Innholdsfortegnelse for August/September 2021 i Cook's Country

ROMESCO, A CLASSIC sauce that originated in Catalonia, Spain, is a mix of tomatoes, peppers, garlic, onions, almonds, and olive oil all blended (or pounded) together. It makes a great accompaniment to grilled or roasted meats. Since it’s prime tomato season, I decided to create a fresh, hearty salad based on the same flavors. Here’s how to make it. Core and chop a pound of ripe tomatoes and transfer them to a bowl. Then chop a green bell pepper and add it to the tomatoes. (Most romescos use red bell peppers, in part because pulverized green peppers turn the sauce a muddy color, but we preferred the vegetal flavor and emerald color of green here.) Follow the peppers with two minced garlic cloves; some sliced shallot; plenty of extra-virgin olive…

YOU KNOW THIS restaurant “house salad”: crisp iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, some shredded carrot, sliced red onion, and neon-yellow pickled peppers, all topped with an herby Italian dressing. It’s served, often in a faux wooden bowl, at many a family restaurant, diner, or pizza place. I love it, and I think it deserves to be more than just an afterthought. I wanted to make a simple yet satisfying recipe for a house salad that could play a starring role. To begin, I whisked together an easy vinaigrette of olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. A tablespoon of mayonnaise helped emulsify the dressing and gave it creaminess and sheen. Italian seasoning imparted that signature flavor (namely, of dried basil and oregano) associated with Italian dressing. And just a little…

Our recipe for homemade ricotta is available for free for four months at CooksCountry.com/ricotta. SWEET AND LIGHTLY grassy-tasting summer squash deserves to be celebrated as an emblem of summer produce. Sadly, many recipes minimize its impact by grating it, cooking it down to mush, or drowning it in a lake of cream sauce. To make sure that summer squash was front and center in this pasta dish, cutting it into the right shape was important—I wanted to cook out the excess moisture but still have the squash retain its structure and identity. Thin half-moons proved to be just the ticket. I started by browning the half-moons in olive oil, which added richness to this mild vegetable. Minced garlic, black pepper, and spicy red pepper flakes provided a welcome punch. Next, I…

MAKING CANDY CAN be hard. But making these candied jalapeños is as easy as heating the sliced fresh chiles in a seasoned simple syrup and then letting them cool. Yet for such a seemingly basic recipe with so few ingredients and steps, the end product is extraordinarily versatile. The key to this recipe’s versatility (and its success) lies in the balance of flavors and textures. Ample sweetness—from ¾ cup of granulated sugar—helps keep the potent heat of the chiles in check. Fruity, tart cider vinegar complements the vegetal flavor of the fresh chiles and balances the sugar’s sweetness, and a generous amount of salt accentuates all the flavors. Whole coriander seeds contribute vibrant pops of complexity and a welcome textural contrast. Finally, using both red and green jalapeños provides incredible…

IF YOU HAVE a great blender, it’s easy to whip up smoothies, shakes, frozen drinks, sauces, dips, and dressings and even grind nut butters from scratch. Setting a cap of $100 for each, we bought seven blenders and put them to the test, making smoothies, crushing ice, emulsifying mayonnaise, and grinding almonds into nut butter. We measured noise levels and stain and odor retention and rated the blenders’ performance, handling, and cleanup. A few models had the winning combination of powerful motors, sharp blades, and a jar that kept ingredients moving; the rest just kept getting stuck. Our winner, by NutriBullet, easily blended everything but mayo. It was simple to use and clean, and its lightweight jar has a generous 8-cup capacity. Web subscribers can see the full testing results…

Splurge on Top Quality 1 ORANGE JUICE, GRAPEFRUIT JUICE, AND LEMONADE To ensure year-round availability, many manufacturers store their juices in tanks for months and then add synthesized flavor or aroma compounds before bottling. Natalie’s, the manufacturer of our favorite orange juice, grapefruit juice, and lemonade, juices its citrus within 24 hours of shipping. The juices and lemonade taste superfresh, practically like homemade. The bottles cost about $2 more on average than others on the shelf, but their flavor is significantly better. 2 MAPLE SYRUP Instead of buying pancake syrup (which is really just dolled-up corn syrup), we splurge on real maple syrup. Beyond that, which type of real maple syrup you buy doesn’t matter. Because few producers have the resources for national distribution, most sell their syrup to large…

BABA GHANOUSH (ALSO spelled baba ghanouj)—which originated in the Levantine region (most sources point specifically to Lebanon) and is well-known in the Middle East and Mediterranean—is a deeply flavored dip made from fire-roasted eggplant enriched with tahini and seasoned with lemon and garlic. The bedrock technique for baba ghanoush is cooking the eggplant over an open flame until the skin is charred (it gets discarded) and the interior is meltingly tender. This simple, brilliant approach concentrates the eggplant’s savory flavor, imparts an alluring smokiness, and renders the flesh silky—making it the perfect canvas for a variety of stir-ins. Before roasting the eggplants, pierce their skins to encourage moisture to evaporate and to prevent bursting. Then, place them either under the broiler or on the grill. In about 30 minutes, they…

SOUVLAKIIS A dish of marinated meat (or occasionally vegetables) threaded onto skewers or a spit (“souvla” means “spit” in Greek) and cooked over a fire. Back in 2018, our executive food editor, Bryan Roof, had an exemplary version of chicken souvlaki at Johnny’s Restaurant in Homewood, Alabama, that he couldn’t forget. Inspired by his own Greek heritage, the chef there, Timothy Hontzas, marinated boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a bold mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, and his proprietary seasoning blend before threading the meat onto skewers. After getting some good char on the meat, he brushed it with a tahini-butter sauce to cloak the chicken with an extra layer of richness and allure. We decided it was time to pay homage to that dish. Meat for souvlaki is typically…

Raspberries When you pick a raspberry, the part that's connected to the plant, the torus, stays on the plant-so raspber-ries are naturally hollow. That makes these red beauties inherently fragile, so it's best to wash them right before you use them to minimize the break-age and spoilage that can occur when the berries sit for an extended period with water inside them. Blueberries Because they're so small, there's no need to thaw frozen blueberries when using them in most recipes. Tiny wild blueberries are generally sweeter and more intensely flavored (and more expensive) than the larger berries common in supermarkets, but you can use both kinds interchangeably. Strawberries Strawberries, which are botanically related to roses, have grown wild in the United States and Europe for centuries. Generally speaking, the flavor…

PRESERVED PEACHES IN SYRUP Serves 12 (Makes 4 pints) Total Time: 1 hour, plus 24 hours cooling Yellow peaches are a must here; white peaches, which do not have enough natural acidity, are not a safe substitute in this recipe. In step 4, you can peel firmer peaches with a serrated vegetable peeler. The cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla bean are optional ingredients that can be added in step 5; choose one if you prefer flavored peaches. If using a flavoring, be sure to remove it before jarring the peaches. In step 7, it’s important to pack the peaches into the jars while they’re hot. We suggest reading this recipe all the way through before beginning. This recipe can easily be doubled; depending on the size of your pots, you may…

Best For: Everything! Heavy-duty blending, smoothies, frozen drinks, milkshakes, raw foods, nuts, grains, and more. Best For: Smoothies, dips, mayonnaise, frozen drinks, milkshakes, nut butters. A serious blender at a moderate price. Best For: Smoothies, frozen drinks, milkshakes, nut butters, dips; low speed is too fast to emulsify mayonnaise. Best For: Smoothies; dips; frozen drinks; milkshakes; nut butters; hot soups; oat, nut, soy, and rice milks. Best For: Single servings of smoothies, milkshakes, salad dressings. Small batches right in a travel cup. Best For: Single servings of smoothies and protein drinks when on the go. Small, battery-powered blender. Best For: Pureeing soups right in the cooking pot, mixing salad dressings, whipping cream.…

CARDAMOM–BROWN SUGAR BUTTER Serves 12 (Makes about ⅔ cup) Total Time: 16 minutes This recipe is inspired by Asha Gomez’s cardamom cornbread in her book My Two Souths: Blending the Flavors of India into a Southern Kitchen (2016). Serve with our Fresh Corn Muffins (page 7). 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened¼ cup packed (1¾ ounces) light brown sugar¾ teaspoon ground cardamom½ teaspoon table salt Using fork, mash all ingredients in bowl until fully combined. RECIPE INDEX MAIN DISHES Balsamic-Glazed Steaks with Orzo Salad DT Bourbon Chicken 4 Bucatini all’Amatriciana DT Chicken Parmesan Meatballs 12 Chili Cheese Dogs DT Corn, Tomato, and Arugula Pizza DT Fried Catfish with Bacon Green Beans DT Garlic-Feta Chicken Breasts with Cucumber Salad DT Grilled Chicken Souvlaki 14 Grilled Chili-Lime Chicken Sandwiches and Potato Wedges DT…

Eggplant purees, dips, salads, and spreads are popular from North Africa to India, and exact recipes for these dishes can be a source of hot debate from cook to cook. Here are just a few iterations to give you an idea of eggplant’s popularity and versatility. MELITZANOSALATA Greek roasted eggplant salad/dip seasoned with lemon and olive oil SALAT CHATZILIM Israeli roasted eggplant dip sometimes made with mayonnaise instead of tahini KASHKE BADEMJAN Persian dip of fried mashed eggplant enriched with yogurt (kashk) and seasoned with mint PATLICAN SALATASI Turkish salad or dip of charred eggplant MUTABAL/MOUTABAL Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dish often containing the same ingredients as baba ghanoush but sometimes more heavily spiced BAINGAN BHARTA Indian dish of charred mashed eggplant seasoned with a common Punjabi profile of…

BEFORE THE LAT E 1950s, flavored potato chips weren’t really a thing. The first two varieties that saw widespread distribution were sour cream and onion and barbecue. I have nothing against the former, but I love the latter. So I wanted to create a potato side dish inspired by this iconic chip flavor—which, of course, was itself inspired by barbecued meats. I started by cutting peeled Yukon Gold potatoes into 1-inch chunks and tossing them with the type of simple but potent dry spice mix we’d rub onto chickens or a pork shoulder before smoking: granulated garlic, cumin, cayenne pepper, coriander, and salt, plus a little smoked paprika for smoky flavor and sugar to mimic the chips’ sweetness. Then I roasted the potato pieces on a rimmed baking sheet in…

FORME, OKRA and shrimp stew represents home. Its ingredients reflect a wise use of the land and sea, and its cooking methods and simple techniques reveal a cultural wisdom that simmers up both deep flavors and emotions. When I make the thick stew, which is well known in the Carolina Lowcountry, I’m instantly reminded of my childhood home and memories of happily slurping up second helpings. I am also surprised that so few people outside the region know about the long-simmered, complexly flavored mix of vegetables and seafood. Making okra and shrimp stew takes a bit of time, but the investment is worth it. This is a dish that is meant to be shared among family, friends, and community. Okra and shrimp stew is a gumbo-style dish, but unlike the…

SCOTCHEROOS ARE CHEWY, no-bake bars made with simple pantry items: cereal, chocolate, butterscotch, and peanut butter. The recipe first appeared on the side of the Kellogg’s Rice Krispies cereal box in the 1960s, and it has remained popular ever since, especially in the Midwest. The bars pop up at church potlucks, birthday parties, holiday gatherings, and even in regional gas stations. The name “Scotcheroos” traditionally refers to bars made with Rice Krispies, but depending on the cereal or other ingredients called for in a recipe, different names might be used, including Special K bars, Oh Henry! bars, K bars, and peanut butter crispy bars. My version gets its crunch from Special K cereal and chunky peanut butter. A combination of butter and corn syrup keeps the bars chewy and a…

ROASTED SWEET POTATOES and chicken breasts make for a fantastic weeknight pairing; the combination is as nutritious as it is delicious. I set out to create a one-pan version of this duo featuring bold southwestern flavors and spices. The key to a successful sheet-pan dinner is getting the cooking times for all the ingredients on the same schedule. I started with the chicken, choosing bone-in, skin-on breasts because I love the flavor and moisture that the skin and bone add to the tender breast meat. To give the chicken some southwestern character, I seasoned it with a mixture of chili powder for kick, cumin for warmth, dried oregano for herbal depth, and salt and pepper. On to the sweet potatoes. I started by peeling and cutting them into sizable half-moons…