End of an Era

How ironic that in the same week I profess my devotion to my “triumvirate”: Gourmet, Food & Wine, and Bon Appetit, that the former ends its reign as the premier and original foodie resource. Today, Conde Nast publishing announced that Gourmet magazine will end publication, probably with the November issue this year. I can’t imagine the cooking world without it.

I remember my mother subscribed to Gourmet in the 70s. She saved every issue. It taught her how to sauté mushrooms properly (I remember it being my job when she had a dinner party to stand there stirring the mushrooms in the pan, adding a bit of Marsala when they were nicely browned), make homemade lemonade, real Irish stew, and Beef Wellington (okay, that was a very emotional and trying experience, but damn if my mom didn’t pull it off.) I have photocopies of clippings from her treasured issues.

Gourmet has always set itself apart from all the other cooking publications out there because it is so literary, and so visually artistic. It covered a niche that no other magazine covers. As someone who loves not only food, but writing, I see the loss of Gourmet each month as a gaping hole.

Worst of all is to lose Ruth Reichl, editor in chief, whose every book I have devoured, and whose letter from the editor is the only magazine’s I EVER bother to read. She is amazing, funny, charming, and crazy-knowledgeable.

Gourmet has led the way in educating its readers about the politics of food, the international implications of how we eat, and the global impact of sustainable methods. I can’t imagine the food industry without it.

Streamlining

I’ve written about how smitten I am with my cooking mags each month. I’ll confess, though: I set totally unachievable goals for myself about what recipes I will make. I tag at least 20, total, in a month, and I probably actually make only 4 in that time, between making old and new recipes from cookbooks, past clippings, plus meals concocted with no recipe at all. Still, each month, one of my routines is to go through the month’s magazines, cut out the recipes I still like the looks of, and file the potentials into my three-ring binder, which is getting quite over-stuffed, to tell the truth. I am falling behind!

But I realized that there are certain go-to recipes that I frequently end-up making that really simplify the week because they require very little thought. I should make them more often, and this fall and winter, I intend to do just that. Here are a few:

Chicken soup. Not only does this produce the tastiest broth with the least sodium which I can use in lots of other recipes (I never have enough broth on hand), it gives us a great chicken noodle soup, one of my daughter’s favorites, and leftover chicken meat to use in another recipe. To boot, this is a very economical dish. Using an $8 organic chicken, some onions, celery, carrots, and seasoning , I get soup for dinner one night (if you add half a box of pasta); chicken meat for burritos, chicken salad, a casserole, panini, or whatever another night; and at least 4 cups of leftover broth for use in risottos, rice, casseroles. Very smart. I need to be making chicken soup at least once every other week.

Tomato sauce and Meatballs. These are in my blood. I use my mother’s time-honored beef recipe, except with beef-veal-pork mix. I can almost make them in my sleep. I make a double recipe, baking them in the oven instead of frying them, and putting them in the sauce. I should keep these in the freezer at all times. They are good enough for company, fast enough for a quick week-night dinner, and comforting enough for a relaxing weekend.

Spaghetti with Oil and Garlic, or Spaghetti Carbonara. My kids are crazy about both of these dishes. I can make the sauce in the time the pasta cooks, so they are great for time-crunch weekdays. I always have the ingredients on hand. Simple, simple, simple. Add a little salad or some broccoli, and it’s a complete meal. Done.

If I consistently make those recipes once or twice each month, I will have provided meals for about 8 days, if you include the chicken leftovers. That’s ¼th of the month covered, without a lot of thought, leaving my mind free to peruse and plan from this month’s new magazine recipes!

A New Month of Recipes in my Mailbox

It’s magazine fundraiser time at my daughter’s middle school, which is never a problem in this house because I love my cooking magazines. I always subscribe to Food & Wine, Gourmet, and Bon Appetit. Occasionally I foray into Cooks Illustrated, Cooking Light, Cucina Italiana, or another foodie mag, but the first three are my triumvirate. Each has its own personality, and I anticipate their arrivals. I can’t claim to make a ton of the recipes from all three every month, but I pour through them, claiming for myself a few quiet minutes of indulgence and inspiration.

First I page through the whole magazine, getting a lay of the land, dog-earring what merits further attention. Then, over the next weeks, I read the articles that appeal to me more carefully and absorb the details. Some months, one book will have twenty dog-ears, and another might not have any.

This month, Food & Wine especially grabbed my interest and set my cooking goals for the month. I couldn’t wait to dive in to the wine and food pairing guide, so the first recipe I tried was Syrah-Braised Short Ribs, p. 32. Short ribs are a big family favorite in this house. There are two recipes I usually make, my grandmother’s that I grew up with, and a really lush, complex one from a cooking magazine a few years ago. But I couldn’t wait to try this month’s F&W version because it looked incredibly simple, in trim one-paragraph format, with a tempting photo of them served over soft polenta.

The recipe called for simply seasoning the beef, frying up some bacon, browning the ribs, sauting onion, carrot and celery, combining everything with a lot of wine and some beef broth, and then putting it in the oven for 4 hours, letting it tenderize and thicken into a warm comforting meal. I actually did all the active prep in the exact 30 minutes the recipe advertised! I didn't have a bottle of Syrah, so I used a nice Chianti. And I will have to say, the resulting dish was every bit as good as my more time-consuming, ingredient-plentiful other two recipes! A big hit. And I bet you could use the same recipe and just leave it all in a slow-cooker, too.

The polenta I made was great, too, using a recipe from Tyler Florence’s Real Kitchen (see below). Chicken broth flavors the dish instead of water, so I used the homemade broth left from my chicken soup dinner the night before. I should make polenta more often; I thought it was like a corny substitute for mashed potatoes, a nice texture against the super-tender meat. Plus, it takes less time to make, which is always a plus.

Soft Polenta with Parmesan and Black Pepper from Tyler Florence
(you could cut this in half: it made way too much for four people)
In a large pot, boil 4 qts. chicken stock and 1 tsp. sea salt. Gradually whisk in 2 cups polenta or yellow corn meal. Keep whisking! Lower the heat, and continue to whisk for 20 minutes until smooth and thick. Add 1/3 cup heavy cream and 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, and stir for 10 more minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and 1 1/2 tsp. black pepper, and serve.

Next on my list from this month's Food & Wine are gnocchi, beet risotto, pork loin roast, soy-milk rice pudding, salmon with preserved lemons, Nutella-swirl pound cake..... so many recipes, so little time.