chicken in Cook's Illustrated, we couldn't wait to try it.

How did our first foray into Indian cooking turn out?