Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2020 i Bon Appetit

WHEN I ASKED SARAH JAMPEL why she was testing her salty buckwheat chocolate chunk cookies for what seemed to me like the 97th time, she started going on about the absence of gluten in buckwheat flour. She jotted down notes in her tiny, meticulous handwriting while explaining that the half cup of buckwheat flour called for in the recipe balances the one cup of all-purpose flour and how it was imperative that we get the ratio just right. Sarah is the editor of Basically, our learning-to-cook online vertical (eatbasically.com). And this month Basically takes center stage in the magazine with its Guide to Better Baking (page 48). Much of the success of the 16-page package can be traced back to Sarah’s obsessive nature, but that would be ignoring the fastidious…

FOR BOOK CLUB In Everything Is Under Control (April; $25), dancer turned chef Phyllis Grant shares a fast-paced, heart-smacking memoir about cooking and motherhood—with recipes. A POSTCARD FROM PAL EST INE Ottolenghi BFF Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley’s Falastin (April; $35) takes us on an engrossing journey to Palestine with lush photographs, impressive reporting, and colorful dinner-friendly recipes. Plus tahini buns. MUCH ADO ABOUT VEGGI ES Bryant Terry’s Vegetable Kingdom (February; $20) serves flavor-blasted Afro-Asian-Southern-Caribbean vegan fare (Jerk tofu! Lacto-fermented beets!) and playlists in a bumpin’ party of a cookbook. THE BEAN BIBLE YOU NEED Joe Yonan’s fun-loving, very comprehensive Cool Beans (February; $20) will leave you smarter and unexpectedly psyched to bake a white bean Bundt cake. Bonus: All the recipes are vegetarian! PAIRS WELL WITH ORANGE WINE If…

LOCALS SAY THAT South Philly is one of America’s great dining neighborhoods. They’re right. Over the past 30 years, the historically Italian, Black, and Irish area has become one of the city’s most diverse neighborhoods. The Italian Market is home to some of the country’s best tacos and tamales. Irish pubs are flanked by Indonesian and Thai neighbors slinging spicy soul-cleansing staples. Lebanese, Vietnamese, Black, Thai, Mexican, Italian, and Indonesian locals not only helm these spots but frequent them too—proving that they’re truly neighborhood restaurants. And after hitting up these joints, you’ll understand what South Philadelphians mean. The Latin American Mainstay Two blocks east of the Italian Market—now a hub for fantastic Mexican grocers, butchers, and restaurants like Hot 10 alum South Philly Barbacoa—is one of the neighborhood’s top Mexican…

PERHAPS YOU’VE NOTICED THE CRAZE: Swarms of chefs going AWOL to forage for ramps. Farmers market goers elbowing each other to get to the piles of bulbs and greens. What’s all the fuss? Alliums bring complexity and backbone to pretty much everything they touch. And when they’re in season, the bounty of produce arriving at your local farmers market will be significantly better than the stuff you’re used to seeing at the grocery store. This spring we’re getting up close and personal with these fragrant vegetables. Charring leeks until they’re smoky-sweet. Slow-roasting green garlic until jammy and tender. These recipes make the case: Alliums are worth the hype. Scallion Pancakes With Chili-Ginger Dipping Sauce 4 SERVINGS These pancakes get their light texture from a batter made with club soda. Pressing…

DUST BUSTER “As a designer I need everything in my life to be aesthetically pleasing—all the way down to this cheery steel dustpan.” Christa Guerra Art Director BRUSH UP “My evergrowing collection of chic reusable water bottles demands a cute bottle brush like this silicone one by Holikme (from $7; amazon.com) that’s safe for both metal and glass bottles.” Christina Chaey Associate Editor ALL-PURPOSE WITH PURPOSE “Blueland’s minimalist Forever bottle ($12; blueland.com) means I’ll never have to buy another cleaning product in a single-use plastic bottle. Fill it with water, plop in a $2 dissolvable tablet of super-powered surface cleaner, and go.” Emily Schultz Social Media Manager THE UN-PAPER TOWEL “I haven’t used paper towels in almost two years. Instead, I keep a stack of dish towels or reusable sponge cloths ($6; tenandco.ca)…

Take Them in Stride I’ve been raving about this pair of Sabah shoes ($195; shop.sabah.am) made by Turkish leather artisans ever since my sister introduced me to them. I’ve worn them to trek through Delhi and Berlin and to shoot videos in the test kitchen—they’re that versatile. Pen Pals I love sending handwritten notes, and these illustrated Pyarful greeting cards (from $5; pyarful.com) are cute and cheeky! The puns are geared to South Asian culture (“Paneer or Far, You’re Always in My Heart”), but they’re universally lovable. The Bold Lip I wear a lot of lipstick, and MAC’s Frost Lipstick in Fresh Moroccan ($19; maccosmetics.com) is hands down my favorite. It’s a deep pop of red with a subtle shimmer that stays on alllll day and looks particularly awesome on…

STEP-BY-STEPS TIPS & TRICKS 1 WAIT, WHAT IS BACON? Bacon starts with fatty, wonderful pork belly, i.e., the meat from the underside of a pig. The belly gets cured (seasoned and left to rest for a week or two) with a dry rub of salt, sugar, and spices (the ol’-fashioned way) or a liquid injection (big producers). Then it’s smoked for a few hours or days, sliced, and packaged. It keeps for around seven days in the fridge once it’s been opened, more like five if it’s from the butcher, or for months in the freezer. 2 If you want your mind blown, get thee to the butcher Not only does butcher bacon usually have a deeper, more meaty-funky flavor, thanks to that dry rub, but it can also be…

A FEW YEARS AGO I made the game-changing decision to start buying fish not according to the recipes I’d bookmarked but based on what looked best at the market. These days I almost never know whether I’ll end up with salmon or black bass or halibut on any given night, but I always know how I’m going to cook it: by steaming, a back-pocket technique that works with any fish. No method does a better job of letting the delicate flavor of the fish itself really shine. The recipe on page 18 features a flavorful soy-ginger broth that creates a little steam-room environment in the pot, resulting in a rich and flaky, never-dry fish. Call it my version of spa food. Piri-Piri Meatballs This vibrant and spicy blender sauce livens…

IT’S NOT MERELY the sakoo yadsai, tapioca dumplings stuffed with preserved radish and peanut caramel, nor the salat hua pii, spicy banana blossom salad, that make Hanumanh in Washington, D.C., an unmistakably Lao restaurant. For chefs (and mother-son duo) Seng Luangrath and Boby Pradachith, that comes through the physical space. “We thought a lot about the materials and the design,” Pradachith says. “We wanted to really show how Lao people hang out.” The wall murals depict the story of Hanuman, the famed Hindu monkey god celebrated in Laos for his strength and service as well as his appetite. (He’s the restaurant’s namesake; they added the h to differentiate from another spot—popular guy!) The restaurant’s exterior is designed to mimic the grand entrances of Buddhist temples in Laos. And the go-to…

When Two Desserts Love Each Other… Here’s what happened after carrot cake met carrot halwa, the milky, long-cooking, spoonably-soft confection common in South Asia. Raisins, cinnamon, and cream cheese frosting made way for brown-butter pistachios, cardamom, and sticky carrot glaze and the rest of their romance was history. ALL-PUR POSE ADVICE GET YOUR GEAR IN ORDER Sure, you can strong-arm your way through a recipe without these. But will they make the process easier, faster, and less frustrating? Yes, yes, and yes. Electronic scale The tidiest and most accurate way to measure “the dries” (e.g., flour, sugar). Oven thermometer A polygraph for your oven, it’s the best way to know if the dial tells the truth. Rolling pin Allows for more consistency and control than your empty wine bottle. Bowl/bench…

TRAVEL PLANNER MY BIG WEEKEND: SOUTH PHILLY pp. 33–36 BITAR’S 947 Federal St.; 215-755-1121; bitars.com CAFÉ DIEM 1031 S. Eighth St.; 215-923-8347; facebook.com/pages/Cafe-Diem/143088755727119 CARANGI BAKING COMPANY 2655 S. Iseminger St.; 215-462-6991; carangibakery.com CENTER CITY SOFT PRETZEL CO. 816 Washington Ave.; 215-463-5664; centercitypretzels.com THE DEACON 1600 Christian St.; 347-868-2996; thedeaconphl.com FOUNTAIN PORTER 1601 S. 10th St.; 267-324-3910; fountainporter.com ITALIAN MARKET 919 S. Ninth St.; 215-278-2903; italianmarketphilly.org JOHN’S ROAST PORK 14 E. Snyder Ave.; 215-463-1951; johnsroastpork.com LE CAVEAU 614 S. Seventh St.; 215-625-3700; lecaveaubar.com KALAYA THAI KITCHEN 764 S. Ninth St.; 215-385-3777; kalaya.net McCUSKER’S TAVERN 2601 S. 17th St.; 215-339-9238; facebook.com/mccuskers-tavern-262441460507105 RAY’S “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” BAR 1200 E. Passyunk Ave.; 215-365-1169; thehappybirthdaybar.com RIVER TWICE 1601 E. Passyunk Ave.; 267-457-3698; rivertwicerestaurant.com ROYAL IZAKAYA 780 S. Second St.; 267-909-9002; royalsushiandizakaya.com SKY CAFÉ 1122-38 Washington Ave.,…