Innholdsfortegnelse for June/July 2022 i Cook's Country

BOBBY PUNLA GATHERS hisingredients on a long butcher block table and begins thinly slicing scallions and dicing red onions with perfect precision. Behind him, Jan Dela Paz fans the coals in a hibachi grill to a bright-orange glow. When the coals are just right, he grills slabs of marinated pork belly and butt until they’re lightly charred and crisp at the edges. Jan wafts the smoke from the grill up to his face, inhales deeply, and says, “That’s what the Philippine streets smell like.” The two men are preparing sisig, a traditional Filipino dish of chopped pork, onions, and chiles made sour with vinegar or calamansi juice and served on a searing-hot cast-iron platter. Sisig is what’s known in the Philippines as a pulutan, or bar snack, usually consumed with…

GRITS AREN’T JUST for breakfast—they can be dressed up for any meal. Grits, of course, are simply a cornmeal mush (the word is also used for the raw meal itself) often enriched with milk, cream, and/or cheese. How do you make them taste their best? On their own, grits are mild; since they are made from dried corn, it makes sense to bump up the flavor with fresh corn. Begin by husking three ears of the best corn you can find, and then cut the kernels off the cobs. Think you’re done with those cobs? Think again—the pulp left behind on the cobs after cutting off the kernels is packed with sweet, concentrated corn flavor. All you need to do to harvest it is run the flat side of a…

TEXAS BRISKET IS arguably the holy grail of barbecue in the United States. But some Lone Star State pitmasters, such as Roy Perez of Kreuz Market and Tim McLaughlin of Lockhart Smokehouse, occasionally add prime ribs to their smokers. And when they do, they elevate this already grand cut of meat to a whole new level. SMOKED PRIME RIB Serves 8 to 10 Total Time: 3¼ hours, plus 243/4 hours salting and resting We developed this recipe using a 22-inch Weber kettle charcoal grill. If you intend to make the Smoked Prime Rib Sandwiches with Green Chile Queso (page 16), reserve a 12-ounce chunk of meat after carving the roast in step 7. Be sure to also reserve 3 tablespoons of the horseradish sauce. PRIME RIB 1 (6- to 7-pound)…

THE BEAUTY OF pesto is that it can be made with just about any combination of herbs and nuts; it is a flexible recipe. In Liguria, where pesto alla genovese (basil pesto) was born, many cooks switch to fresh parsley when the basil growing season is waning. In basil pesto recipes, buttery pine nuts pair well with the herb’s bold licorice aroma, but in parsley pesto, untoasted walnuts are a common substitute, preferred for their subtle nuttiness and creamy texture. While both Parmesan and Pecorino Romano are traditional in pestos, the milder, rounder flavor of Parmesan beautifully complements the parsley here. Grinding the Parmesan right in the food processor makes quick work of breaking it down. In addition to the parsley and walnuts, a full cup of extra-virgin olive oil,…

1. Make the soak Whisk coffee, espresso powder, rum, and salt in pie plate until espresso powder dissolves. Why? Hot coffee efficiently dissolves espresso powder, and using a shallow dish such as a pie plate helps prevent oversoaking the ladyfingers. 2. Whip the egg whites Using stand mixer, whip whites until stiff peaks form, then transfer to bowl. Why? Fluffy egg whites lighten and aerate the rich mascarpone filling. 3. Whip the egg yolks In now-empty mixer bowl, whip yolks, sugar, orange zest, and salt until tripled in volume. Why? Whipping the yolks further lightens the filling and thoroughly dissolves the sugar. 4. Mix in mascarpone Whip chilled mascarpone into yolk mixture until uniform. Why? Briefly whipping the mascarpone removes any lumps, and adding it cold ensures that the mixture…

Flavor Duo For a compelling but quick dish, we rely on two flavor powerhouses: harissa and ras el hanout. Harissa, originally from Tunisia and popular throughh-out North Africa and parts of the Middle East, is a spice paste made from fresh hot chiles, garlic, and spices. The fiery paste can vary in flavor, texture, and heat level depending on the particular formulation. It adds heat and peppery flavor to soups; dressings; and sauces, such as the one in this recipe. Ras el hanout is an earthy spice blend found in Tunisian, Algerian, and Moroccan cuisines. The name translates from Arabic as “head of the shop,” referring to its being a blend of the best spices a shop has. The spices and their amounts can vary. Purchasing the spice blend saves…

I GREW UP IN Houston and celebrated Juneteenth annually. In my community it was a festive, boisterous day of music and prayer, all fueled by a huge spread of delicious, inviting treats. From sweets to meats, the tables were always covered with seemingly limitless red foods and drinks. Why was all the celebratory food and drink red? To answer that, we need a little context. In 2021, June 19 became a federal holiday called Juneteenth National Independence Day, making it the first new holiday since the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday became a federal holiday in 1983. But Juneteenth isn’t new; emancipation has been celebrated in one form or another (at first mostly in Texas and Louisiana) since the enslaved were freed. The day has been known by…

JUAN FRANCISCO “PANCHO” Ochoa’s life changed when he chose chicken over shoes. In 1975, he walked away from the shoe business and started selling grilled chicken, using his family’s recipe, out of what had been his shoe store in the city of Guasave on Mexico’s west coast. On his first day of business, Ochoa sold all 43 chickens he had grilled. He didn’t know it at the time, but this was the start of something bigger: El Pollo Loco. Over the past 47 years, the fast food chain has grown to 485 locations in both Mexico and the United States; the landmark U.S. location is in Los Angeles. And it’s been a very eventful (nearly) half century. According to Guinness World Records, El Pollo Loco once held the world record…

WHEN PEACHES ARE perfectly ripe, they are impossibly juicy, succulent, and almost custard-like in texture. There’s no need to take such a peach, cut it up, and adorn it with other ingredients—when fate gifts you with a peach like that, it is best eaten standing over the sink. For all other ripe peaches, this salad is a great option. In this recipe, flavorful, ripe but still slightly firm peaches join forces with cool, crisp, refreshing cucumber for a dish that helps beat the summer heat. The growing seasons of cucumbers and peaches intersect, making the two a perfect pair; as the old saying goes, “What grows together goes together.” But there is a subtle art to making these simple, fresh ingredients shine. Too much intensity can overpower the fresh ingredients,…

RIPE, FARM-FRESH BLUEBERRIES are plump, juicy, and sweet with balancing tartness and have underlying floral and spicy flavors. This pie is a celebration of such berries. Why? A traditional baked blueberry pie is delicious, but the oven serves as an equalizer for all manner of blueberries: A little heat and some sugar can coax flavor out of even the blandest berries, but it can erase the nuanced flavors and juicy pops of exceptional berries. So the next time you find yourself with a haul of excellent blueberries, try this. Make a simple graham cracker crust (its warm, nutty flavor complements the berries so well). Blitz some berries into a puree; strain it; and cook it down with sugar, salt, and cornstarch. Once it’s thickened, stir in the rest of the…

IN THE MINIMAL amount of time it takes to stir together a handful of ingredients, you can have an irresistibly rich and smoky yet bright spread (or is it a dip?) that’s equally at home at casual potlucks and elegant dinner parties. It starts with a foundation of salty smoked trout, which conveniently comes fully cooked and needs only to be skinned, deboned, and shredded. Then a luscious trio of cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise contributes body, tang, and richness to form the simple pâté. Heady, vibrant horseradish and fresh lemon juice cut through that richness, allowing the smokiness of the trout to really pop. Carefully calibrated amounts of minced jalapeño and Tabasco add just enough bracing heat, and sliced scallion brings a fresh pungency that makes it hard…

BLACKENING, A TECHNIQUE popularized by the late chef Paul Prudhomme, was all the rage in the 1980s and is still popular today. It involves coating a protein (usually fish, shrimp, or chicken) in spices and then cooking it in an extremely hot skillet—the technique produces a superflavorful charred spice crust. Executed at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans by Prudhomme and his broiler cook, Jay Blair, the first version of blackening was done to imitate charcoal grilling by coating mild redfish fillets in butter, herbs, and spices and cooking them directly on an iron flattop. When Prudhomme moved to his own restaurant, K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, he adapted the method for a cast-iron skillet. Blackening is a hot, fast, and furious form of cooking that adds big flavor. How does it work?…

THIS IS NOT the typical picnic dish of boiled spuds coated in store-bought mayonnaise. It is a simple yet elegant combination of crisp, golden-brown roasted potatoes dressed in a proud French sauce: gribiche. Roasting—rather than boiling—Yukon Gold potatoes is key here to create brown and crisp exteriors and soft and creamy interiors. As for the sauce, like homemade mayonnaise, gribiche is based on eggs and oil, but unlike mayonnaise (which is made from raw eggs), gribiche is made with hard-cooked eggs. The cooked yolks and whites are separated, and the yolks are combined with intense Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, and olive oil. Whereas homemade mayonnaise can sometimes refuse to emulsify or can come together but then break, in this sauce the cooked yolks, Dijon, vinegar, and oil take little…

HOW TO BOOST FLAVOR IN CHICKEN PARTS BRINING, SALTING, MARINATING Brining is submerging the chicken in a saltwater solution before cooking; the salt penetrates the meat, helping season it and encouraging it to hold on to its moisture when cooked. Salting is applying salt (sometimes in combination with other dry seasonings/spices) to the exterior of the chicken and letting the chicken sit, refrigerated, for a period of time so that the salt can work its way into the meat. Salting provides the same benefits as brining. Marinating is coating or submerging the chicken in a wet mixture; if the marinade is salty (via salty ingredients: soy sauce, fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, etc.), it does some of the same work as brining and salting. SLASHING Cutting slits through the skin and…

YOU CAN BUY fresh figs in thespring—they typically start showing up in markets in May—but it pays to wait and let the warm weather and sunshine work their magic. According to Robert Schueller of Melissa’s Produce (a national produce distributor based in Los Angeles), late-summer figs are known among farmers to be the sweetest and juiciest. And when figs are at their absolute best, we like to let them shine in simple salads, such as this one, to show off their sweetness and complexity. Begin your search for figs at the grocery store or farmers’ market (or, if you’re lucky, your own tree). Schueller shared that the Brown Turkey, Black Mission, and Striped Tiger are the most common varieties sold in the United States, and they all work well here.…

CHOCOLATY TIRAMISU Serves 8 Total Time: 40 minutes, plus 6 hours chilling You can use pasteurized eggs here, but you may need to increase the whipping time in step 2 in order to get stiff peaks. Be sure to use the crisp, firm ladyfingers found in the supermarket cookie or international aisle, not the fresh, cake-like ladyfingers found in the bakery department. Twenty-four ladyfingers will weigh about 7 ounces. Do not use Whole Foods brand mascarpone for this tiramisu; the filling will be soupy. For a version without alcohol, you can substitute more coffee for the rum. Orange zest adds a pleasant floral brightness to this tiramisu; if you prefer a more traditional rendition, you can omit it. We call for an 8-inch square baking dish, but this tiramisu can…

A COMPLETE MEAL MADE in one piece of cookware is a convenience that is valued in every culture. In the hustle and bustle of daily life, sometimes a meal just needs to be delicious and fast. For this recipe, we drew inspiration from the flavors commonly used in Moroccan tagines, stewed dishes cooked in earthenware pots of the same name. Cooked in a Dutch oven instead of a tagine, this dish features lemony lamb meatballs in a tomato-based sauce spiced with harissa and studded with eggplant and chickpeas. Bold ras el hanout links the meatballs and the sauce, making for a unified dish that deserves a spot in your weeknight rotation. ONE-POT LAMB MEATBALLS WITH EGGPLANT AND CHICKPEAS Serves 4 to 6 Total Time: 1 hour Harissa is available in…

Extend the summer vibe with San Diego Fish Tacos , fresh and spicy Pad Gra Prow, Summer Vegetable Pasta , and (bourbon-kissed) Grill-Smoked Pork Tenderloin . Or how about fresh takes on Diner-Style Patty Melts and Beef Short Ribs ? In addition to these great recipes, we have some news to share: Cook’s Country will be shrinking in physical size to make it easier to mail and handle. But don’t worry, each issue will still feature the same number of great recipes, stories, and photos. See you next month!…