So I have about 3 years’ worth of Bon Appetit magazine. As the story goes, one day, these magazines started showing up in my mailbox. I didn’t know where they came from or why I was suddenly subscribed (and I still don’t). At the end of the first year, I got an offer to renew 3 years for something like $30, less than a dollar per issue. So I figured why not? So now I have 3 years’ worth of Bon Appetit magazine, and they’re still coming.
They’ve been sitting on my shelf, untouched all these years. Somehow, I just never got around to reading any of them. Most of them, I never even bothered taking them out of their plastic shipping wrappers. It’s not that they’re bad magazines. (I mean, they pale in comparison with Cook’s Illustrated, but they’re not bad.) I just had other fish to fry.
Until now. I decided to make my cooking project for this month (September and the start of October, actually) to actually cook something from Bon Appetit magazine. So I used a random number generator, randomly picked the September 2014 issue, and decided to cook as many dishes from the magazine as I could.
Crushed Cucumber with Lime Pickle and Coconut
Sunday, September 4, 2016 – So apparently, the Sep 2014 issue was the restaurant issue. As such, they had a bunch of recipes from a bunch of restaurants. This one was from a Chinese fusion restaurant. The key ingredients are English cucumbers, lime pickles (more on this later), mint, dill, Asian fried garlic, and coconut milk. The recipe also called for MSG, listing it as optional. I decided to omit the MSG altogether. (Recipe on p140.)
Until today, I didn’t know what an English cucumber (aka hothouse cucumber) was. These are easily found at Uwajimaya. For whatever reason, they’re always wrapped in plastic wrap. They’re very similar to regular cucumbers, except they’re lighter and softer.
The other main ingredient is lime pickle. Which is pickled lime in a brine of spices. It’s apparently an Indian thing. I found this Mayuri, although my Indian friend told me after the fact that this was a less authentic brand (although it’ll do just fine). Yes, it is supposed to be that spicy and pungent. Not having ever been to the original restaurant and eating the original dish, I don’t know if it’s supposed to taste like this. But the dish was super spicy and pungent. I wouldn’t serve it to my friends.
Asian fried garlic. As an Asian, I didn’t know this was a thing. But here it is. Found at Uwajimaya. More for presentation and a little bit of crunch than for flavor.
Migas Fried Rice
Sunday, Septebmer 4, 2016 – This is from the same restaurant as the cucumber lime pickle salad above. It’s another fusion dish, this time adding elements of Tex-Mex to a more traditional fried rice.
Before reading this recipe, I didn’t know what migas was. I still don’t know, since I didn’t make an actual migas. I also don’t know that it’s actually based on Tex-Mex migas, since this is a fusion fried rice dish. But it’s okay, I made a fried rice, and it was delicious and flavorful, and I would do it again. (Ironically, this is the first time I’ve made a proper fried rice on my own.) (Recipe on p142.)
The first part of the recipe is to make a sauce called a jaew (which I won’t attempt to pronounce at risk of offending two different cultures), which is a Thai spicy sauce. Except we add Tex-Mex ingredients such as tomatillos, jalapenos, and guajillo chilies (pictured above, can be found at a Mexican grocery store, like La Superior), as well as traditional Thai ingredients like lemongrass and fish sauce. This is (part of) what makes it a Tex-Mex fusion fried rice, as well as imparting a ton of flavor to the fried rice.
The recipe also calls for making home-made tortilla chips (not pictured). This is actually fairly easy. Just tear up some corn tortillas and pan fry it in a shallow puddle of vegetable oil. I’m still not 100% convinced it was worth frying up my tortilla chips instead of store-bought, but it went by pretty quick, so it’s fine.
The last part is to scramble an egg, then fry the (cooked) rice, then add the jaew. This is a more traditional fried rice procedure. Until we melt in some cheddar cheese and mix in some of those homemade tortilla chips, for that extra Tex-Mex touch. If I were to do it again, I’d definitely add more cheese though. (Incidentally, most of my friends know I prefer doing stirfry in stainless steel instead of in cast iron. However, since eggs were involved, I decided I was better off using cast iron.)
Tuna Melt
Saturday, September 24, 2016 – This tuna melt apparently came from a restaurant. I don’t know the restaurant, but the recipe was there (chosen by a random number generator), so I just went with it. (Recipe on p24.)
The recipe includes a home-made pickle. I skipped that. I don’t like pickles. (I may get flack for this later.)
The tuna salad itself had surprisingly very little tuna. The rest of it was mayo (expected), another English cucumber, celery, red onion, and various herbs and spices like chives, dill, and celery salt. At first, I thought there wouldn’t be enough tuna. But once I got it warmed up in the oven, cheese melted, topped with lettuce (not pictured), and sandwiched between 2 slices of bread, the tuna melt was actually very well-balanced, very flavorful, and there was definitely not a lack of tuna. Ten out of ten, would make again.
The recipe called for sliced challah. I dunno why specifically challah, but I just went with it. I picked up a loaf from 3 Girls Bakery at Pike Place Market. (Not because 3 Girls is special in anyway, but just because I was in the area.) The challah was dense and soft and worked really well with the tuna melt. Supermarket bread might be fine in this case, depending on the bread. Either way, I’m thinking next time I should toast the bread. (Which will be really hard since I refuse to own a toaster. More on that some other day.)
Three Onion Dip
Saturday, September 24, 2016 – I’ve made onion dip before using Alton Brown’s recipe. This recipe was similar, but it had a lot more moving parts. For one, it calls for 3-4 types of onions (caramelized yellow onions, sauteed scallion whites, fresh scallion greens, fresh chives) instead of just one.
It was delicious, but to be honest, it’s exactly as delicious as Alton Brown’s onion dip. I’m convinced that you can make a good onion dip simply with caramelized onions, 2 parts sour cream, 1 part mayo, and some salt. (Hmm… I think I might be onto something.) It’s not so much that this recipe is bad. It’s that it’s hard to elevate onion dip. (Recipe on p24.)
Pasta with Mushrooms and Ricotta
Saturday, September 24, 2016 – And topped with soft-boiled egg and chives. To be honest, this dish looks much better than it tastes. It doesn’t taste bad though. If you want a pasta dish that’s light on sauce, this recipe is right up your alley. (Recipe on p29.)
Aside from what you can see in the picture, the recipe also calls for a soffritto, which is just an Italian mirepoix. In this specific recipe, it’s red onion, carrot, and celery. The recipe also calls for reducing the soffritto by a lot. Too much, in my opinion. I can save a bit of time without sacrificing much flavor by just cooking the soffritto with the mushrooms. (The recipe also calls for smoked paprika, which adds a nice I Don’t Know What quality to the dish.)
The recipe originally called for strozzapreti. Unfortunately, this is apparently kind of an obscure pasta, and the only pasta specialty store I can find sells gimmicky flavored pasta. Lucky for me, the recipe suggests gemelli as a substitute, which I found at Uwajimaya. (For those who’ve been following since last week, I also discovered that you can get shells and bowties at Safeway. Barilla makes these.)
Grapefruit Chermoula
Saturday, October 1, 2016 – I don’t know what a chermoula is, but there’s a recipe for it here, and the random number generator picked it, so I made it. This chermoula features grapefruit, and the grapefruit really shines through even with that big pile of spices. (Recipe on p78.)
It’s a strong flavor. In a good way. But it’s easily overpowering, and it leaves behind a bitter aftertaste. I think this can be good in moderation. I ended up serving it between two slices of bread, and even that ended up being too much. I can see myself serving it to my friends on crostinis.
This recipe calls for “preserved lemon”, which may or may not be the same as “pickled lemon”, which may or may not be the same as “lemon in brine”. Either way, I could only find one product remotely resembling preserved lemon (at Uwajimaya), so hopefully that’s the right one.
I don’t know what a harissa is, but the recipe calls for it. I found it at Uwajimaya. Apparently, it’s some kind of spicy paste. Seems useful.
Marinated Tofu with Peanuts and Charred Bean Sprouts
Saturday, October 1, 2016 – And mint. I don’t know why mint isn’t in the dish name (copied straight from the magazine) when it adds so much to the flavor. (And scallions, too.) (Recipe on p74.)
The tofu is a chopped firm tofu (as opposed to soft or medium tofu) and is marinated in soy sauce with a bit of brown sugar, ginger, and jalapeno. The jalapeno was a little uneven. Either you didn’t take a bite of jalapeno and you got no spice, or you bit jalapeno and got a load of spice. I think the recipe is better off with a dab of sriracha and just whisk it into the soy sauce.
Overall, this dish had really good flavor (and it looks good, too). I’d recommend serving it cold, but serving it on hot rice. Or maybe serve it cold on a plate as some kind of salad.
Rice Pudding with Fresh Pears and Honey
Saturday, October 1, 2016 – I’ve made pudding before, but I’ve never made rice pudding. Apparently, it’s simmering (cooked) rice in milk until the milk thickens. Just make sure you don’t accidentally curdle the milk. (Recipe on p70.)
As you can see, I had a bit of trouble with my presentation. I probably should have cut those pears smaller, so they don’t go over the edge of the bowl when plated like that. I also should have added more sugar. Although I might be biased because I have a sweet tooth.
Orange blossom water. Found at Uwajimaya. The recipe calls for this. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to make the rice pudding taste like orange, or if it’s meant to elevate the flavors like vanilla extract. If it’s the former, I need a lot more orange blossom water. Or orange zest and triple sec.
Conclusion
It was definitely worth making a bunch of recipes from Bon Appetit. There was a variety of stuff in there, a lot of stuff I didn’t even know existed, and it took me out of my comfort zone several times. Some of the recipes are even things I’d add to my regular repertoire. (Assuming I had a regular repertoire to begin with.) Sure, the recipes aren’t as technical as (for example) Cook’s Illustrated, and for a 160-page magazine, it does seem a little light on the recipes. But for only $30, I got 4 years’ worth, so there’s still definitely more recipes than I know what to do with.
Definitely something I’d try again. Maybe next year. Got other fish to fry. (Not literal fish, and not literal frying.)