Innholdsfortegnelse for December/January 2020 i Cook's Country

THE MAJOR HOLIDAYS are so much fun. Music, laughter, big meals, celebration, happy times. But I think a lot about the days just before and after the big dates, the ones we tend to overlook. That Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, with the breeze of anticipation (or is it anxiety?) in the air. Or that afternoon the day after Christmas, when you still don’t want to get out of your pj’s but you might scream if you see another cookie. I think those are the days when cooking really shows its power. The glamour shots are always of the tableful of pies you baked or beautiful centerpiece roast you prepared, but think of the beauty in that simple dish you’ll make on a holiday season “off” night. Something warm, restorative, and…

LET’S BE HONEST: Does anyone get excited to see butternut squash in the grocery store? I think the reason for the lukewarm reception is that most recipes don’t do the squash’s earthy flavor justice. Instead of covering it up with creamy sauces or too many spices, I wanted to highlight its inherent sweetness by deeply caramelizing the squash in a hot oven. After peeling the squash, I tested roasting cubes, chunks, and even halves. I settled on cutting a halved squash crosswise into 1-inch pieces; this gave me large-ish pieces that were easy to manage on the plate and had the perfect ratio of flavorful browned exterior to creamy, soft interior. For intense caramelization, I set the oven to 450 degrees and adjusted the oven rack to the lowest position,…

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU, or “blue ribbon” chicken, features a boneless breast that’s stuffed with (or rolled around) a ham and cheese filling, coated in bread crumbs, and baked or fried. It’s a well-loved dish but, in my opinion, it’s one that could use a bit of a refresh (maybe because I’ve had it at so many weddings). What’s more, I wanted to swap out chicken breast in favor of tender, mildly sweet pork tenderloin. And I wanted it to be fast and easy enough for a weeknight. Classic cordon bleu calls for Black Forest ham, and it was the best option here too, for its consistently robust flavor and wide availability. After experimenting with several different cheeses, I settled on Gruyère for its unbeatable combination of nutty flavor and smooth…

WHAT IMPRESSES ME most about Italian cuisine is how a dish based on something as humble as stale bread can still be unbelievably delicious. So it goes with pappa al pomodoro, the fantastic Tuscan bread and tomato soup perfumed with garlic and olive oil: A few key ingredients come together to make a bright, silky, ultraflavorful soup. I challenged myself to make a streamlined version from supermarket staples. I tried several varieties of fresh tomatoes—globe, vine-ripened, plum, and even cherry—in a basic tomato soup, but peeling them was a pain and their quality was inconsistent; some were red, juicy, and ripe, while others were hard, pink, and virtually flavorless. Canned tomatoes would make my recipe easy and consistent throughout the year. My two finalists were canned whole peeled tomatoes and…

It's baking season. Actually, every season is baking season as far as we’re concerned. But with the holidays ahead, it’s time to kick your kitchen (and your sweet tooth) into high gear. Your first step is a visit to the grocery store to stock up on butter, sugar, flour, and other baking essentials. Then, block off an afternoon and call in the troops to help. Start with one of these three new cookie recipes and visit CooksCountry.com/holidaycookies for even more sweet ideas. TIPS TO GET YOU STARTED BAKING IN BATCHES When baking in batches, make sure the baking sheets have cooled before adding the next round of dough. Our winning baking sheet is the Nordic Ware Baker’s Half Sheet. PARCHMENT PAPER Use parchment paper to keep the cookies from sticking…

CHICKEN FRICASSEE IS a traditional country-style chicken dish in which chicken pieces are seasoned and dredged in flour, lightly browned, braised with broth and onions, and then served with a creamy sauce made from the braising liquid. The dish has been around for ages, and it can sometimes taste that way—many old recipes yield bland chicken covered in a gloppy sauce. A few years ago, though, we developed a recipe that breathed new life into chicken fricassee by adding apples—their sweet, fruity acidity cuts through the rich cream sauce and adds complexity and interest. That recipe is much beloved in the test kitchen (and beyond), but I wanted to further streamline it into an even faster weeknight dinner for two. Our previous recipe called for browning thin slices of apple…

I AM A huge fan of rich, meaty Southern-style smothered pork chops. They’re the epitome of simple, satisfying comfort food: Just heavily season the chops, sear them, and then simmer them in a roux-based onion gravy until they’re perfectly tender. Unfortunately, many versions of smothered pork chops disappoint—especially the handful of existing slow-cooker recipes I prepared for my colleagues in the test kitchen. Their comments ranged from “really tough meat” to “bland and boring” to “resembles horrible diner food.” I set out to create a slow-cooker recipe for smothered pork chops that lived up to its full potential. My first step toward that goal was choosing the right chops. The chops in my initial tests were tough because they were too lean—and lean cuts dry out when they are overcooked.…

A RUSTIC TART can serve as an eye-catching holiday dessert, but with the right filling, a tart can also be a handsomely nontraditional savory side dish. I wanted to create a recipe for a tart packed with potatoes and nutty Parmesan cheese. The good news was that the test kitchen has a fantastic recipe for a buttery, crisp, easy-to-work-with tart dough that I could use as a reliable starting point. So I began my testing by filling batches of that dough with different kinds of potatoes (russet, Yukon Gold, and red) in different cuts (chunks, wedges, and thin rounds). I tossed the spuds with grated Parmesan and baked the tarts for a taste test. My tasters liked the texture of russets sliced into thin rounds the best. When stacked up…

IN A CLASSIC chicken biryani, richly spiced and perfectly fluffy basmati rice is lavished with butter and studded with dried fruit and nuts. The rice—a confetti of vermillion saffron and white grains—is layered with sauced chicken pieces and topped with fried onions and a shower of fresh herbs. It is a celebration of the delicious complexity of Indian cooking and a staple of Indian American restaurants. But chicken biryani takes a lot of time, effort, and dishes to make, as I found when I prepared a few existing recipes. For each one, I toasted and ground myriad whole spices. I cut up a chicken and marinated it for up to 48 hours before browning it. I soaked, rinsed, and parcooked the rice in spice-infused water and sliced and deep-fried a…

ADJARULI KHACHAPURI, ORIGINALLY from the country of Georgia in the Caucasus region of Asia, is more common stateside than ever. It’s showing up on restaurant tables, on social media, and on trend lists. It’s not hard to see why: Khachapuri—essentially bread filled with melty cheese—is like a cross between deep-dish pizza and cheese fondue. And then some. There are several distinct styles; the shape I chose to work with is similar to a flattened football. When filled with a pool of molten cheese and topped with an egg and butter, which are stirred in before serving, the result is like a cheesy bread bowl. Diners tear off chunks of the crusty bread to dunk into the gooey cheese inside—perfect party food for a group of good friends. I started with…

SWEET, TENDER ONIONS encased in a beautifully browned, crunchy coating—why would you ever choose fries when onion rings are in play? But onion rings can be a challenge to make at home—the recipes I tried used a ridiculous number of dishes and called for jumping through a lot of hoops, all for mediocre (or worse) results. The most promising recipe called for dipping sliced onions into tangy buttermilk and then dredging them in seasoned flour; the resulting rings had a coating reminiscent of great fried chicken. But I had to bread them twice (dunk in buttermilk, dredge in flour, re-dunk, and re-dredge) before frying in a single layer in a Dutch oven, which meant frying almost 10 batches! Double-breading was clearly the key to great rings, but I was determined…

Walk into any candy shop and you’ll find chocolate turtles nestled among the truffles and nougats. These seductive clusters of pecans, caramel, and chocolate got their name in 1918 when a candy dipper in Chicago noted that their rounded shape resembled a turtle. I used chocolate turtles as inspiration for layered bar cookies for the holidays. After making a sturdy chocolate shortbread base, I created a caramel layer by cooking down dulce de leche, butter, brown sugar, cream, and corn syrup; stirring in some toasted pecans; and spreading this mixture over the shortbread. Some chocolate chips swirled into the still-warm caramel melted beautifully, and a sprinkle of flake sea salt was the perfect finish. TURTLE BARS Makes 24 bars Dulce de leche, a thick, caramel-like sauce, can be found in…

BOILED EGGS Makes 8 eggs Start timing after adding the last egg to the boiling water. This recipe works equally well with as few as two eggs; however, the timing changes when more than eight eggs are cooked at once. 8 large eggs 1. Bring 12 cups water to boil in large saucepan over high heat. Fill large bowl halfway with ice and water. 2. Using spider skimmer or slotted spoon, gently lower eggs into boiling water and cook for 7 minutes for soft-cooked eggs or 13 minutes for hard-cooked eggs. Transfer eggs to ice bath and let cool for 5 minutes. 3. To peel, gently tap 1 egg on counter to crack shell all over. Begin peeling off shell at wider end of egg, making sure to break membrane…

THE BEST WAY to pull off a one-pot pasta dinner is to forgo the standard approach of boiling, draining, and saucing the pasta. Instead, the test kitchen often calls for cooking the pasta in a carefully controlled amount of liquid that reduces into a flavorful sauce. With this technique in mind, I set out to combine pasta, meat, and vegetables into a satisfying, light, and lively winter dish. For a flavorful base, I started by taking a few links of sweet Italian sausage out of their casings and browning the crumbles in a Dutch oven with sliced cremini mushrooms. I then deglazed the pot with dry white wine. I looked at existing test kitchen recipes and determined that 4 cups of liquid was needed to cook 12 ounces of pasta—plenty…

IN 2018, THE Specialty Food Association noted that more manufacturers than ever are making “dark milk” chocolates—products that feature higher cacao percentages but still contain enough milk for a smooth, creamy texture and nuanced flavor. These products are meant to appeal to those looking for something more robust than classic milk chocolate but not quite as bitter as some dark chocolates. When we last tasted milk chocolate, we named Dove Silky Smooth Milk Chocolate as our winner. But with so many new products pushing the boundaries of milk chocolate, it was time to take another look. We gathered 10 nationally available products, priced from about $0.40 to about $1.30 per ounce, and sampled them plain and in Milk Chocolate Pots de Crème. Our top two milk chocolates had cacao percentages…

Many families with Latin American heritage have their own treasured version of this recipe. We like our Coquito, which is based on a Puerto Rican version, served over ice—but some folks swear by drinking it chilled, without ice. It’s your call! COQUITO Serves 8 to 10 We tested this recipe using Coco López brand cream of coconut, which is often found in the soda and drink-mix aisle of the grocery store. 1 (15-ounce) can cream of coconut1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk1¼ cups gold rum1 teaspoon vanilla extract½ teaspoon ground cinnamon¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, plus extra for serving 1. Whisk all ingredients together in large pitcher until combined. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days. 2. Just before serving, working in batches, transfer…

My favorite chef’s knife has a plastic handle, but the care instructions caution against putting the knife in the dishwasher. Why? –Mick Bornhurst, Oklahoma City, Okla. Although most plastic handles are dishwasher-safe (wooden handles aren’t), sharp knives won’t stay sharp if they go through the dishwasher. Water in the wash cycle can jostle knives, which can cause the blade to bump against the rack or other objects, significantly dulling or chipping the blade. Also, dishwasher detergent can dull and discolor chef’s knives. But the biggest reason to avoid the dishwasher is safety: No matter how you load knives—flat on a rack or standing in the basket—they can shift around, become hidden under other objects, or end up at awkward angles that make them dangerous to unload. THE BOTTOM LINE: Hand-wash…

DON’T GET ME wrong; I love beef tenderloins and standing rib roasts as much as the next person. But sometimes you need a less expensive option. I wanted to see if I could create a celebration-worthy beef roast using one of my favorite affordable cuts: chuck-eye roast. Chuck eye has a big, beefy flavor and is easy to find—and it typically rings in at about a third of the cost of beef tenderloin. Chuck-eye roast is cut from the shoulder of the cow—the chuck—so the muscles are hardworking and can be chewy when cooked too quickly. Cooking the meat low and slow helps it become tender. So to start my testing, I seasoned a 5-pound boneless beef chuck-eye roast with salt and pepper and cooked it in a 275-degree oven.…

IN THE SUMMERTIME, barbecue pork chops are about as straightforward as you can get: Throw some chops on the grill, slather them with your favorite sauce (bottled or homemade), and you’ve got a satisfying meal of smoky, sweet pork in no time. But what happens when it’s not summertime or you don’t have easy access to a grill? I set out to create an easy indoor recipe for “barbecue” pork chops that had all the flavor and appeal of the outdoor version. I started off easy by searing 1-inch thick pork rib chops in oil in a skillet and brushing them with our favorite store-bought barbecue sauce. The results were not good. The meat was bland and dry, and the sauce tasted one-note and too sweet. Both brining and salting…

ROASTING A CHICKEN shouldn’t be hard. But some recipes make it seem so, calling for brines, marinades, advance salting, fancy butchering, and multistep cooking procedures. Not today. I set out to create a simple, stress-free recipe for juicy, perfectly browned, and surprisingly flavorful roast chicken you can make any night of the week. First off, I decided to roast in a 12-inch skillet because it’s the perfect size and always at the ready. I knew from experience that the average 3½- to 4-pound chicken cooks through in about an hour in a 400-degree oven. To enhance its browning, I rubbed the uncooked chicken all over with olive oil. Turning my attention to flavor, I considered easy ways to season the chicken. Fresh herbs can taste steamed when sprinkled over a…

SOUTHERN TRADITION SAYS eating collard greens on January 1st will bring good luck and prosperity in the New Year. While I can’t prove this is true, why risk it? Slowly braised collard greens are an emblematic Southern recipe; the greens are braised with a salty smoked pork product until they turn silky and ultratender. Over this long cooking time, the pork and greens intermingle and transform the cooking water into a supersavory pot liquor (or “pot likker”) to sip on the side. Some consider the pot liquor the best part of the dish. I started my testing by making half a dozen recipes for collard greens from respected Southern chefs. I learned that as long as I trimmed the thick woody stems from the leaves, there was no need to…

AT JOHNNY’S RESTAURANT in Homewood, Alabama, you won’t find the meatballs on top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese. At Johnny’s, they’re a reflection of owner Tim Hontzas’s Greek heritage and Southern upbringing, made with lamb and full of bright herb flavor and warm spices. Inspired, I hit the kitchen to create my own version. Existing recipes for Greek meatballs (aka keftedes) gave me mixed results. Some versions were perfect but required more work than I wanted to invest. Other versions were unbalanced: too heavy on the cinnamon, for example, or too light on the herbs. My goal was to create a tender, juicy meatball with a Greek twist that had bold yet balanced garlic and herb flavor and was perfectly perfumed with spices and lemony brightness. Just right for…

The best brownies balance their sweetness with deep chocolate flavor accented with a bit of salt to bring out the chocolate’s complexity. They’re rich and chewy with a pleasant, dense fudginess and a crackly, shiny top. So why not make a brownie in cookie form? To maximize the chocolate’s complexity, I used both melted bittersweet chocolate and cocoa powder plus a good dose of salt, which helped intensify the chocolate flavor. The key to chewiness was a mix of butter and vegetable oil, and using both baking soda and powder ensured that my cookies would spread just enough and crackle on top. CHOCOLATE BROWNIE COOKIES Makes 20 cookies We developed this recipe using Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Premium Baking Bar and Droste Cacao Dutch-processed cocoa powder. 1 cup (5…

MAKING HOT SAUCE from fermented chiles delivers exceptional results (most supermarket hot sauces are fermented), but to understand why you’d ever want to do it yourself, it might help to step back and talk about what fermentation is and what it does. Think of the difference between milk and Parmigiano-Reggiano, or between grapes and a prized French Burgundy. Fermentation preserves raw foods and infuses them with an array of new aromas and flavors. With a few days of fermentation, the chiles for hot sauce go from raw and aggressive to tart and fruity with an overarching savory complexity. So why do it yourself, instead of just leaving it to the pros? Well, not only is it easy and completely safe, but it gives you the ability to customize the heat,…

STAND MIXERS WORK wonders when you want to whip up layer cakes, cookies, meringue, or bread, but if you’re only an occasional baker—or just don’t have a lot of dough to spend on a stand mixer—do you really need a high-end model? When we last tested stand mixers, we named the KitchenAid KSM75WH Classic Plus Series 4.5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer our Best Buy. With new contenders available for less than $200, is it still the best? We bought six challengers to find out. Every mixer came with three standard attachments: a whisk for whipping, a paddle for creaming, and a dough hook for kneading. We whipped heavy cream and egg whites with the whisk attachments, creamed ingredients in cookie dough and cake batter with the paddles, and kneaded stiffi dough…

TO MAKE THIS CAKE, YOU WILL NEED: 1¾ cups (12¼ ounces) plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided2 (3- to 4-inch-long) fresh rosemary sprigs10 ounces (2½ cups) frozen cranberries¼ cup Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur1 recipe Orange–Olive Oil Layer Cake*1 recipe Easy Vanilla Buttercream*1 recipe Cranberry Curd* FOR THE TOPPING: Place ¾ cup sugar in shallow dish; set aside. Bring 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water to boil in medium saucepan over high heat; cook, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Off heat, dip rosemary sprigs in sugar syrup, then roll in sugar in dish. Transfer to plate. Stir cranberries into syrup in saucepan and let syrup cool completely, about 30 minutes. (Cranberries in syrup can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.) Drain cranberries in fine-mesh strainer;…