Tag Archives: Bon Appetit

Baby!, Chicken, Emily Favorite, Global Flavor, Soup, Spicy

Recipe Reviver: The New Bon Appetit Magazine

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Kind of like the drink, Corpse Reviver, that’s how I felt about the latest issue of Bon Appetit – it’s revised my recipe senses! I have to admit, October through January is whirlwind of recipe madness; from Halloween to Thanksgiving to Christmas (indulgence, indulgence, indulgence) to January (stop the brakes…EAT ONLY KALE AND QUINOA), I was pleased to get back to a pace of just darn good food and from what I can tell, Bon Appetit just brought it in spades.

I’ve only made one dish so far (more in a minute) but I earmarked, I believe, half the magazine including:

  • Braised Beef with Red Onion and Gremolata
  • Fennel-Crusted Pork Chops with Potatoes and Shallots
  • Thai Beef Stew with Lemongrass and Noodles
  • Chicken and Dumplings with Mushrooms
  • Fried Chicken Biscuits
  • Winter Squash Carbonara with Pancetta and Sage
  • Caramel Dipped Popovers with Chocolate Mousse
  • Glazed Chocolate-Creme Fraiche Cookies
  • Celery Spiked Guacamole with Chiles
  • Seared Scallops with Avocado and Daikon
  • Grapefruit and White Beets with Yogurt and Tarragon
  • Dark Chocolate Waffles
  • Shaved Kohlrabi with Apple and Hazelnuts
  • Escarole Salad with Horseradish and Capers
indian-spiced-chicken-with-tomato-and-cream-940x600
Indian-Spiced Chicken with Tomato and Cream (image from Bon Appetit)

Seriously! Get ready for a LOT of Bon Appetit if all of these work out. Who’s excited? So I did make the Indian-Spiced Chicken with Tomato and Cream and wow, did we love this one you guys. I will say if you are not a spices person, this may not be the dish for you, but if you dig the Indian spice fivefecta (turmeric, coriander, cardamom, cumin, garam masala) you are going to simply love this one. It’s simple to put together and I double loved it because it’s a one pot meal. These days, with a 14-month old who is either rolling toilet paper through the house or pointing at everything in the house going ‘THAT?” (she’s asking a question on what it is – the game goes on for hours y’all hahahaha), a one pot meal is a huge food blessing.

Have you guys looked at the new Bon Appetit? Any other mags I should check out?

Beefy McBeefy, David Favorite, Emily Favorite, Global Flavor, Lengthy recipe but worth all the whisking, sweat and tears, Potato

Chile Braised Short Ribs

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chile-braised-short-ribs-646

It’s no secret that The Hubs and I like short ribs, heck, we had them at our wedding (bless you Primizie, bless you) and when I see a recipe for them I have to make it, it’s like an itch I gotta scratch!

With that, I just had to make these Chile Braised Short Ribs from Bon Appetit because of our aforementioned love of short ribs and because I randomly had a ton of dried New Mexico chiles in our pantry. What an odd thing to have a lot of huh? I was worried that this dish was going to be too spicy for my gentle husband, who loves spice but let’s just say it doesn’t love him back. Actually, the weren’t spicy at all but instead had a great smoke flavor and they were perfect in the falling off the bone department that all great short rib dishes require. We also loved the addition of the fingerling potatoes, carrots and the salty olives. I served this over some braised collard greens since it is my goal for us to eat a leafy green each day. We will be healthy damnit!

I would recommend this for people who have been around the short rib block a few times and want to try a new avenue of short rib deliciousness – you won’t be disappointed, trust me!

David Favorite, Emily Favorite

To Quote the Elton John Song…

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After a brief respite, I’m back! I feel much more energized, inspired and yes, have still been cooking away in our kitchen. Let’s start with where I’ve been the past few weeks, and that’s with Mrs. Gwyneth Paltrow. I know she’s been getting a lot of flack due to, I believe almost unconsciously or very naively, flaunting her world of privilege while so many others are just trying to get by. Read for yourself the round up Eater.com made of their favorite quotes from her cookbook – mine is the Japanese monastery line – geez.  But, I tried four of her recipes from Bon Appetit and Self magazines and I have to say, the girl can pull a recipe together. Of course, if I were besties with Chef Mario Batali and Mark Bittman I hope I could craft an amazing recipe too. Alas, I am not so let me share with you the ones I loved. Her recipes are simple, quick, short on ingredients yet still bold and delicious in flavor. Our absolute favorites were the pasta dish and the chopped salad…amazing in every way and they are going on heavy rotation in our casa!

Corn Vichysoisse

Roasted Tomato and Anchovy Oreganta Pasta

Grilled Chicken with Peach BBQ Sauce

My Ivy Chopped Salad

Gwyneth Paltrow's Roasted Tomato and Anchovy Oreganata (Photo by Matt Jones)

Now, for a completely shameless plug (who me?! :) ). The Pie Society has been approved to fund our biggest project of the year via Kickstarter.com. We have been selected as a merchant at the Austin Junior League’s 2011 A Christmas Affair – 30,000 people attending and two of us. Mmmmhmmm, yeah, can you hear my dry heaves? We can make it work but could always use support, even if it’s just spreading the news or sending us virtual hugs. Thanks y’all! Here’s the sassy “trailer” we created to quickly tell our story The Pie Society “Trailer” and to donate you can go here.

Bacon is always awesome, David Favorite, Emily Favorite, Global Flavor, Italian, Quick and Delicious

Bucatini all’Amatriciana

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Bucatini all’Amatriciana, try saying that three times fast or if you are me, at all. I’m going to go ahead and tell you right now that Bon Appetit is batting a thousand in our house this week as this was also an Emily and David favorite, hands down.

Still with me or have you gone to the store to get the ingredients? Good.

Bucatni all'Amatriciana (Photo by Jeff Lipsky)

I looked up the translation of this dish and of course the first link that comes up on Google is from none other than the Italian Chef god, Croc wearing and super gentle Mario Batali from the Babbo restaurant website. Let’s all gather around and see what they have to say:

This dish is one of the most celebrated in Italian cuisine and a favorite here at Babbo. Named for the tiny town of Amatrice, located 100 miles east of Lazio from Abruzzo this dish can be made both with or without tomatoes. Ever since Abbruzzese shepherds begin the tradition of eating this spicy pasta after a day in the chilly mountain air, the cooking process has always begun with the rich smell of a fatty piece of pork bubbling in the pan. At Babbo, we use our homemade guanciale, or cured pig jowls, with its distinct pork flavor, to achieve the same rich taste that comforted the shepherds of old.

If you count shepherding around a lot of pie plates, Crimps, bags, ties, labels and then cooking in the kitchen for hours,  I was one tired shepherd last night. I decided to prep the sauce before I left and then came home to boil the spaghetti. I simply combined the drained spaghetti with the sauce and dinner was d.o.n.e. We ate this with abandon. Like there was no tomorrow and this was our last meal. OK, a little dramatic. But we did slurp this and both went back for seconds. So rustic, so deep in flavor, so simple and so authentically Italian. Make this, now, no, no, go on, go to the store. I want to hear your reviews after you’ve tried it for yourself!

Chicken, Dose of Veggies, Emily Favorite, French, Global Flavor, Includes Alcohol

Sautéed Chicken and Radishes with Mustard and Tarragon

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To the Bon Appetit test kitchen or actually, the new team in charge, please give a big, fat raise to your staff because the peeps in charge of the At The Market section have nailed it yet again. Y’all are batting a thousand in our household let me tell you.

This dish is super French inspired and contains delicious butter, so naturally I was doing my best Julia Child (in my head) while making this dish. Let me backtrack by saying we had what was an incredibly great but busy day for the little pie company that could, and I was super wiped out when I got home. It was bad y’all, I suggested ordering a pizza…Somehow, I think with a little vino encouragement, I got up and carried on *fist shake*!  “Carried on” may not be the correct term (I’m so dramatic :)), as this took no time to make. I didn’t have white wine (that’s odd for this house) so I deglazed with a bit of lemon juice and sherry vinegar. I LOVED this. That sauce. Gosh, that sauce. With the bitter tarragon, mustard, butter and broth it just sung on top of the sauteed chicken and radishes that had turned a little sweet from being sauteed as well.

I served this with a side of Carrots with Caramelized Ginger. This is a super simple side that worked beautifully with the chicken dish! I think I might make this my go-to side dish if I’m stumped and need something quick. Delicious!

Pull out the apron, have a glass of French wine, wield your stick of butter and channel your best Julia Child – you are going to love this for sure.

 

Carrots with Caramelized Ginger (Photo by Nigel Cox)
Beefy McBeefy, Lengthy recipe but worth all the whisking, sweat and tears, Menu Plan

Oldies but Goodies…

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Easy Braised Brisket (Photo by John Autry)

Poodles, first and foremost, please make this Easy Braised Brisket from Cooking Light as soon as you can. For something that was made out of five ingredients this was insanely good. I was little thrown off by the olives at first but combined with the tomatoes and oregano they helped round out the sauce beautifully. Mmmm and the brisket was perfectly moist and fork tender. One recommendation, I kept adding more water as I went or I would have burned the heck out the brisket. Just keep an eye on it because a 1/2 cup of water on my stove was just not going to cut it. Besides that small issue, this was amazing and even better the next day for lunch!

Moving on to our menu plan this week, I’m revisiting some recipes to give David a chance to try them too – I think he’s going to love that cheeseburger:

Sunday: Coffee-Rubbed Cheeseburgers with Texas BBQ Sauce and Garlic Fries

Monday: Crab Cakes with Roasted Vegetables and Tangy Butter Sauce

Tuesday: Malaysian Beef Curry

Wednesday: White Pizza with Tomato and Basil

Fingers crossed we’ve got some good dishes coming up! Also, if you are a social media poodle, follow me on Twitter @EAIFood and on the Cooking Inside the Lines Facebook page. I tend to posts quick recipe reviews and food news there as well!

Dose of Veggies, Quick and Delicious, Seafood

Mahi-Mahi with Tomato, Pepper, and Caper Sauce

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Right after David finished eating this dish from Bon Appétit,  he exclaimed “totally and absolutely blog worthy.” I couldn’t agree more. Hailing from Cabana restaurant in West Palm Beach this simple dish packs a lot of flavor and it was incredibly easy to assemble.

What we liked most about this was the sauce – bell peppers, onions, capers, green olives, oregano, cilantro, and tomatoes all under juicy Mahi-Mahi. I took it a step further and served the whole thing (sauce and fish) over Cooking Light’s Creamy Polenta. I highly recommend doing the same if you are going to make this. It really added another layer of flavor and texture to the whole dish. The recipe is not online so I’ve inlcuded it here, heart you!

Mahi-Mahi with Tomato, Pepper, and Caper Sauce – Bon Appétit, March 2011

  • 16 garlic cloves, divided
  • ½ cup plus ¼ cup olive oil
  • 6 8-ounce mahi-mahi or black cod filets
  • 1 large white onion, halved, thinly sliced
  • 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 large green bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 large yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 cup sliced large pimiento-stuffed green olives (about 24)
  • 4 bay leaves
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • 1 ½ cups crushed tomatoes with puree
  • 1 ½ tablespoons drained capers from jar

Puree 10 garlic cloves in mini processor; transfer to 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish. Ad ½ cup of oil, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and 1 ½ teaspoons pepper to garlic; whisk marinade to blend. Add fish to marinade, cover and chill 2 hours, turning fish occasionally.

Chop 6 garlic cloves. Heat ¼ cup of oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped garlic, onion, and next 7 ingredients. Cook until vegetables are soft, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Add wine; stir 1 minute. Add tomatoes with puree and capers; simmer 2 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish to skillet with marinade still clinging. Cook until golden and just opaque in the center, about 5 minutes per side.

Discard bay leaves from sauce. Divide sauce among plates. Top with fish. (I also spread a little bit of the sauce on top of the fish and garnished with fresh cilantro)

Beefy McBeefy, Includes Alcohol, Lengthy recipe but worth all the whisking, sweat and tears, Soup, Spicy

Chile Con Carne

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Three simple little words for such a powerful dish. Bon Appetit did a special on chilis from around the country and of course this proud little lady chose the one from TEXAS! Some Texas chili rules. Number one, no beans. EVER! Rule number two, there will be beef.  Rule number three, bring on the spice.  Sometimes following the rules is fun.

Chile Con Carne (Photograph by Marcus Nilsson)

As the magazine states:

Chili is practically a religion in Texas. The thick, meaty “bowl of red” dates back to San Antonio in the 1820s. By the 1880s, the city’s plazas were full of pushcarts run by “chili queens” who would lure customers with live music. And Texans may argue about chili ingredients – but purists agree that the hearty stew would never, ever involve beans.

Roger that. This chili, like most real versions, has a lot going on and takes quite some time – but if you heart chili you won’t mind one iota. I followed this to the letter and it turned out perfect. It’s beefy, spicy and yes, a very dark bowl of red.  I topped with fresh tomatoes, green onions,  cilantro, and Monterrey Jack cheese. YUM! I aslo served with this amazing and so simple to make Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread. The only addition I made was I added pickled jalapenos and sauteed cork kernels for a little spicy/sweet oomph.

Before the cold slips away (YAY!) make this bowl of chili today. I just wicked rhymed that without meaning to.

Dose of Veggies, Fruit, Global Flavor, Seafood

Top Scallop

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So we got all sorts of fancy over here at Casa Kealey – I made a gastrique!  This Scallops with Blood Orange Gastrique  from Bon Appetit just sounds fancy but honestly, it really wasn’t. This turned out to be a beautifully balanced scallop dish that was super elegant to serve but not hard to make. Totally a Top Scallop in my book.

Back in my food PR days I use to work with Sunkist, and as you can imagine I really got to know my citrus. I’ve always loved citrus, but through this experience I was introduced to new and delicious varieties that I had never encountered such as a  pummelo and the lovely  moro (aka blood) orange. Check out their citrus flavor wheel to learn about the different varieties available.

So what drew me to the moro orange? First, the color. You eat with your eyes and the interior color and juice of a moro is so eye appealing. Second, the flavor of course. It has a tart but slightly sweet taste so it’s versatile in sweet and savory dishes. I love making a simple moro orange salsa and serving it over roasted pork tenderloin. Drool.

Moro (Blood) Oranges From Our Kitchen!

The gastrique for this scallops dish was the most intimidating part. I’ve never made one and was a little nervous I would totally muck it up. Poodles, follow the directions on this and you will nail it! I followed every time and visual cue to ensure success and it totally worked! The rest of the meal came together in a flash and I followed their instructions to ensure you get a beautiful  caramelized scallop:  “Rinse it, pat it dry with a paper towel—and then get your pan really hot.”.

I found my blood oranges at Whole Foods Market and they are in season until about mid-April. I dare y’all to give this a try. Ooooooh, this would be beautiful to serve for Valentine’s Day! No onions or garlic. A beautiful deep red sauce on the sweet scallops and it’s filling without being too overbearing so you can keep on with your evening. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. 😉

Bacon is always awesome, David Favorite, Dose of Veggies, Emily Favorite, Global Flavor, Includes Alcohol, Pork-a-licious

Honey-Marinated Pork with Gremolata

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To me, you can never go wrong when you combine honey with anything. I mean right? Think about it, what’s one thing honey doesn’t go well with? Bon Appetit explores this idea in their At the Market section focused on the lucious, good for you nectar from our gentle bee friends. I have to give mad props to the Bon Appetit staff for the amazing recipes they have in this section. I’ve done two other rock star recipes from the past two issues (see here and here) and this Honey-Marinated Pork with Gremolata was simply awesome as well.

Honey-Marinated Pork with Gremolata (Photo by Jamie Chung)

I marinated the pork in the morning since we would be out all day on Lake Travis. Let’s let that sink in shall we? Go ahead, I”ll wait………..we had our first day on the lake on January 30th! It was so beautiful here yesterday and sitting on a boat chatting and relaxing with friends was a great way to end the weekend.  I guess we need to celebrate the warm weather since it’s going to be in the low 20s later on this week, with the possibility of snow. An 80 degree day and then a few days later a chance of snow. Whoa-k. I won’t get into how that’s a tad odd, even for the ever changing Texas weather.

Back to the pork people. After searing the two tenderloins and placing in the oven, I made the gremolata and then moved on to the salad I chose as a side dish: Escarole with Bacon, Dates and Warm Walnut Vinaigrette. OUTSTANDING. There I got that out of my system. This is originally an entree salad but I lowered the amount to keep it as a simple side. We loved, loved this salad. It’s super easy to put together and the dates, walnuts and bacon all played quite nicely together.  I didn’t have walnut oil (who does?) and couldn’t find escarole (what gives Austin?) so I just used olive oil and fresh arugula for the greens; still freaking delicious. We loved the pork and you really tasted the full honey flavor in every bite.  Plus the reduced sauce and gremolata on top made the pork sing such a pretty song. We have leftovers today and I can’t wait for lunch time to get here so I can inhale the rest of the pork.

Both big winners in our house, I hope they will be in yours too.

Escarole with Bacon, Dates and Warm Walnut Vinaigrette (Photo by Kiyoshi Togashi)