The Bitten Word

Summer Tomato Jam

Fine Cooking (August/September 2014)

 

When we had Margie & Co. over for dinner earlier this summer, she showed up with a whole little goodie bag of food treats: eggs and produce from her own farm, some cured meats, a couple nice cheeses, and some lovely pickles and preserves.  

One of the things she pulled out of her bag of tricks was a small jar of homemade tomato jam. "Actually," she said, "don't ever fool with tomato jam. It's not worth it. It just tastes like sugar."

Margie's cautionary words were ringing in our ears when we decided to try Fine Cooking's recipe for Summer Tomato Jam. We wanted to see for ourselves whether tomato jam would be a good way to make use of the abundant tomatoes in our area right now. So we went to the farmers market, bought a bunch of tomato "seconds" (you know, the ones that are slightly damaged or overripe) for about a buck a pound, and got to work.

 

Wine-Pickled Beets

Fine Cooking (July 2014)

 

Oh beets, it must be so hard to be you. 

You're loved, you're hated, you're worshipped, you're scorned. You're "sweet like candy" to some but "taste like dirt" to others. 

It's no secret that we're in the love camp when it comes to beets. And these Wine-Pickled Beets are more validation of our beet love. 

It turns out that a drunk beet is a good beet. 

New Orleans–Style BBQ Shrimp

Fine Cooking (April 2014)

On the heels of our trip to New Orleans, we were desperate to get back to cooking. So we hit the stack of April's food magazines.

We had no plans to cook anything that came close to what we'd eaten in New Orleans (and we had eaten so, so much), but in the pages of Fine Cooking were thrilled to see this recipe for New Orleans-Style BBQ Shrimp from a bona fide Louisianan, Miss Poppy Tooker. (Can we just agree that hers is one of the best names ever?)

We keep running across Poppy Tooker in various publications, but most recently heard her on The Splendid Table discussing calas, a beignet-like New Orleans confection that's made with cooked rice. We still haven't made (or eaten) calas, but it has piqued our interest and we've filed it away for another time. 

So now Poppy was back, this time with a recipe for New Orleans-Style BBQ Shrimp.

Okay, okay. Just one last New Orleans indulgence... 

Brussels Sprouts and Leeks with Lime-Ginger Butter

Fine Cooking (January 2014)

There are recipes that make people fall in love with Brussels sprouts. And then there are recipes that reinforce one's preconceived notions of why one don't like Brussels in the first place, conjuring childhood memories of standoffs at the dining room table and refusal to finish. Your. Plate. 

We discovered early on in our cooking adventures that Brusselphobes could be converted to Brusselphiles in one easy step: roasting. Oven-roasting sprouts keeps them crisp and gives them a gorgeous golden caramelization that's really tasty. (Bacon and apples never hurt, either.)

Then there are dishes like this Brussels Sprouts and Leeks with Lime-Ginger Butter.

We were split. Did we like this? We're not totally sure.

So we came up with a little game of Choose Your Own Adventure: Journey to Brussels Sprouts.

Ready to play?

Thanksgiving 2013: Carrot Mash with Orange and Mint

Fine Cooking (November 2013)

One of our favorite things about plucking recipes out of food magazines for Fakesgiving is that there are surprises.

Dishes we expect so much out of turn out to be not so hot.

And others, which we assume will be throwaways, totally dazzle. 

That's the case with this Carrot Mash with Orange and Mint, which turned out to be one of our favorite Thanksgiving dishes this year. 

Chilled Fennel and Cucumber Soup

Fine Cooking (June/July 2013)

Chilled soups are a rite of summer. Or at least a rite of summer issues of food magazines. They show up every June, just as predictable as daylilies.  

We're fans. We love the idea of a cold soup as a refreshing way to start a summer meal.

The problem is flavor. Served piping hot, soups are a swirl of heady flavors -- aromas of vegetables, meat and spices rising seductively from the bowl. But cold soups have a, well, chilling effect on flavor. It's just harder to pack flavor into a cold bowl of soup.

Could this Chilled Fennel and Cucumber Soup from Fine Cooking pass the flavor test?

Spicy Glazed Onions

Fine Cooking (April/May 2013)

When's the last time you put down your fork and said, "Gosh, those are good onions"?

Have you ever said that?

Onions tend to get relegated to "ingredient" rather than "side dish." Nearly every recipe we make, it seems, starts with a diced onion. But we almost never see onions as a featured star.

If you're looking to change that, start with these Spicy Glazed Onions.

Honey-Roasted Radishes

Fine Cooking (April/May 2013)

We read somewhere recently that Americans waste up to 40 percent of the food we purchase -- nearly half the food in this country gets thrown in the garbage.

We like to think we're not that wasteful around the Bitten Word household (partly because we never met a leftover we didn't like, or wouldn't try to reinvent as a second dish).

Still, like everyone else, we go digging into the crisper occasionally only to find the remnants of bygone vegetables. Our Vegetable Board helps, especially in warmer months when the veggies are coming fast and furious from our CSA.  Those six months of the year are a bit of a vegetable gauntlet, as we race to use the vegetables before they spoil. (But don't worry, after too much winter, we're ready for the fresh produce onslaught. Bring. It. On.)

Radishes can seem especially challenging. We love them raw in salads, but rarely think to cook them as a side dish. Now, thanks to a feature in the April/May issue of Fine Cooking called "Radishes Can Take the Heat," we've got more than enough good ideas.

Shaved Rutabaga and Turnip Salad with Scallions

Fine Cooking (February 2013)

Forget endive.

Discard your red leaf.

And leave your radicchio in the cripser. 

It's shaved raw vegetable salads that are very "on trend" right now in food magazines. 

Over the last four months, Food & Wine (November), Bon Appétit (January), Martha Stewart Living (February) and now Fine Cooking (February) have all featured recipies for shaved salads that incorporate readily available cold weather produce -- think root vegetables, carrots, and winter squash.

The first time shaved salads really popped up on our radar was last summer, when Martha Stewart Living featured a Shaved-Squash Salad, and with it, featured a handheld Kyocera Mandoline that we couldn't resist purchasing ourselves. 

Let's talk first about owning a handheld mandoline. 

 

Thanksgiving 2012: Make-Ahead Maple-Walnut Tart

Fine Cooking (November 2012)

Let's kick off Thanksgiving with what is no doubt some Bittens' favorite course: dessert.

We're not starting out our Thanksgiving coverage with this Maple-Walnut Tart because it's delicious. (Although, don't worry, it's fantastic.)

We're starting here because this tart has a secret that can help save your Thanksgiving sanity.

That secret? It can be made up to two weeks ahead.