Melon madness

One amusing question that I'm often asked about the first issue of sated is "What's the easiest recipe inside?" When developing the magazine, Anita and I talked extensively about making sure that we included a good range of recipes, from easy, super-simple dishes to more sophisticated, complex affairs. We wanted sated to be the kind of magazine that would inspire you to jump into the kitchen quickly and grow with over time. While the dark chocolate issue involves several more involved recipes--including Anita's multi-layered mocha praline opera cake masterpiece, its simplest recipes are truly incredibly simple (to the point of being nearly effortless) but also quite delicious. The easiest? Melon with roasted cacao nib, from our chocolate-filled breakfast in bed spread.

Melon with Roasted Cacao Nibs

1 - 2 Tbspn raw cacao nibs

1 cantaloupe or other orange-flesh melon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the cacao nibs on a baking sheet. Roast the nibs for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and crush the nibs. Slice the melon and sprinkle with the crushed roasted cacao nibs.

(from sated, v0.1: the dark chocolate issue) 

The initial inspiration for this recipe comes from a summertime treat that my family eats in Taiwan: thick, juicy slices of ice-cold watermelon sprinkled with dried plum powder. The dried plum powder is salty and sour, which makes the watermelon taste even sweeter and more refreshing. Roasted cacao nibs with melon is a chocolate spin on this idea, with the cacao nibs adding crunchy texture and a deep, rich nuttiness to the sweet, supple melon flesh. I like the cacao nibs best with orange-flesh melons that the markets are bursting with right now: cantaloupes, charentais, ambrosia... and the list goes on with all the heirloom varieties that are popping up these days.

Experimenting with the cacao nibs has opened up a whole new world of toppings-on-melons possibilities for me. In lieu of roasted cacao nibs, shards of shaved dark chocolate are also an excellent option, adding a touch of decadence to fruit so that you could serve this as the sweet end to a late summer/early fall dinner. For watermelon (red or yellow), a sprinkling of Maldon sea salt captures the salty allure of the Taiwanese dried plum powder--smoked sea salt is another interesting twist. When I don't have plum powder around, I've also taken to adding a pinch of cayenne pepper (with or without salt) on top of watermelon slices, for a surprising bit of spicy kick. And, if you want to try the original inspiration, dried plum powder should be available at Asian supermarkets (not to mention it also goes fabulously with cherry tomatoes!).

As for sated news, during the summer, we were featured in two interviews all about the creation of sated--catch up on them here and here. Right now, we are deep in the midst of working on our second issue, which will be packed full of awesome autumn and winter recipes and stories. Stay tuned for more news in the coming weeks, and don't forget to follow us on facebook and twitter to get of-the-moment updates!

x, Stephanie

(photos by Stephanie Shih)

Dark Chocolate Issue Previews, part 2

We are so excited here at sated HQ because shipments of the magazine are arriving from the printer every week, and we're finally sending off the pre-orders and orders to you all now! This week, it's been a lot of time stamping, labeling, and stuffing envelopes--and having long conversations about Russian cookies with Maria from the post office counter as she stamps and stickers all of the shipments--but it's great to know that copies of sated will soon find their way to your mailboxes and doorsteps. If you haven't yet, you'll want to order your own copy.

In other news, Anita and I will be speaking about food photography at BlogHer Food next weekend (June 8 - 9) in Seattle, so if you are in the area, we'd love to meet you! We'll have a few issues of sated with us, too, if you want an in-person gander at the magazine.

In the meantime, as long promised, here is your second round of peeks inside the Dark Chocolate Issue. The above photograph is from Kamran Siddiqi's Essential Skills column, where he breaks down the seeding method to chocolate tempering. In this issue, we also go behind-the-scenes of the bean-to-bar chocolate making process with Dandelion Chocolate, and below are a few of the spreads from that story. More previews at our recipe features to come next week!

Hot off the presses

Last weekend, we put the first issue of sated to bed--finally, and today the first shipment arrived at our doorstep! This is the first advance shipment of a few that we're expecting, so for all of you who pre-ordered--hang on to your horses. Our major shipment gets in on Tuesday (due to Memorial Day; otherwise the shipments would arrive on Monday), and then we'll start shipping out pre-orders to you all. It's so wonderful to see all of our work in print, and we're so excited to share it with everyone.

If you haven't ordered yet, don't forget to do so via our online storefront. More previews inside to come soon, I promise! In the meantime, our Current Contributors page has been updated, so check out the hard workers that have made this first issue of sated possible.

Pre-orders and Previews

First off, thank you all so, so much for the incredible outpouring of enthusiasm and excitement for the launch of sated! We are in the final stages of crossing our t's and dotting our i's, and we cannot wait to share the first issue with you all.

So, speaking of which, pre-orders are now live for issue 1 of sated: the dark chocolate issue! For the first issue, we're operating as a small-batch press (like small-batch chocolatiers!), so please pre-order your copy today to make sure you don't have to wait longer for the second printing. You can pre-order from our store site by clicking here.

We're also always looking for stockists, so if you would like to carry our magazine in store, please do contact us at sales[at]satedmag[dot]com.

Now, onto your first peek inside the magazine! The following are previews of our Contents (to whet your appetite for what's in store) and a few select spreads in the magazine. We'll be posting one or two more previews in the coming days leading up to the release, but know that there are still plenty of surprises inside the magazine that are intended for print only. So go pre-order!

-from our seasonal article-

-from a recipe feature-