CookThatBook

Caveman Porterhouse with Poblano Pan-Fry

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (tasty & dramatic!)

Initial Thoughts:
Holy Crap.

The Test:
When it comes to steaks Mr. Spock and I tend to be fillet/rib eye type people, and in fact prior to testing this recipe neither one of us had ever had a porterhouse cut. Being food geeks, we immediately became fascinated by the gigantic hunk of meat the butcher handed over to us.

The porterhouse cut consists of a T-shaped bone with meat on either side, the larger side from the strip loin and the smaller side from the tenderloin. While similar to the T-bone cut, porterhouse steaks differ in that they contain a larger section of tenderloin (and are therefore more expensive).

Because it was just the four of us, we opted for just one (rather than four) 1 ¼ inch-thick porterhouse steak which ended up being more than enough for us and the kids. I must admit it felt almost sacrilegious to just throw such a gorgeous (not to mention expensive!) steak directly on the coals. This technique is called a ‘dirty steak’. Apparently US President Dwight Eisenhower was a fan of having his steaks cooked in this manner.

WARNING: be careful when removing the cast iron skillet with pepper mixture off of the coals… we burnt a hole through a welder’s glove!

The Results:
Right off the bat this recipe scored points with Mr. Spock as it requires the use of a charcoal BBQ…the only way to BBQ in our household. My hubby has always been partial to charcoal over gas, and even back when we moved into our first apartment he had a little hibachi which we lived off during our kitchen reno. The flavour from charcoal is incredible, and over the years Mr. Spock has truly mastered the technique of perfect grilling.

Amazingly enough there was hardly any ash to brush off when we removed the steak from the coals.  And the flavour? Oh my the flavour! Delicious. The steak was cooked perfectly and the pepper mixture was a wonderful addition. The cilantro was an unexpected yet welcome taste, giving the dish a real southwest flair. We have made the peppers subsequent to testing this recipe; they make a wonderful addition for fajitas.

I am so happy that this dish was chosen as a cover recipe as I doubt I would have attempted it otherwise. Well done Bon Appétit – it’s a keeper!

(For a copy of July’s cover recipe, please click here)

As part of my culinary new years resolutions, I have committed to creating each month’s cover recipe from Bon Appétit Magazine. Inspired by a New York restaurant owner who has been making the magazine’s cover recipes each month for the last 25 years, I decided to attempt to do the same while blogging about my monthly experiences along the way.

NOTE: If any of you would like to follow along with me and join in on the fun, I’d love to compare notes! So pick-up a copy of the latest issue of Bon Appétit and get cooking. Be sure to send your comments and photos to info@cookthatbook.com.

Bon Appétit celebrates the world of great food and the pleasure of sharing it with others. Every issue invites readers into a hands-on experience, engaging them in all aspects of the epicurean lifestyle—cooking, dining, travel, entertaining, shopping and design. For more information please visit www.bonappetit.com

Fettuccine with Peas, Asparagus, & Pancetta

Rating: 4 out of 5 (super tasty & fresh)

Initial Thoughts:
Seriously?! Another pasta dish so soon? Looks good but fairly unremarkable. Wonder how it will taste…

The Test:
The thing I love about most pasta dishes is the speed with which you can throw together a meal; perfect for those busy weeknights. This recipe is no exception! In fact it was so quick and easy to prepare that I would suggest having all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go beforehand.

The recipe calls for the salted pasta water to be reserved and later added to the dish along with the rest of the ingredients. I completely forgot and tossed the water. D’oh! So in order to maximize flavour I ended up using chicken stock instead, which imparted a nice taste to the pasta. I also omitted the parsley as I didn’t have any on hand and Mr. Spock wouldn’t let me cut some from his Italian parsley plant. According to him, the parsley hadn’t recovered enough from the severe thrashing it received from the tiny yet powerful hands of the kids. He’s still scarred by the herb devastation and as a result has become overprotective of his plants. Fair enough.

The Results:
Underneath the visual ordinariness of the dish on the cover of the magazine lies a knockout recipe! The pasta was light, fresh, and delicious. The asparagus cooked up perfectly (I was afraid it would be undercooked and tough) and the lemon zest brought this dish alive with a subtle tartness that paired well with the parmesan cheese and salty pancetta. Here’s a snapshot of the conversation that took place the night we ate this pasta:

Mr. Spock: “Wow – this is really good! Needs more pancetta.”
Stay-At-Home-Chef: “Wow – this is really good! Needs parsley.”
Mr. Spock: “Get over it…”
Kids: “More please!”

(For a copy of May’s cover recipe, please click here)

As part of my culinary new years resolutions, I have committed to creating each month’s cover recipe from Bon Appétit Magazine. Inspired by a New York restaurant owner who has been making the magazine’s cover recipes each month for the last 25 years, I decided to attempt to do the same while blogging about my monthly experiences along the way.

NOTE: If any of you would like to follow along with me and join in on the fun, I’d love to compare notes! So pick-up a copy of the latest issue of Bon Appétit and get cooking. Be sure to send your comments and photos to info@cookthatbook.com.

Bon Appétit celebrates the world of great food and the pleasure of sharing it with others. Every issue invites readers into a hands-on experience, engaging them in all aspects of the epicurean lifestyle—cooking, dining, travel, entertaining, shopping and design. For more information please visit www.bonappetit.com

Eggplant Parmesan Rolls with Swiss Chard & Fresh Mint

RATING: 4.5 out of 5

Initial Thoughts:

Hmmm…interesting.
The girls are going to hate this dish.
Mr. Spock is going to hate this dish.
Hmmmm…interesting.

The Test:
Now you may have noticed that I have been a tad lagging behind with the cover recipes. In fact, I avoided collecting my mail for several weeks because I didn’t want to be faced with April’s issue while I had still not completed February or March. But I’m playing a pretty good game of catch up, and am proud to say that with this cover recipe I am only behind by one!

I made this dish on a Meatless Monday, and I have to be honest and say that my expectations were low. Very low. First of all: eggplant? We’re not averse, but a whole dish based on this ingredient was cause for concern. And as if that weren’t enough to make me procrastinate, it was a light recipe. Yay. In my mind this was going to be an overpoweringly eggplant flavoured dish with no taste. Awesome. But nonetheless I sighed (heavily), rolled up my sleeves and got to work.

The recipe itself is not difficult, but it definitely takes some time to drain the eggplant for an hour before broiling and stuffing each slice. The good thing was that I made this dish ahead of time while the kids were out in the backyard (thank goodness for sunshine!) and then simply popped it in the oven for an hour and voila.

The Results:
Contrary to my low expectations, this dish turned out GREAT! It was so tasty that both Mr. Spock and I agreed we’d make it again. The flavours were all there, and I loved how the eggplant ended up almost as a type of pasta substitute (great for people with gluten sensitivities). Even the mint was a nice touch, although next time I would try replacing it with basil instead. We will definitely be making this recipe again – it’s a keeper!

For a copy of March’s cover recipe, please click here

As part of my culinary new years resolutions, I have committed to creating each month’s cover recipe from Bon Appétit Magazine. Inspired by a New York restaurant owner who has been making the magazine’s cover recipes each month for the last 25 years, I decided to attempt to do the same while blogging about my monthly experiences along the way.

NOTE: If any of you would like to follow along with me and join in on the fun, I’d love to compare notes! So pick-up a copy of the latest issue of Bon Appétit and get cooking. Be sure to send your comments and photos to info@cookthatbook.com.

Bon Appétit celebrates the world of great food and the pleasure of sharing it with others. Every issue invites readers into a hands-on experience, engaging them in all aspects of the epicurean lifestyle—cooking, dining, travel, entertaining, shopping and design. For more information please visit www.bonappetit.com

Spaghetti and Meatballs All’Amatriciana

RATING: N/A

As part of my culinary new years resolutions, I have committed to creating each month’s cover recipe from Bon Appétit Magazine. Inspired by a New York restaurant owner who has been recreating the magazine’s cover recipes each month for the last 25 years, I decided to attempt to do the same while blogging about my monthly experiences along the way. And you know what? I’m REALLY excited about this project! During all of my years as a subscriber to Bon Appétit, I don’t remember ever being as impatient as I was waiting for the first issue of the year to appear in my mailbox. Each day I would eagerly check to see if the magazine had arrived, its glossy cover dictating what I was going to have to attempt in my kitchen. Wondering if it would be a dessert, hoping not to have to start right out of the gate by having to hunt for strange and hard to find ingredients, praying that whatever the recipe there would be no need for goat’s cheese, raisins or pears, I anxiously awaited my fate. So imagine my delight when the issue finally arrived and what was on the cover? SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS! I was excited. Not only because the photo caused me to instantly salivate with desire, but this dish also happens to be my kids favourite meal of all time. Did I mention I was excited?

THE TEST: Apparently the idea for all’amatriciana originated from a town northeast of Rome called Amatrice, and traditionally calls for tomatoes, hot peppers, and guanciale to be used in this classic Italian sauce. After looking up the word “guanciale”, I was relieved to learn that this recipe would be using bacon as a replacement for the salt-cured pig’s jowl. Whew. The recipe also calls for San Marzano tomatoes, which are a variety of plum tomatoes and are universally considered to be the best tomatoes ever canned by man. Similar to regular plum tomatoes, the San Marzano variety tend to have a thicker flesh with less seeds. They also have a more intense tomato taste, much sweeter and less acidic than other varieties. Definitely worth searching out if you have never tried them before.

I was intrigued by the idea of grinding the bacon into a paste before mixing with the ground beef and other ingredients. Having the flavour of bacon interspersed throughout the meatballs without being in obvious chunks made sense to me, and I thought it would lend a nice depth to the meat.

THE RESULTS: I totally bombed this dish. Want to hear my excuses? I’ve got plenty! We’re in the process of selling our house, finding a new place to live, Mr. Spock was out of town, the baby was sick, and so in between the mudding and sanding of our basement I realized it was almost February and I hadn’t completed my first month’s cover recipe. I panicked and began rushing around the kitchen like a mad woman, throwing ingredients into the pan and sautéing as if I were possessed and cursing myself for making such a time consuming dish on soccer night. In the end I burnt the meatballs. Besides the obvious embarrassment that comes from failing at a dish, I was also disappointed because I feel like I was robbed of the chance to taste what this dish is supposed to taste like because, guaranteed, it wasn’t supposed to taste like char. Although for the record my father-in-law and the baby seemed to really enjoy the results. They must have been really…really hungry.

Click here to read a fellow blogger’s more successful attempt at the same dish!

For a copy of January’s cover recipe, please click here

NOTE: If any of you would like to follow along with me and join in on the fun, I’d love to compare notes! So pick-up a copy of the February issue of Bon Appétit and get cooking. Be sure to send your comments and photos to info@cookthatbook.com

Bon Appétit celebrates the world of great food and the pleasure of sharing it with others. Every issue invites readers into a hands-on experience, engaging them in all aspects of the epicurean lifestyle—cooking, dining, travel, entertaining, shopping and design. For more information please visit www.bonappetit.com