Posted by The Serious Eats Team, May 10, 2008 at 9:00 AM
Adapted from Italian Grill by Mario Batali.
You can make your own pizza dough (here's a great recipe) or ask a local pizzeria if it would be willing to sell you some. You might also try your grocery store for premade pizza dough.
Ingredients
2 large garlic heads
Pizza dough
Flour, for rolling
2 cups grated young or semisoft provolone
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
Procedure
1. Preheat grill. Meanwhile, slice garlic about 1/4 inch down from top of heads so that cloves are exposed. Wrap each head in foil, and transfer to a 350°F oven. Roast garlic about an hour, or until cloves are very soft. Remove garlic from oven, let cool, and then squeeze out the cloves. Mash them with a fork.
2. Divide dough into 2 pieces. With a floured rolling pin, roll each piece into a 12-by-7-inch rectangle that's about 1/4 inch thick.
3. Place one dough rectangle on grill; cook until bottom is golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes. Flip dough; continue cooking on other side until golden, about 2 more minutes. Transfer dough to cutting board. Repeat with remaining dough rectangle.
4. Let dough cool about 2 minutes. Use a serrated knife and cut it in half horizontally, creating, essentially, a large sandwich. Spread one half of each bread with the garlic paste, then sprinkle the rosemary over it. Place provolone on the other halves; sprinkle those with scallions. Sandwich the halves together; wrap each with foil, and grill, flipping once, until focaccina are hot and cheese is melted, 5 to 6 minutes.
5. Unwrap, cut into 1 1/2-inch-wide strips, and serve immediately.
Posted by Lucy Baker, May 8, 2008 at 1:30 PM
I have a vivid childhood memory of watching my mother and grandmother make deviled eggs together in the kitchen: peeling the shells under the cold faucet, mashing the yolks with lots of mayonnaise and even more paprika. Perhaps that’s why I choose Devilish Eggs with Texas Tapenade for today's Cook the Book recipe—to my mind, it's the perfect Mother's Day hors d'oeuvre.
Paula Disbrowe, chef and author of Cowgirl Cuisine, updates this classic appetizer by topping Dijon-infused eggs with dollops of tapenade made with kalamata olives, fresh rosemary, a hint of pequin peppers, and a splash of Cognac. Best of all, the tapenade can be prepared up to a week ahead, and leftovers are delicious on slices of toasted baguette, or as a topping for burgers.
Win 'Cowgirl Cuisine'
As is always the case with our Cook the Book selections, we're giving away a number of copies to several lucky readers. Enter to win here.
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Posted by Lucy Baker, April 22, 2008 at 3:30 PM
Sometimes a few simple ingredients come together to create something spectacular. The individual elements compliment each other so well that, when combined, the results are so delicious they border on magical. Think bacon and eggs; chocolate and strawberries; hot dogs, ketchup, and mustard.
To my mind, few dishes are as effortlessly flawless as a classic caprese salad composed of tart tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, and fragrant basil. And while I wouldn't normally mess with perfection, I was intrigued by a recipe in the May issue of Bon Appetit that replaced the tomatoes with slices of fresh mango, and added radicchio to the mix.
A caprese salad with tropical and bitter flavors? I had to try it out for this week's magazine recipe review.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, April 16, 2008 at 1:45 PM
It's been only within the last year or so that I've acquired a taste for beets. I used to hate the earthy flavor and slightly gritty texture, which reminded me of eating dirt. But my girlfriend loves them, and after many dinners out with beet salads and beet dishes as an appetizer, I've come to savor them in all their variations. So when I found this straightforward Beet Soup with Feta, I knew I wanted to highlight it as one of the Cook the Book recipes this week. The book it's adapted from, The River Cottage Cookbook, by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, gives instructions for serving it hot but also mentions that it's good chilled as well, especially if you grate some raw beet on top as a garnish.
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Posted by Robin Bellinger, April 9, 2008 at 12:45 PM
Until last week I never met a mulligatawny soup I liked. It wasn’t that I hated the ones I was introduced to; it was more that they were watery, wan, and forgettable. Usually they were included as part of some deal at an Indian restaurant. I was torn between feeling sorry for mulligatawny, clinging to its place on the menu for people scared to order anything else, and vaguely disdaining it as an Anglo imposition on the Indian table.
Madhur Jaffrey’s recipe intrigued me, though, because it is made with meat and thickened with chickpea flour. Mulligatawny takes so many different forms that it seems almost silly to group all these soups under one name, but most of them do seem to be chicken based and have nothing to do with chickpea flour. I had to try this version, and I’m very glad I did.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, April 7, 2008 at 4:00 PM
The first of our cornbread recipes this week is for a Southern cornbread. Crescent Dragonwagon, the book's author, has helpfully broken up The Cornbread Gospels into regional divisions, explaining the differences among them. There are too many to go into here, suffice it to say that this cornbread should do you right no matter where you live. It's a recipe adapted from Sook Faulk, whose niece Marie Rudisill was Truman Capote's aunt. Faulk reportedly gave the recipe to Rudisill "with the understanding that [she] would share them with Truman Capote, [her] sister's child, who had been brought up in Sook's hometown, Monroe, Alabama."
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Posted by Adam Kuban, March 10, 2008 at 2:30 PM
The first recipe out of the gate this week is from a Serious Eats favorite, Anthony Bourdain, whose last meal would take place at St. John, prepared by the restaurant's proprietor, Fergus Henderson. When we talked to him last year, he also listed this dish as his favorite comfort food. The recipe follows the jump.
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Posted by Robin Bellinger, March 7, 2008 at 1:30 PM
The main reason I don’t have parties very often is that I’m one of those compulsive people who allows planning to spin out of control. I end up with five times as much food as I need but still stressed out because I didn’t manage to bake my own saltines and infuse my own vodka. It’s wiser, I know, to do fewer things better, which is why everyone should have the recipe for the Lee Brothers’ cheese straws.
These are not what I would call cheese straws, which in my experience are crispy and flaky and sometimes don’t taste cheesy enough; these are more like cheese shortbread—rich, crumbly, full of cheese, and, best of all, spicy. Growing up in Houston I knew one lady who always had crackers very like these on hand for visitors. She made hers with Tabasco and called them cheese cookies. Whatever you call them, they are addictive and a snap to make, which I guess could be considered either a good or a bad combination. If you eat them all up before your company arrives you might even have time to make another batch, at least if your abandon your plans to, say, make a miniature croquembouche for each guest, which, let's face it, probably wasn't the greatest idea anyway.
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Posted by Lucy Baker, February 23, 2008 at 6:00 PM
©iStockphoto.com/hidesy
What would an Oscars party be without a big bowl of popcorn? For Hollywood's most glamorous night, though, not just any popcorn will do. Instead of run-of-the-mill microwave varieties, why not make some the old-fashioned way—in a pot on the stove? Here are three of my favorite fancy popcorn recipes: Giada de Laurentiis's Rosemary Popcorn, Sally Schnieder's White Truffle Popcorn, and a seriously indulgent Bacon-Cheese Popcorn.
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Posted by Ed Levine, February 14, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Cheese fondue is good any day of the year as far as I'm concerned, but it's particularly and deliciously appropriate for Valentine's Day. It's creamy, tangy, and crazy good. It's easy to make, and it's the ultimate interactive food. We've made this recipe in my house any number of times, and it's always turned out great. We adapted it from Steven Jenkin's terrific book, Cheese Primer
.
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Posted by Mario Batali, February 12, 2008 at 1:30 PM
- serves 4 -
Ingredients
1 pound fresh crab meat
4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus 4 scallions
1/4 cup basic tomato sauce
1 recipe basic pasta, rolled out to thinnest setting
6 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Procedure
1. Bring 6 quarts water to boil; add 2 tablespoons salt.
2. In a mixing bowl, stir together crab, scallions, and basic tomato sauce until well blended. Cut pasta into 4-inch squares; place 1 tablespoon filling in center. Fold into triangles, exude air and seal edges. Bring points of long side together to form a ring (or a hat!) and seal with pressure between fingers. Place tortelloni in water; boil 8 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, melt butter with poppy seeds. Drain cooked tortelloni carefully; place gently in pan. Add remaining scallions; toss to coat. Serve immediately.
Posted by Lauren Krueger, February 1, 2008 at 3:15 PM
From 1995 to 2003 the California Avocado Commission held an Avobowl, in which guacamole recipes relating to the regional specialties of teams playing in the Superbowl were pit against each other in a taste test. Five out of eight years, the winner of the guacamole contest accurately predicted the winner of the football match. Eerie, eh?
Well, it seems as if the Avobowl is no longer a contest, as the Hass Avocado Board would prefer it if we all just get along. They don't care who wins, just as long as you eat your share of Superbowl guacamole. And you probably will:
The HAB estimates fans will eat 49.5 million pounds of Hass avocados on this year's Big Game Day—enough to cover Arizona's University of Phoenix Stadium football field, end zone to end zone, more than 19.1 feet deep in avocados.
Though the Avobowl is no longer, the HAB has provided different recipes for Giants fans and Patriots fans, based around team colors (in one case) and regional foods (in the other). If these guacamoles were to do battle, who would win?
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Posted by Adam Kuban, February 1, 2008 at 2:45 PM
Who doesn't love eating nachos while watching the Super Bowl? This recipe, adapted from Robb Walsh's Tex-Mex Cookbook, refers to Brown's Mexican Food on Hackberry Street in San Antonio. Nachos there come eight to an order and come in three styles: cheese; bean and cheese; bean, cheese, avocado. The portions here re-create Brown's serving style, but for a Super Bowl party, you'll obviously want to increase the dose, amigos (unless you're having the saddest Super Bowl party for one). Luckily, upping the yield is easy enough, since all ingredients scale on the same ratio. Or, better yet, make a couple batches of each variation here.
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Posted by Lucy Baker, February 1, 2008 at 1:30 PM
This week I made the edamole dip featured in the January/February issue of Cooking Light. I wanted to try out a recipe that I could take with me to the Super Bowl party I'm attending on Sunday, and, after recalling the Cheetos-induced coma I ate myself into last year, I wanted it to be healthy.
The dip is basically a very simple guacamole, only the avocado is replaced by edamame. Obviously, this drastically reduces the amount of fat and calories.
After reading over the recipe, I was skeptical. Sure, the dip looked like rich, creamy guacamole in the magazine's photo, but what would it taste like? The ingredient list was so simple I was afraid the end results would be reminiscent of the mushy, over-cooked and under-salted edamame I get for free with sushi lunch specials.
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Posted by Lucy Baker, February 1, 2008 at 1:30 PM
This week I made the edamole dip featured in the January/February issue of Cooking Light. I wanted to try out a recipe that I could take with me to the Super Bowl party I'm attending on Sunday, and, after recalling the Cheetos-induced coma I ate myself into last year, I wanted it to be healthy.
The dip is basically a very simple guacamole, only the avocado is replaced by edamame. Obviously, this drastically reduces the amount of fat and calories.
After reading over the recipe, I was skeptical. Sure, the dip looked like rich, creamy guacamole in the magazine's photo, but what would it taste like? The ingredient list was so simple I was afraid the end results would be reminiscent of the mushy, over-cooked and under-salted edamame I get for free with sushi lunch specials.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, January 30, 2008 at 4:30 PM
Alright. It's my belief that you can't have a football party—and especially not a Super Bowl party—without a seven-layer bean dip. This dip doesn't mess around, so use extra-thick tortilla chips or Fritos for dipping.
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Posted by Jenn Sit, January 30, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Photograph from iStockPhoto.com
Every year, I get excited about the Super Bowl. It's not about the halftime show or the commercials, and although I've been trying my best to understand the finer points of the game, it really comes down to one thing: the food.
When I told my boyfriend I wanted to throw a Super Bowl party this year, he wasn't too thrilled when he realized it would attract a crowd more interested in eating than watching the game. He was so concerned that he went so far as to propose I throw a Saturday night eating party, leaving Sunday to intense game-watchers. Sure, like that's gonna happen.
Here are some great recipes for the big game that I'm sure will show him that serious eating doesn't need to be sacrificed for serious watching. Now, I'll just have to convince him that my red and blue Giants cupcakes could theoretically be for the Pats, too.
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Posted by Lucy Baker, January 22, 2008 at 2:00 PM
I know I usually write about ice cream, but Ed's recent diet posts have inspired me to contribute something about pickles. To me, aside from the whole sodium content thing, they are the ultimate guilt-free snacking food: crunchy, juicy, and best eaten with your fingers. Most have between zero and twenty calories per serving, and with so many varieties—bread and butter, half-sour, and cute little cornichons to name just a few—you need not get bored with them. I've never understood why, when they are so delicious, pickles are primarily used as garnishes, tossed onto the rims of sandwich plates and buried beneath showers of potato chips. In my mind, a bowl of pickles is just as worthy of hors d'oeuvre status as a bowl of olives!
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Posted by Jenn Sit, December 31, 2007 at 6:00 PM
Watching the animated food critic Anton Ego take his transcendent bite of ratatouille in the movie by the same name, only makes you wonder what about this classic French peasant dish warrants such fuss. If you're as curious as I am, try out Ellie Krieger's recipe for a cornmeal-crusted roasted ratatouille tart from The Food You Crave.
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Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, December 31, 2007 at 12:30 PM
One of the simplest little tricks I picked up this year came from Larousse Gastronomique, which taught me the wonders of a basic vinaigrette. I had always confined them to the traditional lettuce salad, but that big book urged me to pour them on nearly anything, including everyday vegetables. And, really, that’s the lesson today. Green beans + Vinaigrette = great side dish—even if that is a tad boring. So I’ve been looking around.
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Posted by Jenn Sit, December 19, 2007 at 1:30 PM
During the holidays, for a lot of families, it’s tradition to get together to bake cookies and other sweet goodies. I’ve never made cookies with my family, but so much of my childhood was spent making countless dumplings and wontons with my Mom and Grandma either at home or at our family’s restaurant. Needless to say, I’ve become a lover all things dumpling after years of this family fun/borderline child-labor.
This weekend, with family members or guests coming over for the holidays, along with the cookies, why not put them to work and make pork and vegetable dumplings from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics. They would be a great hors d'oeuvre if you’re having a party or if you’re like me, eat a dozen or two doused in Sriracha and make it a meal. You can use the same pork and veggie mixture stuffed in wonton wrappers for your own homemade wonton soup. Rapidly stir a beaten egg in hot chicken broth and ta-dah!—you have egg drop soup to go with your wontons and another mystery of Chinese take-out is revealed. Now all that’s left is figuring out how they get those little fortunes in the cookies…
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Posted by Adam Kuban, December 11, 2007 at 2:30 PM
You might also know this Alsatian Bacon and Onion Tart as tarte flambée or flammekueche. James Villas—author of this week's Cook the Book, The Bacon Cookbook—recommends trying to find fresh pot cheese in a specialty grocer, but if you can't, he says low-fat ricotta will work almost as well. He also recommends French ventrèche bacon or German Black Forest bacon, both of which may be found in finer butcher shops or online.
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