Innholdsfortegnelse for June/July 2019 i Cook's Country

I ARRIVE AT DESERT Oak Barbecue in El Paso, Texas, promptly at 6:00 a.m., which is when owner Richard Funk says the beef ribs will be ready to come off the cooker. I park around back, a few feet behind a trailer that houses the wood and supplies needed for the custom-built 1,000-gallon cooker a few feet away. Richard’s wife, Suzanne, introduced him to a charcoal grill while the couple was living in Michigan. It was love at first fire. Without a proper mentor, Richard tinkered with recipes and techniques almost nonstop. “It was torture for my family at first because I had no idea what I was doing,” he says. “The first brisket I ever made is still by far the worst brisket I’ve ever eaten.” In 2012, after…

FRESH CORN ON the cob, shucked, boiled, and buttered, is a summertime treasure. But with enough repetition, even treasures can become a little tired. I wanted to create a simple, easy recipe that added pizzazz to summer corn by enhancing its fresh, sweet flavor. I started by stripping the kernels from six cobs of freshly husked corn. The best method was to cut the husked cobs in half crosswise and then stand the halves on their stable, flat cut sides before cutting off the kernels with downward strokes of a sharp knife. The six ears gave me about 4½ cups of fresh, sweet kernels to work with. One simple way to enrich corn’s flavor is to brown it, so I dumped the kernels into a stainless-steel skillet with a little…

FRUIT DUMPLINGS HAD their heyday in 19th-century America. Back then, peach versions of the dessert were made by wrapping peach slices or halves in tender pastry dough and baking or boiling them, sometimes swaddled in cheesecloth, in a sweetened syrup. Since then, recipes for peach dumplings have evolved. When I made six existing recipes for my team, we were most drawn to one from Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman. Her version leans toward the traditional: peaches wrapped in dough and cooked in syrup. Her recipe calls for wrapping frozen peach slices in store-bought crescent roll dough. She then bakes the dumplings in a syrup of sugar, butter, and—wait for it—half a can of lemon-lime soda. It’s an innovative idea that produces tender dumplings, jammy fruit, and a thick, sweet…

THE MEXICAN DISH rajas con crema (“strips with cream”) features strips of charred poblano peppers folded into a rich mixture of cream, onions, and sometimes corn. When I was living in Mexico City, I was always excited to see this dish at taco joints—it never failed to comfort me after a long day of restaurant work. Dark-emerald poblanos, an American supermarket staple, have a rich chile flavor and an unpredictable punch of mild heat. I set out to create a weeknight-friendly supper of chicken with rajas using this approachable, ultratasty pepper. Poblanos are transformed when charred—their inherent fruity flavor is dramatically enhanced with subtle smokiness. But I quickly found that the peppers were too spicy when I broiled or grilled them whole because so much of a poblano’s heat is…

IN A MATTER of minutes, you can make a homemade barbecue sauce that easily outpaces anything you’ll pull off the shelves in the supermarket. I’m talking about all-purpose barbecue sauce here: the dark red, sweet-and-tangy elixir that works just as well as a dip for chicken nuggets as it does slathered on sizzling chicken, brisket, or ribs. Here’s how you make it. Start by sautéing a grated onion in a couple of tablespoons of oil; grating the onion (a box or a paddle grater works well here) allows it to melt into the sauce and provide subtle sweetness and savory backbone. Next, add spices to the hot oil so they can bloom and reach their full potential; I found that the best combination was a mix of garlic and onion…

7 Can Openers 7 Tests • Open 6 cans of black beans• Open 4 cans of tuna• Open 4 cans of tomato paste• Open 4 cans of whole tomatoes• Have users open 1 can of black beans with each opener• Wash by hand 5 times• Winner-only durability test: Open 25 cans of black beans A CAN OPENER typically has a propeller-like knob called a driving handle that users turn to move a small, circular blade around the top of a can. Traditional models puncture and cut the lid inside the rim of the can so that the lid can be removed. Safety models, however, cut into the side of the can just beneath the rim so that both the lid and its rim can be removed, thereby creating a smoother,…

Going Against the Grain Recipes often call for slicing beef against the grain, but I don’t understand what this means or how to do it. Can you please clarify? –Bridgette Holmes, New York, N.Y. If you look closely at a piece of beef, you’ll notice little lines—bundles of closely packed muscle fibers that run parallel to one another. This pattern of fibers is referred to as the “grain” because it looks similar to the grain on a piece of wood. When recipes call for slicing meat against (or across) the grain, it means you slice it perpendicular to the fibers instead of parallel to them. If you think of the fibers as a handful of dry spaghetti, you want to cut the bundle of spaghetti into shorter sections. This is important…

SOMEONE SHOULD MAKE a horror movie about a society overtaken by uncontrollable hordes of summer zucchini. In peak season, this vegetable is everywhere and home gardeners struggle to give it away. Attack of the killer zucchini, indeed. I wanted to write a happier script for this handsome vegetable, set in my favorite place for summer cooking—on the grill. My early experiments confirmed prior test kitchen findings: Large zucchini tasted dull and were much tougher and more fibrous than their smaller brethren. Medium zucchini (around 8 ounces each) were sweeter and more tender. Since I wanted to avoid having to move lots of small pieces around the grill grate, I cut the zucchini in half lengthwise (as opposed to into spears or medallions) and began by marinating them in olive oil,…

WHAT IS THE ultimate way to savor summer? Ask any of the Southerners on the Cook’s Country team (we have a few), and they’ll tell you: white sandwich bread, mayonnaise (preferably Duke’s, a Southern favorite), slices of perfectly ripe tomato, salt, and pepper. That’s it. No fancy artisanal bread, elaborate aioli, Himalayan salt, arugula, or cheese. It’s all about simplicity. And yet we found ourselves talking about it for hours. Although the recipe has few ingredients, so many things can go wrong. The tomatoes may be underripe, the slices too large and unwieldy, or the construction imperfect. And what about those days (let’s face it: months) when you don’t have access to a perfect tomato? I not only was determined to develop an exceptional tomato sandwich but also wanted to…

WHEN MY EDITORS asked me to develop a recipe for Chinese-style sesame noodles, I knew exactly which dish I wanted to use for inspiration: dan dan noodles. The first time I had these noodles (at an unassuming Sichuan restaurant near Boston), they opened up flavor possibilities I didn’t even know existed. They were tossed with a lively, bright-red chili oil but had a tempered spiciness that was enhanced and balanced with scallion, toasted sesame oil, meaty soy sauce, tangy vinegar, and pleasantly numbing Sichuan peppercorns. The noodles were also dotted with little bits of supersavory minced pork. I ordered a second bowl before I finished the first. For a home-cooked version of these noodles, I decided that my goal would not be to create an exact replica of an authentic…

MIXED BERRY SCONES Makes 8 scones Work the dough just until it comes together; do not overmix. For the best results, work quickly to keep the butter and berries as cold as possible. Note that the butter is divided in this recipe. If your berry mix contains strawberries, cut them in half before tossing them with the confectioners’ sugar in step 1. An equal amount of frozen blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries (halved) can be used in place of the mixed berries, if desired. SCONES 8¾ ounces (1¾ cups) frozen mixed berries3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar3 cups (15 ounces) all-purpose flour12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled, divided⅛ cup (2⅛ ounces) granulated sugar1 tablespoon baking powder1¼ teaspoons table salt¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk1 large egg plus…

FEW THINGS ARE as satisfying as pasta tossed in a comforting, meaty “Sunday sauce”—one that you’ve stood over all day, doting on it from morning until evening, adding a touch of this and a touch of that until, after hours of attention, it’s just right. But what if you get that hankering on a weekday? It would be a challenge, but I wanted to make a superporky, Sunday? worthy sauce in the slow cooker. My goal was to create a hearty tomato-based sauce with loads of tender meat, serious pork flavor, and bright acidity that said, “I sweated over this sauce all day—and it was worth it.” But I wanted to just put the ingredients in my slow cooker and turn it on. Spoiler alert: My first attempt flopped. I…

I love your recipe for homemade Italian seasoning. Could you create a recipe for homemade Greek seasoning? –Cheryl James, Streetsboro, Ohio Aiming to please, we ordered in several Greek seasoning mixes and were surprised to find how different they were. Some were just mixtures of herbs, others were dominated by onion, and still others included warm spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon. We wanted a lemony, herb-heavy blend that would be great mixed into vinaigrette, added to marinades for chicken or lamb, or simply sprinkled over rice. Here’s our version. HOMEMADE GREEK SEASONIG Makes about ¼ cup One lemon yields 1 tablespoon of zest. We love this seasoning in salad dressings and on feta cheese, baked potatoes, or grilled chicken. 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest2 tablespoons dried oregano1 teaspoon table salt1…

TEXAS-STYLE BEEF RIBS are intimidating—so big they look like they came off a T. rex. But fans know that beneath the dark, peppery crust and pink smoke ring is succulently tender beef so flavorful that barbecue sauce is unnecessary (and, in some corners, verboten). You think brisket lovers are committed? Wait till you meet a smoked beef rib enthusiast. I’m specifically referring to beef plate ribs, the meatiest ribs on the steer. They are marbled with fat and collagen; over low, slow heat, they achieve a tender, juicy texture. They are rarely available prepackaged, so I had to start with a special order at the butcher (see “Buy the Right [Very Big!] Ribs”). There is no universal code for how butchers cut plate ribs, so I gave strict specs to…

WHAT’S NOT TO like about cooking chicken wings—one of America’s favorite finger foods—on the grill over plumes of aromatic, intensely flavored woodsmoke? Plenty, as I quickly discovered when I made a collection of what I thought were promising recipes. The resulting wings shared a host of disappointing pitfalls such as tough, rubbery skin; an acrid, ashy smokiness; dried-out meat; and overpowering, unbalanced spice rubs and sauces. I knew I could do better. I set out to make wings that featured fully rendered skin; juicy, tender meat; and a balanced, lip-smacking combination of spice and smoke. With chicken wings, the key is cooking them just enough to render their copious subcutaneous fat, crisp the skin, and not overcook the meat. To do this, you need the right combination of heat and…

NAMED FOR THE nut of Ohio’s state tree, this sweetened peanut butter ball dipped up to its shoulders in melted chocolate is a fan favorite across the state but particularly in Columbus (see “One Sweet Century [and Counting]”). I’m from Ohio and am a fan of buckeyes, but I find that they are often too sweet and are a mess to make. I set out to remedy both of these issues while sticking to the traditional roster of ingredients: peanut butter, butter, chocolate, and confectioners’ sugar. I tackled the peanut butter filling first. Because the combination of butter and peanut butter is naturally sticky and difficult to work with, most recipes call for adding confectioners’ sugar to thicken the mixture. This extra-fine sugar incorporates easily into the sticky filling and…

PICTURE A TOWERING vertical spit packed with layers of marinated pork. Flames lick the meat as the spit turns, slowly rendering the fat in each layer to create juicy, charred pork flavored with plenty of garlic and oregano. Gyro (“YEE-ro”) is a Greek word that loosely translates as “turn,” which the spit continues to do as the cook thinly slices the meat into a warm pita. The gyro is then loaded with toppings: onion, tomato, lettuce, tzatziki (a yogurt? cucumber sauce) and sometimes even French fries. Sounds good, doesn’t it? But could it be made at home? Many existing recipes are extraordinarily involved, calling for marinating the meat for several days and using convoluted cooking techniques to try to replicate the spit-cooked meat. I cooked my way through a few…

DID YOU KNOW that you can cook rice in a casserole dish in the oven? It may sound strange, but we’ve had success with this technique before, and I wanted to use it to create a one-pan dinner with rice, salmon, and broccoli. Our testing has shown that the best pretreatment for oven-baked rice is rinsing it in a fine-mesh strainer to get rid of excess surface starch and then combining it with cold water in a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Tightly covered with aluminum foil and baked in a 400-degree oven, the rice cooks up tender and fluffy in about 40 minutes. I just had to figure out how and when to add salmon and broccoli to the equation—and how to flavor them. I started by pulling the…

CHEESE ENCHILADAS ARE comfort food at its finest: earthy corn tortillas filled with melty cheese and covered in a deeply flavorful, spiced-but-not-spicy chile sauce. Simple and satisfying. But enchiladas can be laborious to make: Toasting, soaking, and grinding dried chile peppers for the sauce takes some time and effort—and that’s before you get to filling and rolling the tortillas. Some recipes even insist on using homemade tortillas. I wanted a simpler, more direct path to the same hearty, complex flavor, and I wanted to make just enough for two. For the tortillas, I knew I was going with the store-bought corn variety. Our testing has proven that wrapping a stack of tortillas in a clean towel and microwaving them is a fast way to bloom their flavor and make them…

“These were a favorite dessert in my town growing up. Some folks served them with a sweet, lemony sauce, but my favorite accompaniment was always a drizzle of chocolate syrup. Don’t eat them too quickly or you’ll burn your tongue!”—MARGIE WAKEFIELD, Salinas, Calif. FRIED BANANAS Serves 6 to 8 Use ripe yellow bananas. Avoid ones that are green or have begun to turn black. Serve with store-bought chocolate sauce, if desired. 4 ripe bananas, sliced 1 inch thick2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus¾ cup (3¾ ounces), divided½ cup (3½ ounces) sugar½ teaspoon baking powder½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest¼ teaspoon table salt¾ cup whole milk2 quarts vegetable oil, for frying 1. Toss bananas with 2 tablespoons flour in bowl. Freeze until bananas are firm, about 30 minutes. 2. Whisk sugar, baking…

A tiny version of this rooster has been hidden in a photo in the pages of this issue. Write to us with its location, and we’ll enter you in a random drawing. The first correct entry drawn will win our favorite can opener, and each of the next five will receive a free one-year subscription to Cook’s Country. To enter, visit CooksCountry.com/rooster by June 30, 2019, or write to Rooster JJ19, Cook’s Country, 21 Drydock Avenue, Suite 210E, Boston, MA 02210. Include your name and address. Ann Molavi of Bar Harbor, Maine, found the rooster in the February/March 2019 issue on page 14 and won our favorite inexpensive stainless-steel skillet. WEB EXTRAS Free for four months online at CooksCountry.com Lime Yellow Cake Layers Lime Frosting READ US ON IPAD Download…

TO MAKE THIS CAKE, YOU WILL NEED: 1¼ teaspoons unflavored gelatin2 tablespoons water3 large egg yolks2 teaspoons cornstarch1 pound (3¼ cups) thawed frozen raspberries⅔ cup (4⅔ ounces) sugar2 tablespoons unsalted butter Pinch table salt1¼ cups heavy cream, chilled1 recipe Lime Yellow Cake Layers*¾ cup (6 ounces) frozen limeade concentrate, thawed1 recipe Lime Frosting*5–7½ ounces (1–1½ cups) fresh raspberries3 thin lime slices FOR THE RASPBERRY CURD AND MOUSSE: Sprinkle gelatin over water in large bowl and set aside. Whisk egg yolks and cornstarch in medium bowl until combined. Combine frozen raspberries, sugar, butter, and salt in medium saucepan. Lightly mash with whisk and stir until no dry sugar remains. Cook over medium heat, whisking frequently, until mixture is simmering and raspberries are almost completely broken down, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove…