Visit The UPS Store, Get Free Martha Mags

With Mother's Day nearly here, chances are you might be paying a visit to your local UPS Store to ship off a little something special to your mom or grandmother.  With a new offer, if you spend $25 at The UPS Store, you can receive a free 1-year subscription to your choice of Everyday Food and Body+Soul magazine.

To receive your free subscription, send a copy of your $25+ receipt from The UPS Store, along with a notecard that includes your full name, address, daytime telephone number and appropriate code indicating your magazine choice (EFAEGV2 for Everyday Food or BDAAYA7 for Body+Soul) to PO Box 60015, Tampa, FL 33660-0013.  Offer expires May 30, 2009.

Happy shipping!

Everyday Food: The March Issue

When I first started getting Everyday Food, I used to go through each issue and use sticky flags to mark the recipes I wanted to make. After going through more packs than I can count, I decided to switch from stickies to the more economical dog-earing of pages. Not as colorful, but far less expensive. This month I think I folded down more page corners than ever before. I wanted to make just about every recipe I saw.

Last week all of our dinners came from this issue. Monday’s Baked Penne with Chicken and Sun Dried Tomatoes, Tuesday’s Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops, Thursday’s Breaded Chicken Cutlets, and Friday’s Irish Beef Hand Pies. (Yes, we did skip Wednesday.) Dessert every night was the Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chunk Cookies from the last page, and I’m still going to make the Fudgy Skillet Brownies (pictured) and the Warm Berries ‘n’ Dumplings.

I have a recipe backlog from this month. March is a tough time because it’s not quite warm enough for the Spring vegetables (at least where I live), and the Fall vegetables are getting tired. This issue of Everyday Food uses frozen berries, pears, canned tomatoes, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots in interesting ways that perk up what can be a rather dull time of year, foodwise. I also like the focus on a single ingredient (in this issue balsamic vinegar) with a new twist (Balsamic-Rosemary Vinaigrette that can be used as a salad dressing, and is also used as the marinade in the Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops).

The April Everyday Food is coming soon, but all of the recipes from the March issue are availble online at marthastewart.com/everyday-food.

Picture from marthastewart.com

Everyday Food: Southern Mac & Cheese

In these last few weeks of winter, I've been combing through my favorite cookbooks and magazines for recipes to work my oven as much as possible before the weather warms and cravings for thick, rich macaroni and cheese are replaced by crisp, fresh salads and juicy chunks of watermelon.

In the March 2009 Everyday Food, I came across a feature titled "10 Ways to Love Pasta." I thought this to be a genius story - not only is pasta a quick weeknight meal, but it's budget-friendly, perfect for a time when many of us are tightening our belts. The one that stared right at me as the perfect meal for a chilly Sunday evening was Martha's Southern Mac & Cheese.

First, set aside two cups of elbow macaroni. While boiling the water for the macaroni, prepare the macaroni and cheese sauce. You can use pre-shredded cheddar cheese if you're pressed for time, but not to be out-Martha'ed by Martha, I grated 2 cups of cheddar cheese by hand.

Combine a cup of half-and-half, two eggs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and 1 clove of garlic, minced, in a large bowl. Whisk to combine; add cheddar cheese.

Just before pasta is al dente, drain and combine with cheese mixture. Divide into ramekins or spread into a shallow 1 1/2- to 2-quart baking dish.

The next step Martha suggests is to combine two torn slices of white bread in a food processor with two tablespoons of butter. I had some homemade rosemary-garlic ciabatta breadcrumbs on hand so I used those to top off the casserole.

Dividing evenly, top pasta mixture with 1/2 cup cheddar, then sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Place ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until mac and cheese is golden and bubbling, about 20 minutes in ramekins, 25 minutes in a baking dish. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Thinking of Sunshine

Has the gloom of winter gotten you down? Then check out the island-inspired desserts in the Tropical Escapes feature in this month’s “Everyday Food.”

I decided to try the grilled pineapple with coconut sorbet recipe this afternoon.

Instead of cutting the pineapple into four thick pieces as the recipe suggested, I used my AWESOME pineapple slicer from Crate and Barrel, which automatically cuts the slices thinner (while it cores and peels!!) Check this out! It leaves the “shell” of the pineapple intact in case you want to serve a fruity drink in it later:

In all honesty, the pineapple I bought was not the greatest. The pineapple slicer would ordinarily leave me with complete rings, but this time the rings were falling apart. I don’t know if it’s just not prime pineapple season or if I simply picked a bad one.

The rings further disintegrated when I tossed them with the honey and cayenne pepper. Here they are grilling on my griddle:

Since my pineapple was all broken up, I decided to make it more of a sorbet topping rather than the star of the dish (with a little sorbet on the side). The finished product was tasty, though it probably would have been better with a superior pineapple. My husband said it “tasted like Hawaii.”

I’ve grilled pineapple au naturale before and it was good, so I don’t know that the honey and cayenne were really necessary. Also, cleaning my griddle is a big pain, so I’m not sure the results were worth that. Oh well – The recipe brought a bit of sunshine to our otherwise murky afternoon!

How do you like to spend a lazy gray day?

Mad About Charlyne

We all know and love Martha, but what some of us might not know is that Martha Stewart spends each and every day surrounded by creative, talented people who have contributed to the empire that she’s built.

At Mad About Martha, we’re taking you behind the scenes at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia to introduce you to some the finest minds in style, fashion and food.

Those of you who subscribe to Everyday Food know how convenient it is to have a one-stop resource for great recipes - from the weekly family dinner, to date night, to cooking for one. Everyday Food offers an index of recipes for all occasions and incorporates simple, fresh ingredients that anyone would love, whether you're an experienced chef or a novice home cook.

Today, we're introducing Charlyne Mattox, Senior Associate Food Editor, Everyday Food, whose love for the kitchen is evident not only through the amazing recipes that she writes and tests for her readers every day, but through her passion for cooking that she shares with her colleagues and readers. When she's not whipping up delicious Mexican dishes, Charlyne is hard at work learning about food and new cooking techniques - and will try just about anything in the kitchen, as long as you don't ask her to do the dishes!

Q: Charlyne, you must have such an exciting job. What's a typical day in the office like for you?

A: I arrive at the office, check e-mail, then get cooking! I typicall cook for about 5-6 hours per day. Other time is spend editing recipes, brainstorming recipes and story ideas and responding to reader queries.

Q. What's the best editorial assignment you've worked on at EDF?
A. I really loved developing the dark chocolate dessert story for the October 2008 issue. Besides loving chocolate, it was a real challenge and great learning experience.

Q. What's your favorite part about your job?
A. Cooking of course! I love to learn about food, from flavor combinations to new cooking techniques. And of course, I love eating.

Q. What is your favorite "Dinner Tonight" recipe?
A. I really enjoy the Provencal Chicken with Vegetables from the December 2008 issue. Roasted carrots are one of my favorites and mixed with tangy olives, it’s a perfect combination.

Q. Have you always wanted to work in the food/beverage industry?
A. Yes, I have. My mom encouraged my interest in cooking from a very young age. And when I got older it was perfect – I cooked while my sister did the dishes (which I loathe).

Q. How did you begin your career in publishing/food and beverage?

A. While working in the crafts department at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, I went to cooking school on the weekends. Luckily, shortly after graduation, there was an opening at Everyday Food that I was able to fill.

Q. What is your favorite dish to cook?
A. Tacos – any filling or topping. I love them all!

Q. What is the best recipe you've ever discovered working with EDF?
A. The Avocado Salad from the September 2006 issue is one of my favorites. The balance is perfect and it goes along with my love of Mexican food.

Signature Buttermilk Biscuits

One of the reasons I always turn to my stack of Everyday Food back issues when I need to dig up a good recipe is because the simplicity of Martha's cooking style is a hit every time.

I used to think that in regards to cooking, the two words "Martha Stewart" were synonymous with "long, confusing and difficult to follow and even more difficult to pronounce." I always found myself shying away from her baked goods because they seemed too long and complicated.

Then recently, I realized something. That was all before I actually knew how to bake or cook. When the most difficult kitchen conundrum I could master was separating egg whites to make lower-cholesterol Duncan Hines Brownies, the each step in Martha's pastry dough recipe sounded similar to the instructions I read from my chemistry lab notebook in high school.

Those, I still wouldn't understand, but now, the terms "pulse dough until mixture is the texture of coarse meal" make sense to me and the idea of "turning dough onto a lightly floured work surface" don't make me cringe and run straight for the tube of Pillsbury crescent rolls.

Recently some friends and I cooked a pre-Thanksgiving dinner and one of my contributions was a biscuit recipe from the November 2007 Everyday Food that I've had flagged for a year. On Thanksgiving, I like to make sweet breads: Pumpkin Apple and Orange-Cranberry. Since the oven is usually busy enough as it is, biscuits fall to the wayside because we'll probably be too full for biscuits anyway (and if you've ever had Thanksgiving with my family, albeit small we are, we can put away a turkey and sweet potatoes like nobody's business).

Since this was only a "pretend Thanksgiving dinner" I gave the biscuit recipe a try. EDF offers a few recipe modifications, from Cheddar Biscuits to Cracked Black Pepper to Mixed Herbs.

I opted for door number three and couldn't have been more pleased with the flaky texture and melt-in-your-mouth buttermilk flavor of the biscuits. The herbs were a wonderful, subtle touch that a small pat of salted whipped butter accented nicely.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Everyday Food November 2007

4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled) plus more for rolling and cutting

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into bits (plus 4 tablespoons melted for brushing)

1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 450F. In a food processor, pulse flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt to combine. Add cold butter, pulse until mixture is the texture of coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Add buttermilk, pulse just until dough is moistened, 2-3 times.

2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface; knead just to combine (do not overwork). Roll with a floured rolling pin (or pat with hands) to a 3/4 inch thickness. Cut out rounds with a floured 2 1/2 inch round biscuit cutter.

3. Transfer to a baking sheet, 1 1/2 inches apart (re-roll and cut scraps only once). Brush top and sides of rounds with melted butter. Bake until biscuits are puffed and golden, 12-15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Serves 12.

To Freeze: After step 2, place dough rounds onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper and brush with melted butter. Freeze until solid and place in a resealable plastic bag. Store in freezer up to 2 months.

To Bake From Frozen: Place frozen dough rounds, buttered side up, on a large baking sheet and bake at 450F until biscuits are puffed and golden, 20-25 minutes.

Mad About Debra!

We all know and love Martha, but what some of us might not know is that Martha Stewart spends each and every day surrounded by creative, talented people who have contributed to the empire that she’s built.

At Mad About Martha, we’re taking you behind the scenes at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia to introduce you to some the finest minds in style, fashion and food.

Those of you who enjoy your time in the kitchen as much as I do would undoubtedly recognize Debra Puchalla's name from the masthead of Everyday Food. Debra, the reigning editor-in-chief has spent the past decade in the Martha Stewart test kitchen honing recipes and sampling simple culinary creations to suit the tastes of every home cook. Debra and her talented staff are dedicated to making life - and dinnertime - easier with their blog Dinner Tonight. We decided listen to Debra dish out her favorite parts of being an editor at Everyday Food, both on and off the job, as well as some tips for staying on top on top of social media trends whether she's at home cooking with her three boys or out on-the-go.

Q) What's the best editorial assignment you've worked on at EDF?
A) About a year and a half ago, we were looking to respond to readers’ hunger for healthy recipes and created our Upgrade column. It’s just one recipe per issue but I love the idea behind it: take an iconic, notoriously indulgent recipe—think mac-n-cheese or artichoke dip—and tweak it to be almost virtuous by swapping in better substitutions. I love that it teaches home cooks how to cook smart without sacrificing what they crave.

Q) What's a typical day in the office like for you?
A) My best days include a mix of activities—some time at my desk, writing and editing stories; some time with colleagues, strategizing about how to make our content better and even more relevant as we shape future lineups; and some time in the test kitchen, tasting recipes that are in development and deciding what information about them is best shared with our fans.

Q) What's your favorite part about your job?
A) Years ago, I worked in news and found that I got home and wanted to learn about how to live a better life. Working at Martha Stewart has helped me do just that: I learn something new every day that makes my life even better. I’m fortunate that what I do helps shape the home life that my husband and I share with our kids.

Q)Why did you begin blogging with EDF?
A) We were finding with the magazine that we have a passionate audience who not only wanted meal solutions, they wanted to know the ones we (editors) choose to cook at home and why, and they wanted a direct line to our expertise. Food and cooking can be fun—why not celebrate this with our audience in print as well as on an ongoing basis online?

Q) A lot of your readers follow you on Twitter. What do you like best about social media?
A) That’s easy. Listening to what gets people excited, what they’re curious about, what they need.

Q) Have you always wanted to work in the food/beverage industry?
A) Doesn’t everybody want to work at a food magazine? I’m very lucky that I get to merge my love of smart writing, good cooking, and sharing information. I worked in restaurants in high school and college (a “fancy” German restaurant with a waterfall outside Hartford, Connecticut, pizza parlors, etc) but really wanted to be in political journalism—way led to way, though, and I came to Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia a decade ago and never looked back.

Q) How do you manage to work full-time, blog and find the time to cook? A) We have three sons, and I think it’s important for us to have meals together. We don’t get to have dinner on weeknights all the time, but it’s a big priority for weekends. First, we cook together; the big guys, 6 and 4, are good sous chefs (though cookies are their specialty!) I have a laptop on my counter and I jot a few notes as I go.

We have friends over a lot too, who are my knowing test cases. I see what they like best and what pan empties first and try and write about that. My work is very important to me too. At Everyday Food, we’re helping people eat well without a lot of effort and I like being part of that.

Q) What is the best piece of advice you would offer to novice bloggers today?
A) Be honest, listen to others, and ask more questions than you intend to answer. Offer your true point of view and share your curiosities.

Soup's On!

With the weather finally cooling down a bit here in sunny California, I took the opportunity to cook up a steaming pot of soup using the classic minestrone recipe featured in this month’s issue of “Everyday Food.”

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 large celery stalk, diced
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary, or 1/4 teaspoon dried
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 can (14.5 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1/4 head Savoy or green cabbage (1/2 pound), cored and thinly sliced
1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil, plus torn leaves for serving (optional)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan, for serving

You’ll notice in the photo that I took a few not-very-Martha-like shortcuts. I used canned green beans that were already cut into 1-inch pieces, crushed garlic from a jar and dried basil. I think the fact that the rosemary was plucked just moments before this photo was taken from my little herb garden makes up for that.

First, I added the olive oil to my pot and cooked the onion, carrots, celery red-pepper flakes, rosemary, salt and pepper for 5-8 minutes. While that was all cooking, I chopped and then added the tomatoes, potato and cabbage. I also added the cannellini beans and water at that point, and brought it all to a boil, stirring in the green beans. Next, I reduced to a simmer and cooked for about 20 minutes.

I have to admit that I was a little bit afraid when this was simmering, because it smelled awfully similar to the famous Weight Watchers soup recipe, and I was in the mood for something a little heartier than that. Also, I was surprised that it didn’t call for broth of any kind, just water.

I’m happy to say that the soup did not disappoint! It was filling and delicious, and provided leftovers for another night. Most impressively, it was actually ready in less than the hour that the magazine promised, which is truly spectacular, considering the amount of chopping involved. I’d definitely consider adding this to my regular recipe rotation, and look forward to trying some of the variations the magazine suggested, such as adding peas and zucchini!

Review: Broccoli Gratin

I'm a big fan of gratins, so when I saw an easy recipe for Broccoli Gratin in Martha's Everyday Food magazine, it quickly got ripped out and added to my burgeoning to-try pile; no matter that I'm the only one in the house that will eat broccoli. 

Very simple to make and tasty to boot, it would make a perfect side dish to a weeknight dinner ... or even your Thanksgiving table.  Was it a wow?  No, but a solid performer.  I mean, really, we're talking about broccoli here - is there such a thing as a wow broccoli recipe?

The only change I would make next time is that instead of chopping the broccoli florets finely, as the recipe calls for, I'd do a rougher chop, because chopping them so small made the dish a little more mushy than I'd like. 

Broccoli Gratin
Recipe courtesy of Everyday Food magazine

Serves 6

3 slices white sandwich bread
3 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
2 heads broccoli (about 2 pounds total), florets finely chopped, stalks peeled and finely chopped  (don't chop so fine, rough chop a bit better)
1 cup shredded white cheddar (4 ounces)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with rack in upper third. In a food processor, pulse bread and 1 tablespoon oil until large crumbs form; season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium. Whisk in flour; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil; add broccoli. Reduce to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until broccoli is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in 3/4 cup cheese.

Transfer mixture to a shallow 1 1/2 quart baking dish; top with breadcrumbs and remaining cheese. Bake until breadcrumbs are golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Potluck a la Martha

It's prime potluck season, and the June issues of Martha Stewart Livingand Everyday Food are loaded with easy, unique, portable dishes.

For this summer's first potluck invitation, I turned to both magazines for new twists on classic cookout favorites: potato salad and loaf cake.

Red Bliss Potato Salad with Blue Cheese, Bacon and Chives
Serves 4 to 6
from "Martha Stewart Living", June, 2008

• 1 1/2 pounds Red Bliss potatoes
• 3 tablespoons coarse salt
• 1 1/2 ounces Danish blue cheese, plus more for garnish
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives, plus 1 teaspoon for garnish
• 8 bacon strips, cooked until crisp and crumbled

1. Place potatoes and the salt in a medium saucepan. Cover with water, and bring to a simmer. Cook until a knife pierces through potatoes with little resistance, about 12 minutes. Drain, and let cool slightly. Halve potatoes.
2. Meanwhile, mix blue cheese, buttermilk, vinegar, and mustard in a bowl until well combined.
3. Combine potatoes, dressing, chives, and almost all of the bacon in a large serving bowl. Garnish with blue cheese, chives and remaining bacon.

I wasn't able to locate Red Bliss potatoes, so I substituted red creamers which worked fine.

This is a perfect make-ahead dish, as the dressing does better when it has time to set for a few hours in the refrigerator.


Coconut-Pineapple Loaf Cake
Serves 10
From "Everyday Food", June, 2008

• 1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks in juice, drained well

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread coconut on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until lightly toasted, tossing occasionally, 6 to 10 minutes; set aside. Butter and flour a 9-by-5-inch (8-cup) loaf pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low, and alternately add flour mixture in three parts and sour cream in two, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix just until combined (do not overmix).
3. Using a rubber spatula, fold pineapple and 1 cup coconut into batter. Spoon into prepared pan, and smooth top; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup coconut. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 65 to 70 minutes (cover pan with foil halfway through). Let cake cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. (To store, keep at room temperature, wrapped in plastic, up to two days.)

As you can tell from my photo, I should have been a bit more careful with toasting my coconut. If you get overzealous like I did, you should probably cover the cake with foil for the entire baking time.

While yummy on its own, I think this cake would be really great with this hot buttered rum sauce recipe.

Not-Israeli Couscous with Green Beans, Feta, and No Pistachios

I'm starting to realize that almost every time I post about a food I've prepared, I include a disclaimer of sorts. I live overseas (to those of you in the States, that is). Because I live in Japan, I do prepare Japanese foods. But being an American with access to a military base commissary, I can get my mitts on a fair number of American-made products. For this, I am thankful--really, I am--but because our small commissary has only so much to offer, I often need to make recipe substitutions.

This was one of those times. I wanted to make the "Israeli couscous with green beans, feta, and pistachios" from the May '08 Everyday Food. Thank goodness we can get decent feta, so that wasn't a problem. Fresh green beans have come in recently, and though we can get English cucumbers right now, smaller Japanese ones are every bit as good, if not better. But the couscous was a problem. You might not be able to tell from my less-than clear photo (the fancy expensive camera and I weren't getting along), but I used quick-cooking couscous instead. Because of this, I had to cook the green beans separately. But such is life.

I'm not a raisin fan, so I didn't use them. And since my kids aren't huge nut fans, I left out the pistachios and instead added sliced almonds to Husband's and my portions. First Child and I decided there was too much vinegar, but we might not have thought so if we'd had the sweetness of the raisins. All in all, it was a nice dish that made for good lunchtime leftovers the next day.

Review: Coconut-Apricot Macaroons

(Photo Courtesy MarthaStewartLiving.com)

Hi friends! In the current issue (April 2008) issue of Everyday Food, the Cookie Jar (page 144) has the most delicious cookie. Since I was a very young girl I can remember being in the kitchen with my grandmother making macaroons. The crinkle of parchment paper, the perfect little mounds of coconut and the sultry scent of coconut coming from the oven tempting me even before they cooled off and were then dipped and drizzled in milk chocolate. It was almost too much for an 8 year old to bear!

Funnily enough, a favorite blog of mine Cakespy recently did a piece on macaroons and I was again transported to my grandmothers kitchen. I could smell the sweet flaked coconut bubbling on parchment paper and chocolate simmering on the double boiler! I would patiently watch them brown through the oven window with my oven mitts on and wait for the timer to "ding" announcing their baking time had ended.

For the month of April, Martha gives this classic favorite a refreshingly spring time twist with plump apricots! They are such a luscious surprise, I cannot believe I have never thought to add ingredient myself! Enjoy this recipe; is it refreshingly delicious!

Best!
Wendy

Coconut Apricot Macaroons
Recipe Courtesy Everyday Food
Makes 20

3 large egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon pure almond extract (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 package (14 ounces) sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup soft dried apricots, coarsely chopped (3 ounces)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites, sugar, almond extract (if using), and salt until frothy. Add coconut and apricots; mix to combine.

3. Using your hands, shape mixture into mounds, each equal to 2 level tablespoons; place 1/2 inch apart on prepared baking sheet (macaroons will not spread).

4. Bake until lightly golden, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through. Transfer macaroons to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 1 week.

Review: Martha's Half-Hour Chicken Gumbo

Even though I’m admittedly a big fan of Martha Stewart, I have a love/hate relationship with her recipes. Some work, some don’t, and I know I’m in good company with my success, or lack thereof. I vividly remember making a Cranberry Upside-Down Cake recipe of hers twice, back-to-back, determined to beat the thing into submission before giving up. After it failed the second time, I threw in the towel; I just wasn’t willing to waste any more expensive ingredients to make the recipe again. That being said, I have had decidedly better success with recipes from her Everyday Food magazine and cookbook.

Since my sister had her baby, when I see them, I try to make an extra meal to give them, just to make things a bit easier. This time, with an eye to keeping things easy on a crazy holiday weekend, when I spied the recipe for Martha’s Half-Hour Chicken Gumbo in the current issue of Everyday Food, it sounded like just the ticket. Effortless to pull off, the recipe takes quite a bit of help from precooked items, like rotisserie chicken and pre-cooked sausages, which is quite the departure from a more standard, all-afternoon recipe that Martha would do in her main magazine or regular cookbooks.

So, the all important question … did the recipe work?

For the most part, yes. I needed a bit more oil to keep the roux going enough to get the vegetables to the right point, and after taste-testing it at the end, I felt it was missing something. To me, the recipe just seemed to lack an overall oomph of flavor. I added in a can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes, which seemed to help. I meant to add a dash or four of hot sauce at the end, but forgot. Did the tomatoes help enough to make this a wow recipe? No. But they definitely added a little more flavor, and enough that The Husband polished off our entire portion of the gumbo. And hey, it made for an easy dinner, and some days, that just has to be enough.

Half-Hour Chicken Gumbo
Recipe courtesy of Everyday Food
Rely on rotisserie chicken, smoked spicy sausage, and frozen okra from the store to stack up flavors in our quick rendition of a classic Cajun stew.

Total: 30 mintues (this was spot-on)
Serves 4

3 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as safflower (I needed a bit more oil)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 red bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed), chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 package (10 ounces) frozen cut okra
8 ounces smoked (precooked) andouille sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced 1 inch thick
1 rotisserie chicken (about 2 1/2 pounds), skin and bones removed, meat shredded (about 4 cups)
Store-bought or homemade cornbread, for serving (optional)
I added one can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes

In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, heat oil over medium. Add flour, and cook, whisking constantly, until pale golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in bell peppers, onion, garlic, and oregano; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Add 4 cups water; stir in okra and sausage. Bring to a boil. Stir in shredded chicken, and warm through, 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; if desired, serve with cornbread.

Everyday Food Celebrates 50th Issue!

At first glance, 50 issues doesn't sound like a lot, but when you consider how quickly magazines fold these days, it's quite the accomplishment. Although it seems like the magazine just arrived on the scene, they are already celebrating their 50th issue.

To commemorate the occasion, Everyday Food editors got together and listed their top five favorite recipes for chicken, pasta and chocolate, which you can find right here. Dig in!

New Blog: Dinner Tonight from Everyday Food

MarthaStewart.com is really using the blog concept to a great advantage. In addition to Martha's own blog about her personal life, which is always fascinating to read, they've added the Body + Soul challenge blog, and now Dinner Tonight from Everyday Food.

Dinner Tonight offers an entree suggestion from Everyday Food (recipes available online), along with information on prep and cooking times, and serving suggestions to make a complete, interesting meal. Tonight's recommendation is Easy Paella, loaded with shrimp and sausage, but ready in under an hour.

There's also a link to sign up for a daily dinner idea via email. Never again be at a loss for something quick and easy to make for dinner--the folks from Everyday Food are ready to help! I love Everyday Food and have been a subscriber since issue #1 (50 issues ago!). Every month I go through and flag all the recipes I want to try. I have so many flagged now, I need start working my way through them. I love the way they incorporate seasonal produce into the recipes, so that meals are always as fresh as they can be.

And of course, it's more than just dinner. Lunch box ideas, snacks, desserts--Everyday Food covers it all. But because the question of what to have for dinner can be so pressing, I predict this new blog is going to be a great resource. I can check the idea while I'm at work, figure out if I need anything at the store on the way home, and be ready to cook when I walk in the door. Perfect!

image from MarthaStewart.com

Parmesan Steak Fries

After making these oven-baked fries, you just might not want to eat fries another way again. Now I realize that's a rather bold statement to make, but how can you not when the end result is a healthy, full-flavor thick steak fry that's easy to make and uses ingredients you likely have on hand?

Around the Sweetnicks kitchen, it seems the potatoes sprout and go soft faster than I can use them, which drives me this side of crazy. I had a few to use up the other day, and when I spied this recipe for Parmesan Steak Fries, I knew I had the answer. Nicholas and I love the thicker-cut steak fries, as opposed to the skinnier ones, and even better when they're crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.

I told him the plan and he grabbed his Home Depot apron, jumped on the stepstool, and asked me to roll up his sleeves. He scrubbed the potatoes for me, I chopped them, and then he mixed the egg whites. Within just a few minutes, the potato spears were baking peacefully away in the oven and we killed time coloring in the kitchen.When they came out of the oven, we just knew they would be good. You could tell they were going to be nice and crispy, and it was all we could do to wait for them to cool off. We got a small plate of ketchup for dipping, and dug in. Big grins filled our faces as we went back for more.

"Mama, these are so good, we could open up our own restaurant."

A kid after my own heart.

The next day, he was still talking about the french fries ... and the restaurant.

"We could open up the restaurant in our house and have people come over and cook for them."

"Honey, I wish we could, but in New Jersey, that's against the rules. You have to have it in a real restaurant."

"But why?"

"Because they have to come out and inspect the kitchen and make sure it's clean and everything."

"But our kitchen is clean!"

"I know, honey, it's just one of those rules."

"OK then, we'll just open up a regular restaurant instead."Maybe one of these days, it won't be such a big dream, but in the meantime, we're going to enjoy these so-good-we-should-open-up-a-restaurant Parmesan Steak Fries and you can too.

Parmesan Steak Fries
Recipe courtesy of Everyday Food

3 large egg whites
1 tsp coarse salt
3 baking potatoes
1 1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk egg whites with salt until frothy. Cut each potato into 6 long spears. Add to egg whites and turn to coat.Lift spears out of egg whites, shaking off excess. Sprinkle with cheese until coated. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake without turning until potatoes are fork-tender and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Season to taste.

January/February Everyday Food: Quinoa Muffins

The January/February issue of Everyday Food highlights an ingredient I’ve long been interested in: quinoa. Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is an ancient grain that has amazing health properties. It can be used in side dishes in place of ingredients such as rice. Additionally, the clever folks at Everyday Food developed a quinoa muffin. I decided to give these a try. They have a nice flavor, and an excellent texture. Instead of regular raisins, I used golden raisins. Be sure you rinse the quinoa before using (it has a bitter coating that needs to be removed under running water), and taste your quinoa before adding it to the muffin batter. I think mine was just a shade underdone, and might have benefited for a couple more minutes on the stove. The recipe does urge you not to overcook the quinoa or to use more than the required amount of water. The grains of quinoa should be tender but separate, rather than mushy and clumped together. The end result was quite tasty, and an unusual and delicious way to use quinoa.

Quinoa Muffins

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
¼ cup vegetable oil, such as safflower, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
¾ cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup raisins (substitute other chopped dried fruit, if you’d like)
¾ cup whole milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium saucepan, bring quinoa and 1 cup water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cover, and cook until water has been absorbed and quinoa is tender, 11 to 13 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, brush a standard 12-cup muffin pan with oil; dust with flour, tapping out excess. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, raisins, and 2 cups cooked quinoa; reserve any leftover quinoa for another use.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, milk, egg, and vanilla. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, and stir until just combined; divide batter among prepared muffin cups.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool muffins in pan, 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 5 days.

Makes 12 muffins

Newsstand Alert: Everyday Food Holiday Baking Special Issue!

I picked up a copy of the Everyday Food Holiday Baking special issue on Monday. My grandmother and I looked through it together and drooled over the delicious looking offerings. In addition to fantastic looking desserts, there are some good baking tips—pointers on chilling butter, whipping cream, lining cake pans with parchment paper (I’d forgotten the trick of folding a square of parchment so that it could be easily trimmed to fit in the pan, so I’m glad to be reminded of that before the busy holiday baking season).

My grandmother thought the Raspberry Trifle looked really yummy, and was much easier to make than her recipe. I think the Lemon Fig Cake looks like a really unusual dessert for the season. I’m always looking for ways to work healthy, high fiber figs into my recipes. But the one that really jumped out at me was the cover recipe for Chocolate-Peppermint Cake. This just looks fabulously rich, and a perfect dessert for our Christmas Eve dinner. My brother-in-law and his wife will be joining us for Christmas this year, and I know they’ll love it. I just have to be sure to have some whole milk on hand, because my brother-in-law loves rich, moist chocolate cake with a big glass of milk. What better way to celebrate the holidays?

The Everyday Food Holiday Baking issue is on newsstands now and has tons of great ideas, from special treats to give as gifts, tea breads and cookies for a quick snack, home-style desserts for every day, to splurgy special desserts for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’ll be keeping this issue and using it as a reference for future holidays as well.

Everyday Food Recipe: Spinach-and-Cheese Puff

Last weekend we made the Spinach-and-Cheese Puff from the November issue of Everyday Food magazine. It couldn’t be easier, and it’s delicious. A great way to get in a serving of vegetables, and since it uses frozen spinach, the prep is a snap. I highly recommend this side dish, either for a weeknight dinner (it comes together in about 40 minutes), or as an addition to a holiday meal, or dinner for guests. It can even be made ahead and reheated. Give it a try!

Spinach-and-Cheese Puff
recipe from Everyday Food, November 2007

Butter, for baking dish
3 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 ½ cups half-and-half
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 ½ cups coarsely grated Gruyere cheese (about 6 ounces)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a shallow 1 quart baking dish.

In a large bowl, combine spinach, half-and-half, eggs, 1 cup Gruyere, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg; stir to combine. Spread evenly in prepared baking dish, and top with remaining 1/2 cup Gruyere. Bake until set and top is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.

Serves 8

To make ahead: Bake up to 1 day ahead and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature, then cover with foil, and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 20 minutes more.

Photo from Martha Stewart.

Sneak Peek: November Issue of Everyday Food

I received the November issue of Everyday Food and read the whole thing in a single evening. There are some wonderful looking things in this issue that I’m dying to try.

The Flatiron Steak with Arugula and Cauliflower from the Dinner 1-2-3 section would make a great choice, either for family or for company. Alone it’s perfect for those who try to stay away from starches, but it still provides a full meal. With a side of potatoes, it would be an excellent cozy autumn evening dinner.

Onion Soup with Cheese Toasts looks like a super make-ahead that would be perfect in a lunchbox. Since it’s the featured recipe in the Freeze It column, you know it would keep nicely and be easy to heat up in the microwave.

I’ll be digging out my slow cooker to try Slow Cooked Tex-Mex Chicken and Beans. I love meals I can put on to cook and leave so I can get other things done, and this one fits the bill. Plus since it uses a jar of pre-made salsa, it doesn’t require a lot of prep before plugging in the pot.

The Chicken with Lemon Mustard Sauce and Seared Radicchio is a must-try also. Searing radicchio seems like an interesting take on a vegetable that we’re more familiar with as a salad component. I’m always looking for new vegetables to try to keep from getting bored.

My son is a pumpkin fanatic, so I know he’s going to want to make the Chocolate-Glazed Pumpkin Cookies from the Cookie Jar feature. They look nicely cakey and puffy. Since he’s such a fan, I might make the Pumpkin Layer Cake as our contribution to Thanksgiving dinner with the family. With pumpkin pie spice in the batter and in the frosting, it should be warm and fragrant with the scents of fall.

If you’re not a subscriber, by all means pick up a copy of the November Everyday Food when you see it on the newsstand!