The Bitten Word

Our Test Kitchen Tour

As you might remember, visiting a food magazine test kitchen is something that's been on our list of Culinary Resolutions for two years now. 

Last Friday, we finally had the opportunity to make that resolution a reality. Where'd we go? We'll let this photo do to talking:

Yep! We were fortunate enough to be given a tour of the offices of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, in New York. We had the best time!  And of course we wanted to share our photos with you.

So come along!

Quinoa Salad with Asparagus, Edamame and Radish

adapted from Fine Cooking (June 2012)

Our friend Jim just graduated from business school, and we invited him over for a celebratory dinner. Nothing fancy -- just a few friends for backyard cocktails and some food on the grill. (We did do one little thing to make it special. We made Jim's self-proclaimed all-time favorite cake.)

The biggest rule for the dinner? No indoor cooking. It was a steamy Saturday, and we didn't want to turn our apartment into a hotbox.

So we were very pleased to come across the feature in the June Fine Cooking on grain salads. The mag proclaims them "the new summer side," and we couldn't agree more.

Campari and Gin

inspired by Bon Appétit (June 2012)

We're fleeing town for Memorial Day weekend, off to see our friends Brian and Andrew, who recently found out that they're moving to Italy for 18 months. Needless to say, we're sad to see them go, more than a bit jealous, and eager to book a trip to visit. 

So to bid them ciao, we offer you our newly anointed cocktail of summer 2012 -- a Campari and Gin. 

Red Lentil Dal with Tamarind and Asparagus

Food & Wine (May 2012)

We love food magazines for introducing us to new ingredients. But we really love learning how to combine familiar foods in new ways. That was the case with this Red Lentil Dal. It's made from relatively familiar ingredients -- lentils, asparagus, chiles, fennel, onions, coriander, even tamarind, which we've cooked with before -- but the sum of the parts was a completely new thing for us.  

This recipe leapt out to us from the pages of Food & Wine. It was a no-brainer, really. We adore red lentils. And between our CSA and overpurchasing at the farmers market, we're swimming in asparagus right now. 

Photos from Spring

We've had a busy start to the year, but between our jobs and other projects, we've squeezed in a few long weekends away and a lot of really great meals. We feel really lucky to have so many opportunities to do fun things and eat good food with people we love, and we want to share some of that with you.

So here's a selection of photos and stories from our lives these past few months.

 

Our favorite Thai restaurant in DC is owned by three friends, and they've started serving Thai brunch. There's such a thing as Thai brunch? We had no idea, either! But in March we got invited to a "test brunch" as they were working on the menu. We loved a lot of the dishes, especially the Thai donuts, a delicious rice soup with a soft, creamy egg, and sweet ginger soup with soy curd. But we were especially enamored with these kanom krok (pictured above). They're delicate little shells filled with sweet coconut milk. Delicious. 

Scallops with Spice Oil

Bon Appétit (May 2012)

When it comes to seafood, probably the single most-quoted line around our house comes from "Top Chef" way back in 2009. Cheftestant Fabio Viviani was criticizing one of his competitors, Jamie, for making scallops too frequently. As Fabio put it, "This is 'Top Chef.' It's not 'Top Scallops!'"

What's charming about it is Fabio's Mario-and-Luigi Italian accent: "Eez no tope scallope!"

(By the way, if you're wondering what the second most often-quoted line about seafood is in our house, it has to do with ordering a certain kind of fish "just for the halibut." Thanks, folks! We're here all week.)

Anyway, these scallops from Bon Appétit....

Black-Eyed Pea Salad

Saveur (May 2012)

We cut into the tiny habanero, and we both started coughing.

The spice immediately seemed to be in our throats. Is it really possible that the pepper is so hot that we felt it while just chopping it? 

Now we knew how John O'Connor felt.

In the new issue of Saveur, O'Connor has an essay about eating in Senegal, where he describes Scotch bonnet chile-spiked dishes so hot they're "incendiary."

We were eager to try one of the dishes. We contemplated making the Thieboudienne, or Senegalese Fish and Rice, the country's national dish.

But we opted to start our Senegalese cooking adventures with something a little closer to home: this Black-Eyed Pea Salad.

Spice-Rubbed Steak on the Grill

Cook's Illustrated (May/June 2012)

Our names are Zach and Clay, and we're carnivores.

Don't get us wrong: We love vegetables. We've been eating more meatless meals, and for lots of reasons -- our health, our budget, the environment -- we're very happy to be doing that.

But, man, sometimes nothing beats a steak.

So we were more than happy to try out the spice-rubbed steak in the latest Cook's Illustrated. As recipe author Andrea Geary says, a spice rub can be a great way to dress up an inexpensive cut of meat, turning "cheaper steak into 'choice.'" The problem? Spice rubs can often leave a steak tasting dry and dusty -- or worse, the spices fall off completely on the grill.

Cook's comes up with a solution, and as usual, it involves some extremely clever techniques.

Grilled Ginger-Beer Chicken

Food Network Magazine (May 2012)

We always have ginger beer on hand for summer cocktails. Also winter ones. (We drink a lot of cocktails with ginger beer, is what we're saying.)

But we'd never really thought about cooking with ginger beer. Which is why we really wanted to make this Grilled Ginger-Beer Chicken. 

Chicken rubbed with dry ginger and slathered in a ginger-beer-and-black-tea barbecue sauce? It sounds like a great twist on BBQ chicken!

As it turns out: Great? Yes. A twist? Well, not so much...

Edamame Falafel with Spicy Coriander Sauce: A Story in Three Acts

adapted from Everyday Food

Act 1: Wednesday Night, 8:30 p.m.

We're hungry.

We've both had busy days at our jobs, and we forced ourselves to go to the gym afterwards. Now it's late, and we're ready to eat. Fortunately, we've planned ahead: Earlier in the week we purchased all the ingredients to make these Edamame Falafel with Spicy Coriander Sauce.

Three facts make us think this dish will be a home run: We love edamame; we aspire to eat more vegetarian meals; and this dish only takes 35 minutes.

It is firmly in our sweet spot. We are ready to cook.

So we get to work. The chickpeas have been soaking all day, so we pulse them with edamame, parsley, cumin and salt. Falafel are rolled into balls. Oil is heated. Coriander sauce (a mix of sour cream, mayo, coriander and cayenne) is made.

And this is what happens: