The Bitten Word

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly of Food Photography

From time to time as we've been writing this blog, someone has remarked that our photo looked better than the one from the magazine. It's always been one of our favorite compliments to hear. Not because we're vain (although we totally are), but because we've worked really hard over this site's nine-year run to become better food photographers. 

And it's not easy to meet the quality of the photos in the magazines. Why? Well, for one thing, they use professional photographers with top-notch equipment and years of training.

But the other reason is that magazine food stylists are liars. But we are too. 

Let us explain.

Fried Chicken Cook-Off: Garden & Gun vs. Clay's Mom

Garden & Gun (October/November 2016) 

One of the first big projects we ever did on The Bitten Word -- all the way back in September 2008! -- was a fried-chicken cook-off that pitted famed chef Thomas Keller's extremely complicated fried chicken recipe against Clay's mom's recipe, which was decidedly simpler and more straightforward.

Now that we've decided to wind the blog down, we knew we wanted to do one more fried-chicken face-off before we say goodbye.

So this past Sunday, we had 9 of our friends come over for another good ol' fashioned chicken fry. (And to pose for chicken-leg portraits.)

This time around, we paired Clay's mom's chicken against the North Carolina "Dipped Chicken" recipe on the mouthwatering cover of the current issue of Garden & Gun.

Fire up your fryers, Bittens! This one's a barn-burner.

Okay, Let's Talk About What's Next

 

Thank you thank you thank you for your unbelievable outpouring of love and support after we announced we would stop writing here by the end of the year.

Your notes and comments really mean the world to us. And we literally heard from readers from all over the world. We're really touched by your memories of favorite dishes, your requests for things we might do before the end, and your creative ideas about other endeavors we might undertake. We've loved reading each and every word.  

One funny thing that was unearthed after the announcement: our friend Kristine forwarded us an an email we had sent out to friends after the blog had been live for a few months, in April of 2008:

Subject: Because What the World Needs is Another Blog

Hello friends -

We made a New Years resolution of sorts to start using the cooking magazines we receive each month, cooking at least one dish out of each issue.  We figured it would make us try some new dishes, and that it might be fun to keep track of our experiences, so we started a blog in February called The Bitten Word.  It's been a lot of fun so far.  We've already mentioned it to some of you, but consider this our official announcement.

Anyhow -- check it out!  www.thebittenword.com

Clay and Zach

Who knew we'd still be at it all these years later...

Let's talk a little business and answer the #1 question we've received: Will the site remain live after we stop posting new content?

The answer: Absolutely!

We'll leave the site live and will make sure it's here as a resource for us all of us (we would literally be lost without the recipe archive -- we refer to it constantly).

So what's next? Here are a few topics we're planning to tackle before we wrap up completely. Here's our to do list:

• Update the recipe index
  
  
• Host another fried chicken cook-off. We have a fried chicken recipe in mind to be the "challenger," but if you have a fried chicken recipe you think we should try, we're all ears! 

• Pick our 10 favorite dishes over 9 years (and maybe our least favorite, too)
  
  
• Share some reflects on 9 years of food blogging, including a look at how the magazines have changed
  
  
• And of course, a Thanksgiving/Fakesgiving blow out. We're considering introducing a cook-along element this year, so you can participate. Are you interested?  

 

A longtime bitten named Shelly sent us one of our favorite comments: "Be Young. Be Foolish. And Be Happy." We've definitely got two of those covered (hint: it's not youth). 

Let's have a happy and foolish next few months.

~ Zach and Clay

 

P.S. In case you're wondering, that photo is of the two of us on a sunset sail in Provincetown, Mass., last month. 

We're Back (With Some Big News)

Hello, Bittens! It's September, and we're back to share some news with you.

Back in early August, we told you that we needed a break. Here's a video that talks a bit about that, and about our news:

So, yes.

As we said in the video, we used the last month to talk a lot about the future of The Bitten Word, and the role it plays in our lives. As we shared back at the beginning of this year, we've been struggling with the future of this site on a number of fronts. After a lot conversations and real sadness on our part, we've decided to end The Bitten Word by the end of this year. 

But don't go just yet! We're not quite done. 

We're sad about the end, but we think it's the right thing for us and the site. We've loved doing this, but the cooking and photographing and writing are no longer the creative outlet they once were for us. We're no longer as inspired by the cooking magazines that served as the impetus for this site. (It's not so much that the magazines have changed, it's just that nine years of reading them closely is, well, a lot.) 

But like we said, we're not done yet. There will be another Fakesgiving (we just couldn't end before then). And there's more that we'd like to share and do before we officially wrap up this site. 

We hope you'll join us for these final months. And we hope that you'll help us celebrate nine great years and what we've all done together.

And if you have an idea for something we should do in the next couple months, perhaps something you'd like to see us all accomplish together before the end of the year, let us know! You can email us or leave a comment. 

Much love,
Zach & Clay 

See You in September + Your Assignment

We don't want to be those bloggers who suddenly go silent on you for a long stretch of time, so we're giving it to you straight: We need to take a month off. We're heading out on a much needed vacation. And we also have another project we're going to be doing some work on, so we're giving ourselves permission to step away here, recharge, and come back for a strong Fall. (Get ready for pumpkin-spice everything. [Just kidding.]) 

While we're away, we'd love to hear about what you cook from the July & August issues of food magazines. If you make something, send a photo and your thoughts, and we'll do some kind of round-up featuring your dishes. Here are a few things we were eyeing that we just haven't gotten to (though we may on vacation):

Oregon Blackberry Pie

Blistered Green Beans with Garlic and Miso

Tuna Poke (which is truly the "it" dish of the moment -- We see Hawaiian poke everywhere)

Plus we're sure there's a lot of awesomeness in the August issues of Food & Wine, Martha, and Bon App. We haven't gotten to those yet. (Don't worry, they're coming to the beach with us.) 

For those of you who aren't feeling the cooking, we highly recommend binge-watching Orphan Black (wowza) and Unreal (so trashy and we love it). And if you just need a dose of pleasantness, you can't do better than the new season of The Great British Baking Show (Mary Berry: marry us!). 

See you in a few weeks. And if you need a hit of The Bitten Word between now and then, check up on us on Instagram. Warning: there will be a lot of beach shots.

xoxo

Zach & Clay 

 

 

No-Cook Tomato Sauce

Food Network Magazine (July 2016) 

"Hot enough for ya?"

Honestly, gang, we usually hate small-talk about the weather. Yes, it's cold in the winter! Man, it sure is hot in the summer.

But: Man, it sure is hot this summer!

The eastern half of the U.S. spent most of last week trapped under a heat dome. Here in D.C. we had our hottest single day in four years, and several consecutive days where the humidity tipped the perceived temperature into triple digits.

We did the best we could to stay cool: We hit the movies, we went to the pool, we stayed in with the A/C cranked up high.

And we didn't dare turn on the stove.

Which is why we were eager to try out this No-Cook Tomato Sauce.

Corn Salad with Hazelnuts, Pecorino, and Mint

Bon Appétit (July 2016)

"You haven't been to All Purpose?"

"OMG how have you not had the fried chicken at Maketto yet??"

"Surely you guys have done the tasting menu at Kinship?"

"Conosci? Kyirisan? Convivial? Masseria?"

"Pineapple and Pearls? You haven't even been to Pineapple and Pearls???" 

No.

We haven't been to any of these buzzy Washington, D.C., restaurants.

Here's why.

Jerk Spice-Rubbed Chicken Legs

Bon Appétit (June 2016)

 

There are moments in friendships when you reach a new plateau, when you discover something new about someone that strengthens your bond together. Something that really sparks and takes the friendship to a deeper, truer place.

Such was the case when we recently found out our friend Thomas had never seen "Arrested Development."

We were with a big group at Thomas' for July 4th. Everyone was just chatting, and then someone said something -- who knows what it was? Perhaps a Lucille bon mot, or a particularly choice Busterism. And then Thomas said the 10 most glorious words in the English language: "I've never seen that show. We should marathon it together!"

Yes, we should, Thomas. Praise Jesus, Allah, Bhudda and Gob -- YES.

So we had Thomas over this week for his inaugural "Arrested" viewing, along with some Jerk Chicken Legs.

Blueberry and Corn Crisp

Bon Appétit (July 2016)

 

A few weeks ago, we spent a long weekend on Fire Island with a big group of friends.

Fire Island is unlike anywhere else we've ever been. It's dotted with little towns packed tight with beach houses, but it's remarkably underdeveloped. There are no roads and only a handful of cars -- it's just a raised wooden boardwalk cutting through the trees. We were in the town called the Pines, but "town" is a bit of a misnomer. There's a coffee shop and a deli, and a couple places to get a drink, all clustered around the dock where the ferry gets in. But other than that, it's just houses and woods and an endless stretch of broad, sandy beach.

From a food perspective: Fire Island presents two unique challenges. First, you're likely cooking for a big group. (Our house slept 20!) And second, there's no grocery store.

How do you cook for a house full of people with no grocery store? With a lot of careful planning.

Snap Peas and Pride

We don't talk about being gay all that much on this blog.

Oh, sure, we told you about when we got married. And we've brought you along on some of the great trips we've taken as a couple. It's obviously no secret (to put it mildly) that we're gay. 

But most of the time, there's just not much of a reason to mention it. There's no gay way to grill a steak, or host Thanksgiving, or bake a pie. We usually talk about food -- why would we mention being gay?

But it's Pride month, and we just returned from a weekend in New York City celebrating Pride (and Clay's birthday) with a bunch of friends.

So let's talk about Pride.