Cooking Mag Mommy

Catfish is not a topic upon which I have a great wealth of knowledge. It was by complete accident that I walked into the Great Catfish Debate. I had intended to make the Slow-Roasted Halibut with Shaved Asparagus and Fennel on page 84 of this month's Bon Appetit . Super H Mart, my local Asian market, did not have halibut but I did remember that another recipe I planned to make later in the week called for bass. I saw a nice looking white fish labeled " basa ". Rather naively, I assumed this was Spanish for bass. Many of the employees speak Spanish so that was a plausible explanation. A quick Google search proved I was wrong. Basa is a type of catfish, native to the Mekong River in Vietnam. Realising I had purchased a completely different type of fish, I began to look up recipes to see how best to cook this fish. Almost immediately, I began to read warnings about the safety of basa . Several websites spoke of the filth in the Mekong River where these fish grow and the li...

I really can't imagine what a Moroccan mole with maple would taste like and to be honest, I doubt it would taste good. But tonight, I pulled off a combination of flavors that would put the fusion restaurant fad to shame. I combined 3 recipes from this month's Bon Appetit that in the logical world had no business being served together. But I think I pulled it off! My mom and dad have stopped back by on their way home from visiting friends in Florida. I had a doctor's appointment today and didn't get home until 4:00. I didn't feel like hiking back out to the grocery store so I looked through the fridge and matched stuff I had with recipes. Here it is; Carrots, Moroccan Carrot Soup. Steak, Steak Mole with Cilantro. Maple syrup, Maple Cake with Maple Syrup Frosting. Mom had mentioned when she was here last week that the recipe for Moroccan Carrot Soup on page 53 looked excellent. My mom loves healthy vegetarian or near vegetarian recipes and often makes meals for us i...

Richard and I got our tax return in early February. I've never waited until April to do my tax return, never mind the 15 th . I wouldn't be completely honest if I said I never procrastinated on anything. A few college papers were slipped under a professor's door just a few minutes before 5:00. It's just that I've almost always gotten a tax return so I look forward getting a few extra dollars, the sooner, the better. So tonight's dinner had nothing to do with taxes or running to the mail. Thank goodness for that! Tonight, I made another recipe from Bon Appetit's " Spring's Big 3" article, a collection of recipes using asparagus, peas, and artichokes. The Lasagna with Asparagus, Leeks, and Morels was a vegetarian lasagna with a cream sauce base. I've not always been happy with cooking magazines non-traditional variations on lasagna but this recipe passed the test. The cream sauce was thick and the meaty mushrooms gave depth to the dish. ...

"Have you ever had just one pistachio?" If you recognize this line, you've watched the popular " NCIS " show a few times too. I'm not a big t.v. watcher. I watch sports and the "crime drama" shows and that's pretty much it. With the crime dramas, I have a pretty quick trigger. If things get too graphic or involve crimes against women or children, I turn them off. I don't want nightmares from my t.v. I didn't have a television growing up and I have trouble remembering that the events on a show are not real. I'm good enough at creeping myself out in a dark house at night, I don't need someone else to help me. You may be wondering what the television tangent has to do with tonight's meal but it does relate, sort of. I've been charging through this month's Bon Appetit article "The Great American Cake". We are not even to Tax Day and I have just one cake of the six left to make. Tonight I made the Lime Angel ...

I've mentioned before that one of my favorite things about doing a blog that attempts to make each month's recipes from a cooking magazine is sitting down at the beginning of each month and writing the "menu". I use the term "menu" loosely because I often change the menu as I go along to fit in with the day, what I have planned, and if I get to the grocery store. Today I had a rather ambitious plan that included half the recipes from the Passover menu I didn't get to during Passover. I didn't get to the Asian market to get lemongrass and I didn't make the soup ahead so I could chill it and skim the fat for the matzo balls. So needless to say, that menu wasn't happening. I also flat out didn't feel like racing around, spending several hours finding and making unfamiliar recipes. Today was the kind of day I needed something familiar. The last few months have taken a lot out of me emotionally and I notice some days I'm just sad. Not inco...

I find artichokes insanely frustrating. You start with this fist size vegetable and by the time you are done trimming them, you have barely a finger worth of edible food. Don't get me wrong, I like artichokes but I feel like I'm wasting something every time I prepare one. With three recipes this month calling for fresh artichokes, I'll be getting some practice trimming them and filling up my kitchen trash with lots of leaves. Tonight's artichoke dish, Sauteed Chicken Paillards with Artichoke Hearts on page 91 of this month's Bon Appetit , was a good recipe to start off. The artichokes were simply trimmed and sliced and used as a sauce for chicken breast. The sauce had a mixture of wine, chicken broth, and butter. These traditional flavors complimented the artichokes and blended nicely with the pan-fried chicken. I decide to make the Grilled Calamari with White Bean Stew as a side dish/salad for the chicken. The name of this dish was bit deceiving . ...

Google can tell you just about anything you want to know. No, I don't think anyones invented a cake level to help straighten crooked cakes. The links that connected to my Google query offered up a portable clothes washer and a chainsaw, neither of which would have helped the Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake I made today from this month's Bon Appetit . There were a few suggestions I will remember for next time to keep my cake from resembling the "Leaning Tower of Pisa". I left each of the three layers as they had baked in the cake pans, with a higher point in the center. The web suggested that flattening each layer in a uniform manner keeps your cake from leaning to the side. Another suggestion was to avoid touching the cake. I guess your hands make it more likely to crumble. I can proudly say that I didn't touch this cake. I actually made this cake for a couple in our church small group who just had a little boy on Easter Sunday. I thought making a com...

We miss you, Daddy! Richard is on a business trip in Louisville, Kentucky and we miss him. My parents are still here and the time is going pretty quickly but it's always a bit weird when Daddy is not at home. I almost feel guilty about making tonight's dinner while he is gone. It was really good and I wish he could have enjoyed it with us. Bon Appetit added a new column this month called "Sunday Suppers". I actually think this is just the "Family Style" column renamed but the concept is the same. A meal should bring family together and be a time of conversation and togetherness. That's what we did tonight. Eyrleigh and I enjoyed a wonderful meal outside on the deck with Grammy and Dada. The Chipotle Roast Chicken Tacos began with the real deal, a wonderfully moist roast chicken. I forget how easy it is to roast a chicken and how wonderful they taste. This chicken was rubbed with chipotle butter and roasted with onions and garlic. This ch...

I go a little crazy with Eyrleigh's Easter basket. When I was a kid, my parents felt it was important to focus on the more religious side of Easter. I remember going to church early in the morning to celebrate the sunrise and Jesus' resurrection. I don't remember getting an Easter basket, except one year when we spent the Easter weekend at my aunt's in Alexandria, Virginia. Now, as an adult, I see my parent's intent as a noble one but I can't deny that I always felt a bit left out. The baskets are just fun! They are fun to make, fun to get, and help to celebrate the joy of the day and the spirit of the season. The year Eyrleigh was born I had her name embroidered on a basket and we fill it to the brim each year. One of her favorite surprises in this year's basket was the little magnetized bunnies she holds in the picture. There was an Easter menu in this month's Bon Appetit but because of the arrival of my parents and a busy weekend, I just ...

To the chagrin of many a Southerner, I don't know much about "The King". I couldn't name more than a song or two he sang and aside from knowing he had a daughter who married the other King of Pop, I am very unclear of the details of Elvis' life. But even I knew he loved peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I had a birthday party to attend tonight and didn't want to arrive empty-handed. I whipped up a quick batch of the Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting on page 110 of this month's Bon Appetit . Unfortunately, my culinary connection was lost on the birthday boy, who like me was too young to remember Elvis in his heyday. The cupcakes were really good and the combination worked. They felt a bit healthier than traditional cupcakes, though I doubt they were. The peanut butter flavor and the complexity of the banana muffin were a great twist on the often cloying cupcake. There was a bit more frosting than necessary but if you like peanut butt...

In some cruel April Fool joke, I let my subscription to Bon Appetit run out. I remember several years ago getting hounded by Conde Nast Publications almost daily to renew my subscription. For some reason, they didn't even send me a renewal offer this time. I had to go out today and buy my Bon Appetit at the store so I could begin my April recipes. Since I was a bit late getting my April issue, I didn't have time to plan out this month's recipes. Tonight I picked a quick one dish meal that could feed my parents, Richard, Eyrleigh , and I. I've loved paella since I spent the summer of 1992 in Barcelona. The quick version on page 89 of this month's Bon Appetit did not have the same complexity as the classic Spanish version filled with shellfish and sausage but it was good for a weeknight. The chicken thighs were flavorful baked in the rice and the chorizo added a spicy component without overpowering. My only complaint was the size of the peas. They were just too...

If the saying goes "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb", my blog would be more like "March came in like a whisper and went out like a fizzle". Not really a memorable quote but sure true of my month. I missed the first week of the month because I was mourning my brother and finished the month with a bout of sickness and minor surgery that made cooking less than attractive. I'm glad when I began my blog again in February I assured myself that I would not stress out about not finishing every recipe for the month. I fell way short in March. I made only 21 of 53 recipes in this month's Bon Appetit. That's not exactly representative of the issue. My final recipe to review was the Chicken Parmesan Burgers on page 48. As you can see from my picture, I was losing steam as the events of the last few month and their aftermath caught up with my immune system. These burgers were a good use of the traditionally bland ground chicken. This wa...