Culinary Reads

As most of you can probably tell by now, I have no problem with using recipes. As much as I love creating my own dishes and experimenting with new ideas, I sometimes still turn to my library of books stocked full of old time goodies and trendy new creations.  I love my cookbooks. I love reading my cooking magazines and anxiously await their arrival each month. I cut out articles on products and techniques whenever I find them helpful. And I feel no shame. This is how I learn, this is how I get ideas, this is where I start. 

I also love taking a recipe and altering it until it works for me and my taste buds. Maybe the recipe calls for tarragon, but I am not feeling it at the moment and decide to go with another herb. If the results impress me the change goes into my cookbook. Before long, I have a recipe that originated from a book but has so many edits it’s no longer the same idea. This is the best part about cooking and baking. There are no rules. You can add ingredients, omit ingredients, bake, grill, roast, sauté or fry. As long as you are happy with the final outcome then life is good. Sometimes my adjustments create disasters, other times I even impress myself with the results. I just have fun with it and if something doesn’t turn out then I get to try again. 

I always enjoy coming up with new recipes and starting completely from scratch with nothing but a blank slate and a bright idea; there is nothing better than seeing your very own concoction materialize and then your loved ones truly enjoying it. But on days where the inspiration for something never done before just isn’t coming through, there is nothing wrong with taking advice and pointers from the culinary greats out there.  

With that in mind, I wanted to share with you my four favorite go to culinary magazines: Fine Cooking, Food and Wine, Cook's Illustrated and Bon Appetit. Each of these publications has something different to offer and has provided me with inspiration and education throughout my cooking escapades. 

Fine Cooking: I fell in love with Fine Cooking when my sister Erica gave me a subscription as a birthday present. It is a no frills publication that sports rich photographs (for every single recipe printed) and helpful, easy to understand techniques. Each edition has a specific focus that teaches you all you could ever want to know about a particular in season ingredient or type of dish. Fine Cooking, in my opinion, is one of the best learning magazine available today. It goes beyond the idea of a recipe and teaches the reasoning behind various methods. I also appreciate the insight it provides on cooking tools and gadgets, “The Reading List” (the latest food must reads), helpful tips from readers, as well as nutrition facts for all of the issue’s recipes - something that cannot be underestimated when picking healthy options for yourself and your family. This magazine has been one of my most valued learning tools and one that I will always turn to for the latest ideas and inspiration.

Food and Wine: How could you ever go wrong? The name alone gives enough promise to guarantee this magazine will not lead you astray. Nothing goes better together than these two ideas and this magazine is as diverse and in-depth as the food and wine within it. Food and Wine is a versatile publication that can be appreciated by almost anyone. It contains detailed articles that take you on a trip around the world sampling fine cuisine and exquisite wines; not to mention the recipes that can make your mouth water with just once glance . The articles vary from wine pairings to entertaining guests to stylish dishes and stemware to up and coming restaurants to life on a cattle ranch.  If you are looking to go beyond the recipes and discover the truth about food and wine from start to end and everything that falls in between, this is the magazine for you. It makes a great read anytime, anywhere.

Cook’s Illustrated: Cook’s Illustrated takes us back to the basics. It provides wonderful recipes both new and old and step by step instructions (with sketches!) on how to create these masterpieces. It is a great publication for when you are not quite sure you can take on a particular dish. With Cook’s Illustrated, you can conquer any meal be it new or old. It does more than just teach you how to make a particular item; it truly teaches you how to cook. And if that is not enough, at the bottom of each page the editors provide a helpful hint about either an ingredient or a method that could be used in that recipe; they never fail, I promise. I am also a huge fan of their line of cookbooks including Baking Illustrated and their entire line of “Best” cookbooks; true staples for any chef.

Bon Appetit: Bon Appetit is a vibrant magazine full of personal articles about foodies across the country, travel tips, drinks, restaurants, kitchen designs and shopping lists. I love the “Dear BA Foodies” section which provides wonderful answers to the questions you’ve been thinking, but just haven’t found the person to ask. An abundant number of recipes are spread throughout, between stimulating articles and entertaining stories of relatable food lovers. This magazine is one where you never know what you are going to find and it never disappoints. It has come to the rescue many times when I needed something new to wow my guests. Last winter, I made a meatball recipe from a past issues and to this day I still get rave reviews. From sandwiches, to pasta dishes, snacks, meats, fish, vegetables, desserts, drinks and more, Bon Appetit can provide and it will leave a lasting impression.

All four of these publications are essential to my everyday cooking. Whether it is for a special occasion, or just a Tuesday night, a party of 20 or a dinner for 2, these magazines have everything you need. I hope you come to love them as much as I do. Like I've said before, there is nothing wrong with taking pointers from the greats out there, and these four surely are the greats. 

Chicken and Shiitake Dumplings

Weekends are my time for trying new and adventurous ideas. With no time constraints, (or at least more time than the work week provides) I am able to take on labor intensive and complex recipes. This weekend I took on the challenge of making home-made Chinese dumplings. Seeing how I had never attempted this before, I was a little apprehensive, but with a reliable recipe from Fine Cooking and Thy Tran, a husband who will eat mostly anything, and faith in my own abilities, I was ready to test my limits and go outside my comfort zone.


The first task to accomplish was making my dough. I started off by pouring a cup and a half of all purpose flour on the counter top. After forming a deep well in the middle, I added ½ a cup of cold water. Slowly and carefully, I began to mix in the flour from the walls of my well until the mixture formed a ball of dough. At this point, it was time to begin kneading. I did this for several minutes until the dough was elastic. I cut the dough in half and into two logs, dusted with flour and covered for 30 minutes.

While the dough was resting, I made my dumpling filling. With endless options, I decided to go with a chicken and Shiitake filling. This recipe included roasted chicken, Shiitake mushrooms, spinach, scallions, fresh ginger, soy sauce and fresh black pepper. I started off with shredding the chicken into a medium size bowl. Next I cleaned the Shiitake mushrooms, removed the stems and finely chopped the mushroom caps, before adding to the chicken. I quickly wilted down 6 oz of spinach in a skillet with a little water and just a touch of sugar. After squeezing out the excess moisture, I chopped the spinach and added it to the bowl. Next was the fresh ginger – my favorite ingredient of the whole dish. Never use a substitute for fresh ginger. The quality and flavor cannot be replicated and in all honesty it is not too difficult to do yourself. After removing the skin from the ginger root, I grated about 2 tablespoons worth of ginger and added that to the bowl. Lastly, I mixed in a bit of soy sauce and freshly cracked black pepper before stirring all together. Voila – the filling was done!

With the filling complete, I was able to focus my attention entirely on the shaping of the dumplings. If you have not attempted this before, be aware that this is a long and tedious process for a first timer, but entirely worth the effort in the end. I started by cutting my dough into 36 even pieces. I covered the pieces I was not using with a bit of flour and under a clean kitchen cloth to avoid over drying. With a rolling pin, I began to gently roll each piece of dough into a 3 inch circle. It is important to be as delicate as possible with the dough to avoid a tear and to make your life easier when you begin the filling and folding. Once all the dough is rolled out, the fun begins! Start with scooping about a teaspoon or so of filling onto each individual piece. You want to be careful not to overfill the dumpling or else it will be very difficult to close and you could end up tearing the dough, complicating the cooking process. Once you have added the filling, you will want to seal it closed by pinching and folding one side of the dumpling against the other. This will created a pleated look along the top, with the bulk of the dumpling on the bottom. Continue with this process until all of the dumplings have been formed.

After all of those steps are complete, it is finally time to cook the dumplings. I chose to pan-fry my dumplings in order to create a little crunch. To do so, heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Once the oil is hot, add the dumplings and cook for a few minutes, until the undersides are crisp and brown. Pour in ½ a cup of water, cover the pan and boil for a few more minutes. This allows the entire dumpling, filling and top, to cook through until silky and smooth. Once cooked, remove the lid but allow to cook for about 2 more minutes so that the dumplings can dry and crisp up. Finally, remove the dumplings from the pan and begin plating!

Before serving, I quickly whipped up one of Thy Tran’s soy dipping sauces. The recipe called for 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon of sugar, ½ teaspoon of sesame oil and 1 chopped scallion. I combined all ingredients and stirred together.

The dumplings were great! I was pleased with the overall texture and the flavor of the filling was exactly what I was hoping for. Although this was a time intensive process, the results were well worth it - my husband has already requested them as appetizers for football weekends! I am glad I took on this challenge and was able to learn a new and fun technique. I know that I will make these over and over again, but for now only on the weekends!