All posts tagged: Bon Appetit Magazine

BA’s Best Bread – A step by step review

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  I’m not normally a person who obsesses over things. But when I received a copy of the February issue of Bon Appetit in the mail, I couldn’t stop obsessing over the cover photo. In the photo was the darkest, crustiest loaf of homemade bread, nestled in the cast iron pot it was baked in and the article inside promised a homemade bread that would rival those found in professional bakeries. The recipe was daunting. In fact, it was a recipe that would fill a weekend.  I’m more of a mix-up-a-batch-of no-knead bread kind of woman, not a woman who spends an entire weekend kneading dough. But as the months went on, I couldn’t quit this bread. The magazine kept appearing on my desk, its cover photo beckoning to me.  Once it landed on my kitchen counter, I knew there was no point in resisting anymore. So, finally, a couple of weekends ago, I tried it. The bread was high maintenance–just as I knew it would be. It stretched the boundaries of what I thought bread …

The $20 Dollar Dinner Party: Pork Ragú with Creamy Polenta

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Having friends join us for dinner in our home is one of the most fun and positive things we can do with our weekend. Sure, we could go out to dinner, there are more than enough amazing restaurants in Las Vegas to try, but there’s just something special about sharing a meal at home. Personally, I love having dinner parties. If I could, I would have a dinner party every single weekend! This particular weekend, I had a dilemma. I had a nearly empty checking account and four people coming over for dinner. The solution to my dilemma was a recipe for Pork Ragú with Polenta from the March issue of Bon Appetít Magazine. When Bon Appetít arrives in my mailbox, I get as excited as a kid with a Christmas catalog–eagerly dashing away with it and dreaming of all the scrumptious recipes I can make. When I saw this recipe, it lived in the back of my mind for several weeks, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to make it. Living in the West, I learned to cook pork shoulder using Mexican …

The Best Vanilla Tapioca Pudding

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This was supposed to be a recipe for scones. I had all of the right ingredients: the good organic milk, the heavy cream, fresh blueberries, buttermilk and sweet cream butter. In case you’re curious, I had planned to make either this beauty from Tartine or this one from Sally’s Baking Addiction.  I couldn’t go wrong with either one. Bright and early Saturday morning, I stood in front of the refrigerator and the urge to bake just left me. We both had a laundry list of chores for the day–I was still on my wild decluttering tear (still am!) and The Husband had his own list of honey-do’s to accomplish. Hauling out flour and grating butter was a little more than I could fathom so I declared scones a Sunday project because time was ticking and there is no shorter day of the week than Saturday…Sunday being a very close second. Sunday morning came and went and I still hadn’t made the scones. To me, Sunday breakfast requires bacon and eggs, toast and orange juice (I’ve never been able to get …

Thanksgiving Dinner 2014: Top 5 Things I Learned in the Kitchen

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Well, Thanksgiving 2014 has come and gone and I hope your holiday was as wonderful as you’d hoped it would be. Mine was fantastic! We had a group of about 10 people for dinner and more friends came later on for drinks and dessert. I can’t even believe that it’s already December, but before we hurl ourselves full force into Christmas mode, I wanted to share 5 things that I learned from this year’s Thanksgiving dinner. 1. Turkey Technique 101. There’s a good way and there’s an even better way. I made two turkeys this year and both employed techniques that I hadn’t used before.  I had intended to make two small  12-14 pound turkeys using the Spatchcocked Turkey with Anise and Orange recipe on the November cover of Bon Appétit Magazine. But, being thrifty, I really tried to get a deal on those two turkeys without having to drive all over town. Turns out this is an impossibility. Yes, you can get great deals on turkeys, but you will have to drive all over town. There’s a long and boring story of …