Good Ol' Gourmet

I found this recipe in Real Simple while on the road. Picking up glossies is my favorite thing about airports. Last week when I went to Columbus, Ohio, I went through Vanity Fair, Vogue and Real Simple. I just love magazines; I love them in newsstands and I love getting them in the mail.

For the past few months, I've been looking for a replacement to Gourmet magazine. I cannot find one. Conde Nast sent me Bon Appetit as some sort of consolation for closing down Gourmet--me no like. It's a fine publication, but it's geared a little more toward families (If I want finger-food recipes to serve my kids, I'll read Family Circle, thank you.). Then its editorials are way subpar. I like Molly Wizenberg's column, but that's about it. The feature stories are less than half the length and not worth reading past the first paragraph. I was thumbing through old Gourmet issues recalling lengthy features that I read, rivetted, the entire way through. Gourmet's writers were people to be imitated, and its photography. I looked at the images, and I wanted to be there, eating with those models. Not so with Bon Appetit. Then there's Food and Wine. Meh. I tried a couple recipes that were only so-so. I have the same critique of its features--too short, too boring, too snobby about wine. Someone recommended Real Simple--it's OK, but I want a food magazine, not a magazine about cleaning my house, dressing fashionably and decorating. Saveur may be the only comparable replacement--I love its photography, but again, it lacks in the feature-writing department. Gourmet had such a well-rounded arsenal of feature writing: political issues, trends, personal narratives. I did not fully appreciate that magazine until it was gone.

Aside from subscribing to Saveur, which I'm still unsure about, I'm considering subscribing to The Diner Journal or Canal House Cooking. As I understand it, The Diner Journal comes out four times a year (with each season) for $36, while Canal House does three a year for $50. Canal House is 100 pages of recipes and photos (omg!), and TDJ is (I take it) more in the vein of a scholarly journal. Can anyone weigh in on these publications or others that have replaced Gourmet?

Meanwhile, here is the recipe for shrimp enchiladas from Real Simple, which were quite good though a touch too acidic and soupy (I blame myself for the soupy part--I was too hungry to wait for the volume to reduce!).

Puerto Rican Shrimp Enchiladas: from Real Simple

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 medium onion

1 bell pepper

2 garlic cloves

2 teaspoons paprika

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

sea salt

1/2 cup white wine

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained

1 pound shrimp

1 tablespoon capers

1 tablespoon lime juice

1/4 cup whole milk, cream or half-and-half

8 tortillas

mild goat cheese

Chop the onion, bell pepper and garlic. Heat the oil on medium and add the onion and pepper. Saute until the onion is softened a bit, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika, red pepper flakes and salt. Saute for another minute or two. Add some fresh cilantro (I didn't), the wine and tomatoes. Bring the liquid to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the volume has reduced and the liquid is thicker. Add the shrimps, milk, lime juice and capers. Continue to simmer for another 5 minutes until the shrimps are cooked through. Serve with tortillas, mild cheese and garnished with cilantro.