The Bitten Word

Carrot Macaroni and Cheese

Food & Wine (April 2009)

When selecting recipes from food magazines, there's never any guarantee that they're going to be good.  Sure, food mags have test kitchens and recipes have (we hope) been tested multiple times before being published. 

But even when following recipes to the letter, there can be problems.  Sometimes the cooking time may be off.  Or there might not be much flavor.  But sometimes you find a real treasure of a recipe -- something that really wows you and makes you want to return to it again and again.

So it's a gamble.

And when you choose something called "Carrot Macaroni and Cheese," it's an especially big gamble.  I mean, when's the last time you heard of Carrot Mac and Cheese?

Would it be a hit or a miss? 

Israeli Couscous with Parsley and Shallots

Everyday Food (April 2009)

A funny thing happened while we were in San Francisco for a week: summer came to Washington, D.C. When we left the District, it was chilly and raining, and the trees were just beginning to make a pale green effort at dressing up their barren branches. We returned to find 90-degree weather, bright sunshine and streets full of leafy, green trees. Summer, it seems, is in full tilt.

And if there's one surefire place to find us on a summer evening, it's our outdoor grill.

We're pretty straightforward cooks when it comes to grilling, sticking mostly to simple cuts of meat with a few choice spices. On occasion, we'll dress up a steak, make a more elaborate barbecue chicken, or even do something a little fancier on the grill.

But 99 percent of the time you'll find us cooking a well-seasoned steak or piece of fish, dressed with salt, pepper and -- if we're feeling adventurous -- a simple marinade.

Regardless of what we're grilling, we look for simple but tasty sides that can be prepared with minimal effort. Last night, we opted for an arugula salad, dressed with lemon juice, olive oil and a tiny bit of Parmesan cheese.  Looking for a second side, we settled on Israeli Couscous with Parsley and Shallots.

The Old Fashioned

Gourmet (March 2009)

The Bitten Word is on vacation this week, in the Bay Area of sunny California.  

It's a lovely trip so far -- catching up with friends, visiting wine country and the beach, and pretty much eating everything in sight. If you want to hear more about our trip and what we're eating, follow us over on Twitter.  

Since we won't be updating this week, we'll leave you with Gourmet's recent recipe for an Old Fashioned. We loved the citrusy kick that mellows the bourbon's bite.  Served over ice, it's a stiff but refreshing cocktail.  

See you in a week! 

The Old Fashioned
Gourmet (March 2009)
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Dale DeGroff, in The Essential Cocktail, muddles a teaspoon of superfine bar sugar, three dashes of Angostura bitters, a slice of orange, a cherry, and a splash of water or club soda in an Old Fashioned glass.  He then removes the fruit solids, adds ice and two ounces of bourbon, stirs and garnishes the drink with an orange slice and a cherry.  It shows off the bourbon's charms.

Tres Cocoas Leches Cake

Like other pioneers before her, our friend Sue had a dream.

In this dream, there was delicious Tres Leches cake, moist and rich. 

But unlike a traditional Tres Leches, there was an ingredient that made made the cake even better.

That ingredient?  Chocolate.

¡Hola, Tres Cocoas Leches!

Pineapple-Mustard-Glazed Ham

Martha Stewart Living (April 2009)

For us, there's sort of a philosophical question when it comes to Easter brunch: Is Easter really Easter without a ham?

You can have your pork loin, and you can have your leg of lamb. For us, a big juicy ham is as central to Easter brunch as a turkey at Thanksgiving.

This year, deciding on a recipe for the ham was a no-brainer. As soon as we flipped to this Pineapple-Mustard-Glazed Ham in Martha Stewart Living, we knew it was a match meant to be.

Scrambled Eggs with Ramps and Asparagus

Bon Appétit (April 2009)

We've been writing a bit lately about telltale signs of spring. But from a culinary perspective -- in this part of the country, anyway -- there may be no more apt symbol of early spring than the ramp.

Ramps are small, tender bulbs that resemble a cross between garlic and green onions. Also known as wild leeks, ramps have a delicious oniony bite, but the taste is tempered and milder than scallions.

They're huge in this area -- several communities in Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania hold annual ramp festivals. And as restaurants have turned their attention to local ingredients in recent years, you can almost set your calendar by the appearance of ramps on area menus.

But we'd actually never cooked with them. Which is why, as we were putting together our menu for our Easter brunch this year, we were so drawn to this recipe for Scrambled Eggs with Ramps and Asparagus. We loved the idea of cooking not only with the ramp bulbs, but with the greens as well. These eggs promised to be delicious and warm, with unmistakable notes of spring.

Dijon-Cilantro Tuna Salad on Whole Grain Bread

Bon Appétit (April 2009)

Readers, we have a secret.

If you were to run into us at the grocery store, you'd see something in our cart that maybe you wouldn't expect from food bloggers.

In addition to meats and veggies and other ingredients for the week, our grocery cart would be piled full to overflowing with Lean Cuisines. That's right: We eat Lean Cuisines almost every day for lunch. We buy a big ol' stack of them every week and take them to work with us.

Perhaps it's something we should be embarrassed about. But the truth is, we're not ashamed at all.

Why?  Well, they're by far the easiest, cheapest, most healthful lunch option we can make on a daily basis.  (Seriously, check out the ingredients list -- a lot of people think the meals are loaded with preservatives, but most of them have no preservatives at all.)

Thanks to this Dijon-Cilantro Tuna Salad, though, Lean Cuisines may be showing up on our lunch plates a little less frequently. 

Baked Eggs in Tomato-Parmesan Sauce

Everyday Food (April 2009)

We've mentioned before that we canned our own tomatoes last summer. Over the winter, with a cupboard full of jars of swirling, gorgeous red tomatoes, we've always been on the lookout for ways to use them.

We've made some terrific pasta sauces and soups, but these Baked Eggs in Tomato-Parmesan Sauce might be the single best dish we've made with our canned tomatoes.

Let's put it this way: This recipe is so good, we've already made it twice!

Spinach Salad with Salmon and Balsamic-Rosemary Vinaigrette

Everyday Food (March 2009)

There are lots of signs of spring: daffodils and tulips popping out of the damp earth, diners once again lingering in outdoor cafes, and -- in D.C. anyway -- the pale blush of cherry tree blossoms.

But one certain sign of spring that we always look forward to is when our local Sunday farmers market returns to its longer summer hours. It's not a drastic change, really. The farm stands open an hour earlier and stay around longer into the afternoon. But the extended hours lure more vendors back to the market and entice more residents to return. It's as sure a seasonal signal as any other.

One of the best parts about the reawakening of the farmers market? The growing abundance of fresh greens. That means we'll likely be eating more salads as the temperature rises. And we'll definitely be adding this Spinach Salad with Salmon and Balsamic-Rosemary Vinaigrette to our repertoire.

Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Apricots and White Chocolate

Martha Stewart Living (March 2009)

As the dozens of food trend stories and blog posts have informed us, cupcakes and frozen yogurt are all the rage right now, especially in our nation's capital, where both trends have caused a sudden flurry of store openings.  People are lining up for these treats, and don't get us wrong, we're supportive of both trends.

But sometimes, we just need a cookie.

A good, old-fashioned, delicious cookie.

Our go-to cookie is oatmeal with chocolate chips. We don't have a specific recipe we rely on (if you have one, please share!), but when a mid-week cookie craving hits us, that's what we whip up. 

So it was with great interest that we made these Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Apricots and White Chocolate. 

Is this our new go-to cookie?