Innholdsfortegnelse for June/July 2024 i Cook's Country

CREATING THIS ISSUE released a flood of memories as I recalled the joys of summer bonfires and barbecues that graced my childhood in Southern California. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, my family frequently gathered with friends and neighbors in parks lined with colorful blooming flowers or at the coast. On those beach days, a salty breeze drifted in from the ocean, waves lapped gently against the shore, and seagulls scampered in the sand, waiting for their opportunity to peck at something delicious in our picnic baskets—Mom’s golden-brown, crispy fried chicken or her cubed potato salad streaked with yellow cream. Sunset beach barbecues and watch parties at high tide were especially festive. In the early evening, in anticipation of the grunion run, we lounged on beach towels, built sand-castles, and grilled…

CHICKEN COOKED OVER smoke is a pure expression of the rich, savory flavors that occur when fowl meets fire. This is not individual pieces slathered with thick, brick-red sauce. Instead, this recipe makes a juicy, golden, deeply flavorful whole smoked chicken that’s perfect for a backyard gathering or a simple summer dinner. Smoked chicken is, of course, nothing new: Humans have been cooking birds over flames and smoke for millennia. There’s a deep tradition of smoked chicken in the barbecue-frenzied state of Texas, and according to Texas Monthly’s barbecue editor, Daniel Vaughn, it’s having a resurgence. In the spring of 2022, he penned a piece for the magazine titled “Juicy, Crispy Smoked Chicken Is Having a Moment” (it’s worth seeking out online). Vaughn’s article points to the thing I love most…

GRILLED CORN IS undeniably delicious, and it’s celebrated as such across many cultures and cuisines (particularly in Mexico, Central America, and South America). Charring the husked corn hot and fast until the kernels are caramelized adds depth and accentuates the corn’s natural sweetness. This recipe is not that, exactly. This is corn prepared on the grill, but it’s cooked slowly with patience, indirect heat, and lots of smoke. The kernels are just cooked through, with the pleasant pop you expect from fresh corn at its juicy summer peak. The flavor is bold, as the smoke permeates every crack and crevice of the rows of kernels, but it’s balanced, too, complementing the corn’s sweetness rather than overshadowing it. To finish, the cobs are briefly moved over direct heat for a kiss…

SHRIMP AND BUTTER are a trusted combination, and nowhere do they make a more charming, delicious pairing than in shrimp butter, an iconic delicacy from the South Carolina Lowcountry. This simple spread marries the briny sweetness of flash-cooked shrimp with the richness of butter, with a kick of cayenne, a squeeze of lemon juice, some shallot and chives, and a hint of dry sherry to round out the flavor. This butter can be dressed up or down: It’s the perfect cocktail party canapé or cookout-friendly spread when generously dolloped on benne (or sesame) wafers or crackers. And it’s also delicious in sandwiches or folded into velvety grits to echo the flavors in classic shrimp and grits. LOWCOUNTRY SHRIMP BUTTER Serves 6 to 8 Total Time: 35 minutes Use untreated shrimp—those without…

AT THE HEIGHT of summer, peaches—those fragrant jewels of succulent flesh and fuzzy dappled skin—are ripe and ready to be gathered by the armful. One great option for enjoying them: peach ripple ice cream, a cool, sweet treat that highlights the fruit’s irresistible flavor. Homemade ice cream that’s smooth and not grainy can be tricky to achieve. The texture of ice cream hinges on a delicate balance of dairy, fat, sugar, and sometimes a stabilizer such as pectin (which is already naturally present in peaches). As the mixture freezes, ice crystals form (dairy is mostly water), so the key is to freeze the mixture in a way that minimizes the impact of those crystals. With fruit in the mix, a smooth texture becomes even harder to achieve. Peaches are full…

WHAT EXACTLY IS bruschetta, anyway? Most sources point to the most basic version being grilled bread rubbed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil. But achieving delicious success takes more than just slapping slices of bread on the grill. Our technique starts with the choice of bread—rustic sourdough is our top pick—and continues to a pregrill brush with an olive oil and vinegar mixture; the vinegar adds flavor but also moisture that slows the bread’s browning, ensuring a deeper toast though the interior of the bread. Frequent flipping further encourages the most even browning without burning. And finally, rubbing the toasted bread with garlic adds just the right garlicky essence to every slice. From there, it is up to you to pick one of our flavorful grilled-vegetable toppings to spoon…

THIS CHICKEN DINNER for two is so easy and flavorful that it’s likely to be on repeat at your house. Although it has “hot” in the title, its spice level is aimed more at folks who love flavor and not daredevils (we specifically call for Frank’s RedHot, a bright, vinegar-rich sauce that has pep but isn’t incendiary). While we like a mix of white- and dark-meat parts here, feel free to use what you like. Just make sure you cook the chicken to the temperature stated in the recipe. HOT HONEY CHICKEN FOR TWO Total Time: 1 hour You can substitute any vinegar-based, moderately spicy hot sauce for the Frank’s hot sauce. 2 tablespoons honey2 tablespoons Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Hot Sauce1 garlic clove, minced¾ teaspoon table salt½ teaspoon ground…

BLUEBERRY BARBECUE SAUCE Serves 6 to 8 (Makes about 2 cups) Total Time: 25 minutes Serve with Smoked Chicken (page 7) or use anywhere that you enjoy a fruity, moderately spicy barbecue sauce. 1 tablespoon vegetable oil1 shallot, chopped fine2 tablespoons minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce1 garlic clove, minced10 ounces (2 cups) blueberries⅔ cup packed brown sugar½ cup balsamic vinegar1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce1 teaspoon table salt½ teaspoon pepper 1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add shallot and cook, stirring often, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in chipotle and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 2. Stir in blueberries, sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Carefully mash blueberries with potato masher and cook,…

RUBY-RED CHERRY PIE looks festive, so it is naturally a perfect addition to any summer celebration. I had stars (and stripes!) in my eyes when I was first introduced to the streusel-topped version that’s popular in Traverse City, Michigan (see “The ‘Cherry Capital of the World’”). The crunchy, toasty brown sugar crumbs scattered across the top of the pie made for a beautiful presentation as well as a pleasing textural contrast—a perfect complement to the soft, intensely flavored tart cherries beneath. Tart cherries, also sold as sour cherries, are a favorite for baking thanks to their lively flavor. In fact, most canned cherry pie filling is made with tart cherries, but you wouldn’t necessarily know it because those fillings are too often cloyingly sweet (from too much added sugar) and…

I ARRIVE AT 9 a.m., just as the April sun starts to bear down over the eastern side of Gilliard Farms in Brunswick, Georgia. The owner, Matthew Raiford, waves to me as I park beneath a series of enormous moss-draped oaks, ubiquitous in coastal Georgia. We meet at the chicken coop, where Raiford is feeding the flock bright-yellow turmeric-infused rice, leftovers from a meal he made for his daughter days earlier. He talks sweetly to the chickens as he tosses the feed, just like he talks to me. He’s equally kind to the plants. I ask about a small bonfire of burning brush in front of the main house. Raiford says he often cooks large paellas over the fire for parties. We spend more than an hour walking around a…

REMEMBER THE FIRST time you had a chocolate-dipped ice cream cone? So do I. It was a spontaneous stop at a well-known soft-serve chain during a family trip to Virginia, and it was sheer childhood wonderment: sweet, velvety ice cream magically cloaked in a crackly shell of chocolate. It seemed supernatural at the time, but little did my younger self know that it’s incredibly easy to re-create this experience at home using only two ingredients: chocolate chips and refined coconut oil. Refined coconut oil, a saturated fat, is solid at room temperature, making it the magic ingredient behind these chocolate shells. According to Paul Adams, our science editor, “The [refined coconut oil] molecules’ identical straight shapes mean that they are able to line up and nestle against each other firmly.…

WE LOVE OUR CHARCOAL grills for many reasons. The biggest: Charcoal makes great-tasting food, as it burns hotter than gas and produces lots of radiant heat, ensuring that everything you cook gets beautifully, deliciously browned. Charcoal also produces some smoke of its own, so everything you cook on it tastes extra-savory, smoky, and “grilled.” Those who love charcoal grills say that gas grills just can’t compete, at least where flavor is concerned. The best charcoal grills are versatile: You can sear steaks and vegetables at high heat or throttle that heat and cook foods low and slow, roasting or smoking large cuts of meat with ease. Many charcoal grills are relatively simple machines, too—easy to assemble, clean, and maintain. And they’re usually less expensive than gas grills. For this review, we…

EVERY TIME I’VE just seasoned some fine-looking pork rib chops and I’m firing up the grill, I hear my dad’s voice in my head: “You think they’ll be as good as the magic chops?” Until now, the answer has almost always been “no.” You see, on the family beach vacations of my youth, my father always grilled our dinner over charcoal. He grew up on a farm in the ’50s, and when he’d cook pork chops he’d get on one of his favorite high horses: “These modern pigs might as well be made of chalk or chicken breast! They’ve had all the fat and flavor bred right out of them.” But one summer, fate placed a pack of special pork chops in the cooler at our local market. To this…

AMONG THE MANY foods that have shaped the culinary heritage of Charleston and the Low-country of South Carolina are the tiny benne seed and its descendent, the sesame seed. “Benne” is a West African name for these potent seeds. Benne seeds came to colonial America with enslaved Black people from Africa and the Caribbean, marking the beginning of benne’s now 300-plus-year history in the United States. (Sesame plants were cultivated in Asia thousands of years ago, before they made their way to Africa.) Enslaved people in the Southern United States often grew them in gardens and sowed them among plantation rows. High in protein and oil, benne seeds were a necessary source of sustenance. They were consumed on their own and ground into flour used to make breads and thicken…

A CLOSE COUSIN of Swiss fondue, fonduta is a rich cheese sauce from Northern Italy, typically made with fontina, cream, and sometimes truffles. It is often served in cooler months alongside toasted bread cubes and cornichons for a classic Alpine treat. But why wait for winter? Inspired by a fresh tomato and cheese dish a colleague encountered at an Italian restaurant last summer, I wanted to take fonduta in a seasonal direction by pairing it with ripe tomato wedges. The trick would be to find a way to balance the vibrancy of fresh tomatoes with the rich, savory fonduta. To create the fonduta, I started by cooking heavy cream on the stovetop. Once the cream was reduced, I stirred in lots of shredded fontina cheese for its pungent flavor plus…

WITH MULTIPLE LAYERS of paper-thin crepes sandwiching a creamy filling, a crepe cake is a showstopper. But this labor of love is actually easier than it looks and surprisingly forgiving (the flaws of any mangled crepes can be hidden when piled into a neat stack). Plus, it’s even better when prepared a day ahead. To make the best version of this architectural marvel at home, the textures of the crepes and filling are crucial. The crepes must be tender yet sturdy enough to flip fearlessly. And the cream filling must be thick enough to hold the crepe layers together without being stodgy. Once assembled and left to chill, the crepes will soak up just enough of the filling for the two components to begin to coalesce. The cake should slice easily,…

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED WINNER Weber Original Kettle Premium Charcoal Grill, 22-Inch Model: 14401001 Price: $219.00  Favorite Features: Ash catcher, hinged grate, lid hook Comments: Great performance for the price: good basic features for both quick grilling and longer barbecue sessions. Easy to assemble. Large cooking area. Durable, solid. UPGRADE PICK Weber Performer Deluxe Charcoal Grill, 22-Inch Model: 15501001 Price: $549.00 Favorite Features: Push-button gas ignition, rolling cart, side table, charcoal storage bin, lid holder, ash catcher, lid hook Comments: Lots of fantastic extra features that improve ease of use, including gas ignition system that lights charcoal with the push of a button. Exceptionally sturdy and durable. A little trickier to assemble. Expensive. SNS Grills 22" Slow’N Sear Original Kettle Grill Model: n/a Price: $359.99 Favorite Features: Side table, shelf, lid cradle, ash catcher,…

EGGPLANT PARMESAN IS a beloved dish featuring breaded and fried eggplant slices layered and baked with marinara sauce, melty mozzarella, and Parmesan. The frying and baking makes the eggplant silky and creamy. As delicious as eggplant Parmesan is, in casserole form it can be a bit heavy. That’s where the air fryer comes in (with an assist from the microwave). It enables you to make a delicious, lighter version that’s perfect for warm summer nights, when eggplant is at its best. The air fryer uses minimal oil to “fry” (it’s really cooking the food through convection), and instead of a hefty casserole, this recipe yields individual stacks of crispy eggplant, warm sauce, and gooey melted cheese. As a bonus, there’s no need to fire up your oven. AIR-FRYER EGGPLANT PARMESAN…