Cuisine at home March/April 2020

I consider myself very lucky to do this job. I spend my days researching food topics, developing recipes, tasting all the food that comes out of the test kitchens, preparing food for photography, then writing all about it. And, I get to work with extremely creative people. It’s pretty appealing work but it does have its drawbacks. Since we’re typically producing magazines “out of season,” it can be difficult to find ingredients we need for a story. For instance, this spring issue we're doing an artichoke article. Try locating fresh baby artichokes in Iowa in December when you have a deadline looming. But John persevered and found some. John also created the fabulous salmon dinner especially designed with Easter in mind. This menu screams spring: salmon fillets served with a crab…

THE BUZZ | WHAT’S YOUR MUST-HAVE COOKING INGREDIENT? Take a look in your fridge or pantry. Is there an ingredient that’s ALWAYS there, that somehow ends up in most of your cooking, that you’d feel lost without? From some of his earliest memories, and even this very morning, John has had peanut butter on the brain. Haley at one point had four jars of mayonnaise in her fridge. And Amanda loves lemons, but hides them from her mom, who hates lemon in savory dishes, and can sniff out the slightest bit. Do you have a must-have ingredient? Let us know what your favorites are on Facebook or Instagram by using the hashtag #musthaveit and don’t forget to tag us @cuisineathome. WHAT’S TRENDING AT CUISINE LET’S MAKE A MEAL So, you have and in your fridge…

BREAD BLISS I love baking bread in my cast-iron cookware, but transferring the dough into the hot Dutch oven without burning my hands is tricky. To solve this, I place the dough on my cast-iron pizza pan. (TK note: we used a baking stone.) I cover the bread with the Dutch oven and bake, uncovering for the last 15 minutes. The bread bakes just like being in a Dutch oven, coming out perfectly, without burned hands. DENNIS KIHLSTROM ELROY, AZ HANDY TIMESAVERS WARM UP Keeping vegetables hot at the table used to be a problem, but not anymore — now I heat the serving bowl. Just add boiling water to the dish, let it stand a few minutes until it’s hot, then discard the water, dry it, and add the food to the warmed dish. MICHAEL…

COMPLETE PROTEIN PASTA The noodles made by Modern Table use only 3 non-GMO ingredients: Red lentil flour, white rice, and pea protein or beets, which means their pastas are also gluten-free. And with the deliberate ingredient selection, they also contain all 9 essential amino acids to form a complete protein! While wheat-free pastas get a bad rap when it comes to flavor and/or texture, these noodles have hit the mark, in regards to both great flavor and texture. Moderntable.com COLD BREW TO GO Instead of hitting up your local coffee shop for a pricey cup of cold brew, brew your own wherever you are with the Rumble Go Portable Cold Brew Coffee Maker. The convenient, portable, stainless steel filter fits in a variety of wide-mouth water bottles. And thanks to an adjustable silicone…

AN ARTICHOKE IS A VERY UNIQUE LOOKING vegetable that really comes to life once cooked. How anyone ever discovered this is a conundrum. It’s considered a perennial thistle, characterized by prickly petals, and only parts of the artichoke can be consumed. The outside of the artichoke bulb features green petals, which, for the most part, are stringy, fibrous, and not ideal to eat. The edible portion is at the bottom of the petals, where there’s a tiny bit of soft flesh. The outermost layers tend to be the toughest — the leaves get softer as you get closer to the center. Once you reach the center, it’s necessary to remove the inedible choke to enjoy the best part of the artichoke — the tender heart. A member of the sunflower family,…

IF YOU’RE ANYTHING LIKE US, you’re done with winter once the calendar flips from February to March, even though you still might need that sweater. You start seeking out fresh spring vegetables and crave meals that are a bit lighter. These menus are a sample of the best the season has to offer. Lamb is a quintessential springtime favorite, and a side of seasonal roasted vegetables is all this meal needs. Plus, it’s simple enough for a weeknight, yet elegant enough to serve at a dinner party. You begin seeing other seasonal ingredients like watercress, frisée, and pea shoots, which when combined, create a flavorful salad — perfect to pair with the lightly sweetened maple-glazed chicken breasts. As simple as it seems, it’s out-of-this-world. And since we’re not completely done with cooler temps,…