Innholdsfortegnelse for February/March 2022 i Cook's Country

A FEW MONTHS BACK, I joined a panel at the 43rd annual International Association of Culinary Professionals conference, convened to talk about the ways that magazine editors find the stories our publications tell. I had a lot to say, but I narrowed my remarks to just one thing: a personal statement I once wrote to help me clarify my purpose. At the time of its writing, I was the CEO of our household (also known as a stay-at-home mom), anticipating my youngest son’s high school graduation and my return to the workplace. I jotted a list of the skills I thought I was good at and recorded my family values in a journal. Then I distilled these thoughts into a simple principle that has guided my career ever since: A…

AT THE FOREVER jam-packed brunch joint Biscuit Head in Asheville, North Carolina, the highlights include fluffy biscuits (as big as a cat’s head), towering breakfast sandwiches, and a unique delight called mimosa fried chicken. A nod to the popular brunch libation of sparkling wine and orange juice, Biscuit Head’s creation is a crunchy, juicy boneless chicken thigh with bright orange notes layered throughout both the meat and the breading; a touch of heat; and just a hint of aromatic, complex white wine. The sparkling wine flavor doesn’t hit you over the head, and if you weren’t looking for it, you might not know it was there, but it adds unmistakable depth and intrigue. We liked this dish so much that we were inspired to develop our own version and bring…

THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT goes through painstaking measures to protect certain French foods. For instance, their appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) seal certifies strict geographical identities to maintain the quality and authenticity of wines; cheeses; butter; and, yes, lentils. It’s a way of preserving culinary heritage at the sourcing level. For centuries, the Le Puy community in the Auvergne region of France has been cultivating its namesake lentils with the utmost care to ensure that the legumes are of consistently high quality. Lentilles du Puy enjoy AOC status in France as well as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) certification from the European Union. The lentils from Le Puy have a deep-green color and are often referred to as the “caviar of lentils.” Though their price tag is lower than that of actual…

NOT ALL SEAFOOD comes from the sea. There are rivers, lakes, and streams teeming with delicacies; trout is a long-standing favorite. Within the United States there are several major species of edible freshwater trout (both wild and farmed) commonly sold in markets from coast to coast: rainbow, brook, cutthroat, and brown. Trout and salmon are part of the same family (and some trout species live in salt water for at least a part of their lives), but unlike salmon, freshwater trout have delicate, flaky white flesh. Since freshwater trout is harvested and sold while relatively small, it cooks quickly. It tastes clean and fresh and is best seasoned and cooked simply, so it’s perfect for speedy weeknight dinners. The fillets can be long and quite thin, which can make flipping…

USING A FOOD processor to make a shredded vegetable salad is incredibly satisfying, since the machine does most of the work for you. It’s even more satisfying when that salad is a superflavorful standout created from midwinter root-cellar produce, namely carrots and beets. Here’s how to get there. Start by whisking together a vibrant vinaigrette. Orange zest and juice, minced shallot and garlic, and white wine vinegar make for a bright dressing that won’t mute the natural sweetness of the carrots and beets. To season the vinaigrette, add salt; pepper; and ground coriander, another citrusy element. A touch of maple syrup balances the acidity and elevates the sweetness of the root vegetables without overpowering them. Next, shred earthy carrots and sweet red beets in the food processor, toss the shreds…

THE TEST KITCHEN’S GO-TO CHILES ANCHO These wrinkly, dark-red chiles (which are dried poblanos) have rich, raisiny sweetness and very little heat. ARBOL Slender arbol chiles have smooth, dark-red skins. Their flavor is bright, with a little smokiness; they are always hot, and sometimes searingly so. GUAJILLO Guajillos are dried mirasol chiles. These large chiles are a little sweet, with a distinct fruity tanginess and a mild-to-medium heat. CHIPOTLE These smoked, dried jalapenos, which have very wrinkled skins (and are sometimes red), have a deep, chocolaty smokiness with hints of tobacco. They are usually moderately hot, but you’ll occasionally encounter a real burner. NEW MEXICAN Smooth and brick red, New Mexican chiles taste slightly acidic and earthy, with a mild-to-moderate heat. They are often bundled into ristras—hanging bunches of dried…

CHOCOLATE AND PEANUT butter were made for each other. So when you take a filling inspired by the creamy core of a peanut butter cup and bake it inside double-chocolate cookie dough, you get the absolutely mouthwatering combination of a fudgy, crackly, slightly chewy, intensely chocolaty cookie and a satisfying peanutty center. Making stuffed cookies sounds like a lot more work than unwrapping a peanut butter cup, but it’s easier than you’d think, and the reward is worth it. For the cookie dough, including both unsweetened cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate, plus a good dose of salt, maximizes the dough’s chocolaty complexity and balances out the cookies’ sweetness. Dutch-processed cocoa powder, which tends to be high in fat and low in starch, not only helps keep the cookies moist and…

While you can make biscuits with just butter or just lard, we call for both here for the richest, flakiest, most tender biscuits. Butter can contain almost 20 percent water, while lard—like shortening and coconut oil—is 100 percent fat. Because lard doesn’t contain any water, it doesn’t encourage gluten development. When the dough is worked, the lard coats the gluten strands to prevent them from bonding, in essence “shortening” the strands, thus creating more tender biscuits. Butter has a lower melting point than lard, which means that it melts faster when heated. During baking, this allows the butter to form more air pockets in the dough as its water converts to steam, resulting in flakier, more leavened biscuits. Butter is also helpful for browning due to the sugar and protein…

FROM LEFTOVERS TO NOVELTY ICE CREAM Do you ever have a few leftover cookies or one random piece of pie that you just don’t want to eat anymore? Mix them into our Vanilla or Milk Chocolate No-Churn Ice Cream (August/September 2019). Crumble or cut brownies, cookies, or that lonely slice of pie into bite-size pieces until you have about ½ cup. After pouring your ice cream mixture of choice into an 8. by 4½-inch loaf pan, gently stir in the pieces; press plastic wrap flush against the surface of the ice cream mixture; and freeze it until it’s firm, at least 6 hours. Then dig in! –AMANDA LUCHTEL Find our recipes for Vanilla No-Churn Ice Cream and Milk Chocolate No-Churn Ice Cream at CooksCountry.com/icecream. DON’T TOSS THOSE SHRIMP SHELLS In…

FRA DIAVOLO—A TOMATO sauce infused with red pepper flakes and most commonly studded with lobster, shrimp, or other mixed shellfish and tossed with pasta—is a much-loved Italian American restaurant classic. Having tasted and cooked many versions, I set clear goals for my recipe: Every element had to be packed with seafood flavor; the recipe had to be failproof and easy to pull off at home; and it had to result in a delicious, gorgeous seafood pasta worthy of any occasion, from a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner to a celebratory holiday feast. For ease of preparation, I skipped the lobster and chose a delightful, quick-cooking mix of succulent shrimp, sweet scallops, and briny mussels. And one particular dish’s method for cooking pasta stood out as an opportunity to capitalize on all…

LOMO DE CERDO con salsa Cabrales is a tapas dish featuring pork tenderloin swimming in a rich and tangy sauce made with piquant Spanish Cabrales (see “Cabrales Breaks the Mold”). After tasting the dish at Dali Restaurant & Tapas Bar in Somerville, Massachusetts, I couldn’t get the intense blue cheese sauce out of my head. To learn how to make it, I reached out to Teresa Barrenechea, author of The Cuisines of Spain: Exploring Regional Home Cooking (2005), who explained that “it is important to melt the cheese first in the juices after searing the meat in the pan and then [add] the cream and [bring] it to a boil while whisking the mixture.” The idea of cooking the cheese in a hot skillet after searing pork was surprising to…

BUTTER AND LARD BISCUITS Serves 9 Total Time: 40 minutes, plus 50 minutes freezing and chilling We developed this recipe using John Morrell Snow Cap Lard. If you have leftover buttermilk, it can be frozen in ice cube trays, transferred to zipper-lock bags, and frozen for up to a month. Upon thawing, the whey and the milk solids will separate; simply whisk the buttermilk back together before using it. 6 ounces lard12 tablespoons unsalted butter4½ cups (22½ ounces) all-purpose flour1½ tablespoons sugar1½ tablespoons baking powder¾ teaspoon baking soda1½ teaspoons table salt1½ cups buttermilk 1. Cut lard and butter into ½-inch pieces and freeze until firm, 20 to 30 minutes. 2. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Process flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in food processor until…

ROAST CHICKEN IS so simple yet satisfying and makes for an impressive weeknight dinner. And when you employ an Instant Pot, our winning multicooker, roasting a chicken becomes even easier—and perhaps even more satisfying. It can produce tender, juicy chicken that practically falls off the bone (think supermarket rotisserie chicken) in less time than oven roasting and without much fuss. There’s no need to truss the bird, rotate it, or even adjust the oven temperature partway through—it’s relatively hands-off, like using a slow cooker but much quicker! Chicken seasoned simply with salt and pepper is already a crowd-pleaser, but a spiced-up chicken always knocks dinner out of the park. While there are many spices to choose from, berbere, a hot yet sweet and complex Ethiopian and Eritrean spice blend, pairs…

IN THE LANDLOCKED Piedmont area of Italy, which is nestled up against the Italian Alps and known for its mountain cheeses, white truffles, and wine, anchovies show up in dishes more than you might think. These small and powerful cured fish became a staple food in Piedmont in part as a result of traders hoping to avoid the salt tax. The story goes that they would travel to the coast of Liguria and return to Piedmont hiding their salt under anchovies, which weren’t taxed. Bagna cauda was born out of this relationship between mountain and ocean. Bagna cauda, which translates as “hot bath,” is a simple, rustic, full-flavored dip of anchovies, garlic, and olive oil and occasionally butter or cream. Its ingredients meld into a creamy dipping sauce that is…

BOTTLED ITALIAN DRESSING has been popular in the United States for decades, at least since the Wish-Bone brand (originally from the eponymous Kansas City, Missouri, steakhouse) became widely available in the early 1960s. It’s tasty stuff: a bright vinaigrette bolstered with dried herbs, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Helping drive the dressing’s growth into a supermarket staple were new recipes (often courtesy of dressing manufacturers) calling for the product to be used not only on salads but also as a quick marinade for things such as fajita meat, flank steak, and baked or grilled chicken. But a quick survey of shelf-stable supermarket Italian dressings showed us that many of them were, not surprisingly, highly processed. When cooking at home, you most likely won’t be using ingredients such as xanthan gum,…

TO SOME READERS, the phrase “upside-down cake” likely elicits visions of golden pineapple rings and ruby cherries swathed in sticky caramel. Yes, the pineapple version is ubiquitous, but other renditions of this topsy-turvy cake actually predate it. In the mid-19th century, cooks baked skillet cakes in cast-iron skillets, often with a layer of seasonal fruit such as apples, berries, or stone fruit sitting beneath the batter. However, the popularity of these cakes skyrocketed in the 1920s with the rise in popularity of canned pineapple rings, helping give pineapple upside-down cake the iconic status it enjoys today. These days, nearly every fruit (and even some vegetables) has been layered with sugar, baked under a buttery cake, and turned out for a showstopping presentation. Orange versions are particularly trendy, likely due to…

1. Cut and chill fats Cut lard and butter into ½-inch pieces. Place pieces on large plate or baking sheet and freeze until firm. Why? The chilled pieces of lard and butter will be cut more uniformly in the food processor and melt more slowly in the oven. 2. Mix dry ingredients Process flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in food processor until combined. Why? Processing the dry ingredients separately ensures that they are thoroughly combined before the lard and butter are incorporated. 3. Add lard and butter Scatter frozen lard and butter over flour mixture and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with visible pea-size pieces. Why? Pulsing the lard and butter into small pieces distributes them more evenly throughout the dough, which leads to better rising…

ON VALENTINE’S DAY—or any time you’re seeking a special breakfast for two—pour some steaming-hot coffee into a couple mugs and make this stuffed French toast for yourself and your loved one. Combining the flavors of creamy cannoli and pistachio baklava (that’s been saturated in orange blossom water and honey) creates a stuffing that’s sure to impress in this creative, elevated version of the classic breakfast dish Start by making a filling of creamy ricotta cheese scented with bright orange zest and sweetened with a bit of confectioners’ sugar. Spread the filling between slices of hearty white sandwich bread, and then quickly soak the sandwiches in the classic mixture of egg and milk for a firm but custardy interior once cooked. Melt a little butter in a skillet, add the sandwiches,…

SPICY CANDIED BACON Serves 4 to 6 Total Time: 50 minutes Do not use dark brown sugar here. We call for center-cut bacon because we found the strips to be of more even thickness than regular bacon. Lining the sheet with aluminum foil eases cleanup. We suggest serving this bacon with our Berbere-Spiced Bloody Marys (page 29). 6 slices center-cut bacon2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar½ teaspoon pepper¼ teaspoon red pepper flakesPinch cayenne pepper 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Cut bacon in half crosswise. Arrange bacon on prepared sheet. 2. Combine sugar, pepper, pepper flakes, and cayenne in bowl. Sprinkle sugar mixture evenly over bacon (do not flip and sprinkle on second side). Use your…