The Bitten Word

Strawberry Dumplings

Gourmet (June 2009)

Is it just us, or are strawberries freaking everywhere this year?

They are acres of them -- big, plump, bright red -- at our farmers market. (One vendor last week had set up a "Strawberries-Only Express Line.") They're tumbling out of two-for-one pint baskets at the grocery store. Sweet little pink and red ones have been showing up in our CSA bounty.

We've happily succumbed to the berry onslaught. We've been eating strawberries in every way we can think of -- in a citrusy salad, with shortcakes and cream. We made a delicious strawberry rhubarb pie, and we've even canned some strawberry freezer jam. Most nights, we've followed dinner with at least a bowl of strawberries dusted with a little sugar.

But are we suffering from strawberry fatigue? No way! And with these incredible Strawberry Dumplings, you won't be either.

Vodka Rosemary Lemonade Fizz

Gourmet (May 2009)

There's something extremely refreshing about incorporating fresh herbs into a cocktail. Like bitters, they can add a terrific, spicy, almost medicinal note that gives the drink a great depth of flavor -- and keeps the sweetness in check.

With summer beginning to warm up, we thought this Vodka Rosemary Lemon Fizz would make a perfect pre-dinner drink.

Leftovers | Interesting Stuff from May Food Mags

Just as we do at the end of each month, here's a round-up of items from this month's food magazines that we found of interest but weren't necessarily recipe related.

Martha Stewart Living

You've likely heard of Mark Kurlansky's other books, such as Cod: The Biography of the Fish That Changed the World and Salt: A World History.  When we read in MSL about his new book, we were instantly intrigued by the title alone: "The Food of a Younger Land: A Portrait of American Food--Before the National Highway System, Before Chain Restaurants, and Before Frozen Food, When the Nation's Food Was Seasonal."  Based on research completed but never published by the WPA prior to World World II, Food of a Younger Land explores regional food cultures in America. Mississippi chitlins and Montana Fried Beaver Tail?  We're excited to read this book! 

Everyday Food

The magazine's "How to Cut Up a Chicken" feature is among the best and simplest diagrams we've ever seen for a simple step-by-step guide into this process.  It's especially good for the novice cook, who may need more instructions and visuals that the typical recipe or cookbook provides.  Luckily, Everyday Food has made the feature available online.

Gourmet

Gourmet's "Obsessions" column -- which outlines 5 or 6 products each month that the staff likes -- features one of our favorite products: Dale's Steak Seasoning.  Zach's mom uses it religiously back in Tennessee; Clay had never heard of it until Zach brought home a bottle and now we use it occasionally when making steaks.  Dale's is an intensively flavored marinade that is popular in the South and sold in supermarkets throughout the Southeast. The flavors are intense (chiefly soy sauce, onion, garlic, sugar, ginger and paprika) and the label says it can be used on almost anything ("Delicious on all meats, fish, fowl and vegetables"). If it's not available in your area, you can also order it through Amazon.

Cook's Illustrated

We love the rating features in Cook's, where they test out a bunch of brands of the same product and then give you their recommended brands.  There are two of these excellent features in the May issue: Testing Cookware Sets and Tasting Chocolate Chips.  The intros to both features are available on their website, but the results are only available to subscribers. Pick up a copy or try their two week site trial and check it out!

And Now For Some Funny Videos

And finally, we leave with you with Posh Nosh -- a parody online cooking series that our friend Todd recommended.  Watch and enjoy!

Arugula and Fava-Bean Crostini

Gourmet (May 2009)

Before we get to these crostini, a little digression: So Zach sings in a choir. Well, he sang in a choir. The Master Chorale of Washington, a 42-year-old choral group, ceased operations at the end of this season, after the faltering economy decimated the choir's finances. (If you're interested, you can read more about the choir's dissolution and the group's final concert this past Sunday.) Zach sang in the choir for six seasons, so the final concert was a poignant and emotional event.

It was a bittersweet day. Bitter, for the obvious reasons. But sweet, too, because so many of Zach's family members and our friends gathered at the Kennedy Center for the final concert.

In fact, so many of our friends ended up coming that we had decided to invite everyone back to our apartment after the concert for a glass of wine and some snacks.

It was a semi-last minute decision, and with family in town and not a lot of time to cook, we wanted some simple party food that could come together in advance but still impress guests.

What to make?

Leftovers | Interesting Stuff from April Food Mags

Just as we did in March, we wanted to highlight some great food magazine features that caught our eye in April that aren't necessarily recipe related.

Coffee That Will Change Your Life (And the World?)

We've had the great pleasure over the last two months of receiving some free samples of Storyville coffee.  It's a subscription coffee service based out of Seattle with a fanatacism for freshness. They roast the beans and then immediately ship them out to subscribers, who receive their orders only days later.  It's definitely the best damn cup of coffee we've ever had a home. You can read more about Storyville and the very detailed -- but extremely effective -- experience of brewing a cup over at The Kitchn.  

But why are we telling you about Storyville?

Besides delivering a great cup of coffee, they're also trying to make a difference. In May, they're donating 100 percent of their revenue -- as in all revenue, not just profits, up to $1 million -- to International Justice Mission, a human rights organization, to combat slavery, human trafficking and other forms of violent oppression. 

If you're a coffee fanatic or have one in your life, think about giving Storyville a try during May.  Learn more about Storyville and their "Give It All Away in May" campaign at their website.

Gourmet (sort of)

We've raved about her books before, so it's no surprise that we're recommending Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl's latest book, "Not Becoming My Mother: And Other Things She Taught Me Along the Way." A departure from her previous books, which were focused on Reichl's life with food, "Not Becoming" is an examination and celebration of her mother's life, which whom she had a complicated relationship. It's a slender but sweet book that we definitely recommend to Reichl fans. If you haven't read any of her books, we recommend that you add all three books to your summer reading list.

Gourmet (for reals)

On the Good Food podcast this week (if you're not listening, subscribe immediately -- it's free), Evan Kleiman interviewed Barry Estabrook, author of Gourmet's recent article "Politics of the Plate: The Price of Tomatoes." The article, which shines light on instances of slavery in the Florida tomato industry (yes, that Florida), is a must-read for the conscious consumer. 

Everyday Food

In the "Freeze It" column, Everyday Food features a handy set of tips about how to have cookies anytime you want (sign us up!). Make the cookie dough, dropping balls of it on parchment-lined baking sheets, and freeze.  The frozen balls of cookie dough can then be kept in a plastic freezer bag for 3 months.  Whenever you want a cookie, pop one (or one dozen) in the oven. We're making room in our freezer already! 

Bon Appétit 

We're not really certain we could eat off these plates, but we love interesting plates and we love floor plans.  Floor Plan Plates:  hot or not? We can't decide.

Food & Wine

Back to cookies: We're big cookie fans, which is why we're eager to try to the Compost Cookie from NYC's Momofuku Milk Bar.  As the (unappetizing?) name implies, this cookie has a little bit of everything thrown in, from chocolate chips to oatmeal to coffee grounds. You can read some blog posts about the compost cookie here and here. We've been to Momofuku Noodle Bar and Momofuku Ssam Bar, but not yet Milk Bar. It's definitely on our list for our next trip to NYC.

Anything catch your eye this month that you think we should know about?  Share it in the comments!

Now on to May!

(Images: Gourmet, Bon Appétit)

The Old Fashioned

Gourmet (March 2009)

The Bitten Word is on vacation this week, in the Bay Area of sunny California.  

It's a lovely trip so far -- catching up with friends, visiting wine country and the beach, and pretty much eating everything in sight. If you want to hear more about our trip and what we're eating, follow us over on Twitter.  

Since we won't be updating this week, we'll leave you with Gourmet's recent recipe for an Old Fashioned. We loved the citrusy kick that mellows the bourbon's bite.  Served over ice, it's a stiff but refreshing cocktail.  

See you in a week! 

The Old Fashioned
Gourmet (March 2009)
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Dale DeGroff, in The Essential Cocktail, muddles a teaspoon of superfine bar sugar, three dashes of Angostura bitters, a slice of orange, a cherry, and a splash of water or club soda in an Old Fashioned glass.  He then removes the fruit solids, adds ice and two ounces of bourbon, stirs and garnishes the drink with an orange slice and a cherry.  It shows off the bourbon's charms.

Bourbon Banana Pudding with Glazed Pecans

Gourmet (March 2009)

One of us (whose name rhymes with "mack") served on his high school's cafeteria committee.

Okay, he was the co-chairman of the committee. 

For two years.

Lest you think this was dorky, well, first of all, Zach was a dork in high school. So, joke's on you. Or something.

But Zach was also able to use his cafeteria leadership position to help get a jukebox for the cafeteria, as well as a pizza cart where you could get a slice every single day, and a patio with outdoor seating for seniors.

So the bottom line is, THERE IS NO SHAME IN THE CAFETERIA COMMITTEE.

What does this have to do with banana pudding? Well, Zach's high school's banana pudding was highly revered. It was delicious, the perfect blend of spongy wafers, slices of banana and sweet, custardy pudding. Students loved it. Teachers loved it. On the days it was served, kids would travel from other high schools just to eat it. [Ed note: No they wouldn't.] For Homecoming the year Zach was a freshman in college, the cafeteria ladies made a special batch of banana pudding to serve at the football game, at the request of Zach and his friends. [Ed note: That is actually true.]

So it was with that warm sense of nostalgia in mind that we turned to this Bourbon Banana Pudding with Glazed Pecans. It had all the promise of that delicious childhood banana pudding, but with some decidedly grown-up accents. We were sold!

Fennel-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Fennel Wedges

Gourmet (February 2009)

Two summers ago, while visiting some friends in Belfast, Maine, we had the opportunity to eat at the most amazing vegetarian restaurant, called Chase's Daily. 

Now it's no secret that we're big meat eaters, and needless to say, we don't frequent vegetarian restaurants very often. 

But Chase's was one of those meals that stays with you.  At the height of summer, the restaurant was serving the freshest vegetables (you could even buy fresh produce there to take home) that were wonderfully prepared.

The dish that we have thought of the most since that meal is Braised Fennel, which was absolutely magical.  We'd only eaten fennel as an accompaniment to other flavors, never as the main event.  This fennel was very simply prepared -- just lightly braised and dressed with salt, pepper and perhaps a touch of balsamic.  It was lovely and one of the best dishes we had eaten that year.

Even though we loved it, we've never purchased or cooked with fennel. 

So isn't it high time that we get our fennel on?

Reader Question: What's Our Favorite Food Magazine?

We love hearing from readers, whether it's a comment on something we've made or a question.  Recently, David wrote in a with a question:

Clay and Zach --

I have followed your blog and I have to say that I really enjoy it.  Thank you for  taking the time to put up such great images and recommendations.  I was curious to know, of all the magazines you get and read, which magazine do you use most often and would you recommend for someone looking to start a subscription???   

Cheers,
David

This is such a great question, and it's a hard one for us to answer. Before we do, here are a few thoughts on all the magazines to which we subscribe:

Latin-Style Chicken and Rice

Gourmet (December 2008)

Food magazines right now are chock-full of recipes that play on classic combinations and dishes: spaghetti & meatballs, steak and potatoes, mac-n-cheese.

In the case of Latin-Style Chicken and Rice, Gourmet has succeeded in creating a new take on chicken and rice that's not only easy but also "wows" with its delicious flavors.