Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, April 4, 2008 at 4:00 PM
I was quite the picky eater in my youth. I didn’t touch green beans, wouldn’t go near cooked carrots, and never had a salad I liked until junior high. But against all reason and logic, I did love artichokes. From the moment I started eating artichokes, I remember actually enjoying them. Perhaps it’s the activity of picking up off the petals, dipping them in butter, and pulling off the “meat” of the vegetable with my teeth. What fun food to eat!
Continue reading »
Posted by Blake Royer, March 18, 2008 at 4:45 PM
Pork tenderloin is a great cut of meat to cook with—it's simple to prepare, inexpensive, and easily sliced into pleasing medallions for serving. It behaves very well and predictably, being a long cylinder of meat with little fat and tendon. The only problem is, just like that other conveniently-shaped protein that makes its way into so many dishes—the boneless, skinless, chicken breast—the pork tenderloin can often lack flavor. Buying one from a nice well-loved heritage pig rather than a commercial hog does add something, but it's never going to have the porkiness of a bone-in chop, much less a belly or shoulder.
Thankfully, the dressing from this Gourmet recipe packs a serious, unexpected punch. Building on the basic red wine vinegar with garlic and olive oil, it's fortified with the caramelized pan drippings of the roasted tenderloin and thickened with warm toasted walnuts. Arugula and sliced endive are the refreshing bitter counterpoint against the warm pork.
Continue reading »
Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, February 29, 2008 at 4:30 PM
It might have a plain-jane name, but the authors of the Cafe Flora Cookbook
know what’s up: “Our inspiration for this dressing was—dare I say it?—ranch dressing! But we gussied it up a bit.” Besides the mayonnaise there isn’t much that is similar between the two, but it somehow does manage to remind me of that classic. It is probably because of the body, though I expect I will actually use this version on a regular basis. Why? Well it’s tangier, more complex, and doesn’t taste like it’s immediately clogging my arteries.
Continue reading »
Posted by Jenn Smith, October 31, 2007 at 2:45 PM
The "my" of this recipe's title is James Beard, who observed that "American food is anything you eat at home". As no meal is more associated with home cooking than Thanksgiving, and no food writer was a greater champion of our country's regional cooking, it seems fitting to select a recipe for the Great American Bird from James Beard's American Cookery. The recipe has simple flavors to let the taste of the turkey take center stage, and gives step-by-step for trussing. It's also a nostalgic choice: my grandmother made giblet gravy according to Beard's instructions.
Continue reading »
Posted by Jenn Smith, October 30, 2007 at 3:15 PM
Jean Anderson's A Love Affair With Southern Cooking is equal parts recipe collection, autobiography, and anecdotal history of the people and places that have influenced the food of the South. Taken as a whole it is the lovely, chatty product of her lifetime of curiosity about America's most distinct regional cuisine and includes a number of dishes that would fit well into a classic Thanksgiving dinner.
Stuffing or dressing: What do you do? According to Anderson, baking on the side is safer than stuffing the bird. I made her corn bread dressing this weekend (I'll admit to cheating and using corn bread mix), and it was surprisingly light and very tasty. This Southern classic may become my new turkey standard.
Continue reading »
