Escolar Documentos
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Mac and Cheese
Creamy, Not Gritt
Oven BBQ Chicken
All-New Technique
Bacon Taste-Test
Surprise Supermarket Winner
Better Chef's Sa lad
Deli Ham and Turkey Tasting
Chicken Stir-Fry
Rating Spice
Grinders
Do Tey Really Work?
Secrets of
Coconut Cream Pie
Steak Diane
Creamy Fruit Sherbets
Quick Cheese Bread
Foolproof Brown Rice
Sauteing ||
www. c ooks i l l u strate d . c om
CONTENTS
May t June Zll
2 Notes from Readers
Reader ask questions and sugest sol utions.
4 Quick Tips
Quick and eas ways to perform everday tasks, from
making lare batches of tea to grting ginger and
toasting nuts.
6 Quick Cheese Bread
Runofthemi l l cheese bread is at once dr and greas,
with fleeting cheese favor. We were after something
diferent: a rich, moist loaf topped with a bol d, chees
crust. BY REBECCA HAYS
8 Better Chefs Salad
Fastfood joints have given this retro supper slad a bad
name ( and a plastic fork). Coul d we produce a substntial
slad with supermaret staples? BY SEAN LWLER
10 Oven-Barbecued Chicken
Te idea-barbecued chicken stright from your oven-is
a great one. Unfortunately. the real thing is dr and
tough, with a tasteless, bakedon suce. Coul d we sve
this recipe?
BY ERI N MCMURRER WITH ADAM RI ED
12 Foolproof Brown Rice
Forget the instructions on the back of the bag, unless you
WDIscorched or mushy rice.
BY REBECCA HAYS
13 Rescuing Steak Diane
Reduced to the level of bad dinner theater, this legendar
tbleside showpiece was in need of a revival. Coul d we
give this tired classic a new life at home?
BY DI ANE UNGER- MAHONEY
16 Mastering the Art of Saute
From proper pans and equipment to perfect technique.
we take the guessork out of this often confusing
cooking method. BY MATIHEW CARD
18 Family-Style Macaroni
and Cheese
Neither dul l and bland nor excessively rich, macaroni and
cheese shoul d please a multitude of palates. Coul d we
fnd a simple way to make this dish appealing to adults
and kids alike? BY BRI DGET LNCASER
20 The Problem with Chicken
Stir-Fries
Tired of dr, string chicken in your sti rfry? We have the
sol ution. BY KERI FI SHER
22 Extra-Fruity Fruit Sherbet
Unlike ice cream, store bought sherbet is usual ly
third rte. If you wnt a real ly good frit sherbet, do
you have to make it yourelf? Yes. BY ERIKA BRUCE
24 Putting the "Coconut" in
Cream Pie
Most coconut cream pies are no more than coconut
dusted vani l l a cream pies. Other use artificial
f lavoring and taste like suntan lotion. We wanted honest
coconut flavor. BY DAWN YANAGIHAR
26 Bringing Home the (Best)
Bacon
Does it mater which brnd of superarket bacon you
buy? Absolutely. Shoul d you pay 250 percent more for
premium. gourmet bacons? We'l l let you decide.
BY ERIKA BRUCE AND ADAM RIED
28 Grinding Spices at Home
Is home grinding worth the trouble? Yes. And it's no
trouble at al l if you choose the right grinder.
BY ADAM RI ED
30 Kitchen Notes
Test results , buying tips. and advice related to stories
past and present, directly from the test ltchen.
BY BRI DGET LNCASTER
3 2 Resources
Products from this issue and where to get them, including
rotar cheese grter. a freezer therometer. bacon.
and cutting boards.
MIN The most often used mints are spearmint and peppermint. Te purple-tinged
leaves of the latter have a more assertive flavor and are used to make tea, oils. and
extracts. Spearmint, which has straight or curly light green to deep green leaves , has a
milder favor and frgrnce and is commonly used in mint jel lies and sauces; it's also the
kind of fresh mint found in the supermarket. Apple and pineapple mint are closely related
and have a simi l ar taste, although pineapple mint's white-streaked. f ri l ly leaves can be
sweeter and fruitier than the subtly favored. velvet leaves of the apple mint. Ornge
mint has mild citrus undertones and is used in the l iqueur Chartreuse. Gold-fecked
ginger mint has a fruit scent and a mi l dly spicy ginger favor. Chocolate mint has a fla
vor that is faintly reminiscent of mint chocolate candy. Severl other herbs, in the same
family as the above mints but of a diferent genus. incl ude the fol lowing: licorice, or Korean.
mint; calamint. with mint-favored leaves and flowers; and mountain. or wil d. mint, which has
a bol d favor. COVER (Lndtvc onu kccl:cci::a).Elizabeth Brndon, BCK COVER (^o.i).John Buroyne
[''b_
l L l.' S T R E lI
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!^1 ! A^1CAS 11S1 |1C!I
Funder and Editor Christopher Kimball
Executive Editor jack Bishop
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Dawn Yanagihar
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Senior Editor, Books jul i a Collin Davison
Lri Galvin
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PND |NTE OS
still remember
Bartholomew and the Oobleck but have forgot
ten Mr. Popper's Penguins, Arthur's Teacher
Trouble, and the windup alarm clock witl1 the
organ grinder and his monkey. And, of course,
you will no longer talk like Elmer Fudd, telling
us that you fell down and got a "bwues" or tl1at
tle toilet's "pwogged. " And, by tl1e time you go
off to college, we do hope tl1at you are no longer
sucking your thumb.
But perhaps i t i s what I am likely t o forget
tl1at is more tl1e issue . I won' t remember that
you used to call me "Dumb Pants" or tl1at you
11sually ask for a scary story at bedtime but half
way through the telling ofen cry out, "Not tl1at
scary!" I will forget that, when told tl1at all - beef
hot dogs were no longer a lunch option owing to
Mad Cow Disease, you tl1ought for a moment,
looked at your plate of insipid chicken salad, and
then' said calmly, "Well, I bet you haven' t heard
about Mad Chicken Disease!" I will also forget
what my lap is really for, the sweet smell of child
hood, and the spidery touch of tiny hands around
my shoulders as you creep up from behind,
sta
.
nding on a chair.
in a shock of tears. Adults have
no prescribed limits, tl1ere is
nothing lurking on the edge
of darkness, the woods have
all been mapped. Yet on a
cold winter's morning, your
world can still be measured in
inches from tle wood cookstove while the rest of
us pace off the universe in light-years. Your day is
measured by the length of a crayon, the size of a
lollipop, and the pieces of a puzzl e.
You have shown us the importance of the
inner eye, the one that sees a bear in a bush, a
face in a fre, or a mountain in a cloud. There is
no need to instruct a child, "To thine own self be
true," yet it is the greatest struggle faced by those
more traveled in years and adversity. You see the
world through imagination; adults see it through
opportunity.
These "airy nothings" of childhood-fairies
and fying monkeys-can fade and be forgot
ten or, instead, as Shakespeare put it, "grow to
something of great constancy, however strange
and admirable. " You have taught us that child
hood is not like the passing mist afer a summer
rain but that we should learn to see a world "as
new as foam and as old as the rock. " Perhaps our
best hope is to eat biscuits by tl1e woodstove on
cold mornings or to sled, your mother and I,
down the hill toward tl1e lower pasture with eyes
wide open, blinded by fresh snow. And then, just
before bed, we might peek into the mirror and
see kings and queens, remembering that our love
for you is limited only by your imagination.
ILlLLb, LLLb, LILLlILI/!Ll:
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M A Y c !J^J 211
NOTES FROM READERS
Pie Crust without Crisco?
I'm looking for pie pastry recipes that do not
contain the hydrogenated (or trans) fats found
in vegetable shortening (such as Crisco). While
I understand that shortening is recommended in
pie crusts for textural reasons, for health reasons,
neither I nor my fly wishes to consume it. Is it
sufficient to replace it with butter?
COMPI LE D BY I NDIA KOOPM AN ;
than one favored the classically tender texture of
the crust made with Crisco.
Taking taste, texture, and dough workability
into account, neither all butter nor a Spectrum/
butter combination produces exactly tl1e same
result as a Crisco/butter combination, but each
produces a satisfactory result.
KASEY sAssER / Killer Oven Mitt
CHALMETTE. LA.
In previous tests conducted when developing
our recipe for American pie dough, which calls
for 6 tablespoons of butter and 4 tablespoons of
shortening, we found that you can substimte tl1e
same amount of butter for the shortening with
good results. The flavor of an all-butter crust is
better and its texture just a bit less tender than a
crust made with both butter and shortening. A
dough made with all butter can be more diffcult
to work with, however, because butter melts
more readily than shortening. The shortening
gives a less experienced baker more time to roll
out the dough before it sofens to the point of
becoming unworkable. Make sure to chill an all
butter dough thoroughly.
Another alternative to standard shorten
ing is a new product called Spectrum Organic
Shortening. It is not mechanically hydrogenated
and so contains no trans fats (now tlught to be
the least healthy of all fats) and, according to the
manufacturer, can be substituted tablespoon for
tablespoon for hydrogenated shortenings such
as Crisco. Spectrum comes in a mb and is pure
white, just like regular shortening, and its only
ingredient is palm oil, which is naturally solid at
room temperamre. We substimted Spectrum for
Crisco in our pie crust recipe and did detect a
couple of differences, though each was subtle.
One difference that we noticed straight off is
that Spectrum is a bit harder and less creamy at
room temperature than Crisco. Tlus "hardness"
was evident when we rolled out the dough afer
having let it sit overnight in tl1e refrigerator; it
was certainly workable, but not as malleable as tl1e
dough made with Crisco. Letting the Spectrum
dough sit out at room temperamre to sofen was
helpfl; like Crisco, Spectrum extends the "win
dow of workability" for tl1e dough.
There were also slight differences in tl1e taste
and texture of the baked crusts. Most tasters
found tl1e Spectrum crust sweeter and crisper
than the Crisco crust. Do "sweeter" and "crisper"
mean "better"? Here tasters diverged. Some pre
ferred the crust made witl1 Spectrum, but more
Have you seen the Orka? It's a silicone oven mitt
that's supposed to be heat-resistant up to 500
degrees Fal1renheit. It certainly takes tlle charm
out of oven mitts .... But does it work?
PATIENCE WHITTEN
BROOKLINE. MASS.
. The manufacturers claim tl1at tl1e Orka allows
you to submerge your hand in boiling water or
bubbling oil. We put it to those tests-afer frst
trying a few uses tl1at were a bit less, well, scary.
We used the Orka when grilling, grabbing
tle hot rack to add coals to tl1e grill, and didn't
feel a trace of heat. We used it to move hot pans
out of the oven and of the stovetop, and we still
didn't feel any heat. We used it instead of wadded
paper towels to mrn a large roast chicken-still
no transfer of heat. Now we were starting to feel
confdent in tlus whale-shaped teclmo-mitt (see
photo below) and prepared ourselves for the big
tests: boiling water and peanut oil that was hot
enough to fy clucken (about 350 degrees; even
we were scared of a smoking pot of 500-degree
oil). Millimeter by nl meter, an editor lowered
her mitt-clad hand into a pot of just-boiled eggs.
Did she feel the heat? Some, yes, but the mitt as
well as her fingers were stil intact. Results fom
submersion in hot oil were the same.
Do we recommend the Orka? Although it
offers lots more protection from heat than you'd
get witl1 a traditional terrycloth or leather pot
holder or oven nutt, it has a big drawback: It's
bulky and can be awkward, especially for cooks
with small hands. In an attempt to retrieve a
hard-cooked egg from tl1e above-mentioned pot
ORKA MIT
This whale of a techno-mitt can take the heat,
but it's also clumsy.
COO K
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S I L L U S T R A T E D
Z
of boiling water, our editor ended up crushing
it. We also found that wearing the mitt made our
hands sweaty. Of tl1e tasks we tested, we would
use tle Orka for only one: moving a hot grill rack.
For the other tasks tested, we prefer a traditional
mitt or potholder (or a slotted spoon). The $20
Orka is available at most kitchen stores. See
Resources on page 32 for details.
Shattering Prex Revisited
Two readers had frther questions about the safe
use of Pyrex bakeware following the question
raised in this secton in the March/ April 2003
issue by Penny Robie, who had a problem with a
baking dish shattering when she placed it directly
fom the oven into a serving basket on the table.
I recently made your recipe for An1erican Loaf
Bread (May/June 1 996). To create a crisp crust,
the instructions suggest placing an empty loaf pan
on the bottom rack of the oven during preheating
(to 350 degrees), then fl g it with boilg water
when the bread is put in the oven. I use Pyrex loaf
pans, and when I poured the boiling water in the
hot pan, it popped loudly and cracked down the
midde. Next time, I'll defnitely use a metal pan to
hold the hot water. But what happened?
ELLEN FORMAN
AUSTIN. TEXAS
I want to make your "Do Allead Fresh-Baked
Apple Pie" (November/December 1 997). The
recipe says to take the pie out of the feezer and
put it directly into a preheated oven. I know you
recommend Pyrex pie plates, but I would think ;
that putting a frozen Pyrex pie plate in a pre-
heated oven would break tl1e dish. Should I thaw _
the pie or do exactly what the recipe states?
EILEEN MITTLEIDER
MARIETTA. GA .
0
Z
a
.
w
.. Pyrex is most vulnerable to cracking when it
experiences a dramatic drop in temperature, espe-
cially if there is even a tiny, all-but-imperceptible
crack in the glass. Why, tl1en, would a hot loaf pan -
crack when hot water is poured into it? Although ;
the water was boiling, itwas still much cooler at
212 degrees than the pan, which had been pre-
heating in a 350-degree oven. This sudden drop
in temperature could easily cause tl1e loaf pan to
crack. A metal loaf pan is the way to go.
t
I. Place '/4 cup bulk popcorn in a 4-quart microwave-safe bowl with I tea-
spoon vegetable or olive oil. (For the calorie-conscious, good results can also
be achieved without any oil.) Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrp, poke a
few holes in the surface, and place the bowl in the microwave. Depending on
the power of your microwave, the popcorn will take beteen two and six min
utes to pop. Check its progress frequently.
2. When the majorit of the kernels have popped, use potholder to remove
the bowl from the microwave and place it on a clean, dr surface-it will be
extremely hot. Toss the popcorn with melted butter and salt, if desired.
5cn0 USYOUrTip We will provide a complimentary one-year subscription for each tip we print. Send your tip. name, and address to
Quick Tips, Cook's Illustrted, P.O. Box 47C589, Brookline, MAC2447,or to quicktips@bcpress.com.
C O O K
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S I L LU S T R A T E D
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Removing Tea Stains
Afer reading the tip in the
january/February 2004 issue about
cleaning tea-stained ceramics with
a denture cleansing tablet, Diane
Von Behren of Kenner, L. , sent
us her own stain removal method,
which also removes cofee stains.
Cut a fresh lemon in quarters and
use the fruit as a scrubber, gently
squeezing its juice into a stained
cofee mug or teapot. For extra
cleaning power, first dip the lemon
in kosher salt, which acts as an
abrasive. Follow with a wash in hot
soapy water.
Improvised Proofi ng Box
Stephani e Shul t of Yaki ma, Wash. ,
a frequent baker who l ives i n a dry,
deserl i ke cl i mate, uses her di sh
washer to create a humi d, draft-free
environment i n whi ch her bread
dough can rise.
Tum on the di shwasher for about four
mi nutes. or long enough for some
warm water to fi l l the bottom. Place
the dough to be proofed i n a l oaf pan
or bowl , cover i t with pl astic wrp,
set it on the bottom rck of the di sh
washer. and close the door. Make sure
to tum of the di shwasher; otherise
the water will STI to fow agai n once
you close the door.
Microwave-Toasted Nuts and Sesame Seeds
When Casandr Sel ber of Coral l i s, Ore. , needs to toast nuts or sesame seeds and
her stovetop and oven are unavai l abl e. she uses the mi crowave.
I. For frgrnt. browned results, place '/ cup of sesame seeds or nuts in a
mi crowave-safe bowl and mi crowave at ful l power for about to mi nutes, checki ng
and stirri ng ever 30 seconds, unti l the seeds or nuts are gol den brown.
2. Spread the seeds or nuts on paper towels to cool and absorb oi l s. Thi s techni que
works best for cashews, al monds, pi ne nuts, hazel nuts, and sesame seeds.
Neatly Wrappi ng Cupcakes
Cupcake aficionados know how
messy frosted cupcakes can be
when packed into a lunch bag or
box, even when plastic wrap is
used. Celeste Garber of Pittsburgh,
| . ofers this tip for presering the
luscious frosting. Cut the cupcake
in half horizontally and flip the top
half upside down so that the icing is
in the middle, making a little layer
cake. Wrap the cupcake (or piece
of frosted sheet cake) in plastic
wrap or a plastic bag, and the cup
cake is good to go.
Transporing Fragi l e
Pstri es and
Hors d'Oeuvres
When asked to bri ng
dessert to a fami ly part,
P McGrath of Madi son,
Wi s. , li kes t o prepare
homemade bi te-size tart
l ets. But the del i cate tart
shel l s, whi ch break easi ly,
were di fi cul t to transport
unti l she came up wi th the
fol l owi ng i dea. She now
packs the tartlets in a card
board eg carton that she
has l i ned wi th pl astic wrp.
Storing Vanilla Beans
Vanilla beans, expensive as they are,
warrant proper storage when fresh
to presere their suppleness. To
keep vanilla beans from drying out,
Stephanie Perry Kipp of Anchorage,
Alaska, stores them in a tall bottle
(such as a clean caper bottle) filled
with vanilla extract. The beans stay
moist, full of flavor, and
ready to use.
M A Y { |'^J 211
Keeping Track of
Bakeware Sizes
With manufacturers' indications
of size on baking pans being either
illegible or nonexistent, joan Grace
of Bath, Maine, takes matters into
her own hands and uses ovensafe
metal paint (available at hardware
stores) to mark pan bottoms, not
ing dimensions or capacit.
Shoppi ng for Top-Rated
Products
avid Cook`s1|ustrat:dreader,
Denise Amos of Crestood, Ky. ,
prefers to buy top- rted i ngredi ents at
the grocer store. To keep trck of the
best brnds whi l e shoppi ng. she writes
notes on i ndex cards that she uses as
categor divi ders in her coupon hol der.
Eas Pureed Garl i c
I n addition to grting nutmeg,
citrus, and hard cheese, a
Microplane grater is an ideal tool
for producing finely pureed garlic,
shallot, or onion. For recipes such as
Caesar salad or aioli, Bev Drake of
Belmont, Calif., peels a clove of
garlic and grtes it on
the Microplane
before adding it
to her recipe.
Quick Cheese Bread
Run-of-the-mill cheese bread is at once dry and greasy, with fleeting cheese flavor.
We were after something different: a rich, moist loaf topped with a bold, cheesy crust.
C
heese bread sounds like a
great idea, a pairing of two
of Aerica's favorite foods.
Unlike pizza, wherein bread
dough is merely topped wth cheese, a
true cheese bread involves a more inti
mate relationship, going well beyond the
quick blind date in which the two ingre
dients are merely thrown together and
then heated. Good cheese bread displays
a subtle balance of favor and texture,
neither part getting the upper hand. But
most of the recipes I tested offered the
worst of both worlds: dry bread and no
cheese favor.
The quickest (and easiest) recipe I
came across was a chemically leavened
bread that I mixed up in 1 0 minutes; the
most difcult required a trip to a cheese
shop plus a 48-hour time investment.
Made with yeast, this bread was fantastic,
and I Wlikely make it again when I have
a spare weekend. But for most purposes,
cheese Caought to be quick.
3 B Y R E B ECCA HAYSE
I baked a half-dozen more quick
recipes, but the results were, dare I say
it, awl. The breads elicited comments
from tasters such as "cardboardy,"
"tough," and "totally devoid of cheese
favor." My colleagues yearned for a
For maxi mum fl avor, thi s bread has cheese baked i nto the top and
bottom crusts as wel l as the crumb.
moist, hearty bread with bits of cheese tossed
throughout, plus a cheesy crust. My frst step
toward this end was to create a working recipe
that consisted of 3 cups flour, 1 tablespoon bak
ing powder, 6 tablespoons melted butter, 2 cups
milk, and one egg. For the cheese, I chose shred
ded cheddar, the most frequently used type in
my stack of recipes. My working recipe had lots
of problems, but I could now methodically test
every variable.
Constructing the Bread
In search of a moderately hearty crumb, I experi
mented with different fours, making one loaf
with all-purpose, another with bread four, and
yet another with half bread and half all-purpose
four. A few tasters noticed that the breads made
with all or part of the higher-protein bread four
were slightly rubbery, but the difference was not
that dramatic. Still, all-purpose was clearly the
best, and most convenient, choice.
Buttermilk is a common ingredient in quick
breads, and it produced a decent loaf. Skim milk
was too watery and produced a crumbly, dry loaf
The whole milk version was the best, though,
with a creamier, cleaner, cheesier favor.
I next tinkered with the amount of butter,
which was preferred over oil for its favor. Starting
with 6 tablespoons, I worked my way down to
a mere 3, putting an end to the slick hands and
lips I'd been experiencing afer eating a piece of
bread. Less fat also pushed the bread away fom
the texture of a delicate cake and toward that of
a hearty muffn. The single egg I'd been using
turned out to be just right. Wen I once mistak
enly omitted it, the loaf failed to rise properly and
had little structure. Loaves made with more than
one egg had a beautifl golden hue but tasted
more like quiche than cheese bread.
So far so good, but I was falling short in the
texture department. Because I wanted a rich
loaf, similar to a good banana bread, I replaced a
C O O K
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S I L L U S T R A T E D
/1 teaspoon baking
soda. (One teaspoon of bakng powder
contains v1 teaspoon of baking soda.)
Both breads rose into beautifl domed
loaves, but the bread made with baking
powder was preferred, possessing a more
complex favor.
Curious about these fndings, I had the
pH levels of the fnished breads tested and discov
ered that the bread made with baking powder was
quite acidic, with a pH of 5.8, whereas the bread
made with bakg soda was actually alkaline, wth
a pH of 8.3. The reason? The bang soda had
neutralized the lactic acid in the sour cream,
whereas the bakng powder, which brings its own
acid to the mix, had not. The acid was giving the
bread more favor.
Working in the Cheese
Test results showed that small chunks, not shreds,
were best, as they melted into luscious, cheesy
pockets. In terms of the cheese itself, I tested
fve supermarket offerings: extra-sharp cheddar,
Muenster, Asiago, Gruyere, and Monterey Jack.
Cheddar and Asia go were the leaders of the pack,
with Muenster and Monterey Jack being too
mild and Gruyere too pungent (although I liked
this last cheese in a variation made with bacon).
I quickly determined that excess cheese weighed
down the bread, causing it to collapse into itself
With a modest 4 ounces of cheese, the bread had
plent of flavor but still rose to its fll potential.
The fnal problem to solve concerned the top
crust. I wanted rich favor and color. The solu
tion was a topping of shredded Parmesan. Nutty
and salt, it was liked so much that some of the
test cooks were scalping loaves when my back
was turned. A colleague suggested that I coat
the bottom of the pan with cheese as well, thus
doubling the cheesy exterior. Her idea worked
brilliantly. Now every bite was packed with fla
vor. The Parmesan also turned the crust a deep
bronze color.
In the end, my cheese bread tasted like recipes
that required considerable preparation time, but
this recipe was oven-ready afer just 1 5 minutes of
hands-on work. In my opinion, that's time very
well spent.
QU I CK CH E E S E BREAD
MAKES ONE 9 BY 5 - I NCH LOAF
If using Asiago, choose a mild supermarket
cheese that yields to pressure when pressed. Aged
Asiago that is as frm as Parmesan is too sharp
and piquant for this bread. If, when testing the
bread for doneness, the toothpick comes out with
what looks like uncooked batter clinging to it,
try again in a different-but still central-spot;
if the toothpick hits a pocket of cheese, it may
give a false indication. The texture of the bread
improves as it cools, so resist the urge to slice the
loaf while it is piping hot. Lefover cheese bread is
excellent toasted; toast slices in a toaster oven or
on a bakg sheet in a 425-degree oven for 5 to
10 minutes, not in a conventional toaster, where
bits of cheese may melt, burn, and make a mess.
3 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded on large
holes of box grater (about I cup)
3 cups ( 1 5 ounces) unbleached al l - purpose fl our
tall espoon baking powder
'/ teaspoon cayenne
teaspoon salt
'/s teaspoon ground black pepper
4 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, cut i nto
11- i nch cubes, or mi l d Asiago, crumbl ed i nto
114- to 11- i nch pi eces (about I cup)
I 114 cups whol e mi l k
3 tabl espoons unsal ted butter, mel ted
large egg, beaten l ightly
/ cup sour cream
1 . Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat
oven to 350 degrees. Spray 5 by 9-inch loaf pan
witl1 nonstick cooking spray, then sprinkle 12 cup
Parmesan evenly in bottom of pan.
2. In large bowl, whisk four, baking powder,
cayenne, salt, and pepper to combine. Using rub
ber spatula, mix in cheddar or Asiago, breaking
up clumps, until cheese is coated witl four. In
medium bowl, whisk together milk, melted but
ter, egg, and sour cream. Using rubber spatula,
gently fold wet ingredients into dry ingrecients
until just combined (batter will be heavy and
thick). Do not overmix. Scrape batter into pre
pared loaf pan; spread to sides of pan and level
surface with rubber spatula. Sprinkle remaining
/ cup Parmesan evenly over surface.
3. Bake until deep golden brown and toothpick
or skewer inserted in center of loaf comes out clean,
45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan on we rack 5 min
utes; invert loaf fom pan and contnue to cool until
warm, about 45 minutes. Cut into slices and serve.
QUI C K C H E E S E BREAD WI TH BAC ON,
ONI ON, AND G RUYRE
1. Cut 5 slices bacon (about 5 ounces) into l
inch pieces and fy in mecium nonstick skillet over
medium heat, stirring occasionally, until browned
and crisp, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon,
transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate and pour
of all but 3 tablespoons bacon fat fom skillet. Add
l medium onion, minced (about l cup), to skillet
and cook, stirring fequently, until sofened, about
3 minutes; set skillet with onion aside.
2. Follow recipe for Quick Cheese Bread,
substituting Gruyere for cheddar, adding bacon
and onion to four along with cheese, and omit
ting butter.
STE P- BY- STE P NPKl h| | H l l b l KlPD
I. Coat the bottom of
greased loaf pan with
Prmesan cheese to
create flavorful crust.
2. Add cubed cheese to
bowl with dr i ngredi ents
and mix well , breaki ng
apart pi eces that cl ump.
3. Whi sk wet i ngredi ents
in second bowl . Pour i nto
bowl wi th dr i ngredi ents
and fol d unti l combi ned.
4.Scrpe batter i nto
prepared pan . spri nkl e
wi th remai ni ng Prmesan.
and bake.
M A Y c J U N E 211
/
T | > T | N C | Q O | P H | N T .
Rotar Graters
Te serer at your l ocal I tl ian restaurnt uses a rotar
grter to ri n Prmesan over pasta at the tabl e. but does
this grter have a place at home? To fi nd out, we tested
ei ght model s. grting Prmesan, cheddar, mozarella.
and even chocol ate and i ncl udi ng a variet of test cooks
with diferent hand sizes and strengths.
Most of the handl es were ti ny and sli ppery, and
even the most comfortable of the lot became pai nful
after extended use. All but the Pedri ni and Ki tchenAid
struggl ed with mozzarella and cheddar; they were
more successful because of thei r l arer grating drums.
whi ch kept the cheese from sti cki ng.
We concl uded that a rotary grter i s much too slow
for use in the kitchen. None of the grter hoppers
could accommodate more than one or two ounces of
cheese at a ti me, and each grter gave us hand fatigue
after j ust a few moments of use. Get out a box or rasp
grter if you need grated cheese for a reci pe.
Al l of thi s sai d . a rotar grater i s ni ce for the tabl e.
i n part because there' s no ri sk of raki ng your knuckles
across the grter pl ate-a common occurrence with a
box or rsp grater. Be careful . though. when i t' s time
to cl ean up. Many rotar grters take some finesse to
di sassemble. as you must touch the sharp grater drum
to rel ease the handl e for cl eani ng. -R. H.
OUR FAVORl TE$
.P EDRI NI , $ 1 4. 99
An I tal i an- made grater with a
l arge hopper, sharp grati ng teeth , .-
and wel l -desi gned handl e.
K ITCHENAI D, $ 1 9. 99
Lrge hopper, sharp grati ng
teeth, and fai rl y comforabl e
gri p. Not desi gned for lefi es.
OTHE R MODE L$ TE$TE D
.. CUI S I P RO, $ 20. 00
Thi s stai nl ess steel grater was
sturdy and fast but uncomfortabl e.
MI CROP LNE, $ 1 6. 95
Turns out the fl uffiest, fi nest
shreds, but i t was the sl owest
model tested.
.. OXO GOOD GRI P S, $ 1 4. 99
Ukabl e rubberized handl e,
but the hopper i s rather smal l .
Not desi gned for l efti es.
HOFF Ril, $ 1 5. 99
Awkard design hur testers'
hands. Not desi gned for l efti es.
NORP RO, $ 1 5. 99
Thi s heavy- duty stai nl ess steel
grater qui ckly caused hand fati gue
ZYLI S S, $ 1 4. 99
Downgraded for its smal l handl e,
whi ch becomes sl i ppery with use.
Better Chef's Salad
Fast-food joi nts have given thi s retro supper salad a bad name (and a plastic fork) .
Could we produce a substantial salad with supermarket staples?
M
ost chef's salad recipes
read like loose guide
lines for cleaning out
the fridge: Toss what
ever greens you have lying around wth
some aging cold cuts and serve wth a
sigh. The resulting piles of oily ham,
characterless Swiss, and bland iceberg
lettuce should not be eaten but taken as
an object lesson, demonstrating that reci
pes, even for simple salads, need structure
and discipline.
BY SE A N LAWLE R ,
Aer al, a hearty green salad topped
wth boiled eggs, tomatoes, cold meats,
and cheese is a more than present
able dinner for a warm summer night.
Unfortunately, the versions we sampled
in the test kitchen were Lfom classic in
either taste or technique. Their ingredient
lists were haphazard and vague, resulting
in bland, muddled favors, while the pro
cedures were ofen fssy, time-consum
ing, and ultimately self-defeating. Yy
Cnd bou,ulenning ingredients into
'
stingy, unwieldy shapes? Why arrange
them in an exacting pattern only to toss
the salad into a jumbled mess, with the
meat and cheese drownng in a pool of
dressing at the bottom of the bowl? Si mpl e tri cks-such as more vi negar in the dressi ng and thi cker
sl i ces of meat and cheese-el evate a basi c chef' s sal ad.
Building a Better Salad
Pthe foundaton, the greens would have to stand
up to the strong flavors of the meat and cheese
and support their physical weight as well. Bland
iceberg lettuce failed the fst test, while tender field
greens such as mesclun flunked the second. Other
common mild greens, including romaine, Bibb,
and red- and green-leaf lettuces, all held their shape
under the weight of the other ingredient, but tast
ers preferred them mixed with the stronger favors
of spicy greens such as watercress or arugula. A 3: 1
rato of mild to spicy greens worked best.
Personal tastes varied when it came to types of
meat and cheese, but tasters agreed on one thing:
Thin, string strips were unappealing, especially
COOK' S EXTRA gives you free recipes online. Visit
www. cooksi l l ustrated. com and key in code 3041 for a
recipe for hard-cooked eggs. For another vari ation on
our chef' s sal ad, key in code 3042. The reci pes wil l be
avai l abl e until ] une I 5, 2004.
when covered with oily dressing. I readily solved
the thin-slice problem by ordering J-inch-thick
slices at the deli counter. These were easy to stack
and cut into 2-inch-long matchsticks, a convenient
size for spearing with a fork.
D ressing the Salad
Many recipes suggested creamy Russian or
ranch-style dressings, but tasters opposed them.
Combined with the meat and cheese, these dress
ings made the salad far too rich. Vinaigrettes, on
the other hand, could not hold their own against
the other ingredients, even when livened up with
shallot, garlic, and fresh herbs. Tasters declared
salad afer salad to be bland and oily. Our classic
vinaigrette recipe calls for a 4: 1 ratio of oil to vin
egar, but I decided to balance the meat and cheese
with a leaner, more acidic dressing. I reduced the
ratio of oil to vinegar frst to 3: 1, then to 2: 1 ,
before tasters were satisfed.
C OOK
'
s I L L U S T R A T E D
d
From the way tasters scowled at piles of meat and
cheese at the bottom of the salad bowl, I knew a
traditonal toss was out. The heavier ingredients fell
right to the bottom. I dscovered that I did not need
to dress the meat and cheese. Other components
greens, radishes, cucun1bers, tomatoes, and hard
cooked eggs-ould be tossed individually or placed
on the salad and then drizzled with vinaigrette.
When placed in a wide serving bowl, wth the meat
and cheese piled on top, the salad could be served
fanil y-style but still accommodate individual (even
vegetarian) preferences. Diners could serve them
selves greens and vegetables fom around the sides
of the salad, then take whatever meat and cheese
they desired fom the center.
CHE F ' S SALAD
S E RVES 6 TO 8 AS A LI GHT MAI N DI S H
At the deli counter, be sure to have the meats and
cheeses sliced I/4 inch thick.
Vinaigret
6 tabl espoons extravi rgi n ol ive oi l
3 tabl espoons red wine vi negar
2 teaspoons mi nced shal l ot
teaspoon mi nced garl i c
teaspoon mi nced fresh thyme l eaves
1/4 teaspoon sal t
1/a teaspoon ground bl ack pepper
That' s One Tart Dressi ng
TRAD I TI ONAL 4 : I
RATI O F OR
GRE E N SALAD
H I G H - ACI D 2 : I
RATI O F OR
C HE F ' S SALAD
Salad
medi um cucumber, peel ed, halved l engthwi se,
seeded, and sl i ced crosswise 1/4 i nch thi ck
2 medi um heads l eaf l ettuce, washed, dri ed, and
torn i nto bi te-size pi eces (about 3 quarts)
8 ounces arugul a, washed, dri ed, and torn i nto
bite- size pi eces (about I quart)
6 ounces radi shes, tri mmed, halved, and sl i ced thi n
Salt and ground black pepper
pi nt cherr tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
3 large hard-cooked eggs, each cut i nto 4 wedges
8 ounces del i ham, sl i ced 1/4 i nch thi ck and cut i nto
2 - i nch- l ong matchsti cks
8 ounces del i turkey, sl i ced 1/4 i nch thi ck and cut
i nto 2- i nch- l ong matchsti cks
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, sl iced 1/4 i nch thi ck
and cut i nto 2- i nch-l ong matchsti cks
reci pe Garl i c Croutons (reci pe follows)
1 . FOR 1M VNAGR11 Whisk ingre
dients in medium bowl until combined. Add
cucumber and toss; let stand 20 minutes.
2. FOR1M SAOToss lettuce, arugula, and
radishes in large, wide serving bowl. Add cucum
bers and a but 1 tablespoon dressing and toss
to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Toss tomatoes in remaining dressing in bowl;
arrange tomatoes around perimeter of greens.
Arrange egg wedges in ring inside tomatoes and
drizzle with any dressing in bowl. Arrange ham,
turkey, and cheese over center of greens; sprinkle
wth croutons and serve immediately.
CHE F ' S SALAD WI TH F E NNEL, ASI AGO ,
AND SALAMI
S E RVES 6 TO 8 AS A LI GHT MAI N DI S H
If water-packed artichoke hearts cannot be
found, use marinated artichoke hearts, but rinse
and drain them before use. For this salad, opt for
a mild, sof Asiago cheese that crumbles easily;
avoid aged Asiago that has a hard, dry texture.
Vinaigrete
6 tablespoons extra-virgin ol ive oi l
3 tabl espoons balsami c vi negar
teaspoon mi nced garl i c
1;4 teaspoon salt
1/s teaspoon ground black pepper
Salad
2 heads romai ne lettuce, washed, dri ed, and torn
i nto bi te-size pi eces (about 3 quarts)
4 ounces watercress, washed, dried, and stemmed
(about I quart)
11 cup flat- l eaf parsl ey l eaves
smal l fennel bul b, tri mmed and sl i ced thi n
(about 2 cups)
Salt and ground bl ack pepper
jar ( 8 ounces) roasted red peppers,
drai ned, peppers cut crosswise i nto
1f- i nch-wide stri ps
r A n 1 N G . Del i Ham and Turkey
Supermarkets ofer a bafi ng assortment of packged meats. but do any of them hol d a candl e to sl i ced-to-order
del i meats? We began thi s tasti ng wi th a dozen wi dely avai l abl e presl i ced ham and turkey products, most costing
about $2 for a 6-ounce package. Al l were categori cal l y rejected by taster. Thi ngs i mproved at the del i counter.
DE Ll TURKEY: At the del i counter, we purchased six nati onal brnds of sl i ced- to-order turkey breast. Taster
l i ked Sara Lee' s Oven Roasted Turkey Breast ( $6. 50 per pound) , descri bi ng i t as "moi st, " "meat, " and " honest,"
but the house brnd produced by Stop & Shop ( $6. 50 per pound) , a l ocal supermarket chai n, rnked j ust as
highly. Also i ncl uded in the l i neup was an i n- store roasted turkey breast ( $ 1 0 per pound) purchased from a Whol e
Foods Market, whi ch-to our surpri se-tasters rejected as bl and and i ncredi bly dr. Why di d "real " turkey perform
so poorly? Processed turkey breast is i njected with water, sal t, and seasoni ngs. Because turkey breast meat is natu
rl ly dr, some extra moisture is desi rbl e-even necessar-to produce a pal atabl e product.
DE Ll HAM: The processi ng of del i ham i s more i nvolved than that of del i turkey, maki ng the choi ces more con
fusi ng. " Boi l ed" hams are forced i nto a mol d before bei ng cooked . and the gaps are fi l l ed i n wi th an emul si fed
puree of water, fat, and pork tri mmi ngs. Tese hams. easi ly i dentifi abl e by thei r rectangul ar shape and pal e pi nk
exterior, are generl l y cheaper than baked or smoked hams. but tasters di sl i ked thei r wet, pl astic texture.
Baked or smoked hams are generl ly i njected wi th sal t. water. and phosphates but retai n the texture of a real
ham. At the del i counter. these hams sport an i mpressive variet of l abel s, i ncl udi ng baked, smoked, Vi ri ni a,
mapl e, Bl ack Forest. and honey. What the names real ly i ndi cate, however, i s merely the parti cul ar flavoring bl end
that has been i nj ected i nto the ham. We tasted seven hams i n thi s categor and uncovered a wi de variet of
flavors-some sweet, some smok, some spi cy-but most of the sampl es were qui te good. Baked ham costs a bi t
more than boi l ed ham, but the money i s wel l spent. - S. L.
BEYOND H ORR I B LE
Tasters utterly rejected
presl i ced ham.
P RETTY BAD P RETTY G OOD
A square boi l ed ham from the del i
counter was not much better.
A baked Vi rgi ni a ham from the del i
counter was the best choi ce by far.
jar (7ounces) arti choke hearts packed in water,
drai ned, each heart halved (see note)
8 ounces hard sal ami , sl i ced 1/4 inch thick and cut
i nto 2- i nch-l ong matchsti cks
8 ounces del i turkey, preferably pepper-crusted,
sl i ced 1/4 i nch thi ck and cut i nto 2- i nch- l ong
matchsti cks
8 ounces mi l d Asiago cheese, crumbl ed (see note)
11 cup kal amata ol ives, pi tted and chopped coarse
reci pe Garl i c Croutons (reci pe fol l ows)
1 . FOR 1M VNAGR11 Whisk ingredi
ents in medium bowl until combined.
2. FOR1M SALAO Toss romaine, watercress,
parsley, and fennel in large serving bowl. Add a
but 1 tablespoon dressing and toss to combine.
Sl i ce l t Thi ck
Del i meat s houl d be cut thi ck
enough to prevent cl umpi ng i n
the bowl but tri m enough to be
easi ly i ncorporated i nto the sal ad.
At the del i counter, ask for ham
and turkey sl i ced 1/4 i nch thi ck.
At home, cut the del i meats i nto
matchsti ck pi eces that measure
1/4 i nch thi ck and 2 i nches l ong.
M A Y c J U N E 2 11
'
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss peppers
and artichokes in remaining dressing, then arrange
around perimeter of greens. Arrange salami, tur
key, and cheese over center of greens; top with
olives and croutons. Serve immediately.
GARLI C CROUTONS
MAKES ABOUT 1 1
/
1 CUPS
large garl i c cl ove, mi nced to paste or pressed
through garl i c press (about 1 1/4 teaspoons)
1/s teaspoon salt
1 11 tabl espoons extra-vi rgi n ol ive oi l
6 sl i ces (6ounces) good- qual i t white sandwich
bread, cut i nto 11- i nch cubes ( 1 11 cups)
Adjust oven rack to middle positon and
heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine gar
lic, salt, and oil in small bowl; let stand 20
minutes, then pour through fne-mesh
strainer into medium bowl. Add bread
cubes and toss to coat. Spread bread
cubes in even layer on rimmed baing
sheet and bake, stirring occasionally,
until golden, about 1 5 minutes. Cool
on baking sheet to room temperatre.
( Can bC COVCiCO JHO SlOiCO Jl iOOm
temperature up to 24 hours. )
Oven-Barbecued Chicken
The idea-barbecued chicken straight from your oven-is a great one. Unfortunately, the
real thing is dry and tough, with a tasteless, baked-on sauce. Could we save this recipe?
1` E RIN MCM U R R E R WIT H ADA M R I E D E
W
hen you hear the phse
"hospital food," what
do you see in your
mind's eye? That's
right-plain baked chicken, the very
portrait of bland institutional fare, a
culinary yawn. The need to dress up
this dull, workaday recipe probably
inspired the idea of oven-barbecued
chicken, which should, in theory at
least, add sweet, tang, spicy favors
to tender chicken by way of a rich,
tomatoey sauce in the classic Kansas
Cit stle. In our experience, though,
the idea remains just that-a theory.
As expected, the fve initial recipes
we tried in the test kitchen delivered
tough, rubbery, or unevenly cooked
chicken in sauces ranging fom past
and candy-sweet to greasy, stale, U
or commercial tasting.
a whirl and were delighted to fnd that
they made for a dramatc improvement.
The chewy skin became a nonissue, and
we discovered an extra beneft in that
both sides of the chicken meat were now
coated with sauce.
Buil ding Ba rbecue Fl avo r
We were next determined to achieve
our goal of a fesh, lively sauce with a
properly thick and sticky texture. Could
we find it in a bottled sauce? Hoping
for an easy out, we tried several tpes,
from supermarket standards to fancy
mail-order products. We had the best
luck with Bull's-Eye, a sauce that won
a blind tasting here at Cook1s last year,
but we stil felt that a homemade sauce
could m this recipe fom prett good
to great.
Monumental as these problems
seemed, we were inspired by the chal
lenge. Surely this dish would be
worthwhile if the chicken was juicy,
tender, and evenly cooked and the
sauce tasted fresh and multidimen
sional, clinging to the chicken in a
thick, lightly caramelized cot.
A large ski l l et, a super easy homemade sauce, and an i ngeni ous cooki ng method
produce superi or oven- barbecued chi cken-i n j ust hal f an hour.
That certainly didn't mean that the
sauce had to be complicated. We began
with our own Simple Sweet and Tangy
Barbecue Sauce, a quick-cooked num
ber from the July/August 2000 issue.
Although this sauce took about half
Ch oosing and Prepping t he Chicken
The recipes we scoured indicated that our
chicken options were wide open, as they called
for, variously, half chickens, quarter chickens,
whole chickens cut into serving pieces, bone-in
breasts, thighs, drumsticks, and wings, and even
meat that was cooked, boned, shredded, and
mixed with barbecue sauce, a Ia pulled pork.
To methodically test each option, we cobbled
together a basic baking procedure: Bake the
chicken at 350 degrees until partially done, coat
wth barbecue sauce-a bottled brand from the
supermarket for now-and continue baking until
the chicken is cooked through, basting with the
sauce several times along the way.
Success was elusive. The halved and quartered
chickens cooked unevenly and were awkward to
eat. Butchering d whole chicken was more work
than we saw fit to do for an easy Tuesday-night
supper. Of course, purchasing cut-up serving
pieces eliminated the work, but time and time
again we found them to be sloppily butchered or
even mismatched. Using a single cut of chicken,
such as all breasts or thighs, helped with the
evenness of cooking, at least, and we confrmed
that tasters preferred the mild white meat of the
breasts as a backdrop for the sauce. Shredding
the cooked chicken to mix with tl1e sauce was a
messy, tedious process, so we settled on breasts as
our best option.
One of the frst problems to solve was tl1e skin,
which was consistently fabby, rubbery, and fatt.
Any fat that rendered fom the skin during cook
ing lef the sauce not thick and clingy but greasy
and loose, so it slid right off the skin. To cover
our bases, we tried cooking the chicken skin-side
down in a preheated pan, slashing tl1e skin lightly
to expose extra surface area and expedite render
ing, and air-drying the chicken prior to cooking.
In the end, we rejected all of tl1ese methods as
either not successfl enough or too fssy for a
quick weeknight dinner.
The solution, we hoped, would be to jettison
the skin entirely. We gave skinless, boneless breasts
C O O K
'
S I L L U S T R A T E D
I
an hour to prepare and required the
use of a food prcessor and strainer, \\
did offer both fesh, balanced favors and a thick,
cling texture.
Rther than building a new recipe fom the
ground up, we tried stripping this one down to
make it even faster and simpler. Afer dozens of
tests, we learned that ketchup, Worcestershire,
mustard, molasses, chili powder, and cayenne
were absolutely necessary, as w
e
re maple syrup
and the tang of cider vinegar. We substituted
grated onion for the onion juice in the original
recipe and eliminated the hot pepper sauce,
garlic, and liquid smoke. Only four minutes over
medium heat were needed to blend the favors,
which became frther concentrated when the
sauce cooked again on the chicken.
We tied a few other favoring tricks, includ
ing rubbing the chicken with a dry spice rub and
marinating it overnight in the sauce before cook
ing it, but none was worth the effort. Brining was
also a bust. The extra seasoning was superfuous
in the face of the assertively favored barbecue
sauce, and the extra moisture in the meat from
the brine tended U thin the sauce.
O
O
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.
b L N G : The Probl em with Pckaged Chi cken Breasts
TH ESE BREASTS LOOK TH E SAME . . . BUT OUT OF TH E PACKAG E , TH EY ARE QU I TE DI F F ERE NT
Uniforml y si zed chi cken breasts wi l l cook more evenly than breasts of varyi ng si zes. Unfortunately, i t' s di ffi
cul t to di scern size of i ndivi dual breasts when they' re squi shed i nto a supermarket package (see l eft photo) .
Once we removed the breasts from thi s package (see ri ght photo) and wei ghed them. we di scovered that
one breast wei ghed ounces, two wei ghed 6 ounces, and one wei ghed j ust +' z ounces. To prepare oven
barbecued chi cken, we recommend buyi ng a fami ly pack wi th at l east s i x breasts and then freezi ng the l argest
and smal l est breasts for future use i n a stir-fry, where size won' t matter.
Co oking BBQ Chi cken with out a G ri l l
In terms of cooking temperature and method,
we ted dousing the chicken with sauce and then
baking it as well as dredging the chicken in sea
soned four and pan-fying it before undertaking
an intricate dance of baking and basting. Both
approaches failed.
From there, we focused on oven mechanics,
testing various oven rack positions, various com
binations of low and high temperatures (fom
325 to 500 degrees), and additions of sauce
at various points during cooking. Alas, despite
the moniker "oven-barbecued," none of these
oven-based methods worked, although we did
learn that lower oven temperatures cooked the
irregularly shaped chicken breasts evenly and
that higher temperatures helped to concentrate
the sauce.
Standing in the kitchen, scratching our heads
afer the umpteenth test, we looked at the skillet
of waiting barbecue sauce and an idea fashed.
We remembered a method we had used to make
maple-glazed pork roast in the March/ April
2003 issue. It involved searing the roast in a
skillet, reducing the glaze in the same skillet, and
then fnishing the roast in that already hot skillet
in the oven. Would a similar technique help us to
master our current challenge?
The frst attempt showed promise, but it
wasn't perfect because the exteriors of the breasts
were dry fom aggressive pan-searing. The solu
tion was to sear the chicken breasts only very
lightly, just until tl1ey began to color and develop
a slightly rough surface to which the sauce could
adhere. The chicken was then removed from the
pan, tl1e sauce made, the chicken added back and
coated with sauce, and tl1e pan slipped under tle
broiler. The results were good, but the heat of tl1e
broiler had dried out the chicken a bit. The solu
tion was to start tl1e skillet in a 325-degree oven
and then fnish it under the broiler. The chicken
was now j uicy and thickly coated with a perfectly
concentrated sauce.
SWE ET AND TANGY
OVE N- BARB E CUE D CHI CKE N
S E RVES 4
Real maple syrup is preferable to imitation syrup,
and "mild" or "original" molasses is preferable
to darker, more bitter types. If you are content
to use bottled sauce, we had the best luck with
Bull's-Eye Original, winner of a blind tasting
held last year. Use 1 3/4 cups of sauce and, in step
2, reduce the sauce cooking time fom 4 minutes
to 2 minutes.
Oven- Barbecued Chi cken, Rei nvented i n a Ski l l et
I. Ughtly brown chi cken.
trnsfer pi eces to pl ate, and
pour of fat from ski l l et.
2. Add sauce i ngredi ents to 3. Return chi cken to ski l - 4. Bake chi cken and suce
empt pan and cook unti l l et. turn to coat with sauce, i n ski l l et, broi l to carmel ize
heatproof spatul a l eaves then spoon more sauce suce. and then sere.
cl ear tri l . over each pi ece.
M A Y c J U N E 211
Some notes on equipment: First, to grate the
onion, use a Microplane grater or the fne holes
of a box grater. Second, resist the temptation
to use a nonstick skillet; most nonstick skillets
are not broilersafe. Third, and most important,
you should make this recipe only in an in-oven
broiler; do not use a drawer-type broiler. Finaly,
be aware that broiling times may differ fom one
oven to another. For instance, in one editor's
powerfl professional-style oven, the chicken
took just 4 minutes to reach 1 60 degrees, so we
urge you to check the chicken for doneness afer
only 3 minutes of broiling. You may also have to
lower the oven rack if your broiler runs very hot.
cup ketchup
2 tabl espoons fi nely grated oni on
2 tabl espoons Worcestershi re sauce
2 tabl espoons Dijon mustard
3 tabl espoons mol asses
2 tabl espoons mapl e syrup
3 tabl espoons ci der vi negar
teaspoon chi l i powder
'/ teaspoon cayenne
4 bonel ess, ski nl ess chi cken breasts, 6to 7ounces
each (with tenderl oi ns). patted dr with paper
towels
Sal t and ground black pepper
tabl espoon vegetabl e oi l
1 . Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position,
about 5 inches fom upper heating element; heat
oven to 325 degrees. Whisk ketchup, onion,
Worcestershire, mustard, molasses, maple syrup,
vinegar, chili powder, and cayenne in small bowl;
set aside. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in heavy-bottomed, nonreactive,
1 2-inch ovenproof skillet over high heat until
beginning to smoke. Brown chicken skinned
side down until very light golden, 1 to 2 min
utes; using tongs, turn chicken and brown untl
very light golden on second side, 1 to 2 minutes
longer. Transfer chicken to plate and set aside.
Discard fat in skillet; of heat, add sauce mixture
and, using a wooden spoon, scrape up browned
bits on bottom of skillet. Simmer sauce over
medium heat, stirring fequently with heatproof
spatula, until sauce is thick and glossy, and spatula
leaves clear trail in sauce, about 4 minutes. Off
heat, return chicken to skillet, and turn to coat
thickly with sauce; set chicken pieces skinned
side up and spoon extra sauce over each piece to
create thick coating. Place skillet in oven and
cook until thickest parts of chicken breasts reg
ister 1 30 degrees on instant-read thermometer,
1 0 to 14 minutes. Set oven to broil and continue
to cook until tllickest parts of chicken breasts
register 1 60 degrees, 5 to 1 0 minutes longer.
Transfer chicken to platter and let rest 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk to combine sauce in skillet and
transfer to small bowl. Serve chicken, passing
extra sauce separately.
Foolproof Brown Rice
Forget the i nstructi ons on the back of the bag, u n l ess you want scorched or mushy ri ce.
M
ost cooks know shun brown rice,
classifing it as wholesome yet
unappeaing sustenance for pen
niless vegetarans, practtoners of
macrobiotcs, and the like. But I'm not sure why.
I fnd it ultmately satsfng, with a nutty, gutsy
favor and more textural personality-slightly
stcky and just a bit chewy-tha white rice. ^
ideal version should be easy to come by: Just thow
rce ad water in a pot and set the tmer, rght?
Yet cooks who have attempted to prepare brown
rice know it isn't so simple. My habit, born of
impatence, is to cran up the fame in an efort
to hurry along the slow-cooking grains ( brown
rice takes roughly twice as long to cook as white) ,
which inevitably leads to a burnt pot and crunchy
rice. Adding plenty of water isn't the remedy;
excess liquid swells the rce into a gelatnous mass.
I pulled out an expensive, heavy-bottomed pot
WUa tght-fttng lid (many recipes cauton against
using inadequate cookware), fddled with the tra
ditonal absorton method (cooking the rice with
just enough water), and eventually landed on a
workable recipe. Yet when I tested the recipe wth
less than ideal equipment-namely, a fimsy pan
with a ill-fittng lid-I was back to bunt, under
cooked rce. Wth the very best pot and a top-notch
stove, it is possible to cook brown rice properly, but
I wated a surefe method that would work no
matter the cook, no matter the equipment.
I wondered if the microwave might work well
mthis instance, gven that it cooks food indirectly,
without a burner. Sady, it delivered inconsistent
results, with one batch turning brittle and aother,
prepared in a d erent microwave, too stick. A
rice cooker yielded faultless brown rice on the frst
PROBLE M : PROB LE M:
_ B Y R E B E C C A H AYS E
try but many Aericans don't own one.
I set out to construct a homemade cooker that
would approximate the controlled, indirect heat
of a rice cooker-and so began to consider the
merits of cooking the rice in the oven. I'd have
more precise temperature control, and I hoped
that the oven's encircling heat would eliminate the
risk of scorching. My frst try yielded extremely
promising results: With the pan tightly covered
with aluminum foil, the rice steamed to near per
fection. Fine-tuning the amount of water, I settled
on a ratio similar to that used for our white rice
recipe: 21 cups of water to 1 1 cups of rice, falling
well short of the 2: 1 water-to-rice rato advised
by most rice producers and nearly every recipe
consulted. Perhaps that is why so much brown
rice turns out sodden and overcooked.
My next task was to spruce up the recipe by
bringng out the nutty flavor of the otherwse plain
grains. Toastng the rice dy in the oven imparted
a slight of favor. When I sauteed the rice in ft
before baking, the grains fayed slightly; tasters pre
ferred rce made by adding ft to the cooking water.
Psmall amount (2 teaspoons) of either butter or oil
adds mild favor while keeping the rice fuf.
To reduce what was a long baking time of 90
minutes at 350 degrees, I tried startng with boil
ing water instead of cold tap water and raising the
oven to 375 degrees. These steps reduced the bak
ing tme to a reasonable one hour. (A hotter oven
caused some of the fagile grains to explode. )
No more scorched or mushy brown rice for me,
and no more worrying about fnding just the right
pan or adjusting the stovetop to produce just the
right level of heat. Now I can serve good brown
rice anytime, even to a meat lover.
PE RF E CT:
WET & S O U PY B U RNT & C RU N CHY F LU F FY & CH EWY
We found that fol l owi ng the di recti ons on the back of the bag usual ly results i n wet, porridgel i ke ri ce ( l eft) .
Many reci pes cal l for too much heat, and, unl ess you use a very heavy pot, the ri ce wi l l scorch (center) . By usi ng
less water than is tpi cal and taki ng advantage of the even heat of the oven, you can turn out perfectly cooked
brown ri ce ever ti me (right) .
C O O K
'
S I L L U S T R A T E D
I ?
F OOLPROOF OVE N- BAKED BROWN RI CE
S E RVES 4 TO 6
To mze any loss of water through evapora
tion, cover the saucepan and use the water as
soon as it reaches a boil . ^ 8-inch ceramic bak
ing dish with a lid may be used instead of the
bang dish and foil. To double the recipe, use a
1 3 by 9-inch baking dish; the baking tme need
not be increased.
1 11 cups l ong- , medi um- , or short-gri n brown rice
2 11 cups water
2 teaspoons unsalted butter or vegetabl e oi l
1 1 teaspoon sal t
1 . Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat
oven to 375 degrees. Spread rice in 8-inch-square
glass baing dish.
2. Bring water and butter or oil to boil, cov
ered, in medium saucepan over high heat; once
boiling, immediately stir in salt and pour water
over rice. Cover baking dish tightly with doubled
layer of foil . Bake rice 1 hour, until tender.
3. Remove baking dish fom oven and uncover.
Fluf rice with dinner fork, then cover dish WU
clean kitchen towel; let rice stand 5 minutes.
Uncover and let rice stand 5 minutes longer;
serve immediately.
BROWN RI CE WI TH PARMESAN, LE MON,
AND HE RBS
1. Heat 2 tablespoons unsalted butter in medium
nonstck skilet over medium heat untl foaming;
add 1 small onion, minced, ad cook untl translu
cent, about 3 minutes. Set onion aside.
2. Follow recipe for Foolproof Oven-Baked
Brown Rice, substituting chicken broth for water,
omittng butter or oil, reducing salt to teaspoon,
ad strring onion mixture into rice aer adding
broth. Cover and bake as directed. Aer removing
foil, str in teaspoon ground black pepper, cup
minced fesh parsley, V4 cup chopped fesh basil,
l cup grated Parmesan, 1 teaspoon gated lemon
zest, and l teaspoon lemon juice. Cover with
clean kitchen towel and contnue with recipe.
COOK'S EXTRA gives you free recipes online. For
two more variations on our brown rice recipe, visit
ww .cooksi l l ustrated. com and key in code 3043. Tese
recipes wi l l be available unti l J une | 5 , 2004.
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Rescuing Steak Diane
Reduced to the l evel of bad dinner theater, this legendary tableside showpiece was
in need of a revival. Could we give this tired classic a new life at home?
W
hy would anyone want
to make steak Diane-a
pan-searedsteakdemand
ing a rch sauce based on
an ail-day veal stock reducton-at home?
Fif years ago, it was a hot menu item
at fancy restaurants, prepared tableside,
and it included a burst of pyrotechnics
supplied by a match and some cognac.
To rescue this outdated piece of culinary
showmanship, I needed some motiva
tion, and I found it when I considered
the everyday skillet steak. Transforming
this simple recipe into a Saturday night
special, more black tie than blue jeans,
would, I hoped, be worth the efort.
3 B Y DI ANE UNG E R - M A HONE Y <
richest "roasted" favor possible. To
enhance the meaty favor, I cut back on
the chcken broth, doubled the beef broth,
and added red wine, fesh thyme, bay leaf,
and a hefy amount of black peppercorns.
Then I let that mixture reduce for 35
minutes. I had now distiled 54 ounces of
watery liquid to 1 0 ounces of concentrated
stock, and the results were wortl1 the wait:
The favor was dead on. But I wasn't done
yet, as the sauce was still thin.
To thicken the sauce I experimented
with cornstarch, arrowroot, gelatin, and
four. Cornstarch and arrowroot gave the
sauce the gluey substance of bad takeout
Chinese food. Gelatin turned it into some
thing resembling beef Jell-0. It turned out
that a small amount of four, sprinkled over
the browned vegetables, added the perfect
viscosity without masking favors. I now
had an intensely favored foundation with
a consistency siar to serious veal stock
reductions. Not as good as the real thing,
to be sure, but outstanding considering
the modest investment in time.
Getting t o the Meat
Aer reviewing 27 recipes and testing
fve, however, my enthusiasm quickly
waned. Recipes were consistent in requir
ing a sauce based on a labor-intensive veal
stock reduction, an abundance of butter
and cream, and varying amounts of shal
lot, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce.
They vared widely when it came to what
cut of steak to use (sirloin shell, rib eye,
strip, or tenderloin), how to prepare
it (paper-thin or as thick as it comes),
and how to cook it (some were lightly
browned, some deeply caran1elized, oth
ers practically stewed in butter). My goal,
Fl am bei ng the cognac is a key step in devel opi ng a restaurant- qual i t sauce
for steak Di ane.
Of the four cuts of meat I had cooked for
my frst tests, I ruled out sirloin shell for
I then decided, would be to develop a recipe for a
quick stock, to slim down the sauce, and to deter
mine the best cut of steak and a foolproof method
for cooking it. In tle end, I hoped to sit down to
a dinner of tender, perfectly cooked steak napped
in a deeply satisfing pan sauce-having done it all
in less than an hour.
Finding a Stand- In f o r Veal St ock
The cornerstone of the sauce for this dish is veal
stock, which imparts a silky texture and deep favor.
Because homemade veal stock-a staple in any half
decent restaurant-was out of the question, I had
to come up wth a good stunt double tl1at could be
made in less than an hour. (See page 14 for tips on
buying veal stock.) I started my testing by brown
ing onions, carrots, and garlic to develop favor
and then deglazing the pan with red wine. Because
pror tastings in the test kitchen had revealed that
caed beef broth on its own tastes tinny and
watery, tred equal parts beef and chicken broths
(botl1 low sodium) and reduced the mixture by
half The result? The color of tllis concoction was
murky, its consistency watery, and its favor lacking.
Progress, it seemed, would be slow.
I revisited some tried-and-true French cook
books and was reminded that veal stocks typically
contain tomato in some form. I wondered what
would happen if I sauteed tomato paste in oil
before adding tl1e vegetables to the pan. The
tomato paste lost its neon color and turned a
deep reddish-brown, and when the vegetables
were added it coated them with rich favor. The
only problem was tlat the paste began to burn
before the vegetables were flly browned. The
solution that came to mind was water.
I added 2 tablespoons to the pan just as tl1e
paste was about to burn and then scraped the
browned bits fom the pan bottom. I let tl1e deep
red liquid reduce almost to tl1e point of no return
and then added another 2 tablespoons of water.
The flavors intensifed each tine, giving me the
M A Y c J U N E 211
I
its toughness and rib eye for the mass of
trimmings that ended up in the garbage. Both
tenderloin and strip steaks were well liked, but
tasters preferred tle flavorfl strip to the some
what boring tenderloin. I wanted to be able to
cook four steaks quickly, so I trimmed them of
excess fat and tested a range of thicknesses, from
'/8 inch to 1 inch. The deciding factor turned out
to be tle diameter of the bottom of my 12-inch
skillet (I was using a traditional skillet with fared
O Y | N C . Shoppi ng for Stri p Steak
Watch out for steaks from the si rl oi n end of the stri p,
whi ch may have a thi ck l i ne of gri stl e i n the center .
Prepari ng the Steak
U NTRI M M E D TRI M M E D TRI M M E D & POU N D E D
The steak on the lef has not been tri mmed. To keep the sauce from becomi ng too fatt, trim al l vi si bl e fat from
the peri meter of the steak, as has been done with the steak in the mi ddl e. To ensure even cooki ng, use a meat
pounder or mal l et to pound the steak to an even 'h i nch thi ckness, as i n the steak on the right.
sides, meaning that the measure across the top
was greater than across the bottom) , which let
me cook two 41z -inch-wide steaks at a time. This
meant that I could pound each of the steaks to
a half-inch thickness . Unfortunately, the steaks
were not browning as evenly as I had hoped. I
discovered that weighting them with a heavy
bottomed skillet or Dutch oven as they cooked
on the second side gave me the color I was
looking for and added more fond, or favorfl
browned bits, to the pan bottom.
Finis hing the Sauce wi th a Flou ri s h
With the steaks cooked, it was time to take my
faux veal stock and create a sauce. Because the
sauce base included red wine, I tested Madeira,
sherry, white wine, and brandy. Madeira and
sherry were too sweet, and white wine made
the sauce too acidic. Brandy was the wnner, so
I went on to taste cognac and Armagnac, both
straight up and in the sauce. Armagnac had a bit
ter afertaste, so I settled on cognac.
I had now reached the denouement of recipe
development for steak Diane: It was time to
introduce the fambe. Once I finished cooking the
steaks and removed them fom tle pan, I added
minced shallot and 6 tablespoons of cognac and
tipped my pan toward the gas burner. The fames
shot up into the ventilation system. I cut back to 4
tablespoons of cognac, allowed the alcohol vapors
to evaporate slightly, and then tipped my pan
toward the fame. This time I got what I wanted: a
nice fambe, wth no need for tl1e fre extinguisher.
But I wondered, was tl1e fambe crucial to te fa
vor of tl1e dish, or was it just for show? To answer
this question, I conducted a head-to-head blind
tasting of two sauces, one flamed, one unfamed.
The clear wnner was the fambeed sauce, which
was more balanced and slightly sweeter. The ques
tion now was, why? A bit of scientifc exanination
was in order. (To see what we found out, read "Is
a Flambe Just for Show? " on page 1 5 . )
Once the cognac had been famed and the
browned bits scraped fom the skillet, I added the
faux veal stock I had prepared earlier and focused
on the fnal seasonings. Dijon mustard was well
received, but tasters took issue with tl1e quantity
of Worcestershire sauce used i most recipes, so I
reduced it to a mere teaspoon. Aer sampling sauces
fnished with cream, butter, and a combination
T A s T N G : Veal Stock
of the two, I realized that while cream may add
body to a pan sauce wth a Ubase, it was diluting
the favors of my base. A simple fnish with butter
added luster and sheen.
Finally, I plated the steaks individually and
spooned just enough of the sauce over the center
of each to moisten them, not to drown them. A
colorfl sprinkling of fesh chives, and my skillet
steak was ready for formal wear.
SAUC E BAS E F OR STEAK DI ANE
MAKES | ' /CUPS
This recipe yields a sauce base that is an excellent
facsinlile of a deri-glace, a very labor-intensive
and time- consuming classic French sauce base.
Because the sauce base is very concentrated, make
sure to use low-sodium chicken and beef broths;
otherwise, the base may be unpalatably salty. The
sauce base can be made ahead and refgerated for
up to three days.
2 tabl espoons vegetabl e oi l
4 teaspoons tomato paste
2 smal l oni ons, chopped medi um (about I 11 cups)
medi um carrot, chopped medi um (about 11 cup)
4 medi um garl i c cl oves, peel ed
114 cup water
4 teaspoons al l -purpose fl our
I 1 1 cups dry red wi ne
3 11 cups low-sodi um beef broth
I 314 cups low-sodi um chi cken broth
2 teaspoons bl ack peppercorns
8 spri gs fresh thyme
2 bay l eaves
1 . Heat oil and tomato paste in Dutch oven
over medium-high heat; cook, stirring constantly,
Real restaurant- qual i t veal stock takes hours of roasti ng and si mmeri ng. al l of
whi ch resul ts in a hi ghly reduced stock referred to as ei ther a demi gl ace or gl ace de
vi ande. (Stri ctly speaki ng. a demi gl ace i s a reduced brown sauce, whereas a gl ace
de vi ande i s si mpl y a meat stock that has been reduced to a thi ck syrup. ) We tested
four demi gl ace products and three that were l abel ed "gl ace de vi ande. The demi
glace oferings were universal ly di sl i ked by tasters. Typi cal comments were " no meat
flavor and "vegetal and sour. The demi -gl aces al so had i ngredi ent l i sts that were as
l ong (and confusi ng) as a four- star chef reci pe. The gl ace de vi ande products (al so
cal l ed gl ace de veau) were far superi or. no doubt because they conti ned recognizabl e
i ngredi ents. Our favori tes were Provi mi and Cul i nArte' Bonewerks. Both compani es
offer frozen I pound envel opes for about $ 1 4 each. See Resources on page 32 for
detai l s. -D. M.
OUR TWO FAVORI TES
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until paste begins to brown, about 3 minutes.
Add onions, carrot, and garlic; cook, stirring fe
quently, until mixmre i s reddish brown, about 2
minutes. Add 2 tablespoons water and continue
to cook, stirring constantly, until mixmre is well
browned, about 3 minutes, adding remaining
water when needed to prevent scorching. Add
four and cook, stirring constantly, I minute.
Add wine and, using a heatproof rubber spatula,
scrape up browned bits on bottom and sides of
pot; bring to boil, stirring occasionally ( mixmre
will thicken slightly) . Add beef and chicken
broths, peppercorns, thyme, and bay; bring to
boil and cook, uncovered, occasionally scrap
ing bottom and sides of pot with spatula, until
reduced to 2l2 cups, 35 to 40 minutes.
2. Strain mixture through fne-mesh strainer,
pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as
possible; you should have about 1 1/4 cups.
STEAK DI ANE
SERVES 4
If you prefer not to make the sauce base, mix l
cup glace de vande ( see the veal stock tasting on
page 14) with :4 cup water and cup red wine and
use this mixture i place of the base i step 2. For
tis recipe, use a traditonal skillet. The steaks leave
behind more fond ( bed bits) than they do i a
nonstck skilet, and more fond means a richer, more
favorfl sauce. A superb embelshment for Steak
Diane is a drizzle of white trufe oil just before
serving. If you do not wsh to fambe, simmer the
cognac i step 2 for 10 to 1 5 seconds for a slghtly
less sweet favor profle.
Steaks
2 tabl espoons vegetabl e oi l
4 strip steaks (about 1 2 ounces each) , tri mmed of
all excess fat and pounded to even 11- i nch
thi ckness (see photos on page 1 4)
Salt and ground bl ack pepper
Sauce
I tablespoon vegetabl e oi l
I small shal l ot, mi nced (about 2 tabl espoons)
1/4 cup cognac
reci pe Sauce Base for steak Di ane (see note)
c
2 teaspoons Di jon mustard
z
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
u teaspoon Worcestershi re sauce
g 2 tabl espoons mi nced fresh chives
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1 . FOR 1M S1AKS Heat 1 tablespoon oil
in 12-inch heavy- bottomed skillet over medium
high heat until smoki ng. Meanwhile, season
steaks with salt and pepper. Place 2 steaks in skillet
and cook untl well browned, about 1 l minutes.
Following illustrations at right, fi p steaks and
weight with heavy- bottomed pan; continue to
cook until well browned on second side, about
1 l2 minutes longer. Transfer steaks to large
b L t M L t Is a Fl ambe j ust for Show?
A fl ambe looks i mpressive and i s eas enough to execute, but we wondered if i t really i mproves the favor of a sauce
and. if so. why. Bl i nd taste tests qui ckly reveal ed that fl am bei ng the sauce for steak Di ane did i ndeed i mprve its
favor; a famed sauce was ri cher and sweeter than a sauce that had not been i gni ted. To get a handl e on why it was
better, we l ooked i nto the sci entific pri nci pl es i nvolved.
A fambe is the ignition of the al cohol vapor that l i es above the pan. a reaction that genertes signifcant amounts of
heat. To measure this heat, I used an infrred thermometer and di scovered that the temperture at the surface of the
cognac quickly cl i mbed past 500 degrees; thi s heat woul d i ndeed afect the cognac bel ow. Curi ous to know whether
the high heat sered to remove all of the al cohol from the pan. I sent smpl es of the fambeed cognac as well as the
compl eted sauce to a food l ab for al cohol analysis. Tests reveal ed that the fambe removed 79 percent of the alcohol
from the cognac. (e si mmering of the suce that followed the
flambe removed al most al l of the remai ni ng al cohol . ) So the
flambe ws removing most of the al cohol , but what efect Wthe
high heat having on favor?
Many of the great, favor-boosting chemical reacti ons of
cooking requi re high heat. Reacti ons i nvolvi ng sugar, such as
carmel ization and browni ng, occur at tempertures higher
than 300 degrees. Because the surface had reached above 500
degrees, we noticed some of thi s tpe of favor devel opment. A
si mmered cognac, in contrst, mai ntai ns a steady temperture
of about 1 80 degrees at its surface. Another beneft
of the fambe is that at ver high heat, mol ecul es can
absorb enough ener to isom:riz:,or change shape.
The consequences of thi s reconfgurti on mi ght
i ncl ude i mproved sol ubi l i t and changed favor
percepti on.
The mystery was sol ved. A fambeed sauce burns of most
of its al cohol and gai ns flavor from severl high- heat cooki ng
reacti ons. The fi nal resul t i s a sauce wi th a hi nt of al cohol and
great depth of favor. -john Ol son, Sci ence Edi tor
F LAM E
rI G N I TI ON
S OURCE
ALCOHOL
VAPORS
COG NAC
PAN
SAU CE
platter and tent with foil. Add 1 tablespoon oil
to now-empty skillet and repeat with remaining
steaks; transfer second batch of steaks to platter.
2. FOR T SA\C Off heat, add 1 table
spoon oil and shallots to now-empty skillet; using
skillet's residual heat, cook, stirring fequently,
until shallots are slightly sofened and browned,
about 45 seconds . Add cognac; let stand until
cognac warms slightly, about 10 seconds, tl1en
set skillet over high heat. Using chimney match,
ignite cognac; shake skillet until fames subside,
then simmer cognac until reduced to about 1
tablespoon, about 1 0 seconds. Add sauce base
and mustard; simmer until slightly thickened
and reduced to 1 cup, 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in
butter; off heat, add Worcestershire sauce, any
accumulated juices fom steaks, and 1 tablespoon
chives. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
3. Set steaks on individual dinner plates, spoon
2 tablespoons sauce over each steak, sprinkle with
chives, and serve immediately, passing remaining
sauce separately.
STL F Y STL F K|\h l h| 1 Hl b 1lPKb
The fol l owi ng method yi el ds wel l - browned steaks. I t al so l eaves behi nd, over the enti re surface of the pan. lots of
crust browned bi ts, or fond, whi ch make for a ri chly flavored sauce.
I. Pl ace two steaks i n hot pan ,
si de by si de, and cook unti l wel l
browned.
2. Turn steaks over and rotate 90
degrees to ensure that enti re pan
surface wi l l be covered with fond.
M A Y [ J U N E 210
3. Place heavy Dutch oven or ski l let
on top of steaks and conti nue cook
ing until wel l browned.
Mastering the Art of Saute
From proper pans and equipment to perfect techniq ue, we take the guesswork
out of this often confusing cooking method.
O1 /' cV /.
Sauti s a vaguely defi ned cooki ng method i n whi ch vegetabl es, thi n pi eces of meat
or fi sh. or shel l fi sh are cooked over moderately high heat wi th a mi ni mum of fat. I t' s
a bui l di ng bl ock i n some reci pes-thi nk vegetabl es for a soup or sauce-but makes
for a fi ni shed di sh in others-sauteed cutl ets or a vegetabl e saute. Most cooks under
stand the techni que i n theory but fai l i n practi ce. Fol l ow the ti ps and techni ques
bel ow for cri sp, tender vegetabl es and browned, j ui cy cutl ets.
E QU I P M E NT
Cookare: Pans desi gned for sautei ng come in two di sti nct stl es: strai ght si ded and sl oped si ded. Through testi ng. we have
found that strai ght si des i nhi bi t moi sture evaporti on , al l owi ng foods to "stew." Sl oped-si ded pans al l ow for qui cker evaporati on
and faci l i tate the saute "snap, " that fi ck of the wri st that sends food up and over i tsel f i n a smooth arc and evenly redi stri butes
it i n the pan (see "The Saute Snap" at the bottom of page 1 7) .
Dependi ng o n the manufacturer. a sl oped-si ded pan may be cal l ed everythi ng from omel ette pan to a ski l l et to a fr pan. For
the sake of standardizati on. we refer to any sl oped-si ded shal l ow pan as a ski l l et. For a l i st of our favorite ski l l ets-trdi ti onal ,
nonstick, and best buys-check out Resources (on page 32) .
I l l -Suited for Sauteing
Stright-si ded pans i nhi bi t evaporation
and don' t faci l i tate the saute "snap. "
They are best used for pan-fri ng and
shal l ow brai si ng.
Traditi onal vs. N onstick Skil lets:
When to Use Which f o r What?
Trditional or nonsti ck? It's a question we
often ask ourelves in the test kitchen.
Nonstick ski l l ets faci l i tate cl eanup and
mini mize the need for l ubricating fat-defnite
bonuses-but what is the downside? A di r
four- letter word: ond. Nonstick coatings
i nhi bi t the bui l dup of those crust stuck-on
bits that. when deglazed with a splash of l i qui d.
dissolve and add deep favor and col or to pan
suces. Wetasted our Steak Diane suce (page
1 3) prpard i n both trditional and nonstick
skillets and found the latter verion downright
anemic i n terms of favor and color.
SUTEED DI SHES BES PREPARED I N
A TRADITI ONAL SKI LLET:
Steak
Chops: pork, l amb, or veal
Cutl ets with pan sauce: chi cken, turkey,
or pork
SAUTEED DI SHES BES PREPARED I N
A NONSTICK SKILLET:
Cutl ets without pan sauce: chi cken,
turkey, or pork
Seafood: fi sh steaks or fi l l ets, scal l ops.
or shri mp
Perfect for Sautei ng
Sl oped si des al l ow for qui ck evapora
ti on of moisture-preventi ng foods
from stewi ng i n exuded j ui ces-and for
a smooth "snap. "
Measuring a Ski l l et
The i ndustr may not agree on what to
cal l a sl ope-sided pan. but ther is agree
ment on sizing conventi ons. Al skillets are
measured outer l i p to outer l i p.
The Right Tool s: To maneuver food i n a ski l l et as i t sautes, you need the fol l ow
i ng tool s. See page 32 for more i nformation on our recommended model s.
TON G S R UB B E R S PATU LA F I S H S PATU LA
Tongs ar a heatproof extensi on of your hand and are i nvl uabl e whether moving cutlet
or stirring vegetbles (when closed, they work l i ke a spoon or spatul a) . Mer testing a
variet of brnds and stles, we found model s from Oxo and Edl und to be our favorites
because they opened wi de, had a firm yet comfortble spring tensi on, and had scal
loped-not serrted-ti ps that gripped securely without damaging food. Medi um-length
( 1 2- i nch) tongs are the most vertile size.
Heatproof rubber spatulas will do all of the work of wooden spoons but also
do a much better job of scrping up stuck-on bits of food. Mer testing 1 0 popul ar
brnds (through baki ng tsks, generl scrpi ng chores, and an abuse test) , we found
Rubbermai d' s High Heat Scrper to be the best of the bunch.
Fi sh spatulas maneuver del i cate foods with ease. Matfer's Slotted Pelton Fi sh Spatula
was our favorite i n a recent test. Fr the ful l rsults of the test. visit Cook's E d
ww . cooksi l l ustrted. com and key i n code 3044. Tis information wi l l be avai l abl e until
June I S, 2004.
C O O K
'
S I L L U S T R A T E D
I
OI L
Best Choi ce: After sautei ng chi cken
i n a vari et of di fferent oi l s, from $48
per l i ter extra-vi rgi n ol ive oi l to cheap
canol a oi l . we found favor diferences
to be vi rtual ly i mpercepti bl e. That
sai d, we avoi d unrefi ned oi l s such as
extra-vi ri n ol ive oi l because they
have a l ow smoke poi nt and are thus
an i naccurate gui de to the ski l l et' s
temperature. Butter, too, burns fairly
easily unl ess mixed wi th oi l .
For sautei ng. a vegetabl e- based oi l -soy,
corn, peanut (not roasted peanut oi l ,
however) . ol ive ( not extr-vi rgi n) . or
canol a-i s the best choi ce.
Heat unti l Shi mmeri ng: With
proper temperture critical to a suc
cessful saute. how do you gauge when
the ski l l et i s hot enough? We've tri ed a
l ong l i st of eccentri c tests-from water
dropl ets skittering about to crumbs
browni ng-and found the only defi ni
tive answer resi ded i n oi l temperture.
We heat the ski l l et over medi um-
high heat wi th a mi ni mum of oi l (as
sautei ng di ctates) ; as soon as the oil is
shi mmeri ng, the pan i s ready to go.
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SAUT
E
TROU BLES HOOTI N G
Over the years, we've found
that the fol l owi ng probl ems
are most l i kel y to cause poor
results when sautei ng.
Warped Ski l l et: I t' s nearl y
i mpossi bl e to brown cutl ets
evenly i n a ski l l et with an
uneven, warped bottom. If
you are unsure of your ski l l et' s
evenness , rest the pan on a
fat surface. Does i t rock to
and fro? Does water pool
i n a parti cul ar spot? Addi ng
extr oi l to the ski l l et wi l l
hel p " l evel " the pan and can
i mprove browni ng, but i t' s
no guarantee. Warped pans,
however, are fi ne for sautei ng
vegetabl es because they are
moved frequently.
Uneven Heating: Make sure
your pan is properly sized to
the burer and vice vera. If the
ski l l et is too big for the burer,
only the center wi l l ful ly heat;
if i t' s too smal l , the pan may
become excessively hot.
Tin Pns: Thi n, i nexpensive
pans heat and cool more
rpi dly than thi cker, heavy
bottomed pans and thus
demand more attenti on.
Gauge the browni ng speed
and adjust the burner tem
perture accordi ngly.
TH E SAUT
E
S NAP
F OOD PRE PARATI O N
Proper equi pment and temperature are hal f the battl e; preparati on and techni que
make up the rest. For the best resul ts, fol l ow these ti ps.
Cutlets: To ensure even cooki ng, l i mi t
spl atter, and promote a cri sp crust,
make sure meat and fi sh are thoroughl y
bl otted dry between paper towel s and
any excess coati ng (four or breadi ng) i s
shaken free.
VOLU M E
Vegetabl es: For uniform cooki ng, veg
etabl es must be cut to the same size;
large pi eces wi l l remai n crunchy and
taste vegetal ; smal l bi ts wi l l overcook
and l ose flavor.
Avoid overrwding the pan, which will cause food to steam and therby afect favor, color,
and textur. Choose the right pan size and don' t add mor food than will ft comfortbly.
The Dangers of Overcrowdi ng: Pl ace only as many cutl ets as wi l l fi t i nto the
ski l l et wi thout touchi ng and wi thout crawl i ng up the si des of the ski l l et; otheri se,
the cutl ets may expel j ui ces (and steam) , fuse together, and/or cook unevenly.
Three chi cken cutl ets fi t perfectly i nto a 1 0- i nch ski l l et (as shown) wi th space on al l
si des, but j am a fourth cutl et i nto the same pan and there i s a good deal of overl ap.
Tongs and a spatul a wi l l get you only so far; fi ppi ng the food wi th a qui ck snap of the wrist evenly redi stri butes food
stufs with j ust one smooth moti on. Food that was on the bottom of the pan i s repl aced by that si tti ng on top and
vice versa. The "snap" takes some practi ce-somethi ng we recommend first tri ng outdoors wi th some dri ed beans or
ri ce, not the night' s di nner. Thi s techni que shoul d be empl oyed wi th an absol ute mi ni mum amount of oi l ; otheri se,
hot oi l may spl atter.
I. Securel y grasp the ski l l et handl e
with your thumb posi ti oned on top,
poi nti ng toward the ski l l et. I f the
ski l let i s heav, use both hands.
2. Wi th a fl ui d moti on , snap the
pan forard and then j erk i t toward
you , whi ch wi l l send the food sl i di ng
forard and up.
'
3 _ Ti p the back of the pan (that i s
cl osest to you) sl i ghtl y forward, as i f
to receive the food. Repeat as
necessar to di sperse food evenly.
M A Y c J U N E 20 0
I /
SAUT
E
TIPS
sautei ng more than a few i tems, as with scal
l ops. i t' s easy to forget whi ch i tems went i nto
the pan first. To keep track, we posi ti on the
items in a cl ockise ci rcul ar pattern, starting at
1 2 o' cl ock and worki ng our way around. When
i t' s ti me to begi n fi ppi ng them, start once
agai n at 1 2 o' cl ock and workyour way around.
I tems shoul d come out of the pan i n the same
order in whi ch they went i nto the pan.
Stuck- On Foods: If cutl ets fuse to the ski l
l et, try thi s ti p for freei ng them. Di p a fexi bl e
spatul a i nto col d water and sl i de the i nverted
spatul a bl ade underneath the cutl et. The cool ,
wet spatul a bl ade breaks the bond beteen
ski l l et and meat.
Determi ni ng Done ness of Cutl ets,
Chops, and Steaks: i nstant-read ther
mometer del iver the most accurate readi ng
of doneness, but the "ni ck-and- peek" method
al so works in a pi nch. When you thi nk the food
is neari ng doneness, make a smal l ni ck hal fay
through the meat with a pari ng knife. If there i s
a bone, ni ck next to the bone for an cc
readi ng (the area al ong the bone takes the
l ongest to cook) .
Family-Style Macaroni and Cheese
Neither dull nor excessi vely rich, macaron i and cheese should please a multitude of
palates. Could we find a simple way to make this dish appealing to adults and kids ali ke?
W
ith the possible excep
tion of meatloaf and fied
chicken, few dishes are as
personal as macaroni and
cheese. Baked or stovetop, custard based
or little more than white sauce and pasta,
with or without toasted bread crumbs,
there must be a million recipes out there,
surely enough to satisf nearly everyone.
Unfortunately, no one of tese recipes can
satisf everyone at the same time. Sure, the
kids would be fne wit the contents of the
blue box brand, but for me this ready-mix
mac and cheese lost its appeal soon afer
I learned how to boil water. Conversely,
decadent recipes replete wth cream, eggs,
and a who's-who list of pungent cheeses are
decidedly adults-only; just try to serve them
to the kds and you'll get upturned noses
and pushed-back plates.
= BY B R ! DG E T LANCAST E R <
To get my bearings, I scoured the afore
mentoned million recipes ( or at least 40),
starting wth our own recipe, published in
January/February 1 997. A custard-style
macaroni and cheese, ts recipe uses eggs
and evaporated milk ( as opposed to the
more traditional whole milk) to prevent
Great macaroni and cheese doesn ' t have to be di fi cul t, and i t
doesn ' t requi re fancy cheeses.
the custard fom curdlg ( a common occurrence
in recipes wth eggs) . Although a long-standing
test ktchen favorite, this dish is incredibly rich. I
wanted sometng simpler-but, as my next test
revealed, not too simple. When I layered cooked
pasta and cheese into a casserole dish, poured u
over the lot, and put the dish in the oven, the fat
fom the cheese separated and the result was a
greasy mess. I concluded that the cheese needed
some sort of binder-ither eggs or four.
Bec hamel Basics
I was now left with the path chosen by the
vast majority of recipe writers: bechamel sauce.
Bechamel is a white sauce made by cooking four
and butter to form a light roux. Milk is gradually
whisked in, and the bechamel is cooked until it
thickens . Combined with cheese and partially
cooked noodles, the mix is then poured into a
CssCtOC dish and baked.
Traditional recipes incorporate the cheese into
te bechamel before stirring in parcooked pasta
and then bake the dish until the sauce is bubbling
hot and thick. It sure sounds easy. But no matter
how much attention I paid, I just couldn' t pull
a great baked macaroni and cheese out of the
oven. Sometimes the pasta was overcooked-a
result of just one minute too many of boiling on
the stovetop. Even worse were the batches made
with undercooked noodles . I tried to remedy
these by keeping the dishes in the oven longer
( anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes) , but afer a
while the bubbling cheese began to separate and
the dishes took on an oily, grainy feel.
Frustrated, I pushed aside the idea of using the
oven and started working solely on the stovetop.
Maybe I could better prevent the overcooking
( and undercooking) of the pasta.
I made the next batch of sauce and boiled my
pasta on the side. I cooked the pasta until it was a
few minutes shy of being done, tossed it in with
the sauce and cheese, and simmered it until the
pasta was tender, which took a good 1 0 minutes.
To my dismay, this batch had begun to separate,
just like my oven-baked experiments, and the
parcooked pasta released its starch into the sauce,
giving it a gritty feel . Next I cooked the pasta
until very tender and quickly mixed it with the
C O O K
'
S I L L U S T R A T E D
I d
cheese and sauce. This time tasters thought
that the noodles needed more time to absorb
the sauce. I needed to cook the pasta less at
the outset. Boiled until just past m dente, the
noodles still had enough suucturc to std
up to the heat of te sauce for a few minutes
without turning mushy, and the cheese sauce
flled every nook and cranny.
F o ray into M o rnay
I next decided to work on the correct propor
tions of butter to four to m_ reasoning that
the wg combination would provide the
desired silk sauce. Bechamel recipes tat used
more butter than flour lacked cohesion. Those
using equal parts butter and four seemed
heavy and dull . I had much better luck using
slightly more four than butter ( 6 tablespoons
to 5 tablespoons, respectively) . Just this litte
change cut enough of the richness that was
trying to avoid, and, when I added 5 cups of
whole m_ there was a plenttude of sauce
with which to smother the noodles.
Technically speaking, as soon as I added
cheese to my white sauce, it turned fom
bechamel to NOtnay. kew that choosing
the right cheese would affect not only the
favor of the dish but also its texture. Indeed, an
unpleasant grainy feel was introduced by hard
cheeses such as Parmesan, Gruyere, and some
aged cheddars, to say nothing of their overly ds
tinct favor. On the other hand, incredibly mild,
sof cheeses such as mascarone and ricotta con
tributed no flavor, and their creamy texture pushed
the macaroni and cheese right back into sickly
territory. What worked best were two cheeses:
sharp cheddar for favor and Monterey Jack for
creaminess. For a more detailed explanation of
these choices, see "Two Cheeses Are Better Than
One" on page 19.
How much cheese to use? Many recipes caled for
twce as much cheese as pasta (I was using 1 pound
of pasta) . The result was a stcky, strngy macaroni
and cheese that was of the charts in terms of rch
ness. More fugal recipes seemed designed around
an impending cheese shortage, using merely l
pound of cheese to a pound of pasta. The result was
more macaroni and mthan macaroni and cheese.
I found that 1 pound of cheese was the perfect
amount for 1 pound of pasta-just the right texture
and flavor, and easy to remember, too.
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TASTI NG SUPERMARKET BACONS
Twent-four tasters sampl ed I 0 di ffe rent nati onal ly avai l abl e s upermarket bacons .
l abel ed " regul ar sl i ced" and " hardwood s moked" or " hi ckory smoked. " The bacon
was oven- fri ed per Cook`s reci pe to the same degree of donen ess ( based o n
the browni ng o f the meat) . (To get o u r oven -fri ed bacon reci pe on l i n e, vi si t
w . cooksi l l ustrated. com and go to Cook' s Exra, then key i n code 3047.
The reci pe wi l l be avai l abl e u nti l J un e 1 5 . 2004. ) Di fferent tasters tri ed sampl es
i n di fferen t orders to el i mi n ate the effects of pal ate fati gue . and one sampl e was
repeated twi ce as a control . Tasters rated the bacon on a I 0- poi nt scal e and j udged
sal ti ness, sweetness. smoki n ess. and meati ness. Bacons a re l i sted i n order of pref
erence based on overal l n umeri cal score .
RECOMME NDE D
FARMLAND Hi ckor Smoked Bacon
$ 3. 99/pound
Thi s "ver meat. " "ful l -favored" bacon l ed the pack. Tasters gave
high marks for its favorabl e bal ance of sal ti ness and sweetness.
"good smoke favor," and "crispy yet heart" texture.
BOAR' S HEAD Brand Naturally Smoked Sl iced Bacon
$ 3 . 99/pound
Both flavor and texture were repeatedly descri bed as "meat. "
Tasters appreci ated the "good bal ance" of flavors a n d the thi ck
sl i ces. whi ch some cl ai med were "more l i ke ham than bacon. "
HORM E L Black Lbel Bacon, Original
$ 2. 99/pound
Comments focused l arel y on the " heart. bal anced favor, " wi th
a meati ness (second only to Farml and) that some l i kened to
Serrno ham and prosci utto. A coupl e of tasters noted "sweet, "
"mapl el i ke" flavors.
ARM OU R Original Premi um Bacon, Hi ckor Smoked
$ 3 . 99/pound
For many. "too much sweetness" overshadowed what some
characterized as a "ni ce smok flavor." An especi al ly low sal t score.
whi ch may expl ai n comments such as "qui te bl and. "
SMI TH FI E LD Premi um Bacon, Naturally Hi ckory Smoked
$ 3 . 99/pound
Whi l e many tasters appreci ated the smoki ness of th i s sampl e,
some obj ected to i t, wi th comments s uch as "chemi cal , " "fake
smoke flavor," and " l i ke eati ng a campfi re. "
OSCAR MAYER Naturally Hardwood Smoked Bacon
$4. 99/pound
Nearly as expensive as some premi um bacons. yet sl i ces were con
si dered so thi n that they "di si ntegrte on your tongue. " Di d fi nd
fans for i ts "good salti ness" and "ni ce ful l favor," but others found
i t l acki ng i n meati ness. yawni ng, "pl ai n jane. "
J OHN MORRELL Hardwood Smoked Bacon
$ 3 . 99/pound
Ti pped the scal es i n percei ved fat and consi dered not terri bly
meat. Many taster noted a favorbl e bal ance of sal t and sugar. but
others fel t i t was "too ri ch , " "greasy," and "fatt. "
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PLUM ROSE Premi um Bacon, Ol d-Fashi oned Hardwood Smoked
$ 3 . 99/pound
Accordi ng to the l abel , thi s bacon had l ess sugar than most others.
Salt fanci ers thought i t had "great favor. " but others found i t "too
salt. " The sl ices were al so too thin for many tasters.
J ON ES Countr Cared, Hickor Smoked Sl i ced Bacon
$4. 49/pound
What some tasters consi dered " bal anced" and "ver mi l d" struck
others as bl and, wi th comments such as "not ver assertive. " Thi n
sl i ces cooked up "ver cri spy" to some and "dr" to others.
N OT RE CO M M E N D E D
APPLEGATE FARMS Applewood Smoked Sunday Bacon
$ 2. 99/8 ounces
The only bacon i n the tasti ngwi thout ni trites, Appl egate' s
"gray-green" col or set i t back. Tough thi s " mi l d, " "meat"
bacon did "taste l i ke pork, " the favor coul dn' t compen
sate for the " muddy" col or and " heavy smoke. "
Tasti ng Premi um Bacons
Uke cheese and chocol ate, bacon i s avai l abl e i n gourmet vari eti es. To fi nd out i f such
bacon real ly tastes better than our supermarket favorite, Farml and, we cooked up six
popul ar smokehouse brands. Al though ever premi um bacon outscored Farml and, i n
some cases the diferences i n scores were mi ni mal . Severl premi um bacons had strong
flavor characteri sti cs, erri ng on the si de of sal t or smok or sweet. whi ch overhel med
tasters who were l ooki ng for meat flavor and bal ance, j ust as they had wi th the super
market brands. That sai d , the top fi ni sher. Ni man Rnch , was a hands-down wi nner over
Farml and. So premi um bacons are better than the best supermarket bacon. But they're
also much more expensi ve-up to 250 percent more-so shop careful ly to match the
character of the bacon wi th your preferences. - E. B. and AR.
H I G H LY RE CO M M E ND E D
N I MAN RANCH DrCured Center Cut Bacon,
OA K LA N D , CA L I F .
$ 8. 00/ 1 2 ounces
Heart, ri ch, bal anced, and smok. One taster sai d,
"Yu m . . . what bacon s houl d be. "
RE CO M M E N D E D
N EW BRAUN F E LS Smokehouse Co mal Countr-Smoked Sl iced Bacon,
N E W B RA U N F E L S , T E XAS
$ 8. 2 5/pound
Deemed overly smok by many tasters, though one sai d, " Has al l the right el ements.
I coul d eat a l ot of this one. "
B URG E RS ' Smokehouse Sl iced Country Bacon, Sugar Cured &Hi ckor
Smoked, C AL l F O R N l A , L .
$ 1 8. 95/2 pounds
Characterized by many as too sal t and l acki ng i n deep meat favor.
NODI NE ' S Smokehouse Apple Bacon, TO R R I N GT O N , C O N N .
$ 5 . 50/pound
Over and over, tasters commented on i ts sweetness, usi ng adjectives such as "cara
mel ized, " "candy-sweet, " and "mapl ey."
N U ES KE ' S Smoked Bacon, WITT E N B E R G , WI S .
$ 1 9. 95/2 pounds
Nearly ever taster zeroed i n on its strong smok character, wi th comments such as
"whoa, smokl " "crazy- smok, " "carbon- l i ke," and "tastes l i ke a campfire. "
E DWARDS Virgi ni a Bacon, Hickor-Smoked, Countr Stl e, Dr Cured,
S U R RY, VA .
$ 4. 00/ 1 2 ounces
"Too sal t. " "way sal t, " "very sal t, " "overpoweri ng sal t, " "sal t l i ke Rufles potato
chi ps. " Get the pi cture?
M A Y c J U N E 211
? /
Grinding Spices at Home
I s it worth the trou ble? Yes. And it' s no trouble at all you choose the right gri nder.
A
few years ago, I spent some time
on the championship chili cookoff
circuit, where most competitors sum
marily dismiss packaged chili powder
in favor of grinding their own dried chiles. I tested
the matter thoroughly and found that grinding
fesh, toasted chiles does indeed give chili con
carne a noticeable depth and complexity of favor.
Having little doubt that fesh-ground spices also
improve other dishes, I recently conducted two
tests to prove my point . I baked plain pound
cakes favored with cardamom and simmered
savory chutneys favored with cumin, coriander,
and cardamom, blind- tasting samples prepared
with freshly ground and preground supermarket
spices side by side. The fresh-ground spices won a
decisive victory for their superior aroma, vibrancy,
and roundness of favor.
The test kitchen standard for grinding spices is
an inexpensive blade-type electric coffee grinder
(which we use for spices only, reserving a separate
unit to grind coffee) , but we had never put it up
against other devices designed specifcally for tl1e
task. Could we be missing out on something? To
determine the answer to that question, I gath
ered 1 3 devices in three basic designs-dedicated
spice grinders that are sinlliar to pepper mills, old
fashioned mortars and pestles ( and variations) ,
and electric coffee grinders ( choosing the models
recommended in our November/December
2001 rating)-and used them to reduce moun
tains of cardamom seeds, toasted whole cumin
and coriander seeds, and chipotle chiles to fi ne
powders . I was looking for a grinder that would
produce the most delicate, uniform powder and
that was easy to botl1 use and clean.
G rinding Th ree Ways
First up were the dedica
Did better job than all other grinder of its ki nd, but output wslow
compared with that of electric grinder. Relatively comfortable grip.
One of few grinders of its tpe that processed chi l es. al bei t slowly.
Tester with lare hands found this narrow model uncomforable.
Relatively easy to open, fi ll , and twist. Good job on cardamom but
choked on chiles.
Good grind qual i t, but too eas to accidentally pop grinder housing of
jar while grinding, which sent seeds fying i n ever direction.
Chiles brught it to a gri ndi ng halt. Though not dificult to dismantle.
cleaning was a chore.
Crnk so hard to tum that tester feared onset of carpal tunnel
sndrome and tenni s elbow' Output wmeager.
M ORTAR & PE STLE S U R I BACH I CREATI VE H OM E
ML LLLPPL ML . PLb M LbLLb
Morar &Pestl e, Marbl e
PR| CE . S8. 99
Suri bachi
PR| CE . S| 6.00
Creative Home Marbl e Spi ce Gri nder
PR| CE . S | | . 99
EAS E OF US E .
F | NE G R| ND.
EAS E OF US E .
F | NE GR| ND .
EAS E OF US E .
F | NE GR| ND.
M A Y c J U N E 211
? '
Good job on cardamom and chiles but did not produce stisfactory
grind of cumi n or coriander, even after working them for 30 mi nutes.
Holy flying cardamom' And cumi n' Broke down chiles completely but
w not successful with cumi n. coriander. or cardamom.
Holy hand strin ! Stubby pestle wuncomfortabl e, especially since you
must bear down with considerble pressure to grind anything.
K I TC HEN NOTES
B Y B RIDG ET LANCAST E R <
Keepi ng Your Cool
Have you checked your freezer' s
temperature lately? Maybe you
should. When we asked staff
members to test our fruit sherbet
recipes (page 23) at home, several
had trouble getting sherbets to frm
up, even afer hours of extra freez
ing time. Suspecting that "warm"
freezers were to blame, we sent 1 0
staffers home with freezer ther
mometers ( see page 32) .
According t o food safety stan
dards, a freezer should register
0 degrees Fahrenheit or lower.
Although about two-thirds of the
freezers we tested hit this mark,
a few tested as high as 7 and 1 0
degrees . ( Freezer compartments
located side by side with the refrig
erator compartment were colder
than those located above or below
the refrigerator compartment . ) A
temperature of 1 0 degrees is warm
enough to affect the sherbet recipe
and quite possibly warm enough
to affect the safety and quality of
CUCi!CCOS.
!flowering the freezer thermostat
( which should always be set to the
lowest temperature) doesn' t bring
the temperature closer to zero, does
that mean it' s time to retire old
frosty to the junkyard? Not neces
sarily. Working with our warmest
freezer ( the top unit of a small, not
so-new refigerator) , we found a few
ways to cool things down.
We found that reducing the num
ber of items stored there helped to
lower the temperature . Shelves also
help. Many freezer compartments
located on the top of the refrig
erator don't have shelves. If food
packages are stacked one on top of
the other, there's little chance for
the cold air to circulate and ensure
a thorough freeze. We found that
inexpensive wire cabinet shelving
placed in the freezer made it pos
sible for us to keep our foods sepa
rate, easily i dentifable, and well
frozen. Finally, it's very important
to keep foods away from the vent
in the back wall of the freezer; this
allows the cold air to circulate more
effciently. With all of these tricks,
our once- faulty freezer cooled
down to a perfectly cold 1 degree.
Now tl1at's cool .
Freezi ng Cheese Bread
Although the recipe title Quick
Cheese Bread ( see page 7) is no
misnomer ( the batter is i n the
pan in 1 5 minutes) , when you add
time for baking and cooling, the
recipe does require a total of two
hours . Luckily, like many of our
other bread recipes , a baked loaf
of cheese bread freezes beautifly,
meaning a warm loaf need be only
minutes away.
To freeze the bread, wrap the
cooled loaf tightly with a double
layer of aluminum foil and place
in the freezer; it will keep for up to
tluee months. When you're ready
to serve the bread, place the frozen,
wrapped loaf on the middle rack
of a preheated 375- degree oven
and heat for eight to 1 0 minutes,
until the loaf yields under gentle
pressure. Remove the foil and return
the unwrapped bread to the oven
for fve minutes to crisp the exterior.
Take tl1e bread out of the oven and
let cool on a rack for 1 5 minutes to
make slicing easier. Enjoy.
PTi p for the Toppi ng
When it comes to cream pi e top
pings, some border on architectural
masterpieces, while others ( more
frequently) look like the whipped
cream was applied by a small dump
truck. In the test kitchen, we've
Use the tip of an i ci ng spatul a to create
an attractive whi pped cream toppi ng
for pi es.
M W 1M 1M 1 1 N 1LM W A Better Butter?
Several new butter products have shown up at the supermarket recently, and
to, in parti cul ar, both from Lnd C Lkes, got our attenti on. The first i s Lnd C
Lkes Ul tr Creamy Butter. With a butterfat content of nearly
having to wai t for i t to soften , but i t produced cooki es and cakes wi th a di sti nctly
greasy feel . I n addi ti on, the cooki es made wi th the Sof Baki ng Butter spread more i n
the oven than di d the cooki es made wi th the other butters.
dJ percent ( up from 80 percent i n the company' s " regul ar"
butter) and a pri ce tag of $2. 89 for 8 ounces (more than twi ce
the pri ce of the regul ar butter) , thi s product i s. desi gned to com
pete with bouti que butters such a s Pl ugra and Cel l es Sur Bel l e.
The second product of i nterest i s Land C Lakes Soft Baki ng
Butter with Canol a Oi l . The name says i t al l . Land C Lakes has
added canol a oi l to thi s butter to bri ng i t to a soft, baki ng- ready
texture strai ght from the fridge-a possi bl e boon to spur- of- the-
moment bakers.
To test these new products, we used them, al ong wi th regul ar
Lnd C Lkes Unsal ted Sweet Butter, i n three appl i cati ons: sugar
cooki es, yel l ow cake, and buttercream frosti ng. We al so tasted
the butters pl ai n . It shoul d be noted that the Soft Baki ng Butter
wi th Canol a Oi l comes only i n a sal ted versi on. We chose the
unsal ted versi ons of the other two butters because unsal ted i s
the standard i n the test ki tchen . We adj usted sal t l evel s i n the
reci pes as necessary.
When it came to the sugar cooki es and the yel l ow cake, we
U LTRA CREAMY B UTTE R
The extra fat i s ofen worth
the extra money.
S OFT BAK I NG BUTTE R:
Addi ng canol a oi l to butter i s
not a good i dea.
A for the buttercream test, the Ul tra Creamy Butter was the
cl ear wi nner, maki ng for frosti ng that was i ncredi bly fl uff and ri ch
tasti ng at the same ti me. The regul ar butter made a very good
buttercream with a straightforward sweet and buttery taste, but
i t was not nearly as decadent. Tasters found the buttercream
made with Soft Baki ng Butter to be "sl i ck" and "sl i ppery, " and
descri bed the flavor as " fake. "
Last, but certai nly not l east, a good butter shoul d taste great
right out of the box. Here the i ncredi bl y buttery and sweet Ul tra
Creamy Butter easi l y ascended to the top sl ot. Not far behi nd
was the regul ar butter. Al though more muted i n favor, i t sti l l i s
a great choi ce for butteri ng toast. Unsurpri si ngly, the soft baki ng
butter came i n dead l ast. The pure flavor of the butter was gone,
repl aced by an overtone of "margari ne. "
I f you pl an to use your butter strai ght up or i n a reci pe where
its ri chness and flavor wi l l be noti ceabl e (such as in buttercream
frosti ng) , you may want to pay for the premi um product from
were hard- pressed to tel l the difference between the Ul tra Creamy Butter and the
regul ar butter. The butter with canol a oi l , on the other hand, was a worl d apart.
Sure, i t was easy to pul l thi s " butter" ri ght from the fri dge and cream i t wi thout
Lnd C Lakes. But when i t comes to baki ng and reci pes where
the flavor of the butter wi l l be di l uted, there' s no need to shel l out the extra dough
regul ar butter works j ust fi ne. for canol a oi l -l et' s l eave i t out of the butter and
keep i t i n the saute pan , where i t bel ongs.
C O O K
'
s I L L U S T R A T E D
U
"
u
<
z
>
11 B 1LM W 1 Managi ng Your Cutti ng Boards
From Oven- Barbecued Chi cken (page I 0) t o chi cken sti r-fri es ( page 20) , we
cut up a l ot of poul try i n devel opi ng the reci pes for thi s i ss ue. And wi th the
preparati on of chi cken (or any meat, for that matter) comes the i ssue of cross
contami nati on and how to avoi d i t.
I n addi ti on to washi ng and regul arly sani ti zi ng cutti ng boards, the test
kitchen mi ni mizes the ri sk of cross- contami nati on by means of a desi gnated
use system. We reserve whi te boards for preparati on of al l raw meat, poul try,
and seafood and bl ue boards for frui ts, vegetabl es, and i ngredi ents l i ke n uts
and chocol ate . And , to keep odori ferous i ngredi ents such as garl i c, oni ons,
and shal l ots from "contami nati ng" other foods wi th thei r odors, we reserve a
green board for the m. Nowadays, many ki tchen s upply stores carry acryl i c cut
ti ng boards i n many col ors (see Resou rces, page 3 2 ) , maki ng i t easy to set u p a
designated- use system of you r own. To keep boards as cl ean as poss i bl e, make
sure to buy a si ze that wi l l fit in you r d i shwasher.
RAW MEAT: PRODU C E : STI N KY STU F F :
WH I TE BOARD BLU E BOARD G RE E N BOARD
seen them all . Hundreds of cream
pies later, we can recommend a
simple way to present a handsome
cream pie-one that doesn't look
like it was made by an overeager
4-year-old.
Here' s how: Use a large rubber
spatula or spoon to mound the
whipped cream in the center of the
pie. Then, using an offset spatula,
spread the whipped cream to the
very edges of the pie, thereby cre
ating a tal l , evenly sloped mound
of cream. Finally, use the tip of a
metal offset spatula to gently create
swirls and peaks .
Do Water and Rice Mix?
The question of whether rice
should be soaked prior to cook
ing is often up for debate in our
test kitchen. During the testing
of our brown rice recipe ( page
JZ), we decided to put this one
to rest-once and for all . Some
recipes call for soaking brown rice
for three hours, so that's j ust what
we did. We pitted the soaked rice
against rice that was not soaked,
NO S OAKI NG , PLEAS E
We tri ed soaki ng brown ri ce
before cooki ng i t and were
not happy wi th the results
(right) . Soaki ng makes
both white ri ce and brown
rice bl oated and mushy.
usi ng both to make our reci pe,
slightly reducing the water i n tl1e
recipe for the soaked batch. What
did we fnd? To be frank, soaking
was a waste of time. The rice was
overcooked, and tle grains tended
to "blow out . "
This result l ed us t o test the wis
dom of soaking other types of rice.
And when we cooked up batches
of long- grain white rice and bas
mati rice that had been soaked, we
produced nearly identical results :
bloated, overly tender rice.
Does that mean that there' s no
place for water in the world of rice
preparati on? Not necessarily. We
found tl1at tl1e extra step of rinsing
long- grain white or basmati rice in
several changes of water was indis
pensable for a pilaf with distinct,
separate grai ns . Ri nsi ng washes
away starches on these grains and
doesn' t cause the problems associ
ated with soaki ng. What about rins
ing brown rice? Our tests showed
no beneft ( or harm) . Because
the bran is still intact, brown rice
doesn' t have starch on
its exterior. So
rinsing doesn' t
a c c o mp l i s h
anythi ng
except for
wa s t i n g
time and
water.
RE C I P E U P DATE HLPOLH5 HL5MO
LC0CuLu|C
We're prone to addi ng a hi t of fresh aci d, such as citrus or vi negar, toward the end
of the cooki ng process to brighten up a di sh' s favor, and severl readers wondered
why we di dn' t fol l ow this prctice for the l emon curd toppi ng on our Lmon
Cheesecake (May/J une 2003) .
we l earned when we made three batches of l emon curd wi th vari ous com
bi nati ons of l emon j ui ce, addi ng an aci d to brighten the flavor of a sauce for roast
chi cken i s a lot si mpl er than addi ng it to a custard. The origi nal reci pe starts by
heati ng 's cup of fresh l emon j ui ce wi th the eggs and sugar. Thi s curd was pl eas
i ngly citrusy and had a si l k consi stency. For the second curd, we subtracted I
tabl espoon of j ui ce from the i ni ti al 's cup and added i t at the end of cooki ng.
Thi s curd was gri ny and overl y thi ck. The third curd, to whi ch we added an extr
tabl espoon of l emon j ui ce at the end of the cooki ng, had the brightest flavor of
the three but was unacceptably thi n.
For the best bal ance of flavor and texture, l emon curd needs enough aci d (or
l emon j ui ce) up front to hel p set the protei n gel . Addi ng more acid once the curd
i s cooked makes the curd runny.
|C| dSSCSLCCk| CS
I f i t hadn' t happened t o us i n the test kitchen, we woul dn' t have bel ieved i t when
some readers reported that our Molasses Cookies (Januar /februar 2002)
resisted spreadi ng i n the oven and were overly thi ck and dense. We revisited this
reci pe and came up with a few ti ps that wi l l hel p to ensure perfect resul ts.
The first may seem obvi ous, but i t' s worth stati ng: Use of the wrong leavener
baking powder i nstead of baking soda-wi l l produce mounded, rockl i ke cookies
that resist spreadi ng.
I t' s al so i mportant to make sure that
your butter i s at the proper temper
ture for creami ng (65 to 67 degrees)
and that you cream the butter and
sugars for a ful l three mi nutes i n an
el ectric mixer at medi um- hi gh speed.
When done properly, creami ng creates
air pockets that wi l l hel p the cookies
expand i n the oven. I f you undercream,
the cookies wi l l be thi cker and cakier.
Fi nal ly, l eavi ng j ust a tbl espoon or
two of sti ck mol asses behi nd i n the
MAD E WI TH BAKI N G POWD E R
Cookie is too thick and dense.
MAD E WI TH BAKI N G S ODA
Cookie is chew, pufed, and
lined with attractive fissures.
measuring cup wi l l resul t in a dr dough that won' t spread properly. Measure the
mol asses on a scale '/: cup in a l i qui d measure shoul d weigh 6 ounces) and scrpe
out the contai ner thoroughly with a spatul a.
LCW |dI|dSI|yL|Cd0
Can you make low-fat pastr cream? The answer became ver cl ear when we made
three versi ons of the pastr cream from our reci pe for Classic Fresh Fruit Tar
(July/August 2001 ) . We compared the ori gi nal reci pe (made wi th hal f-and
half) wi th a second versi on made wi th whol e mi l k and a thi rd made wi th fat-free
hal f-and- hal f (nonfat mi l k wi th i ngredi ents such as corn syrup and carrageenan
added to give i t body) .
We l i ked the versi on made wi th whol e mi l k al most as much as the origi nal . The
ori gi nal was ri cher, with a more l uxuri ous texture, but the di ference was subtl e.
The pastry cream made wi th fat-free hal f-and- half, however, was terri bl e. I ts l ean
flavor and water texture were a far cr from both the whol e mi l k and regular
hal f- and- hal f versi ons. I f you need a substi tute for hal f- and- half, reach for whol e
mi l k-some fat i s better than no fat at al l . -Compi l ed by Ni na West
IF YOU HAVE A QUESTI ON about a recently publ i shed reci pe, let us know.
Send your i nquiry, name, address, and dayti me tel ephone number to Reci pe
Update, Cook' s I l l ustrated, P. O. Box 470589, Brookl i ne, MA 02447, or to
reci peupdate@bcpress. com.
M A Y c ) L " | 2 11
R E S OURC E S
Most of the i ngredi ents and materi al s necessary for
the reci pes in thi s i ssue are avai l abl e at your l ocal super
market, gou rmet store, or ki tchen suppl y shop. The
fol l owi ng are mai l - order sources for parti cul ar i tems.
Pri ces l i sted bel ow were current at press ti me and do
not i ncl ude shi ppi ng or handl i ng unl ess otherwi se i ndi
cated. We sugest that you contact compani es di rectl y
to confi rm up- to- date pri ces and avai l abi l i t.
CHEESE GRERS
Of the eight models we tested ( see page 7) we can
recommend only two. The Pedrini Rotary Grater
did not clog when loaded wit cheese and comes
with three interchangeable drums. It is available
from Tabl eTool s. com ( 85 Furniture Row, Mi lford,
C 06460; 888- 2 1 1 - 6603 ; w . tabl etool s.com)
for $ 14. 95, item #29072 . We also liked the
KitchenAid Rotary Grater, item #91 3996 from
Kitchen Etc ( 3 2 1 ndustri al Drive, Exeter, NH 03 83 3 ;
800- 23 2-4070; w . kitchenetc.com) . It is avail
able in a wide range of colors and costs $1 9. 99.
This grater is suitable only for right- handed
cooks.
SPLI A AND TNGS
A fexible spatula, ofen referred to as a fsh spatula
or pelton, is perfect for getting under U, deli
cate fllets. The Matfer 12- Inch Pelton was the
least expensive spatula we tested while working on
"Mastering the Art of Saute" ( see page 16 ), and it
possessed the most aggressive ergonomic curve,
making it our top choice. CutlerAndMore.com
( 645 Lnt Avenue, Elk Grove Vil l age, IL 60007; 800-
650- 9866, w .cutl eryandmore.com) sells the
spatula, item #l l 2420C, for $6. 50.
If you are lef-handed, the LmsonSharp (800-
872- 6564; ww . lamsonsharp. com) 3- Inch by 6-
Inch Chef's Turner LH, item #52865 , is a better
option-though a lot more expensive at $30.
Rubbermaid's 1 3 1z - Inch High Heat Spatula
reigns as our winning rubber spatula and is a test
kitchen favorite. Kitchen Etc sells the spatula, item
#439582, for $ 1 1 . 99.
Spring-loaded, locking tongs are an extremely
usefl tool for sauteing and many other tasks. We
recommend two models . The Edlund Stainless
Steel 12- Inch Scalloped Tongs, item #1491 87,
are available from Sur L Tabl e ( 1 9 3 8 Occidental
Avenue South, Seatl e, WA 98 1 34; 800- 243 -085 2 ;
ww .surlatable.com) for $8. 95 . Kitchen Etc. sells
the Oxo Good Grips 1 2- Inch Stainless Steel
Tongs, item #470564, for $8. 99.
SKII Lf
The All-Clad 12- Inch Stainless Omelette Pan i s a
workhorse in the test kitchen and perfectly suited
to cooking Steak Diane ( page 1 5 ) . The pan,
item #1 009064, is available for $ 1 24. 95 from
Cooking.com ( 285 0 Ocean Park Boul evard, Suite
3 1 0, Santa Moni ca, CA 90405 ; 800- 66 3 - 88 1 0;
ww . cooking.com). The only other pan we reach
for as ofen is the 1 2-Inch Stainless Nonstick
Omelette Pan from All-Clad, which is the per
fect choice for a chicken stir-fry (page 2 1 ). This
pan, item #1 0091 06, is also sold at Cooki ng. com,
where it sells for $ 1 39. 95. For tle budget-minded
cook, there are two more reasonably priced
options that rival our favorites, both of which
are available at Cooki ng. com: the Calphalon Tri
Ply Omelette Pan, item #20198 5 1 , which costs
$79. 95, and our frugal nonstick opti on, the
Farberware Millennium 1 8/1 0 Stainless Steel
12- Inch Nonstick Sklet, item #194802, which
costs $29. 99.
ICE CREM CANISERS
In developing the sherbet recipes on page 23, we
found it extremely usefl to have an extra canister
for our ice cream maker on hand. If you can spare
the freezer space, two canisters let you make two
batches ( in different favors, if you like) on the
same day instead of having to wait overnight for
one canister to refeeze. Single canisters-includ
ing those for our two favorite ice cream mak
ers-can be found at Cul i nary Parts Unl i mited
(80 Berry Drive, Pacheco, C 945 5 3 ; 866- PART
HELP; ww. cul i naryparts. com) . A canister for
the Cuisinart ICE- 20 Ice Cream Maker, item
#CUICE- RB, costs $29. 99; a canister for tl1e
Krups 358 Ice Cream Maker, item #K0907778,
costs $35. 99.
BBLENDER
In testing both wire- type and blade- type pastry
blenders ( see page 3) , we ended up preferring the
sturdier blade type-in particular, the Cuisena
Dough Blender. It is available for $6. 99 from
Cooks Corner (P.O. Box 220, 8 3 6 South 8th Street,
Manitowoc, WI 5 422 1 - 0220; 800- 2 3 6- 243 3 ;
w .cookscorner. com) , item #8 1 91 8.
OEN MIT
The Orka Silicone Oven Mitt, reviewed on page
2, offers unsurpassed protection from heat but
can be awkward. We found it most usefl for
moving hot grill racks when adding coals to the
fre. The mitt is available for $1 9. 99 at KitchenEtc,
item #902544.
V SOCK
For traditionalists who may pine for tl1e unctuous
richness of tle real thing, veal stock can now be
mail-ordered. Provi mi Veal Corporati on' s (W2 1 03
County Road V, Seymour, WI 5 4 1 6 5 ; 800- 8 3 3 -
C O O K
'
S I L L U S T R A T E D
?
8 3 2 5 ; www. provi mi -veal . com) Glace de Veau
can be purchased directly or through a vendor
listed on the company Web site. Preferred Meats
(P.O. Box 883 1 22, San Franci sco, C94 1 88- 3 1 22;
800- 3 97- 63 28; w . preferredmeats. com) carries
the CulinArte' Bonewerks Glace de Veau, item
#1 41 02- 1 P. It is available frozen, in 1 -pound
pouches, for $1 4.
FER TERMOMEER
The optimal temperature for freezing our fruit
sherbets ( page 23 ) and other frozen desserts
is 0 degrees Fahrenheit. To see if your freezer
is chilly enough, try Taylor' s Thermometer
Freeze Guide 5925, which can be hung on a
freezer shelf You can order the thermometer,
item #8524, for $6. 99 from Kitchen Kpers ( 3 85
West Lncaster Avenue, Wayne, H 1 908 7; 800-4 5 5 -
5 5 67; w . kitchenkapers.com).
MAIL-ORDER BON
N i man Ranch ( I 0 2 5 East I 2 th Street, Oakland, C
94606; 5 1 0- 808- 0340) offers premium bacon
that was superior to all other contenders in our
bacon tasting ( page 27) . A 1 2-ounce package of
this center- cut bacon smoked with apple wood
costs $8. Many gourmet markets also carry
Niman Ranch products. To fnd such a market
near you, go to the Niman Ranch Web site
(w . ni manranch.com).
COLORE CUTING BORDS
To avoid cross- contaminating food in the test
kitchen, we color- code our cutting boards,
designating a particular color for a particular
food group that is best kept to itself KatchI
produces dishwasher-safe boards in four colors:
white, green, red, and yellow; and a range of sizes.
We recommend purchasing the largest board pos
sible ( that is, the largest that will ft in your dish
washer) . The boards range in size from 12 by 1 0
inches ( $1 0. 95) up t o 20 by 1 6 inches ( $24. 95)
at Cooking. com. Search for "KatchAI" t o view all
of the options.
SPCE GRINDERS
All four of te electric, blade- type coffee mills we
pressed into service as spice grinders ( see page
28) produced excellent results . Considering
the affordability of each one of the models, we
suggest that you buy two: one for coffee and a
second for spices. Amazon.com sells all four mills.
The Krups Fast-Touch, item BOOOOY6.K , costs
$ 19. 95; tl1e Braun Aromatic, item B00005IX9N,
and the Mr. Coffee, item B000050TXN, cost
$1 4. 99 each; and the Capresso Cool Grind, item
B00004SU20, costs $1 9. 99.
RECI PES
May c June Zll
Mai n Di shes
Chefs Sal ad b
with Fennel , Asiago, and
Sal ami 9
Chi cken Stir- Fries
Chi cken for Stir- Fr, Mari nated
and Velveted 2 I
Gi nger Sti r- Fri ed Chi cken and
Bok Choy 2 1
Spi cy Stir- Fried Sesame Chi cken
wi th Green Beans and Shi i take
Mushrooms 2 1
Macaroni and Cheese
Cl assi c 1 9
with Ham and Peas 1 9
with Kiel basa and Mustard 1 9
Steak Di ane I 5
Sweet and Tang Oven- Barbecued
Chi cken I I
Breads
Qui ck Cheese Bread 1
with Bacon, Oni on, and
Gruyere 1
Si de Di shes
Brown Ri ce
Fool proof Oven- Baked 1 2
with Parmesan. Lemon , and
Herbs 1 2
Dessers
Coconut Cream Pi e 25
Banana-Carmel Coconut Cream
Pie wi th Dark Rum 25
Ume-Coconut Cream Pie 25
Sherbet
Fresh Ume 23
Fresh Ornge 23
Fresh Rspberr 2 3
Gam ish and Sauces
FOR CHEF
'
S SALAD:
Garl i c Croutons 9
FOR STEAK DIANE:
Sauce Base 1 4
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Cl assi c Macaroni and Cheese, | 9
Spi cy Sti r-Fri ed Sesame Chi cken wi th
Green Beans and Shi i take Mushrooms, 2 1
Fresh li me, Raspberry, and Orange Sherbet, 23
Steak Di ane, I 5
Qui ck Cheese Bread,
PHOTOGRAPHY: CARL TREMBLAY ( |xC| |1 Ov|H A8|CO| OC| Ck | H: DANI E L J . VAN ACKERE) . STYLI NG: MARY J ANE SAWYER