Cooking Mag Mommy

For tonight's meal, I went back to those unfinished recipes from June's Gourmet. I have only one recipe from August to finish but Southeast Asian Rice Noodles with Calamari and Herbs isn't tickling my fancy right now. So let's got with some Mexican flavors. We in the United States are so unbelievably lucky with the great variety of food that is easily available to us. Quite a few years ago, while living in New Jersey, I got a serious hankering for Indian food and stopped by a local Indian restaurant for takeout on the way home. I remember thinking how bland American food is in comparison and then almost immediately catching myself. Indian food is American food, so is Chinese, Polish, Argentinian, and all other wonderful cuisines of the world. America is a wonderful melting pot of all of these cuisines and cultures and is in fact one of the best places to be in the world if you want to try them all. Tonight's meal was probably more about Mexican flavor than ...

August's issue of Gourmet had a whole article on Gin Punches. I didn't really plan on making them all in one night. That would not be recommended but that's what happened. I had scheduled the punches different nights throughout the month but I'd get busy on dinner and push the drink off to another night. Suddenly, with only 4 nights left in the month, I had all 4 to make and Richard would be out of town for one of them. Not that I expected to get trashed but I didn't think it was a good idea to do lots of drinking with him gone. Tonight seemed like the best night to just knock out the drinks and be able to compare one to the next if I was sober enough to taste them. Honestly, I didn't expect to drink much of each punch but I did want to be complete in my testing. Each of the drinks seemed pretty similar at first glance. They all had a citrus addition, usually lemons and gin. The cocktail of the month, the Tom Collins, was a bit bitter for my taste. I t...

There are days I go a little crazy being a stay-at-home mom. Some of the downsides are the isolation of spending most of the day without adult companionship, the unpredictability of a small child, and the constant sense that somehow things should be done... dishes, laundry, housecleaning, etc. But let me tell you, even on those rough days, I love being able to stay home with Eyrleigh . I get to see her every "new", her every new word, new action, new joy. Today was one of those days were we just enjoyed each other. We played with markers, Play- Doh , books, and toys. She even played happily with the spices and her toys in the kitchen while I made tonight's dinner. Tonight I made a dinner salad, the Salmon Nicoise Salad with Black Olive Vinaigrette on page 54 in this month's Gourmet. With potatoes, eggs, and salmon, this was not a wussy salad. I've mentioned that Richard is getting ready for his triathlon a month from today so I want dinner to be fill...

I can't wait until Eyrleigh is old enough to cook with me. There are a few things she can do to help, even at 21 months old. She loves to stir, though I do need to come behind her to make sure I've gotten the edges. She's great at turning on appliances and is no longer scared of the food processor. But she can't get near the oven or stove top and knives are definitely off-limits. She's not strong enough to pour things or smash things. Today, I got a chance to see how much fun it is to cook with a kid. I was watching my friend's son, Dylan, after school today and he's at that great age where he really wants to help out. I had two recipes on tap for today that were perfect for a young helper. The Perfect No-Cook Strawberry Ice Cream on page 84 of this month's Gourmet is as advertised and involves no cooking. Dylan was a master with the potato masher and the strawberries had no chance. He loved turning on the blender and the ice cream maker and dumping...

Ah, the difference a day makes. Yesterday, I raved about the amazing caramel ice cream in the Frozen Assets article of this month's Gourmet. Today, I tried the Cantaloupe Grappa Semifreddo from the very same article. Whoops! I really don't know what went wrong on this one but my attempt was nowhere near what was intended. I sensed there might be a problem when the cantaloupe egg mixture almost immediately expanded and began to spill out of the very large mixing bowl I was using over the pot of boiling water. I continued to beat the mixture as long as I could but the top was not heating because it was so far from the boiling water. When I mixed in the whipped cream, it sunk to the bottom and did not distribute without a lot of folding (translation: stirring). It tasted exactly like cantaloupe, if cantaloupe was the consistency of a very light, airy sponge but I don't think that was the intent. I don't have any guesses as to what happened. I have actually m...

When I was in college and needed to pull an all- nighter to finish an assignment, I had a go-to solution. I'd buy a bag of those Brach's Caramel Cubes and every 20 minutes or so, put one in my mouth and suck on it until it was gone. I'd get enough of a sugar rush to keep working but not too much to make me jittery and lose focus. Well, tonight I found these caramels in ice cream form. The recipe for Salted Caramel Ice Cream on page 84 of this month's Gourmet is probably one of the best ice cream recipes I have made. Smooth, rich, and almost overwhelmingly caramely (if that's a word!) but absolutely delightful. I ran down to get another bite while writing this blog just to make sure it was as good as I remembered. I did make dinner tonight or I would have a serious stomachache right now. I made the Tomato and Corn Pie on page 42. This was a great summer recipe. The crust did not require chilling which really sped up the process. (Though I can see why yo...

I debated pasting a graphic of the iconic Waffle House sign on the top of this post but since it's iconic, you don't really need to see it to know what I mean. I live in Georgia, the home of the Waffle House empire. In fact, several years ago, a girl on my tennis team worked there. When she first told me, I must have looked unimpressed because she quickly added that she worked at the corporate offices. She obviously did not want me to think she was a waitress there. I personally think those Waffle House waitresses have amazing memories so I really meant no disrespect at all. In the You Asked For It section of this month's Gourmet was a recipe for Cornmeal Waffles. The reader was incredibly impressed by the waffles at Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland, California. I personally was not. I found them grainy and too savory for my liking. In their defense, I don't have a Belgian-waffle maker, just a standard one but that probably wouldn't have changed the flavor ...

Tonight's starter was all glam and then some. Vodka Spiked Cherry Tomatoes! With no disrespect to the drinking habits of socialites but this recipe had closet alcoholic written all over it. I'm not a person who gets super into the drama of famous people's lives, but is it any wonder some of them become heavy drinkers? Sure, all of us everyday shmucks complain about our jobs and all the things we have to do. But imagine how pathetic life begins to look if you can pay someone to do everything for you and don't have anything to do that is truly meaningful. Even if you work at a job you don't find meaningful in and of itself, the money you receive makes that job meaningful to you. Life without purpose and meaning is quite unfulfilling . You may remember why I started this blog. I have a purpose and meaning as a stay-at-home mom who does all her own stunts (cleaning, cooking, etc). But even there, I didn't feel I was doing anything adult, or perhaps the better term ...

Hearing the parent of a very young child complain about their child's eating habits is nothing new. Sorry, you have to hear it again. Perhaps I chose tonight to vent about this issue because we had pasta and pasta is usually a sure thing. Nope, tonight my dear little Eyrleigh decided that nothing, not even spaghetti, was worth eating. I made the Artichoke Fennel Sauce with Prosciutto, one of the no bake pasta sauces focused on in this month Gourmet magazine. This was a pretty complex sauce flavor wise. The tang of the jarred artichokes and the salty prosciutto were the strongest flavors. The more subtle fennel and Parmesan flavors were harder to decipher. Richard really like this sauce, I was a little less impressed. I didn't really think the blend worked. Maybe that's what Eyrleigh thought but she didn't say it, she just didn't eat it. Artichoke Fennel Sauce with Prosciutto-C

I don't know if there is such a thing as vegetable overload but tonight, I was close! I made the aptly named "Garden Party" menu from this month's Gourmet. With only one of the eight recipes containing meat, there was a lot of room for vegetables and even a few fruits. Summer is the best time for vegetables. Sadly, I've never been able to figure out how to grow anything in Georgia. A few years ago, I got a few cherry tomatoes and my rosemary plant has overtaken the herb pot but that's about it. I tried zucchini and summer squash a few times and it would look great until one day, I'd walk outside and the plants were totally dead. I have no idea why and it was so discouraging I haven't tried to grow a garden since. Maybe having a baby had something to do with it, too. Back to my Garden Party... The menu began with Melon Coolers, a rift on Mexican aguas frescas . The pureed melon syrup that the recipe created had a super sweet cantaloupe flavor that mel...

I pretty much read everything in my cooking magazines. Not to be nerdy, but it's kinda a matter of pride to make sure I read the Letters to Editor, the random information often at the front end of the magazine, and even the informational stuff at the end that tells you where to buy less common items and the how-to of some techniques. I really don't know why I didn't know this before. Cremini mushrooms are just Baby Bellas. I guess I'm not really that unique, the guy at the grocery store told me they didn't have any cremini when I asked and I'm pretty sure they had Baby Bellas. I found them the next day when I knew what to look for. Is it just that Portabella mushrooms are a "popular" mushroom so it sounds cooler to call them small Portabellas? Tonight I made the companion recipes on page 56 of this month's Gourmet, the Grilled Herbed Potatoes and the Grilled Rib Eye with Indian-Spiced Mushrooms. The potatoes were good but it's a bit ti...

Pasta is pretty amazing. Using it as a base, you can pretty much put anything around it and make a really good meal. Tonight's Gourmet recipe, the Mozzarella Arrabbitata Salsa, was from The Last Touch section that is focusing on no-bake pasta sauces this month. I had to look up what arrabbitata was and basically this dish is it. The interesting thing was that all'arrabbiata means "angry style" in Italian, due to the heat of the peppers. I didn't find this dish all that hot, which was alright since Eyrleigh was eating it too. It was a very fresh dish and felt much lighter than a traditional red sauce. It was interesting to have the mozzarella still in chunks, as the pasta was not hot enough to melt it. I made dessert to go with this meal but I hardly felt guilty at all. This was probably one of the yummiest, healthiest desserts I've ever made. The Peaches Under Meringue on page 53 was simply a peach half sprinkled with sugar and roasted, t...

Every time we travel, even locally, I love to find a great restaurant that brings a smile to my face with both excellent food and delightful atmosphere. Richard had a triathlon Saturday in Elberton , Georgia, about 2 hours from our house. Since the triathlon started at 7:30 a.m., we got a hotel in town the night before and headed out on Friday afternoon. Elberton is a town of 5,000 so the dinner options were fairly limited. I got online before leaving though and the "Red Minnow", a place known for its fried catfish, caught my eye. Thankfully, we looked up the directions because this place was in the middle of nowhere. We turned off the main road going into town and went several miles down a very empty side road before seeing the sign. This place was a classic. I'm not usually a buffet fan, maybe just a bit squeamish about other people leaning over my food and the knowledge that it may have been there for awhile. This place was packed with locals, a fact that alw...

I have been doing this Gourmet project since February. That means I have made the recipes in Gourmet magazine for almost 6 months. That's pretty impressive. My only blip was the month I traveled 26 out of 30 days, June. If you've read older posts, you noticed I did get 5 recipes done in the 4 days I was home in June but I still had over 50 recipes from that issue undone. Well, call me crazy, but I'd really like to make those recipes before I close the door on this project. I'll have to fit those recipes in around the current month's so I need to be creative. Several weeks ago, some friends from church had a baby and I promised to make them dinner. I didn't want to try out an unknown recipe for dinner but thought a Gourmet dessert would cap off my "gift" dinner well. This sounds a little sneaky but I knew I'd have to try the cake so I decided I would cut the corners off the cake and put it on a disposable plate. I could tell them I didn't want ...

Two posts ago I complained about bland recipes. Tonight, I decided not to settle for bland and did my own doctoring. I made the Spiced Chickpea Sauce from the Last Touch section in this month's Gourmet. I gave it a little taste test before I mixed the sauce with pasta and decided it needed some help. The chickpea and spice combination was Mediterranean in style so I added some feta cheese and chicken to give this sauce a little zip. It was bland and really needed some help. For dessert, I made the Gianuia Gelato , a hazelnut chocolate gelato that smelled and tasted like a frozen jar of Nutella . I really liked this gelato . I'm not a huge fan of chocolate ice cream but the hazelnut flavor added a complexity that made this gelato very good. It made the extra time roasting, steeping, and straining the hazelnuts worth it. The only problem I found was how hard the gelato became when it froze up. I have to assume this was because of the lower fat and higher water...

Tomorrow, Richard and I will have been married 8 years. What a guy! Over that time, I've fed him all kinds of stuff, some better than others. Both he and I remember the worsts more vividly than the bests. The two he mentioned first were from cooking magazines, one from this project. Several years back, one of my cooking magazines had a Scandinavian menu with a pickled herring appetizer. The whole meal was pretty bad, but pickled herring quickly made it to Richard's least favorite food list. He also mentioned another recipe, the Borscht Horseradish Terrine I made on February 20 of this year. I listed it as one of my real bombs during my Gourmet project. He didn't name any favorites but assured me he's had lots over the years. I'll take his word for it and keep trying to find a recipe so good he'll never forget it. Tonight's recipes didn't make the all-time favorites list but they were both quite respectable. For dinner, I made the Pork Cho...

Don't be afraid of spice, Gourmet! Sometimes I think the recipe writers of cooking magazines underestimate the American palate. They go too light on flavor and spice. I can't imagine that the testers thought the recipes I made tonight were flavorful enough as written. These two recipes were Mexican inspired, a cuisine famous for its heat and flavor. But the Spicy Adobo Shrimp Cocktail and Zucchini and Red Pepper Enchiladas with Two Salsas were not hot and not flavorful. It was a shame because they looked great. The enchiladas were vegetarian as written but I added some cooked chicken. Richard did 3 hours worth of triathlon training this morning and a veggie main was not going to cut it. I know when dinner wasn't filling enough for him because he gets a bowl of cereal a few hours later. I tried to avoid that tonight. The zucchini and peppers were good but rather plain. The salsas were very bland. Some hot sauce would have helped and we actually added some to he...

It's been a long time since I've posted just one picture. But don't worry, I made more than one recipe. I made two recipes but since spaghetti and meatballs go together, I put them together for a great dinner. I've tried a few times to make my own tomato sauce but I've never been that impressed with the results. The Garlic Tomato Sauce on page 41 of this month's Gourmet, however, exceeded my expectations. With only 4 ingredients I was thinking this sauce was going to be bland. Happily, I was wrong. The long simmer and lots of garlic did the trick. This sauce was simple and very flavorful. I think I've found a keeper! Spaghetti and meatballs are one of the most classic of food combinations so I had to oblige. I made the Baked Chicken Meatballs with Peperonata . The peperonata was actually designed to go alongside the meatballs but I cut them up and put them in with the tomato sauce for an added dimension. The peperonata was basically roasted p...

I made the large mistake of stepping onto our bathroom scale after dinner tonight and boy, was that a bad idea! I haven't weighed myself in a long time, maybe before we left on Richard's business trip in May, and I was not very happy. I'll admit, it's only about 5 pounds above my normal but if you've been reading this blog regularly, you know I've been trying to catch up so I made July's Gourmet's recipes in about 2 weeks time. There were 16 dessert recipes in July and since I didn't start making them until we returned on the 13 th . That meant I ate a whole lot of dessert in the last few weeks. As I looked at this month's menu, there are 11 desserts. As of tonight, I've already made two. In an effort to stem the tide and make sure I don't have to quit the my Gourmet project early to control my waistline, I'm making only 3 desserts a week. I'm also going to try to limit my dessert portions and share the leftovers whenever possibl...

Richard and I realized that in the 5 months I've been making recipes from Gourmet magazine, I've never made a pizza for this blog. Tonight, I not only made the Eggplant, Green Olive, and Provolone Pizza on page 58, I made the pizza dough to go with it. The recipe called for store-bought pizza dough but I decided to make my own. Several years ago, I found a great recipe for pizza dough on epicurious .com by Giada DeLaurentis . It's my go-to pizza dough recipe because it mixes up quickly in the food processor and rises well after a 1-minute knead. I'd never grilled a pizza and wondered how my homemade dough would hold up. I was impressed. The dough cooked all the way through without burning and tasted great. I used my grill rack over the stove and put my wok cover over the pizza to melt the toppings. It worked great. I may try this with more conventional pizza ingredients on an off-night. I mentioned in the last post that this month's Gourmet has a lot of...