The Bitten Word

Pork Tenderloin with Tomato-Peach Compote

Gourmet (July 2009)

There's an age-old debate about whether tomatoes are fruit or vegetables.  By botanical definition, a tomato is a fruit, but to cooks (and the Supreme Court!), it certainly walks and talks like a vegetable.

We're not going to wade into the debate.

All we know is that tomatoes taste unexpectedly delicious with peaches. 

Dark 'n' Spicy

For us, there's no cocktail that captures the spirit of summer quite like a Dark 'n' Stormy.

We don't think of it as a happy-hour, order-it-in-a-bar kind of drink. And it's not really the sort of thing you'd have in a restaurant as a pre-dinner cocktail.

A Dark 'n' Stormy is definitely a backyard, flip flops, shorts-and-t-shirt kind of drink. It's simple to make. And its cool, refreshing, tingly taste is the perfect thing on a hot, sticky summer night.

But we recently were introduced to a twist on the Dark 'n' Stormy that takes it to a whole new place -- using Goya-brand Jamaican-style ginger beer. If you think you like a Dark 'n' Stormy, this version will knock you off your feet!

Ladies and gentlemen, the Dark 'n' Spicy!

Tomato Hand Pies

Martha Stewart Living (July 2009)

Don't you just love the sound of Tomato Hand Pies? It's like something your grandmother would make for her bridge club. Or something your great-aunt might take to the church social on a sultry summer Sunday.

We thought these hand pies -- small little bites baked in muffin tins -- sounded delightful. And last week, when heirloom tomatoes showed up in our CSA for the first time, we couldn't wait to try them.

As we said, the idea of Tomato Hand Pies is absolutely lovely. The execution? Not as nice.

Arugula Salad with Grilled Chicken, Corn, Tomatoes and Blue Cheese

Everyday Food (July 2009)

Food we love in the summer:

1. Meat on the grill

2. Corn cut fresh off the cob

3. Juicy, ripe, farm-fresh tomatoes

4. Spicy greens from the farmers market

You do the math: How could we possibly turn down this salad?!

Chicken Breasts with Zucchini Pappardelle

Gourmet (July 2009)

Ladies and gentlemen, start your vegetable engines!

Summer vegetables in our region are coming into their prime season, with tomatoes now appearing at the market  along with mounting piles of plentiful cucumbers, squash and zucchini.

It's happened at our house, for sure. 

Our CSA kicked in big time this week.  Last week, we decided to forgo our share because we had several nights of plans that kept us from cooking at home and we didn't want to let our veggies go to waste.

So this week we were able to get a double share.  And we brought home quite a haul!

Mediterranean Tuna Salad

A Bitten Word Recipe

When it comes to cooking, there's something of a four-point checklist of criteria for every dish: simple, tasty, affordable and healthful.

Usually, a given dish can hit two or three of them. Maybe it's easy and cheap, but it's not very good for you. Or maybe it's a healthful dish that tastes great, but it's pricey and time-consuming to make.

There's one dish, though, that knocks them all out of the park: Tuna salad. It's packed with healthful ingredients, it takes five minutes to make, it tastes great and it costs next to nothing.

It's a quad-fecta!

The only problem with tuna salad? It can get a little boring. You've probably got your favorite, basic, go-to recipe, but let's face it: Eating the same tuna salad again and again can get a little old.

So this summer, we've been making this Mediterranean Tuna Salad. For us, it's been a terrific new spin on tuna, a light and fresh-tasting salad that's a perfect summer meal.

Turnip-and-Kohlrabi Slaw with Ginger Vinaigrette

Food & Wine (June 2009)

We're in a little bit of a lull with our CSA share right now. It's the time of the season when we're transitioning from spring vegetables to the summer harvest. We're not getting leafy greens or asparagus spears anymore, but it's not quite time for tomatoes, squash and corn.

In this little interlude, our weekly share has included things like: one kohlrabi, three turnips, some kale, and a smattering of other things, like carrots, onions and chard.

Of course we don't want our veggies to go to waste, but what to do with one kohlrabi? How could we use up three little purple turnips?

Time to get creative!

Baked Onion Rings

Everyday Food (June 2009)

We very seldom fry anything.

It's not that we're anti-frying, really, but let's face it, it's often messy, it stinks up our kitchen a bit, and though we hate to even think about it, it's not very good for us. 

But when we do fry, we make sure it's going to be good. Fried chicken. Delicious okra.  The occasional batch of french fries.

And even though we don't fry very often, we're a little leery of anything that's "fried" in an oven. It's like the time we made Crispy Baked "Fried" Chicken -- it was a very good dish, but just not the same as actual fried chicken.  

So we approached these Baked Oven Rings with some trepidation. What we found, though, surprised us.

Herbed Balsamic Chicken with Blue Cheese

Bon Appétit (June 2009)

We love grilling chicken, but more often than not, we end up slathering it in barbecue sauce. The sweet-smoky barbecue flavor is great, and it's one of our favorite summer dishes.

But all that sticky barbecue sweetness had left our sweet tooths a little overindulged. So one night last week, we found ourselves craving some grilled chicken that was decidedly savory.

This Herbed Balsamic Chicken with Blue Cheese sounded like the perfect fit!

Grilled Chocolate Pound Cake with Homemade Peanut Butter Chococlate Chip Ice Cream

Fine Cooking (June/July 2009) | Martha Stewart Living (July 2009) | Food & Wine (June 2009)

For Clay's birthday dinner, we were hopelessly undecided about dessert and went round and round in conversation about it. Should we make a cake?  A pie?  We knew three things for certain:

1. There had to be chocolate. 

2. Dessert needed to seem special but not too fussy. 

3. And we were going to make ice cream. 

As we began to pick out recipes, we found ourselves drawn to three in particular.  We couldn't make them all, so instead we settled on an option that the kids seem to find all the rage these days: a mash-up.