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January February

2 Notes from ReadersReaders ask questions and su est solutions.

4 Quick TipsQuick and easy ways to per o eve day tasks, frompeeling hard-boiled e s to sl cing on ons and gr ind ngpepper

6 Pork Chops w th Vinegarand PeppersThis Italian dish o juicy pork chops cooked with sweetpeppers and vinegar can lose a lot in t nslation Could we reinterpret th s classic for mode Amer can cooks?BY B D G T L NC T

8 Better C icken Teriya iT red of food cou t chicken teriyaki wannabes, we weredete ined to develop a simple but authent c recipe.BY ND WU

I Rethinking CornbreadBrushing regional di erences aside we wanted a tender,

u crumb and a thick, crunchy crust But what we wanted most of all was sweet co avorBY E IK B CE

C c en andBroccoliThis res aurant chain classic can be as o putting as abad horror movie: drab colors, tough meat and a maincharacter the pasta with no biteBY JU CO IN D I ON

Mois and Tender BraisedBris etWhen this notoriously tough cut finally turn tenderit's often d as a bone Could we have our briskebo wa ?BY N W

6 ecipe escueEver wish there was an eme ency hotline you could call for advice when a recipe akes a tu for the worse? Thesetips and guidelines are the next-best thing to a 24-hour ood emergency operatorBY N W

8 Better B ack Bean SoupWi h its thin, g y broth and weak avor, has thisrestaurant s andard passed its prime?BY EB CC H Y

2 Hearty Scrambled Eggshy do addit onal ingredients quickly transfo u

e s into a wate mess?BY N N W T ND IN MCMU E

22 Glazed W nter ootVegetablesCould we tu "boring tu ips, cele root, and parsnipsinto exciting side dishe ?BY ND

2 Perfecting GermanC ocolate Ca eThis cake has made it into he dessert hall of fame but acloser look reveals shortcomings: faint chocolate avormicrosuede like texture, and a complicated mixingprocess.BY D WN Y N GI H

26 Muc A o about DutchingHow is Dutch processed cocoa di erent from "naturalcocoa? Does the home cook need both? After weeks oftesting we discovered a simple surprising answer.BY JO YON H E E M N

28 Do You eally Need aSaucier Pan?Will a saucier make your risottos tu out better?Probably not. But t might make you turn themout more oftenBY JO YON H E M N WITH G TH C NGING MITH

Ki c en NotesTest r esults, buying tips, and advice related to stor es pastand present, directly from the test kitchen.BY D WN Y N GIH

2 Equipment CornerReviews of new items, updates on past tests and sources

for products used in this issue.BY G TH C ING NG MITH

!

Flat, transparent rice sticks made from only rice our and water are commonly used to make pad thai and Vietnamese pho Thinner rice ve icelli are often used in

soups or chilled salads Both rice sticks and veicelli are "cooked by means of soaking in hot water ther than boiling. Cellophane noodles (also called bean hreads or glas noodle ) aremade from mung bean our and are also soaked before being eaten Chinese e noodles suchas those used for lo mein can be either thick or thin, fresh or dried. Broad, flat chow foon ricenoodles have a mild avor and slippe texture that wo well as a base for s ir fries. Japanese yam noodles called add a bouncy sprin texture to brothy dishes Soba noodlesmade from buc heat our, have an earthy, nut avor and are se ed in both hot and coldpreparations Delicate apanese somen noodle are made from wheat our and re emble fineangel hair pasta at chewy udon noodles are also made from wheat our and are ically usedin hea soups apanese men noodles can be purchased fresh dried, frozen, or in instantsoup packe s fried COVER g s)Elizabeth Brandon. BACK COVER s s)John Bu goyne

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THE LAST PICTURE S OW

As a kid in Vermont, I wasn't familiar

with the notion of choice. Cows hadto be milked twice a day. Horses hadto be watered down at the stream

nd the barn. The pigs and A gus had tograine e ces had to be checked and xed.e, corn could be plante early or late, and haydoes involve decision maki g, since you don'tt mown hay to be caught in a hard rain. Calvinlidge probably summed up a farmer's view ofcision retty well when he said, " hen yout know what to do, do the work in ont of

I've spent most of my life following thisple ct m.

you can always depend on the

crowd. We'll see our town's lastfarmer, Charlie Bentley; Valerieand her son, Charles; our minister,Rev. Bort, and his wife, Joan, whoplays the organ and sings; eanand Jack, our neighbors acrossthe valley; Roy and Jane Gatlin;and, of course, Gerald Ennis

om alem, who shows up at ourfarm om time to time just to seewhat's going on. h sto he K ba

uly I took the kids down t

a dou le feature. We got tha few minutes early. Two yooys ere t 1rowi g a foot

5 year old started playi g ometal supports for the screeif t ey were a jungle g m, were plenty of army a d fT shirts, a young couple sat together in a green Mustang, the station wago s were pabackward so the families incould sit and look out t ou

ust last summer I had to purchase a newkup- he atbed of my old Ford was rotted

the brakes were gone, and it was leaki g oil.I took a trip down to the Ford dealership inen ch. Did I want a crew cab or a super cab?I want the deluxe Lariat or the King anch

on? Did I need the towing package? Howut roof lights and sideboard lights, and whatof sou d system did I require? Was I interd in the 50, the 250, or the 350? I could evena Harley Dav dson limited e itio pickup, lllack, h a special monogrammed bed liner.en it comes to eating out, I have grownte fond of church suppers, not just because

gets to visit with neighbors but becausee is no choice invol ed, except when it comesessert. The church in awlet has been raismoney for its new spire, and we have beennding its monthly pork dinners. It's $9 forlts and $4.50 for kids under 2. The menually includes coleslaw, red Jell (as a sideh), mashed otatoes, rolls, ap lesauce, greens, stuf g, pork, and gravy. You can drinkee, lemonade, or iced tea, and for dessertsometimes get a choice ast weekend it was

ow cake w th a whipped pineapple osting orcolate c ke th a dge osting. (Our familyed in a block for the chocolate, although theeapple cake seemed to be more popular wither olks because the ost ng was thicker.) And

I'm not suggesting thatcountry living offered no choices. Old countrys ores ad quite a lot to o r Yo w r li lyto nd None Such Mince Meat, I. D. Gilmor

Company Celebrat d Biscuits, Fine ualityPressed Hops, Slade's Assorted arjoram, andBird's Eye Diamond atches. A good store alsocar ied large displays of colored t 1reads, ennycandies, poultry remedies, a dozen brands oftobacco, tea, coffee, fabric, and almost anythingyou might want in the way of dry goods And, ifold fashioned country stores were anything likeours is today, you could nd just about any ypeof gossip you might want, from suspicions aboutwho is jacking deer out of season to th darkestspecula ion about marital in delities.

But, on the whole, there was plent of work todo, not much cash money, and littl time to spendit. In fact, when I was a kid on 1e farm, mon ydidn't seem to have much currency. he thingsthat were prayed for includ d good weather,deliverance om sickness, and a bit of luck in lov .When a new pickup was purchased, it looked j stlike the old one-the same model and c olor - soit was no cause for celebration. In fact, lif didn'toffer many choices: One simply got out of b dand went to work.

Today, in our mountain town, things haven'tchanged much. If we ant to see a movie, wehead down to Hathaway's Drive In Unlik amul plex, t re is o cho ce-it's two movies forsix bucks, and t ey don't start until twilight. Last

OR INQUIRIES RDERS, OR M RE I ORMATI :

the open hatchbacks.he mo i started, a d my kids ad move

onto blankets, eating Milk Duds, ies, and corn. I was alone in t 1e pickup, sitt ng in tspot I had with my parents 40 years ago. Sincetime, I have made a lot of choices, not all of good on s, ut I have had enough sense to kwhere home is. Pic up trucks, candy wrappersenormous night s y, french fries, ice cream coa bot e rocket hissing upward, and Holltwo stories high-t 1at's home to me. It's eas

all for t e promise of the big screen; maybsomet ing better in the next town. But th

is something to e said for kno ing every of a place where the rain falls on farmhouses

hold no secrets and where there is noth ngfashioned about hot fries and a $6 drive in.A er a bit, mosquitoes drove the kids back

the pickup. I wondered if, in a other generatsom of my kids would return to Hathaway'stheir c ildren. y season would have endedth n and it would be their turn. Or maybe twould make other choices and end up on theside of the world. But perhaps Calvin Coowas r ght. If we are con sed by a sea of chw ought simply to do t e work in ont o

h n e just follo the pat ahead, one stea time, t e pat 1 that leads to a summer nthe hope l icker of the big screen, andt 1 drive home to a high mou ta n valleyfarmhouse at the end of t e road.

cooksillust ted.com COOK S ILLU RTED agazine.cooks st e co yo ca o e boo a s bscr o s s g fo o f e e ews etterCook's us ra ed agaz e ISS I 068 2821) ber 72 s b she b o

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J U b 005

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F

resh Ground P eron the Go

hat do you thin of the built in "grinder inhe new ar of M Corm pepper orns?EA ER C AMB ERLA N

GLEN DALE, CA l F.

Cormi k's new o ering of bla k pepperorns in a jar ith its own grinder at rst stru uss super uous ost oo s own a pepper mill, so

why buy a disposable one? Then we bought onend tried it and realized it's the sort of thing thatomes in handy for sto king a va ation home,

aki g on a pi ni , or stowing in a ba kpa k onamping trip The$1.99 jar has a removable

ap, under whi h is a simple grinding me hanismn ir led in a band of hard bla plasti To uset, you simply remove the ap, turn the jar upsideown, and twist the plasti band at you get is

oarse grind, good for seasoning a salad, stea ,r sandwi h just before you eat it The grind isn'tdjustable, so you're out of lu k if you want a

ne grind that will melt intoyour food The ap snaps ba ksnugly a er use, eliminating

he opportuni for spills (Yes,we tested it by dropping it andby arrying it around in a

napsa for a ouple of days

cCormi ck s jar o wholepepperco ns with a ilt-ingrinde r makes sense or

acation homes camping tripsox l nches and picnics

T e New CriscoYou re ently ested several alternatives to Cris ohat don't ontain partially hydrogenated, orrans, fat ( ay/June 2004) It is my understandng that Cris o is now available without trans fatHave you tried it?

ERMAN VEN RA

M LAN AWA

The J. M Smu er Company, manufa t rerf Cris o, released its new produ t, Zero ramsrans at Cris o, in spring 20 4, promising hat

t would produ e exa tly t e same results as ther ginal Cris o when used in any re ipe To ma ehe original produ t, Smu er puts soybeannd ottonseed o ls through a pro ess of part alydrogenation The partially hydrogenated fat

hat's reated in he pro ess is, as you say, theour e of the unhealthy trans fat in Cris o Theew produ t is made from nonhydrogenated

C O P L E D B Y N D A K O O P A N

sun ower and soybean oils and om o tonseed

oil t 1at has been through a pro ess of ompletehydrogenation When an oil is ompletely, orlly, hydrogenated, it be omes a saturated

fat onside r ed better for you than trans fat butnot as healthy as unsaturated fat, whi h is foundin many unadul erated vegetable oils

To see how this new produ t performs, we prepared our pie rust, bis uit,

Can a new Crisco

and fried hi en re ipeswith bot the or gina and

he new Cris o The pierusts and bis uits made

with ea h type of Cris obrowned equally well,as did both bat hes offried hi en In fa t, we

oul 't tell t e fferen ebetween the h en fried prod ct meas re p?in t e original and newCris o The en tasted the same, and the s inwas equally risp

In the ase of t e pie rust and bis uits, weould not dis ern a different taste, but here was

a slight differen e in texture The pie rust madewith t 1e original produ t was a bit more tender,w e the rust made with the new pr du t wasa bit more stiff and ra erlike Li ewise, t 1e bis

uits made with the original Cris o were slightlymore ender and also a little more uf han theirZero ra 1s Trans at ounterparts Be ause theoverall differen es were so slight, we would nothesitate to try the new Cris o in any re ipe tha

alls for vegetable shortening

Real Brow d MeaI have two questions about browning meat irst,when a re ipe says to brown the meat, does it justmea to oo it it loses its pin olor or to ooit until it gets a dar brown sear? Se ond, whenbrowning ubes of beef to ma e a stew, the meao en gives o so mu h liquid hat it is real y boiling in liquid instead of ying Is here a way tavoid this?

A RA NN EW SBBOC K, EXAS

When a re ipe says to brown the meat, it isalling for a deep brown sear and a dis ernibly

thi rust on all sides something that's bestobtained by qui oo ing over high heat Ifyou're browning meat for stew, that means putting the meat in a hot pan and not turning it unt l

he rst side is well seared, about two or threeminutes Then ont nue oo ing the other sides

C O O K S U

of the mea until they, too, are well seareone or two min u t es per side When makthe goal is not to oo he meat throug

ill happen when you stew t-b othe browning that e p avor initself and that w reate -browned behind in t e pan that when egla edmore avor to h e s ew

en be e f for a stew essentia lin its own liquid-as you des ribe-ithe opportunity for good avor de

ment and an develop a b an , avor De nitely n t a good th n

are several s t eps yo an ta e to ensmeat browns properly irs , mameat is dry before it goes into the p

it down thoroughly w th paper toweis espe ially important w th previous

meat, whi h o en releases a great deal oSe ond, when you're ready to put he meapan, make sure he pan is hot by preheatinhigh heat until any oil or fat you've addedpan is shimmering or lose to smo ingma e sure no o over rowd the pan; therbe at least in h of spa e be ween the meat If there isn't, the meat is li ely tinstead of bro n If nee be, oo the meaor three bat hes to eep om rowding t

Are S allots Wo the Exp nsIs there a reason for using shallots ins

nions? y gro ery store sells sha ots a pound and onions for $1 29a pound twi e as mu h for shallots?

MARGAREW ES AR O R

Shallots have a nique avor that is mmore deli ate than at of on ons, and, ofthey are also mu h smaller than most When shallots and onions are oo ed, feren es between them show up even moqui ooking pan sau e for stea , fora shallot's m ld avor will meld musmoothly wi at of e other ingredien

nely min ed s hallot will also melt isau e un i it's all but indis ernible Nhow nely you min e an on on, t's notdisappear into an o her ise sil y sau ealso needs mu h more ook ng time b

avor w mel owIn add ion, a ra sha low a d gen l

a vinaigret e ors alsa, w t a of se a raw onion in e s me re ipe a d t

gent onion r n h may seem ou of pla

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be tch:ou and P otein Content

talk a lot about the protein content of ourwhat is best for, say, bread versus pastry. Butour in t e superma ket doesn't show a pro

percentage; the "Nutrit on Facts label on t egives only the number of grams of protein pering. Is there a way to gure out the percentagerotein om the nformat on on the bag?

JON SC STERSEA LE WAS

The Nutr tion Facts label on a bag of our doesprovide a very accurate n cation of proteintent We looked at ve popular all-purposers, n the labels o all ve l sted a serv nge of30 grams and a protein content per serv nggrams If you do the math, you get a proteintent of 10 percent. But t e actual proteintent of each of these ours s qu te di erent:percent for both Gol Medal and Pil sbury,

percent for Ho gson 11 7 percent for

ng rthur, and an average of 11 7 percent forkers/Ce esota at's going on? Rounding.a label says "3 gra s, the actual numbe

be any h ng om 26 grams to 3.4 grams Thatnslates to anyth ng om 8.3 pe cent prote n to7 percent

A much better guide to the p ote n contentour is ts general category, wh ch s clearly

ed on t e bag In the supermarket, you'll usuy nd three bas c categor es: bread our, th ae n content in the range of 12 to 14 percent;purpose, 10 to 12 percent; and cake, usually8 percent The higher the protein content,more s ructure and chew in the end productn a chewy rust c Italian loaf made w th bread); the lower the protein content, the more

er the en product (a meltingly so buttere made th cake our). Al -purpose, true toname, covers lots of the terr tory n bet een.

ci e Timing Boiling Wateany years I have been trying to dec pher

nstruc ions for bo l ng t mes. Shoul I boilitem from the time t goes into the water or

m t e ti e the water returns to a boil? Doessame formula hold for both blanch ng vegees and cook ng lobster?

R C ARD M. BRIC KMANVIRG NIA BEAC , VA.

mmm e eal zed t s was a good quesn when we t rned to a number of our ec pesblanch ng and found that we don't spec

ether the water must return to a bo l beforeu start count ng the seconds or minutes Wet speak fo other recipe wr ters, but n our

pes for blanching you start count ng from t ement you plunge the u t or vegetable nto

bo l ng water The goal n blanch ng is not tok foods through but usua ly to a d n sk nn ng

I S I ?

picked up t is item or$ 1 i a ba ull o a ti ues i pswicMass just because it looked i teresti g. Ca you ide ti it

LEE PARAD SN N

pswic may be best k ow or its clam s b ut li ke seve l ot ertow s o Massac usetts' Nort S o re t at date back to Col o ia ltimes it s also e joye or its collectibles w ic i clude evet i g rom baked bea pots to scrims aw to oak beams salvaged

rom old bar s O e o our edito came across t e same itemt at you ou d i a store i eig bor i g Essex.

W at is it? S e lear ed rom o e o t e proprieto t at it s ajuicer. Made rom cast alumi um a d measuri g about9 i c eslo g by4 i c es ig a d5 i c es wide at t e juice-collecti ge d the juicer wor by mea s o a a dle t at w e pressedpus e s agai st t e at side o a lad le li ke co tai er t at ol ds t eju ice see t e il lust tio ) . A slotted removable opper sits i sidet e ladle to ol d back t e pulp a d seeds. T e juice is t e s implypoured out t roug t e spout i t e co tai er.

T is tool is t e per ect size or jui ci g a o ge but it wil l alsoeatly juice a lime or emo or eve a small g pe ruit Teste

were impressed by its e icie cy a d ease o use lots o juices ueezed wit o e press o t e a dle maki g it easier to uset a our avorite a d juicer a d reamer bot o w ic like all

h n al t e c e nt jq eeze every la t drop o t of

orange lemon l me andmal l grapefr t.

suc devices re uire pressure as well as isti g a d tur i g. Teste also liked t e act t at tcould be removed or clea i g. All o t at said t is a d-p ress juicer is t er bul a d wstore W at s more to our k owledge it s o lo ger bei g m a u actured .

(peaches and tomatoes) or to so en cr sp/tender (vegetables for a rud t ) If you don'tstart count ng till the water returns to a bo l, thefood be overcooked.

For foods meant to be cooked a l the waythrough, from lobster to boiled potatoes, yougenera ly start counting once the water eturns toa boil. At least t at's the way it works in our recipes A d if the recipe gives a range (say 20 to 30minutes for good size potatoes), t's lways bestto start chec ng for doneness early nce thosepotatoes are overcooked, the e's no go ng back

E iminatingG s fom BeansWhy do beans somet mes cause gas? Is t eresomething I can do to reduce the discomfort?

MADELE NE OWE

R LAND, VT

For some, the greatest obstacle to preparingbeans is not the ack of a good rec pe but an avers on to the d scomfort assoc ated w th digestionThe creat on of unwanted ntest nal gas begins with t e arrival of small chains of carbohy ates(called ol gosacchar des) nto the large intestine.People cannot d gest these molecules ef ciently,but bacteria res ng at the end of the ut do andproduce gas as a byproduct Some sou ces saythat presoak ng or precook ng beans allev atesgas pro uction by remov ng these ca bohydrates.

J U b U 005

Ou sc ence editor dec ded to put these thto the test by measuring the amount of one omost prevalent sma l carbohydrates in blackstachyose.

His results gave the theories some c edBeans soaked overn ght in water a d hen and dra ned sho ed a 28 percent reductiostachyose. The precook ng, q ick-soak, mconsist ng of a one minute boil followesoak for an hour, was more e ect ve, rem42.5 percent of the stachyose Though results were encouraging, we thought we cdo better.

We tried several recommende ngrethat are p orte to " neu alize the ocompounds as bea s cook epazote, kombu kelp), bay leaves, nd bak g soda None

seemed to do muc in the pot, though it is posat they act only during digestionOu conclus on: Thou h t e qu c

method s not our st choice because of t ve effect on the texture of the beans, ifcause you sign cant discomfort, th s ap as the most effective at reduc ng the amothe offending compounds

SEND US YOUR QUE ONS e oe a o e yea s s o o ea e e

, a e a ess a ay e e e o e o ea e s ook's s e ,P O ox 70589 B0 7 o o o es o ea e s@ ess. o

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Quick TipsC nvenient Oil DispensePo r spo ts are a grea way too t j s the r ght amo nt oo or a sa t or a salad people nc ding Christo

ang o onol lawa i don t ha e

c p oards talleno gh to it oththe o tle and thespo t. e ig redo t a way to getj st a splash o o l

rom the ottlewitho t sing aspo t

Sto ng Sha p Utens sond e orks par n g kn es skew

ers and al l man ner o small sharpo jects can present a danger whentossed haphazardly nto a kitchendrawer he n ext t me yo reach

nto the drawer yo re l kely toget poked. red o this ro tin eon Bocc o Cordo a laska

came p with he idea osec r ngthose po n tips n le o er w necorks which n ot on ly protectshands also keepssharp edges romgett ng d ll.

Neater French ToastNo o e likes to waste re c toast

batter by drippi g it all over t estovetop w il e t s erri g soakedslices o bread r m bowl to skill et.Mitc K mer o Midd lebu y Vt di scovered a clever way to soak u p eaca d eve drop. He sim ply places o epiece o plai bread be ee t e bowla d t e skill et. O ce e's used up allo t e ot er slices e uses t e catc allslice or t e la t p iece o re c toast.

O I E D B Y E R I K A B R E

Rolling Pin Sto ageStori g la e aw ard roll i g pi s wit a d les a d bal beari gs is o te di cu tespecially wit l im ited d wer a d c upboard space. Elizabet M cCart y o Sa MateoCali . came up with a clever so utio

I.

Measure the dista ce be ee the a dles o t e roll i g pi .Measure t at same d s ce at a co ve ie t spot o your kitc e wall a d mou t

o i expe sive curtai rod ol de rom t e ardware store o e at eac e d . esimply suspe d your rolli g p i by its a d es.

Neate Egg San w chesr ed-egg sandwiches always seem to taste et er when made w t h ngl ish

m ins or agels t how do yo ry a ro nd egg o j st he right size on e

that won t op m essily o er he sides o he sandw ch? o Ve ret o Portlande. do es the jo wi h la rge cook e c tters mak ng ro nd ried eggs that area pe ect t or nglish m n s.

I B t er one o r mo re to n ch ro nd cook e c ters. elt tter in a

I emo e the plastic cap roo l a nd p oke a small h ole ththe sa e seal nder the cap a paring kni e. eplace the s ore as s al.

. hen yo need a l ttle oremo e the cap n e t the

and g e t a sq eeze or a sh

e ec GrindMeasuri g resh grou d pe

or a ecipe ca be tric . A gri der wor s but i youyou e d up gri di g much mt a you eed . Matt ew rScarboroug O tario, solvepr blem by cou ti g t e ugri ds is peppe r mil l re uduce teaspoon o pepper amarki g t e u ber o a pi

tape a xed to the mill.

nonstick skillet hen place the c tters in the skillet eing s re not to scrape ; the pan s s r ace. Po r one egg nto each c tter an d season w th salt and p ep

per. Co er he pan an d cook to the des red done ness.em o e oth the egg and th e c tter with a spat la . I necessary r n a par

ng kn e aro nd the i nsid e o the c tter to loo sen the egg.

O O S U S

4

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op tick to t e Re cueost cooks like to keep a pumpap dispender near the ki chennk for hand washing But t'sasteful to discard the ast drops ofap that always co ect in the botm of the bott e Cathie BrennerBrook ine, Mass , found a fast,at way o get the soap from onett e to another Inse a ongopstick i to the neck of thecond bottle and inve the firstttle on top The soap wi c ingthe chopstick and trick e down

ore readi y

e ing a i While Slicingni nsper Co e o Me o , Ca i ca e

p wit thi tip to ake dici g or icg o io eve ea ier ter t i i ge top o t e o io a d a vi g it po epo e s e o low t e step be ow

Care u y pee t e outer aye roc a dow to but ot a t e way

t e root e dW e you ave diced or s iced

ost o the o io o d o to t eter aye to stabi ize t e root e d asu i is cutti g

"In tant OatmealA uick bow o ot oat eal ca tart t e day o a wa ote But reac i g or t o eg uey i t packet ju t i ' t wort it axso E ck B t o G e ive Mo tca e u p wit a way to ave t e best o bot wor ds i ta t o e ade oatmea

I Mea ur t e d i gredie ts or o e e i g o oatmea i to a sa dwic -sizezipper-l ock bag; we l ikecup uick-cooki g (or o e-mi ute) oatsteaspooci a o I tab espoo brow sugar a pi c o sa t a d I tab e poo dried ruitRepeat wit as a y bags as you like

To cook em p a bag i to a bow a d addcu p bo i i g ater Stir cover witp astic w p a d let it or5 mi utes U cover tir agai a d brea ast is ready

ra Bag ipShe Siege of Eng ewood, Co o , found

a c ever way t save both time and space whi e changing her t sh bags She st resthe container of trash bags in the bottomof the trash can; when a fu bag is removed,a she has to do is reach down and g b a fresh bag o rep ace it

B. Bet Wibby ofTrave e Ci ,ich , ikes to recyc e p ast c

shopping bags by us ng them toline sma trash cans (aboutinches ta ), but she finds the bagshave an annoying hab t of s idingto the bottom of the can To so vethis prob em, she at aches smaadhesive coat hook on eitherside of the can, about inches from the top To secure the bag,she simp y s ips the bag hand esaround the hook

Peeling Egg Shel -Fa tW e aki g recipes uc as esa ad o r deviled e s w ic ca orseve ard-cooked e Greg Staro Nee a Ma a a uick aea way to oo e a d remove t es e s

I ter d i i g t e ot water romt e pot used to cook t e e s s a et e pot back a d o to c ck t e

e sd e oug ice ter to cover

t e e s a d et coolT e waterseeps u der t e broke s e s allowi g t em t be s i pped wit out a

t u le

G

J U [ U 005

Pe ect Fried ENo hing s wo e than co ing pe ec fried e n y o ea whi e ran ferring the e from ski et to a p ate Brenda Bi oof Leds, aine, avoids this mishaby app ying cooking sp y to thespatu a, wh ch a ows her to gs ide he cooked e s onto thep ate

Freezing Lfove WineO te te pted to toss out t at o wi e ro a u i i ed Teope-Tam o C icago Ii g it i tead Now w e s e

itt e wi e to i is a uceeed to ope a res bott e M

blespoo o wi e i to eac wice cube y a d eeze U e ak i e to re ove eac wi e cub

tor i a zipper - oc k bag dcubes to auces a desi d

Preventing Boil OverMos cook wit e ec ric stoveneed to quick y c down a homove it to another ner Insteof risking a bu whi e t ing tmove a a e pot of angri y bubb water, Ames Rich ofWinston

Sa em, N C , tosses in one or ice cubes is brings own thetempe ture q ick y nd takes ut e s ack wh e t e heat ge e ent s ow y coo s

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Pork Ch ps with V inegar and ep eThis Italian dish of juicy pork cho s cooke with sweet peppers a d vi ega l in tra s atio . C ul we re ter ret t is c ass c r m er A

or chops th v negar peppersare a welcome change from thepor chop doldrums. Bra sedto fall-off he-bone tenderness

n a sauce made of l ttle more than sweetd v negar peppers r ght out of he jar,e por chops arr ve at the table smothed, ju cy, and of b g, tart v negaravor. ell, I l ke v negar almost asuch as love por chops, so I gatheredmult tude of rec pes to test n hopes of

produc ng th s d sh.In a land where por s st l l of fat,s must make a great supper. Sadly, all

at the lean supermarket por n th sountry had to contr bute to the d shas chalky chops. And my rst saucesere harsh an mus y tast ng not at ahat I had n m nd. Modern ta es one rec pe eschewed the bra s ng techque altogether, saut ng the chops on

e r own and then bu ld ng a v negarepper pan sauce. Th s approach, too,as a letdown. The chops were bland

nd dry, the sauce no more than anerthought. I had a long way to go.

B Y I D G E L A N C A S E

texture of the chops, from soggto tough nter or, was st l al

My next attempt aga n startebrown ng the chops, b t th spulled them out of t e pan as st ey formed a beau l browne(which took just a few m nutesthe chops, st ll raw ns de, o while I made the sauce. When thhad reduced, I placed the chops bthe pan, be ng care l not to p le

pers on top and cover he cr sp, bcrust. Then I put the s llet n a to qu c ly r ng he chops up

nterna temperature and (I hopal ow em to absorb so e of thegar and pepper avor. s stovoven combo was a huge proThe crust was ntact, the chops wju cy, and ey were sat rated

avor of t e tart sauce

A ck o Pe e

o S ohoos ng the proper pork chop wasy rst challenge. th the r b g por

omemade v nega pep e s (ready n us nu es) ansform o d a y po kchops n o a sa s ng I al a supper

The por k chops were great ju cyof avor and, except for on

deta , I could have stopped ththat m nor deta l was the v nepers. The avor that they were to he sauce and pork was d ll,

avor, tender r b chops were tasters favor te,lowed by center cut chops. B ade chops were

sty but lost out because they were also qu teugh. b chops are ava lable w th or w thoute r bone, but I found that the bone he ped tota n both avor and ju c ness.Armed w th the proper chop, I approached the

c pe from two d f erent d rect ons. For my rst

und of tes s, I browned the chops n a s end hen ra sed hem s ow n a v negar pepperuce. To my surpr se, no atter what the coong t me, the chops always turned out stewed andhal . I suspected tha the v negar was the cul

t, so I performed a test us ng a m x of v negarnd water to bra se one batch of chops and waterone for ano er. I was r ght. The pork chopsa sed n v negar were more tender, but at a cost.

he texture was unpleasantly chal .My next thought was o brown the pork chops

nd then top them w th he v negar pepper saucethe very end (as when us ng a pan sauce).

These chops fared a l t le better. Alt ugh they were a b t dry and tough, they browned beaut

lly. The problem was that t e pan sauce d dn ttaste l ke por and there was no s gn of br ght v negar avor n t e chops.

I qu c ly solved the dry por chop problemby bath ng the chops n a br ne of sa t, sugar,and water for half an hour be ore coo ng them.

(On a wh m, r ed add ng a l ttle v negar to t ebr ne, bu s aga n e o cha chops.) hebr ned chops reta ned much more mo sture,an t e sugar t e br ne produced a terr cbrowned crust. Ju c ness as de, however, thesepor chops were st ll tough and tasted not ngl e v negar or peppers. The next t me I brownedthe chops qu c ly , added t e v negar peppers tothe pan, and s mmered t e v negar down for usta few m nutes (much less t me than requ red fora bra se). h s approach showed prom se. hepor s ar ed to taste l e t e sauce and the saucestar ed to ta e on the avor of the por , but he

C O O K S I U S T T

and a b t b tter. Because jarred are rea ly ava lable and because here of brands to choose om, t oug t I cou

ly nd a sweet red pepper pac ed n v would please t e masses. Not so. Maybs permar ets carry exot c mported peppafar t at wou d wor , but the jarred peppof my local supermar et shelves were a bpo ntment dull or b tter, w t a v ne

t at wal ed t e l ne between ac d and me , supermarke s cou pI d make my own v negar peppers. Bamar et I went to p ck up some fresh peppers. I followed the ead of a few recroasted t e peppers n the oven unt l thcharred. er peel ng the b ac ened s nmar nated the peppers n v negar for a

he end result was abby peppers that tomuch t me to ma e.

My other opt on was to saut str ps on the sk llet unt l so before add ng th

U or ately, these peppers cooked down

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sh by he t e the vin gar haduced Next tried sa ing thepers brie y, just to take off th

w crunch, added a cup of vinegarnough o cover the pe pers) to pan, an si ered the lots did the trick The epperps were still plu p eno gh tooy and ha d taken on avor frovinegar But, oh, what avor!

ce te pered the harshness ofvinegar with so e water, hadieved easy, ho e ade, erfectegar e ers

Two Keys to Better Brow ig

AT S S

e egar tsele last com onent to est was

vinegar itself, and altho ghipes ostly ca ed for wh te wineegar, I tested cha pagne, cider,

Do not r nse the chops after remov ng them from the br ne s mp ypat them d w th paper towe s eft Because the sugar n the br nehas not been r nsed o the su ace, the chops w brown better than

f they h d been r nsed o ensure that the ent re su ace of the chopcomes nto contact w th the hot pan, press the top of the chop w tha spoon or spatu a to push the me t nto the pan

wine, ba sa ic, a d plain old white vin garw ll C a agne vinegar as too sweet, cider

s too " o n-ho e, and red wine vinegar washarsh Balsa ic vinegar as interesting bold

d sweet b t a few tasters co plained that it "not a thentic it ade for a great variation,ugh) There's a reason t at people p ll t e botof wh te ne vinegar a s ooth, high-q tynd, please) off t e shelf for t is r cipe t o erslean, sweet tast t at arries perfect y w t thepers and the pork

My last step was o boost the av r of t e saucew nt some on for ro ndness and sw ets Garlic and anchovy added co plexit lsocome as a h nt of ros ary, added sim ly by

eping a hole sprig in e sa ce for a fe ins To ish t e sa ce, add d arsley for colord butter for richness Fina ly, a hit of vinegar

ed j st before serving anywhere b t een aspoon and a co ple of tablespoons, d pendingyour personal pucker tolerance) , and no onmplain about t s d sh being d ll again

O K O T VD E E

4

p sle s lt

4 o e i po i ops e 3/to i t id7 to o es se e ote)

G o d l peppet lespoo s oli e oill e o io oppe d fi e o t 1 ps)l e ed ell peppe stemmed seede d d ti to / i ide st ips o t' ps)l e yello ell peppe stemmed seeded d

t i to 1/ i ide st ips o tI ' ps)o y fillets mi ed o tte spoo s)

sp i f es osem y o t5 i es lomedi m li lo es mi ed o p essed t o

li p ess o tte spoo s)3 p te1 p ite i e i e pl s optio l

t lespoo s to fi i s s et lespoo s old s lted ttet lespoo s op ped f es p sley le es

Dissolve sugar and c table salt in q arts water in larg c ntainer; add ork cho sand re rigerate30 in tes R ove cho s frobrin ; horo gh y at dry with a r towels, season wi / teaspoon p r, and set aside

Adj st oven rac to iddl osition;

eat oven to 400 degrees Heat oil in botto ed ovensafe 1 inch nonreactiveover edi high heat ntil oil begins tos irl ski et to coat it oil Place chlet; cook until ell bro ned,3 to 4 in

sing s oon or s at la to ress down onof cho s to aid in bro ning Using tonc ops and brown lig tly on second side,

in te Transfer cho s to large late; set3 Set skillet over edi igh hea

onion and cook, stirring occasiona ly, beginning to so en, abo t in tes A

ers, anchovies, and rose ary; cook, st rq ent y, ntil e ers j st begin to so en

n tes Add garlic ; cook, st rring constanfragrant, abo t30 seconds Add ater andvinegar and bring to boil, scraping up brb ts it wooden s oon ed ce eat to si er ntil liq d is red ced to about cto 8 in tes O eat, discard rose ary

4 et rn ork cho s, bro ned side s illet; nestle cho s in e ers, b t do n

c ops it e pers dd any acc latto ski et; set skillet in oven and cook no cho s registers 35 to 140 degrees on inread ther o eter, 8 to 1 in tes c ecking te perat re after6 in tes)

otholders, care lly re ove sk llet froandle ill be very hot) and cover skil

lid or foil; let stand unt l center of chops 145 to 50 degrees on ins tant read ther o

5 to 7 in tes Transfer chops to platter vid al lates Swirl b tter into sa ce anin sk llet; stir in o tional tables oons using, and arsley Adj st season ings it

e per, then po r or s oon sa ce and over cho s Serve i ediately

O K O T B VD EET E

Balsa ic vinegar adds r ch avor and colo

Follow reci e for Pork Cho s \ith VinegaS eet Pe ers, s bstit ting balsa ic for w te ine vinegar and adding tablechopped esh t y e along it parsley i

t s recipe, we pr f r rib cho s, but c nt r c tops, wh ch contain a or on of tenderloin, can be

d instead f yo do not ave e to brine theops, "en a ced pork pork injected wi a sa t,ter, and sodi hos hate sol tion, so stated onpa ag abel pres nts n acceptab e sol t on;enha ced meat have ore moist re t an

brined natu a cho s To keep t e cho s oercook ng and becon ng tough and ry, t ey aremov d o the oven when t y are just shy ofly cooked; as t y sit in t e hot s i et, t ey conu to c ok with residual heat The vinegar st rredo e sa ce at t e end adds a b ight, esh avor advis , howev r,tl a t y tast t sauc before

u add the vinegar you ay pref r to o t i t

S T E P - BY- S T E P P I C K A P A R T A P E P P E R

I s n c e s n e cunc om o an bo

m e e

ce om o o boo en a en e e

w s n s e ac ng o n

J U 05

Pu ou see be en4. u e e en w e bs o ns e n o

e e

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Bette Chicken Te iyakTired of food-court chicken teriya wannabes, we were det

to devel op a s m le but authentic rec pe .

hen the sh isn't so fresh a dthe soba's just so-so, you can

sually count on ch cken teriyaki as a reliable standby at most

panese restau ants. Bu th so man lack ustermericanized adap atio s out there i cludingverything om skewered chicken chunks shelcked in a corn syrupy sa ce to over marinated,eformed c cken breast pat es what is t e re l

eal? Traditionally, chic en eriy i is pan ied,rilled, or broiled, h the sauce added during the

st stages of cooking. In fac , the Japanese termiy kican be ranslated as ,meani g "shi e"luster referring to the glossy sauce and

ki,meaning "to b oil.The chicken is most o en served o the one

nd cut into th n strips. he sauce itself unl eost bo tled versions consists of just th ee basicgre ients: so sauce, sugar and either r n (a

weet Japanese rice ne ) o r sake.The ha f dozen test recipes I assembled were,r the most part, disappo ting. The most promisg recipes had one hing in common: The skin was

on. Despite minor complaints abo t the sa ceeing too watery, tasters seemed to like a marited and broiled version est, followed by o e inhich the c cken was pa ied and simmered in

ce during the nal min tes of cooking. hilee skin kept the meat tender and moist, it a so hadmajor aw: i s chew ng g m like texture. I hadcome up with a way to keep the s in crisp, evenh the ad ition of sauce. A skillet or broiler orrhaps a tag team e ort employing both would

e integra to getting me there.

he R gh Cutho gh chicken thighs were clearly prefer ed

y tasters over ch cken breas s, I couldn't ve up

the biquitous o eless sk less var ety justt. But su sequent tests, w et er t e c c ereasts were seared and roiled, solely broiled,arinated, or le plain and sauced at the end, theyways e ded up u appeali gly dry, bland, ande a i t e e a o t e e ges compa edh t e t gh meat. he deeper meat er taste ofe t ghs stood up nicely to the salt pro le ofe teriyaki sa ce, w e t e reast meat acted ast m ch more than a onedimensional backdrop,ntri ting li e avor of its own.

th the thighs now a established standard, t eues ons of bo e in or o e out, skin on or sk

B Y S A N D A W

To t s in on t c i c n c is ho d ac t

t i a i sauc unti s ing tim

o , begged to e a swered. e s seemed tocreate a protect ve ar er against e heat so rce,keeping he meat moist, so it wo ld have to be eon. Because most ski o chicke t ighs are sold

t the bo e attached, we would have to bonethem o rselves if we wa ted o se ve t e meat ieasy to eat st ps. Eve with a sha pari g k i ea d a straightforward tech ique, it took kitche

ov ces a few tries before they felt comp etely comfortable with the procedure. B t the e ort was wellwo th it. Not on y did bon ng he chicken thighs

allow the mea to cook faster, it also made cuttingt e pieces o o c c e i to st ps muc easie(and less messy). Ifyou want to sk p the kni e work,you c cook and serve t e chicke with the bonein, ut the prese tatio is ot ear y as nice a deve yo e ave o wo k e t e a e.

o a o-Ch i Cris SkinBecause most o t e recipesI came across in myresearch ca ed or mari a ng t e meat to in seit with as much avor as possib e, all of my i itiale orts began th this step . B t whetherI prickedt e ski w t a o k o s as e it wi h a k e, mari

C O s U S

8

ating the th ghs in he teriy sa ce cskin to become unat ractively abby. A tion of sea g he thighs and hen u der the broiler y elded the most presults, b t once the meat received its ni a reduced por ion of the marinade (whireferred to as a sauce) to get that glazy sski alwa s slipped back i to sogginess.

Exhausted at the hought of having too g nded process of bon ng, mar a

i g, red cing, a d broiling t at didn't

work, I so icited the advice of my colleagtest itche . O e s uggested b g nmarinateth ghs ski side down in a 12 inch skillethem ith a Dutch oven, followed y st em sk side u i t e reduci g saucea d covered i splotches ofchicke grease,Ito a other colleague, who suggested somesimp e, so obvious, that I wondered whyItho ght of it sooner. " hy not just brchicke wit out marina ng it a d spoo o at t e e d? she asked. I had gotten

p t ry ng to in se the meat w th ahad all but forgotte a main inciple of tteriyak : applying the sauce at the e d.

er playing musical racks w th the oveto get he thighs up to the requisite 17temperat re w ho t urning the skin orit pa e a d fatty,I fo d that placing thet e mid e (abot 8 i ches om e heaprov ded t e most consisten level of and c ispness for the light y salt andthighs. O the midd e rack, the sk t ras c is y as a potato chip, ut he e were spots where the fat idn't re der compremedy this problem, I slashed t e skal owed the heat to pe etrate more eatucked the exposed edges of meat underne

ski while smoothi g out the tops whice occu e ce o i s um s pockets of fat had gotten trap ed.

A l abou he SauceWit e c c e ta e c e o it wce ate o t e sauce. Bot ed teriyakithe tasti g o page 9 was ni ormly favor of a homemade sauce, which too min tes to prepare. orking with va ious of soy sauce, sugar, a d (which tasteferred to sake), I fou d that the best basweet ess a d s ltiness was achieved w

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S T E P - B Y - S T E P P R E PA R I N G C H I C K E N T H I G H S

I

e t mm ng e cess sk n and atUs ng t o kn e, c sc a e( eave eno gh sk n to cove meat), meat om one at oth jo nts3 S kn e nde one o se a a emeat com ete y om onec t s t a ong h te ne o t m one

o nt to o e o nt to e ose one

4 D sca d one m any ema nC th ee d agona s ashes nck meat nde sk n and g yatten th gh to even cknessng ca t age om th gh sk n Do not c t nto meat

mounts of soy sauce nd sugar ( cup) and wi hsmaller mou t of (2 tablespoons), whichded a slight y sweet, ne avor In terms of

onsistency, getting the sauce glazy ( but neither ashick as molasses nor as as water) was i culto matter how care l y I watched the sauce si

mer, it either was too or became tac y whilehe soy sauce burned, produc g what one persona le a "strangely bologna-like avor A mini amount of cornstarch ( teaspoon) quic y solvedis problem A though the sauce was now cle n

n b lanced, it nee ed more depth, w ich wasc ieve through the a di ion of some gratednger and mince garlic With at-once crisp and

moist, sweet and salty glazed chicken no availb e at ome, I ould never have to eat food-courter y aga n

CH CKEN TER YAKE VE 4 TO 6

f you prefer to serve whole bone- n thi hs andhereby skip the step of b in the chicken, tri

e t ighs of excess skin and fat, pos tion he ovenack abo t 12 inches o the heat source, and

ncrease the broiling i e to 20 to 26 inutes,otating e pan once h ay through t e cookng time This recipe was eveloped to work in ann-oven ro ler, not t e rawer-type ro ler typa of ol er gas ovens M rin, a sweet Japanese r ceine, is a key component of teriyaki; it can be

oun in t e international section of most ajorupermarkets and in ost Asian arkets If youannot n it, use 2 tablespoons wh e winen an extra teaspoon of su ar If desired, lowo u soy sauce can e use n place of regularo sauce Serve w t steame r ce, preferablyhort gra n

8 b n - n , s n- n h n h hs (ab 5 n sa h), r mm , b n , an s n slash

(s ll s ra ns I hr h 5 ab )Tabl sal an r n bla p pp r

1 p s sa1 p s ar1 asp n ra r sh n r

m m arl l , m n r pr ss hr harl pr ss (ab I asp n)abl sp ns m r n

1 asp n r ns ar h

l Position oven rack about8 nc es fro eatsource; heat broiler Season c icken thighs w ts lt and pepper; set ighs sk n si e up on broi erpan ( or foil-lined ri me baking s eet tte with

at wire rack), tucking expose eat u er skinand lightly attening thig s to e o relat velyeven thickness ( see illustration 6) Bro l unt l s inis crisp a d go den rown and t ckest parts ofthighs register 1 75 degrees on instant read t ermo eter, 8 to 14 nutes, rotating pan hal aythrough cookin ti e for even brow i g

2 While chicken coo s, comb ne soy sauce,sugar, gin er, and garlic in small saucepan; stir

together ir n and cornstarch in small bowluntil no l ps re ain, t en st r ir n ixtureinto saucepan Brin sauce to boil over ediu

eat, st rr ng occas onally; re uce eat toediu -low and si er, stirring occas onally,

until sauce is reduced to cup and for s syrupyglaze, about 4 inutes Cover to keep war

3 Transfer c icken to cutt ng boar ; let rest2 to3 minutes C t meat crossw se into -inc

de strips ra sfer c cken to servi platter; stter ya sa ce to reco ne, t en r zzle to tasteover c c en Serve me ately, pass ng re a ngsauce separate y

J [ U 0059

r A s r ' N G : Bottled Teriyaki SaConsidering ha a grea teriyaki sauce can be had five min es wi six n erribly ex ic ingre iensa ces can ard y boast c nvenience. Bu how

ste I We samp ed seven eading b n ds to f nd oO 1 9 tas e s had d c d

hese sa ces as e yak Seve a s n, oys e o even ba bec e sa ce met as e s standa ds te yak sA Nat a ece ved op ma ks A sAnn e Ch n s aga ns o memade j dges deemed Ann e Ch n s ha sh n cob ghte - as ng and e te a ancedo se ves Ga th C ng ngsm t

ECENT

I UN 'S ll atural Teriyaki Saucemoo r x r and nd sp a

anno ompar o om mad .

L

SO V Y Veri Veri Teriya iNo on ob d o oa ar

oa s o s sam and o n on

SU LU K o ney Miri n Teriyaki SauceOv m n sw n ss nd d o ov rand m a avors. rpr s n y

W r s sa ?

NOT COMME DED

OUS OF G To o Teriyaki ibachiGrill Sauce G k x r and mon ss r m nd d as rs o oys r sa .

I KOM N Lite Teriyaki Marinade&SauceT s a sa as dom na d by oa

n a a d

I OM N Teriyaki Marinade &SauceT s s s ra soy s mm d p as

n and sa sa

S J Tra iti ona l Jap anes e Teriyakitir-Fry & arinade P pp s or d

mad s Japan s I o o s a ow

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Rethinking CornbreadB us g eg a l d ere ces as d e , we wa ted b t a te de ,

c u chy c ust. But w at we wa ted m st f all was sweet c

Deeply rooted in American history,cornbread has been aro nd loneno h to take on a distinct ydi erent character dependin on

re it is made. n the So th, it has becomeat, savory ski et bread sed for soppin

ot liq or, the tasty liq id le behind byked meat or ve etables or what have yo .cooler Northern re ions, where it hasome more cake than bread, it is li ht, tenand enero sly s eetened. Despite these

ional variations in text re and appearance,ever, cornbread has remained nfortly constant in one respect: It lacks conin corn avor.

Y E K A U C E

in it h the other in redients (a comrecipe directive), reasonin that this wboth so en the cornmeal and extract mof its avor. B t t e added moist re mthe cornbread even heavier and sli htly bery, while contr b tin not a bit of corn avor. Rele tin , I red ced he mea (I now had more o r than cornmwhich prod ced the best text re th s aalleviated any rittiness or heaviness.

u in e C rn Back in Co boost corn avor, a few recipes afresh corn to the batter. Whi e apprecithe sweet corn taste, tasters objected toto h, chewy kernels Choppin theby hand was ti e cons min . reeincorn in the food processor was m ch qand broke do n he kernels more ef ciWith p reed corn, my recipe was star in to taste ood.

antin to avoid a re ional food ht,red hat everyone-north or so th of

ason Dixon line-co ld a ree on oneple notion: Cornbread o ht to be richh the avor of corn. A deeply brownedst also seemed ar rom controversial,when it came to text re, I attempted a

sonable re ional compromise: moist andmewhat f b t neither cakey nor heav .

ld this h mble dish nally nite NorthSouth? I as prepared to work very hardard this end.

Can h s fla o fu o n ead w h a f uf um and sp usplease e e yone?

he dairy component p ntil now been whole m . To compensate for the exl q id ex ded by the p reed corn, I redthe amount, b t this j st made the co brbland. I tried s bs t n a modest amof b ttermi , which produced both a li

s n t e Ri t C rn eaarted o t with a Nort ern st le recipe callineq al amo nts of o r and cornmeal. (It is

mary for So thern s le recipes to minimizeli inate the o r alto ether.) y rst testslved the cornmeal. he different brands ranam t rom ne and powdery to coarse and

ven, yieldin wild variat ons in text re, omand cottony to downri ht cr nchy, b t noprod ced very m c corn avor. I q ickly

m o the concl sion that my recipe, like it or, o ld have to call or a na ional brand omeal to avoid these h e text ral swin s.obvious option was Q aker yellow corn

l, hich is available in every s permarketm New Orleans to Por land, Maine.ho h my choice may ri ht lly besidered heretical by many cornbreadens, it was the only way I co ld be s re

cipe wo ld deliver consistent res l s.lia le tho h it is, Q aker cornmeal is

erminated-robbed of the erm (the hearthe kernel) d rin processin . It is th s also

robbed o avor. (In hole rain cornmeal,the er is le intac .) By sin de e minatedcornmeal, I was now akin a s ep backward inmy q est to b ild more corn lavor. Increasinthe amount of cornmeal to compensate ca sedthe cornbread to ose its li htness. And tasters didn't care for e ab ndance of hard,cr nchy rains. y ext move as to soakthe cornmeal in boilin ater be ore mix

A Corny So tion

F S H C A

text re and a tan ier avor. The sweetener alsan e ect on text re; honey and maple syrup adnice avor accents, b t they also added oisGran lated d li ht brown s ars made or ter text re, b t the li ht brown s ar did m

F O Z

to accent ate t e corn avor. e s worked wel in this bread, ostr ct re wit o t cak ness. A ma o nt of bakin powder boosted

a bit of bakin soda (to react the acidic b ttermilk) yielded

best rise.

he secre c rnbrea w h real c rn lav r s pre s mple: sec rn, n us c rnmeal . We r e resh c e c rn (cu r h r m

he c b , r nse canne c rn, an hawe r zen c rn. resh c rn

he a sed in cornbreavary rom bacon drippinmelted b tter or v etableCookin bacon for this relatq ick recipe seemed unnecesstep, and b t er i disp tably amore avor and color than ve etoil. Be ca se was already sin

ood processor or the codecided to avoid dirt anobowl and added all o the in red ents to ether. I even awas bes , bu r zen was nearly as an a l eas e use .

C O O K S U S T T

0

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S P - B Y- S T PIP R E P R N G O R N B R E D

I u ee co alo g t o ugautte m l a d e to elimi ate coa e

te tu e o hole e e

. C eate ell ce te o d i g ed e t t e pou et g edie te cept o utte

3 A te couple o tia old add a mme ted utte

Wo i g qu c y ut ge t yu e toget e u t u t l d

a e mo te ed

e light brown sugar to the wet to eliminatee pesky lumps it had been forming in the ourixture. hen I noticed that some recipes addede melted butter last. his created subtle streaksunmixed butter in the batter but as the bread

ked the butter rose to the surface and createdmore deeply browned top crust and a strongertter avor. Now my recipe too would add thetter last. For the best avor and texture my

cipe would also add a lot more butter than manyhers a whole stick.Although the increase in butter and thejustme t to the mixing method improved theowning the bread was still missing a thick andunchy crust . Southern cornbreads which usuly showcase such a crust are baked in fat-coatedping hot cast-iron skillets. Because some cooksn't own a cast iron (or any other ovenprooillet I tried an 8-inch square baking dish.eating i in the oven o r on the stovetop beforeding the batter was not only aw ward but danrous ( especially with yrex which can shatter

E P E E N G :Where No h & South Don't Meet

S O U T H ECO B EA

O T H ECO B EA

p al S h rn rnbr a n a n m r rnal han l r an n w n r a all, an

n a ll ma r h x r r w llwn an r p h x r r mbl , ma n

h h n rnbr a an al par n r a h .n n , a p a r h rn rnbr a ma

h m r l ur han rnm al an a a r am un w n r B a n a ba n pan , hx r r v r pal h x ur a , ma n hh rnbr a a l r br a a r a na .

if handled this way). Most recipes that call for abaking dish use a moderate oven temperature of350 degrees. A hotter oven t e kind used inmany Southern recipes with a skillet was better.Baked at 400 degrees the crust was both crunchy

and of buttery toasted corn avor.Do I really think that this one cornbread recipewill please the whole country? Regional loyaltiesbeing what they are probably not But if you areloo ing for big corn avor a good crust a light(but not cakelike) texture and an easy to-makerecipe this is o e cornbread that just might makethe trip from North to South.

O S O B DM KE ONE 8 - NCH QU E

Before preparing the baking dish or any of theother ingredients me asure out the frozen kernelsand let them stand at room temperature untilneeded. When corn is in season fresh cookedkernels can be substituted for the frozen corn.

his recipe was developed with Quaker yellowcornmeal; a stone ground whole grain cornmealwill work but will yield a drier and less tendercornbread. We prefer a yrex glass baking dishbecause it yields a nice golden brown crust buta metal baking dish (nonstick or traditional) willalso work. he cor bread is best served warm;le overs can be wrapped in foil and reheated i n a35 0 degree oven for 0 to 5 minutes.

1 p (7 1 n ) nbl a h all- p rp l rp ( 5 1 n ) ll w rnm al ( n )a p n ba n p w r

1/ a p n ba n a a p n abl al

1/ p ( 3/ n ) pa l h br wn ar p (3 1 n ) r n rn n l , haw

p b rm lar

8 abl p n ( ) n al b , m l anl l h l

1 Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat

J U b U 005

oven to 400 degrees. Spray 8- inch-squadish with nonstick cooking spray. Whicornmeal baking powder baking sodin medium bowl until combined; set asi

2 . In food processor or blender proce

sugar thawed corn kernels and buttercombined about 5 seconds. Add eprocess until well combined (co n luremain) about 5 seconds longer.

3. Using rubber spatula make wellof dry ingredients; pour wet ingredienwell . Begin folding dry ingredients into ing mixture only a few turns to barely cadd melted butter and continue folding uingredients are just mois ened our bprepared baking dish; smooth surface wber spatula. Bake until deep golde brtoothpick inserted in center comes out cto 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack 0 invert cornbread onto wire rack then tuside up and continue to cool until warm

0 minutes longer. Cut into pieces and

S Y J O H DD O

Shred 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheeshould have about 1 cups). Follow reAll- urpose Cornbread reducing salt spoon; add / teaspoon cayenne 1 medpe o chile cored seeded and chopphalf of shredded cheddar to our mixture1 and toss well to combine. Reduce su

tablespoons and spri kle remaining chedbatter in baking dish just before b king.

B B Y B KF S O B

Follow recipe for All urpose Cornbreaing salt to teaspoon; add1 cup fresh orblueberries (do not thaw frozen bluebe

our mixture in step1 and toss well to cries. Reduce buttermilk to / cup and addmaple syrup to food processor along wtermilk. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons granulaover batter in ba ing dish just before ba

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asta it icken and B ccThi s restaurant-chain c assic can be as o f-putt ng as a bad hdrab colors, tough meat, and a ma n character the pasta with

P seudo- Ita ian chain restaurants nown forcheap ne and doughy readstic s areo en a so notorious for serving dreadp ates of chic en and rocco i th ziti

owned in a fa t crea sauce whose on y avorthat of o d c opped gar ic, this dish neededious he p I wanted to rec aim this who yrican dish with es , crisp rocco i, tendericken, and a c ean- avored sauce

ight off the at, I decided that bone ess,n ess chic en reasts were the est choice

d tested various cooking methods, inc udingcrowaving, roi ing, saut ing, and poaching

mering in a iquid) ot surprising y, microving produced b and chic en with a steamedte, and the timing was tricky roi ing and

ut ing produced meat with the most avor,t the nice y seared edges of the chic en turnedugh and stringy a er eing tossed with thesta and sauce Poaching the chic enin thesta water or he simmering sauce producedat that was tender and juicy, u the avor wasd y washed outWanting the avor provided y a saut and the

nderness that comes with poaching, I put mynd to co ining these methods Light y coog the chicken with a itt e utter in a s i et untust egan to turn go den, I removed it om pan when it was sti underdone er ui d

g a sauce in the now-empty s et, I returned chicken to the pan and et it simmer in the

uce unti ly coo ed That did the tric ; I nowd chicken that was tender and avorTurning my attention ne t to the rocco i , myrst disastrous attempt at simmering it right insauce i sed the who e dish th an off avor

d a dirt co or Steaming it on he stovetop orhe icrowave wasOK, ut nei her was as easyb anching, given t at there was a ready a pot of

ing water going for t e pastap unti now, I had een ma ing a sauce y

ckening heavy crea with our and utterat is, a rou ) and had determined that gar ic,

d pepper a es, fresh erbs, and white winere a crucia for avor ut tasters wanted

ore I tried omitting the rou and etting thea si er and thic en on its own, ut thisduced a sauce that was much too fatt I thend rep acing portions of t e cream th chicken

oth and was re ieved to na y ear so e comi ents The avor of t e wine, gar ic, and her s

: Y L A C O L L N D A V S O N

egan to show, and there was a signi cant oostin chic en avor Incrementa y increasing theamount of roth and decreasing the amount ofcream, I churned out sauce a er sauce to betterand etter reviews unti the cream had een comp ete y e i inated The roth- ased sauce tastedc ean and fresh, enhancing the avors of the crisp

rocco i and tender chicken rather than o scating them Rounded out with a few ta espoonsof utter, a han of Asiago cheese, and somesun-dried tomatoes, the sauce na y carried someserious avor ow this was a dish worth stayinghome for

PASTA WITH CH CKE N, BROCC OLA N D S U N - D R I E D TO M ATO E S

ERVE 4

e sure to use ow-sod um chic en roth in thisrecipe; regu ar chicken broth ma e the dishe tre e y sa t The rocco i is anched in thesame water t at is ater used to coo the pasta

emove the brocco i when it is tender at theedges ut sti crisp at the core it w con inue to

coo ith residua heat If you can't d Asiagocheese, Parmesan is an accepta e a ternative

4 ablesp ns nsal e b erp n b neless, s n l ss h en breas s,

r mme a an r ssw se n- n h s es

small n n , h ppe ne (ab p)Tabl sal

6 me m arl l ves, m n r presse hr harl press (ab ab esp ns)

/4 easp n r pepp r a eseasp ns r hl h ppe resh h me leaveseasp ns all-p rp se fl r

p wh w nps l ws m h en br h

I b n h br (ab I ' p n s) , l r sr mme n l - n h p es (ab6 p s ) ,

s ms s ar e1 p n penn e, , ava app , r ampanelle

n es n el ra e As a heese(I p), pl sex a r se n

ar 7 81 n es) l- pa , s n- r ema es, r nse , pa e , an n

/- n h s r ps (ab I p)ab esp n m n e r sh parsle leav s

Gr n bla p pp r

C O O K S U S T

l ring4 quarts water to ro ing oi ,in stoc pot

2. Meanwhi e, heatl ta espoon 1 inch nonstic s i et over highjust eginning to rown, a out 1 minchic en in sing e ayer; cook for 1 minute stirring, then stir chic en and con inuunti most, ut not a , of pin co opeared and chic en is igh y rowned aroedges, a ou minutes onger Transto c ean ow ; set aside

3 . Return s i et to high heat and adspoon butter; add onion and 4 teaspooncoo , stirring occasiona y, un i roedges, 2 to3 minutes Stir in gar ic, r

a es, thyme, and our; coo , stirring cunti agrant, a out30 seconds Add wchic en roth; ring to simmer, thenheat to edium and continue to simmer,occasiona y, unti sauce has thic eand reduced to 1 4 cups, a out 15 min

4 Whi e sauce simmers , add 1 taand rocco i to oi ing water; coo co i is tender ut st crisp at cen

inutes Using s otted spoon, transfeto arge paper towe ined p ate Retoi ; stir in pasta and coo unt a d

reserving cup pas ta coo ing watepasta to pot

5 Stir remaining 2 ta espoons uttersun-dried toma oes, pars ey, and chisauce in sk et; coo unti chic ecooked through, a out 1 minute O heat, to taste th pepper Po r chic en/sauceover pasta and add rocco i; toss gentbine, adding pasta coo ing water as nadjust sauce consistency Serve immeding additiona A iago separate y

Preparing Broccoli

q l rem vefl r s, pla br i

ps e d wn nin b ard an

r m w h n

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M ist and en er raised risketWhen thi s notor ously tou h cu f al ly turns tender, it's ofteny as a bo e

Cou ld e have our br sket both ays?

ans smo it, the Irishic it, and Germans

smoth r it in sau r rautand runes Coo s from

ound the wor d may n r s eyey on what to do with a eef ris

t, ut th y a agr it ta s timeis t wou d ther fore s em anea cut for raising, as it ta es hourss ow coo ing to so n this worrs musc e, which runs down th

est of th st r and is otherwise asugh as eath r Sad y, this ati nceusua y r ward d with shr ds of

y, ch y m at, as ris t t nds tov u its ast ounc of moistur justit na y comes for t nder

3 Y S A N L A W L

My go was a rais d ris t thatas oth moist and t nd r, with am sauc that com ment d thistura y avor cut Th downm reci s I sam ed us d di er

onary tactics to attac th ro emdry, ch wy m at, ith r em t ing s ic rac into th pot or s ath r

g th ris t in stic y swe t sauc sad om co a, chi i sauce, or powr d sou mi More traditionacipes too a minima ist approach,aising th m at with onions in aat ry roth (if not actua y wat r)

ith r strat gy cou d disguis orm dy the asic pro m meat that

as eith r tough or on -dry andossi e to cut without shr dding

nto stringy its

discov r d that for th st r sults risk t shou d cook d cool dov rnight slic d, and th n g ntly r h at d.

rais s strugg with this same Catch-or the norma y tough meat to ecome t nder,

connecti tissues must ro n down,hich r quires hours of ow-t m erature, moistat coo ng As th m at coo s, the musc e

bers s ow y contract, p ing moisture anden av ng the m at dry The amount and

stri u ion of the fat in th m at can ma e a igffer nc in th outcome of a rais A chucast wi tast succu ent a er a proper raisecaus of its r ati y high and even distribu

on of fat In a ris t, most of th fat is ocatedan e t rior cap and in a few thic ayers it is

o marb d throughout a resu t, fat rend rsto th sauc rather than asting the interior of

the m at, which is rather ean (This is especia yue of at cut ris e ; s e th "Shopping o on

page 14 for more information )For a these reasons, theoo standard raising technique, in which the meat is rowned ina utch oven, then braised with wine, broth,and aromatics in a 300-degree oven unti tender,de iv r d disappointing resu ts Whi tender, the

ris et was quite dry and had an unappea ingoi ed avor, and the sauc was thin and greasy

The s iced and saut ed onions I added to the potent a we come sweetness, ut a er a most four

hours hey had a but disintegrated Last, them at a p ared to coo une n y; by the time thecen er of he ris et was tender, the outer ayers

J ( 05

of m at were fa ing apart i

A Be er BraiseLoo ing for a etter way toI tested an assortment of cvesse s and t chniques T

he avor of the sauc , I rwith much ess iquid thana standard raise just a haeach of wine and roth Thing sauce was indeed avor

in such a sha ow poo of meat coo ed uneven y (ions e posed to the air tooo coo ) I th n came

unusua recipe that ca dthe ris et in a s i t eing it in a wrapp r of a umia ong with the wine and r

o deg aze the pan The gwas that this ris et coo ed

he meat was a ways in coniquid and the sauce was ut the meat was sti dry

ot as common with eefpor and chic en, rin ng w

he ess one way to try to remoisture oss Unfortunateound that even a mi d rin

in meat and sauc that werata y sa ty Overnight in wine and her s, suggesome traditiona Eastern Erecipes, e the ris ts msour tasting Some ris e

ecommended coo ing the side up and po ing ho es through theinto the meat to h p the rend r d fat

and aste the meat Whi e this step dsom improvement in the moistness ofet, overa he meat was sti too dIf I cou dn t eep the moisture fro

the meat in the rst p ace, cou d I get r a sor som of the iquid a er coothis point, I had een removing the risthe sauce and etting it rest on a cutti

efore attempting and fai ing to cut thin, neat s ices (Li e a an st a

ong musc e ers and must e sh grain to avoid ing che y ong ers, however, turn into shreds

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P P N G :Beef Brisketwhole ee ris et weighs up to 1 2 pounds I t s usua y so d i no p eces the t (or first) cut and t e point cut he flat cut isaner and thinne , with a rectangular shape and an exter or fap It s more commonly ava la le at supermar ets than the point, wh ch h s an o ong, irregular shape and contains a e nteriorc e s of fat

e found the point cut to e ma ina y more avor u ut more

mpor ant much ess prone to d ing out, thanks to al the extra fatnfo unate y more than a few tasters found the po nt cut too faten oy, and t was nex to impossi le to ca e t into neat sl ces All

n a , t seemed a ette cut or ar ecu ng t an i s nghe at cut s eas er to se r and to s ice prov ded t has cooled

utche usua ly tr m away some or all of t e fat cap, ut t to finde with at least1 inc of f t in p ce, as wi elp to eep theeat moist dur ng coo ing (It can e hard to te l how much f t i s i nace ecause supermar ets often w p the ris et w th the fat sidedden ) If t e fat cap i s ve y thic and untrimmed n places, cut twn to a thic ness of a ou t nchA flat cut r s et roast usually we ghs e een 4 a d 5 pounds,ough utc ers occasionally cut them into sma er 2- to 3 oundas s You can su st tute two of these sma er cuts i f that is a l thatavai a e, although the coo ng time may vaS L

F AT CUT

O T C U T

A 4 to 5 -pou d at cut bri ket with a dece tcap of fat top) i idea for b i ingWe fi d itmeat to be ea er a d ea ier to ice tha thehigh y marb ed a d k obby poi t cut bri ket

bottom), but either wi work i our recipe

nnective tissue has been issolve making theeat if cult to slice Next I teste lett ing theeat rest an even cool in the sauce before slicg it n hopes hat it woul reabsorb some of t evor l liqui i t ha los wen y minutes in thece ha l tt e effect on the meat but a er anr-long rest he brisket was no iceably bette

A Better Sauce

Enco rage I let the meat cool overnightthe sa ce he next ay I notice two igprovements: he excess fat ha congeale on

p of the sa ce an was easy to remove an t el brisket was now easy to slice w thout shreng Once reheate in the sauce the ove n ghtisket was ramatically improve on countsoist avor l an meltingly ten er We ghingeces of brisket that ha res e overnight in t e

ce showe that t ey ha i fac gaine severalnces I effect they ha reabsorbe some ofeir j ces from the sa ce wh ch made the meats ry

Until now my working recipe ha calle for e ualparts re wine and beef brot as braising liqu s

le my goal was a sauce w a lot of beef lavor past tast ngs ha shown t t most cannebeef broths taste salty an arti cial I teste a varety of l qui s in fferent comb nat ons an founthat n ee tasters p eferre chicken brot tobeef for its cleaner lavor o boost the avo ofthe sauce I oubled the quant ties ofbotl brotan wine then allowe t em to re uce beforeplac ng e braise in e oven As for t e ot eringre ients in e sauce tasters love t e sweetness of onions slice t ck to stan up to elong cooking ime but agree a carrots ancelery were unnecessary Brown sugar complemente e onio s wh le paprika an a pinchof cayen e contrib te a bit of spice an heatGarlic tomato paste bay leaves and a few sprigsof fresh yme roun e ou e lavors

T E C H N I Q U E B TT W Y TO OO B T

A ebate sprang p in the test kitchthe proper thickness of the n she" Gravy en usiasts wante a ck woul cling to e eat whi e eir opbacke a t nner more atu al jusone agree tha too much our stit e skillet while buil n e sa cea sauce an was ove ly pas y; justtableswere enough to give e sauce the prope

o r er icken e sauce I ut it e stove to simmer wh le sl c n

brisket Jus before serv ngI a de a fspoons of c er v negar o brigh en and tasters unanimously approve

Now I ha e best of bo worl s tan moist an e recipe coul be m

ay before se rving maki g it perfect fweek supper or even or enterta n ng

O I O B R A S E D B E E F B RS S 6

his rec pe requires a few hours of uncook ng I also re u res a vance er cook g e brisket must stand ov

in e braising liqu at ater becomes t s helps to keep e brisket mois an

Defatting the sa ce is essential If congeale into a layer on top of t ecan be easily remove while col Showeve fragments of soli fat are i

rougho the sauce; n this case shoul be skimmed of fat after reheayou prefer a spicy sauce increase eof cayenne to 4 teaspoon You will ninch wi e heavy uty fo l for t s recown an electric knife it will make easyslicing e col br sket Goo accomto braise brisket inclu e mashe potaegg noo les

If you woul like to make an serve ket on e same day a er remov ng from the oven in step 4 , resea e foil anbr sket stan at room tempe ature fo

hen transfer e brisket to a cut ing boa

I Use Dutch oven or cast- ron s llet to. arefully pour sauce and onions into3 Place ris et on top of s uce fat side4 Fold flaps of foil to wrap weight meat as it rowns foi lined a ng d sh up, nest i g meat into l quid and on onssecurely, ut do not w p too t gh

C O O K S I S

4

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ontinue with the recipe to str in def t ndhe t the s uce nd slic the me t; b c use the

risket will still be hot there will be no need tout it b ck into the o en once the rehe ted s ucepoured o er it

bee br s e r as ,4 S p n s , f a pre erre see sh pp n n e n pa e4)Table sal an r nd bla pepper

e e able l3 lar e n ns (ab p n s), hal e an

sl e n h hab esp n l h r ar br wn s ar

3 me m arl l es, m n e r presse hr harl press (ab ablesp n)ablesp n ma pas eablesp n papr aeasp n a enneablesp ns all- p rp se fl r

p l w s m h en br hp re w ne

3 r e ba lea es

3 spr s resh h meeasp ns er ne ar

( seas n sa e bef re se n )

Ad st o en r ck to lower-middle osition;e t o en to 300 degrees Line 13 by 9 inch

king dish with two 24- inch-long shee ts of 18ch-wide he y dut foil positioning sheets perendicul r to e ch other nd llowing excess foil

o extend beyond edges of p n P t brisket dryith er towels Pl ce brisket f t side up on cutng bo rd; using dinner fork oke holes in me t

hrough f t l yer bout 1 inch p rt Se son bothdes of brisket liber lly with s lt nd pepper2 He t 1 te s oon oi in 12-inch skil et o er

edium high he t until oil ust begins to smokece brisket f t side u in skillet (brisket m y

imb u sides of skillet) ; weight brisket with he yutch o en or c st-iron skillet nd cook until wellrowned bout7 minutes Remo e Dutch o en;sing tongs ip brisket nd cook on second sideithout weight until well browned bout 7 mintes longer r nsfer brisket to l tter

s E N E Ma ig a e de r Bris etM s c oked b iske s a e d , bu hey a e n ugh I n c n s , f y uc k a s eak he way y u c k a b ske ( ha is, un i e wel d ne) , will be d and ugh Wha makes b iske d e en ?

T find u , we used a Wa ne -B le mea shea (see ph ) , a de icedesigned measu e ende ness n mea I uses a m ush a p ece fmea ac oss a dull blade while a simple sca e measu es he equi ed f ceWe f s c ked e y ende mea ( ende l in) in a 3 -h u b se un l

e we l d ne Tende when aw, he mea was, acc ding he meashea , 1 88 pe cen 2 9 mes ughe a e b ais ng Ne we c ked

he b iske , which, un ike he ende l in, was ugh begin wi h By heend f he fi s h u f b a s ng ime, he mea had bec me e en ugheBu fu he co king e e sed his end When he b iske was eady c me u f he o en (af e 3 h urs f b ising) , i was 28 pe cenm e ende han when w Wha was appening?

h s dev e, alled a W

The musc e fibe s n mea c n c and igh en s n af e c king c mmences When he muscle fibe s c n c , hey e pe m is u e and hemea bec mes ugheA he in e nal empe u e f he mea climbs asec nd p cess beg ns ha helps e e se his end A ugh connec e ssue, c llagen, begins mel , u n ng n sof gela n In s me cu s f mea ,Bra ler mea shea r, sm s f he ughen ng f he musc e s c un e balanced by he c n e ionsamples fr m mea see b

f c agen gela in We c uld see h s when we used he mea shea onand me as res endernehe b iske Ea y measu emen s sh wed la e a ia i ns, and f we keda he blade af e get ng a h gh eading we a m s in a iab y saw whi ema e a he c lagen s eaked a ng e side Once he empe u e f

he mea passed 2 deg ees, h we e , hese s eaks had disappea ed, andhe mea had n n y s f ened bu a s bec me m e unif m in e u eE ended c k ng des ys ende cu s wi h i le c lagen (like he ende in) a

ui ces and become d e and ughe Bu e ended co king ac ua ly imp es he ef sinu us c agen ( ike b iske ) Yes, hey l se u ces and become d , bu hey als agen me s if y u b ske seems a i e ugh, pu i back n he en

3 Pour off ll but 1 t blespoon f t from p n(or if bris et w s le n dd enough oil to f t inskillet to equ l t b es oo ); st i onions sug r

nd te spoon s lt d cook o r medium-highhe t stirring occ sion lly until onions re soened nd golde 10 to 12 minutes Add g rlic

nd cook stirring frequently until fr gr ntbout 1 minute; dd tom to ste nd cook

stirring to combine until p ste d rkens bo ut 2minutes Add p rik nd c yenne nd cook stirring const ntly until fr gr nt bout minute

Sprinkle our o er onions nd cook stirring co st ntly until well combined

bout 2 minutes Add broth wineb y nd thyme stirring to scr e

u browned bits from p n; bring tosimmer nd simmer bout 5 minutes toly t cken

ing) C re lly open foil nd let briskroom tem er ture for 20 to 30 inutes

5 r nsfer brisket o l rge bowstr iner o er bowl nd str in s uce oDisc rd b y nd thyme from onions nonions to sm ll bowl Co er both bpl stic wr p cut ents in pl stic wknife nd refriger te o ernight

ed s gh fr m he p , br s e alm s nvar ably shredslef . e ng he ed br s e res ern n he b ra s-

4 Pour s uce nd onions into oil- inedb k ng dish Nestle brisket f t side up ins uce nd onions Fold foil ext nsions o er

nd s l ( d not tightly crimp foil bec usefoil must ter be o ened to test for doneness) Pl ce in o en nd coo unt l forkc n b ins rted into nd remo ed fromcenter of brisket wi no resist nce 3 to4 ours w en test ng or oneness o enfoil with c ut on s contents will be ste m

6 About 45 minutes before ser ino en r ck to lower-middle osition; to 3 50 degrees hile o en he t s trbrisket to cutting bo rd Scr pe off

ny conge led f t from s uce thes uce to medium s ucep n nd hmedium he t until w rm skimming

surf ce with wide sh llow spoon (yoh e bout 2 cu s s uce without necess ry simmer s uce o er mehe t until reduced to 2 cu s hhe ts use chef's or c r ing knife toket g inst gr in into V -in ch- thick ming nd disc rding ny excess f t

l ce slices in 3 by 9- inch b kinreser ed onions nd ineg r into w r

nd d ust se s oning with s lt nd s uce o er brisket slice s co er b ki

oi nd e until he ted througmin tes Ser e immedi tely

n l q all ws he mea abs rb s me f hese es, andhe res l s mea ha sl es nea ly and as es be er r gh )

J U [ U 0 5

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18/36

ecipe es ueEver wis ere was an emer e cy hot ineyou cou d ca or advice w e

akes a u rn or e worse ese t ps and guide ines are t e net i to a

24- o oo e er ency operator W

TROU BLE OOTI G T T E TOVETO

W e ce ai t i gs bu t ere is o goi g back a d t e successful cook lear s torecog ze t e po i t o o r tur corc ed oi a d garlic or examp le wi l co tributea bu t bitter avor to t e i is ed d is t is case it's best to wipe t e pa cleaa d sta ov r d most suc problems ca be avoided by c oosi g t e proper pacoo i g at a d bur er setti g for t job T at said ere's w at to do i

e food won't simmer s owly. it's ard to get your stovetop bur ers to

mai tai a ve low lame ( ecessa w et i g to cook soups or stews at a baresim mer) im provise a ame tamer out o at ick ri g of alumi um foil et t e oi ri go t e bur er the place t e pot o top

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

e pan gets too dark.eari g meat i a pa produces a

crus browf n ,w ic is t e key

Me ting butter to urn.B acke ed butt r w ll impart a bitt r avorto a i is ed d s a d s ou d be t rowaway However s ightly brow ed butt ris o prob em i act it as a p leasa tly

ut lavor To ke p it rom brow i g furt er add a small amou t o vegetable oil tot e pa Wit its ig er smoke poi t vegetable oi is more resista t to bur i g a d

will elp keep t e butter rom bur i g

Do yo have a kitchen firplan? Yo sho ld Accora thorities most home fstarted in the kitchen If a fire is q ickly growing control, yo fi t instinctbe to get o t of yo r hoand ale the fire depa meHowever, many small stov fires can be safely smotheplacing a lid over the pan

t ning o the b rner Sbaking soda, if handy, wilp t o t the ames Mosttant, n v se water to dgrease ire The safest coto keep a po ab e ABCexting isher within easy r yo r stove

to great lavor i ma y soups stewsa d sauces But w e os darkbrow bits begi to tu black you'vegot a good t i g go e bad W es ari g cutlets over ig eat for

xamp le it' s o te t e areas of tpa be e t e pieces o meat t at

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Food stic s to the pan.

are t e i t to blacke To guard agai st t is s i t e positio of t e ood to covert e darker spots T e uices released rom t e meat wi l el p to deglaze t e paW e seari g a la e qua ti o meat i batc es it may be ecessa to deglaze t e:emp pa wit water wi e or stock betwee batc s :

Food t at i itially s ic s to t e pa usuallyreleases o its ow after a crust begi s to

ormA lo g as t e ood is ot bur i gwait a mi u te or two a d t e t agai

or stubbor y stuck pieces o mea oris dip a t i lexible spatula i to cold

water a d slide t e i verted spatula bl adeu der eat t e ood

W S S I GS G u've added too muc salt sugar or spice to a dis t e damag is us ually do e m ild cases owevererpoweri g i gredi t ca someti mes be masked by t e addi tio of a other rom t e opposite e d

lavor spectrum o su t t is c art for idea s (By t e way a potato is use ss see t e box o pageA d remember to accou t for t e redu ctio of li qu ids w seaso i g a dis a per ectly seaso ed

l l ke y taste oo sal a ter several ou o simmeri g Your best bet: easo wit a ig t a d du re cooki g process t e ad just t e seaso g just be ore se i g

A acid or sweete er

weet A acid or s aso i gs

icy or a idic A at or sweete er

Vi egar; lemo or lime juice; ca ed u ltedtomatoes; sugar o ey or maple rup

V egar or c trus jui ce; c opped resrb ; da s o caye e; or or weet

d s es a bit o liqueur or espresso powder

Butter cream sour cream c ees e oro ive oil; sugar o ey or maple syrup

K' 6

Meat is undercooked.T e m at as rested a d be sl iced a d it's u dt e ce ter im ply put i g t e slices i t e ove i g is ot a good idea t e slices will d out a d qugray Bosto c e Gordo Hamersley as t e solut e sli ced meat o a w re ck set over a baki g s ecover e meat wit lettuce leaves be ore putti g i tbroiler T e meat will ge tly steam u der t l ettud i g out

8/13/2019 Cook's Illustrated 072

19/36

FROM TOO THIC K OR TH IN TO JUST RIG HTSMART FIXES FOR BAKED G OOD S

Soups stews a d uces o e eed some last-mi ute adjustme tseve i the recipe s ollowed to the letter hy? e mo istur an d

at co te t o oods ca a gr at deal I our sauce is

Here's how to ix com mon problems that arise when baki g.

Too hickGraduall add more water broth can ed tomatoesor whatever liqu id is appropriate Remember to correct theseasoni g be ore se i g

Too hiSimmeri g the liqu id u til the desired co sistency isreache is the simp lest option b ut ot ecessaril the best o e .Time will ot always permi t a le gth simme r whic h ma alsoovercoo any meat or vegetables i the dish Here are somebetter optio s

Cre m won' whip.Chec to make sure that your bowl an wh isk( ot to me tion the cream) are ve coldPlace the bowl a d whisk i th e reezer

C ke yers b ke neven yA lo g as the dam age wi l be overeicing use a ser ted bread k ife to remdomed po ion o the ake ayer

erWhiski g coldbutter i to a sauce ustbe ore se i