The "Root" Family- 4/5/09

I was a bit skeptical of tonight's recipe. I don't think I've ever eaten cooked radishes. We grew them in our garden when I was a kid and always ate them fresh in salads. I wondered what cooked radishes would taste like. Would they still have that spicy tang? Well, cooked, radishes taste much like a mild parsnip. The tang is gone but there is a mild bitterness. Sure enough, when I looked it up, parsnips and radishes are in the same root family and are closely related. I'm tempted to go out and taste a raw parsnip. I think I've always eaten parsnips cooked. Do they have that radish tang? Something to try next time I'm at the grocery store. If you know they are disgusting, warn me!
For dinner, I made the Skirt Steak with Radishes in Mustard Sauce on page 65 of this month's Gourmet magazine. As I stated, I was skeptical of the cooked radishes but I was pleasantly surprised. The mustard gave a yummy tang to the very mild taste of the cooked radishes. I actually liked the radishes better than the steak. Skirt steak is a little tough and the quick broiling didn't tenderize the meat at all. It was quite chewy and not particularly good.
There are a lot of desserts in this month's magazine so most meals will end with a dessert recipe. I made the Hot Toddy Pudding Cake on page 86. Eyrleigh had gone to bed and I was glad because she wasn't getting any. I don't know if I've ever drank a Hot Toddy but after eating this cake, I've got a good idea what it tastes like. Warm, lemony, and heavy on the whiskey. The pudding layer of this cake is pretty much that. The cake layer on top is airy and much more subtle than the pudding. I found the pudding a bit much. It's quite runny and not as smooth as a true pudding. The whiskey was the predominate flavor of the cake, almost to a fault.
It's probably rather obvious from the picture below that I made another recipe today for breakfast. I made the Creamy Grits with Rosemary Bacon on page 61. I've already admitted I am not a fan of some real southern classics. Add grits to the list. Just not a fan. These grits tasted pretty much like any other grits I've had. They needed more cheese and butter to be good and that's because I taste the cheese and butter, not the grits. The bacon cooked in a 450 degree oven instead of on a skillet. The bacon was quite crispy and the rosemary leaves were subtle but added a nice flavor. I really liked the bacon cooked this way. This also would work great for bacon that had to be crumbled for another dish. It would guarantee that it was crispy and would crush well.
Skirt Steak with Radishes in Mustard Sauce-C
Cost-$5.63
Calories per serving-500
Hot Toddy Pudding Cake- C
Cost- $4.23
Calories per serving-250
Creamy Grits with Rosemary Bacon- B
Cost-$4.70
Calories per serving-265

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