Goodbye Gourmet, Hello Bon Appétit

At a recent panel discussion on food writing, the moderator implied that we were all in deep mourning for the passing of Gourmet magazine. Being the contrarian that she is, Julie Powell (author of Julie & Julia and the newly released Cleaving,) brought us back to earth by pointing out that Gourmet could, at times, seem snooty and out of touch with it's modern audience. I love the two viewpoints - on one hand we want to idolize the institution that Gourmet had become, on the other, it was just a magazine - and one that catered to the privileged epicurean, or those aspiring to be.

My view on Gourmet runs the full spectrum. I will miss the lovely covers and photography by Romulo Yanes and many talented contributors. I will miss Ruth Reichl's editorial influence - if anyone straddles the worlds of the caviar-and-champagne set and the cash-strapped home cook, it's her. I will miss the recipes. I won't miss the parts I tended to skip over anyway - travel stories about epicurean vacations at spas and resorts so far out of my price range as to be in the realm of fantasy. Or front-of-the-book items like crystal paperweights that you could use as a fancy fruit bowl - for only $500 dollars.

I've still got subscriptions to Saveur and Cook's Illustrated to fill some of my cooking magazine needs. And in place of my Gourmet subscription, I am now receiving Bon Appétit. Thank you, Condé Nast.

While I wanted to hate it, I tried to keep an open mind when the first issue arrived. I picked apart the design and photography immediately. I liked some of the images, but some I found oddly old-fashioned, with weird, spotty lighting and heavy shadows. I suppose food photography is somewhat like fashion - what was old is new again. Open mind, open mind, I reminded myself.

A food magazine is many things, but superficially, it is a source for new recipes. Maybe I'm not the average reader, but I expect the recipes arriving on a monthly basis to my mailbox to be carefully written, use quality products (no can o' soup sauces,) and be well-tested for home cooking, as well as beautifully photographed and presented. A tall order indeed. So I set about to make the first recipe from Bon Appétit with a critical mindset. I decided to make one of the desserts - Apple and Maple Bread Pudding. It was a huge hit. I brought it to Christmas dinner along with a good vanilla ice cream and it disappeared quickly. The cousins raved. The uncles came back for seconds. I stashed away a small portion to have for myself later.

As far as the recipe goes, I'd say the only flaw was that I had difficulty getting the apples to a "deep golden." They were starting to get mushy before browning, so I divided them into two fry pans and had better luck. For the finished product it didn't seem to matter. Overall, it was a successful recipe.

My verdict: I will definitely give Bon Appétit a chance. I'll need to try more of the recipes and get to know the writers and the regular columns. I'm going to miss Gourmet. No doubt. But I can't wait to see what Ruth Reichl and the gang do next. There's so much going on in the food world these days, I'm sure whatever it is will be exciting.  

My version of the Bon Appétit bread pudding to come in the next post.

Chili Five-O - Hawaiian Heat

OMG. It finally happened! My third chili cook-off and for the first time - a big fat win! Not third, not second, but first place! What happened? Did I get better at making chili? Did I think more positively? Did I have a better sign? I'm not sure, but whatever it was, it worked!

In the planning stages, I had a few different ideas. One was to replicate a chili a friend made years ago for our annual New Year's Day chili party. It was so simple - chunks of pork simmered in a sauce of puréed tomatoes and chipotle chilies - and totally kick-ass. Every time I thought about it, I was reminded of my favorite tacos al Pastor, which combine pork and chili heat with sweet grilled pineapple. I was also interested in Texas-style chili, which gets back to basics by forgoing the beans entirely. After much internal debate, I decided to do a combination of beef chuck and pork shoulder for the meat, and grilled fresh pineapple for the sweet. My final inspired idea was to add bacon, which is of course, rather obvious, but undeniably tasty.

The judges were skeptical about my grilled pineapple angle - and with good reason. Too much sweetness would kill what should be a savory, spicy mouthful. These were my thoughts, too, so I used restraint - and a whole lotta spice. For the 12 pounds of meat (to have enough chili for the sold-out Takedown without adding beans or extra veggies) I used one fresh pineapple. After giving it a good char on the grill, I blended part of it with the chipotle chilies and diced the rest into small pieces. I added the pineapple slowly, tasting along the way for spice to sweet ratio. The recipe below is my best guess at quantities for a single pot of chili.

My fellow competitors' chilis at the Takedown were all over the map. My nearest neighbors in the chow-line offered up a veggie pumpkin-mole chili with toasted, spiced pecans and cheddar cheese and a pulled pork chili served over an arepa and topped with coleslaw. Nice folks, darn good chili, and the legendary Matt Timms. What a nice way to spend the afternoon.

(Award-winning!) Chili Five-O, Hawaiian Heat

Make this a day or two before you want to serve it for best flavor. Also, if you want to use the whole pineapple, just increase the spices for the rub. It's delicious fresh off the grill, or you could use it in a salsa or sandwich. I wonder how chili-rubbed grilled pineapple would taste over chocolate ice cream?! Yum.

For the pineapple:

1/4 fresh pineapple, cored and cut into spears

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon red chili flakes

For the chili:

1/4 lb thick-cut bacon, diced

3-4 lbs beef chuck roast, coarsely ground or cut into small cubes

1-2 lbs pork shoulder (or loin, if you can't get a small amount of shoulder)

1 large onion, diced

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons ancho chili powder

4 teaspoons oregano

4 teaspoons ground cumin

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 of a small (7 oz.) can of chipotle chilies in adobo, including sauce

1 24 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon diced pickled jalapeño

1 tablespoon liquid from picked jalapeño

Optional condiments:
grated sharp white cheddar cheese
finely diced white onion
fresh cilantro leaves

Grilling the pineapple:

Start a charcoal grill for high heat grilling. Toss the pineapple spears with the chili powder, cayenne and red pepper flakes. Lightly oil the grate. Put on the spears and grill until slightly charred on all sides about 6-8 minutes total. Set aside.

For the chili:

In a large, heavy bottomed pot, cook the bacon over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels and set aside. Pour off and reserve all but about 1 tablespoon of bacon fat from the pot and increase heat to high. Working in batches, add just enough meat to the pan to cover the bottom without crowding. Cook until browned, 4-5 minutes per batch. Add bacon fat or vegetable oil between batches if necessary.

Set aside cooked meat and add enough bacon fat or vegetable oil to the pan to have about 1 tablespoon. Reduce heat to medium-high and add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally until beginning to soften, about 4-5 minutes. Add tomato paste, oregano, cumin, paprika and cayenne and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Purée the chipotle chilies with adobo sauce and 1/3 of a spear of grilled pineapple in a food processor. Add this to the pot, along with the bacon, meat, diced tomatoes, pickled jalapeños and juice, and 4 cups of water. Dice the remaining pineapple and add to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduced heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally for 2 hours or until the meat is tender.

Cool and refrigerate overnight. Reheat over medium heat. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Serve with grated sharp white cheddar, diced white onions and fresh cilantro.

Other posts about the Chili Takedown:
Edible Manhattan
Metromix
Chili Takedown - official site
Amateur Foodie Adventures