Innholdsfortegnelse for April/May 2022 i Cook's Country

Sour cherries (also known as tart cherries or pie cherries), which have been cultivated for centuries throughout Europe and the Middle East, were brought to the United States by European settlers in the 1600s. Today, Michigan is the United States’ top producer of sour cherries, most of them Montmorency, a French variety. Unless they are grown locally, sour cherries are not commonly found fresh because their delicate skin is easily damaged in transport. Most are frozen whole or processed into jams; baked goods; or, my favorite, syrup. Sour cherry syrup is enjoyed in many cultures and regions worldwide, often mixed with water for a refreshing drink. I came across a sour cherry syrup in Michigan and have enjoyed it drizzled on ice cream; poured over pancakes and waffles; and mixed…

SWEET AND MILDLY spicy radishes are a staple spring vegetable. But some people find them to be a bit too assertive when served raw. Cooking radishes is an easy way to mute some of their spiciness and bring out their subtle sweet notes. When paired with scallions, dill, and lemon zest and juice—more spring favorites—sautéed radishes make for a gentle yet vibrant side dish. And they’re really easy to prepare. Begin by quickly sautéing quartered radishes in butter over medium heat to ensure light browning and a crisp-tender interior texture. Scallions provide some textural variety and color. To retain a slight crispness that complements the heartier radish pieces, add the scallions near the end of cooking, just to soften and wilt. Stir in briny capers and minced garlic with the…

ABOUT There are several varieties of garlic but only two types: soft neck and hard neck. You’re most likely to come across soft-neck garlic at the grocery store. It features a circle of large cloves surrounding a smaller cluster at the center. Hard-neck garlic has a stiff center staff surrounded by large, mainly uniform cloves. Soft-neck garlic is more prolific, but hard-neck garlic is thought to have better flavor (keep an eye out for it at farmers’ markets). The two types are interchangeable in recipes. SHOPPING The nose knows. When selecting a head of garlic, be sure to give it a good whiff. You shouldn’t smell anything. If you do, its cells have been damaged, most likely through mishandling during transport or storage. Avoid garlic with an aroma, and select…

Freshness is key when serving fish raw. The raw tuna and salmon flesh should appear moist and shiny; feel firm (the flesh should spring right back when pressed); and smell clean, not fishy. Ask your fishmonger to slice tuna steaks to order, ideally those that have little to no connective tissue, which can be too chewy raw. Similarly, ask to have salmon cut to order from a center-cut fillet that has little to none of the thin belly attached, as it can be tough and fatty when eaten raw. When possible, research to find a purveyor that supplies local sushi or poke restaurants. Some wholesale purveyors like these will sell directly to individuals. You can also inquire at sushi or poke restaurants to see if they will order extra fish…

“Just put [farro] on the table and don’t talk about it and just say ‘try it.’”–MARIA SPECK FARRO A CEREAL grain that’s a member of the wheat family, has been enjoyed for centuries in central Italy (and for even longer in Egypt). In recent years—thanks to restaurant chefs, food media, and curious farmers—it has been gaining favor with American home cooks and has become more widely available in supermarkets. These high-fiber, high-protein hulled whole-wheat kernels boast a slightly sweet, nutty flavor and chewy texture. In Italy, the grain is available in three sizes—farro piccolo (einkorn), farro medio (emmer), and farro grande (spelt)—but emmer is most common in the United States. Farro can be processed in a few ways: whole grain, semipearled, pearled, or quick cooking (see “How Farro Is Processed”).…

MEET THE TEAM: SENIOR EDITOR MATTHEW FAIRMAN Q: Favorite food as a child? A: Easy. A tomato sandwich: cakey white bread, a slathering of Duke’s Mayonnaise, salt and pepper, and thick slices of ripe Edisto Island, South Carolina, tomatoes. During a one-week vacation on Edisto Beach, my family would eat through bushels of those juicy, softball-size tomatoes. Biting into a tomato sandwich still makes me feel like a kid who just got done playing in the surf. Q: What was your best New Orleans food find? A: Since my wife and I moved to her hometown of New Orleans just over a year ago, we’ve had some fantastic meals. If I had to choose one, it would be the Viet-Cajun crawfish boil (huge crawfish tossed in a spicy lemongrass-and-chile-infused garlic…

IF IT’S PIZZA in New York City, po’ boys in New Orleans, fried clams in coastal New England, and barbecue in Texas, then it’s chicken wings in Atlanta. And not just any wings. With outspoken advocates such as rappers Waka Flocka Flame and Rick Ross, writer Rembert Browne, and even former mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, it’s more or less official: People in this city love lemon pepper wings. Increasingly it’s a version called “lemon pepper wet,” a riff on the classic dry-rubbed lemon pepper wing that’s doused in a glistening splash of either clarified butter or buffalo sauce (depending on which wing joint you hit up in the city). Though Atlanta natives in the know had likely been customizing their own versions of lemon pepper wet at neighborhood wing joints…

THIS SPRING QUICHE is fresh, vibrant, and packed with green vegetables. A mild, buttery sautéed leek melts seamlessly into creamy custard, which is shot through with pops of sweet, just-tender, emerald-hued asparagus. Lemon zest and garlic add some zing and bite. Rich, tangy goat cheese and ultrasavory Parmesan round out the subtle egg, cream, and vegetable base with their complexity. A wonderfully crisp crust offers a deeply satisfying textural foil, and a finishing crown of crisp-tender asparagus tips peeking through the golden-brown custard makes for an irresistible presentation. KEY STEPS Chilling the pie dough before rolling it out makes the dough easier to work with; chilling it again before blind baking makes for a flakier crust. Blind baking ensures that the crust stays crisp when baked with the wet custard;…

CAST IRON BROWNIE Serves 12 to 14 Total Time: 50 minutes, plus 35 minutes cooling In step 3, you can substitute bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips for the chopped bittersweet chocolate, if desired, but the chips won’t melt as much as the chopped chocolate and will be less gooey. We suggest serving the warm brownies with ice cream; cooled brownies can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored for up to four days. 2 ounces marshmallows (about 8 large marshmallows)½ cup plus 2 tablespoons warm tap water4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine⅓ cup (1 ounce) Dutch-processed cocoa powder2½ cups (17½ ounces) sugar½ cup vegetable oil2 large eggs plus 2 large yolks2 teaspoons vanilla extract1¾ cups (8¾ ounces) all-purpose flour1 teaspoon table salt6 ounces…

SORBET, AT ITS most basic, is a dairy-free frozen concoction of water and sugar, usually in the form of a fruit puree. But it takes a little finesse—and an ice cream maker—to get it right consistently. Without enough sugar, the water freezes into crystals and makes for a big, hard block. But when there’s too much sugar, the mixture doesn’t freeze all the way through (due to sugar lowering the freezing point of the mixture), making a slushy mess. The ratio used in this recipe is 1 cup sugar to ½ cup corn syrup to 2 pounds quartered strawberries. This amount of sweetener creates a mixture that freezes firm enough to hold its shape but soft enough to comfortably scoop and have a creamy mouthfeel. Using a liquid (or invert)…

TILTED DISPLAY WITH LARGE DIGITS: Timers with tilted displays were the easiest to read; the best models were wedge-shaped or had kickstands. We also preferred screens with big, easy-to-read digits. CLEAR DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN EVENTS: The best models had large screens that displayed every event simultaneously. Some also had separate “set” and “start/stop” buttons and unique patterns of beeps and/or visual alerts. ADJUSTABLE VOLUME LEVELS: Many models had two or more volume settings, so you can accommodate your personal preferences or adjust to different noise levels in your kitchen. VISUAL ALERTS: For people who are hard of hearing and anyone who works in a noisy kitchen, a flashing display or blinking light is essential. MODELS THAT CAN TRACK ELAPSED TIME: When many models reach 00:00:00, they will start counting up. That way,…

QUICK SWEET PICKLED RHUBARB Serves 8 (Makes 1 pint) Total Time: 15 minutes, plus 26 hours cooling and pickling Eight ounces of rhubarb is two to three stalks. Choose stalks that are ¾ to 1 inch thick. Depending on the style of your jar, you may have extra brine. The important thing is to make sure that the rhubarb is fully submerged. We like using this in salads and grain bowls or on cheese boards. 8 ounces rhubarb, trimmed and sliced on bias 1⁄8 inch thick (about 2 cups)1 (3-inch) strip lemon zest⅔ cup sugar½ cup water½ cup red wine vinegar½ teaspoon table salt 1. Combine rhubarb and lemon zest in 1-pint glass jar with tight-fitting lid. Combine sugar, water, vinegar, and salt in small saucepan and bring to boil…

LARGE-BATCH HARD-COOKED EGGS Makes 12 eggs Total Time: 45 minutes Start timing after adding the last egg to the boiling water. 12 large eggs 1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven 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 13 minutes. 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 between shell and egg white. Under gently running water, carefully peel membrane and shell off egg. Repeat with remaining 11 eggs. Serve. BASIC DEVILED EGGS Makes 24…

AT HOME, WAFA Bahloul lets her two children help knead the dough by hand for kesra rakhsis, a traditional Algerian flatbread that she calls rek-sas. But since she and her husband, Mounir, take turns cooking and running their restaurant and taking care of the children, at work she often does this step alone. The restaurant is called Kayma; the name comes from an Arabic word for a nomadic dwelling. The couple chose the name because they wanted their restaurant to be as welcoming as their own home, no matter where customers are from. The couple started the restaurant, located in San Francisco’s La Cocina Municipal Marketplace (see “A Multicultural Marketplace”), because they missed their homeland and the dishes they grew up eating. “For my menu, I try to serve Algerian…

PRUNES, SWEET-TART PLUMS dried to concentrate their natural flavors and create depth, are delicious, especially when combined with mild pork. The pairing has been around for centuries and is most notably evident in classic French cooking. This dish—perfectly cooked pork chops with a knockout sauce that highlights prunes’ deep fruity flavor—is inspired by this tradition. To start, sprinkle bone-in rib chops with granulated garlic, salt, and pepper and sear them in a skillet. Pull the browned chops out and add a knob of butter to the drippings to start the sauce. Stir in minced shallots and garlic for depth, and add brandy off the burner (because it can flame up). Let the brandy reduce and then add heavy cream for richness, chicken broth, and lemon zest. Return the chops to…

THE POKE (PRONOUNCED “poh-KAY”) scene hasn’t always looked the way it does today, with bowl shops in shopping centers all over the country offering every imaginable ingredient—miso-lemon mayonnaise, crispy beet chips, zucchini noodles, etc.—to accompany the base of diced raw fish. Positioned as a healthy alternative to your average fast-food option, the poke bowl has never been trendier. But it can be traced back to a traditional Hawaiian version, which pares down the extras and focuses on good, fresh fish. As food writer Martha Cheng explains in The Poke Cookbook: The Freshest Way to Eat Fish (2017), the earliest Hawaiian version of poke dates back to before Captain James Cook and other Westerners arrived on the islands. These early iterations of poke (the word means “to cut or slice into…

WHAT BETTER WAY to celebrate happy hour on a warm, sunny day than by sitting out on your patio with a glass of chilled rosé-based sangria, punched up with fresh, ripe berries? With more than a pound of raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries, this summer sipper is intensely berry forward. It is light and refreshing, with a bit of balance coming from the slightly bitter notes of Grand Marnier, a brandy-based orange liqueur that is commonly used to fortify and flavor more traditional sangrias. Grand Marnier isn’t too boozy, making this an easy-to-drink beverage that tastes as good as it looks. Using top-quality fresh berries ensures the fullest fruit flavor, and cutting some of the raspberries and strawberries helps them release their natural flavors into the wine. Red wine is the…

MY LOVE FOR barbecue chips knows no bounds, in a geographic sense. Beyond the national brands, there exists a world of regional potato chips—relatively unknown outside of their hometowns, but beloved within them. My mission: Find the best barbecue chips that most folks have never heard of. I solicited recommendations online and got almost 500 responses. Roughly 75 percent were for companies in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania in particular is arguably the potato chip cradle of the United States due to a combination of fertile soil ideal for potatoes, the farming tradition of the Pennsylvania Dutch, and the area’s prevalence of pork (and thus lard that chips are fried in), according to NPR. The hard part was picking which chips to include. There’s traditional barbecue flavoring (in the brown, molasses-y,…