Rating: 4 out of 5 (challenging and time consuming but oh-so-delicious!)

Initial Thoughts: Gulp.

The Test: The last cover recipe in my year-long quest of making each of the 12 covers from Bon Appétit Magazine. Talk about going out with a bang! This picture perfect chocolate torte first appeared on the cover of the magazine in 1984, and apparently it has been the most requested recipe in the history of this publication.

Before attempting this recipe, I went online and read the 30 plus comments left by readers. This was probably a good thing as it enabled me to approach this recipe with my eyes wide open. With the general consensus being that the cake was very time consuming with mediocre results, I cleared my entire weekend and rolled up my selves determined to give it my best shot.

The Cake Pretty straight forward although there are quite a few steps involved (beating sugar, cream and egg batter, melting and blending chocolate into the mix, folding dry ingredients into batter in multiple batches, and whipping and folding in egg whites). The end result is a batter that is very thick and dense in texture, but smells absolutely divine with the combination of spices that include cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Perfect flavours to pair up against rich, dark chocolate. NOTE: ignore recipe baking times as a number of people including myself found the suggested times to be much too long, and unfortunately my cakes ended up overcooked and a little dry.

The Buttercream Making the buttercream was probably my favourite element of the entire recipe. Would you consider me too much of a food geek if I said I had a lot of fun whipping this up?! It was incredibly satisfying to watch the icing froth up and become this lovely, glossy mass of light as air cake filler. Don’t know whether I can credit beginners luck for my success, but I didn’t have any problems with the icing seizing when I added the cooler tempered butter into the warm sugar and egg mixture. However if this happens, simply set your bowl over simmering water to relax the icing and melt all lumpy bits. Yes, ‘lumpy bits’ is a technical term. NOTE: chilling the buttercream makes layering the cake much easier, and I also found it useful to stick chop sticks into the cake to hold the layers together while placed in the freezer.

The Glaze Making the glaze was simple, but I did find I had to stir the mixture for much longer than the mere five minutes suggested in the recipe. I think I waited for close to half an hour before the chocolate had thickened enough to spread over the cake, and even after that long it was still runny enough to make icing the sides of the cake an extremely frustrating task. NOTE: next time I would trim the cake first, allowing for more of an even surface upon which to spread the glaze, and I would also let the chocolate firm up more prior to icing the cake.

The Ribbons As if a three layer chocolate torte with buttercream and rich chocolate glaze weren’t enough, the recipe calls for adorning the cake with white and dark chocolate ribbons! This is done by mixing corn syrup to melted chocolate which creates a pliable mixture called modeling chocolate. The recipe suggests using a pasta maker to roll out the sheets of chocolate prior to cutting into ribbons, but I would have to agree with the other readers who found this method to be useless and messy.

If I were to attempt the ribbons again I would simply use a rolling pin, a tactic which many people found to work perfectly well. As for my ribbons, I found the white chocolate mixture much too oily and soft while the dark chocolate quickly became much too hard to use. In the end I chucked the chocolate. Lord knows there would still be enough calories left on the cake without the decadent bow and ribbons! NOTE: according to the Sweet Silent Thoughts blog there are a whopping 1,235.9 calories a serving for this recipe!

The Results: As you can tell, this cake is a labour of love. So was it worth it in the end? I can safely say yes, but I would only consider making it for special occasions. VERY special occasions. Because of the length of time it takes to prepare this dessert as well as the expense of the ingredients (all that chocolate is not cheap people!) I would not whip this up for an ordinary Sunday dinner. That being said, I would definitely consider making a scaled down version of this cake on a more regular basis, perhaps making only two layers and not even bothering to attempt the ribbons. Despite being overcooked, the cake tasted incredible and the unexpected flavour of cloves really made this recipe stand out from the crowd of ordinary chocolate cakes. It was very rich and dense in texture; Mr. Spock compared it to a moist version of biscotti which I think is an accurate description. The buttercream was silky smooth and not too sweet, the hint of rum cutting through the chocolate and adding a nice richness to the torte. The glaze was a fantastic way to top the whole thing off, although some people found it a little much. But that’s the whole point of this cake…it’s all a little much.

For a copy of the recipe for Spiced Chocolate Torte Wrapped in Chocolate Ribbons, please click HERE

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

Rating: 5 out of 5 (revolutionized my opinion of turkey!)

Initial Thoughts:
All year long I have been dreading the November issue because I knew it would involve cooking a whole turkey. Wish me luck!

The Test:
Considering I waited until February to attempt this recipe, my procrastination must be obvious. A whole turkey. Yikes.

First of all, I have never bothered cooking an entire turkey as I am not the biggest fan of this particular type of poultry. Combined with my painful childhood memories of flavourless sawdust dry birds each holiday, is it any wonder my expectations were low? Nonetheless I committed to a year’s worth of cover recipes so what the hell…what’s the worst that can happen?!

The recipe calls for rubbing the turkey with a citrus and herb salt mixture and leaving it overnight. The reason is because as the turkey sits, the salt draws moisture to the skin and while cooking creates a flavourful liquid that seasons the meat and keeps it moist. I was very interested in tasting the result of this particular technique, as we usually brine our poultry for maximum flavour and moisture.

Prepping the turkey on the day of my impromptu Thanksgiving Dinner in February was quick and easy. The ingredients for stuffing into the cavity of the bird consisted of chopped lemons, celery, onion, and fresh herbs. An olive oil and lemon juice glaze was then brushed over the turkey while it cooked. In mere minutes of putting the turkey in the oven my kitchen started to smell divine!

Now for the stuffing.

This recipe is great as it can be prepared ahead of time and then baked once the turkey is done and resting. Be warned that there are several elements involved in making the stuffing, including pre-toasting the rosemary bread, soaking and cooking off raisins in wine, as well as sautéing the fennel, shallot and speck mixture. NOTE: I was unable to find speck (a lightly smoked, cured pork) so substituted prosciutto instead.

The Results: Oh. My. Goodness.

This was hands down the BEST turkey dinner I have ever had the pleasure of consuming. Damn. Why had I procrastinated in making this recipe for so long?!

The turkey was moist and full of a lovely herbaceous citrusy flavour that was strong enough to hold up to the turkey taste but in no way overpowered the dish. It also rendered the most amazing pan drippings that resulted in fantastic gravy. Delicious!

The stuffing was also a huge hit at the table, and made a nice change from the usual traditional version. This recipe produced a light, flavour-packed side that went well with the Greek-inspired turkey, Two-Toned Mashed Potatoes and my mom’s famous Cranberry Sauce.

My first full on turkey dinner and it was a success! Well done to the Bon Appétit team who came up with these ingenious recipes.

For a copy of the recipe for Salt-Roasted Turkey with Lemon & Oregano please click HERE, and for the Rosemary Bread Stuffing with Speck, Fennel & Lemon please click HERE

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

Rating: 2 out of 5 (incredibly frustrating recipe, results were poor)

Initial Thoughts:
Oh goodie – another dessert! And this slice of apple torte looks like fall served on a plate. Yum…

The Test:
Because this dish looked so appealing on the cover of Bon Appétit, I decided to make this for my family’s Thanksgiving dinner. Whoa – did all of the entertaining gurus out there all just gasp in unison?! I know you aren’t supposed to try a new recipe when you have a bunch of people turning up to your house to eat; it’s too risky. But in this case I was sucked in by the pretty picture and the fact that famed Italian chef Lidia Bastianich developed the recipe. What could possibly go wrong?

Everything.

I didn’t get a chance to properly read through the recipe until the day of our Thanksgiving dinner. (Another faux pas when trying a new recipe for the first time and dinner guests mere hours away from descending upon your house). If I had read it beforehand I would have immediately noticed that the recipe is confusing and doesn’t make a whole lot of sense! The list of ingredients for the crust calls for 8 cups of fresh breadcrumbs, but in the directions it says to use 3 cups. Hold the phone; am I missing something here?! But the clock was ticking so I shrugged off my doubts and got to work.

Because the recipe calls for ‘fresh’ breadcrumbs, I bought two loaves of French bread. Slicing the crusts off fresh bread was not fun. Not to mention incredibly messy! I tore the bread into bite sized pieces and measured out 8 cups which I toasted in the oven. Then I ground the bread in my food processor and measured out 3 cups of crumbs. Ha! So that’s how they got 8 cups to make 3 cups. Lidia’s math wasn’t off after all…

After chilling my dough for the suggested amount of time I proceeded to press out 9 inch disks to fit my pie plate. Quickly I realized there was no possible way I was going to be able to shape this strange breadcrumb dough into a large enough size. What were they thinking?! The recipe describes the whole process as if you were working with regular pastry dough and offers no tips or advice. In the end I made smaller sized crusts which fit perfectly into my individual sized tart pans. They looked cute but how would they taste?

One for the torte…

…and one for the cook!

It was at this point that I grabbed a Tenderflake pie crust from my freezer, doctored up a can of pure pumpkin I happened to have on hand, and started baking my plan B.

Next I moved on to the apple filling which also proved to be a frustrating experience. The recipe dictates that you must cook the fruit until tender, but mine just turned into apple sauce mush. Tasty, but definitely not the structured filling one desires in a torte.

At this point plan B was promoted to plan A.

The Results:
I was beginning to develop a complex about my cooking skills until I went online and read other comments posted about this recipe. What made it a flop? Lack of clarity for one thing. I wish the recipe had provided more direction; in particular the differing amounts of breadcrumb quantities, tips for the crust preparation, and even husking the hazelnuts (for which absolutely no instruction was provided). If it hadn’t been for the fact that I recently made Gale Gand’s Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread I would have had no idea how to best go about this process.

Before taking my first bite of the torte I thought to myself that perhaps the taste would make worthwhile all of the sweat and tears I shed for its preparation. If it tasted good I would be happy. Course I would never ever make it again, but I would still be happy.

Unfortunately the taste was just another in a long line of disappointments when it came to this recipe. The texture of the crust was incredibly odd, and instead of holding a true hazelnut flavour it merely tasted like breadcrumbs mixed with melted butter. I would have preferred to have had the hazelnuts featured more prominently in the overall taste. The lemon zest in the crust was a little startling, and the filling was very ordinary.

In the end we all cast aside the torte and focussed on the pumpkin pie. Thank god for canned pumpkin and pre-made pastry shells!

(For a copy of October’s 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 toinfo@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

Rating: 3 out of 5 (pretty tasty overall, waaaaaay too much work!)

Initial Thoughts:
Oh it’s on Bon Appétit – bring it baby! As I browsed through this month’s cover recipes (emphasis on the plural) I could picture the magazine executives chuckling amongst themselves as they planned revenge on all of us cheeky little food bloggers who dare to make each cover and pretend like we know it all. Their retribution? A cover that not only features the world’s most complex burger patty, but also involves making burger buns from scratch, homemade pickles, doctored ketchup and a coleslaw side. Fasten your seatbelts folks; this is going to be a bumpy ride…

The Test:
I have no problem admitting that I avoided making this recipe for as long as possible. Fear was the main motivator behind my procrastination. Can you blame me?! I was completely intimidated! This burger is the invention of Cambridge (MA) restaurant Craigie on Main chef-owner Tony Maws, and took him six months to develop. Served with a spiced ketchup, vinegary pickles and a homemade sesame bun, this burger has become one of the restaurant’s most popular dishes.

In the magazine intro to the recipe, Bon Appetite says “we predict it will be a hit at your house too.” I’m not so certain. But despite my misgivings I am a Capricorn so if I’ve committed to making every single cover recipe this year than by golly that’s what I’m going to do!

Luckily for me I have the world’s best butcher who got me all of the ingredients I needed to make the burger patty. This included beef brisket, short ribs, skirt steak, beef suet and beef bone marrow. Yes you read correctly; suet and bone marrow. Unfortunately there was some miscommunication as I thought my butcher was going to grind everything for me, but when I arrived home with my prized package I quickly realized that I was going to have to grind it myself. Great. Just after I finished writing a post about Mr. Spock wanting a meat grinder and how creepy I thought the whole idea. Is it too late to change my mind honey? Can I fully support your creepiness now that I have a pile of various cuts of meat and bone to deal with? Come to think of it…did you call the butcher and tell him not to grind the meat?! Is this all part of your ploy to gain a grinder of your own?!

Moving on…

The Results:
The beef patty itself was pretty good; nice and rich and very steak like in taste. Was it worth all of the effort and expense of using all of those different cuts? For the average home cook I would have to say…don’t bother. Yes it’s good but definitely not worth the effort (not to mention the cost of ingredients!) If you happen to have access to a commercial kitchen then it might be worth pursuing this recipe.

The ketchup had a nice kick, the celery root slaw was a nice departure from the usual cabbage concoction, and the pickles were phenomenal (will definitely be making these again). But the buns were a flop and completely inedible. In the words of my four year-old: “Mommy, do we have any real buns?” You bet we do sweetie. You bet.

(For a copy of September’s 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

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (great flavours, needs some tweaking)

Initial Thoughts:
Finally – a dessert!

The Test:
When I first saw the cover recipe for August I got pretty excited, as I have been waiting all year for an outrageous dessert that I would be ‘forced’ to make and therefore would lessen my caloric guilt at indulging.

I made the lemon curd and blackberry compote a day ahead, both of which were super simple to put together. The lemon curd tasted heavenly, resulting in my needing to be forcibly separated from the bowl in order to stop me from devouring the entire batch. It was finger licking good!

For the gingersnap cookies I opted to use Anna’s Thins, which happens to be one of my favourite brands. After reading the comments of other bloggers who made this recipe and found the gingersnap flavour to be too overpowering, I am glad I chose to use this particular brand as the cookies hold a subtle flavour that is well rounded without being too intense.

Overall I would say that this is an easy dessert to throw together, making it perfect for entertaining as the majority of the work can be done ahead of time. It also looks impressive to serve to guests.

The Results:
With a few changes this dessert has the potential to be ridiculously good, but as far as my initial attempt is concerned I would have to chalk it up as disappointing. And judging by the comments on the Bon Appétit website, I am not alone in this conclusion.

The robust citrus flavour from the curd dominated the dish, and resulted in the mascarpone whipped cream being completely lost. I also found that in terms of quantities, there was not enough of the mascarpone mixture in comparison to the curd. Next time I would double up on the mascarpone. The other chief complaint from people was that there was not enough cheesecake flavour to warrant this being titled as a cheesecake pudding. My suggestion? Add chunks of crumbled cheesecake to the mascarpone mixture. Now that’s what I’m talking about!

(For a copy of August’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

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

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Spicy! Smokey! Easy!)

Initial Thoughts:
What a tasty looking dish! Can’t wait to fire up the BBQ and give it a try…

The Test:
The folks over at Bon Appétit must have been looking out for me when choosing this cover recipe. We had just moved, our kitchen still needed to be unpacked and we were all sick of take-out. Then I happened to glance at the magazine cover. Immediately I realized our Weber BBQ was on the deck ready and willing. All we required was a quick trip to the grocery store and voila! Not only would we be able to enjoy a homemade meal but I would be able to tick off that month’s Bon Appétit post. Thanks guys!

I literally went to every shop in town looking for andouille sausage but could not find it anywhere. Heeding the recipe’s advice to use a fully cooked smoked sausage, I opted for a delicious kielbasa instead. The kebabs were easy to put together and I loved the fact that you were able to make them ahead of time.

The Results:
My biggest pet peeve with kebabs is when they all taste the same, their flavours melding into an indistinguishable taste of charcoal singed meat and veg. Not the case with this recipe. The kebabs were bursting with exciting flavours that came alive in your mouth! All of the herbs and spices – especially the smoked paprika – gave the dish an exotic edge that was not lost within the flavour of BBQ. I will definitely be making these again this summer.

(For a copy of June’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 toinfo@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

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

RATING: 3.5 out of 5 (quick & easy but needed more depth)

Initial Thoughts:
Oh yay! I’ve been on the hunt for a new salmon recipe to try, and this dish looks as if spring jumped right onto the plate. So fresh and healthy. And with all of the high-caloric recipes I’ve been testing lately, this will be good for my waistline.

The Test:
‘Ridiculously easy’ is how best to describe this dish. Anyone – regardless of their amount of experience in a kitchen – will be able to make this recipe and have it turn out beautifully. And the best part? It plates up like a fancy restaurant, so if you are wanting to impression someone in your life with your culinary abilities this is the way to go about doing so.

Broiling salmon fillets in the oven is one of my favourite ways to prepare this particular fish, as it tastes great and takes no time to cook. And with this recipe calling for only three ingredients to make up the sauce for the salmon, I found myself able to tidy up the kitchen, fix snacks for the kids, and catch a full episode of “Franklin”, before quickly sautéing the sugar snap pea garnish and sitting everyone down at the dinner table.

My one concern with this recipe was that I was not going to be able to find pea tendrils. The very name of this plant seems to imply ambiguous obscurity, but shows how much I know because low and behold there they were on the shelves of the major grocery store chain. Pea tendrils (or pea sprouts) consist of the young leaves and shoots of the snow pea plant. Many people find them to taste like a fusion of peas and spinach, but I think they hold a nice sharpness more akin to a mild radish.

The Results:
Given the small number of ingredients used in this recipe, I was surprised at how complex the flavours turned out in the end. The salmon was moist and tasty without becoming overpowered by the marinade, with the sweet chili sauce pairing perfectly with the spicy ginger and salty soy sauce. With the addition of the sugar snap peas and pea tendrils, a nice combination of flavours developed with the sesame oil, garlic, and rice wine vinegar from the veggies.

This turned out to be quite a tasty little dish! That being said, I found it somewhat lacking in depth of flavour and can’t help but wonder if it would have been better to marinate the fish for more than 30 minutes (perhaps even overnight?) Mr. Spock didn’t think this dish dethroned our usual salmon recipe, but I would consider making it again simply because of the ease and speed with which it comes together.

(For a copy of one of our family’s favourite salmon recipes, click here)

(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

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