Magazine special edition cook-thrus

A three-for-one post!

Once upon a time, I used to love stopping by the magazine rack at the grocery store while shopping, mainly to check out the special editions of cooking glossies. I’ve since given up on that (most of the content these days seems repetitive, at least for the titles on offer at my regular shop), but I now have a small collection of what are essentially mini cookbooks to flip through.

I’m currently updating my cook-thru project page and realized that I never did a proper post about any of these, so here we go….

In 2023 and 2024, I cooked my way through the following three magazine special editions:

Food and Wine 40th Anniversary Special Edition

I seriously did not have a single bad or even blah experience with this cook-thru project. I might not have added every single recipe to my regular rotation — some of them are a little more intensive or a little more expensive than my usual stuff — but I can confidently recommend them all.

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Almost-instant soft serve; recipe by Justin Chapple (2014)

We don’t have an ice cream machine, and frankly we don’t need one. But sometimes a gal gets a little craving, and when that craving strikes it’s really nice to have this fruity, no-churn option to turn to.

Baked goat cheese salad; recipe by Alice Waters (1990)

I do love goat cheese. I kind of thought, “Why bother baking the cheese???” … but actually baking it does bring out an extra depth of flavor as opposed to just plopping it down cold on top of the rest of the salad.

Baltimore-style crab cakes; recipe by Andrew Zimmern (2012)

I’d only ever ordered crab cakes at restaurants before because they seemed so fussy and fry-y (I’m not a huge fan of home frying). These were actually not too intimidating and turned out just as delicious as the ones they serve up at my favorite lunch spot near my old job.

Caramelized black pepper chicken; recipe by Charles Phan (1998)

I now use this recipe as a blueprint for basically any kind of chicken stir-fry (a favorite weekend dinner for my spouse).

Chicken tikka masala; recipe by Grace Parisi (2003)

Makes a good hearty meal in combo with some flatbread or rice and an extra veg or two.

Chickpeas and kale in spicy pomodoro; recipe by Missy Robbins (2017)

My doc told me to eat more fiber, which really means eat more legumes and veg. This is the kind of healthy combo that should be on my plate more often. Plus, it’s incredibly easy.

Crispy okra salad; recipe by Suvir Saran (2006)

I’m one of those folks who gets a little weirded out by the texture of okra; this salad isn’t in the least bit slimy, and really lets the flavor of the okra shine without the distraction of that funky texture.

Farro and green olive salad; recipe by Heidi Swanson (2013)

Now in my regular rotation of whole grain salads! If you decide to try it, just do yourself a favor and get the really good olives for this one.

Garlicky braised lamb shanks with sweet peppers; recipe by Jeremiah Tower (1986)

They’re not kidding; this one is GARLICKY. I mean, wow, I’ve certainly been known to toss in a little extra garlic now and then but this crept right up to the line even for me.

Pasta with sausage, mustard, and basil; recipe by Nigel Slater (2002)

Here’s another example of a recipe that seems almost deceptively simple but results in a super flavorful finished dish. I’ve got it bookmarked.

Poulet au vinaigre; recipe by Paul Bocuse (1980)

A little too fancy for me to want to reach for this recipe on the reg, but I can see why the editors of the magazine ranked it among their favorites.

Soboro donburi; recipe by Elizabeth Andoh (1981)

This is a wonderful back pocket recipe for meal prep; it’s unfussy yet flavorful and is easy enough to pack up for a work lunch. I’d say I make it every other month or so.

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I think these are some other recipes from this magazine that could cross my kitchen counters in the future:

• Kimchi creamed collard greens; recipe by Hugh Acheson (2011)
• Sicilian-style swordfish; recipe by Marcella Hazan (1993)
• Ultimate chocolate mousse; recipe by Craig Claiborne (1984)
• Vegetable hot-and-sour soup; recipe by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo (1996)

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Bon Appétit and Gourmet Special Edition: Essential Breads

I’ve never been much of a baker, but have always wanted to be able to make bread. Like many people, I experimented a bit with sourdough during the early months of the pandemic; this went nowhere as a hobby for me personally, but my desire to bake a real good loaf of bread remains. I only tried a few recipes out of this magazine, mainly because the very first recipe on my list took me three tries to get an even halfway acceptable product, and I had to overcome some lingering frustration over that.

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Barbari bread

I actually ended up making half size loaves because our pizza stone wasn’t quite large enough for full size, but I don’t think it made a major difference. I might actually attempt to remake this recipe again in the future.

Classic focaccia

Now, I WILL attempt to remake the focaccia again in the future. It was fairly straightforward and resulted in a genuinely delicious big old slab of bread.

Milk bread

This is that aforementioned bread that took me three tries. Even my final attempt didn’t have quite the right crumb texture — it was more like a cake-ish brioche than a real fluffy milk bread — but I opted for calling it good enough and moving on.

Pão de queijo

This was my first experience working with tapioca flour. The buns turned out a little flatter than would be ideal, but I thought the texture was interesting and they tasted fine, too.

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I also tried the following recipes but couldn’t really get them to work for me, and after that first frustrating experience, well, I decided not to torture myself any more with trying to make them happen:

• Anadama bread
• Garlic-herb naan

BUT — that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t give these recipes a try if you like the sound of them!

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If I were to build up the courage to return to this special edition again, I think these are some other recipes that’d be worth trying:

• Cheesy sausage and sage stuffing
• Johnnycake bread
• Maple oatmeal sandwich bread
• Oat and buckwheat pancakes
• Orange pumpkin cloverleafs
• Pan de bono
• Parmesan bread pudding with broccoli rabe and pancetta
• Pletzel
• Whole wheat dinner rolls
• Zucchini cornbread

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Bon Appétit and Gourmet Special Edition: Holiday Entertaining

We don’t typically host big holiday gatherings, but I happen to like festive, feast-y foods. I decided not to wait until the frankly super unlikely event of us hosting a fancy dinner party to tackle these new recipes — and hey, who says the only time a pumpkin pie can grace your table is Thanksgiving?

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Butternut squash soup with apples and bacon

The soup itself is fairly straightforward and tasty on its own, but the combo of apples and bacon really elevates it to the next level.

Pear upside-down cake

I’ve mentioned before that baking isn’t usually my thing, so I was a little intimidated about trying this cake. It looks fancy! But don’t let that fool you; it’s actually not too difficult to make. I made it even easier and possibly even a tiny bit tastier by using some honey instead of making a syrup to caramelize for the topping.

Pumpkin mascarpone pie

Pumpkin pie is my fav. This one is a little extra special because of the addition of mascarpone, a type of soft cream cheese, in both the pie filling and the whipped topping.

Warm cauliflower and herbed barley salad

I’ve been on a real whole grain salads kick lately, and this recipe really scratched that itch. Instant sticky note bookmark.

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I also tried the following recipes and and enjoyed eating them, but didn’t get very good photos:

• Charred eggplant and tahini spread
• Twice-baked sweet potatoes with bacon-sesame brittle

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Next time we pull out this special edition, I think these are some other recipes that’d be worth trying:

• Butternut, ricotta, and sage crostini
• Duck confit with spicy pickled raisins
• Herbed feta dip
• Raspberry cream cheese brownies
• Sweet potato and caramelized onion hash with baked eggs
• Watercress velouté

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I’m currently ever-so-slowly working my way through three more magazine special editions, this time from Cook’s Illustrated.

Do you have any favorite recipes from Food and Wine, Bon Appétit, Gourmet (RIP), or any others? Or do you have any recommendations based on the above?