Food Network Mag Review : July/August

You know a cooking magazine was a great issue when there are crumbs between the pages and the cover is destroyed.  This is what my July/August issue of Food Network Magazine currently looks like - and it's only July 11th! So here is the run down to help you determine if you're going to pick it up at the grocery store this week or not:

This is a beach read!  These aren't recipes I can include links to, this issue includes fantastic articles exploring behind the scenes of Bobby Flay's new show: BBQ Addiction, and Guy's Diners, Drive ins, and Dives.

I learned: Tyler Florence has a cook book for baby food! Some recipes are included on page 59.

Summer Side Dishes: these look worth trying!  And the 50 recipe pull out is potato salads.  Who doesn't need 50 different ways to make that classic?

Claire's Robinson's Creamed Corn: Page 87
I've never made creamed corn, but this looks delicious and there are only two ingredients!

Lemon-Thyme Biscuits: Page 162
tip: most bread dough freezes well - I'd cut out the biscuits and freeze the extra before cooking.

Creamy Coleslaw with Grapes and Walnuts: page 162
I made this Saturday night and it was a huge hit! I skipped the grapes and walnuts because I was using it as a topping for BBQ hot dogs (another great FNMag recipe.)  They were delicious.





Weeknight meals are all on the grill - there are tons of great ideas: these are my two favorites:

Grilled Pirogis and Kielbasa: page 112  When I saw this I honestly wasn't sure what a pirogi was - but I thought they looked liked raviolis.  So I tried the recipe with that.  I replaced the apple cider vinegar with balsamic and used garlic paste instead of mustard (but only one tbsp.)  We grilled tomatoes and onions to go along side and it was delicious.  Just be careful - they cook quick!

Grilled Polenta and Veggies: page 120  I thought this looked like a beautiful spread for an upscale BBQ.  And I finally found tubes of prepared polenta - at Trader Joes!

And The Weekend Cooking: I love this section because it always challenges me to cook something different and try new techniques.  And I've already made two of them!

What's more summer than tomatoes? Once again I was drawn in by the beauty of this dish.  I haven't tried the Heirloom Tomato Tart but I want to, especially after a visit to the farmer's market this summer.

Lobster? Yes Please!  I can't even count how many lobster rolls I've had living in New England but I've never made one.  At prices close to $18 a lobster roll it was time to take on this classic.  Matt and I had my parent's over for dinner this past Saturday and just three lobsters fed six of us very stuffed Lobster Rolls.

I'm making this Skillet Eggs with Squash while I write this blog post.  I love breakfast and anything that resembles a fritata, (meaning it goes in a pan and then in the oven) I want in my arsenal.  Tonight we're having breakfast for dinner with this meal.  It's also a great way to use more seasonal vegetables.  It was delicious! 

If you haven't figured it out already my recommendation on this issue is to buy it.  The recipes are simple and all use seasonal veggies which means you can easily shop for them at the farmer's market.  I also didn't share, but there are about four different fruit pies in this issue.  I've never tried a fruit pie, but the plum tart on page 178 might become my experiment of the summer.

Enjoy!

(All photos used in this post are from http://www.foodnetwork.com/)