Innholdsfortegnelse for August/September 2024 i Cook's Country

WHEN I FIRST met Lois Ellen Frank in October of 2017, we bonded over food, history, tradition, and cultural roots. For years, I had written about my grandmother, Nannie, an excellent cook and a woman of Choctaw ancestry. But in all those words about growing up in her Southern California kitchen, the cooking lessons I learned there, and my love for her chocolate cake, I rarely focused on her Native American lineage. Frank changed that. Frank adapts Indigenous recipes and time-honored techniques for modern palates and contemporary kitchens. She joins our celebration of Southwestern cooking in this issue of Cook’s Country by sharing her recipe for a creamy Potato and Green Chile Casserole (page 15), a fresh take on New Mexican stacked enchiladas that she modernized by subbing green chiles for…

AS I ARRIVE at the 12th Avenue location of Tacos Apson in South Tucson, Arizona, I’m immediately hit with the aromas of charred beef and mesquite smoke hanging thick in the air. After placing my order at the small takeout window, I do my best to peer through the glass wall of the kitchen, fogged over with smoke and soot from the grill directly behind it. On that grill sit thin sheets of carne asada and burly slabs of beef ribs being salted and flipped, salted and flipped. After I grab my order of carne asada, rasurado, and tripa tacos, I make my way to the salsa bar, taking in its assortment of red and green salsas, aguamole (a puree of avocados, lime juice, and water), chopped cabbage, wedged…

HOMINY, WHICH IS also known as posole, is a large-kernel dried field corn (not to be confused with sweet corn) that has been treated with an alkaline solution of water and calcium hydroxide (also called lye or lime) to remove the germ and hull. This process, called nixtamalization, unlocks nutrients and flavors from the corn, giving hominy its subtle nutty corn flavor. The resulting kernels are soft and tender, with a slight chew. Hominy kernels are sold dried, precooked and canned, or as crunchy corn nuts. They’re also sold ground, similar to grits. Dried hominy should be prepared similarly to dried beans, whereas canned hominy is ready to use. Hominy is a pantry staple in the American Southwest and is commonly added to soups, such as traditional pozole (or posole; the…

Pasta, White Bean, and Spinach Salad We prefer cavatappi here for its shape and texture, but you can use any medium pasta, such as penne, farfalle, rotini, or gemelli. Look for jarred olive salad that is sold for muffulettas; it should contain coarsely chopped olives and pickled vegetables in a seasoned olive oil and might also be labeled “Italian olive salad” or “cracked olive salad.” 12 ounces cavatappi¾ teaspoon table salt, plus salt for cooking pasta½ cup jarred olive salad½ cup sliced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, plus 2 tablespoons oil2 tablespoons mayonnaise2 tablespoons red wine vinegar½ teaspoon pepper1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed4 ounces (4 cups) baby spinach, chopped coarse3 ounces sliced pepperoni, cut into ¼-inch strips½ cup thinly sliced red onion, rinsed 1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in…

The Taste of Equality According to Kate Andersen Brower in her book The Residence (2015), President Johnson often leaned on the experiences of Zephyr Wright and other Black members of his staff to help inform his political decisions. President Johnson told a story about how Wright influenced his civil rights efforts: Wright would accompany the Johnsons back and forth on their trips from Texas to Washington, D.C., so she could cook for them in both places. But this was the Jim Crow South. Along the ride, Wright and other Black staffers were often not allowed to stay in hotels or enter restaurants, even when the Johnsons insisted. Wright eventually put her foot down and insisted on staying in D.C. rather than going on these segregated trips. When President Johnson signed…

WHAT IS YOUR favorite sandwich cookie? Is it an Oreo? A Nutter Butter? An oatmeal creme pie? For a passionate fan group in the South, the answer is a MoonPie. Just describing the iconic cookie makes it pretty easy to understand the appeal: two cinnamon-scented graham cookies sandwiched around creamy marshmallow, the whole of which is covered in a glossy chocolate shell. MoonPies are undeniably delicious, especially, as many below the Mason-Dixon Line would say, when enjoyed with a cold RC Cola; the two are a classic pairing. The Chattanooga Bakery in Chattanooga, Tennessee, has been producing these popular packaged treats since 1917. We love them so much that we wanted to create a recipe to make them at home. The foundation of a Moon-Pie is two warm-spiced cookies that…

PICKING UP OLIVE oil at the supermarket should be simpler. Most stores have half an aisle dedicated to a dizzying number of products. What’s the best choice? If you care about flavor, we can help. We tasted 10 top-selling, widely available national brands. We found a few favorites—at a reasonable price—and learned how to reliably find the best, most flavorful olive oils. How We Selected We focused only on olive oils labeled “extra-virgin”—the highest grade. By definition, extra-virgin olive oil must have flavor with some olive fruitiness, have zero defects, and pass certain lab tests. It’s a one-ingredient product, mechanically pressed from olives with no added heat, which maintains its fresh taste. We skipped supermarket products labeled just “olive oil” or “light-tasting olive oil” because these are refined oils, which…

WHIPPED YOGURT TOPPING Serves 6 to 8 Total Time: 5 minutes Serve with Skillet Ricotta Cake with Figs (page 35) or your favorite fruit dessert; it’s also delicious over cut fresh fruit. 1 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt½ cup heavy cream3 tablespoons honey Using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip yogurt, cream, and honey on medium speed until soft peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. COMING NEXT ISSUE In our October/November 2024 issue, you’ll find recipes for the easiest, most fuss-free Thanksgiving ever. Roast your turkey and potatoes in the same pan; then mash the potatoes right in the turkey juices so they’ll be supersavory. Build your green bean casserole in a skillet with fresh ingredients and have it ready to serve in just 20 minutes. And save yourself day-of work with a…

DOES IT MATTER WHAT KIND OF DRIED OREGANO YOU COOK WITH? Dried oregano is sold in two general categories: Mediterranean and Mexican. (Mediterranean oregano is also labeled “Turkish” or “Greek.”) The two varieties come from different families of plants. Mediterranean oregano is a member of the mint family, while Mexican oregano is a member of the verbena ena family. The herbs have a similar earthy flavor, but Mexican oregano is more robust, with notes of citrus and licorice. So does it matter which one you use? We found minimal differences between the two when we compared them in homemade made Italian dressing and marinated chicken kebabs. The can oregano was just slightly Mexi-stronger (you can substitute one for the other in equal amounts). If a recipe calls for Mexican oregano,…

FLOUR TORTILLAS ARE a staple ingredient in parts of Latin America and the United States, and you can buy them in almost every supermarket in America. But when you make your own, you get better-tasting tortillas with a supple, almost fluffy texture—not to mention the satisfaction that comes from creating delicious tortillas from scratch. Melissa Guerra, a San Antonio–based cookbook author and food historian, says on her website, “I have only one thing to say about [making] flour tortillas: practice.” While repetition is important—your third tortilla will be more uniform than your first—the process isn’t hard, and even imperfect tortillas will taste great. To become expert tortilla-makers ourselves, we flew to Texas to watch Guerra working in her home kitchen. This recipe is a culmination of what we learned from watching…

CORN AND COCONUT belong together. The combination has long been celebrated in dishes around the world, from makai paka (corn-coconut curry from East Africa) to makai shorba (spiced corn soup from India) to Trinidadian boiled corn (whole cobs poached in coconut milk). The sweet profile of prized peak-season corn makes a perfect partner for creamy, flavorful coconut milk. Inspired by these combinations, we sought to transform an American standard, creamed corn. A staple of Southern and Midwestern cooking in which kernels are simmered in a thick heavy-cream mixture, basic creamed corn is undeniably delicious. But we wanted to marry the creamy texture, lightly sweet flavor, and nutty undertones of coconut milk to the bright flavors of fresh corn to create a velvety summertime version of this iconic dish. In keeping…

FRESH FIGS, LIKE peaches and tomatoes, are one of those summer blessings that are perfect on their own. A ripe fig is fat and juicy, bursting with syrupy nectar and tiny seeds that crunch with a satisfying pop. But once you’ve had your fill of eating them out of hand, make this rustic yet elegant cake to showcase the rest of those beautiful figs (or to transform a not-quite beautiful bunch). To emphasize the figs’ best qualities, halve and quickly sear them, lightly caramelizing them without allowing them to turn to mush, and then set them aside while you make the easy stir together batter. Inspired by an Italian-style recipe for fig cake from Ina Garten, we enriched our batter base (flour, sugar, and melted butter) with whole-milk ricotta cheese,…

CAESAR SALAD IS an iconic dish of crisp romaine lettuce with crunchy croutons, all tossed in a dressing that packs a punch of umami from boldly flavored ingredients such as Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, Parmesan cheese, and anchovies. It’s so well loved and ubiquitous that it abounds on restaurant menus and is even sold in salad kits at grocery stores. Topped with chicken, salmon, or steak, the salad can serve as a complete meal. With this in mind, we set out to make a chicken Caesar for two. Beyond the lettuce, chicken Caesar salad has three main components that need careful treatment to produce the most delicious results: the chicken, the croutons, and the dressing. THE CHICKEN Pound two chicken breasts to a ½-inch thickness, turning them into quick-cooking cutlets.…

WE USE FOOD PROCESSORS to grate cheese, grind bread crumbs, chop nuts, prep vegetables, and mix dough. While we consider standard food processors indispensable, they tend to be big and pricey. Smaller processors are a good choice for budget- or space conscious cooks and can excel at making mayonnaises, dressings, dips, marinades, and sauces—projects that would otherwise require serious muscle or a food mill. They can also handle smaller-quantity mincing, grinding, and dicing. In our search for the best small food processor, we put models ranging from 3 to 6 cups through various tests. We used the machines to mince garlic, whip up hummus and other dips, shred chunks of Parmesan, and dice mirepoix. We liked models with a 3.5- to 4-cup capacity because they were compact but still big…

A FRESH TOMATILLO, light-emerald green and cocooned in its papery husk, is a beauty to behold. Despite its name, which translates to “little tomato” in Spanish, a tomatillo is not actually a green or underripe tomato. In fact, tomatillos are most closely related to Cape gooseberries (small, tart husked fruits also known as golden berries or ground cherries). Tomatillos are fairly firm, acidic, and citrusy. They have been cultivated by Native people in modern-day Mexico and Central America for millennia and are popular in Mexican and Southwestern cuisine today. Tomatillos are often cooked—boiled, roasted, broiled, or pickled—before being incorporated into sauces or salsas. The cooking softens their texture and flavor and can enhance their sweetness. But we love the firm texture and tangy, floral taste of the raw fruit just as…

CHILESARE AMONG the most important ingredients in Southwestern cuisine. They are one of what I call the “magic eight” ingredients that Native peoples shared with the world: corn, beans, squash, chiles, tomatoes, potatoes, vanilla, and cacao. Whether they are roasted, peeled, eaten fresh, or dried and ground into powder, chiles are one of my most favorite ingredients. The green chile is the unripened fresh fruit harvested throughout the summer months; the ripened fruit, the red chile, is harvested at the end of the growing season. (Red chiles are often strung into ristras and hung to dry, a practice common in the Southwest for millennia.) A frequent question in New Mexico is “red or green?” which is asking you which color chile sauce you want in or on your food. If…

FRESH WATERMELON IS a quintessential summer treat, juicy and refreshing and vibrant. It’s also remarkably versatile, a clever component in countless sweet and savory dishes. I wanted to create a complex grilled salad filled with flavors that run the spectrum from sweet to sour to savory to charred, all while keeping peak-season watermelon in the starring role. Grilling watermelon to deepen its flavor is nothing new, but one key step makes the process especially effective. By cutting slabs of watermelon and then sprinkling them with a bit of sugar and allowing them to sit for a short while, you’ll extract a fair amount of excess liquid from the fruit (liquid that would impede caramelization) while intensifying the sweetness and flavor within. Think of char as an ingredient here, a flavor component…

CLASSIC SOUTHERN banana pudding is not just pudding. A much-beloved staple at barbecues and potlucks, the dish is typically a combination of vanilla pudding, vanilla wafers, and sliced bananas all layered in a casserole (or trifle dish) and chilled until the cookies absorb moisture and become soft and cake-like. It’s most often topped with whipped cream, but sometimes it’s crowned with a meringue and quickly baked. Though sliced bananas are commonly the only banana element in this dessert (the pudding itself is usually flavored only with vanilla), for our mostly from-scratch version we wanted a pudding that was worthy of its name. To make a true banana-flavored pudding, we briefly roasted unpeeled underripe bananas until the peels were black, which intensified the bananas’ flavor and tenderized them, enabling the fruit to…

THE SUMMERY EGGPLANT dishes of southern Europe (see “Some Mediterranean Eggplant Dishes”) are the inspiration behind this weeknight dinner, which features quick-cooking pork tenderloin. To make the dish, cut and salt the eggplant before cooking the pork to draw out its moisture. This softens it and speeds up cooking. For the pork, cut two pork tenderloins in half and pound the pieces to an even ¾-inch thickness, which helps them cook more quickly and evenly. The pounding also creates more surface area, which in turn leads to more browning and more fond (flavorful browned bits) in the skillet. Cook the pork, turning it every 2 minutes, until it is deeply browned and just cooked through, which takes about 10 minutes. While the pork rests, add the salted eggplant, chopped plum tomatoes…

A GOOD ELECTRIC ice cream machine makes it easy to produce ice cream, frozen yogurt, or sorbet at home. All ice cream makers work similarly. First, you pour a loose base into the machine. Then, through a combination of cooling and constant churning, the machine transforms it into a thick, creamy dessert. The churning incorporates a small amount of air that’s crucial to a smooth, semisoft consistency. Once the base has thickened to the consistency of a milkshake or soft serve, you place it in a container in the freezer to firm up. We’ve tested many canister-style and self-refrigerating models over the years, churning ice cream, sorbet, and frozen yogurt in each machine. Some machines required frequent attention, while others were completely hands-off. The paddles, which are designed to scrape…