A new low for cooking magazines

[maisonbistro]

I had to do a double, triple, quadruple take to make sure I wasn't missing something. No, not an ingredient to make some mouthwatering recipe which would send my taste buds soaring- but to make sure I was really seeing a "recipe", in Bon Appetit's August 2012 issue. Luckily I no longer pay for the magazine- which leads to my next shudder of disgust- why would Epicurious choose to publish this recipe on their site?????

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

[nikkib99]

At least they included the wine pairing. I would have been truly lost without that.

[paulj]

Similar CHOW recipe
http://www.chow.com/recipes/27489-her...
Herbed Heirloom Tomato Salad Recipe

[lcool]

in May 2012 they recycled a February 2005 recipe/no attribution
tweeked a word or two,kosher salt replaced salt,same for yogurt,packed,finely grated lemon peel
to lemon zest
and attributed it to one of the newer editors,just a tad greasy

[tommy]

Specifics for this accusation? We will be the judge.

[RosePearl]

Take slice of bread out of wrapper. Place in toaster machine. When it pops up, spread butter on it, using wide spreading knife. Apply 1 T. white sugar supplemented with 1 t. cinnamon. Suggested beverage: Cows milk.

[josephnl]

The most frequently read cooking magazines such as Bon Appetit serve an audience who are certainly not professional chefs, and indeed may just be beginning to learn how to cook. I think that they and the Food Network are doing a wonderful job in encouraging home cooking amongst persons who might otherwise not consider doing so. I personally find it terribly narrow-minded, and indeed arrogant, that so many CH's find it appropriate to put these media companies down. If you do not enjoy reading these magazines or watching FN, don't do so. Don't belittle those who do, nor fail to acknowledge the fact that these media are of interest to others who may just be beginning to learn to cook.

[Bacardi1]

A HUGE DITTO!!!!

I posted something similar immediately after the OP's first post, but the Chowhound mods immediately deleted it. Hope your post stays up long enough to get read.

[maisonbistro]

The "OP" stands by her initial post. If people need to be told to slice a tomato (not even HOW to slice it, but just to slice it), sprinkle some salt (not HOW much salt, but just salt), drizzle some olive oil (not HOW much) then maybe they shouldn't be buying Bon Appetit just yet. No insult to anyone. I did not come out of the womb either a chef nor a foodie- I am a home cook and yes, SHUDDERED when I was looking on the epicurious site and found this "recipe".

[tommy]

Not sure what credentials one needs to make this call or judge. Can you advise?

[DGresh]

I'm a fairly accomplished home cook (if I do say so myself ;)) and I get Bon Appetit, and get ideas from it every month. I just like to get of any ruts I may otherwise be in and it gives me ideas. Even this much maligned piece on tomatoes gave me some ideas. It's not a bad magazine much as many want to bash it. I mean honestly, there *are* usually a finite number of ways to cook X, but sometimes it's nice to be reminded of one you've forgotten about, when it's right in the middle of X season. I get ideas from other places too (NY Times food section, the weekly special sunday menu prix fixe dinner from my favorite "fine dining" restaurant; it's just another source.

[cgarner]

sorry but that's nothing compared to my Ice Cube Recipe
http://www.food.com/recipe/ice-cubes-420398
it's making it's rounds on twitter and other blogs
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2...

It had a write up a couple weeks ago on huffington post too
I did this as a joke
I have seen the RR microwave bacon recipe.. PD's English Peas recipe
I think that people have different skill levels and if you're new to cooking, maybe you could use 'basic' instruction... I learned from Bon Apetit and Gourmet and from watching the Great Chef's and Julia Child and Jacques Pepin... (and this little old Italian guy I'd see on PBS that woudl say 'scuza my back' every time he had to turn away from the camera
)I don't see anything wrong with including basic skill level recipes in magazines like that

[DGresh]

I think your ice cube recipe has very close cousins in the "how to replace toilet paper and paper towels" and "how to empty the dishwasher if you find it full of clean dishes so that you have no place to put your dirty one" and "how to take out the trash instead of trying to smush it down and slam shut the door". Sometimes I think one *does* have to make these things explicit!

[Jen76]

I know some folks who could use the "how to empty the dishwasher if you find it full of clean dishes so that you have no place to put your dirty one" lesson.

[Shrinkrap]

Okay? And the "take out the trash" one, too. I have a kid that starts using the "guest" bathroom, and that's how I know there is no TP in hers.

[josephnl]

If the recipes are of no value to you, don't read the magazine. There are obviously many people whose culinary skills are such that they benefit from reading the magazine and trying out even the simplest of recipes printed within. I think it's great that there is a magazine that encourages cooking and is read and hopefully used by those who are unskilled and just beginning to experiment with cooking.

[Leepa]

+1 Because we know that everyone isn't lucky enough to have sprung from the womb a full fledged foodie or chef.

[Bacardi1]

Ditto.

I don't think the editors meant for this to be an enlightenment to foodies everywhere; just suggestions for how to use a fresh product.

How disturbing that something so simple has the OP "shuddering in disgust". Oh well, foodies have their good folks & bad folks & the folks that have the rest of us "shuddering in disgust".

[chevrelove]

Not sure it anyone has pointed it out already (and apologies they have), but this information was included in a one-page "eight ways to eat tomatoes" simply pictorial. So this "recipe" along with the lovely picture only took up about four square inches of print space. And it wasn't structured like a recipe with ingredients listed, only the preparation. Other preparations included horseradish cherry tomatoes, crunchy oil-cured tomatoes, and tomato butter. Each of the eight ways was very simple, and nearly all were obvious or commonplace, but I thought it was a great reminder and ripped it out to put on my fridge. (The pictures themselves were also just fun to look at.) Other CH'ers are right - it's just simple BA procedure and nothing to get up in arms about.

[DGresh]

Yes, I thought it was a lovely page and have tried a few of the "recipes" already.

[Shrinkrap]

Well, there you have it! The recipe, and the ninety comments, served a purpose. I am going to look for the "crunchy oil cured tomato" recipe,, and for the pictures.

[JeremyEG]

It's certainly not much of a recipe, that's for sure. But perhaps it's more of a reminder not to do too much with peak season tomatoes. Epicurious is in the recipe writing business and in a way I'm glad they are holding off on Tomato Coulis or Zesty Marinara recipes for a while and encouraging people to leave good ingredients alone when they are this flavorful. I hope no one is raking in the cash from the copyright on that 'recipe' but I don't think the reminder to keep some things simple is insulting or a waste of space.
JeremyEG
HomeCookLocavore.com

[ennuisans]

Hey, you can print out a shopping list for this recipe.

[LindaWhit]

LOL! After reading this entire thread, I broke out laughing at your comment. (And yes, I *know* it's just a static feature of the recipes on the BA website, peeples!)

[nlgardener]

It's probably a function of experience and maturation, but after decades of subscribing to both Gourmet and Bon Appetit, and with the sad demise of Gourmet, I have come to regard BA as "cooking light".

[pamf]

Cooking Light is a completely different publication. :)

[drongo]

Heh.

Cooking Light actually has greater circulation than Bon Appetit (1,791,157 vs. 1,519,765). So in that respect, Bon Appetit is the light weight.

http://abcas3.accessabc.com/ecirc/mag...

[tommy]

Because most people don't realize that truly ripe tomatoes don't need much.

Then again most people don't eat very good tomatoes to begin with. Perhaps Epicurious has been working to change this. Perhaps this is part of it. Perhaps there are people, unlike the experts on chow.com, who appreciate the inspiration.

[chefhound]

I stand by my original comment. It is a very sad day when a food magazine, one that is geared towards "foodies", publishes a recipe like that.

There's nothing wrong with a simple recipe. A simple recipe can yield delicious results.

The point is: This is not a magazine geared towards beginners. It's not "Cooking for Dummies" or "A College Student's First Cookbook". This is not a magazine that tries to give you interesting ideas when all you have is a can of tuna and a potato.

The Bon Appetit audience is mostly people who can throw together a salad, a pasta dish, a roast chicken without a recipe. Speaking for myself, I read food magazines for ideas. I once found a recipe for soy caramel glazed vegetables. That was worth the price of admission. I had never heard of a soy caramel - I've made a bacon caramel before but never thought to use soy for the salt element. That's what a Bon Appetit reader is looking for. A Bon Appetit reader knows that bay leaves are too tough for sliced tomatoes but that reader also knows that the bay leaves would be great if you stewed the tomatoes.

There are plenty of magazines for beginners. There are plenty of magazines for homemakers who just want to feed the family. People who read Bon Appetit, Gourmet and Saveur are looking for more.

[tommy]

You read Gourmet?

Is this recipe published in any magazines?

Did you have to pay for this recipe?

Do you know all of the BA readers?

How does this web page's existence negatively impact your existence.

Just curious. Thanks in advance.

[chefhound]

The recipe was published in the magazine and unfortunately, I did pay for it. I was looking for something to read on the commute home, was lured by the glossy photos and breezed through it because there was nothing there to interest me.

I may not know all the Bon Appetit readers but I do have lots of "foodie" friends who do read Bon Appetit and we have discussed how the food magazines have become predictable and how we are losing interest.

[tommy]

Do you have any friends who aren't foodies who may happen to read the largest food magazine in the US?

The subscription is 12 bucks a year I think. The advertisers pay for the magazine, not the readers. It's possible that this recipe displaced an incredible recipe that is not known to anyone in the world, but that's unlikely. They have to fill pages. As I noted it's an inspiration to some. As someone else noted, you're better off canceling your subscription, since you know everything they might include in their magazine anyway. Win-win!

[chefhound]

As I replied to that person, I have stopped purchasing this magazine and it is a win for me because I can spend that money on a magazine that is worthy of my hard-earned money.

[tommy]

Which one are you moving to?

[maisonbistro]

Thank you chefhound. You "get" it.

I also find that with the proliferation of "cooking" (and I use the hyphens purposely) shows, pretty much anyone with a TV can learn very basics- whether they are cooking because the "have" to, want to or whatever. Printing a recipe in a magazine, and then a relatively reputable website, Epicurious- that involves slicing a tomato, drizzling it with olive oil and then some herbs (no order given, no amounts) is just absurd. I too have stopped buying it, but will peruse Epicurious, like you, for ideas. Strangely enough, my mother who is 89, had this very same idea (the "tomato salad idea") when I was growing up (so say, 40 years ago- give or take)- wow, who knew my mom, who at best was an average cook- was soooo ahead of her time!!!

[tommy]

So someone had this idea 40 years ago, and that implies that no one should need that inspiration again? Did the rest of the planet grow up in your mom's kitchen? LOL!

[maisonbistro]

If you need "inspiration" to slice a tomato and put some olive oil on it, salt and herbs.... well.... like someone else said, you're probably not reading Bon Appetit. Rachael Ray and the multitude of charismatic (not to me, but their TV popularity is based on something- and it ain't always cooking chops) demonstrates that that would be the go to means of getting inspiration.

Woulda been real crowded in that kitchen.. LOL

[tommy]

I do and did read BA. I, however, understand that not everyone is like me.

YMMV.

[HillJ]

Would it be more appealing if the magazine didn't call it a recipe but a preparation?

[tommy]

I hate inspiration. Why can't every magazine evolve with me, personally?

[paulj]

Since this 'recipe' is so obvious to the REAL cooks on this forum, how about some discussion about the choice of fresh herbs?

When I was kid, we put sugar on sliced tomatoes. It countered the tartness of the tomatoes. As an adult I'm more likely to eat good tomatoes without adornment, though I also use a bit of oil, vinegar, and coarse salt. I'm not in the habit of adding fresh herbs.

I'm aware that pairing basil with tomatoes is a very Italian thing. What other herbs do you like to use with simple sliced tomatoes?

[MGZ]

You've basically just hit a big part of the problem. It's referred to as a recipe, lists the ingredients without regard to order, and then leaves it up to the user to decide the most influential factor in the final taste. You can defend it all you want, but at bottom, it's a dumbed down procedure, masquerading as a recipe, yet being submitted for use by those who elect to read BA - it's not Food Network or Rachel Ray.

I like thyme and oregano too. Oh, and tarragon, and . . . .

[cellophane_star]

Fresh mint is good, especially with tomatoes & cucumbers.

[ipsedixit]

Have you seen some of the questions asked on the Home Cooking board here??

[mcf]

Well, yabbut... epicurious is more of a cook's site, not many beginners, IME. CH is for aspiring ones, too. Or just eaters, not cooks.

[Sooeygun]

Google doesn't ask for your credentials before making a suggestions. Someone types in some key words + recipe, epicurious or BA may come up. And those sites want that to happen. More hits is a good thing for them.

[mcf]

Yes, but I doubt that recipe type generates hits. And certainly that's not their core demographic.

[rudysmom]

i disagree. for me, the low was the recipe for boiling salted water in Gourmet, November 2001.
i am not kidding.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

[mike0989]

I remeber that one. Some of the reviews were down right hilarious.

[greygarious]

Ever see the mock Cook's Illustrated boiled water recipe?

[HeBrew]

Wow...That looks downright hard!!! But not nearly as hard as pineapple wedges:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ra...

[josephnl]

Gee...I've been doing it all wrong for many years. I always weigh out exactly 40 gms. of salt to put into the water in which I boil vegetables. Now I know the right way to salt water!!

[MGZ]

Personally, I think they missed the fact that one should always salt the tomatoes before adding any oil.

[DougRisk]

This may not be as bad as we might think.

It is my understanding that some of these magazines will print, in the back, every recipe that they reference. So, if they are interviewing some chef at some steakhouse and he tells the interviewer about some steak with a Bearnaise sauce and mentions that they serve a simple tomato salad along with it, then, they may print that recipe for that simple tomato salad.

And, if they print that simple thing at the back of the magazine, then, I believe it automatically makes it's way onto the site.

The same could be said for some issue about the freshest ingredients and what you could/should do with them. I could see some article referencing tomatoes and saying that the simplest preparation is often a great one.

I have absolutely no idea if this is the case in this instance. But, if it were, I would have no problem with it.

EDIT: Going through all the comments, it seems like I may have reiterated what paulj had said.

[wyogal]

Exactly my point. It's a format thing, if it's mentioned or photographed, the "recipe" is included, be it complicated or as simple as the one in this instance.

[MGZ]

Maybe it's time to think about reformatting. Dopey is dopey, no matter why it's done.

[wyogal]

So, why tell me? Tell the magazine. I'm not bothered in the least by it. I am not threatened by simplicity. It doesn't bother me that the format is the way it is. If there is a photo for this salad, then someone is probably wondering, "What exactly is in that?" and the "recipe" you seem to despise answers the question.

[gfr1111]

A recipe like that seems okay, provided they don't make a habit of of it. After all, I am paying good money for that magazine. An occasional recipe for idiots is okay, but most of the space should be devoted to real recipes.

[paulj]

It bugs me that a simple preparation of quality ingredients gets classed as

- a recipe for idiots
- not a real recipe

It denigrates other people, and it denigrates the ingredients.

[Bacardi1]

Ditto X 1,000!!!!

[DougRisk]

Actually, I appreciate that some of these magazines print, in the back, every recipe referenced in the issue.

Sure, sometimes you get something very, very simple, but, at least you know that you can find the information about any recipe in that issue.

[MGZ]

And, that explains it's posting on the website in what way? As I said, it's pretty dopey. As suggested, it goes in the category with Deen's peas.

[wyogal]

The FORMAT explains it. If it's in the mag, it's on the site. jeez. Write to the publisher.

[DougRisk]

Well, they may have a simple policy of: "If the recipe is in the magazine, it is on the website", which would make sense to me. Especially if this content is maintained via a database, which it almost certainly is.

[paulj]

What's dopey about this 'recipe'?

Some of my most memorable food discoveries, especially in the salad category, are the simplest. Things like cucumbers with lime juice and salt shared with Mexican oil field workers, and roasted bell peppers in a little shop outside of Yellowstone. Even from this recipe I'm inspired to explore the pairing of fresh herbs with tomatoes.

[DougRisk]

Finding out about Pine Nuts and Raisins was a big one for me.

[al b. darned]

What about pine nuts and raisins? 'Splain, please.

[wyogal]

If it was part of a photo display of salads, and didn't include the "recipe," people would probably raise heck. So, it may not be a "recipe," but it is a simple, delightful dish. It's about magazine format. They probably don't have the format to describe it other than "recipe."
I don't see why people need to get so upset over it.

[ThoughtForFood]

I don't know about you, but I know many that would be intimidated by this recipe.

[ahuva]

at least it's not Paula Deen's English Pease

[Cachetes]

LOL! I had to look this up, and found the comments much funnier than the recipe itself. My favorite: "I don't like peas. Can any other veggie be substituted or can I just serve the melted butter? "

I will add that I have a friend who would need a recipe in order to cook canned peas. This friend called me the other day to help her figure out if the shrimp she had bought were already cooked or not. So I tend to agree with the replies here that defend the seemingly simple.

[drongo]

My beloved wife is not a cook... once she was trying to cook broccoli rabe, and she asked me how to "make it rabe". It turned out she thought broccoli rabe was regular broccoli cooked in a certain way!

[DougRisk]

There was a time where I thought Harvard Beets were a variety of Beet.

[pine time]

Mr. Pine once asked if marshmallows were a vegetable. But, even he knows how to slice a tomato.

[drongo]

Apparently marshmallows were originally made from the root of the Marsh Mallow (Althaea officinalis). So maybe they should count as a vegetable?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Althaea_...

[pine time]

Yup, but he didn't have a clue about the origins of the word.

[drongo]

What about geoduck being a variety of duck?

[DougRisk]

I understand that you are trying to be funny, but, at least for a few minutes (before I saw the picture) I thought that too.

However, for me, the best mis-named food out there is the Jerusalem Artichoke (i.e. Sunchokes).

I am hoping that some person actually grows Jerusalem Artichokes in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania.

They are not from Jerusalem, they are not Artichokes, they are not in Jersey and they are not at the Shore. At that point, I think, someones head would explode.

[EWSflash]

I'm growing Jerusalem artichokes in my plot in the community garden at work, and I wish I had a dollar for every time I've had to explain that the edible part is the root, and it's from the sunflower family.

[paulj]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_artichoke#Etymology
http://www.melissas.com/Products/Prod...
possible etymology - from a vague artichoke like flavor, and Italian for sunflower. Have you tried calling them sunchokes?

[julesrules]

She's trying... she bought shrimp, an unfamiliar-to-her ingredient and she knows who to call for help. My MIL has been feeding her family for 45 years and I doubt she has ever bought uncooked shrimp, strictly shrimp rings or maybe, as a real departure, precooked shrimp to add to packaged rice or noodles.

[paulj]

Salad recipes in this issue:

salads
Nectarine and Blue Cheese Salad with Plum Vinaigrette
Panzanella
Pasta Salad with Melon, Pancetta, and Ricotta Salata
Sliced Tomato Salad
Summer Anchovy Salad
Summer Squash and Red Quinoa Salad with Walnuts
Tomatoes and Blue Cheese

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/toc/august-2012-toc#ixzz22G5MUIkt

Preparation
Truly ripe tomatoes don't need much. Slice a variety of sizes and colors and arrange on a platter. Dress with good olive oil, coarse salt, and black pepper, then top with fresh herbs like basil, parsley, chives, and chervil.

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/201...

[tcamp]

I'm all for easy dishes but that, truly, is a bit much. You'd think with that degree of specificity, they'd describe the exact type of tomato, the width of the slices, the type of knife to use...

[paulj]

A good cook needs inspiration, not those kinds of details.

[wyogal]

I've seen worse on this site. Yes, there are people that need an explanation, apparently. It was probably part of a photo display so the "recipe" is included as par for the course.

[Crockett67]

Nah, just because it's a no brainer to us, doesn't mean it is to like 90% of their readers.

Trust me, to many people this is a recipe.

[Njchicaa]

I agree. I had to explain my warm caprese pasta to my friend a few weeks ago: cooked farfelle, cubed fresh mozzarella, halved grape tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil, salt, and pepper. I thought it was incredibly easy and obvious but she asked me to write it all down so she could make it one day.

What some people think is obvious others just know nothing about.

[Leepa]

Or maybe like me, she just has a poor memory and needs to write things down...

[xo_kizzy_xo]

+1

I have friends who would consider that a recipe. They're not cooks. They don't particularly enjoy cooking, but do so to feed their families. If they ever expressed interest in such a dish, they would HAVE to have some kind of reference because they're not confident in their skill set.

We're looking at this from the other end, so yeah, to us it's a no-braner.

[al b. darned]

>>>
If they ever expressed interest in such a dish, they would HAVE to have some kind of reference because they're not confident in their skill set.
<<<
These people wouldn't be reading BA or surfing epicurious.com. This sounds more like a RR recipe and would pair well with this one:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ra...

[xo_kizzy_xo]

In most cases, you're no doubt correct. However, you'd be surprised how many noncooks surf all kinds of food sites. One of my friends is an adamant FN/RR hater and will always turn to epicurious first because "they're the experts".

[EWSflash]

I disagree. BA is a magazine for foodie wannabes. Some of those folks have no idea where to start and came from noncooking households so may never, ever ha ve thought of something so simple that would be so good. Chowhounds generally have far more culinary knowledge and experience than BA's target audience, in my opinion.

[paulj]

Why is that a 'low'? Do recipes or food ideas have to be complicated or non-obvious to be good?

Is it any simpler or more obvious than this one from Food & Wine?
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/to...
with bread, chocolate, olive oil and salt

[maisonbistro]

I never said the recipe had to be complicated or non obvious- but this is not a recipe. This treating readers like morons. If I need to "look up" a recipe for a sliced tomato salad, I probably shouldn't be attempting to cook.

Telling people to slice tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and fresh herbs is not a recipe. They don't even give amounts...

What's next, a "recipe" for toast? How to "prepare" a bowl of cheerios in the morning?

This is Bon Appetit- and Epicurious.

[paulj]

Was this recipe part of an article in BA? I've learned in other 'new low' threads, that context means a lot.

[mcf]

"If I need to "look up" a recipe for a sliced tomato salad, I probably shouldn't be attempting to cook."

Especially not with sharp knives.

[LindyCindy]

Hear! Hear! Thank you for pointing out the trend in dumbed-down, low-brow cuisine for mass appeal, something we're also seeing in cookbooks. Last spring, a publishing house actually published Ree Drummond's Pioneer Woman Cookbook that contained "recipes" for hamburgers and fried eggs. Someone shoot me now.

[tommy]

I just watched a show were two "chefs" made grilled cheese. LOL!!!!

[drongo]

I didn't see the show, but I can imagine a Grilled Cheese can be stepped up significantly by a good chef. I saw Eric Greenspan's (of The Foundry http://thefoundryonmelrose.com/ ) on a show called something like "America's Top Comfort Foods" (Alton Brown??). Interestingly, none of the comfort foods on that show were comfort foods for me -- no doubt because I'm an immigrant -- so it set me on a month-long project to recreate my own comfort foods.

Edit: I see LA actually has an annual Grilled Cheese competition (which Eric Greenspan won one year): http://grilledcheeseinvitational.com/
Sounds like fun. Maybe I'd do a limburger sandwich. Unfortunately, I'm in Joisey where we have crab cake competitions but no grilled cheese competitions.

[LindyCindy]

Drummond made a casserole using two cans of cream of mushroom soup. And isn't that what most serious foodies are looking for, a recipe, circa 1960, that can be found in most church cookbooks? Sad, really.

[paulj]

Else where you expressed your admiration of the Food52 blog. What do you think of this recipe from 2 years ago?

http://www.food52.com/recipes/350_exp...
Expensive Tomatoes

Serves 2
2 Large heirloom tomatoes Ask a question about this ingredient
1 dash Good course salt

The instructions are a bit more complicated, something about buying the tomatoes as a S Calif farmers market (but that's another thread).

[drongo]

Though in fairness the "Expensive Tomatoes" recipe was submitted by a Food52 member ("Jestei") not by any of the Food52 staffers (http://www.food52.com/home/behind_food52 )

[paulj]

SmittenKitchen has this tomato salad

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2011/0...
"Assemble salad: Halve each tomato lengthwise and arrange cut side up on a platter. Whisk together vinegar, olive oil, salt, sugar and a few grinds of pepper in a small dish. Drizzle over tomatoes. Sprinkle tomatoes with crushed croutons. Garnish with slivers of basil."

Nearly as simple as the BA recipe (sliced tomatoes plus seasoning), except there is a long photo essay (isn't that what PW is noted for?), and an elaborate crouton preparation.

[josephnl]

Certainly it's more obvious than the Food & Wine recipe. Although Nutella, of course, contains chocolate...putting bittersweet chocolate on bread with olive oil and salt is not a combination that I would think commonplace.

[chefhound]

So sad. I guess they thought some people might need to know the order in which to do things. What if they sprinkled the herbs on first, before the olive oil?

I have noticed that there is a fair amount of repetitiveness out there. I used to love .delicious magazine (Australian and UK versions) but after a number of issues, there seemed to be repeats of the same thing with some small tweaks. I'm looking for new ideas, not more of the same. I want exciting new flavor combinations, not the same old tired things.

[jarona]

Geez--I should submit this "vintage" tomato recipe--we used to "make" the following when we were kids:
Take a tomato from the vine/plant
Get mom to cut it in half
Oh yeah. don't forget to wipe the tomato clean.
Sprinkly salt.
Eat with your hands.
Wipe juice off of chin with forearm
Jump into sprinkler on lawn.

[pdxgastro]

My dad had you beat. He'd walk out into his garden with a salt shaker. Maybe he'd wipe the tomato off on his shirt before sprinkling some salt on it and eating it. I don't know. I didn't like tomatoes back then. I sure do now.

[KayceeK]

Yum. My favourite lunch recipe to enjoy right after Banana for breakfast.