The Magazine Review-5/20/10

I admit I have a little obsession with cooking magazines. At one point, I was receiving 5 different cooking magazines in the mail each month. One, Taste of Home, was a gift subscription and I didn't renew it when it ran out. The other, Gourmet, has ceased publication so I no longer get that one. The other three, Bon Appetit, Food and Wine, and Cooking Light are all great magazines, but for different reasons. The following comparisons are mostly my opinion but you may find them helpful if you are looking to subscribe to just one. (Gasp!)

Bon Appetit

Bon Appetit would classify as my long-term favorite, though month by month I choose my favorite magazines based on personal preference for recipes and interest in the articles. Bon Appetit has lots of creative menus and I like menus to help put similar recipes together. There are often several articles with a cultural theme (either country or region) with accompanying recipes. Bon Appetit did change their design style in the last several years and I find the new aesthetic a bit bare with lots of white and neutrals. Food is colorful and I do wish the magazine reflected this a bit more.

If you like "The New Yorker", you will like Bon Appetit. (They are published by the same company.)

Food and Wine
I've gotten Food and Wine and also love this magazine. It also includes menus, though usually fewer than Bon Appetit. Food and Wine tends to be a bit more thematic, like articles on tacos or a particular food item. Food and Wine spends a bit more effort on wine, given the name. My only real complaint with F & W at times is the "superstar" nature of the magazine. They focus quite a bit more on superstar chefs and other people in the world of food. I'm just not as into that. They also have a lot of travel information that is a little outside the average American price range.

If you like "People" magazine, you will like Food and Wine.

Cooking Light
I started getting Cooking Light several years ago when it hit the grocery store newstands in force. I'm pretty sure this magazine has gained the most readership of the three I've mentioned in the last few years. This magazine plays to the desire of many Americans to lose weight and still eat well. This magazine has some great low and reduced fat recipes while still having a gourmet bent. I enjoy the menus and tips for making traditional recipes healthier. My only complaint with this magazine is the lack of many serious articles about food topics. It's pretty much a purely recipe magazine with some fitness tips thrown in.

If you like "Shape" magazine, you will like Cooking Light.

I've gotten a few other magazines over the years but these are my main three. I got Taste of Home for a few years from my mother-in-law but I found it a bit simplistic. It's a great one if you need a casserole dish, though. I've gotten a few copies of Vegetarian Times and really like it. Obviously, I don't eat exclusively vegetarian but if I did, this magazine would be a necessity. I've seen Cook's Illustrated and I'm intrigued by the premise of no adds and extensive research. Maybe someday.

Tonight, I made three recipes from this month's Food and Wine. It was listed as two but the Pork Schnitzel with Warm Potato Salad was really two separate dishes. The Pork Schnitzel was an easy and delicious version of the classic German dish. The use of panko or Japanese breadcrumbs was a great adaptation. Panko is light and crispy and prevented a heavy, greasy feeling that sometimes results with breaded food. The Warm Potato Salad was a vinegar based potato salad that was a good match for the pork. This potato salad would not be good for a summer picnic but worked well here.

The Roasted Turnips and Greens were also pretty traditional in flavor but the olives and nuts added some creative notes. This recipe may not work with every main dish but it paired well with the pork and potatoes. The natural spice of the turnips made the greens seem almost sweet. The little bit of orange may have helped that too.

Pork Schnitzel with Warm Potato Salad-A-

Roasted Turnips and Greens-A-

In Honor of Ho Chi Minh-5/19/10

For those of you not in the know, today was Ho Chi Minh's birthday. I wouldn't have known this either if I didn't need an excuse to make 3 different dumpling recipes for my family tonight without looking like a lunatic. Check that... maybe I am a lunatic. But at least I know more about Ho Chi Minh than the average bear. Ho Chi Minh, the namesake for the current capital of Vietnam, was the leader of the Viet Minh Independence movement and the leader and president of North Vietnam at the time of the Vietnam War. He was a follower of Communist ideals and is credited with unifying the Vietnamese people under his leadership. And his birthday was a dang good excuse to make some dumplings. Food and Wine this month has an article "A Lesson in Dumplings" and I made all three variations. The Lemongrass Chicken Dumplings were our favorite. The fresh lemongrass and crunch cabbage was a good combination. My new food processor made quick work of all the chopping and Eyrleigh even helped me stuff a few. The Pork-and-Kimchi Dumplings were a little spicy for Eyrleigh but I liked the spicy note of the kimchi and ginger. The Watercress and Tofu Dumplings didn't hold together as well, as could be expected but still had crunchy water chestnuts to give them texture. The only disappointment was the dipping sauce. There was too much vinegar and it overwhelmed the other flavors. Soy sauce alone would have been a better match for all the dumpling flavors.

I mixed up the dumplings with the Xie Xie Tofu Salad with Pickled Vegetables. This deconstructed Asian-style salad was a yummy veggie addition to the meal. The carrots were pretty spicy and Eyrleigh didn't enjoy them but the cabbage and tofu were a hit. The flavors weren't strong but they were a great match for this meal as dumplings can get heavy after you've had a lot of them. And yes, I had a lot. Thanks, Mr. Ho Chi Minh and Happy Birthday!



Lemongrass Chicken Dumplings-A

Pork-and-Kimchi Dumplings-A-

Watercress and Tofu Dumplings-B+

Xie Xie's Tofu Salad with Pickled Vegetables-B+

My Daughter is a Cannibal-5/18/10

This title is not exactly appropriate for a food blog but I have to get this off my chest. I know Eyrleigh is not perfect but I can't tell you how very upsetting it was to me to see that she bit her little friend, Joanie. Worse, I didn't see it happen and only noticed a bite mark when I was telling Joanie's mom about another booboo she gave herself. I felt terrible that I hadn't even noticed what Eyrleigh had done. Thanks for listening. Some days, cooking just takes a backseat to the dramas of parenthood. I made a meal from Food and Wine but I don't have the energy and creativity to come up with any other blog topic. It was just the kind of day that makes you cringe.

I really love Indian food but tonight's variations from this month's Food and Wine were a bit bland for my taste. I baked the Grilled Tandoori-Style Chicken Drumsticks in the oven. The recipe even allowed for it but I think grilling would have really improved the flavor of this dish. The smoke would have added a good note to the mild yogurt marinade. The yogurt sauce with the next recipe really helped out this main dish too.

The Curried Cauliflower and Green Been Salad with Lemon Yogurt was a very good roasted vegetable dish. I would have liked a bit more spice but the vegetables were very good as written. I eliminated the bread and I don't think I missed anything. It just seemed extra and not essential. It may have added some crunch but I didn't want the oil. The yogurt sauce was a basic riata and added to both the salad and the chicken.

Grilled Tandoori-Style Chicken Drumsticks-C

Curried Cauliflower and Green Bean Salad with Lemon Yogurt-A-

The Fatal Flaw-5/17/10

The fatal flaw of cooking fish is the strong smell that goes along with it. I did laundry today and I'm afraid I'll sleep with a faint odor of lobster. I'm reminded of a restaurant we ate at on the water in Bar Harbor, Maine this summer. Three days later, my sweatshirt still smelled of fish. I love the fish while I'm eating it but smelling it in your clothes the next morning is not quite so nostalgic.
I've always wanted to make bouillabaisse. It's one of those classic dishes that just sounds delicious. My friend, Mark, would reschedule anything to attend his parents Christmas Eve dinner of bouillabaisse with friends. Now that I've made Ted Allen's Lobster Bouillabaisse from this month's Food and Wine, the bloom is off the rose, shall we say. I liked it but may not move it into the weekday rotation or even plan an event around it. It's a lot of fish and I found the flavor a bit overwhelming. My mussels may be at fault though. You will see that they did not make the soup. I'd actually hoped to make this soup on Friday, but because of book club, a birthday party, and a ball game, it's now Monday. My mussels didn't make it. They were all opened and stinky. I had to use some canned clams I had instead. Ted Allen, of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame, may blame this for my disillusionment with bouillabaisse but honestly, if this one thing was the difference, this dish may be a bit too high maintenance for me.
Usually, a sabayon is a similar dish for me. I like sabayons but I'm not so entranced that I've added this dessert to my regular repertoire. The elderflower liqueur, St. Germain, sounds wonderful but I've tried to limit my budget by substituting expensive alcohol for things I have. Last year I made marshmallows with Lillet for a Gourmet recipe and I had quite a bit remaining. I'll admit Lillet is not a true liqueur but it does have a distinct flavor. I used it and really liked it in the sabayon. I used exclusively strawberries because of the overabundance I had remaining from strawberry picking at a local farm with the kids. I really liked this dish so I think my substitutions worked. I remembered sabayon as a bit airy and weak but this was thick and rich. Thanks, Ted!


Ted Allen's Lobster Bouillabaisse-B
Elderflower Sabayon with Berries-A

My Mountain of Books-5/14

I love to to read. As a kid, I would disappear to my room for hours to read a book. Thankfully, I read quickly and can create vivid pictures of the setting and events of books in my mind. I grew up with books stacked in every room in our house and now I have done the same. Over a decade ago, I joined a book club created by my friend, Kim, and when I taught at Rock Springs Elementary, I led a book club of staff members. When I stopped teaching, I didn't want to stop having book club so a teacher friend and I still meet. We met today and I made two cookie recipes from this month's Food and Wine for our snacks. The cookies were good but I thought the book was better. It was titled "Thinking in Pictures: And Other Reports from My Life with Autism" by Temple Grandin. This book was very non-traditional, as you would imagine a book by an author with autism would be. The story was rarely narrative, more often written as a factual article, expressing the research and musings of Ms. Grandin. The sequence of the story often jumped around and at times I, as a reader, had to go back and reread a section to follow the author's train of thought. Despite these differences, the book was fascinating. My godson, Connor and my cousin's son, Owen, are both autistic and I found her analysis of the mind of someone with autism accurate and enlightening.

Don't get me wrong, the cookies were good but food doesn't last with you as long as a good book. I have books on my shelf I will always treasure. Cookies rarely last a day. I initially planned to make the Pecan Shortbread with Chocolate Drizzle on page 126 but when I realized that this recipe only made 8 cookies, I needed more. So I made the Granola Cookies with Chocolate Chips on page 128 as well. The Pecan Shortbreads were very tasty but very very crumbly. I lost one cookie in the transfer and did some early taste testing. I think this was a result of the ground pecans. The nutty flavor was great, though and for a small gathering, these would be perfect.

I was a bit more worried about the Granola Cookies, mostly because I made a few substitutions due to lack of correct ingredients. First of all, I had no butter and used shortening instead. I didn't notice any ill effects and actually the shortening mixed in well without warming it to room temperature. The second substitution was more visual. I didn't have chocolate chips so I cut up a chocolate bar. The chocolate taste was still there but not as well dispersed and there was not the familiar lumps of the chips. My final substitution was dates for apricots. I think this one was a one for one trade and simply changed the flavor a bit. I liked the dates, a common ingredient in many granola bars anyway. Despite a whole lot of substitutions, these cookies disappeared. They were great. The first batch got a little crispy and so I shortened the cook time to 14 minutes and this was perfect for chewy, chunky granola cookies. I'll be making these again.

The last recipe was not the afterthought it looks like on this blog. I made the Shaking Beef on page 68 last night and didn't have time to blog. Since it was one recipe by itself, I decided I could add my thoughts on it here. I liked the dish. You really can't go wrong with filet mignon. But that was part of the problem. This dish wasn't stand out enough to justify spending $14 on one pound of meat alone. It was basically an Asian beef dish with a soy-vinegar sauce. There are much cheaper ways to get this flavor without buying filet. The watercress was simply a bed of greens and though yummy, could have been baby spinach and not made that big a difference. I still like the book better!

Pecan Shortbread with Chocolate Drizzle-A-

Granola Cookies with Chocolate Chips-A

Shaking Beef-B

The Missing Grocery Caper-5/12/10

I love mysteries. I read the Nancy Drew and

Hardy Boys books as a kid, Sherlock Holmes as a teenager, and Agatha Christie as an adult. But I don't like mysteries when it comes to my groceries. I know I picked up at least 3 things at Food Lion yesterday that never made it to my house. I distinctly remember picking up ham for the pea soup I made tonight, fillet for the Shaking Beef I'm making tomorrow, and bananas for Eyrleigh. None of these made it home. I checked the receipt. Thankfully, it looks like I didn't pay for these items either so some time between putting them in my cart and checking out, they disappeared. I have a few guesses what happened but no real clue. Eyrleigh could have taken them out... though I doubt that. I had one of those double carts with a smaller basket on top and a larger one on the bottom. I could have left these items in the bottom part, underneath the top basket. That seems really spacey of me to miss 3 items, one of them bright yellow but it's possible. Eyrleigh had her first grocery store meltdown while we were checking out. I have never bought her candy from the grocery store checkout aisle but she choose yesterday to decide to scream for candy. Needless to say, I was flustered, okay, really angry at her, while checking out and had to enter my discount card number 3 times. Between her crying and shouting and the nasty looks from the lady behind me, I was not in peak form. I'm not calling this case closed but that's the best detective work I've got.

Tonight I began the meal with the hamless Sweet Pea Soup with Ham and Croutons from page 112 on this month's Food and Wine. The ham may have added a flavorful note but my complaints with this soup were more with texture. The spinach left stringy pieces in the soup. I didn't mind the flavor but it wasn't as rich as a long simmering split pea soup. It tasted like blended peas and spinach with a bit of onion. It was

nothing spectacular.

My meal plan for tonight was a bit less formal so I choose to add one of the hummus adaptations, the Hummus Deviled Eggs. Eyrleigh was thrilled. She ate 3 of these eggs and would have had one or two more had we let her. The addition of hummus to traditional deviled eggs was less surprising than I would have thought. It added a little tang to the filling but really wasn't all that different. That's a good thing if you like your deviled eggs and want to cut down on the mayonnaise.

One of the best things about trying lots of new recipes is the realization that some foods are more accessible than you think. I love crab rolls but I only eat them on vacation in New England. Tonight, I used crab meat from a can I bought at Food Lion (that did not go missing!) and made really good crab rolls. The purists may argue that canned crab meat in Georgia doesn't have the flavor of salt and sea that you taste when you order from a shack on the ocean. I agree, these weren't perfect but for those nights I want to close my eyes and pretend I'm in Old Orchard Beach again, these rolls will work just fine. With a little mayo, a little lemon, and the crunch of celery, the flavor of the sea still comes through, even here, a long way from the ocean.

Sweet Pea Soup with Ham and Croutons-C

Hummus Deviled Eggs-B+

Crab Rolls with Lemon Aioli-A-

Tequila with Ricky-5/11/10

When I lived in Phoenix, I was only 5 hours away from San Diego and from there, it was only a quick drive into Mexico. One year a friend from Michigan, Eric Seelye, came to visit me and we hopped in the car and drove to the Baja. I laugh a bit now at how blase we were about the trip. So blase that Eric left his wallet on the top of a pay phone, we drove away, realized he left it and it was still there when we went back. That night we stopped for dinner in the town of Rosarito, below Tijuana. Our waiter, Ricky, was delightful and when we mentioned we had no idea where we were spending that night (I told you we were blase!), he offered to let us pitch our tent behind the restaurant. When we woke up to the ocean crashing below us and a beautiful view of Rosarito Beach, we felt like we'd spent the night in a five-star hotel. The next year, I took Richard back to Baja and just down the road from the restaurant we'd eaten at the year before was a little place called Ricky's. Sure enough, Ricky remembered me and treated us to lots of free tequila and a wonderful meal of fish tacos.
Actually, I'm not sure we had fish tacos. Remember the part about the free tequila... But either way, fish tacos are the dish that in my mind conjures up images of the Baja. Tonight's dinner was Crispy Fried Fish Tacos from the Taco World article in this month's Food and Wine. I think I might be able to give Ricky a run for his pesos. These were really good fish tacos. The recipe used some Asian ingredients like hoisin sauce and panko but the flavor was authentic. The hoisin sauce gave the dressing for the tacos a wonderful tang and the panko was the crunchy base for the fried coating. I used frozen bagged tilipia fillets and they worked beautifully. This dish sure made me miss the stark beauty of the Baja peninsula and the warm welcome of Ricky.
A playful main like fish tacos called for a simple fun dessert. The Espresso-Shortbread Brownie Bars were a good fit. Combining shortbread cookies with brownies is a fun twist on both. The espresso in the shortbread cuts some of the sweetness of the brownie. I'm not a huge chocolate person, nor a real cookie lover, but if this describes you, make these. I also thought milk was an absolute requirement to the enjoyment of these bars. They are a smidge dry without it.

Crispy Fried-Fish Tacos-A
Espresso-Shortbread Brownie Bars-A-

Isn't It Ironic.. Don't You Think-5/10/10

When I started posting to my blog about tonight's meal, I noticed that several of the visits on the live traffic feed were from bonappetit.com. Curious, I jumped over to bonappetit.com to see how someone got to my blog from there. Sure enough, just one click off the homepage of Bon Appetit, my blog is quoted and linked to. Fifteen months after I start this blog and 5 posts after I decide to switch up my cooking magazine from Bon Appetit to another magazine for the month, Bon Appetit puts me on their blog list. Alanis Morissette would be proud. Ah well, hopefully Bon Appetit is not like our local grocery store competitors. A Publix employee literally whispered "Kroger" when I told her Eyrleigh could tell the difference between grocery stores because of free cookies. She looked around surreptitiously as if someone would fire her if they heard her even mention the name of the "other" grocery store.
Tonight's meal was from Food and Wine and in all likelihood I'll stick with my plan to finish out this month with Food and Wine. It was kind of nice to see my blog on bonappetit.com, though. My pictures didn't look half bad next to the others.
It's just nice to know someone found what you had to say interesting enough to share it with a national audience.

I didn't intend to make a vegetarian meal but tonight's meal was all veg. I made the Smoky Ribollita, basically a minestrone soup, on page 57. This soup was a good version of the traditional Italian soup. The white beans added a meaty depth to the soup and the smoky paprika gave extra spice to the veggies. It didn't take long to make and the chopping was managable.

I also made the Farfalle with Spring Vegetables to fill out the meal. Honestly, I wasn't a big fan. This dish was pretty flat. The veggies were good, especially the peas but some cheese, probably a Parmesan or Romano would have really helped. Cooking water is not sauce in my book. The bread made strange "croutons" for the pasta that added crunch but didn't really blend with the pasta and vegetables.

Smoky Ribollita-B

Farfalle with Spring Vegetables-C

A Little Extra Smoke-5/7/10

Look closely at the picture to your left. That is not pepper you see. That is burnt stuff. It wasn't enough to make the dish inedible but it did contribute to authenticity. The dish I made tonight was called Smoky Paella with Shrimp and Squid from this month's Food and Wine. Mine almost got a bit smokier than recommended. When the recipe says "...bring to a boil over high heat 10 minutes" and doesn't mention stirring, I suggest you stir. I didn't and had to do a bit of scraping resulting in the black stuff at left.
I love paella and truth be told, consider myself a bit of an expert, for an American. When I stayed in Spain in 1996, I had the most amazing paella almost daily with whatever fish was bought that day. Tonight's version was a bit disappointing. Something was missing, perhaps a few more types of fish or shellfish. The rice was rather thick with the tomato paste and didn't absorb the flavors of the additional fish. It wasn't terrible but I won't be repeating this one, with or without the extra smoke.

Smoky Paella with Shrimp and Squid-C

Cuatro Tacos for Cinco De Mayo-5/5/10

I'll begin this post by apologizing. These four tacos look exactly the same but you must believe me, they are not! Last night, I invited several families from our church small group over for Cinco De Mayo. I guess I started the margarita part of the evening a little early (while cooking, of course). In all the rush of cooking, hosting, and ... uh...bar tending, I didn't take any pictures. This picture was taken by Richard at lunch the next day. Pretty good looking leftovers if I do say so myself.
This month's Taco World article in Food and Wine magazine has seven taco recipes but I didn't think I could pull off all seven. Three of the tacos I made for the party involved premaking a marinade and simply grilling the meat before serving. That's a pretty easy way to do a party. I had very little to do once people arrived. I just lit the grill and let the charcoal do its thing. I did have a vegetarian friend coming so my fourth taco was the tofu variation.
The Chili-Spiced Skirt Steak Tacos were a two-hour marinade with ground spices and lime juice. It smelled wonderful and grilled up well. Next time, I might let this marinade sit overnight like the pork and chicken. The recipe called for skirt steak, a cut that I find unreliable. Sometimes it's really good and sometimes it's very chewy and tough. I used New York Strip and sliced it after grilling. It was delicious but I would have liked a bit more depth to the marinade.
The Grilled Chicken Tacos were an overnight marinade. The marinade didn't look great but I thought it was the best flavored of the three marinades once grilled. The chicken thighs grilled beautifully and smelled wonderful. The last minute addition of parsley and paprika added an extra kick as well.
The Tacos al Pastor or pork tacos marinaded overnight as well. The marinade was the most work but I almost thought it was too busy, almost too many flavors to really get a strong feel for any one thing. The recipe called for boneless pork shoulder. I bought picnic shoulder and I'm not sure this was the same thing. The pork seemed fatty and tough before grilling but it grilled up pretty well. The grilled onions and pineapple suggested with this recipe were great additions to all the tacos.
The Crunchy Tofu Tacos had promise and I'm actually glad I waited a day for Richard's picture. We had the leftovers for dinner tonight too and both Richard and I thought the tofu was better today. Yesterday the fried coating was almost soggy and didn't have the strong flavor one would expect from chili powder and chili paste. Today, I still found the flavor a bit weak but the coating had dried out and had a bit more crunch.
I also, or should I say, my friends and I made the Pico de Gallo and Avocado Salsa recommended with these tacos. Both were traditional accompaniments and added fresh, authentic flavors to the tacos. We cut the water out of the Avocado Salsa recipe because it just would have thinned the flavor. These are both simple to make and worked well. I will admit I made another batch of the bean sauce from the 5/3 post. Man, that stuff is good!

Chile-Spiced Skirt Steak Taco-B
Grilled Chicken Tacos-A-
Tacos al Pastor-B
Crunchy Tofu Tacos-C
Pico de Gallo-A-
Avocado Salsa-A-

After I Learn Italian-3/4/10

Cooking magazines love to use fancy names for recipes to make them sound more authentic and delicious. Tonight I made Buccatini all"Amatriciana, basically Italian for tubular pasta with bacon and tomato sauce. It sounds much fancier in Italian. I think everything sounds fancier in Italian. I need to learn Italian or at least go to Italy to hear it spoken for awhile. How I missed the entire country when I backpacked through Europe is beyond me. I think Eyrleigh and Richard would really love to go there too.

Though Buccatini all'Amatriciana sounds complicated, it wasn't and the use of store-bought tomato sauce made it downright simple. I replaced the pancetta with low-sodium bacon and realized I had no more Romano cheese so I used Manchego. It worked. The flavor added to the store-bought sauce was an improvement. I may not duplicate this recipe exactly again but this recipe reinforced that anything can be added to a commercial sauce to give it an extra dimension. That's worth remembering on the nights I get home and have to whip something together.

Though the combination of Caesar salad with Italian food is more an American invention, I went ahead and made the connection tonight. The Caesar Salad with Crispy Tofu Croutons on page 130 of May's Food and Wine was a creative twist on this classic salad. The croutons were definitely different from regular croutons in both taste and texture. Though I liked the little cubes of fried tofu, they remained soft in the middle and didn't fool anyone as to their true identity. The silken tofu used in the dressing, though, was a perfect replacement for the fatty oil and egg white used normally. The texture was identical, minus the oily residue, and the flavor was identical. I overdressed the salad, as the picture shows, and the lightness of the dressing made it tolerable. I'll need to remember this dressing for the future, though I'll probably return to good old bread croutons.

Caesar Salad with Crispy Tofu Croutons-B+

Buccatini All'Amatriciana-B+

I Am Benedict Arnold-5/3/10

You may remember the story of Benedict Arnold, the general who betrayed the American Revolutionaries and joined the British forces. So I'll admit my traitorous act was not that great but I have decided to change magazines for the month of May. I sat down this week to look at my new cooking magazines and I got to be honest, the line-up in Food and Wine just looked better and more doable. It's not that I can't make Caramelized Pork Belly and Shrimp with Spicy Fish Sauce and Padron Peppers Stuffed with Tetilla Cheese. It's just that it's hard to find those ingredients and I would spend an inordinate amount of time hunting high and low to make my recipes authentic. I also was a bit over butter and flour. The six cake recipes last month did me in and I swear my stomach is still flabbier as a result. The Food and Wine recipe list had fewer desserts and several of those were lighter in nature (like Poached Pears with Prunes, not exactly a high fat treat!). There is a whole article on one of my personal favs, tacos and a whole group of recipes using tofu in interesting ways. So traitor or not, I'm changing alliances, at least for the month of May.

Tonight I began simply with only one recipe, Chile-Honey-Glazed Salmon with Two Sauces on page 64. The salmon in this dish was very similar to the salmon I made on April 13th. Instead of grilling the salmon, I baked the salmon in the oven. It's neater and I hate grilling fish indoors. It smells up the house forever. This glaze was spicy and sweet with one substitution. I had agave nectar and used that instead of honey. The tomatillo salsa was good but be warned, it's pretty spicy as written. The black bean sauce was excellent. In fact, this sauce could have stood alone as a recipe, it was that flavorful. Chipotle, cumin, garlic and onion were pretty simple additions but made the bean dip the highlight of the recipe. I ate two tortillas dipped in this sauce alone. This recipe would make excellent salmon tacos too.

I'm not a complete traitor yet. I bought some rhubarb last week but never made the Bon Appetit recipes that called for it. I went back to last month's Bon Appetit to make the Rhubarb Galette with Creme Fraiche on page 68. I learned two things while making this recipe. Eyrleigh has inherited my love of raw rhubarb dipped in sugar and I need a new food processor. Yep, I love that sweet-sour combination and so does my daughter. The galette was excellent and very easy to make, even without a food processor. It's a good thing Mother's Day is Sunday so I've made a request for a Cuisinart 9-cupper. I chilled the tart crust while the rhubarb soaked in sugar. It tasted amazing with a simple scoop of vanilla, forget that fancy creme fraiche. Ahhh, the taste of summer.

Chili-Honey-Glazed Salmon with Two Sauces-A-

Rhubarb Galette with Creme Fraiche-A

April's Best-4/30/10

April ended for our family with a fun little road trip to Galveston to attend Richard's Ironman 70.3 triathlon. On the way there, we stopped in New Orleans to sample the world-famous beignets at Cafe Du Monde and take in a New Orleans Zephyrs baseball game. As you can tell, Eyrleigh approved of the beignets, though we traded out the classic cafe au lait for chocolate milk. We enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of our friends, Deb and Butch, in Houston and ate several wonderful meals with them. Deb even made the cover recipe from May's Bon Appetit for us. It was really good, though we all agreed cheese may have helped jazz up the pasta a bit. Richard was very pleased with his race. He finished a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run in 5 hours and 54 minutes. We all enjoyed staying right at the race site, Moody Gardens Resort, with our friends, Jon and Laura. We visited another road food icon, Martin's in Montgomery, Alabama on the way home and had the best fried chicken and southern soul food ever.

Immediately upon returning home, Richard headed out to Salt Lake City on a business trip until the end of the month. I didn't make any more Bon Appetit recipes for just Eyrleigh and I. I finished the month only making 22 of 52 recipes, not exactly a representative sample but I'll pick a few standouts. I did make every cake in "The Great American Cake" article and 6 of 10 recipes in "Spring's Big Three". My favorite recipe was one of the cakes. The Lime Angel Food Cake with Lime Glaze and Pistachios on page 107 was outstanding. With a light and springy cake base, the citrusy sweet glaze was a perfect match for the crunchy pistachios. This was an excellent variation and a real flavor stand out. I didn't really have a dish that fit into the month's worse category. You can see by rating that I found some dishes a bit blah, like the Grilled Calamari with White Bean Stew, but nothing was terrible. Let's see if I can make over 30 recipes from next month's magazine.