Innholdsfortegnelse for December/January 2024 i Cook's Country

ILOVE THE IDEA of fried mushrooms—tender, flavorful mushrooms with a salty, crispy coating. But they take some finesse to get just right because mushrooms hold a lot of moisture. Many restaurant versions I’ve sampled have been soggy, with scalding mushroom water gushing out at first bite. I had two goals for fried mushrooms worth making: tender mushrooms that aren’t watery and a flavorful crispy coating that holds up until the last one is eaten. The first step was selecting the right mushroom. When fried, small mushrooms, such as button and cremini, can turn sodden before they brown. But if you slice larger portobello mushrooms into fry-size strips, they have a higher ratio of surface area to volume, which lets the water cook out. This makes for tender, not soggy, fries…

ONCE CALLED THE “forbidden fruit” where it originated in Barbados, the grapefruit holds many tantalizing surprises. Upon first bite, it is wonderfully juicy and sweet-tart. As it lingers, the flavor grows floral and pleasantly bitter, with complex flowery aromas. We wanted to capture the beauty of grapefruit in a showstopping dessert that did justice to its allure. This tart is sophisticated in its visual appeal and flavor, but its preparation is simple. Every stellar tart is built upon a failproof shell; ideally, it should taste buttery and have a light texture but still be sturdy enough to support the filling and slice cleanly. Classic tart dough is made by cutting butter into dry ingredients. The dough is formed into a disk and chilled before it is rolled out thin and…

AT ITS MOST basic, creamy buttermilk dressing is made by seasoning buttermilk with salt and pepper and then adding mayonnaise or sour cream to thicken it and lemon juice or vinegar to enhance the tang. In French cooking school, you learn that French cuisine has mother sauces from which many classic sauces are built. Buttermilk works similarly, giving way to many spin-offs such as classic coleslaw dressing and America’s favorite, ranch dressing. (Yes, ranch dressing was actually ranked the favorite salad dressing in a study from the Association for Dressings and Sauces.) Here we play off that versatility with a quick, basic buttermilk dressing and four variations, all of which are delightful drizzled over greens or used as dips. We added chives, cilantro, and dill to our basic dressing for…

THE INSTANT POT, a brand of multicooker, is the ideal appliance for making typically long-cooked soups and stews because it reduces the cooking time significantly compared with a conventional covered pot. Like Hungarian goulash, Transylvanian goulash is a long-cooked stew seasoned with paprika; the Transylvanian version features pork instead of beef and has sauerkraut stirred in. To make an Instant Pot version of the Transylvanian goulash that Cook’s Country’s Editorial Director Bryan Roof tried at Józsa Corner in Pittsburgh (see “Remembering Alexander Bodnar”), start by cutting a boneless pork butt roast into 1½-inch chunks. The fat in the well-marbled pork butt roast will break down in the Instant Pot, helping make a rich, velvety broth. Using the handy sauté function, brown just half the pork to develop a nice amount of…

HOW TO CUT CABBAGE To get thin, short, easy-to-eat strips of cabbage, start by cutting a head of cabbage into quarters through the core. This gives you more manageable pieces to work with. Then, separate the wedges into short stacks of leaves, which are easy to cut through since they’re less likely to topple and slide. Cut the cabbage crosswise (rather than lengthwise) for shorter strips that are easy to eat. Cutting this way also makes for smaller pieces of the thick veins that run through the cabbage. This method works for coleslaws, braises, and anywhere else you want nice strips of cabbage, such as our Pittsburgh-Style Haluski (page 41). –Amanda Luchtel HOW TO USE KITCHEN TWINE Kitchen twine, also known as cooking twine or butcher’s twine, is made from…

I GREW UP in South Philly and have vivid memories—colorful sights, joyous sounds, and delicious smells—of block parties and family celebrations centered on a whole pig slowly roasting on a spit, a tradition brought to the area by immigrants from the Abruzzo region of Italy. When it was time to eat, the meat was sliced and served with bright broccoli rabe (the bitterness was a perfect foil for the rich pork) and/or piled high on a hearty Sarcone’s roll (if you know, you know). The signature Italian porchetta spice blend—powered by loads of garlic and herbs—perfumed every bite. This dish takes some work and time, but it is truly delicious and showstoppingly beautiful … While I’ve seen plenty of recipes for porchetta Abruzzese that call for a roasted pork loin…

Oranges Navel: Easy to peel, seedless, and sweet, navel oranges are top sellers. The name comes from the blossom end’s resemblance to a human navel. Sour: The juice of sour (or bitter) oranges is a key ingredient in Latin mojo, a tasty marinade for chicken or pork. Seville oranges, which are used for marmalade in Spain, are a type of sour orange. If you can’t find sour oranges, you can approximate their flavor by adding lime and orange zest to orange juice. Blood: Sweet, delicious blood oranges look like any other orange from the outside, but their flesh (and juice) is crimson. We like to use them in salads and atop cakes where their striking color can shine. Kumquats: The entire kumquat—peel and seeds and all—is edible and delicious: bittersweet,…

HANUKKAH, the eight-day Festival of Lights, is (like most Jewish holidays) celebrated with symbolic traditions. We light candles every night to commemorate the miracle of one day’s worth of oil burning for eight days; exchange gifts and play games in celebration of that miracle; and eat foods fried in fat to symbolize the oil. While latkes are the Hanukkah darling in the United States, their counterpart in Israel (and runner-up in the States) is sufganiyot, enriched yeasted dough rounds, fried until puffy and brown, filled with jelly (or other fillings), and dusted with sugar. Ample moisture in the dough is needed for a light, airy texture … These doughnuts come from a long line of European and North African ancestors, though they didn’t become popular as a Hanukkah treat until…

TENDER AND FLAVORFUL, prime rib is perfect for big Sunday dinners and holidays, especially when paired with custardy Yorkshire pudding. But what about a cozy dinner for two? To capture the elegance of this meal in a smaller package, we opted for a 1-pound boneless rib-eye steak, which is just enough meat for two. This smaller cut (which comes from a whole prime rib roast) can be cooked in a skillet and is done in minutes (rather than hours). And the Yorkshire pudding can be scaled down and cooked in the same skillet. To start, pat the steak dry with paper towels for better browning, and sprinkle it liberally with kosher salt and pepper before adding it to a cold 10-inch skillet along with a little oil. Setting the cold pan…

AS MUCH AS we love cooking, there are times when we want a kitchen appliance to do most of the work for us. Slow cookers and multicookers—the most famous of which is the Instant Pot—both promise to deliver a perfectly cooked meal with the press of a few buttons. Both appliances have their advantages. But if you can only have one, here is some information to help you decide which is right for you. Slow cookers do just one thing: slow-cook. They’re simple and straight-forward to operate. There are typically only two heat levels (high and low) and sometimes a “browning” function for searing. The best models do an excellent job of slow-cooking a variety of foods, from short ribs to French onion soup. They’re a great option for anyone who…

BROCCOLI RABE, or rapini, is a member of the cabbage and mustard family (Brassicaceae), and it embodies some of the most appealing qualities of many of its kinfolk. Broccoli rabe’s deep green color and tender buds are reminiscent of broccoli; its cooked stems are tender and nutty, like those of cauliflower and broccoli; and its peppery, mildly bitter flavor places it squarely alongside its bold cousins, the mustards. Most recipes for broccoli rabe start by blanching it to temper a bit of its (some might say unfairly maligned) bitterness before draining and then sautéing or roasting. This requires cooking in two distinct stages and pots, and we were determined to find a simpler way to take the rough edges off the bitterness (we like a bit of character, after all)…

PERFECT FRIED EGGS Serves 2 Total Time: 15 minutes When checking the eggs for doneness, lift the lid just a crack to prevent loss of steam should they need further cooking. When cooked, the thin layer of white surrounding the yolk will turn opaque, but the yolk should remain runny. To cook two eggs, use an 8- or 9-inch nonstick skillet and halve the amounts of oil and butter. You can use this method with extralarge or jumbo eggs without altering the timing. 2 teaspoons vegetable oil4 large eggs, divided2 teaspoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and chilled 1. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over low heat for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, crack 2 eggs into small bowl. Repeat with remaining 2 eggs and second small bowl. 2. Increase…

EASTERN EUROPEAN immigrants who flocked to Pittsburgh’s booming steel mills in the 19th century brought with them haluski (or halusky or haluska), a buttery combination of tender cabbage, onions, and egg noodles. The dish’s name and technique vary slightly depending on its country of origin, but the ingredient list is fairly standard. The signifying characteristic of Alexander Bodnar’s (see “Remembering Alexander Bodnar”) Hungarian interpretation is that the cabbage and onions are caramelized; he slowly cooked the vegetables until they were deeply golden brown and sweet before tossing them with cooked egg noodles. To make this comforting dish, start by cooking thinly sliced onions and cabbage with butter and water in a nonstick skillet—covered initially to help the vegetables steam and release their liquid. Once the vegetables soften, remove the lid to…