The Bitten Word

Chilled Sweet Corn Soup

A Bitten Word Recipe 

Sunday was Clay's birthday, and when we went to the Farmers Market that morning, there was a special treat: Fresh sweet corn made its first appearance of the year. Because really, who doesn't want corn for their birthday? 

We were excited to see the corn, not only because we love to eat it, but also because we'd been waiting to share this recipe with you. Months ago, we developed this recipe for Chilled Sweet Corn Soup for Spenser Magazine, an online food publication that had reached out to us. In the most recent issue, they ran a Q&A with us that was accompanied by this recipe. 

We're also very excited to share with you what's coming up in Spenser, which is a feature story we wrote about a rather adventurous weekend we had a little more than a month ago. That's all we'll say for now, but we'll leave you with this corn soup.

We rarely tire of just eating corn straight off the cob, but when we do, we make a simple corn soup just like this one that not only helps beat the summer heat, but also showcases the flavor of the corn itself. 

Summer corn is a fleeting pleasure -- enjoy it while you can!

What's New at Everyday Food

More and more frequently, food magazines are creating tons of content that doesn't necessarily make it into the magazine itself. Perhaps it's a video series, a digital edition, or a feature on their website, but they're all the time introducing new content, new inspiration and delicious-looking food.  

We're starting a periodic column in which we'll check in on one of the magazines we receive and take a look at what's new in print, on the Web, and in social media. Because we were just there a few weeks ago, and because we just read and loved the July/August issue, we're going to kick off the series with a check-in at Everyday Food. 

 

In the Magazine

It just so happens that the current cover of Everyday Food is our favorite in a long time. What a fun photo of an amazing-looking popsicle. The magazine itself is looking great these days. The basic sections haven't changed dramatically. The magazine's long-standing columns are still there ("Dinner 1-2-3," "In Season," etc.).

This year, there are some new regular features: Sarah's Kitchen, featuring recipes from Editor-in-Chief Sarah Carey; Gluten-Free and Meatless Main recipes are now included in every "Eat Smart" column. And it appears that the old "Have You Tried?" column has now turned into "EDF Loves," where the magazine features one ingredient and suggests multiple takes on how to use it. They're all small but positive changes, bringing a fresh take to the magazine. 

And in general we've very much enjoyed the recipe content in the first half of this year. Each issue has had at least half a dozen dishes we've wanted to make, even though only five of those recipes have made it onto the site so far this year. 

We like the new(ish) "My Everyday" feature that started last year, where chefs and bloggers are profiled and then offer a recipe. This month's Marcus Samuelsson installment is the best of that series so far -- his recipe for Fish Tacos with Spicy Slaw is high on our list right now. 

 

Grilled Kale Salad with Ricotta and Plums

Bon Appétit (July 2012)

We're definitely no strangers to grilled salads. There's a Grilled Caesar Salad we've been eating for years now, and we loved the Grilled Butter Lettuce with Buttermilk-Chive Dressing we made a while back.

And even the idea of grilled kale isn't that crazy: It's essentially the same as some Tuscan Kale Chips we tried about three years ago. 

But when we saw this Grilled Kale Salad with Ricotta and Plums in the July Bon Appétit, we immediately wanted to make it. For one thing, we had a ton of curly kale from our most recent CSA share. On top of that, the combination of the cheese, the grilled kale and the fresh fruit sounded refreshing and different. 

All Our Favorite Summer Recipes

As summer has been kicking into high gear and the temperatures have been climbing, we've found ourselves revisiting a few old favorite recipes. And as we were looking back over the past four summers of The Bitten Word, we were struck by how many old favorites we had nearly forgotten about. 

To help you find the absolute best dishes for any summer occasion, we put together a round-up of Our Favorite Summer Recipes. There's everything from drinks to sweets, from grilled items to things that require no cooking at all. Hopefully you'll find more than a few things there that tickle your summer fancy. We'll be updating the page throughout the summer as we introduce new recipes and ideas here on the blog. 

Do you have a favorite summer recipe? Please share it! 

Post-Grill Marinated Grilled Skirt Steak

Cook's Country (June/July 2012)

Questioning what you're doing in the kitchen, and why you're doing it, can be a powerful thing. 

We're not talking about doubting yourself. You shouldn't. We believe in having confidence in the kitchen, and storming ahead in the face of recipe adversity -- be it overflowing pots, less-than-ideal ingredients or equipment that just won't cooperate. 

Instead of a lack of confidence, we're talking about having awareness in the kitchen: looking at what you're doing and why you're doing it, and being able to see the effect it will have on your finished dish. 

In our experience, this comes with time and practice. When we first started getting serious about cooking, we were very "safe" cooks. We almost exclusively made things that we grew up eating, or that seemed like easy meals for young twenty-somethings to make. But once we moved in together and had the space to entertain friends, we got more ambitious. The recipes got progressively more complicated, the ingredients a bit more elaborate. And then we started The Bitten Word, and things escalated from there. Suddenly we were often cooking things far outside our comfort zones, and we were delving into dishes that previously would have made us cringe. 

Looking back over the course of these last five years, we can see many changes to our cooking styles and methods, but we can also see that when we're cooking on our own -- meaning not using a recipe from a magazine or cookbook -- we're playing it less safe. We're a bit more aware of how each decision in a dish can elevate or diminish the finished product. 

But we still have a long way to go in this culinary journey. We want to be cooks who are not only aware of every move we're making in the kitchen, but who also question the methods we use, those habits we've picked up as we've learned to cook. America's Test Kitchen -- the publishers of Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country -- does this better than anyone else. The cooks there will reexamine methods that everyone takes for granted, subjecting them to testing that either reinforces or disproves those methods. Often, they end up with a recipe that's a big improvement on the traditional method.

This recipe for Marinated Grilled Skirt Steak is a perfect example. 

Fresh Cherries on Ice

Bon Appétit (June 2012) 

Last Saturday afternoon, we had about 30 people over for an informal get-together, before we all walked over to watch the D.C. gay pride parade. It was a low-key gathering and we kept it simple. We served some very fancy cocktails, some pretzels, and a big bowl of cherries on ice.

The cherries are an idea we picked up from the current issue of Bon Appétit, in the BA Arsenal section at the front of the book. Fresh fruit on ice. You can't get much simpler than that. (Of course you could do this with any fruit, but BA suggests fresh cherries, which do work especially well since they're bite-sized and have handy stems for grabbing. As you know, we've been on a cherry kick of late, so that's what we did.)

Believe us when we tell you: There is no quicker way to class up a party than to throw some fresh cherries on a pile of chipped ice! So many people, when they first spied the big bowl, said something along the lines of how "nice" or "fancy" it was. This, for something that took us approximately 20 seconds to throw together.

It's a cool, refreshing way to serve chilled fresh fruit, and it literally could not be easier. The only downside: the ice, of course, melts. One suggestion: serve them in a smaller bowl, so that you can replenish the cherries and the ice throughout a gathering. 

And as great as this idea is for a party, it's also a pretty great way to enjoy cherries on your own, with a big bowl all to yourself this weekend. 

 

Cherry "Sundaes" with Greek Yogurt, Pistachios and Cardamom Cream

A Bitten Word Recipe

A friend of ours just moved to D.C. for a temporary post, so we invited him over for a home-cooked meal to welcome him to Our Nation's Capital. 

We kept things super super simple -- steak on the grill, sauteed fresh green beans and a quick quinoa salad similar to the one we made a couple weeks ago.

We wanted to end dinner with a little something sweet -- but still on the healthy side. So we took a cue from our Cupboard Cleanout and decided to make something out of ingredients we already had on hand.

What we came up with were these Cherry "Sundaes" with Greek Yogurt, Pistachios and Cardamom Cream.

Mustard Turkey Burgers with Avocado, Parmesan and Peppadew Peppers

Whole Living (June 2012)

The June issue of Whole Living has a killer turkey burger on the cover. Fat and juicy, and topped with avocado and peppers, it just looks amazing. We don't typically cook turkey burgers. In fact, burgers are an infrequent meal at our house, and when we do make them, we almost always use beef. 

The Whole Living feature with this dish has a few other tasty-sounding grilling ideas, including some gorgeous kebabs and a Berry Hobo Pack we really want to try.

But we kept coming back to the turkey burgers. With their unique mix of mustard, Parmesan, arugula, Peppadew peppers and avocado, they sounded like the kind of burger we could get behind.

Sticky Orange-Glazed Chicken Thighs

Everyday Food (June 2012)

We could name dozens of things we love about getting food magazines each month, but toward the top of that list would be new ideas. Whether it's a tip, a new kind of cuisine, or a product that we've never heard of, we love being exposed to things in the food world we otherwise wouldn't see.

And we especially love when this deals with new ingredients, or new ways to use ingredients that we may not always consider.

This recipe for Sticky Orange-Glazed Chicken Thighs is a great example of that. It incorporates an unusual ingredient that may surprise you.

June Garden Update: Here Come the Tomatoes!

Here at the beginning of June, we have great things to report about our garden! We almost fear reporting them, because we don't want to count our chickens before they hatch count our tomatoes before they're ripe. And we worry that critters in our neighborhood will read this update and launch a full-scale attack on our tiny garden. (For any varmints reading this post, our garden's doing terribly!  Nothing to see here!)

It's been almost three months since we planted our first seeds. Much has changed since then. The plants we grew from seed have exploded (and a few, sadly, have imploded). Other seedlings we ordered have been planted and are thriving. Here's a look at some of those plants, what's faring well and what's already finished for the season.

Tomatoes

We're really most excited by and most interested in our tomato plants. Tomatoes, truly, are why we garden. But then again, isn't that the case for most people?

A month ago, we reported that our tomato leaves were spotty due to, we guessed, the cool air. Well, that has changed dramatically. The plants are huge -- some already nearly four feet tall -- and the leaves are uniform in color. Because of the size of the plants, we've had to stake them. We used large poles that we had purchased last year, and just tied the plants to the poles with loose velcro straps (sorry if that sounds a little Fifty Shades of Grey...)

And there are tomatoes! Dozens and dozens of tomatoes. Some -- especially the black pearl variety -- are already at least two inches across.  Most are still very tiny and very, very green, but it's a start. We couldn't be more pleased with them.