The Bitten Word

Roasted Baby Carrots, with Chile, Mint and Orange Glaze

Bon Appétit (March 2010)

We try to be upbeat about the seasons -- we really do. We're constantly reminding ourselves that each new season brings its own unique pleasures, its own singular beauty.

But we've just gotta say it: We're so sick of winter! 

It's nearly March, but outside it's just as dreary and cold as ever. True, it's been a particularly fierce winter in D.C. this year (snowiest year on record, etc.). But we just feel like we've been one long slog through the muck since November.

What we need is a vacation. Someplace warm, someplace sunny. Maybe get some sand between our toes. Someplace with spicy, exotic food...

Well, that ain't happening. But we'll settle for these carrots.

Beef Roast Braised with Onions

From Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

Personally, we're sort of over the whole "add-bacon-to-everything" craze. 

We were excited by the idea of bacon chocolate-chip cookies. And we guess we could get on board for bacon peanut brittle. But somewhere between bacon salt, bacon vodka, bacon coffee and baconnaise, we suffered from bacon overkill.

Still, though, it's hard to argue with this basic fact: Adding bacon to something will probably make it taste a whole lot better.

Which is why we were so excited when our friend Bobby sent us this recipe for Beef Roast Braised with Onions from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan.  It's a beef brisket that's literally infused with the flavor and fat of bacon, because you essentially just take little pieces of bacon and jab them into the meat all over the surface.

And the best part is, you don't even have to refer to it as "jabbing little pieces of bacon all over the surface of the meat." Why?  Because there's actually a word for that!

Ladies and gentlemen?  Get ready to start "larding."

Dutch-Oven Boule Using Basic Bread Dough

Our first foray into bread making produced mixed results: a beautiful and tasty -- but slightly tough -- loaf of Classic White Bread.

We believed -- and many of you agreed -- that we had possibly used too much flour, had likely under-kneaded our dough, and that our crumb was too tight (which, by the way, may be our new go-to insult. "Oh, you don't like the shirt I'm wearing?  Well, your crumb is too tight!").

Anyway, many of you wrote to suggest that we try No-Knead Bread. We're huge Mark Bittman fans and had read his recipe when it was originally published. We've always meant to try it, and will, someday, but for our second go-round with bread-making we turned to Michael Ruhlman, author of Ratio: The Secret Codes by the Craft of Everyday Cooking.

Skirt Steak with Paprika Butter

Food & Wine (January 2010)

We always feel a little bit like we're cheating when we cook a skirt steak. How can something be this cheap, this tasty and this quick to prepare? It's like we've stumbled onto an ancient secret in the supermarket: How does everyone not know about this?!

Perhaps we're exaggerating. But only a little. The fact is, skirt steak is a great meal to have up your sleeve (not literally; that would be messy) for a lightning-quick midweek dinner.  Take last night:  We had a skirt steak in the fridge. We walked in from work, sliced up an onion and a bell pepper, sauteed everything in some oil and an easy Asian steak sauce we'd made earlier in the week. And we were sitting down to eat literally 12 minutes -- 12 minutes! -- after we'd walked in the door.

Bottom line: Skirt steak is a great thing to have on hand. And if you want to make it just a little more special, look no further than this recipe for Skirt Steak with Paprika Butter.

Classic White Bread

Martha Stewart Living (February 2009)

Like many in the mid-Atlantic region, the recent snowpocalypse spurred us to cook, and eat, and then cook some more.

After all, what else are you going to do with two-and-a-half feet of snow on the ground?  Go for a jog?

Early on in the storm, we also got the hankering to do some baking. But we'd never baked bread before.  Our baking to date has been relegated to desserts and sweets. 

So we set off to make our very first loaf of bread. How did two novice bakers do?

Finding a CSA: What to Know and What to Expect

It's hard to believe, with several feet of snow on the ground here, that it's time to start thinking about spring vegetables. But it's true. If you're interested, now is the time to research and find a CSA, because before we know it, ramps will be popping up out of the ground.

Admittedly, when it comes to CSA's, we're pushers. We've belonged to one for three years now and have really enjoyed the experience. From May to November, if we're writing about cooking with vegetables, we're typically telling you that we got them from our CSA.

For the uninitiated, CSA is short for "Community Supported Agriculture."  This typically means that individuals subscribe to the farm and receive a weekly shipment of vegetables.

In our case, this means that we get a weekly share from Clagett Farm, part of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. One night each week, for 26 weeks a year, the farm sets up in a parking lot near our neighborhood where we go to pick up our share our vegetables.

We've found that in our neck of the woods, getting into a CSA for the first time can be fairly competitive, so it's best to go ahead and try to find yours now (or get on a waiting list) before membership opens.

So how do you go about finding a CSA? And if you're considering joining one, what do you need to know beforehand?

Cajun Red Beans and Rice

Cook's Illustrated (January/February 2010)

We've got New Orleans on the brain, and it's not just because of the Saints' big win or the city's recent mayoral election.

Tuesday is Mardi Gras! And although we're feeling a bit too old for the whole beads-and-Jello-shot version of the celebration, we think it's the perfect occasion to make these Red Beans and Rice.

With an overnight soak time for the beans and two hours of prep for the actual dish, you can't exactly call this recipe the "Big Easy."  It's more like the "Big Moderately Difficult and Time-Consuming But Not Really All That Hard Once You Get Into It."

And it's the ideal dish to make should you find yourself confined to your home under 30 inches of snow.

Actually, you can "quick-brine" the beans if you want, meaning this dish can be ready in about three hours, most of which doesn't require your actual attention. So if you've got a little time, these Cajun Red Beans and Rice are a wonderful way to heat things up on a cold winter night.

Black Forest Upside-Down Cakes and Other Valentine's Day Desserts

Everyday Food (January/February 2010)

We're not big Valentine's Day people.

It's not that we hate romance. It's just that we dislike many of the trappings of Valentine's Day, especially the thought of a crowded restaurant stuffed with roses and overpriced prix fixe menus.

Bah humbug. 

For many years now, we've tended to spend Valentine's at home, staying in and making a nice meal.

This is just one of the reasons we loved the "Eat Out (At Home)" feature in the January/February issue of Everyday Food.  

It's everything we want in an at-home Valentine's Day meal: a nice salad (in this case, Caesar salad for two), a beautiful entree (Steak and Shrimp with Parsley Potatoes), and a scrumptious looking dessert (these Black Forest Upside-Down Cakes).

While snowed in this weekend, we decided to give these Black Forest Upside-Down Cakes a spin. 

Two Years of The Bitten Word

Hi, everyone!

It's our blogiversary!  Two years ago today, we launched The Bitten Word as a way to keep track of a New Year's resolution to cook from our food magazines.

It's been tremendously fun and extremely educational -- but the best part has been getting the chance to connect with you and hear about your culinary ups and downs.

So thank you for two great years, and here's to many, many more.  Happy cooking!

--Zach & Clay

Old-Bay Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Everyday Food (January/February 2010)

Just over a year ago, we wrote about one of our favorite standby side dishes, Fajita Sweet Potatoes. We call them our ultimate cheat-dish: With only three ingredients (including olive oil) they could not be simpler to prepare. Guests go gaga for 'em, and so do we.

So we were really interested to see these Old-Bay Roasted Sweet Potatoes in the newest issue of Everyday Food. The concept is exactly the same as our Fajita Sweet Potatoes: dice the potatoes, toss them in oil and seasoning, bake for a half hour.

And we were particularly excited at the idea of the Old Bay spin. We're not sure how familiar everyone is with Old Bay Seasoning -- it's originally from the Chesapeake Bay area, so it's ubiquitous where we live in Washington, D.C. (It's even available as a popcorn topping at movie theaters here.) But it's also very popular in the South and the Gulf Coast, so we were each familiar with it growing up in Tennessee and Kentucky.

Fun fact about Old Bay: Crabs used to be so plentiful in Maryland that bars would give them away as free snacks. Seasonings like Old Bay -- a blend of spices like mustard, paprika, bay leaf, cinnamon and pepper, developed in the 1940s -- were added to crab meat to make bar patrons thirstier.

Anyway, we wanted to find out: Could these Old Bay potatoes match our Fajita Faves?