Review – Page 3 – From My Table…to Yours

Magazine Review: “Gourmet” and Pumpkin Souffles

This is the third installment of my series of Thanksgiving magazine reviews. You can see my evaluative criteria here. Today’s review is of GOURMET — a venerable publication directed by non other than Ruth Reichl. For years I have avoided Gourmet, thinking of it as the imperious matriarch lording over its more accessible and friendly sister magazine, Bon Appetit. My impression was that the recipes were too esoteric for me, the ingredients too rarified. Below, I take another look.

180 pages total : 80 pages of ads (44%)
73 Recipes (interesting that a misleading heading on the cover of the magazine claims: “212 recipes, wines, tips, complete menus, and techniques”)
News-stand price: $4.50
Price per recipe: $0.06
# of ads pretending to be articles: HA! Hahahaha! I found 13! I think that Conde Nast, who publishes Gourmet and Bon Appetit, invented the concept. One of these “special advertising sections” even carries the title “The Good Life”, adapted from (and in the same font as) a Gourmet regular section “Good Living”
Recipe Index? One index at the back of the magazine sorts the recipes by course (Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dishes) and separates out a list of Vegetarian and Quick recipes. I did not find the index particularly helpful here, and I still don’t understand why the Cauliflower Risotto was listed under “Main Course: Vegetarian”, but not under “Vegetarian Dishes” when many other recipes were double-listed.

Photos: Right proper food porn, if you ask me. In the special Thanksgiving section, the photos are in a group, followed by the recipes, so you can drool and then get down to business. Definitely could benefit from more pictures, though. Gimme more, I need my fix!

Best Sections:
• Good Living: Kitchen. I am not sure if this is a regular section of the magazine (as I said, I don’t pick this one up often), but I love looking into gorgeous kitchens. I have a major jones for a two-oven kitchen with a substantial butcher-block island in the middle.
• Cookbook Club — If you are like me and you have a serious cookbook addiction, this is just bad for you.
• In theory, “One or Two for Dinner” is perfect for me. I’m always working to scale-down recipes to accommodate the fact that RJ and I are having dinner, just the two of us, 90% of the time.

Best Features:
• Many recipes include a “Cook’s Note” which refers readers to the web to find out how to make use of leftovers. I, for one, don’t love having a half-head of cabbage rotting in my crisper drawer for weeks after making a special dish. “Cook’s notes” also let readers know what aspects of a recipe, if any, can be made ahead.
• Each of the 4 (!!) Thanksgiving menu sections includes a “Game Plan” outlining the dishes, or aspects of dishes, that can be done ahead, and in what order they should be tackled.

Thanksgiving at the Gourmet house:
•Four separate versions of the Thanksgiving feast are provided. “Over the Top” is just that, and very typical of most Gourmet issues: Foie Gras Toasts with Sauternes Gelee; Smoked-Sable Tartare with Beets and Watercress; Seckel Pear Tart with Poire William Cream. “Come Together” gives a Latino version of Thanksgiving: Clementine Jicama Salad, Adobo Turkey with Red Chile Gravy; Sweet-Potato Coconut Puree. “Four Hour Feast” attempts a ‘faster’ Thanksgiving (what’s the point of that?!?): Cranberry Tangerine Conserve; Roasted Potatoes and Shallots; Cider-Poached Apples with Candied Walnuts, Rum Cream, and Cider Syrup. Finally, “Harvest’s Home” – a vegetarian version of the holiday: Mushroom and Farro Pie; Moscatel-Glazed Parsnips; Artichokes Braised in Lemon and Olive Oil. Ruling? Not your grandmother’s Thanksgiving.

Particularly Unappetizing:
• Celery Apple Granita (ew!)
• Pumpkin and Cod Fritters with Creole Sauce (double, nay, triple ew!)
• Sauteed Lemon Maple Frisee
• Mango Pomegranate Guacamole (I like all three separately, but together?)

I’m looking forward to cooking:
• Roast Pumpkin with Cheese Fondue (I’m not the only one!)
• Haricots Verts with Bacon and Chestnuts
• Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds with Garlic Oil and Fried Sage
• *Spiced-Pumpkin Souffles with Bourbon Molasses Sauce
• Parsnip Puree with Sauteed Brussels Sprouts Leaves

Gourmet is analogous, in a way, to Vanity Fair – it looks like an easy, fun read from the outside (who doesn’t like Nicole Kidman or roast turkey?) but ends up requiring a lot more brainpower than you expected. I am not in any way against revving up the ol’ gray matter – I love spending a few hours with the New Yorker or the Times on a Sunday – but when I pick up a food magazine, or a fashion magazine for that matter, I am looking for instant satisfaction. The articles in Gourmet are long and wordy, without many pictures. I am constantly skimming and thinking “blah, blah, blah.” This is a good magazine for those who want to bring a stand-out, crowd-awing dish to a Thanksgiving party, or for someone who has a pretty established and fixed family menu and wants to offer a fancy alternative to one of the ho-hum annual dishes. Also good for vegetarians, obviously, or maybe a gourmande group cooking club. I cannot, however, see how it would be possible for one, or even two cooks to pull together any of these elaborate menus on Thanksgiving day.

I also think that in most circles, if you tried to put on a ‘Latino Thanksgiving’ with hot spices and tropical fruits in every dish, you would experience mass revolt. The realities of Thanksgiving, at least as I have experienced it, is that you have a lot of people, of all ages, gathered together for one meal after not having seen each other for some time. That means varied diets, preoccupied moms and dads, family catch-up talks, and very busy kitchens. Timing and assembling 8 or more individual pumpkin souffles for Thanksgiving dessert seems unlikely and unnecessarily difficult. My past Thanksgivings have involved several aunts hocking their various pie specialties (or purchases) and me and my cousins trying to convince our parents that four 1-inch slices of different pies is equal to one normal-sized slice of a single pie. However, I am well aware that Thanksgiving can go down any number of ways. If you have the time for these elaborate and very Gourmet menus, I would like an invitation for next year.

*Spiced-Pumpkin Souffles with Bourbon Molasses Sauce [printable recipe]
1/2 c. whole milk
1 Tbs. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
pinch of ground cloves
3/4 c. plus 1 Tbs. granulated sugar, divided, plus additional for coating ramekins
3/4 c. canned pure pumpkin (from a 15 oz. can, not pie filling)
10 large egg whites
1/4 tsp. salt

Whisk together milk, cornstarch, spices, and 1 Tbs. granulated sugar in a small heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking, then simmer, whisking, 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in pumpkin. Transfer to a large bowl and cool to room temperature. (can be made ahead to this point and chilled for up to 1 day)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F with rack in lower third. Butter ramekins and coat with granulated sugar, knocking out excess, then put in a large shallow baking pan.
Beat egg whites with salt in another large bowl using an electric mixer until they hold soft peaks. Add remaining 3/4 c. granulated sugar a little at a time, beating, then beat until whites hold stiff, glossy peaks, 1-2 minutes more. Fold one third of the whites into cooled pumpkin mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly. Divide mixture among ramekins, mounding it.
Bake souffles until puffed and golden, 18-20 minutes. Dust with confectioners sugar and serve immediately.

Bourbon Molasses Sauce (in case you are wondering, this is NOT OPTIONAL – it makes the dessert!)

3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. plus 2 Tbs. water, divided
3 Tbs. bourbon
3 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 1/2 Tbs. molasses (not blackstrap or robust)
1/4 tsp. salt

Bring sugar and 2 Tbs. water to a boil in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then wash down any sugar crystals from the side of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Boil, without stirring, swirling pan occasionally so caramel colors evenly, until caramel is dark amber. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 1/4 c. water, then stir in bourbon, butter, molasses, and salt. Return to heat and simmer, stirring, to dissolve any hardened caramel if necessary. Sauce can be made one day ahead and chilled. Reheat in a microwave or double boiler until liquefied.

Results: Oh, how I love Gourmet magazine. To anyone who doubts the supremacy of this magazine, including whatever whack-job wrote the above review, please have a bite of this souffle. This was absolutely divine. The souffle was light and fluffy – perfect after a full meal. It puffed up over the rim of the ramekin nearly doubling in size – a beautiful presentation. Plus, the sauce was truly magical – I would drench ice cream or pumpkin pie or cheesecake with this. I would take a bath in it. As RJ says, “if they made it a toothpaste, I’d brush my teeth with it.” I’m still not sure you could make a souffle on Thanksgiving day, despite the fact that the sauce and part of the pumpkin mixture can be done ahead of time, but please remember: the fall season lasts for three months!

Magazine Review: “Saveur” and Roasted Cranberry Sauce

This is the second installment of my series of Thanksgiving magazine reviews. You can see my evaluative criteria here. My second food magazine review is of SAVEUR — a publication I became aware of through the Orangette blog, where several great recipes from Saveur have been featured.

• 112 pages total : 37 pages of ads (33%)
• 32 Recipes
• News-stand price: $5.00
• Price per recipe: $0.16
• # of ads pretending to be articles: only one, and it’s very hard to spot. It has the heading “The Saveur Chef Series” and includes a recipe for cauliflower with pine nut and current bread crumbs. But for the miniscule “Advertisement” written across the top of the page, I would not have known it was advertising anything. Come to think of it, I still am not quite sure what it is an ad for, except perhaps Bill Telepan’s eponymous NYC restaurant.
• Recipe Index? Two indexes are provided – one, at the beginning, lists the recipes by article; the second lists them by category. Both are ‘blink-and-you’ll-miss-em’ small.

Photos: Good, large pictures are scattered throughout the magazine, but are not labeled by recipe and are often separated by a page or two from the recipe they depict. That’s fine for green beans with hazelnuts, but not so good when it comes to Kasespatzle.

Best Sections:
• The pantry – This section gives you resources to locate the esoteric ingredients used in some of the recipes. Perfect for all of those “wait, where do I find Thai palm sugar?” moments.
• Source – a short feature story on a specific retailer or product. This month it was Happy Girl Kitchen Co.’s pickled vegetables, including carrots, squash, and Italian beans – I am intrigued…
• In the Saveur Kitchen – “Discoveries and Techniques from our Favorite Room in the House”, including unusual uses of common ingredients and illustrated technique lessons.

Best Features:
• Within certain articles a little call-out box refers the reader to the web for more ways to use a specific ingredient or for similar or complementary recipes.
• This magazine’s content centers around articles on specific cuisines and their locales, always giving a list of “where to stay”, “where to eat” and “what to do” if you decide to follow in their footsteps. This issue alone featured New Orleans, the Auvergne region of France, and Laos.
• Rather than always publishing in the traditional recipe format of serving size, ingredient list, then instructions, throughout the magazine you will find short blurbs called “Methods” which condense a recipe into a short prose paragraph – very much like your mom would relay Grandma’s Apple Pie to you over the phone. The overall impression given is that you can adjust any of the methods to your own taste preference.

Thanksgiving at the Saveur house:
•Two separate sections deal with Thanksgiving – one about classic side dishes, and a second about how the holiday is celebrated in Louisiana. Sweet Potato Casserole, Oyster Stuffing, Whipped Mashed Potatoes with Celery Root, Oyster stew, Leah Chase’s Roasted Turkey. Ruling? Very traditional.

Particularly Unappetizing:
• Traditional Mincemeat Pie (dried and fresh fruit plus rum and beef fat – shudder!!)
• Steamed Fish Mousse
• Pounti (Auvergne-style meatloaf with prunes)

I’m looking forward to cooking:
• *Roasted Cranberry Sauce
• Spinach and Artichoke Dip
• Brussel Sprouts Salad

In Summary, Saveur is a very interesting mixed bag. The list of recipes, at least in this issue, ranged from a Chile con Queso dip made with Velveeta, canned Ro-Tel tomatoes and Corona beer, to Laap Moo (a Laotian minced pork salad) with chopped fresh galangal, toasted rice powder, kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass. I recommend this magazine for the adventurous and ambitious chefs of this world – those who want to experience unique flavors from around the world or who want to teach themselves the authentic techniques of food preparation before the advent of the microwave or ready-made pie dough.

*Roasted Cranberry Sauce, cited from Saveur No. 115

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Using a peeler, remove peel from one orange, taking off as little of the white pith as possible. Cut peel into very thin strips about 1 1/2 inches long. Squeeze juice from orange; strain and reserve 1 Tbs. of the juice. In a bowl, combine peel, 1 lb. fresh or thawed cranberries, 1 cup sugar, 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tsp. kosher salt, 4 smashed green cardamom pods, 4 whole cloves, 2 sticks cinnamon, and 1 small stemmed and thinly sliced jalapeno. Toss and transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Roast until cranberrries begin to burst and release their juices, 10-15 minutes. Transfer cranberry mixture to a bowl; stir in reserved orange juice and 1 1/2 Tbs. of port. Let sit for at least 1 hour so that hte flavors meld. Remove and discard cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon before serving. Makes 2 cups.

Results: I don’t know about your feeling on this, but I found the prose-recipe method really frustrating. I didn’t see that I needed a jalapeno until too late (so I left it out), and I had to keep rereading the whole recipe over and over to make sure that I only needed to save 1 Tbs. of the orange juice. Though I know I’m supposed to follow these test recipes exactly, I used ground cardamom and ground cinnamon and omitted the jalapeno. The results, however, were absolutely delicious. The sauce was quite tart, which I liked, and the port gave it such a wonderful flavor without making it taste ‘alcoholic’ at all. The texture was like a thick and chunky chutney, so if you like a more saucey version, this is not the recipe for you. For me? Yum yum yum! This might become an annual feature of my holiday table!

Magazine Review: “Fine Cooking” and Delicata Squash

I have taken on a new mission – you know, to keep things interesting here at “From My Table.” Since I am a confessed food magazine addict and self-proclaimed connoisseur, I have decided to begin a series of reviews of popular cooking magazines. To make it as fair a contest as possible, I will be comparing Thanksgiving issues – the one issue of the year where every food mag worth its weight in gravy will pull out all the stops. In theory, the November issue of an epicurean publication (the issue with the highest sales for the year) will feature the best recipes, photos, and informational articles while showcasing any editorial biases in clear relief against rival periodicals. When the basic building blocks are the same – turkey, cranberries, pumpkin, squash, and stuffing – one cannot help but notice if a particular magazine adheres to strict traditional techniques or, at the other extreme, commits blasphemy by defiling our American heritage (vanilla-cranberry foam? Bread-less stuffing? Come on, people!)

Here are my objective criteria:
• Ratio of the # of magazine pages (not including covers) to the # of full-page advertisements
• # of Recipes
• News-stand Price
• Price per Recipe
• # of “advertorials” – those ads that pose as articles or recipe sections to get you to buy their product. Sometimes it is very difficult to tell they are not part of the magazine.
• Is a recipe index supplied? How are the recipes sorted?

And here are my subjective criteria:
• How good is the photography? How plentiful, mouthwatering, and informative is it?
• What are some of the unique or particularly good sections or features this magazine provides every issue?
• What is the take on the Thanksgiving classics: modern? drastic? traditional? boring?
• What recipes from this issue do I most look forward to trying? What recipes look particularly unappetizing?

*I will also be making one recipe from my “Can’t wait to try” list exactly as directed, and will report on my results. I hope this gets everybody into the November spirit – can you hear the Jingle Bells?

The first to contend is FINE COOKING – one of my favorite magazines of all time (no bias on the part of this judge):

• 98 pages total : 23 pages of ads (23%)
• 35 Recipes
• News-stand price: $6.95
• Price per recipe: $0.20
• # of ads pretending to be articles: 0
• Recipe Index? Yes, sorted by type (i.e. side dish, dessert, poultry, fish/seafood, etc.) and labeled by special interest (i.e. quick, make-ahead, mostly make-ahead, and vegetarian). Also includes a nutritional index in the back of the magazine, which is a great addition…if you like reading that sort of information…

Photos: absolutely excellent, often giving multiple viewpoints (cut pie/uncut pie; preparation/finished product) and most certainly mouthwatering! Every recipe is photographed at least once, which is a huge bonus.

Best Sections:
• Cooking Without Recipes (one master recipe is featured each month and several pages explain the different steps of the method – in this issue, how to make a potato gratin – as well as the many ways it can be adapted to your taste – e.g. bacon, leek and Gruyere or artichoke and Comte)
• Quick and Delicious (self-explanatory, no?)
• Food Science (this section explains the “Whys” behind cooking results – how to fix a pie crust that isn’t flaky or that is too crumbly, for example)
• Menus – the editors mix and match the recipes from the issue into different menus, such as “Sunday Supper” or “Casual Dinner Party”

Best Features:
• Recipe Variations are provided with many of the sections, such as “try replacing red wine vinegar with balsamic for a sweeter flavor” or “try leftovers from this recipe cold in a pasta salad with green beans and feta”
• No advertisements are placed in the central recipe section of the magazine.

Thanksgiving at the Fine Cooking house:
• “Seven of the country’s best chefs share seven new takes on holiday classics” – Roasted Turkey with Juniper-Ginger Butter and Pan Gravy; Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Shallots; Maple-Tangerine Cranberry Sauce; Sugar and Spice Pumpkin Pie with Ginger Cream. Ruling? Classic with a twist.

Particularly Unappetizing:
• Orange Crème Caramel
• Rosemary’s Pink Diamond Fizz
• Vietnamese Tilapia with Turmeric & Dill

I’m looking forward to cooking:
• Sugar and Spice Pumpkin Pie with Brandied Ginger Cream
• *Delicata Squash with Caramelized Shallots and Sherry
• Cauliflower with Brown Butter, Pears, Sage, and Hazelnuts
• Steak au Poivre with Cognac Sauce

*Delicata Squash with Caramelized Shallots and Sherry
Serves four. You can assemble this dish up to 2 hours before baking.

1 1/4 lb. delicata squash
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/4 c. dry sherry (such as fino)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 c. thinly sliced shallots (2 to 3 large)
4 tsp. finely chopped fresh sage

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Peel the squash, leaving the skin in the crevices (it’s tender enough to eat). Trim the ends. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Slice the halves crosswise 1/2 inch thick.
Heat 1 Tbs. of the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the squash in a single layer and cook without moving until the slices begin to brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until the second side begins to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a 9×13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with 2 Tbs. of the sherry, 1/2 tsp salt, and a few grinds of pepper.
Heat the remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil and the butter in the skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the shallots turn deep golden brown on the edges, 3-5 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and immediately add the sage and the remaining 2 Tbs. sherry, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of pan. Scatter the shallots over the squash.
Cover the pan with foil and bake until the squash is tender when pierced with a fork, 25-30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Results:
The squash tasted excellent – the caramelized shallots were sweet, and the sherry gave a contrasting nutty flavor. As you can see, it looked very beautiful and interesting too! Though I said I would follow the instructions meticulously, I did use Amontillado sherry rather than the suggested Fino – I’m not sure what difference this made, but fino is lighter in both color and flavor. I should have put the squash in the oven a bit longer – closer to 30 minutes than 25 – so that it melted a bit more in my mouth; with that change I would definitely make this again. Delicata squash has a slightly less sweet and slightly more vegetal flavor than butternut – very close to yellow-fleshed acorn squash. I bet that this recipe would work well with either of those two types as well.