Innholdsfortegnelse for October/November 2025 i Cook's Country

FOR MORE THAN 20 years, Cook’s Country has been like a reliable old friend you invited into your kitchen; whether you were in need of inspiration for a special occasion or a week-night dinner, our recipes have been your guide to confident cooking that spurs joy. During that time, our approach to American regional cooking diversified mightily, and so did our storytelling. We enlarged our narratives and reported about the people behind the recipes on our pages. Together we learned kitchen wisdom, generational methods, and inspiring techniques from small-town cooks, modern chefs, and historical figures all across America. We added more humanity. Morgan Bolling was inspired by Killen’s Barbecue in Pearland, Texas, and then spent two years (and cooked nearly 500 pounds of meat!) dialing in her recipe for smoked…

THESE DAYS, THEY call it “Friendsgiving.” In years past, some called it “Thanxmas,” others called it “Feastgiving,” and others, just a party. But the reason for choosing a night before or after (or even on) Thanksgiving day to gather around a table with your best friends remains constant: It’s a dedicated time during the traditional season of gratitude to give thanks specifically for that most extraordinary gift: friendship. And to do it in a way that feels, from top to bottom, like fun. Fun! Friendsgiving is not a replacement for Thanksgiving. Sometimes, Friendsgiving is Thanksgiving—especially if you’re far (physically or emotionally) from home. Sometimes, Friendsgiving is something extra. An extra opportunity to relax with friends. A laid-back dinner with no rules. A chance to laugh, really laugh, until your eyes water…

FRIENDS GIVING IS ALL about fun, and one key to having fun at your own party is to make as much ahead as possible. Enter ice cream cake. Not only can you make it ahead, but you must make it ahead. A lighter task list on the big day is built right into the recipe. This year, I set out to create a holiday-worthy ice cream cake that celebrates a favorite fall flavor: pumpkin spice. Don’t be daunted—it’s as easy as pie. Rather than using traditional cake layers, I chose to build my “cake” on sturdier blondies. Sturdy, but not hard: Because I add a bit of corn syrup to the batter, the blondies stayed tender once frozen. What’s more, to ensure pumpkin flavor throughout the cake (I firmly believe…

Curried Potato Cakes with Spicy Cilantro Chutney These patties are inspired by the filling of vegetarian samosas. For a more substantial meal, serve with basmati rice or naan and a dollop of yogurt. 3 cups fresh cilantro leaves and stems, chopped coarse¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided¾ cup water, divided2 jalapeño chiles, stemmed and chopped2 tablespoons lime juice5 garlic cloves, minced, divided2½ teaspoons table salt, divided1 tablespoon curry powder1¼ teaspoons cumin seeds2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾-inch pieces⅔ cup frozen peas8 ounces (8 cups) mesclun 1. Process cilantro, ¼ cup oil, ¼ cup water, jalapeños, lime juice, 2 teaspoons garlic, and 1 teaspoon salt in blender until smooth, about 45 seconds, scraping down sides of jar as needed. 2. Cook curry powder, cumin seeds, 2…

AS A TEST COOK and a mom of two teens, I often hear, “Your kids must eat really well at home!” I do my best to live up to that expectation, but on a typical weeknight, the last thing I want to do is a major cooking project. Still, I’m committed to sharing a sit-down dinner with my family nearly every evening because these meals allow us to pause and connect amidst the whirlwind of school, work, homework, and life. To achieve this goal, I generally rely on a few basic meals that I can embellish depending on what I have in my pantry. One of our enduring favorites is a skillet full of chicken and rice that—if I’ve planned ahead (by simply leaving my skillet and nonperishable ingredients at…

SALTY-SWEET COCONUT SHRIMP became popular in tiki bars and Polynesian restaurants in America following World War II. It’s easy to see their enduring appeal—you can’t beat briny shrimp, coated with coconut and fried until golden and crunchy. These irresistible snacks would be even more attractive to home cooks if they didn’t require a pot of hot oil to fry them. Enter the air fryer. In this version, we not only steer clear of deep frying, but we streamline the assembly. And to make things truly convenient, we prepare the shrimp ahead so they can be frozen and quickly cooked at a moment’s notice. Coconut shrimp can be amazing, but there are a few pitfalls that can lead to inferior renditions—namely soggy coatings and overcooked shrimp. Tackling the coating first, we…

SARA RODRIGUES at Barcelos Bakery in Fall River, Massachusetts On a gray, late-summer morning at Barcelos Bakery in Fall River, Massachusetts, Sara Rodrigues is inside at a wooden table crammed with pastry bags, piping tips, spatulas, and spoons, preparing to decorate a customordered cake. Although her husband Antonio’s pastéis de nata were the reason for my visit, it was impossible to ignore Sara’s work as she expertly dripped chocolate down the rippled sides of a frosted round, created an ornamental dam of frosting around the circumference, and flooded the reservoir with thick cherry pie filling. It was all as much a feat of fluid dynamics as it was a matter of decoration. At the front of the bakery, a stand-alone display of Sara’s handiwork—towering, intricate confections—welcomes customers. While ornate cakes…

Every Recipe and Review from All 18 Seasons! Celebrate a milestone of 18 years of recipes, road trips, and product reviews with the new edition of this fan-favorite cookbook. You’ll get 700+ recipes, including recipes from all 26 episodes of Season 18 plus plenty of bonus variations, a comprehensive shopper’s guide of top-rated equipment and ingredients, helpful tips and tricks, and the stories behind the recipes. Save 38% off the cover price in the ATK Shop: AmericasTestKitchen.com/CCTV18.…

THIS IS MY go - to recipe for when I want to really impress at a holiday feast—especially at a Friendsgiving, when there are no rules dictating the menu. I still love turkey, but a truly excellent roast duck brings something altogether more special to the table. When done right, a bite of duck is ridiculously tender and succulent; its assertive, robust flavor is deeply satisfying. But I understand that the prospect of roasting ducks can feel daunting. Recipes can give the impression that doing it well is like a culinary tightrope walk where one misstep could lead to a greasy bird, dried-out breast meat, and flabby skin. I’m here to tell you not to worry. Why not? Because ducks are basically the prize hogs of the bird kingdom, and…

THE HUMBLE PUMPKIN is the emblem of autumn harvest holidays. But on the table, savory-sweet pumpkin is often smothered with spices or pureed into pie, a far cry from its natural form. This year, when gathering with your chosen family, try celebrating pumpkin in its full glory instead of disguising it. Inspired by Dorie Greenspan’s recipe, this stuffed pumpkin is a stunner: standing proud and beautifully burnished, with its jaunty cap perched on top. It’s as delicious as it is eye-catching, overflowing with melty cheese and custardy bread (or “stuffed with everything good,” as Greenspan refers to it), its flesh softened enough to be scooped out with every spoonful of filling. It ticks all the right boxes for a Friendsgiving offering: It’s flexible, hearty enough to be a vegetarian main…

THE AIR IN Barcelos Bakery in Fall River, Massachusetts, is thick with Portuguese and English conversations, punctuated by the whir of the espresso machine and the lively ping of coffee cups hitting saucers. Owners Sara and Antonio “Tony” Rodrigues, both originally from Portugal, purchased the bakery from its previous owners in 2004. After running the business with few changes for several years, they began a three-year renovation in 2009, most of which Tony did himself after hours. The design inspiration was drawn from the traditional cafés of the Azores (the Portuguese archipelago where Tony grew up) and mainland Portugal, with exposed brick walls, tiled floors, and glass cases showcasing a variety of pastries and cakes. “We even tried to copy the sounds of the dishes and the coffee machines like you…

HERE ARE TWO skillet dinners that honor that incredibly dynamic culinary workhorse: the egg. As we have been reminded lately, they are precious, so when you’ve got them, it’s best to make the most of them. We developed these two recipes for each of the two moods we often find ourselves in around the holidays. The first recipe is for busy times: an easy, herby frittata, packed with fortifying potato, pancetta, and spinach. The second is for quieter evenings: a French onion soup–inspired version featuring eggs poached in saucy caramelized onions and covered with crispy, cheesy, toasted baguette. For our frittata, we lean on a tried-and-true method. Whisking salt and a little milk into the base of eggs keeps the proteins from clumping too tightly, ensuring that everything cooks up…

YOU MAY NOT know what a multicooker is, but you’ve probably heard of the Instant Pot, the most well-known example of this type of product. As the name “multicooker” implies, these machines promise to combine many different functions, claiming to let you pressure-cook, slow-cook, sear, steam, ferment, cook rice, and even cook foods sous vide. Even though we’ve found that most models don’t perform all of these functions well, the best are impressively versatile. What Do They Do Best? Almost all the multicookers we’ve tested are great at pressure-cooking, creating a tightly sealed, highpressure, high-heat environment that allows food to cook faster than it would otherwise. This means that multicookers are good at everything from cooking rice and beans to generating tender beef stew in much less time than it would…

APEROL Originally created in 1919 in Padua, Italy, this herbal, slightly bitter aperitif (made from rhubarb and various botanicals) has enjoyed an explosion in popularity over the past few years. With a relatively low alcohol content—about half that of another popular Italian aperitif, Campari—Aperol is lovely when sipped all by itself, neat or over ice. It also makes for a flavorful, colorful addition to holiday cocktails, such as our Cranberry-Aperol Sparkler (page 9). THE MEATIEST OF MEATS Pancetta is a salty, umami-rich cured pork product that is often used to flavor pastas and vegetable dishes. Like bacon, pancetta comes from the belly of the hog, but it is not smoked; instead, it is salted and aged until it is fully cured. It is technically safe to eat raw, but pancetta…

APPLE PIE IS an all-time classic with infinite variations. Double crust, crumble topping, pandowdy-style, elegant tart … the creative possibilities are endless. Here’s another one to add to the lineup—apples, caramel, crumble, and a shower of flaky sea salt, all stacked onto a sturdy, sweet base. I’ll start with the best news: These bars are easy to make. No wrestling with pastry, no precooking a pot full of apples, no anxiety as you watch your caramel burn in the skillet before your very eyes. There’s no need to pull out your food processor or mixer, no twiddling your thumbs while you wait for your dough to chill, no dainty crimping of the crust. It’s all streamlined and simple. First, you stir together a mixture of flour, brown sugar, melted butter,…

GARLIC-PARMESAN DIPPING OIL Serves 4 to 6 Total Time: 10 minutes For a more nuanced version of this dipping oil, you can substitute an equal amount of garlic confit oil and six mashed whole cloves of garlic confit (page 38) for the extra-virgin olive oil and raw garlic cloves called for here. Serve with focaccia, crusty bread, or breadsticks. ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (½ cup)2 garlic cloves, minced to paste½ teaspoon kosher salt½ teaspoon dried oregano¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes¼ teaspoon pepper1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (optional) Combine oil, Parmesan, garlic, and salt in shallow serving bowl. Using fork, mash and stir ingredients until evenly combined. Sprinkle oil mixture evenly with oregano, pepper flakes, and pepper. Drizzle with vinegar, if using. Serve. THANK YOU FOR 21…