LOS ANGELES — Bon Appetit is 50 years old, and Barbara Fairchild, the magazine’s editor in chief, is celebrating.
She played hostess during September at a splashy series of events called the “Bon Appetit Culinary and Wine Focus Beverly Hills”: a rooftop dinner at Raffles L’Ermitage hotel; a grand tasting of dishes from 50 chefs at the Beverly Hilton; plus wine and cheese tastings and a poolside cocktail party at the Avalon Hotel.
But Fairchild is even more excited about the publication of The Bon Appetit Cookbook, the magazine’s first, and the first book that Fairchild, who has been at the publication for 28 years, has authored.
She has brought a copy of the cookbook along to lunch at Lucques, where we sit on the shady back patio.
It doesn’t take Fairchild long to make up her mind about what to order as a starter: heirloom tomato salad with burrata, a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream.
“I have to have that wherever I see it,” she says.
Chef Suzanne Goin sends out a glorious one, with slices of red and purple, and orange and green tomatoes. When I had asked Fairchild where she would like to have lunch, she chose Lucques, not just because she loves Goin’s cooking, but because she loves the fact that female chefs and restaurateurs are so strong in Los Angeles.
“I think the West Coast really leads in that regard,” she says.
The main course comes: striped bass with dancing demon plums. The unusual plums, with their deep, bright flavor and emerald color, gets Fairchild talking about ingredients. And about cooking. And about the magazine. About what America likes to eat and how that has changed in the past 50 years.
The magazine’s anniversary issue this month, a 244-page tome, takes a look back at that half-century. As part of it, various chefs are featured with dishes that update the ideas of each decade from the 1950s to the present.
Goin, she tells me, will be interpreting the 1990s, with a Moroccan spread called “It’s a Med Med Med Med World.”
“The ’90s were really about that area of the world,” says Fairchild, “and the latest stop is Morocco. The photos are gorgeous.”
Fairchild has lived in Los Angeles since she was 8 years old, when her character-actor father moved the family from New York. She divides her time between L.A. and New York, where Bon Appetit has a satellite office at Conde Nast.
It’s no surprise that she has show-business connections. Ah, here comes one now: It’s Ron Bernstein, taking his seat with two other diners at the table just to Fairchild’s right.
Kisses ensue, then Bernstein, a literary agent at International Creative Management who handles film rights, brings up the cookbook and when it will be published.
She proudly hands him the copy she brought, and he flips through it.
“Coconut tofu?” he says. “Baked grits with Parmesan and black pepper? Barbara, you’re not cooking for me, honey!”
She laughs.
There are more than 1,200 recipes in the book. They were culled from the staff’s favorite recipes from the past 50 years of the magazine — the majority of Bon Appetit’s test kitchen staff, Fairchild says, has been at the magazine 20 years or more. And supplemented with new recipes where needed.
So what are readers most likely to turn to first?
Desserts, if the magazine’s RSVP column, where readers write in requesting recipes from restaurants, is any indication.
“We can’t run enough flourless chocolate cake,” says Fairchild. “And cheesecake. Any cheesecake has consistently been the favorite dessert of Bon Appetit readers for 50 years.”
There are 13 cheesecake recipes in the book. But Fairchild has chosen, as one of her three favorite recipes (along with grilled steak salad with green beans and blue cheese, and spicy roast chicken breasts with tomatoes and marjoram), giant chocolate-toffee cookies.
“They combine my two favorite flavors,” she says, “chocolate and caramel. And they’re big, so you can eat half one day and the other the next — if you have the willpower.”
They are big. And rich. And gooey. And very Bon Appetit.
Grilled Steak Salad With Green Beans and Blue Cheese
Yield: 6 servings.
1 pound slender green beans, trimmed
6 cups baby arugula (6 ounces)
4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 1/4 cups pitted Kalamata olives, halved
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 (8- to 9-ounce) strip loin steaks
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
1. In boiling salted water, cook beans 4 minutes. Plunge into ice water. Cool and drain. Mix beans, arugula, tomatoes, olives. Whisk 1/2 cup oil, vinegar. Season with salt, pepper.
2. Brush steaks with remaining oil; season with salt and pepper. Grill on medium-high heat grill to desired doneness, 11/2 minutes on the first side and 1 minute for second side for medium rare. Transfer steaks to work surface; let stand 5 minutes. Cut steaks crosswise into strips.
3. Toss salad with enough dressing to coat. Divide salad among six plates. Top with steak and cheese.
Nutrition information per serving
Calories 503
Fiber 5 g
Fat 36 g (10 sat.)
Sodium 624 mg
Carbohydrate 14 g
Protein 33 g
