The Bitten Word

Crunchy Asparagus Salad

Food & Wine (April 2015)

Spring!  We're so happy to finally -- finally! -- be hitting spring here in Washington, D.C. 

And for us there's probably no vegetable that quite sings "spring!" more than young, tender asparagus.

We're asparagus purists, especially when it's at the height of season. Lightly steam or sauté it, sprinkle it with the faintest whisper of salt, and eat. That's how we like it.

So what about this Crunchy Asparagus Salad full of Japanese flavors? Would it make the cut for our simple-is-best approach to spring asparagus?

Magazine Club: Bon Appétit, April 2015

Hi, there! Welcome to Magazine Club -- so glad you could make it!  Was traffic awful? Your hair looks really cute like that, by the way. Here, we'll take your coat. You just grab your magazine, have a seat and pour yourself a glass of wine (or, if you're reading this during work hours, white wine).

Okay, now. Bon Appétit, 2015. What did we love?  What did we not enjoy?

We'll kick things off by sharing some of the bigger items and themes that jumped out to us from this issue. We hope that serves as a good starting point for you to share your own reactions to the magazine.

-- Cover story: Cook Like a Pro. Bon Appétit has done this Cook Like a Pro issue for a number of years now. We're fans, and we're impressed that they're able to come up with fresh new pro-tips from food experts every year. (This feature was the best part of this entire issue, in our opinion.) Of course we've already talked about that crazy steak on the cover, but there were other good tips in here, too. For one, we really love the simple idea of layering salad dressing instead of tossing it all together. It's mentioned in the sidebar to that gorgeous Little Gem Salad with Lemon Cream and Hazelnuts, from Joshua McFadden, the chef at Portland, Ore.'s Ava Gene's restaurant: 

McFadden doesn't believe in vinaigrettes -- at least not the whisk-together-and-dump-all-at-once kind. Instead, he layers dressing components onto the salad in parts so no flavors get lost.... You should be able to taste both acid and fat separately.

Of the recipes in Cook LIke a Pro, which is most appealing to you?

 

-- CatererGate: Though it's somewhat out-of-character for the magazine, we really enjoyed the wedding feature near the front. It first came to our attention because we saw the magazine issued an apology via their Facebook page, in reaction to their advice about why you shouldn't hire a caterer. It's not frequently that food magazines issue apologies. Do you think an apology was warranted here?

 

-- What Happens in Vegas, Ends Up in this Magazine? Let's talk about that weird, random feature where The Mindy Project actor Ike Barinholtz eats his way around Las Vegas. It seemed ill-fitted for Bon Appétit (Guy Fieri's Vegas Kitchen & Bar? Really, Bon App?). But then we saw the sidebar at the end promoting the upcoming Vegas Uncork'd food and wine event, of which Bon Appétit is a major partner along with -- hey! -- all the hotels and locales mentioned in this entire feature. So it turns out the whole thing was maybe just product placement? Hmm.

 

-- Let's All Go to London: We loved -- loved -- the Lauren Collins feature on eating in London right now. She's a terrific writer; we love reading her in The New Yorker. This feature made us want to bop around London drinking Regent's Punch with Lauren, or share a languid, boozy lunch gossiping about Pippa. Seriously, let's take a moment to appreciate Collins' writing style:

The stripped-down set menu [at Lyle's], at £39 ($60) for dinner, is like an ambitious Ph.D. student’s acknow­ledgment to his beloved advisor: Smoked Eel & Horseradish, Blood Cake & Damson, Mutton & Turnip Broth, served in a gorgeously spare room. You want to applaud [chef James] Lowe’s seriousness, but when Asparagus & Walnut Mayonnaise turns out to be four spears to be shared between two people, you’re left hungry enough to eat an ampersand.

 

-- We Want All The Lamb: We also really enjoyed the feature on spring lamb dishes, "On the Lamb." That Olive-Stuffed Leg of Lamb? Woah. Those Chile-Cumin Lamb Meatballs??  Yes. Those Lamb Ribs with Rhubarb and Radish Salad? YUM.

 

-- Bravo, Marcus Nilsson: Our favorite photos from this issue were definitely in the feature on composed salads called "Compose Yourself." Each one of those three photos is a work of art. You can see more of photographer Marcus Nilsson's work on his website.

-- (Ending with) Starters: Okay, now let's back up to the Starters section at the front. It's always a fun hodgepodge of foods, restaurants, recipes, and more. Our two favorite things from this month: The idea of swapping cot wine for Malbec (apparently it's the same grape, just grown in France instead of Argentina). And that insanely delicious-looking Croissant Loaf from Buerrage bakery in Chicago. Holy. Moly. 

-- Our Top 3: The 3 things we'd most like to cook from this issue (other than the steak we already made):

• Chile-Cumin Lamb Meatballs
• Steakhouse Salad with Red Chile Dressing and Peanuts
• The Ultimate Bolognese Sauce

 

Now it's time to hear from you. 

What did you love?  What didn't you care for?  Favorite recipes?  Favorite photos?  Maybe you disagree with something we said? 

Let Magazine Club begin!

Slow-Roasted, Twice-Fried Porterhouse Steak

Bon Appétit (April 2015)

When we chose this month's Bon Appétit as our first-ever Magazine Club entrant (this Thursday! More details at the end of this post!!), we didn't have any specific recipes in mind. In fact, we hadn't yet received the issue in our mailbox.

But when we did, and we saw this decadent, delicious-looking steak on the cover -- with an absolutely bonkers method of cooking -- we knew we had to try it.

Normally, here are the steps we take when making a steak:

1. Grill
2. Eat

Here are the steps involved with this Bon Appétit steak:

1. Score
2. Season
3. Refrigerate overnight
4. Freeze for several hours, or overnight again
5. Fry
6. Roast
7. Baste
8. Roast
9. Rest
10. Fry
11. Rest
12. Eat

Needless to say, this steak is a committed endeavor. Freezing? Basting? Frying -- twice?? How good could it possibly be?

We had to find out.

Stories and Photos from Winter (with Just a Bit of Snow)

Before we hit full-on spring, we wanted to share a few photos from the past few months with you. We post a whole lot of photos over on Instagram. If you're following along there, you've likely seen some of these photos, but not heard the stories behind them. 

So let's start (and end) with baked goods....

 

Clay had the opportunity to have breakfast one morning at Buvette in New York City, when he was up there for a work trip. It's among our favorite places to eat when we're visiting there; we ate dinner on another trip last year.

Breakfast at Buvette was the kind of breakfast that we dream of (but rarely have). It started with these beautiful, teeeeeeny tiny croissants. We love how they were served: with jam and butter piled on a spoon on the plate. But that was just the beginning... 

Skillet Turkey Meatballs with Lemony Rice

Cook's Country (April/May 2015)

When you hear "meatballs," what's the dish that comes to mind?  We bet it's a pasta dish with meatballs swimming in a red tomato sauce. 

That's precisely why we earmarked this recipe: The idea of a lemony meatball dish -- one without really any sauce at all -- piqued our interest.

And this dish from Cook's Country didn't disappoint.

Orange-Cardamom Roast Chicken

Food Network Magazine (March 2015)

We don't think we've ever mentioned this, but one of our favorite TV guilty pleasures is "Food Network Star," the reality competition where chefs compete to host a cooking show on the Food Network.

Actually, we're not even sure why we think of it as a "guilty pleasure." Sure, like all reality television, it's a somewhat contrived televised competition with silly challenges and outlandish personalities and seemingly arbitrary judging. But no more so than, say, "Survivor." Or, you know, U.S. presidential elections.

So let's just call it a "TV pleasure."

One of the most pleasurable personalities on this TV pleasure was Aarti Sequeira, the winner of Season 6 back in 2010. Her friendly face, sunny disposition and cheery British accent were positively delightful. She completely won us over. We loved her Food Network show, "Aarti Party" (which is just freaking adorable). Now she's got a program on the Cooking Channel.

Aarti's culinary raison d'etre -- her "food P.O.V.," as they'd say on "Food Network Star" -- is to incorporate traditional Indian flavors and ingredients into modern American cooking. That's perfectly exemplified in Aarti's recipe for this Orange-Cardamom Roast Chicken.