The Bitten Word

State Fair Ham Loaf

Saveur (June/July 2012)

Fried Coke. Fried Oreos. Fried butter. Fried ... everything?

Let's face it, state fair food does not have a good reputation. And for seemingly good reason. The "breaking food news" that emerges from state fairs is all about novelty and a race to figure out what extreme item can make it into the deep fryer next. 

Unfortunately, this State Fair Ham Loaf isn't going to redeem that reputation any time soon. 

Charred Green Beans with Harissa and Almonds

Bon Appétit (July 2012)

We're big fans of harissa.

The smoky North African chili condiment is the ultimate shortcut for adding a jolt of flavor to just about anything. We recently threw together a meal where the entree had exactly three ingredients: chicken thighs, olive oil and harissa.  (Okay, and salt and pepper.)  You would have thought we'd braised the chicken in smoked peppers and tomatoes for hours, thanks to the deep, complex flavor of the harissa.

And harissa took a run-of-the-mill carrot-and-raisin salad and gave it a terrific spicy spin in the Moroccan Carrot Salad with Spicy Lemon Dressing we made from Food & Wine earlier this month.

But a comment on that carrot salad post stopped us in our tracks. Reader Val said:

Love the photo--there is just nothing like picking dinner! Have you tried making harissa? It is really super easy and freezes well. I use Deborah Madison's recipe from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, but I love harissa so much I even grew Tunisian peppers I ordered from Baker Creek seeds (but New Mexico peppers work fine).

Make harissa at home?!  The thought had honestly never crossed our minds -- which is why we were eager to try our hands at homemade harissa in these Charred Green Beans.

Stuff We Like: John's Premium Tonic Syrup

While we were at the beach up in Provincetown, Mass. a few weeks ago, we popped into Perry's, a little deli and wine shop we like to visit when we're there. Besides booze, they sell a lot of premium food products -- think high end pastas, oils and pickles. 

On the front table in the store, we saw these tiny little dark bottles, with beautiful white labels: "John's Premium Tonic Syrup." 

We asked the owner about John's, and he started raving about how "it makes the best gin and tonic I've ever had."

We had to try it. So we picked up a bottle and hauled it back to our tiny little rental to give it a spin.

Spicy Basil-Beef Salad

Cooking Light (July 2012) 

We very much enjoy reading chef memoirs. It's always interesting to see the factors that shaped well-known foodies, and there are usually several good tips and pieces of advice that you can carry into your own kitchen and your own life at large.

We recently both read Marcus Samuellson's new book "Yes, Chef."  It's a nice look into the background and mindset of a chef whose extraordinary life trajectory -- born in Ethiopia, adopted by Swedish parents and raised in Sweden, and now trying to remake the food scene in Harlem (anchored by his restaurant Red Rooster, where we actually had brunch several months back) -- has given him an extremely unique outlook on food. 

One of the ideas that Samuellson talks about is the notion that food isn't just something to be tasted. You have to think about presentation, about how the food looks on the plate. You have to think about color.

It's certainly not the first time we've ever thought about that idea. But we definitely had that idea in mind as we made this Spicy Basil-Beef Salad. 

What We've Been Eating This Summer

As we were browsing though some photos this week and deciding what we wanted to feature on the blog, it occurred to us that although we've been cooking and eating at home a lot, we've also eaten quite a few notable meals at other places. And we've happened to snap photos during those meals.

So we're rounding out this week with a quick look at six food experiences we've loved this summer, starting with this beautiful sandwich. 

Veal pastrami at Vollee Nolle

While travelling a few weeks ago, we found ourselves with an unexpected five hours to kill in Boston. So we spent a great day in the North End, walking the cozy streets, browsing in the Italian markets, and, of course, eating. We had no idea where to go, and happened upon Vollee Nolle. The place caught our eye because it had been featured in the June Martha Stewart Living for their Smoked Salmon Sandwich (which Zach ordered). The feature was posted in the window, so we took it as a sign that we should eat there. Clay ordered the Veal Pastrami sandwich picturd above: Swiss cheese, coleslaw, Russian dressing and mustard, pressed in a French roll. Heaven in a sandwich. 

Here's a shot of the menu written on the back wall of Vollee Nolle (you can click it to enlarge): 

Grilled Peach, Vidalia Onion and Bacon Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

Food & Wine (July 2012)

Let's be honest: You'd have to work pretty hard not to love a dish whose title includes bacon, grilled peaches and onions, and buttermilk dressing. You could pretty much throw all those ingredients in a bowl and satisfy just about everybody. 

And that's essentially what this salad is: Awesome ingredients, thrown together in a bowl. And you're gonna love it.

Grilled Salmon with Walnut-Arugula Pesto

Fine Cooking (June/July 2012)

New spins on pesto -- those that do not rely on the classic combination of basil, pine nuts, cheese and olive oil -- are a staple of food magazines. Almost every month during the spring or summer, at least one magazine is featuring a new kind of pesto that can be served with pasta, meat or chicken.

Some are all about non-pine nut pestos, one of which we've made before (an excellent pesto with walnuts). Others ditch basil for spinach, kale, parsley or other green herbs or vegetables. 

We're always smitten with the idea of these non-basil pestos, but we've rarely tried making them. The one time we have made a new take on pesto -- a brocolli pesto earlier this year-- it turned out, well, not so hot. (Our post on that includes a number of suggestions for improving it, if you want to give it a go.) 

But a recent excess of arugula had us hunting for a way to use it that didn't involve salad. After flipping through a stack of food magazines, we landed at this Grilled Salmon with Walnut-Arugula Pesto. 

Grilled-Peach Old-Fashioned

Martha Stewart Living (July 2012)

Look, we hate to complain about taking a vacation, but here goes anyway:

Isn't the week back at work after a vacation the worst? You're digging out of hundreds of emails, scrambling to get caught up at work and all the while thinking about how this time last week you were sitting on a beach. Doesn't it just make you...want a cocktail?

Well, we certainly do. And we're looking forward to capping off this week with a nice, cool sipper. Perhaps we'll make a couple of these Grilled Peach Old-Fashioneds.

July Garden Update: Weathering the Storms

An Update on Our Backyard Garden

We added a new banner to the blog this week, inspired by the sudden abundance of tomatoes. (If you're reading this via RSS or email, come check it out!) We wish we could say that we were inspired 100% by the tomatoes in our own garden, but sadly, that's not the case.

We were on vacation last week, taking some time away from the city. Luckily for us, we happened to pick a week when D.C.'s summer weather was at its craziest -- huge storms that resulted in power losses for millions of people in the area, coupled with oppressive heat in excess of 105 degrees. Before we left, we made sure the garden was all taken care of: the timer were set, the water pressure was at the right level, and on and on and on. 

While we were away on our blissful beach vacation, we frequently thought about the garden. "Do you think we have ripe tomatoes?" "Do you think the storms hurt the plants?" "Gee, I'm glad not to be out sweating in the garden right now." You get the picture. Once we got home, we were eager to rush out and see what had happened.

This is what we saw:

Moroccan Carrot Salad with Spicy Lemon Dressing

Food & Wine (July 2012)

There are a few reasons we love -- no, adore -- this carrot salad:

First, it's absolutely delicious. The lemon dressing, tart and spiced by harissa (which we wrote about extensively last year), takes carrot salad (which, let's face it, can be a bit blah) and makes it into a side dish worth getting excited about. The raisins are sweet, the feta is salty. The whole package is an amazing combination. An amazing carrot salad -- we honestly didn't know it was possible. 

That may be because this is also a recipe by Susan Feniger, a chef we fell for when she was on Top Chef Masters. We've been to the restaurant she owns with Mary Sue Milliken -- Border Grill in Los Angeles -- and had some amazing tacos there, including one that was a quinoa-crusted avocado taco unlike anything we've had before or since. There's a spread featuring party food from Susan in the latest Food & Wine. It's a dreamy L.A. party and worth checking out. 

The other nice thing about this carrot salad is how light and refreshing it is. Sure there's richness from the olive oil and feta, but it's mostly veggies. We felt great eating this salad.

And believe us, we need something light. We're just back from a rather decadent week away at the beach, where we ate and drank to our hearts' content. Now that we're back, it's time to start eating like sane people again. 

And then, there's this: