Question of the (Insert Preferred Time Period Here)

So, next weekend Toast, Fridge, Chemist and I are going to one of the last games at Yankee Stadium. We had originally tried to gets tickets to an Angels game at said venue as one of these things is not like the others (DC is an Angels fan), but we waited too long and the tickets were prohibitively expensive. So we're going next Sunday to see the Bronx Bombers play the fucking Devil Rays.

But first the Chemist will be visiting the Shire for a slumber party. To commemorate the event, I'm going to make my monthly Bon Appétit meal the night that he's here. I usually give Toast the honors, but tonight, my dear husband's readers, I'm letting you pick the Bon Appétit meal that I make for our guest(s). Here are the options...

1. Bigoli with Onion-Anchovy Sauce
2. Green Lentil Salad with Bacon and Ham
3. Baked Fish with Thai Lemon-Mint Sauce
4. Semolina Gnocchi with Oxtail Ragu
5. Mac and Cheese with Pancetta
6. Angus Meatloaf with Crushed Yukon Gold Potatoes and Bibb Salad
7. Pork Char Siu with Steamed Chinese Buns
8. Slow-Cooked Brisket Sandwiches with Blue (sic) Cheese Coleslaw

There are only two recipes that I was able to link from epicurious.com, but the others are relatively straight-forward.

Fridge, you're welcome to come up, too. Whether or not you spend the night is your choice. We've got an inflatable mattress if you want to crash.

Everybody gets one vote, except for Tart, who gets two because she knows the subject matter so well.

Bon Appetit Meal, June '08

The meal Toast picked for this month was a wonderful combination of tastes and textures.

Farfalle with Chicken, Tomatoes, Carmelized Onions and Goat Cheese
4 to 6 servings

This pasta is loaded with appealing flavors: sweet onions and tomatoes, tangy goat cheese, earthy spinach.

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large red onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
8 ounces farfalle
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
6 heirloom tomatoes, cored, chopped (about 5 cups)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken (from 1/2 rotisserie chicken)
1/2 cup thinly sliced basil leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram
3 cups baby spinach
3 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions; sprinkle with salt and cook until beginning to brown, stirring often, about 8 minutes [probably actually went about twice that long]. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in vinegar and sugar; cook until onions are browned, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Transfer carmelized onions to bowl; reserve skillet.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain.

Add wine to reserved skillet. Boil until reduced to 1/2 cup, 3 minutes. Add pasta, onions, broth, and next 4 ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Stir over medium heat to warm through, about 3 minutes.

Divide spinach among plates. Spoon pasta over spinach. Top with crumbled goat cheese.

This was a nice recipe. It was easy, but the prep work took a while - that's a lot of onion and tomato chopping. I used a chardonnay as it was the only white I had on hand and I used on-the-vine tomatoes instead of heirloom (Dude, heirloom tomatoes are expensive!). It turned out just fine with these two alterations.

The flavors were very fresh and light. You can easily get away with adding more chicken. That would only be a benefit. I used 4 ounces of goat cheese instead of three and probably could've done with even more. Mmm, goat cheese.

This recipe makes a lot of food. I did the full boat as we like leftovers in this family. Well, Toast had a helping and a half for dinner, I had one helping for dinner, then we still had 3 lunches from it (1 large one for Toast, two smaller for me).

All in all, a very good choice. Let me know if you try it and what you think.

Bon Appétit Meal, May '08

Oh, Bon Appétit, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height that my tongue can taste and my stomach can stretch.

Truly, I have been a HUGE fan of BA for years, nay decades, now. I have read all the others, the Cooking Light's, the Gourmet's, the Food and Wine's. None can compare. It's their adventurous yet approachable recipes combined with wonderful asides covering spirits, travel and gadgets that make it a perfect foodie magazine.

As long as Toast and I have been together, we've had a tradition where I'll read each month's edition, dog-ear the recipes that I'd like to make and then let him pick out his favorite. Some have been great, some became semi-regular stars on the menu, others too labor-intensive or just not our cup of tea, but it's always interesting.

Thus starts the BA Meal of the Month! I hope you enjoy it.

The recipe chosen from the May '08 edition was Carne Asada (I can't help but think of that Taco Bell commercial with the lions saying, "Carrrrrrne asada") with Salsa Mexicana. Please note that everything in brackets "[]" are my comments. Also know that whenever I do a recipe for the first time, I follow it by the book. I'll let you know afterwards if I'd make any alterations.

Carne Asada
6 to 8 servings [halves perfectly]

Arrachera (skirt steak) is one of the most popular grilled meats in the Yucatán - served sizzling hot off the steel-drum grills of street vendors and at restaurants like La Parrilla in Cancún. [Did you know that skirt steak is cow diaphragm?]

8 poblano chiles
2 bunches green onions (about 12), dark green tops trimmed
2 pounds skirt steak, cut crosswise into 6-inch-wide pieces
4 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse kosher salt
Corn or flour tortillas
2 avocados, peeled, pitted, sliced
Lime wedges
Salsa Mexicana (see recipe to follow)

Prepare barbecue (high heat). Grill chiles and onions until charred all over, about 3 minutes for onions and 5 minutes for chiles. [Toast grilled these for the stated times and they weren't nearly charred enough. I found that you can't peel them very well unless they're charred, so use your judgment.] Transfer onions to plate; tent with foil. Transfer chiles to large bowl; cover with plastic and let stand 15 minutes. Peel and seed; cut into 1-inch-wide strips. Transfer to plate; tent with foil.

Rub steak with garlic; sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Grill until cooked to desired doneness, about 3 minutes per side for medium. Transfer to work surface; cool 5 minutes. Grill tortillas until warm and slightly charred, about 10 seconds per side. Cut steak crosswise into strips; transfer to plate.

Serve steak with tortillas, chiles, green onions, avocado slices, lime wedges and Salsa Mexicana.

Salsa Mexicana
Makes about 1½ cups [again, halves perfectly, although this is so good, you could have it with tortilla chips later]

12 ounces tomatoes (about 2 medium), cut into ¼-inch cubes
1 medium white onion (about 7 ounces), cut into ¼-inch cubes
2 to 8 serrano or jalapeño chiles, chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Coarse kosher salt

Combine first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Season to taste with coarse salt. Do Ahead Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

This recipe was awesome! It was flavorful and fresh. I had never had carne asada before and Toast had never had it with tortillas, but we both thoroughly enjoyed it. Besides the few notes in the recipe, it's easy to follow and everything came out great. I tend to not read recipes all the way through before I make them (character flaw), so I didn't know why we were cutting the meat into 6" pieces, but it worked out in the end. I wouldn't make any alterations, although Toast thought the meat should have been "zingier".