Posted by Robin Bellinger, May 7, 2008 at 2:00 PM
The first time I really sat down and read Entertaining was when I was planning my wedding. I opened it looking for ideas and closed it thinking, “Yes, I could make all the food for our wedding, wouldn’t that be personal and fun?” Everyone talked some sense into me, thank goodness, and my self-catering ambitions were quietly dropped.
Don’t let this story deter you. Among the delusion-inspiring accounts of “Desserts for Forty: Soirée Dansante” and “Cocktails for Two Hundred: Country Fare,” one can find in this book ideas for relatively simple dinners at home. Last week I made tomato soup and French bread. I was too tired to make the green salad I had planned, but with a piece of Gruyère the soup and bread made a very pleasing meal indeed.
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Posted by Lucy Baker, May 6, 2008 at 5:00 PM
After preparing the Roasted Cod on Large Garlic Croutons from the June issue of Bon Appétit for this week's magazine recipe review, I've determined that the only way to make always-delicious bruschetta even better is to make it bigger.
The recipe, part of an article on quick summer suppers that can be thrown together in 15 minutes or less, was designed to turn bruschetta—once relegated to party appetizer platters—into a main course. And that it did: the briny tomato-anchovy sauce perfectly complimented the mild cod, and the crusty bread beneath soaked up all the savory juices.
This was one of those simple-yet-sophisticated recipes that leaves you at once completely satisfied and at the same time pondering how you could make it again differently. Entrée-sized bruschetta is such a great idea. Next time I'm going to try it with tuna, or maybe salmon, and I'm definitely going to throw some olives into the sauce.
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Posted by Ed Levine, December 22, 2007 at 5:35 PM
Edna Lewis' food to me was the essence of soul and comfort, and this simple Sunday supper of Baked Tomatoes with Crusty Bread reflects her elegant, simple aesthetic perfectly. I guarantee when you serve this dish to friends and loved ones there will be nary a crust left. Though Edna envisioned it as a side dish, it can also feed four hungry folks as a main course accompanied by a substantial salad. Or serve it as a side dish with roast pork.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, November 27, 2007 at 1:20 PM
The following recipe is based on Susan Spicer's mom's spoon bread but "jazzed up" a bit with the addition of onion, garlic, and a cup of grated white cheddar cheese that gets mixed into the batter as well as sprinkled on top just prior to baking.
The book that it comes from, Spicer's Crescent City Cooking, is our Cook the Book book of the week, and we'll be featuring recipes from it daily.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, October 12, 2007 at 1:30 PM
And so we've come to the last dance with this week's Cook the Book entry, Anissa Helou's Savory Baking From the Mediterranean
. Today's recipe is for Gougères Bourguignonnes, "Gougères From Burgundy." While gougères are often made on a baking sheet, where they expand and merge while baking, Helou makes hers in individual ramekins.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, October 11, 2007 at 1:55 PM
Today's Cook the Book recipe for petits pains au lait, "Little Milk Breads," is one that author Anissa Helou says is made all over France. Unlike the also-ubiquitous baguette, however, Helou says these treats can be just as good as those from a baker, provided you use very good flour, butter, and milk.
The recipe comes from Helou's Savory Baking From the Mediterranean.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, October 10, 2007 at 2:30 PM
When you think "flatbread," it's likely that one of the first flatbreads that comes to mind is pita bread. Anissa Helou, who wrote this week's Cook the Book selection, offers this recipe for home baking in Savory Baking From the Mediterranean. Because of the automated process and high-temperature commercial ovens found in most Lebanese bakeries, she says, these might not have the most even, thin layers—and they might not separate equally when they puff up in the oven—but that shouldn't stop you from experiencing the pleasure of homemade pita.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, October 9, 2007 at 2:00 PM
Today's Cook the Book recipe is for a type of Turkish flatbread that's typically called a börek (or burek) in the West. They're more a filled savory pastry than what you may think of as a typical flatbread, but they're no less delicious.
The recipe, of course, comes from Anissa Helou's Savory Baking From the Mediterranean.
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Posted by Ed Levine, October 8, 2007 at 2:00 PM
And, as promised, here's the first recipe from Anissa Helou's Savory Baking From the Mediterranean. Since I mentioned focaccia first, that's what we'll lead off with today. According to Helou, "This focaccia is a specialty of Puglia, the 'heel' of Italy. The mashed potato makes for a rather moist bread, which I use to make sandwiches filled with mortadella or with pecorino cheese." The recipe follows after the jump.
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Posted by Dorie Greenspan, September 13, 2007 at 11:30 AM
I know this looks like a good old American quickbread, but, even though it's shot through with straight-from-Vermont cheddar cheese, it's got a French soul—at least I think it has, since I was inspired to make it after having had so many in so many places across France. There, the savory cake (just about anything baked in a loaf pan is called a cake in France) is often served with aperitifs, especially wine or Champagne, but I think it's got the goods to be right at other times—it's perfect for brunch, really good with salads and so satisfying lightly toasted and buttered at snack time, whenever that might be.
The cake salé, as it's known (salé means salty or savory), is about as simple a recipe as you can find in the baker's repertory. In many ways, it's like a muffin and it's prepared in much the same way: You whisk all the dry ingredients together in one bowl, all the wet in another, and then you gently combine the two. It takes less than 10 minutes to put together, requires no special equipment and really takes no special skill.
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