N U ,\\ B E R E I C II I Y M ,\ Y c J U N E 0 0 6

1 1 1 | ` J 1 1 J 1
Grilled London Broil
Cheap Cut, Rich Flavor
`alCU Potatoes
with Olive Oil
Turtle Bro\ies
Dark, Chewy, and Rich
Moroccan Chicken
Illustrated Guide
to Cooking Pasta
Rating VuillJ
Ice Creams
Is Natural Really Better?
Grilled Tomato Salsa
Smok Flavor in Minutes
Testing Kitchen Tongs
No-Mayo Chicken Salads
Fish and Chips at Home
Perfecting Veal Scaloppini
Best Strawberry Cream Cake
. cooksi I I u s t r a t ed. com
$'> \'> |' /$6 Y'> l.`.!`.
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CONTENTS
May / June Zll^
2 Notes from Readers
R ead ers ask questi ons and sugest sol uti ons.
Quick Tips
Q ui ck and easy ways to perform everday tasks. from
stori ng root vegetabl es to oraniz i ng measuri ng spoons.
6 Simplifying Moroccan
Chicken
l ime-consumi ng techni ques and esoteric ingred i ents
make cook i ng authenti c Moroccan chi ck en a d aunti ng
propositi on. We had one hour and supermark et stapl es.
BY MATTHE W CARD
8 Bringing Home Fish and
Chips
R estaurant versi ons of E ngl and' s favorite fast food rarely
measure up. B ut tri ng i t at home prod uced a greas mess.
C ould we conquer our fear of fri ng? BY S EAN LAWLE R
'0 Grilled Tomato Salsa
Could we transform out-of- season tomatoes i nto a sweet
and smoksal sa? BY ERI N MCMURRER
' ' Grilled London Broil
T hrowi ng a slab of cheap meat on the gri l l sounds easy,
but the resul t can be more l ik e chewi ng on a tire than on
a ni cely charred, tender steak . BY DAVI D PAZMI NO
| Main-Dish Vegetable
'Iir-Irics
S ti r- fri ed vegetabl es make a great sid e d i sh, but can they
step up to the pl ate as an entree? BY DAVI D PAZM 1 No
'L How to Cook Pasta
C ook i ng pasta seems si mpl e-j ust boi l water and wai t
but cooki ng perfect pasta tak es some fi nesse. Here' s how
we do i t. BY S EAN LAWLE R
18 Foolproof Veal Scaloppini
S upermark et veal cutl ets are a far cr from the del icate
fare sered in restaurants. We set out to transform these
conveni ent cutl ets from tough to tender.
BY SARAH WI LSON
20 . New Twist on
Chicken Sa lads
A vi naigrette i s a great remedy for the mayo rut. I f only it
would cl i ng to the chi cken. BY RE BE CCA HAYS
21 Garlic and Olive Oil
Mashed Potatoes
We l oved the id ea of add i ng extra-vi rg i n olive oi l and garl i c
to our mashed potatoes-but not the harsh flavors and
past texture. BY SANDRA WU
22 Ultimate Turtle Brownies
D ark chocol ate browni es, rich and chewy caramel, and
sweet pecans-i t' s hard to go wrong with tu rtle browni es.
B ut i t' s even hard er to mak e them ri ght.
BY DAWN YANAGI HARA
24 Best Strawberry Cream Cake
W hat could possi bl y rui n the heavenl y trio of cak e, cream.
and ripe strawberri es? H ow about sog cak e, bl and
berries, and squi shy cream ' BY E RI KA B RUCE
26 The Scoop on Vanilla
Ice Cream
How about a heapi ng bowl of guar gum and pulveriz ed
spent vani l l a podsl Can i ce cream makers fool Mother
Nature (and our tasters)? We scooped up 1 8 brand s to
f i nd out. BY JOLYON HELTERMAN
28 The Tong Show
Are the new desi gn features on some tongs more than j ust
gi mmi ck? We tested I I pai rs to see i f i t was possi bl e to
improve on this k i tchen work horse. BY ADAM Rl ED
30 Kitchen Notes
T est resul ts, buyi ng ti ps, and advice rel ated to stories past
and present, d i rectly from the test k i tchen.
BY E RIKA BRUCE
3 2 Equipment Corner
R eviews of new items. updates on past tests, and sources
f or prod ucts used i n thi s i ssue.
BY GARTH CLI NGI NGS M I TH
ASIAN GREENS Once the provi nce of speci al t mark ets. Asi an greens are becomi ng common
stapl es i n some supermark et prod uce ai sl es. B ok choy i s mi ld and crunchy, wi th a high water
content; the cri sp whi te stalk requi re l onger cook i ng than the tend er greens. T he d imi nutive
baby bok choy can be used whol e and i s sl i ghtly sweeter than the mature versi on. Napa cabbage,
wi th its crinkly, pal e green leaves, i s prepared in much the same way as bok choy, and both are
wel l sui ted to stir-fri es. C hi nese broccol i i s si mi l ar in appearance and texture to broccol i rabe,
though its mi ld f avor has more in common wi th regul ar broccol i . T he f at, pungent leaves of
C hi nese chives carr a garl i ck f avor that mel lows when cook ed . Mal abar spi nach and C hi nese
water spi nach have a mi ld flavor and can be sti r-fried or eaten rw in sal ads. Tatsoi, wi th its mi ld ly
bi tter, round leaves, and miz una, often fou nd in mescl un sal ad greens, both hai l from J apan.
C hi nese parsl ey, better k nown in the West as ci l antro, comprises the stems and leaves of the
cori and er pl ant and i s a common i ngred i ent i n both Lti n and Asi an cui si nes.
COVER( 'ccr:: Elizabeth Brandon. BACK COVER |/:iun trccn!:John Burgoyne
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PRINTED IN THE OS
EDITORIAL
ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS THE PRINT

n thc cvcnt that somc o|you havc bccomc

wcary o| my i dyl l i c rcprcscntati on o|
Vcrmont country l i |c, I o||cr a scrics o|
morc unbi ascd and hi stori cal l y prcci sc
dcscriptionstakcn|romalocalncwspapcrthathas
rccordsdatingbackto I 86I . KathyWagncr,onc
o|ourncighbors,asscmblcdthcrclcvantclippings
andpublishcdthcmi nasmallbooklct.
Bc|orc I lcavc you i n thc capablc hands o|
thc|armcrs,doctors,wivcs, clcrgymcn, andotH
crs, I woul dsi mpl yquotcCalvin Coolidgc,who
said, |Vcrmontcrs] arc a racc o|pionccrs who
havc almost bcggarcd thcmsclvcs i n thc scrvicc
o|othcrs. I|thc spirit o|Libcrty should vanish
|rom othcrparts o|our Inion and thc support
o|our institutions should languish, i t could all
bc rcplcnishcd |rom thc gcncrousstorc hcl d by
thc pcoplc o|thc bravc l i ttlc statc o|Vcrmont .
I t may i ndccd bcti mc, as Coolidgc aptly prc
dictcd,thatournationshoul dl ooktothishardy
racc o|pionccrs to rcplcnish our sadly dcplctcd
storcs.
September4, 1867:"C. B. Hi tchcock,thcnotcd
woodchuckhuntcr, i sslaughtcri nga l argc num
bcro|thc`vcrmins` thi sscason, having alrcady
killcdupwardo|0.
October 15, 1867: Mr. Hitchcockoutdonc. A
sono| Mr.Harwood,agcd I 4ycars . . . hascaught
. . . withthcaido|adog,27woodchucks.
November 19, 1867: I noticcda narticlci nthc
Journal cntitlcd`Mr. Hitchcockoutdonc. ` ow
. . . that i s not thc wholc truth. Jhc |acts arc
thcsc: Scymour Harwood, agcd I4 ycars, has
caught duri ng thc prcscnt scason 32O wood
chucks. Iastycarhc caught 25O, i n I 865, I 76,
andi n I 864, I I , maki ng i n thc |our scasons
37. Rcspcctmllyyours,subscribcr.
December 22, 1868: A corrcspondcnt writcs
conccrni ng thc charactcr o|a spiri tual i st who
rcccntlyvisitcdtown. Hcrl ccturcswcrcboldand
opcn attacks upon thc Biblc and thc rcligion o|
Christ. Shc lcn thc town with a crowdcd wallct
anda smiling|acc.
swcctHcartsout ridingwhcnthc
l aoors o|thc day arc ovcr, and
t Hosc that havcn` t any swcct
hcartsstayathomcandmilkthc
L\VV5.

November 16, 1876: Bcnnctt

i s havi ng tcrtni ghtl y hops at
his homc, whcrc, |or thc small
sumo|$.50 acouplcmaydancc
until thc `wcc smal l hours` and
until thcy arc `all i n a muck o|
swcat . ``
Novembn' 1, 1870: A Hai l
storm aboutt hc|irst o|August
passcd ovcrtl :c wcst and north
part o|town. Nci gh|or was
out i u hi s hcl d hayi ng at thc
t i mc, thc storm comi ng s ud
dcnly, hcburrowcduudciacock
o|haytorprotcction. lorgctting
thclitco|Lottc` s[sic} wi|cwho
lookcd back to scc tHc stoim o|
tirc upon tHc citics o|thc pl ai n,
hcpcckcdouttoi uspcctintotHc
mystcricso|naturc andasccrtain
thc statc o|thc wcathcr, whcrc
C hris top her Kimbal l
June 7, 1877: Vcry many
uponatozcnmissilctiomtHccl oudstookc||cct
uponthc cxposcdpart,notatraustormatioui nto
a pi l l ar o|sal t, hut a panoiamic vicw o|all tHc
starso|thcti rmamcntaudasuddcndcvcl opmcnt
o|thc bump o|vcncratiou. Jhc conscqucnccs,
howcvcr,wcrcnotvcryscriousorlasti ng.
November 22, 1870: AHocko| tur|cysbcl ong
i ngto a Mr. arbcrrcccntl yHcw|roma bi g hi l l
outovcrthcval l cyi nwhichhishouscstandsand
camcwithsuchvclociryt thcgroundthat2Oo|
thcmwcrckillcd.
July 13, 1871: Manchcstcr j oumcau pri ntcr
I ccnd ycw i nkl oscd onc dol l ar to pa tor l ast
ycarzpapcrI don` trccdt| :chournclbutycwma
koncidcr mc a subscribcr |or thc nabcrs al l say
thcylu|| toscci tontHc shcl|tharc antmuchscd
aboutyourpapcrovcrthcwcstcidc butwc cast
cidcrs tawk o|gctin up a |l ub to gct thc papcr
chccpcr.
Au
g
ust 15, 1872: JhcCongrcgationalChurch
i s unoccupi cd thi s scason, thc Mcthodi sts |or
somcrcasonhaving|ilcdtoscndaprcacHcr.
January 2, 1873: Rcccntl y a man namcd
Jowslcy was scri ousl y i nj urcd at R. S. Hurd` s
circularsawmi l l . Ii sj awwasbro|cnandhi suosc
smashcd. Au i nti matc acquaintauccwitH a ci rcu
larsawwhcni nmotionisnotvcrydcsi rablc .
July 15, 1875: Mr. Lditor. ot much wor
thyo|notc has transpircdovcr hcrc `among thc
hi l l s . ` Jhc boys gcncrallyhnd ti mc u takc t Hcii
pcopl c havc thc i mprcssi on
thattowls wi l l not catthc potato bug, but Mr.
1homasHaycso|thisplacc saw his roostcrpok
i ng around among his potatocs and supposing
that thc ol d |cllow was digging t|:cm up, killcd
hi m, and hnding thc gullctvcry much distcndcd
opcncditandtoundthcrcin l O7vcritablcpotato
bugs. Mr. Haycs thi nks now that hc killcd his
bcst hi cnd.
May 1,1879: `Intimcso| ol d, whcnmcnwcrc
wiscandwomcnwcrc bold,whcnbillswcrcshort
aud crcdit shortcr, whcn hom malt thcybrcwcd
good portcr,` livcd Dr. Watkins. Likc manyoth
crs iu hispro|cssi on, hc had a goodpracticc but
wasa badhnanci cr,apoorcollcctorwhoscldom
rcsortcdto thc lawto collccta dcbt. Buthc did
I\ onc occasion suc a Mr. C, who had uttcrly
rcIscdtopayandwho,thcdoctorsupposcd,was
abundantlyabl c. Jhc doctorobtaincdj udgmcnt,
Mr. Cwcnttoj ai l , staycdhissixdays,`sworcout`
, agrccdtopayhi sdcbts )asthcycallcdi t,andwas
arouudas usual . ltwaswiutcr and tl:c snow was
dccpand thc doctor`shorsc,ol dWhitcy,gotinto
thc wrong track, thc dccp squarc |oxcd cuttcr
ran upon to a high snowdri|t, ovcrturncd,and
actually i mprisoncd thc o|d doctor. Jhc idcnti
cal Mr. C happcncd to bc passing thatwayand
rightcdmattcrsatoncc, |rcci ngthc doctor.Ashc
was lcaving hc askcd, `Doctor, how would you
havc got out withouthcl p` ` Jhc doctorcoughcd
andsai d, `I `dI ` dasworcout. ``
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^ ^ Y t l | N | 2 0 0 6
NOTES FROM READERS
kcudIhgMcutlubcIs
I somcti mcs scc mcatat thc supcrmarkctlabclcd
lcanorcxtral can. Whatdothcsctcrmsrcally
mcan`
KENIN COLOMA
GLENVIEW. ILL.
Accordi ng to thc L. S. Dcpartmcnt o|Agri
cul turc' s Iood Sa|cty and I nspccti on Scrvi cc,
thctcrms lean andextra lean arc uscdnotonly
on mcat but also poultry and sca|ood to con
vcyinlormationabout|at contcnt, includingthc
amounto|total|at,saturatcd|at,andcholcstcrol
pcr I OO-gram scrvi ng about 3: ounccs ) . A
lcan dcsignation mcans thc product contains
|cwcr than I O grams o|total |at, 4. 5 grams o|
saturatcd |at, and 5 mi l ligrams o|cholcstcrol
pcr scrvi ng. Lxtra lcan i ndicatcs |cwcr than
5 grams o|total |at, 2 grams olsaturatcd |at,
and 5 mi l l i grams o|chol cstcro| pcr scrvi ng.
, Iollowi ng thcsc rul cs, 3 pcrccnt lcan ground
bcc|would tcchni cal l y bc consi dcrcd l can,
whilc cxtra l can bcc|woul d havc t obc morc
than 5 pcrccnt l can. ) Jhcsc dcsignations can
bcuscd|or anycuto|mcataslongasthcpackcr
includcs nutri ti onal i n|ormati on on thc | abcl .
Whcthcrthcyappcara t al l , howcvcr,i supt othc
i ndividualpacki ngcompany.
lrcczIhgCugcukcs

What'sthc bcstwayto|rcczcbakcdcupcakcs`
ALLISON SACCONE
JERSEY CITY. N. J.
Whcn |rcczi ngbakcd cupcakcs,wc wantcdto
prcvcnt thc common problcms o||rcczcr burn,
dryncss, and gummy tops. Bccausc thc tcxturc
andconsistcncyo||rostingsandicingscanchangc
drastically i n thc |rcczcr, only pl ai n , un|rostcd)
cupcakcs should bc |rozcn. ncc thawcd, thcy
canbctoppcdordccoratcdasdcsircd.
Wc tricdscvcral mcthods o|stori ng, |rcczi ng,
and thawing our |avoritc ycl l ow cupcakcs. Wc
lrozcthcm-individuallyandin groupso| |our
in |ourdi||crcntways. in apl asticzippcrlock
bagwith most o|thc airrcmovcd, in plastic
wrap,in|oi l , andi nplasticwrapand|oi l . Ancr
a wccki n thc |rcczcr, wc took thc cupcakcs
outtothawonthccountcrtop|or I V: hours
until thcy rcachcd room tcmpcraturc, hal|o|
cach samplc was kcptwrappcdandthcothcr
hal|unwrappcd.
1hawingthccupcakcswrappcd-whcthcr
cncloscdi n|oi l , pl astic wrap, or both orlcn
i n a zippcrlockbag-allowcd condcnsation
COMPILED BY SAN DRA W U E
to |orm bctwccn thc wrappcr and t hc tops,
whi chturncdgoocy.Jhoscthatwcrcunwrappcd
bc|orcthawi ngwcrcas goodas ncw. I ntcrmso|
tastc, thcrc was l i ttlc to di||crcntiatc onc stor
agc mcthod lrom anothcr. Ior l ongcr pcriods
o|storagc, whcrc thc likclihood o||rcczcrburn
incrcascs,wc rccommcnddoubl cwrappi ngcup
cakcs i npl astic wrap and|oi l ,i n groups ori ndi
vi dually) bc|orcpl aci ngthcmi nthc|rcczcr.And
makcsurctounwrapthcmbc|orcthawi ng.
[WhItc SubstItutcs
What is your opi ni on about usi ng l i qui d cgg
whi tcsi ndcsscrtsthatcal l |or manycgg wHi tcs`
I o|tcn |ccl gui l ty aboutthrowi ngaway a bunch
o|yol ks.
BARBARA HART
YARMOUTH PORT. MASS.
Wc purchascd thrcc widclyavai l abl cbrandso|
pastcuri zcdl i qui dcggwhitcs-Iapctti IoodsAll
Whitcs, Lggology I OO" Lgg Whi tcs, and Lgg
catcrs Lgg Whitcs-and tcstcd thcm agai nst
rcgular cgg whi tcs i n |our rcci pcs . angcl |ood
cakc,bakcdmcringucs,I talianmcri nguc|rosting,
andscramblcdcggwhi tcs. JhcIapcttiIoodsand
Lggologyproductscontainj ustcggwhitcs,Lgg
Bcatcrs contains small amounts o|xanthan gum
andtricthylci tratc,whi ch, accordingtothcl abcl ,
cnhanccwhippi ng.
Lachsamplc varicd i n thc amount o|ti mc i t
took towhi p up to son and sti||pcaks , somc
ti mcs taking up to thrcc timcs as long as |rcsh
whi tcs, cvcn whcn bcatcn at a hi ghcr spccd) .
| all thrcc brands, thc cloudylooking Iapctti
Ioods product ,whi ch, to its crcdit, i s l abcl cd
notrccommcndcd|ormcri ngucsorangcl |ood
cakc) wasthclcastconsistcnt, nccdingthcmost
ti mc towhip up and only occasionallyachicving
sti||pcaks. I ncontrast, Lggology was mostlyon
par with |rcsh cgg whitcs. Jhc Lgg catcrs |cl l
somcwhcrc i nbctwccn.
I nal l |ourapplications,thc lapctti Ioodsand
Lgg Bcatcrs products | +i l cd to pcr|orm as wcll
YM1
_
>, bU1ML TLL>
.. ::-

i i
.

46N
Are pasteurized egg whites as good as the real thi ng?
C'!` l J| 1' 1 H ^ 11
?
as Lggology. Jhc Iapctti Ioods almost always
dcUatcd i nto a soupy mcss ancr othcr i ngrcdi
cnts wcrc whippcd or |ol dcd i n, rcndcring any
application cxccpt thc scramblcd cgg whitcs an
abj cct|ail urc. Jhc LggBcatcrsproduccddcccnt
mcringucs but had a sl ightl ychcmi cal ancrtastc
whcn scrambl cd.
vcrall , Lggology was thccloscsttoncshcgg
whi tcs. Jhcmcringucsandscramblcdcggwhitcs
tastcdi dcnticaltothcrcalthing. The nostingwas
slightlylcss Uu|p and morc sticky and slickthan
thc original but sti | l acccptabl c. Jhc angcl |ood
cakc, howcvcr, |ailcd mi scrably. Although only
about : inch shyo|thc 3 inch high cakc madc
with |rcshwhitcs, thc cakc madc with Lggology
had a sunkcn ccntcr, si zcabl c sl i my air pockcts
throughout,andadcnsc, gummybottomhal|
MoId_Chccsc
Asidc |romchccsc thatcontainscultivatcdmold,
i si t sa|ctocatchccscthathasgrownmoldaslong
as I cuto||thca||cctcdarcas`
TERESA KAO
HOUSTON. TEXAS
Wc spokc to Mary Kci th, |ood and nutrition
agcnt at thc Inivcrsi ty o|Il ori da Lxtcnsi on
Scrvicc, to gct somc answcrs to your qucsti on.
AccordingtoKci th, hardchccscscangcncrallybc
salvagcd, but sonchccscs cannot. Jhctoxi nsi n
thctypcso|mol dthatgrowonchccscsarcmostly
watcrsol ubl c, so thcy usual l y cannot travcl lar
bcyond thc sur|xcc o|hardcr chccscs with low
moisturc l cvcl s.
Jo rcmovc surIxcc mol d trom a hard chccsc
such aschcddar, thc gcncral rulc is to cuto||all
visiblcmol daswcllasani ncho|thcsurrounding
arca, bci ng carcml to kccp thc kni|c out o|thc
mold i tscl |to prcvcnt cross contami nati on o|
othcr arcas o|thc chccsc. |coursc, this works
onlyi | youhavcabigpi ccco|chccsc .Smal l picccs
onwhich thcmold has grown onmultiplc sidcs
should bcdiscardcd.
So|i clccscs such as goat chccsc, ri c, or
Camcmbcrtandwct, curd likc chccscs such
as ricotta orcottagc chccsc shoul d ncvcr bc
consumcdoncc moldappcars. Bccausc most
o|thc toxins produccdbytl:cscuncul tivatcd
moldsarcwatcr sol ubl c, thcycancasilytravcl
bcncath thc sur|acc o|thcsc hi gh moisturc
chccscsandcontaminatcthcrcstolthcprod
uct. Chccscsthatarcinjcctcdwithmold,such
asblucchccsc,shoul dbcdiscardcdonccthcy
start bccoming slimy or soncr than usual or
cxhi bi ti ngstrangcodorsorcolors.
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ur advicc is ncvcr to buy morc chccsc than

youcanusci noncortwowccks,thcmoistcrthc
chccsc, thc quickcr i t wi l l spoi l . As |or storing
most lcnovcr chccsc,wc havc |ound that wrap
pingitin parchmcntpapcrand thcn in |oi l is thc
mostc|lcctivc mcthod, but a scalcd zippcrlock
bag i s a vcry closc , and much casicr) sccond.
Whichcvcrmcthodyouchoosc,thcchccscisbcst
kcptinthccrispcrdrawcro|thcrc|rigcrator. nc
morc thi ng. Ircczing docsn' t kill mol d. Whi l c
lrcczingmightsl owdownthcmol d' sgrowth, i t
will not dcstroyanyol thc toxins thc mold has
alrcadyproduccd.
AIIuboutlurIhu
What' s thc di ||crcncc bctwccn 2 |: mi nutc, I
minutc,andinstantlarina`
CHARLOTIE HURD
CUMBERLAND FORESIDE. MAINE
Iarinais a blandHourormcal madc lromthc
cndospcrm, thcstarchypart )o| thcwhcatkcmcl
and millcd and si ncd i nto a h nc granul ar con
sistcncy rcscmbling instant dricd ycast or bcigc
cornmcal . Whcn cookcd i n boiling watcr and
si mmcrcd unti l thickcncd I to 2/: mi nutcs ) ,
larinabccomcsaprotci n richhotbrcak|astccrcal .
1hc quickcrcooki ngvaricticsarctrcatcdwithan
cnzymc , papai n, dcrivcd |rom papayas) orwith
disodiumphosphatc .
Wctri cdthc|ollowing|ourtypcso|plain|arina
ccrcal , with cooking timcs rangi ng |rom I to
2'/: minutcs. Crcamo|Whcatinstanthotccrcal,
WHAT |5 |!
Crcam ol Whcat I Mi nutc Lnri chcd Iari na,
Crcam ol Whcat 2/: Mi nutc lnri chcd Iari na,
and Fari na Mi l l s Fnrichcd Iari na , 2 mi nutcs ) .
WhilcthcCrcamo| Whcati nstanthotccrcalwas
noti ccabl ysaltyandmushy,wcthoughtthcothcr
thrccproductswcrc| ustnnc.
PustOU
How is pastry uour di l|crcnt |rom cakc uour`
Whattypcso|rcci pcsdocsitworkbcsti n`
ANN DORFMAN
NEWTON. MASS.
IastryU ourisasonwhcat Hourwithaprotcin
contcnt bctwccn thosc o|al l purposc Hour and
cakc Hour. Itisoncn uscdin piccrustandtcndcr
pastri cs. Whcrcasal l purposcHouris IOto I 2 pcr
ccntprotci n, comcs|lcachcdorun|lcachcd,andis
abl cndo|hard and sonwhcatHours, cakc U ouri s
6to8pcrccntprotcinandismadcnomsonwhcat
Hourthathasbccn|lcachcdt|urthcrwcakcntHc
protcin ,which is what givcs bakcd goods thcir
structurc and chcw) . Iastry llouris 8 to IO pcr
ccntprotci nand,| i kc cakc ||our,ismadc|romson
whcat|lour, butisusuallynotblcachcd) .
Wc tricd usi ng pastry U our i n a chi l|on cakc,
sconcs, piccrust,andsugarcooki cs. Jastcrslaudcd
thcpastryHour|orgivingthcpi ccrustaHaky,dcl
icatctcxturcwcllsui tcdlorl i ni ngthcbottomola
lightl cmonmcringucI crcampic . ln thccqually
buttcrrich sconcs, thc pastry Hour contributcd
a tcndcr, slightly crumbly, l i ght but cohcsivc
tcxturc . It di dn' t |arc so
I recently moved i nto an apartment with a kitchen drwer ful l of utensi l s left behi nd
by the former tenants. I came across thi s bamboo tool , whi ch l ooks l i ke some sort of
whisk. What i s i t used for?
J OHN HENRY RICE
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
The item you've found i s a chasen, a tea whi sk cared from a si ngl e pi ece of bamboo
that i s used to prepare the matcha (a bi tter, hi gh-qual i t, stone-ground green tea powder)
sered i n trdi ti onal Japanese tea ceremoni es. Te number and thi ckness of the spl i nes var dependi ng on the con
sistency of the tea and where i t will be sered. rye found
Ti s tea whi sk, or chasen, is used to make
a frothy bowl of matcha (green tea).
severl pl aces onl i ne to buy thi s tea whi sk; see the source
on page 3 2 for purchasi ng i nformati on.)
The basi c procedure for prepari ng matcha i s as fol l ows:
Place a smal l amount (about '12 teaspoon) of the green
tea powder i nto a tea bowl chawan) usi ng a matcha tea
spoon (chashaktt). ( For l ess formal home use, a measur
i ng spoon and a large latte cup or deep soup bowl make
decent substi tutes. ) Next, pour 4 to 6 ounces of hot (but
not boi l i ng) water over the tea. Gently whi sk the tea and
hot water together to di ssolve the matcha. Once i t i s di s
sol ved, hol d the whi sk vertical l y so that it barel y touches
the bottom of the bowl , and move i t bri skly back and
forth unti l a frothy layer devel ops on top. Sl owl y l i f and
remove the whisk: Tea i s served.
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3
wcll in thcothcrtworccipcs,
howcvcr.Jhccookicssprcad
too thin and bccamc morc
crisp than chcwy, whilc thc
chi ||on cakc di dn' t risc as
hi gh, was sl i ghtl y gummy
on thcbottomi nch, and had
an cggy and crcamy rathcr
than | ight and uu|J tcxturc.
ML >Ub>11U1L
Wc also tri cd thcsc rcci pcs
But fine for crusts.
withwholcgrain pastryU our
, mi l l cd with all o|t| +c bran i ncl udcd) , but tast
crs gcncral l y di sl i kcd thc odd brown color,
whcaty |Iavor, and granul ar tcxturc ol all
|ourbakcdgoodsmadcwiththi sU our.
In thc cnd, wc rccommcnd buyi ng rcgular
pastryuour|orthctcndcr,Hakytcxturciti mparts
to pic crust, tart pastry, sconcs, and oucr simi
larly buttcry bakcd goods , such as biscuits and
shortbrcad) butwouldstopshorto|substituti ng
i t lor cakc Hour in cakcs or al l purposc Hour in
cookics.
kchcutIhgPIzzu
I 'vc noticcdwhcnrchcati ngl cnovcrpi zzain thc
ovcn that thc crust is crispi crwhcn rchcatcd on
parchmcntpapcrthanon |oi l . Why i stl+is`
CAROL ROSE
PITISBURGH, PA.
Bc|orc answcri ng qucsti ons about thc rcla
tivc mcrits o||oi l and parchmcnt, wc wantcd
to tcst di ||crcnt tcchniqucs |or rchcating pizza.
Wc startcd by tcsti ng thrcc mcthods. hcating
pizza on a prchcatcd baki ngstonc, on a baki ng
shcct, anddi rcctlyonthc ovcn rackwithabaking
shcct undcrncth to catch dri ps. Al dough wc
cxpcctcd thc lastmcthod to dclivcra crispcrust,
i tdidn' t, thc crustwas son and this mcthodwas
quitcmcssy.Jhcbaki ngshcctdid agoodj ob, but
thc crust was cvcn morc crisp whcn sliccs wcrc
warmcdona hot baki ngstonc.
Couldwcadj ust our baking shcct mcdod to
yicld bcttcr rcsults` Brushi ng thc crust wit|+ oil
bc|orc rchcati ng ust madc it tough. Iining thc
panwith|oilmadcthccrustlcss crisp, but,asyou
|ound, parchmcnt papcr madc thc crust morc
crisp. In |act, whcn rchcatcd on a parchmcnt
lincd baki ng shcct, thc pi zzawas j ust as crispas
thathcatcdonaprchcatcdbaki ngstonc.
Whydocs parchmcnt, and not |oi l , promotc
cri spncss` Absorbcnt parchmcnt papcr l i kcl y
wicks awayanymoisturconthccrustt|+atmight
othcrwisccausc soggi ncss, with|oi l , thcmoisturc
has nowhcrc to go. ur rccommcndation is to
rchcatpi zzai na4OO dcgrccovcn |orsixminutcs
on a baki ngshcctl i ncdwithparchmcntpapcr.
SEND US YOUR QUESIONS We wi l l provide a compl i
me ntary one -year subscri pti on for e ach le tte r we pri nt. Se nd your
i nqui ry. name. addre ss. and daytime te le phone numbe r to Notes
from Reade rs. Cook' s I l l ustrated, P.O. B ox 470589. B rookl i ne.
MA 02447. or to note sfromre ade rs@bcpre ss. com.
Quick Tips
C 0 ,'\ PI LED 1 Y D I V I D I' i Z i\\ I N 0 E
Handy Prep Cups
With smal l chi l dren who get l ots of
sni fl es and sneezes, Kerry Roman
of Puebl o, Col o., has l ots of pl asti c
cough-syrup cups. She saves these
cups to measure out (and hol d)
smal l amounts of herbs, spi ces, and
other i ngredi ents i n preparati on
for cooki ng-what the French cal l
mise en place.
Te Cut Stops Here
Eati ng Chi nese food i sn' t the only use
for wooden chopsticks. Luise Bol l eber
of Rochester. Mi nn . . puts them to work
as a gui de when cutti ng decortive
strawberr fans to use as a gam i sh.
Place a chopsti ck on a cutti ng board
(strai ght-si ded chopsticks work best) .
Posi ti on a strawberr in front of the
chopsti ck. Hol di ng the chopsti ck and
the strwberry wi th one hand, sl i ce
through unti l the knife hi ts the chop
stick. Conti nue maki ng '/a-i nch-thi ck
sl i ces. fanni ng the sl i ces on a plate.
Putting Down Roots
Ti red of watchi ng her gi nger, carrots, and beets spoi l in the vegetabl e drwer, Aria
Arrizabalaga of Moscow. I daho, figured out how to keep these root vegetabl es usabl e
for several months.
I. 2.
I. Fi l l a pl astic contai ner or cl ay pot wi th cl ean. dr sand. Bur gi nger. carrots. or
beets i n the sand. and store the contai ner i n a dark, cool cupboard or i n the
refrigerator.
2. When you're ready to use a vegetabl e. j ust brush of the sand and peel .
Scratch l ess Steami ng
Rather than scratchi ng her saucepan' s nonstick surface with the metal
legs of a steamer i nsert, Amy Wi l li ams of Gl ensi de, P . , protects it wi th
parchment paper.
I.
2.
I. Cut a pi ece of parchment to fit the i nsi de of your saucepan. Fi l l wi th i nch
of water.
2. Place the steamer i nsert on top of the parchment. Bri ng to a si mmer and
steam your food, bei ng careful not to l et al l the water evaporate.
Send Us Your Tip We wil l provide a compl i mentary one-year subscri ption for each tip we print. Send your ti p. name. and address to
Quick Tips, Cook's I l l ustrated, P.O. Box 470589, Brookl i ne. MA 02447, or to qui cktips@bcpress. com.
Lump-Free Pol enta
To avoi d turni ng out l umpy pol enta
and hot cereal , John Barrett of
Wakefi el d, Mass., rel i es on hi s
funnel.
I. After bri ngi ng the l i qui d to a
si mmer, cl ose of the bottom of
a funnel wi th your fi nger, then fi l l
it wi th the pol enta meal or cereal
cal l ed for in you r reci pe.
2. With the f unnel i n one hand
and a whi sk i n the other, open the
hol e and l et the grai ns sl owly pour
i nto the hot boi l i ng l iquid, whi ski ng
unti l the f unnel i s empt and the
grai ns are smoothly mixed.
Measuri ng Spoon Roundup
Measuring spoons ofen come wi th
fl ims ri ngs that end up breaki ng. Joyce
Wexl er of Chicago, I l l .. found that a
si mpl e "spl i t" key ri ng keeps spoons
together no matter how many times
they go through the di shwasher.
..
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Cleaner Squeeze Tops
Squeeze-bottle tops can get caked
with ketchup, mayonnai se, or mustard.
Susan Fri esen of Abbotsford, B. C. ,
Canada. washes the tops from empt
bottles and stores them i n a drawer.
When the top of a new bottl e gets
di r, she unscrews it. repl aces i t with
a cl ean one, and throws the di rt top
i nto the di shwasher.

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Presering Your Cookbooks
When the pages of her cookbook
get soi l ed or moi st from wayward
reci pe i ngredi ents, jeri Greenberg
of Washi ngton, D. C. , uses thi s
trick to keep them from sti cki ng
together.
I.
2 .
<
t
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I. Bl ot the pages dry with paper
towel s.
2. Sl i p a pi ece of waxed paper
beteen the pages before cl osi ng.
Bread Box Cutti ng Boards
Jane Ashworth of Beavercreek, Ohio, hates pul l i ng out and di rti ng her large cutti ng board ever ti me she wants freshly
sl i ced bread. I nstead, she keeps a custom-made pl asti c cutti ng board right in her bread box. Not only is i t conveni ently
l ocated, but it also needs l ittl e mai ntenance-j ust a qui ck wipe to cl ean of crumbs.
I.
I. Cut a flexi bl e pl asti c cutti ng board to fit i nsi de your bread box.
2. Remove the cutti ng board when sl i ci ng bread, di scardi ng any l oose crumbs when fi ni shed.
Qui ck Tomato- Seed
Removal
Roxanne Summer of Rocki l l e, Md . .
uses the serrted edges o f a grapefrui t
spoon to cut out the seeded porti on
of tomatoes after quarteri ng them.
She fi nds thi s more effective than
usi ng a regul ar spoon-and l ess messy
than usi ng her fi ngers .
Makeshift Roasti ng Rack
No-Mess Tomato Choppi ng
I nstead of choppi ng whol e canned
tomatoes on a cutti ng board and
endi ng up wi th tomato j ui ce al l
over the countertop, Kiern Joshi
of Maynard, Mass., cuts them
up right i n the can wi th a pai r of
ki tchen sci ssors.
Expl oi ti ng the Lophol e
Many ki tchen towel s come wi th a l oop
sewn i nto the hem. Unda Brown of
Redmond, Ore. , keeps a towel at the
ready by hangi ng i t from a button she
has sewn i nto the wai st of her apron
for that purpose.
Lcki ng a metal roasti ng rck that fits her roasti ng pan . Lydi a Ma of Vancouver. B. C. , Canada, makes do wi th al umi num foi l .
I . Rol l three pi eces of foi l i nto ti ght cyl i nders. and pl ace them 2 i nches apart across the mi ddl e of the roasti ng pan.
2. Posi ti on the chi cken so that it si ts evenly atop the cyl i nders. Once the chi cken is fi ni shed cooki ng. cool the foi l rol l s and di scard.
.\\ ^ Y t7 I l ` | 2 0 0 6
5
Simplifying Moroccan Chicken
Time-consuming techniques and esoteric ingredients make cooking authentic
Moroccan chicken a daunting proposition. We had one hour and supermarket staples.
W
hcn most pcopl c thi nk
o|Morocco, thcy cnvi
siondustysouks,spindly
mi narcts, and mcn i n
U owing dj cllabas. ot mc-I think with
my stomach and scc taginc. Jagincs arc
cxoticallyspiccd,asscrtivclyllavorcdstcws
slowcookcdincarthcnwarcvcsscl so|thc
samc namc. Jhcy can includc all manncr
o|mcats,vcgctablcs,and|ruit,thoughmy
hands down |avoritc combi ncs chi ckcn
wi thbri nyolivcsandtartl cmon.
Whi l cI lovc tagi nc, it'snotadishIcvcr
conccivcd o|as Amcri can homc cook
ing. Why` Jhc |cw traditional rccipcs I
hadsccnrcquircdti mcconsuming,labor
intcnsivc cooki ng mcthods, a spccial pot
, thctaginc),andhardtoh ndingrcdicnts.
I' musually gamc |or a day in thc ki tchcn
ora hunt |or cxotica, but isn't tagi nc, at
itsmostclcmcntallcvcl , j uststcw`
A littlc rcscarch provcd that I wasn't
thcnrst to takc a stab at maki ng taginc
morcacccssiblc.Whilcmosto| tl:crccipcs
I tricd lackcd thc dcpth o|an authcntic
3 BY M ATTIIEW C ARD E
CooH mcthod|orbraiscdchickcndishcs)
kcptthc di sh|rcco|r ubbcryski n.
Spi ces and Such
A largc sliccd onion and a |cw minccd
garlic clovcs roundcd out thc basic lla
vors o| thc stcw, and I nnally |cl t
rcady to tacklc thc dcnni ng ingrcdi
cnts: spiccs, olivcs, and l cmon. Many
rccipcs callcd |or a spicc blcnd callcd ras
el hanout, which translatcs loosclyas top
o|tl:c shop and may contain upward o|
3O spiccs. I cxpcrimcntcd with a broad
rangc o|spiccs until I landcd on a blcnd
tl:at was shortoningrcdicnts butlongon
llavor. Cumin and gingcr lcnt dcptl:, cin
namon brought warmth that tcmpcrcd a
littlc cayciuc hcat, and citrusy coriandcr
boostcd thc stcw's lcmon llavor. Paprika
addcdswcctncssbut, pcrhapsmorc impor
tant, colorcd thc brot|: a dccp, attractivc
rcd. Jhoroughlytoastingtl:c spiccs in hot
oil broughtouttl:cfl dcpth o|Uavors.
taginc,thcydidholdpromisc,provingthat
a Wcstcrn cooking mctl:od , braising in a
Dutchovcn) wasascrviccablcsubstitution
We used the spi ces and cookare al ready in our cupboards to create an
authenti c- tasti ng Moroccan tagi ne in l ess than an hour.
Iindi ng thc right olivc provcd hardcr
than I anti ci patc d. Bi g, mcaty, grccn
Moroccanol i vcswcrc thcobviouschoicc
|or thcstcw, but thcy wcrc a rarityatany
o|my local markcts . thcr mcaty grccn
ol i vcs , l i kc Manzani l l a, Ccri gnol a, and |orstcwing|orhoursinataginc. I alsodis
covcrcdtl:attl:cUavorsIassociatcdwithMoroccan
cookingwcrcn'tncccssarilycxotic-thcywcrca
stratcgic blcnding o|i ngrcdicnts I alrcady had i n
mycupboard.
AChi cken in Ever Pot
Almost all o|tl:c rccipcs I collcctcd spccih cd a
wholcchickcn-brokcn down intopicccs-and I
soon |ound out why. Batchcs madc cntirclywith
whitc mcat lackcd thc dcpth and charactcr o|
t|:oscmadcwithabl cndo|darkandwhitc .
But whcn I cookcd thc whitc and dark mcat
i nthcsamcway-simmcrcdpartiallysubmcrgcd
inbroth-thcwhitcmcatturncddryandstringy.
Pul l i ng out thc whi tc mcat whcn it had j ust
cookcd through solvcd mattcrs, but thc closc
attcntion rcquircd was bothcrsomc. Jhcrc had
tobcancasi crway.
Jhat'swhcn I thought o|carrots. Jhcywcrc
addcd to many o|thc rccipcs I had |ound and,
i|cut largc cnough, could raisc thc whitc mcat
picccsabovcthcsimmcringbroth.SoI pilcdscv
cral largccarrotpicccsi ntothcbottomo|thcpot
withthcdarkmcatandsctthcwhitcmcatontop.
With thi s mcthod-and a nvc mi nutc hcadstart
|or thc dark mcat-all thc chickcn was pcr|cctly
cookcdandrcady atthcsamcti mc.
Somc rccipcs callcd |or rubbi ng thc chickcn
wi thl cmonandsaltandlcttingthcmcatmarinatc
bc|orc cooki ng, othcrs cmploycd salt al onc or
blcndcd with spiccs. l |ound that adding spiccs
atthispointrcsul tcd i na muddyllavorcd broth.
Fi nal l y, whi l c lcaving thc skin on thc mcat to
brown it gavc thc braising l i qui d a dccp l|avor,
pul li ng it o|| bc|orc si mmcri ng , thc standard
Iucqucs, wcrc ci thcr too mild or too asscrtivc
to match thc othcr llavors in thc stcw. Crcck
crackcdolivcs,howcvcr,tastcdgrcatandwcrc
casy to nnd. , Scc Kitchcn otcs, pagc 3O, |or
thc rcsults o|oui grccn olivc tasti ng. ) Whcn I
addcdthc olivcsto thc stcwtoosoon,thci rllavor
lcachcd out i nto thc braising l i qui d, rcndcring
thcm bland and bittcr. Stirri ngi n thc olivcsj ust
a |cw mi nutcs bc|orc scrvi ng provcd a bcttcr
approach, as thcy rctaincd thci r pi quant llavor
and nrm tcxturc.
Jhc l cmon llavor in authcntic tagincs comcs
|rom prcscrvcd lcmon, a l ongcurcd Moroccan
Raising the Braise

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condi mcnt that' s hard to hnd outsidc ol spc
cial ty storcs. Quick prcscrvcd l cmons can bc
produccd at homc i n a lcw days, but I wantcd
tokccpmyrccipcas simplcas possi blc. Parttart
citrus, part picklcd bri nc, traditional prcscrvcd
lcmonhasauniqucUavorthat'stoughtoi mitatc.
So I chosc not to try,i nstcad,I aimcd lor a rich
citrusbacknotci nthc dish. I addcd a lcw broad
ribbonsol l cmonzcstalongwiththconions,and
thc highhcatcoaxcdoutthczcst'soilsandmcl
lowcdthcm. Addi ngal cmon' swortholj ui ccj ust
bclorcscrvi ngrcinlorccdthcbrightUavor.
A spoonml ol honcy mrthcr balanccd things,
andchoppcdcilantrolcavcslrcshcncdthcUavors,
but I lclt thc stcw still l ackcd a ccrtain spark.
A last mi nutc addition ol raw garl ic and hncl y
choppcd lcmon zcst sccmcd to cl i nch i t, as thc
sharpncss brought out thc bcst i n cach ol thc
stcw'scomponcnts.
MOROCCAN C HI CKE N WI TH
OLI VES AND LE MON
S E RVES 4
onci nchickcnparts can bc substitutcd lor thc
wholcchickcn. Iorbcst rcsults,usc lourchickcn
thighs andtwochickcn brcasts, cach brcastsplit
inhall, thcdarkmcatcontributcsval uablc Uavor
to thc broth and should not bc omittcd. Lsc a
vcgctablc pcclcr to rcmovc widc strips ol zcst
hom thc lcmon bclorc j uicing i t. Makc surc
to trim any whitc pith lrom thc zcst, as i t can
impart bittcr llavor. Il thc olivcs arc particularly
salty,givcthcma rinsc. Scrvcwithcouscous , scc
Cook'sIxtra,bclow,lorarccipc) .
I 'I teaspoons sweet papri ka
11 teaspoon ground cumi n
1/ teaspoon cayenne
'I teaspoon ground gi nger
'I teaspoon ground coriander
'I teaspoon ground ci nnamon
3 strips l emon zest (each about 2 inches by ' i nch) ,
pl us 3 tabl espoons j uice from I to 2 l emons
5 medi um garlic cloves, mi nced or pressed through
garlic press (about 5 teaspoons)
whole chi cken ( 3 11 to 4 pounds) . cut i nto
pieces ( 4 breast pieces, 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks;
wi ngs reserved for another use) and tri mmed of
excess fat
Tabl e sal t and ground bl ack pepper
tabl espoon olive oi l
l arge onion , halved and cut i nto 'I-i nch slices
(about 3 cups)
l l cups low-sodi um chi cken broth
tabl espoon honey
2 medi um carrots, peel ed and cut crosswise i nto
1 1-i nch-thi ck coi ns , very l arge pi eces cut i nto
half- moons (about 2 cups)
cup Greek cracked green olives (see page 30) .
pitted and halved
2 tabl espoons chopped fresh ci l antro l eaves
E Q U I P M E N T T E s T I N G : Do You Real ly Need a Tagi ne?
Tagi nes (the cooki ng vessel . not the stew) have l atel y enj oyed a fashi onabl e comeback i n cookare catalogs and
food magazi nes. A shal l ower take on the Dutch oven. a tagi ne has a di sti nctive coni cal l i d that makes for a dramatic
presentati on at the di nner tabl e. Accordi ng to trdi ti on , the coni cal shape hel ps cooki ng performance as wel l : A
steam rises duri ng cooki ng. it condenses in the ti p of the rel atively cool l i d (i t' s farther from the heat source than
most l i ds) and dri ps back i nto the stew, conseri ng water in the process. Less steam l oss means you can start of with
l ess l i qui d to begi n wi th and thus end up with more-concentrted favor. Or so the stor goes.
To put thi s theor to test. we brought equal amounts of water to a si mmer i n three tagi nes-a tradi ti onal terra
cotta model ( $ 34) and two modern versi ons from Al l - Cl ad ($ 1 99) and Le Creuset ( $ I 1 9 . 99) -put the l i ds on,
and l et the water "cook" over l ow heat. We i ncl uded our favorite Dutch ovens ( al so Al l - Cl ad and Le Creuset) for
compari son. After one hour. we measured the water left in each of the pots. and it was cl ear that the tagi ne' s
coni cal shape was not such an advantage after al l . The bi g l osers-l i teral ly-were the Al l - Cl ad Dutch oven and the
tradi ti onal terra cotta tagi ne. whi ch l ost 1 6 percent and 30 percent of thei r water. respectively. ( By contrast. the
others l ost only 8 to 9 percent. ) More i mportant than the shape of the pot were the l i d' s weight and fi t: The leak
Al l - Cl ad Dutch oven had the l i ghtest l i d, whi l e the base and l i d of the handmade terra cotta tagi ne si mply di dn' t
fi t together as preci sel y as thei r machi ne- made counterparts.
What does al l thi s l oss mean when i t' s more than water cooki ng? Not much , sai d our tasters, after sampl i ng
five batches of Moroccan chi cken. Al though the amount of l i qui d left behi nd in the stews vari ed, that vari ance
transl ated to l i ttl e di scerni bl e flavor diference. I f you ' re a sti ckl er for tradi ti on . choose a tagi ne wi th a heavy. tight
fitti ng l i d; our favorite was made by Al l - Cl ad. But a Dutch oven wi l l do the job j ust as wel l . -Garth Cl i ngi ngsmith
J
TOO TRAD I TI O NAL?
The handmade l i d of thi s tradi ti onal
ten cotta tagi ne ( $ 34)
TOP TAG I N E
Al l -Clad' s tagi ne ( $ 1 99) made a
great Moroccan bri se. but
A F I N E OPTI ON
L Creuset' s Dutch oven ( $ 230)
produces a tast tagi ne-and
its tal ents don' t stop there. l et steam l eak out. is i t worh the pri ce?
I . Combi ncspiccsi nsmallbowlandsctasidc.
Mi ncc l strip l cmon zcst, combi nc with l tca
spoon minccd garlic and mincc togcthcr unti l
rcduccdtohncpastc,sctasidc.
2. Scasonbothsidcsol chickcnpi cccsl i bcrally
wi th salt and pcppcr. Hcat oi l i n l argc hcavy
bottomcd Dutch ovcn ovcr mcdi um hi gh hcat
until bcgi nni ngtosmokc. Brown chickcn pi cccs
skin sidc downi nsinglc l aycruntil dccpgoldcn,
about5 mi nutcs, usingtongs,turnchi ckcnpi cccs
and brown on sccond si dc, about 4 mi nutcs
morc. Jranslcrchickcnt ol argc platc,whcncool
cnoughtohandlc,pcclollskinanddiscard. Pour
ollanddiscardallbut l tablcspoonlatlrompot.
3. Addonionand2rcmainingl cmonzcststrips
topotandcook,stirri ngoccasional ly,untilonions
havcbrowncdatcdgcsbutstil l rctainshapc, 5 to
7 mi nutcs , add I tablcspoon watcr i l pan gcts
toodark) . Addrcmai ni ng4 tcaspoonsgarlicand
cook, stirring, unti l lragrant, about 3O scconds.
Add spi ccs and cook, stirri ng con stantly, unti l
darkcncdandvcrylragrant,45sccondsto! mi n
utc. Sti r i n broth and honcy, scrapi ng bottom
ol pot with woodcn spoon to looscn browncd
bits . Addthi ghsand drumsticks,rcducchcat to
mcdi um, andsimmcrlor5 mi nutcs .
4. Addcarrotsand brcastpicccs, wi thanyaccu
^ :\ Y c L ' | 2 0 0 6
/
mulatcdj ui ccs)topot,arrangingbrcastpicccsin
singlcl aycron top olcarrots . Covcr,rcducchcat
to mcdi um low, and si mmcr unti l i nstant rcad
thcrmomctcrinscrtcdinto thickcstpartolbrcast
rcgistcrs I oO dcgrccs, I O to I 5 mi nutcs .
5 . Jranslcrchickcn to platc or bowl and tcnt
wi th loi l . Add ol ivcs to pot, i ncrcasc hcat to
mcdi um hi ghand si mmcrunti l l i qui dhas thick
cncdslightlyandcarrots arc tcndcr, 4 to o min
utcs. Rcturn chickcn to pot and add garlic zcst
mi xturc, ci l antro, and l cmon j ui cc, stir to com
binc and adj ust scasoni ngwith salt and pcppcr.
Scrvci mmcdiatcly.
MOROCCAN C HI CKE N WI TH
C HI CKPEAS AN D APRI COTS
Iollowrcci pclorMoroccanChickcnwithl ivcs
and Icmon, rcplaci ng l carrot with I cup dricd
apricots, halvcd, andrcplacing olivcswith I ,I 5
ouncc) canchickpcas,draincdandrinscd.
Go to w. cooksi l l ustrated. com
Key i n code 506 1 for Couscous Pilaf with
Ri si ns and Al monds.
Key i n code 5062 for the res ul ts of our
Ppri ka Tasti ng.
T his i nfor mati on wi l l be avai l able unti l
Nove mber I, 2006.
Bringing Home Fi sh and Chips
Restaurant versions of Engl and' s favorite fast food rarel y measure up. But trying it at home
produced a greasy mess. Coul d we conquer our fear of frying?

n a rcccntvisit to Iondon,
I was rcl uctant to j oi n thc
throngs qucui ng up |or
Lngland'smost|amous|ast
|ood. battcr|ricd tish, dumpcd onto a
moundo||ricdpotatocsanddouscdwith
maltvincgar. utwhcnthc|oodarrivcd,
my attitudc changcd. Lnlikc any |ricd
nshplattcr I ' dcvcrordcrcd|rom a sca
sidc shack, this onc had largc picccs o|
thick cod that wcrc moist, dcl icatc, and
still stcami ng insidc a crisp and tcndcr
coating. And, unlikc |ast|ood |ri cs, thc
chips wcrc cut thi ck and scrvcd up
crispy,wi thsoni ntcriors.
Withnshandchipshopslikcthatonc
oncvcrycorncr,mostBritonswoul dn' t
bothcrwi ththchassl candmcsso|dccp
|rying|ishathomc .uti |Iwantcdto rc
crcatcmyIondoncxpcricnccstatcsidc,I
hadnoothcrchoicc,givcnthc mcdiocrc
vcrsions |ound i n most Amcrican pubs.
Along thc way, I nccdcd to ngurc out
how to organi zc thc proccss so that
cvcrythingmadci ttothctablcatoncc.
3 B Y S E ! N L i W L E R E
spicc anda spri nkl co|paprika|or color
nni shcdthc dcal .
Chi ppi ng Away
A rccipc dcvcl opcd ycars ago at Cook)s
connrmcdwhatany tantlinccook
knows wcll . Jhc bcst |rics arc cookcd
twicc. Jhcy' rc blanchcd in low
tcmpcraturc oi l to cook thc ccntcrs,
thcn nnishcd in hottcr oi l to crisp thc
outsidcstoagol dcnbrown. Myplanwas
to blanch thc |ri cs, turn up thc hcat on
thc oil and |ry thc hsh, thcnkccpthc nsh
warmwhilc thc hicsnni shcd.
Batter Up
LnsurchowI would rcsolvc tl:is logisti
We achi eved the i deal contrast of l i ght. cri sp exteri or and moi st i nteri or by
careful ly constructi ng our batter-and our cooki ng sequence.
Jhcrc wcrc two probl cms with this
pl an. Ii rst,thc nshwas notascrispasi t
hadbccnbc|orc. I suspcctcdthc uscd
oi l was thc problcm. Jhc 3 pounds o|
potatocs I had alrcady dumpcd i nto thc
oi l rclcascd a lot o|moi sturc, much o|
which bubbl cd away as stcam but somc
o|which rcmai ncd in thcoi l , dilutingit
and thusdi mi ni shi ng its abi l i ty to makc
things crisp. Jhc oil was i n cvcn worsc
condi ti onancr thc nsh had |ricd,which
cxaccrbatcd thc sccond probl cm. Jhc
bl anchcd, ovcrsi zcd |ri cs took about
I O mi nutcs to turn goldcn brown and
crisp,bywhichti mcthccoolingh shwas cal challcngc, I dccidcd to |ocus nrst on
dcvcloping a rccipc |or a battcr that would pcr
|orm two important mnctions. Iirst, protccti on.
A piccc o|pl ai n nsh droppcd i nto hot oil ovcr
cooks almost i nstantly. Whilc a coating o|U our
orbrcadcrumbsprovidcsa modicumo|dclcnsc,
a wct battcri s tl:c bcst dclcnsc bccausc i t com
plctclycoats thcnsh,allowingittostcamgcntlyas
it cooks. Sccond, thc battcr must |orm a coati ng
thatprovidcscrispcontrastwitl: thcmoi stnsh.
I nthcbulko|thcrccipcsIsurvcycd, thcbattcr
, usua|lya 5O/5Omi xo|Uourandbccr) cxcc| l cd
atthcnrsttaskandHunkcdthcsccond. Jhcnsh
camcoutmoi st, butthccoati ngwasbrcadyand
thick. Worsc,asthcnshdrai ncdonpapcrtowcl s,
i tconti nucdtoproduccstcam, mi nutcslatcr,thc
crustwas|al l i ngo||thcnsh. I tricdthinningthc
battcr with morc bccr so that lcss stcam would
bctrappcd, butthatbroughtncwprobl cms. Jhc
liquidi nthcbattcrbcgantoboilalmosti mmcdi
atclyuponhittingthc oil, andthccoating|ai l cd
tosurvivc.
I| I couldn' t thi n thc battcr, pcrhaps I could
adj ust its structurc . Jhc obvious cul pri t bchi nd
thc brcady tcxturc was gl utcn, thc protci n that
givcsbrcaditsstructurc. Whati| I rcplaccdsomc
o| thcal l purposcHourwithastarchthatdocsn' t
dcvclop gl utcn` Vari ous tcsts l cd mc to a 3 . I
ratioo||| ourtocomstarch. 1histhi nncr, butnot
wcttcr) mixturcsurvivcdthchotoi l andli cdup
cri sp. Ii nally, a tcaspoon o|baki ngpowdcrcrc
atcdtinybubbl csi nthcbattcr,givi ngthccoati ng
anairicrtcxturc.
nc problcm l i ngcrcd. Whilc thc tcxturc o|
thc coati ng was grcat, i t tcndcd to pu|| away
|rom thc lishas i t|ri cd, ul ti matcly Haki ngo||i n
l argc pi cccs with t hc|irst bitc . I hadbccndry
i ngthc li sh wcll and drcdgingi ti nlIourbc|orc
battcri ng-tcchni qucs mcant to stop this |rom
happcni ng-but i t was sti l l a probl cm. I tri cd
sprcadi ng cxtra |I our on a baki ng shcct, and,
ancrdrcdgi ngandbattcri ngcachpi ccc, I coatcd
thc |ishwith Houragai n. Succcss' Jhc rcsulti ng
coat. nghad a slightlycrumbly, irrcgulartcxturc
thatcl ungtightlytothc|i sh. Abi to|caycnnc|or
| | | | ' | | | l ' I " K ;\ I | l
8
scvcralmi nutcspast its pri mc.
A col lcaguc had dcvclopcd a rccipc |or ski l
l ctpotatocsthati nvolvcd lirstparcooki ng sliccd
potatocs i n a m. crowavc . Could I parcook thc
|iicstogctrido|somco|thccxccsswatcrbc|orc
thc potatocs hit thc oi l ` Ycs, but i|mi crowavcd
toolong, untilcomplctclytcndcr) , thcthick|rics
bcgan to crumbl c and |al l apar t . Jhcy would
still havc to blanch i nthcoi l , but thc mi crowavc
hcad startl ctmc blanchatahi ghcrtcmpcraturc,
partially browni ng thc |ri cs in advancc to shavc
crucial mi nutcs ol1o|thc hnal Iyi ng ti mc. Jo
mrthcri mprovcthcqual i tyo|thcoi l , I tri cdadd
ingsomc|rcshoiltothcpotjustbcIorclryi ngthc
|ishand|oundthccrispncsso|thc |inalproducts
tobc grcatlyi mprovcd.
Jhi s patchwork mcthod-al tcrnati ng thc
nsh and thc |ri cs , scc Rcci pc Shorthand, pagc
)-was quick and casy, and i t rcsultcd i n nsh
and chips that wcrc donc in sync. Ii nal ly, I had
a rccipc to kccp mc satisncd unti l my ncxt trip
acrossthcAtl anti c.
F I S H AND C HI PS
S E RVE S 4
E o u 1 P M E N r T E s r 1 N G : High- End Deep Fryers
Askyourhshmongcrtorcmovc thcthintailpor
tions o| thc hsh. Ior sa|cty, usc a Dutch ovcn
with at lcast a quart capacity. Any bccr will
worki nthisrccipc, cvcnnonalcoholicbccr, with
thccxccptiono|darkstouts and alcs. Scrvc with
traditionalmaltvincgarorwithtartarsaucc.
3 pounds russet potatoes (about 4 1 arge potatoes) .
peel ed, ends and si des squared off, and cut
l engthwi se i nto ' h i nch by 1 1- i nch fri es
(see Ki tchen Notes, page 30, for detai l ed
i nstructi ons)
3 quarts pl us 'I cup peanut oi l or canot a oi l
1 11 cups al l - purpose fl our
'h cup cornstarch
'h teaspoon cayenne
' h teaspoon papri ka
'Is teaspoon ground bl ack pepper
Tabl e sal t
teaspoon baki ng powder
1 11 pounds cod or other thi ck whi te fi sh fi l l et, such
as hake or haddock, cut i nto ei ght 3 - ounce
pi eces about I i nch thi ck
1 11 cups ( 1 2 ounces) col d beer
I . Placccut|ri csi nl argcmicrowavcabl cbowl ,
tosswithl4 cup oi l , and covcrwithplasticwrap.
Mi crowavc on hi gh powcr unti l potatocs arc
partially transl uccnt and pliablc but sti l l oncr
somc rcsistanccwhcnpi crccdwithti po|paring
kni|c, oto 8 mi nutcs,tossingthcmwithrubbcr
spatulahallaythroughcooki ngti mc . Carc|ully
pull back plastic wrap |rom sidc lurthcst |rom
youanddrainpotatocs i nto l argcmcshstrai ncr
sct ovcr si nk. Ri nsc wcl l undcr col d runni ng
watcr. Sprcadpotatocsontokitchcntowcl sand
patdry. Ictrcstuntilroomtcmpcraturc, atl cast
IO mi nutcsandupto l hour.
2. Whi l c |ri cs cool , whi sk Uour, comstarch,
caycnnc, paprika, pcppcr, and 2 tcaspoons salt
From past tests, we know a decent deep frer can be
had for l ess than $80. Spend more and you ' l l get fancy
features l i ke oil filtrati on systems. But what about basi c
perfonnancel To fi nd out, we embarked on a french
fr marathon wi th si x high-end model s-Masterbui l t
Turk' N' Surf ( $ 1 99. 9 5 ) , Deni Mul ti - Frer ( $99. 99) ,
Delonghi Dual Zone ( $99. 95) , Wari ng Professi onal
( $ 1 29. 95) , T-Fal Ul ti mate EZ Cl ean ( $ 1 1 9 . 9 5 ) , and
Delonghi Cool Touch ( $ 1 29. 95) -pl us our favorite
i nexpensive model , the Oster I mmersi on ( $79. 9 5 ) .
Al l the model s tured out tast fri es-eventual ly.
The di fference between good performance and great
hi nged on oil capaci t. The more capaci t, the l ess
severe the temperature drop once the food hi t the oi l ,
whi ch al l owed for fewer batches and qui cker recovery
between batches. For i nstance, the Masterbui l t, whi ch
hol ds 2 gal l ons of oi l (enough to fry a 1 4- pound tur
key' ) . dropped 34 degrees when we added a pound
BE ST BUY GAS G UZZLE R
The Oster I mmersion The Masterbui l t ($ 1 99. 9 5 )
( $ 79. 9 5) ofers al l the fryer was the best performer but
you need for most reci pes. requi red l ots of oi l .
i nl argcmi xi ng|owl , trans|cr34 cupo|mi xturc
tori mmcdbaki ngshcct. Addbaki ngpowdcrto
bowl andwhi sktocombi nc .
3 . I n hcavy bottomcd Dutch ovcn, hcat
2 quarts oi l ovcr mcdi um Hcat t o 35O dcgrccs.
Add|ri cstohotoilandi ncrcaschcattohi gh.Iry,
stirri ngwithmcshspidcrorslottcdmctal spoon,
unti l potatocstuml i ghtgoldcnandj ust|cgi nt
|rown at comcrs, o t 8 mi nutcs. Jrans|cr hics
tothickpapcrbagorpapcrtowclstodrai n.
R E C I P E S H O RTHAN D Cl11l |C 1H l ll b H ^|U | H I | l | Y^C
To ensure that the fish and chi ps are done at the same ti me, we crafted thi s sequence of steps that al so mi ni mi zes mess.
MI CROWAVE
POTATOE S
RI NS E
POTATOE S
F RY
POTATOE S
F RY
F I S H
F RY POTATOE S
AGAI N
I. Mi crowave oi l - tossed potatoes unti l softened and pl i abl e. 2. Ri nse potatoes under col d runni ng water and pat dry.
3 . Fr potatoes in 3 50- degree oi l unti l j ust begi n ni ng to brown . 4. Add more oi l to the pot, heat oi l to 3 7 5 degrees,
and fry fi sh unti l gol den brown . 5. Return fri es to oi l and cook unti l cri sp and gol den .
.\\ ^ Y l | ' | 2 () () 6
'
of fri es. In contrast. the De Longhi Cool Touch, whi ch
uses a mere 1 . 3 quarts (i t rotates food i nto and out
of the oi l ) , l ost a whoppi ng I 1 4 degrees. What that
means in practi cal terms i s that the Masterbui l t can
efecti vel y cook an enti re batch of fri es; by the time
the smal l est model fi ni shed i ts fou rth parti al batch. the
rest of the fries were sogg and l i mp.
Ever model was equi pped with a bui l t- i n thenno
stat-an essenti al feature, to our mi nds. But other
"del uxe" features seemed extrneous. Transparent l i ds
are ni ce i n theor but qui ckly rendered usel ess by ema
nati ng steam. T- Fl ' s so-cal l ed EZ Cl ean-the oi l is fi l
tered and drai ned i nto a contai ner-i s anythi ng but eas.
I deal ly. we' d fr our fri es in one batch, but pouri ng
2 gal l ons of oi l i nto the Masterbui l t seems excessive.
I f you don' t often fry fi sh and chi ps, the Oster-the
cheap model -i s al l you real ly need .
F I LTE RE D O UT
The T-Fal ( $ 1 1 9. 95 ) had a
fancy-but unnecessary-oi l
fi ltration system.
-Garth Cl i ngi ngsmi th
S MALL F RY
The De Longhi Cool -Touch
($ 1 29. 9 5) was i nnovative
but l acked capacity.
4. Rcducchcatto mcdi um hi gh, addrcmain
ing quart o|oi l , and hcat oi l to 35 dcgrccs.
Mcanwhi l c, thoroughl ydry| shwithpapcrtow
cl s and drcdgc cach pi ccc in Uour mixturc on
|aki ngshcct, trans|crpi cccs wirc rack, shak
i ngo||cxccss Uour. Add Il4 cups bccrto Uour
mi xturc in mi xi ng bowl and sti r until mixturc
i s j ust combi ncd , battcr will bc l umpy) . Add
rcmai ni ng bccr as nccdcd, l tabl cspoon at a
ti mc, whi ski ng ahcr cach addi ti on, until battcr
lul l snom whisk in thi n,stcadystrcamandlcavcs
lui nttrai l across surlucc o|battcr. Lsi ngtongs,
di p I pi ccc| sh i n battcrand l ct cxccss runo||,
shaki ng gcntl y. Pl acc battcrcd hsh back onto
baking shcctwithtIourmi xturcandtumtocoat
both si dcs. Rcpcatwith rcmai ni ngti sh, kccping
pi cccsi nsinglc l aycron baking shcct.
5. Whcn oi l rcachcs 35 dcgrccs, i ncrcasc
Hcat to hi gh and add |attcrcd nsh to oil with
tongs, gcntl y shaki ng o||cxccss uour. Iry, stir
ri ng occasi onal l y, unti l gol dcn brown, to
8 mi nut cs . Jransl.r hs h to t hi ck papcr bag
orpapcrtowcls drai n. Allowoi l to rctum to
375dcgrccs.
o. Addallhicsbacktooi l and|ryuntilgoldcn
brown and cri sp, 3 to 5 mi nutcs. Jrans|cr to
|rcshpapcr bagorpapcr towclstodrai n. Scason
hics with salt to tastc and scrvc i mmcdi atcly
wi tht s h.
Grilled Tomato Salsa
Could we transform out-of-season tomatoes into a sweet and smok
y
salsa?
G
rillcd tomato salsa sounds tcrrinc on
papcr. Who can arguc with thc idca
o|pairingtraditionalsalsa'sspicyhcat
and brightncsswith thc smokyswcct
Uavors thatcomc|roma quickstinton thc gri | l `
Inpracticc,howcvcr,I |oundthi srccipcl cssallur
ing. Skinscharrcdand curlcdoh tomatocsstuck
tothccooki nggratc, andmostvcrsionshadl i ttlc
smokc uavor. But cvcn thcsc disappoi ntingtcsts
hcldpromisc. I|I could |igurc outawayto gct
thc gri llcduavori ntothctomatowithoutlosing
most o|thc tomato i n thc proccss, this rccipc
wouldbcagrcatwaytotrans|ormmcdiocrcout
o|scasontomatocsi ntosomcthingtrul yspccial .
Iirst up, tomato choicc. Bcc|stcak tomatocs
wcrctoowatcry. Chcrrytomatocswcrcnrmand
swcct,butchasi ngthcmaround onthc gril l was
a losing proposition. Il um tomatocs wcrc thc
mcaticst o|thc bunch-and thcrc|orc thc bcst
sui tcd to grill i ng. Bccausc thcy could takc thc
hcat|or a longcrpcri odo|ti mc, thcycould also
takconmorcgri l l cduavor.
I | rsttri cdgrill i ngthc pl umtomatocswhol c,
buti twas hard to gcta dcccntscarall thc way
aroundwitoutlosingmosto|thcski n. Halvi ng
andsccdingthctomatocs-andthcrcbycxposing
twicc thc sur|acc arca to thc grill-produccd a
salsawithmuchmorcgrillcduavor, butitwastoo
dry.cxtI tricdhalvi ngthctomatocsbutl caving
thc sccds in, this approach yicldcd a salsa with
dcccnttcxturcandgri l l cduavor,butIwaslosing
alairamountolucshthroughthccookinggratc.
By gri lling thc halvcs cut sidc down h rst, thcn
uipping thcm oncc wcll caramcl i zcd, thc ski n
actcdasacradlcthathclpcdkccpthcucshi ntact
asthctomatocs continucdtocookandsoncn.
I tricd gri l l cdandraw vcrsions o|rcd, whitc,
ycllow, and grccn oni ons. Jastcrs likcd thc rcd
onions |or thcir swcctncss, and thcyl i kcd thcm
raw-thcir|rcshbi tcaddinganicccontrasttothc
sonncsso|thcgri l l cdtomatocs. Whcni tcamcto
chi | cs, howcvcr, tastcrs prc|crrcd thcdccp |Iavor
o|gri l lcd-notraw-jalapcnos.
I nowhadatomatosalsawithgoodgri ll cdua
vor, buttastcrs wantcd morc. I turncd to smok
ing,addinga|oilpackcto|soakcdwoodchipsto
thc hot coal s. Butbccausc thctomatocscookcd
so quickly, thc |oi l cncascdchipsdidn' thavc thc
timc thcy nccdcd to producc cnough smokc .
cxt I tricddoingawaywith thc |oilpackctand
tosscdthcsoakcd chips di rcctlyontothc coals
whcrc thcy qui ckl y i gni tcd and procccdcd to
torchthctomatocs.
3 B Y ER I N M C M U R RE R E
Jhcsolutionwastobuildamodincdtwol cvcl
hrc, withall thccoal sbankcdononcsidc o|thc
gri l l . l addcdthcchipsto thchotcoalsonccthc
tomatocs wcrc sa|cl y si tuatcd ovcr thc cool cr
, coal |rcc) si dco| tl+c grill and thcncovcrcdthc
gri l l |orj usttwomi nutcs, whichproduccd morc
thancnoughbillowingsmokctoboostthcU avor
o| tl+c tomatocsandchi l cs.
Jobal anccand brightcn thc dccp, smoky ua
vorso|thctomatocsandchi l cs,Iaddcdasqucczc
o|l i mc jui cc, a hand|ul o|cilantro, and a bi t o|
sugar, sal t, andpcppcr. Civcnjust IO mi nutcsto
l cttl+c|Iavors mcl d, thc salsawas so smoky and
swcctthati twashardtobclicvcthatpcaktomato
scasonwasmonthsaway.
SWE ET AND S MOKY
GR I LLE D TOMATO SALSA
MAKES ABOUT 3 CUP S
Sugarand l i mcjui ccshould bcaddcdat t hccnd
to tastc, dcpcndingon thc ripcncss o|tl+c toma
tocs. Ior a spicicr salsa, don't sccd tl+c gri l l cd
chi l cs. Jhissalsaisagoodmatch|ortorti l l achi ps
butal sogocswcl l wi thgrillcd |ood and cggs. I|
scrvi ng thc sal sa witl+ grillcd mcat or nsh, grill
thctomatocsandj alapcnos,addmorcunl i tcoals,
and thcn hnish tl+c salsa whilc you wait |or thc
nrctointcnsipagainbc|orccookingtl+cmcator
nsh. Mcsquitc woodchipsarctoopotcnt|or this
rccipc, wcprc|crhickory.
2 pounds pl um tomatoes ( I 0 to 1 2 medi um) .
cored and halved pol e t o pol e
2 l arge j al apeno chi l es
2 teaspoons vegetabl e oi l , pl us addi ti onal for
brushi ng cooking grate
cup wood chi ps. preferabl y hi ckory. soaked
for 1 5 mi nutes
3 tabl espoons mi nced red oni on
2 tabl espoons chopped fresh ci l antro l eaves
teaspoon tabl e sal t
'I teaspoon ground bl ack pepper
2 tabl espoons extra-vi rgi n ol ive oi l
11 teaspoon sugar (see note above)
1 -2 tabl espoons j ui ce from I l i me (see note above)
I. pcn top and bottom grill vcnts . Lsing
l argc chi mncy, l i ght o quarts charcoal , about
IOO bri qucttcs ) and l ct bum unti l parti al | y
covcrcdwi thlaycro|| ncgrayash. Impty coals
onto gri l l and bui l d modi |cd two lcvcl nrc by
arrangi ng all coal s to covcr onc-hal |o|gri l l .
| | | | : | | | |' : 1 M ^ 1 | | `
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Iosi ti on cooki ng gratc ovcr coal s, covcr gri l l ,
andhcatunti l hot, about5 mi nutcs, scrapcgratc
cl canwi th grill brush.
2 . Ilacc tomatocs and chi l cs in bowl , drizzlc
withvcgctablc oi l andtoss to coatcvcnly. Lsing
l ong handlcdgri l l tongs,dipwado|papcrtowcls
l i ghtlyin vcgctablc oilandwipc hotsidco|gratc.
Ilacctomatocscutsidcdown ovcrhotsidco|gri l l .
Cri l l tomatocs unti l cvcnl y charrcd and bcgin
ni ngtosoncn, 4 too mi nutcs, movingtomatocs
|rom cdgcs o|gril| to ccntcras nccdcd to makc
surc alltomatocsarccvcnlycharrcd. Lsingtongs,
|Iiptomatocsandgri l l unti l skin sidcsarccharrcd
andtomatoj ui ccs bubbl c, 4 too mi nutcs morc.
As tomatocsnni shcharri ng, movc tocoolcrsidc
o|gri l l , lcaving nrmcr oncs closcr to coals and
placingsoncroncs|artl+craway, tomatocsshould
bc vcry tcndcr but not |al l i ng apart ) . Whi l c
tomatocs arc cooki ng, gri l l chi l cs ovcrhot part
o|gril l until skinsarc blackcncdonallsidcs, 8 to
IOminutcs,turningasnccdcd.Jrans|crtocoolcr
sidco|gri | l .
3. Whcnbothtomatocsandchi l csarconcoolcr
sidc o|gri l l , add soakcdwood chi pstohotcoals
and covcr gri l l , positi oni ng opcn lid vcnt ovcr
tomatocs . Cook |or 2 mi nutcs , smokc should
bi l l ow through vcnts ancr about 3O scconds ) .
Jrans|cr vcgctabl cs t o pl attcr andl ct cool i n
singlcl aycr,at lcast IOmi nutcs.
4. Stcm, pccl , sccd, and hncl y chop chilcs.
lul sc tomatocs i n |ood proccssor until bro
kcn down but sti l l chunky, about six I sccond
pul scs. Jrans|crtomatocs tobowl , stiri nchi l cs,
oni on, ci l antro,sal t, pcppcr, andol i vcoil . Jastc
and add sugar and l i mcj ui cc as nccdcd to bal
anccuavors . Ictstand|or IOmi nutcsandscrvc.
, Salsa can bc rc|ri gcratcd in airti ght containcr
|or up to 2 days, bri ng back to room tcmpcra
turcbc|orcscrvi ng. )
FOR GAS GRLL: Ilacc wood chi ps in small
disposablc alumi num pan, sct pan on cdgc o|
gri l l bumcr and position cooking gratc. I gnitc
gri l l , turn al| burncrs to hi gh, covcr, and hcat
untilvcryhotandchips arc bcgi nni ngtosmokc,
about I5 mi nutcs. , I| chips ignitc, usc watcr
nl l cd spray bottlc to cxtinguish. ) Scrapc gratc
clcanwithgrillbrush. Continucwith rccipc hom
stcp 2, gri l li ngtomatocs and chi lcscntirclyovcr
hi gh hcaton sidc o|grill away |rom wood chips
andwith lid down, chccking oncn to makc surc
tl+cy arc not burni ng. Ji mi ng should bc similar
tothat in charcoal rccipc.
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Grilled London Broil

Throwi ng a sl ab of cheap meat on the gri l l sounds easy, but the resul t
can be more l i ke chewi ng on a ti re than on a ni cely charred, tender steak.
A
nyonc can gri l l up t cndcr,
rosypink,nicclycharrcdstcaks
using priccycuts |rom thc rib
orthcloin,allthcynccdissalt,
pcppcr, oi l , and a |cw li cks |rom a hot
U amc. Jry that simplc approach with an
incxpcnsivc, l argc, and tough stcak-likc
onc l abcl cd Iondon Broi l -and thc
mcatusuallyturns i nto gray, livcrychcw
ing gum by thc timc i t ' s dcvcl opcd a
dcccntscar.
Iondon broil i s actually not a spccih c
cuto|mcat, rathcr, i t' s a namc givcn to
variouschcap cutso|bcc|thatarccookcd
quickly, thcn sliccd ultrathi n to mitigatc
somc o|thc toughncss. It's a markcti ng
ployo|sorts-away|orsupcrmarkctsand
butchcrs to unload un|amiliarstcaks that
homccooksarcn' tsurc what to dowith.
Wanting to satisp my cavcman i nstincts
|or a gri l lcdpiccc o|mcatwithoutbrcak
ingthcbank,I hcadcdtothcsupcrmarkct
toscarchoutthisovcrsizcdcut.
Tough Choi ces
3 B Y I) A V I D P A Z 1\\ I N 0 E
thcchuckshoul dcr. ncc thc stcakswcrc
gri l l cd, howcvcr, thci rtoughncss bccamc
apparcnt , and thc mcat itscl|was on thc
livcry si dc. Sti l l , thcsc wcrc thc chcapcst
and thi ckcststcaks I |ound, and thcy did
dcvclop a dccp, dark, and cvcnly scarcd
outcrcrust, cspcciallythcnoticcablymorc
uni |ormbottomround) . Cl carly,Ihadmy
workcutout|or mc.
' De- l iveri ng' Fl avor
1o solvc thc problcm o| livcry Uavor, I
|i rst tumcd to Iondon broil rccipcs |rom
thc I 5Os. Jhc convcntional wisdom was
to i mmcrsc thc mcat in a vinaigrcttcstylc
marinadc|ortwoto24lours. Ikncw|rom
prcvious tcsting that marinadcs do littlc
|ortcndcrncss,tl:c acidshavcthcc||ccto|
cooki ng thc protci ns on thc sur|acc o|
thc mcat,making thcm dricrancrthc rcal
cooki ng) butthoughttl+atthcymighttakc
carc o|thc livcry Havor o|thc mcat. So I
surrcndcrcdtotradition and dunkcd morc
thanadozcnstcaksin acidicbaths||avorcd
with a varicty o| ingrcdicnts, including
A utilitarianycllowororangc stickcrpro
claiming Iondon Broil makcs thcsc
stcakscasytospotamongthcmanychoiccs
inthc mcatcasc. I commonly|ounditon
Carvi ng gri l l ed London broi l i nto ul tra- thi n sl i ces i s j ust one of several
tri cks we used to transform a cheap steak i nto a terri fi c meal .
rcd wi nc, Worccstcrshirc saucc, balsamic
vincgar, I talian drcssing, and lcmon juicc.
Althoughsomc o|thc marinadcs gavc thc
stcaksgrcatHavor,thcyalsosquclchcdany
thrccstcaks. chuckshouldcr,topround,andbot
tom round , scc Would thc Rcal Iondon Broi l
Plcasc Stand Ip` bclow) . Picking up all thrcc,
I chcckcdoutandmadc mywaybacktothctcst
kitchcn.
Ancr hring up thc grill and simply cooki ng
thcmcatwith sal t, pcppcr, andoi l , a |cw thi ngs
bccamc apparcnt. Chuckshoul dcrstcak, onc o|
thc tcst kitchcn' s pcrcnnial |avori tcs, had grcat
uavor, but whcn thi nly sliccd agai nst thc grain
i ts thrcc muscl c groups l c|t unappcal i ng scams
o||at i n cach sli cc. Movc toward thcrcaro|thc
ani mal andyougcttoproundandbottomround
stcaks, whi ch arc morc uni |orm i n slapc than
Woul d the Real London Broil Pl ease Stand Up?
bccnncss. I wantcd a stcak that tastcd l i kc bcc|,
not vinaigrcttc.
Ip to thi s poi nt, I had bccn tcsting all thcsc
marinadcswithstcaksthathad bccnsimplysaltcd
and pcppcrcd. Had I ovcrlookcd thc si mpl i c
i ty o|salt as a possi bl c sol uti on` I coatcd stcaks
wi th various amounts o|koshcr salt , casicr to
Coined i n the early 1 930s at Keen' s Chophouse in New York Ci t, the term " London broi l " doesn ' t refer to a parti cul ar cut of meat at al l . Rther, i t' s a generi c l abel bandi ed about by
butchers to sel l l are, cheap, unfami l iar steaks that might otheri se be ignored by customers. Over the years, a number of diferent steaks have been cal l ed London broi l . For a whi l e, fank
steak was the most common, but fl ank' s popul ari t on the gri l l and i n stir-fries bumped its pri ce i nto the $6. 99-a- pound range-a bi t too ri ch for London broi l territor. Nowadays, you' l l
mostly see t he sti l l -cheap (roughl y $ 3 . 99 a pound) chuck shoul der steak, top round steak, and bottom round steak l abel ed as London broi l .
F LAN K
Good and beef, but its recent
popul arit has inflated prices.
C H U C K S H OU LD E R
Great flavor, but mul ti pl e muscl e groups
make for "gristly," unattractive sl i ces.
TOP ROU N D
Though "mi nerl -y" with a "ti re- l i ke tough
ness, " top round i s appeal i ngly beef.
.\\ .\ ` t l | | 2 0 \' 6
I I
B OTTOM ROU N D
Si mi l ar to top round, but its uniform shape
makes i t even better for gri l l i ng; our favorite.
Coaxi ng the Best Out of london Broi l
A tough, l ivery. unevenl y browned sl ab of meat that buckl es up when gri l l ed? Not a ver appeal i ng combi nati on. I nstead of admi tti ng defeat-and opti ng for pri cey porterhouse-we
stepped up to the chal l enge. Tums out a tough. cheap steak j ust needs a bit of ol d-fashi oned pamperi ng to smooth out i ts rough edges.
SALT RUBDOWN WARM BATH MUSCLE RELTI ON SLEEK CUT
Sal t draws j ui ces to the surface, where
they eventual ly di ssol ve the sal t; the j ui ces
are then reabsorbed i n the form of a fl a
vorful , concentrted " bri ne. " bri ngi ng out
beef flavors and maski ng l ivery ones.
Submergi ng the (wrpped) beef i n warm
water for the l ast hour of sal ti ng cuts the
cooki ng ti me by al most 1 0 mi nutes-pro
vi di ng l ess opportuni t for fatt aci ds to
break down i nto off-tasti ng compounds.
Fl i ppi ng the meat once per mi nute keeps
the l ong muscl e fi bers from contract
i ng and buckl i ng up, maki ng i t easi er to
achi eve a good sear.
Hol di ng the kni fe perpendi cul ar to the
cutti ng board and sl i ci ng the meat di ago
nal ly (at a 45 - degree angl e) i nto ul tra-thi n
sl i ces shortens the l ong. tough muscl e
fi bers. dramati cal ly di mi ni shi ng chewi ness.
sprinklc cvcn|y than tablc sal t ) and |ct thcm sit
|orshortpcriodso|ti mc, cvcntual l yscttlingon2
tcaspoonso|saltand|ourhours. Rathcrthansalt
ingthcmcatandputtingi t onaplatc,I wrappcd
ittightlyi nplasticwrap. nccI tookthcscstcaks
o||thc gri l l , tastcrs commcntcdon thcir bcch
ncssandclcanUavors. Iponhtrtlcrrcscarch,
l lcarncdthatthc sa|thaddravn LU uc stcak`s
juiccs,whichmi xcdwith thcsaltonthccxtcrior
andcrcatcdashallowbrincdatwasrcabsorbcd
by uc mcat ovcrthc |ourhourpcriod. Jhc salt
mprovc tc avor by acccntuatingthc stcaks`
natural|y bcc| Uavors and by masklng somc o|
thcmorcunsavory, rcad. livcry)o|| notcs.
Tenderi zi ng Moments
I had donc cvcrything I could tli nk o|to com
batthcl ivcryU avor, so I tuncd my attcntionto
thcothcrprobl cm. thc tough, chcwy tcxturc. I
alrcady kncw that marinadcs with acid did l i ttlc
|or thc tcxturc, but could ucrc bc otlcrtcndcr
izing ingrcdicnts` Scouring thc cookbook l i tcra
turc|orlikclycandidatcs,I dccidcdtotryyogurt,
buttcrmilk,pincapp|c, papaya,kiwi , gi ngcr, soda,
commcrcialtcndcrizingpowdcr,anda )accard , a
sharptool thatbrcaksdown mcat ) .
Ahcrscvcraltcstswithyogurtandbuttcrmilk,
it was apparcnt that thc acids and cnzymcs i n
Jai rywcrc tcndcri zi ng thc cxtcrior o|thc mcat
but wcrc doi ng nothing to thc tough i ntcrior
hbcrs . 1hc cnzymcs i n uncookcd pi ncappl c,
papaya, kiwi , andgingcrwork si mi l arlyt oacids
i nthatthcybrcakdownprotci ns. Ln|ortunatcly,
thcy produccd a si mi l ar outcomc-soncncd
cxtcriorand tough intcri or, with ovcrwhcl mi ng
|rui tyandsourUavors l cnbchi nd. Sodaprovcd
to bc adcadend aswcll . CocaCol a, DrIcppcr,
andtonicwatcr all dricdoutthcmcat,lcavingi t
cxtrcmclytoughandunpalatablc.
1hc commcrcial tcndcri zcr Adolph` s, whi ch
had workcd so wcl | on thc thi n cutl cts ca| | cd
|ori nour\cal Scal oppini, sccpagc I 8 ) ,workcd
onon| ythc outcr quartcr i ncho|my stcaks and
l cnthcmtastingovcrlysal ty. I | I couldn` tbrcak
down thc musclc hbcrs with c hcmi cal s, I hg
urcd I mi ghtaswcl| t rybrutc torcc . I turncdt o
a )accard machi nc, a handhcld dcvi cc consi st
i ng ol+8 smal | , poi nty kni vcs that cut up thc
tough hbcrs. A|tcr trcating scvcral pi cccs wi th
thc accard , whi ch rcscmbl cs a mcdi cval tool
uscd |or torturc ) , thc stcak tumcd not mcrcl y
tcndcrbutmushy.
Back to thc drawi ng board, l dcci dcd to
cxpcri mcntwithcookingtcchni qucstosolvcthc
tcxturc probl cm. At thi s poi nt, l was cmpl oy
i ng thc tcst ki tchco` s usua| mcthod to| cook
i ng a largc pi ccc o|mcaton thc gril l . scari ngit
until wcl l charrcd on thc hot sidc o|a modi ti cd
two l cvcl|rc , thati s, wi ththccoal spi l cd upon
just onc sidco|thc gri l l ) , thcn movingit to thc
cool cr , cmpty) si dc unt i l i t rcachcd thc ri ght
tcmpcraturc. , Bccauscbottomroundissol can, l
tookthcadditiona| stcpo|b|ushingthccxtcrior
wi th oil to cncouragc charri ng-tough stcaks
gct cvcn toughcr whcn ovcrcookcd. ) Dcspi tc
havi nga nicccharandrcachi ngani ntcma| tcm
pcraturc o|I 2 Odcgrccs, thc stcaks al | had di s
ccni bl c bands o|gray mcat surroundi nga rosy,
mcdi um rarc i ntcrior. 1hcsc p|cdomi nant gray
|ands wcrc si mpl y ovcrcookcd mcat, and thcy
wcrc thc main rcason tastcrswcrc cxpcri cnci ng
thc stcaks as dryand tough. l |l coul d tumout
a morc cvcnly cookcd stcakandcl i minatc thcsc
dcsiccatcd, chcwy banJs, l mi ght bc on my way
to solvi ngthc probl cmo|tcxturc .
Harol d McCcc, in hi s book On Food and
Cooking ,I 84) , had thc answcr. Hc s uggcsts
i ncrcasi ngthc tcmpc|aturc o|thc stcak prior to
cooki ng by soaki ng it i n warm watcr-wci rd,
ycs, but wortha try. l ncrcasi ngthctcmpcraturc
| | | | | | | | ' ~ | H .\ | | |`
1 2
o|thc raw mcat |rom a rc|ri gcrator chi ll y +O
dcgrccs to O dcgrccs would bring i t cl oscr to
thc hni shi ng tcmpcraturc o| I 2 O dcgrccs, this
i n tum woul d mcan l css timc on thc gri l l and
a morc cvcnly cookcd and j uici cr stcak. Bc|orc
di vi ng hcad hrst i nto thc watcr, I thought i t
mi ghtbc casicr to simply l cavc thc mcatoutat
room tcmpcraturc . AItcr an hout, though, thc
i ntcrnal tcmpcraturc o|thc mcat had i ncrcascd
by only 3 dcgrccs . lt took ncarly six houts to
rcach O dcgrccs-cnough ti mc |or bactcria to
mul ti pl y. I optcd to try thc quickcr , and sahr)
mcthod. !l acinga stcakwrappcdi napl astic |ag
i na buckcto|I OOdcg|ccwatcrtorj ustanhour
broughtthctcmpcraturc uptom+Odcgrccsto
O dcgrccs. lt also dccrcascd thc gri l | i ng timc
l: om22mi nutcstojust I 3 , ci ghtmi nutcsonthc
hot sidc, tivc on thc coolcr ) . Ancr rcsting, this
prc warmcdstcakrcvcal cda gorgcousrosyi ntc
rioraswcl l asa dcccntchar-andgoncwcrc thc
thi ck,ovcrcookcdgraybandsncarthccdgcs.
ut tcxtmc wasn` t tl+c onl y bcncn ciary o|a
shortcrcooki ngti mc. 1hcstcakscookcdthisway
also tastcd much lcss livcry. Ahcr somc carcn||
rcscarch, l l carncd that thc longcr mcat cooks,
thc morc opportuni ty thcrc is |or thc oxygcn
, storcdinitsprotcins )torcactwiththc|ttyacids
, storcd in its lat ) to producc thc noxi ous, livcry
ll avors and aromas that had pl agucd my stcaks
throughout rcci pc dcvcl opmcnt . By rcduci ng
thc cookingti mc, l wasaloabl ctorci ni nthcsc
rcacti ons. 1wo bi rdswithoncstonc'
Fi nal Matters
Jhc last naggingprobl cmwith thc stcak was thc
way that i tcurl cdand bucklcdon thc gri l l . Acr
spcndi nglourmi nutcsovcrdirccthcat,thcstcak
wool d start to curl . Making vcrtical s|its along
thc cdgcs di dn` t prcvcnt thc probl cm. l won
dcrcd what woul d happcn i|i nstcad o|Hipping
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thc stcak onlyoncc I Uippcd it bc|orc thc vcrti

cal musclc hbcrs had cnough timc to contract.
Acr cxpcrimcnting wi th di||crcnt ti mcs, |rom
3Osccondsto|ourmi nutcs,I |oundthatUipping
thc stcak oncc cvcry minutc was pcr|cct. Jhc
total scaring timcwas8 minutcs , |ollowcd by 5
minutcs on thc coolcrsidc) , so thc stcak had to
bcUippcdaboutcightti mcs. Jhissimpl ccxcrcisc
waswcl l worthi t, asthcmcatnowhadancvcnly
cookcdcxtcriorwithgrcatcolorandUavor.
!ow I had only t pcr|orm thc last London
broilritual .traditioncallstorslicingthinlyagai nst
thc grai n. Inl i kc stcaksthathavc a vi si bl c hori
zontalgrain, thcgrai n i ntopandbottomround
stcaks runs vcrtically, sl ici ng thcm against thc
grain woul d rcquirc a dangcrous parl or trick,
standingthc stcakon onc o|its short si dcs and
cuttingthin sliccsacrossits|acc ' Instcad,thckcy
was to shortcn thc grai ns by cutting thi nl y and
diagonally, at a 45 dcgrcc anglc , scc photo on
pagc I 2 ), shortcni ngthctibcrsandcrcatingthc
imprcssiono|a morctcndcrpiccco|bcc|.
In thc cnd, gctting a tcndcr, |lavor|ul , ni ccly
charrcdstcakouto|aLondonbroilmcantusi ng
thcsamc smallarscnalo|ingrcdicntssal t,pcp
pcr,andoi l -uscdonhi gh priccd,wcll marblcd
cutso|bcc|Jhcsccrctwasi nthc|i ncssi ng.
LONDON BROI L F OR A CHARCOAL G RI LL
S E RVES 4 TO 6
1astcrs prc|crrcd bottom round |or this rccipc .
Whilc top round can bc substitutcd, it is hardcr
to gct an cvcn scar on its lcss uni torm sur|acc.
Wc do not rccommcnd cooking London broil
bcyond mcdi um rarc. Ior thc bcst tcxturc, usc
a carvingor slicing kni|c and cut thc stcak into
vcrythinsliccs. , I | you`rcstuckwithadull chc|`s
knitc, |irst cut thc stcak i n hal| lcngthwisc, as
shortcrsliccsarccasicrtocut, sccKitchcn!otcs,
pagc 3 I , |or i nstructions. ) I |dcsircd, scrvc with
Swcct and Smoky Cril l cd Jomato Salsa , pagc
I O) orChimichurriSaucc , sccCook`sLxtra) .
2 teaspoons kosher sal t
bottom round steak, 2 to 2 1 h pounds and
l 'h i nches thi ck
tabl espoon vegetabl e oi l
'h teaspoon ground bl ack pepper
I . Sprinklcbothsi dcso|stcakcvcnl ywi thsal t,
wrap tightlywi thpl asticwrapandrc|ri gcratctor
atlcast3 hours , stcakcan bcsaltcd and rc|ri gcr
atcd|orupto24hours ) .
2 . Ii l l l argc potor buckctwith l gallonwarm
watcr, about I OO dcgrccs ) . llacc wrappcdstcak
into zippcrlock plastic bag, squcczc out cxccss
Go to w. cooksi l l ustrated. com
Key i n code 5063 for our reci pe for
Chi mi churri Sauce.
T1 s mformat1 on w1 l l be ava1 l abl e unt1 l
November I . 2006.
s c 1 E N c E : Why Does Some Meat Taste Liver?
Whi l e devel opi ng the reci pe for gri l l ed London broi l , one of my bi ggest h u rdl es was the presence of " i ron-y"
and l i very fi avors i n the bottom round I was usi ng. Through research. I l earned that the more acti ve a muscl e
i s. the more oxygen i t requi res to functi on-and the more oxygen i t stores i n an i ron- ri ch protei n cal l ed myo
gl obi n . So far. so good. The probl em comes up when steaks cut from parti cul arl y active muscl es (the bottom
rou n d. for i nstance, i s from the l eg) are heated . The heat rel eases the oxygen from the myogl obi n , l eavi ng it
free to react with the fatt aci ds
present i n al l meat to produce l i v
ery. i ron-y fiavors and aromas i n the
form of compounds cal l ed al de
hydes. I n short, what' s causi ng the
off fl avors i s oxi dati on. And the
l onger the cooki ng ti me and the
hi gher the temperature, the more
oxi dati on occurs.
BATH E D
Back i n the test ki tchen. we consi dered our opti ons. Whi l e we don' t
usual ly give our steaks a bath before cooki ng. i n the case of London
broi l , a warm soak real ly di d the tri ck-by shorteni ng the cooki ng ti me
consi derbly. When we gri l l ed a ! 1/2 - i nch- thi ck bottom round steak
strai ght from the refri gertor. i t took about 22 mi nutes to achi eve
a medi um- rare center; by that ti me. the steak had devel oped an
overcooked. gray band around the peri meter (top photo) . When we
soaked the wrapped steak i n I 00-degree water for an hour first, we
reached the same temperature i n j ust 1 3 mi nutes-al most hal f the
ti me' (That' s because whi l e the refrigerated steak started out at 40
degrees. the bathed steak started out at 70 degrees, gi vi ng i t a big j ump
toward the endpoi nt of 1 20 degrees . ) I nstead of a tough gray band, our
soaked steak had subtl e gradati ons of rosy pi nk ( bottom photo) . And
most i mportant: The bottom round that cooked for about half the ti me
tasted much l ess l i very. -D. P.
air,and scalbagtightly. ll accstcakinwatcr,cov
cri ngwithpl atcorbowltokccpbagsubmcrgcd.
Sctasi dclor l hour.
3 . About 2 O mi nutcs bchrc gri l l i ng, l i ght
l argc chi mncy startcr t l l cd wi th charcoal o
quarts, or about OO bri qucttcs ) and al l ow to
bum unti l coals arc covcrcd in thi n, gray ash,
about 2O mi nutcs. Lmpty coal s i nto gri l l and
bui l d modi ticd two l cvcl ti rc byarrangi ngcoal s
to covcronc hal|o|gri l l with othcr hal |cmpty.
losi ti on cooki ng gratc ovcr coal s, covcr gri l l ,
andhcat unt i l hot,about5 mi nutcs, scrapcgratc
clcan withgrill brush.
4. Rcmovcstcakhomwatcrandunwrap,brush
both si dcswith oil , sal twil l havcdi ssol vcd) and
spri nkl c cvcnl y wi th pcppcr. Cri l l stcak dircctly
ovcrcoal s, t i ppi ng stcakwith tongs oncc cvcry
mi nutc, umi l dark brown crust |orms on both
si dcs, about8 mi nutcs. Movcstcaktocool crsi dc
o|gri l l , covcr gri l l and conti nuc cooki ng unti l
i nstant rcadthcrmomctcri nscrtcdi ntoccntcro|
stcak rcgistcrs I 2 O dcgrccs |or rarcto mcdi um
rarc, a|out 5 mi nutcs, ni ppi ng st cak hal |way
through cooking ti mc.
5. Jrans|crstcaktocutti ngboardandl ctrcst,
tcntcd wi th toi l , about I O mi nut cs . Hol di ng
t hi nsl i ci ngkni |cat 45 dcgrccangl ctomcat , scc
photoonpagc I2) , sl i ccvcrythinl yandscrvc.
.\1 . \ Y c |' | 2 0 0 6
|
LON DON BROI L F OR A GAS GRI LL
Bccauscgasgri|lsgcncrallyproducclcsshcatthan
charcoal gri l l s, thc stcak rcqui rcs a longcr cook
ingtimc, andlcss ncqucntUi ppi ng)todcvclopa
nicc char. Wc havc thcrc|orc omi ttcd thc stcp o|
warmingthc stcak in watcr anJ cmploycd mctal
skcwcrsto kccp it nom buckl ing.
I . Sprinkl cbothsi dcso| stcakcvcnlywi thsalt,
wraptightlywithpl asticwrapandrcuigcratc|or
atl cast4 houtsor up to 24 hours.
2. About 2O mi nutcs bctorc gri l l i ng, ignitc
gri l l , turn al l burncrs to high, cl osc covcr, and
hcat umi l vcry hot, about I 5 mi nutcs. Scrapc
cookinggratccl can with gri l l brush.
3. Inwrap stcak,inscrt3mctalskcwcrs lcngth
wisc through ccntcr o|stcak, spaci ng skcwcrs
about I inchapart. rushbothsidcso|stcakwith
oilandsprinklccvcnlywithpcppcr. llaccstcakon
hottcst part o|gri l l . Cril l , Uipping stcak cvcry 4
minutcs, until i nstant rcad thcrmomctcri nscrtcd
imo ccntcr o|mcat rcgistcrs I 2Odcgrccs |orrarc
tomcdi um rarc, I o t 2O mi nutcs.
4. 1rans|crstcaktocutti ngboardandl ctrcst,
tcntcd with |oi l , about l 0 mi nut cs. Bcmovc
skcwcrs. Hol di ngthi n slicingkni tc at45 dcgrcc
anglc tomcat, slicc vcrythi nl yandscrvc.
Main-Dish Vegetable Stir- Fries
Stir- fried vegetabl es make a great side dish, but can they step up to the pl ate as
an entree? Casting our carnivorous doubts aside, we raided the prduce aisl e.
I
ora|astandcasywccknightdinncr,
i t' s hard to bcat a stir|ry. Sl iccd
mcat and choppcd vcgctablcs arc
cookcd qui ckl y ovcr hi gh hcat,
thcn tosscdwi tha bold U avorcd saucc and
scrvcd. 1akc out thc mcat, howcvcr, and
thisoncdishmcaldcvolvcsintoasidcdish.
1hcall vcgctablcstir|ryhasplcntyo|plcas
ingcontrastso|llavorandtcxturcbutnoth
ing substantial cnough to anchor thc dish
h rmlyi ncntrcctcrritory.
Unl i kcmanyo|mycollcagucs,Iwascon
vinccdthcrcwasawaytomakca satisping
mcalouto|nothingbutstir|ricdvcgctablcs.
Itwasn'tthc mcatthcywcrc missing |rom
thcsc al l vcggic sti r|ri cs, I rcasoncd, but
thc meatiness. Andwi th a |cw stratcgically
choscnvcgctablcs,IthoughtIcouldchangc
thc mind o|cvcn thc most unapologctic
carivorcin thctcstkitchcn.
Meat Mushrooms
3 B Y D A V I D P A Z M I N O E
thoughtthcportobclloscoul dstillbc morc
distinct |rom thc othcr vcgctablcs . 1aking
anothcr cuc tom mcat stir|ri cs, I cxpcri
mcntcdwithmarinadcsandcoati ngs, butto
no avai l . Soakingthc mushrooms i n a soy
bascd marinadc l cnthcm soggy, sl imy, and
dimcult to scar. Di ppi ng thcm in di||crcnt
combi nati ons o| cgg and cornstarch crc
atcd a distinctcrusti ni ti al ly, butthc mush
rooms' high moi sturc contcnt cvcntual l y
madc thc crust unappcti zi ngly chcwy and
wct . Asimplc scarprovcd bcst ancr al l , but
I wondcrcd i |a si mpl c glazc , madc |rom
my cxisting saucc ingrcdicnts ) mi ght hclp.
Addingsoysaucc, chickcnbroth,andsugar
as thc mushroomshni shcdcooki ngyicldcd
ashiny,l|avormlglazcthatprovi dcdjustthc
boostthcyhadbccnlacki ng.
Other Meat Stand- i ns?
Scanning thc producc aislc o| my supcr
markct, it wasn't hard to h gurc out whcrc
to start. I|i t was mcaty hcn and tcxturc
I was ancr, mushrooms wcrc thc obvi
Cutti ng portobel l o mushrooms i nto l arge wedges gi ves them added
heft and meati ness i n a mai n- course sti r- fry.
Surcly portobcllos wcrc not thc only vcg
ctablc that could anchor thc dish. Summcr
squash was quick| y rulcd out. too watcry
and no substancc. Swcct potatocs addcd
bulk, but thcy rcmaincd starchy whcn stir
|ri cd and |cl l apart whcn cookcd through.
ous choicc-spccihcal ly, hcarty portobcl l os. 1o
capitalizconthcirbulkandmcatincss,I cutthcm
into wcdgcslargccnough to standout |rom thc
othcrvcgctablcs .
1hc only problcm now was thc gi l l s, whi ch
oncnbrokc o||and muddicd thc saucc. I tri cd
cooki ng thc mushrooms on thc tops onl y , to
kccp thc gills i ntact ) , butthis tcchniquc l cnthc
mushrooms lcathcry and raw tasting. Scraping
thc gil l so||with a spoon bc|orc cooki ngsolvcd
thcproblcm, scci l l ustrationatright) .
owthatI hadscttlcdonacookingtcchniquc
|or my starring vcgctabl c, i twas timc to movc
on to thcsupportingcast-andto morc |amiliar
tcrr.tory.1akingthckitchcn' stricdandtrucpro
ccdurc|orstir|rics,Isimplypl uggcdi nthcmcaty
portobclloswhcrc thc sliccd bcc|orchickcnusu
al l ywcnt. Cookthc portobcllos i n batchcs and
sct thcm asi dc, stcam sautc thc longcrcooki ng
vcgctablcs , such ascarrotsandbroccoli,sccthc
Go to w . cooksi l l ustrated. com
Key i n code 5064 for Stir- Fried
Portobel l os with Soy- Mapl e Sauce.
Key i n code 506 1 2 for Stir-Fried
Egplant with Sweet Chi l i -Garl i c Sauce.
Reci pes avai labl e unti l November I, 2006.
chartonpagc I 5 ) andsctthcmas. dc, stir |rythc
soncrvcgctablcs, sucHascclcryandbcl l pcppcr) ,
grccns, napacabbagcorbokchoy) , andaromatics
, garlicandgingcr) , thcnaddallof thcvcgctablcs
backtothcpanalongwithal|avorni l saucc.
1hc tcchni quc workcd without a hi tch, but I
Iggplant disintcgratcd into a mushy mcss, but
its mcatincss was appcaling cnough |or mc to
continuc tcsting i t. Dipping thc cggplant hrst
i n bcatcn cggs and thcn i n cornstarch providcd
j ust cnough tcxtural contrast to lin thc cggplant
out o| vcgctablc obscurity. , Ior thc rcci pc, scc
STE P- BY- STE P P RE PAR I N G VE G ETAB L E S F OR S TI R- F RY I NG
POROBEUO MUSHROOMS
After removi ng the stem, gentl y
scrape the undersi de of the mush
room wi th a di nner spoon to remove
the feathery gi l l s. whi ch can i mpart a
muddy taste to the stir-fry.
ZUCCHI NI
Hal ve zucchi ni l engthwi se and gen
tly scrape ou t the seeds from each
hal f wi th a smal l spoon. Cut i n hal f
l engthwi se agai n, then cut i nto
'/- i nch sl i ces on a 45- degree bi as.
| C' | ' ! : | | | |' H :\ | | |`
1 4
NAP CBBGE
Separate l eaves. removi ng the core
of each l eaf wi th a wedge- shaped
cut. Sl i ce the l eaf greens crosswise
i nto %- i nch stri ps. Cut the cores
i nto '1 - i nch stri ps.
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Choosi ng and Prepari ng Vegetabl es for a Sti r- Fry
Portobel l o mushrooms ar the mai nsty in our stir-fries. k for the other vegetabl es. use those cal l ed for in the reci pe
or swap them wi th another vegetabl e from the sme categor bel ow. We recommend usi ng one l onger-cooki ng
vegetabl e pai red with one qui cker-cooking vegetbl e and a leaf green (ei ther napa cabbage or bok choy) .
LONGER-COOKI NG
VEGEABLS (to yi el d 2 cups)
canrots
broccol i
caul iflower
aspargus
green beans
QUI CKER- COOKI NG
VEGEABLES (to yi el d I cup)
bel l pepper
snow peas
cel ery
zucchi ni or summer squash
AMOUNT
4 smal l
1 1 pound
1/2 pound
I pound medi um
1/2 pound
I medi um
3 ounces
3 medi um ri bs
I smal l
L GREENS (to yi el d 2 cups stems and 4 cups greens)
bok choy or napa cabbage
Cook`sLxtraonpagc I 4. )
I smal l (about
I pound)
Whilcnotcxactlya vcgctabl c, nrm to|u , soy
bcancurd) sccmcdpromisingasancasystand i n
|orthccggplant. I npracticc,howcvcr, thccgg/
cornstarch coating crcatcd a crust that was too
thickandchcwy, tastcrswantcd somcthi ngthi n
ncr. Bccausc i t` spackagcd i nwatcr, tom alrcady
hasasignincantamounto|moisturc,sowhati | I
skippcd thc cgg and simplydrcdgcd thc tolu i n
thccornstarch` otonlywasthismcthodsimplc
, noprcssingor|rcczing,assomanyothcrrccipcs
rcquircd), buttl:crcsultsplcascdcvcn thc skcp
ticswhoclaimcdthcydidn` tlikctom.
owwhcn I hcadtothcsupcrmarkct, I don' t
havctolookbcyondthcproduccaislcto asscm
blcaquickmcalthatwillsatis[mycraving|or a
substantialmaincoursc.
STI R- F RI E D PORTOBE LLOS WI TH
G I NG E R- OYSTER SAUCE
S E RVES 3 T O 4
Jhis stir|ry cooks quickly, so havc cvcrytl:ing
choppcd and rcady bc|orc you bcgin cooki ng.
Scrvcwi ustcamcdwhi tcricc.
Glaze
2 tabl espoons soy sauce
2 tabl espoons sugar
1/4 cup l ow-sodi um chi cken or vegetabl e broth
Sauce
I tabl espoon soy sauce
I cup l ow-sodi um chi cken or vegetabl e broth
3 tabl espoons oyster-flavored sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oi l
tabl espoon cornstarch
PRERTlON
peel ed. sl i ced on bi as 1/4 i nch thi ck
stalks di scarded, forets cut i nto 1 1/4- i nch pi eces
core removed, florets cut i nto 1 1/4- i nch pi eces
bottoms tri mmed. cut on bi as i nto l l/2 - i nch l engths
ends tri mmed, cut on bi as i nto l 1/2 - i nch l engths
stemmed, seeded, and cut i nto 1/2 - i nch di ce
stri ngs and tough ends tri mmed
ends tri mmed, cut on bi as 1/2 i nch thi ck
seeded, quartered l engthwi se. and cut on bi as 1/4
i nch thi ck
stems/cores and greens separted, stems/cores cut
i nto 1/4- i nch stri ps. greens i nto 3/4- i nch stri ps
Vegetables
2 medi um garl i c cl oves, mi nced or pressed through
garl i c press (about 2 teaspoons)
4 teaspoons mi nced fresh gi nger
4 tabl espoons vegetabl e oi l
6 portobel l o mushrooms (each 4 to 6i nches) , stems
di scarded, gi l l s removed (see i l l ustrati on on page
1 4) , and cut i nto 2- i nch wedges (about 7cups)
2 cups sl i ced carrots or other l onger- cooki ng
vegetabl e from chart above
11 cup l ow-sodi um chi cken or vegetabl e broth
cup snow peas or other qui cker- cooki ng
vegetabl e from chart above
pound l eafy greens from chart above
tabl espoon sesame seeds, toasted (opti onal )
I . Whi skgl azcingrcdicntsi nsmal l bowl ,whi sk
sauccingrcdicntsi nscparatcsmallbowl . I nthi rd
small bowl ,mi xgarlicandgi ngcrwi thI tcaspoon
vcgctablcoil. Sctbowlsasidc .
2 . !cat3 tablcspoonsvcgctablcoil in I 2 inch
nonstick ski l l ct ovcr mcdi um hi gh hcat unt i l
shi mmcri ng. Add mushrooms and cook, with
out sti rri ng, unti l browncd on onc si dc, 2 to
3 mi nutcs. Isi ng tongs, turn mushrooms and
rcducc hcat to mcdi um, cookuntil sccond sidcs
arc browncd and mushrooms arc tcndcr, about
5 minutcs. I ncrcasc hcat to mcdi um- hi gh, add
glazc mixturc and cook, stirring, unti l gl azc is
thickandmushroomsarccoatcd, I to2 mi nutcs.
Jrans|cr mushrooms to platc, ri nsc ski l l ct cl can
anddrywi thpapcrtowcl s.
3. !catI tcaspoonvcgctablcoili nnowcmpty
skillctovcrmcdi um highhcatunti l bcgi nni ngto
smokc. Add carrots and cook, stirring occasi on
ally, unti l bcginning to brown, I to 2 minutcs.
Add l2 cup broth and covcr ski l l ct, cook until
1\\ A Y ( ! |' ' l 2 0 0 6
I S
carrots arcj ust tcndcr, 2 to 3 mi nutcs. Incovcr
and cook unti l l i qui d cvaporatcs, about 3O scc
onds . Jrans|crcarrotstoplatcwithmushrooms.
4. !cat rcmaining tcaspoon vcgctablc oil i n
nowcmpty ski l l ct ovcr mcdi um high hcat until
bcginningtosmokc.Addsnowpcasandbokchoy
stcms or napa cabbagc corcs and cook, stirring
occasionally,untilbcgi nni ngtobrownandsoncn,
l to2mi nutcs .Addlca[grccnsandcook,stirring
|rcqucntly,unti l wiltcd, aboutl minutc.Pushvcg
ctablcsto sidcs o|ski l l cttoclcarccntcr,addgar
l i c gingcrmixturctoclcaringand cook, mashing
mixturcwithspoonorspatul a, until|ragrant,I5to
2O scconds, thcn stirmi xturc intogrccns.
5. Rcturn all vcgctablcs to ski l l ct al ongwitl:
saucc. Joss to combi nc and cook, stirri ng, until
saucci sthickcncdandvcgctablcsarccoatcd,2to
3 minutcs. Jrans|cr to scrving pl attcr, top with
scsamcsccds,i |usi ng, andscrvci mmcdiatcly.
STI R- F RI E D PORTOB E LLOS WI TH
SWE ET C H I Ll - GARLI C SAUCE
S E RVE S 3 T O 4
Iol l ow rccipc |or Stir Iricd Portobcllos with
Gi ngcr ystcr Saucc, rcplacing sugar i n glazc
with 2 tablcspoons honcy. Ior saucc, incrcasc
soy saucc to 3 tablcspoons, rcducc broth to
34 cup, and rcplacc oystcr llavorcd saucc and
scsamc oil with 2 tablcspoons honcy, l tablc
spoon ricc winc vincgar, and I tcaspoon Asian
chi l i saucc. I ncrcascgarlicto4 tcaspoons.
How to Sti r- Fr Tofu
When coated with corstarch and stir-fried, tofu
devel ops a crisp exterior and a creamy i nterior. Most
tofu i s sol d in 1 2- or 1 6-ounce bl ocks. To cut tofu fora
sti r-fr, hold a chefs knife paral l el to the cutting board
and cut the block i n hal f hori zontal ly to fom to
rectngul ar pl anks. Cut each pl ank i nto six squares.
then cut each square diagonal ly i nto two triangles.
STI R- F RI E D TOF U
Fol l ow reci pe for Sti r- Fri ed Portobel l os with Gi nger
Oyster Sauce through step I . Cut I contai ner extr
fimr tofu i nto 24 tri angl es (see note above) . Heat
3 tabl espoons vegetabl e oil in 1 2- i nch nonstick
ski l l et over medi um- high unti l shi mmeri ng. Whi l e
oi l i s heati ng. spri nkl e 1/3 cup cornstarch evenly i nto
baki ng di sh. Place tofu on top of com starch and tum
wi th fingers unti l evenly coated. When ski l l et i s hot,
add tofu i n si ngl e layer and cook unti l gol den brown .
4 to 6 mi nutes. Tum tofu wi th tongs and cook unti l
second si de i s browned, 4 to 6 mi nutes more. Add
glaze i ngredi ents and cook. stinri ng. unti l glaze is
thi ck and tofu i s coated, I to 2 mi nutes. Trnsfer
tofu to pl ate; ri nse ski l l et cl ean and dr with paper
towel s. Proceed wi th reci pe from step 3 .
Essential Guide to Cooking Pasta
Cooki ng pasta seems s i mple-j ust boi l water and wai t-but cooki ng perect pasta
takes some finesse. Here' s how we do i t. BY s EAN LAWL E R
l1AL| AN |AS1A
You have two basi c choi ces-dri ed or fresh . Dri ed
pasta i s made from hi gh- protei n durum wheat fl our,
so it cooks up spri ng and firm and is sui tabl e for
thi ck tomato and meat sauces as wel l as concentrated
oi l - based sauces. Fresh pasta i s made from softer al l
purpose fl our and i s qui te del i cate. I ts rough, porous
surface pai rs wel l wi th dai r- based sauces.
DRI E D PASTA WI NN E R: RONZONI
Dried Semol i na Psta: No l onger gummy and
bl and, Ameri can brands of semol i na (whi ch i s coarsel y
ground durum wheat) pasta have i mproved so much
that many bested thei r pri cey I tal i an counterparts i n
our tasti ng.
COOKI NG TI PS : When cooked to al dente, pasta
retai ns some chew but i s nei ther hard nor gummy at
the center.
Fresh Egg Psta: Whi l e
your best bet for fresh pasta
i s sti l l homemade. there are a
few servi ceabl e supermarket
opti ons. Our favori te brand is
found in the refrigerator case,
seal ed in spoi l age- retardant
packagi ng and made from pas
teurized eggs.
F RE S H PASTA
WI N N E R: B UI TONI
COOKI NG TI PS : Fresh pasta i s easi ly overcooked,
so taste early. Drai n the pasta a few mi nutes before i t
reaches al dente, return i t to the empt pot, and then
cook wi th the sauce for another mi nute or two. The
underdone pasta wi l l absorb fl avor from the sauce, and
the starch from the pasta wi l l hel p thi cken the sauce.
Whol e Wheat and Grai n Pstas: Most of the
whol e wheat pastas we tri ed were gummy, grai ny, or
l acki ng i n "wheat" flavor, but there were a few that
we real ly l i ked . Our favori te i s made from a bl end of
whol e wheat and regul ar fl ours. We were l ess thri l l ed
about the al ternati ve-grai n pastas we tri ed . Made from
WHOLE WH EAT WI NNE R:
RONZON I H EALTHY HARVEST
PASTA B UYI N G G U I D E
ri ce, corn , qui noa, and spel t, these products were
pl agued by shagg, mushy textures and off fl avors. If
you ' re desperate to avoi d wheat, trTi nkada Organi c
Brown Ri ce Pasta.
COOK I NG TI PS : Cook and use as you woul d dri ed
semol i na pasta.
AS|AN NOODLLS
Unl i ke I tal i an- stle pasta, most Ai an noodl es are of a
si mi l ar shape (l ong strands of vari ng thi ckness) , but
they can be made from a wi de variet of fl ours. With
some excepti ons, they are usual l y best cooked l i ke
I tal i an pasta-i n a l are quanti t of rpi dly boi l i ng, sal ted
water, then drai ned (see specifics bel ow) . One note
about j udgi ng doneness: I n Asi a, al dente is a foreign
concept. Asi an noodl es are best cooked unti l com
pl etely tender (but not mushy) .
Chi nese Egg Noodl es: These
pal e yel l ow, spaghetti - si zed .. i;
noodl es are made from wheat

fl our and avai l abl e dri ed , i n the

!
Asi an i ngredi ents ai sl e of your market,
or fresh , usual ly wi th the produce. Someti mes
l abel ed "l o mei n" noodl es or generi c " Chi nese- styl e"
noodl es. ( Don ' t confuse them wi th the bags of curly
dri ed Ameri can egg noodl es . )
COOKI NG TI PS: Chi nese egg noodl es are good
for sti r-fri es, col d sal ads, or pan -fri ed noodl e cakes.
Except when used i n fri ed noodl e cakes, egg noodl es
shoul d be drai ned, ri nsed under cool , runni ng water,
drai ned agai n, then tossed wi th a few teaspoons of
toasted sesame oil (to prevent cl umpi ng) .
Udon Noodl es: Avai l abl e fresh or
dri ed, udon are whi te, ropel i ke
wheat noodl es that are

especi al l y thi ck and
starchy. They are best :--
.-
used for heart soups,
but unl i ke ramen (bel ow) , the noodl es are cooked
separately, not i n the broth .
COOKI NG TI PS : Udon noodl es are made wi th
qui te a bi t of sal t, so there i s no need to add sal t to
the cooki ng water. Because they are so starchy, they
shoul d defi ni tel y be ri nsed after cooki ng.
Ramen Noodl es:
I n Japan , the term UH/H
refers to a whol e category
of brothy noodl e di shes, but i n
Ameri ca we are l i mi ted t o " i nstant ramen soup" -the
L LJ l! K 5 | L L L l K P 1 | I`
|
dri ed bl ocks of thi n , wavy wheat noodl es sol d i n
cel l ophane wi th a seasoni ng packet.
COOKI NG TI PS : I nstant rmen noodl es are first
fri ed, then dri ed, so they cook in j ust a few mi nutes.
We di scard the seasoni ng packet, make our own broth
(or doctor some canned chi cken broth) , and sere
them topped wi th meat, seafood , or egg.
Somen Noodl es:
These very l ong, thi n whi te
noodl es are made from

wheat fl our that has been

they can al so be used in soups.
COOKI NG TI PS : Uke udon, somen shoul d be
ri nsed after cooki ng and need no sal t added to the cook
i ng water.
Soba Noodl es: Japanese soba noodl es are
thi n , l i ke I tal i an l i ngui ne, and made from
a mixture of wheat fl our and
buckwheat fl our, whi ch
i mparts a browni sh-gray
col or and earthy fl avor.
We prefer i mported J apanese soba, whi ch contai n
a hi gher percentage of buckheat fl our and therefore
possess stronger fl avor. Cooked soba noodl es are
added to broths to make soups, l i ghtly dressed and
served as sal ads ( chi l l ed, warm, or at room tempera
ture) , or eaten col d wi th di ppi ng sauces.
COOKI NG TI PS : No matter the appl i cati on, soba
noodl es shoul d be ri nsed afer cooki ng.
Ri ce Noodl es: Chevy whi te
ri ce noodl es are especi al ly popul ar
throughout southeast Asi a. Ameri can
supermarkets general ly carry only
to si zes: thi n , threadl i ke noodl es
(someti mes l abel ed "vermi cel l i " or
"ri ce sti ck" ) and thi cker, fl at noodl es
about 1/ i nch wi de (confusi ngly, al so cal l ed "ri ce
sti ck" ) . Ri ce noodl es are tradi ti onal ly sti r-fri ed (as i n
pad Thai ) or served i n soup.
COOKI NG TI PS: I f boi l ed , ri ce noodl es overcook
easi ly and tend to c l ump. We ' ve had much better
resul ts soaki ng them i n hot water u nti l softened and
pl i abl e, drai n i ng them, then addi ng them di rectl y to
the sou p or sti r-fry. " Vermi cel l i " ri ce noodl es need
to soak for about fi ve mi nutes, whi l e th i cker noodl es
need I 5 to 20 mi n utes.
A T A G L A N c E : Cooki ng Pasta
I . Add sal t and pasta to water at a rol l i ng boi l .
2. Sti r i mmedi atel y t o prevent sti cki ng.
3. Cover and return to boi l , sti rri ng occasi onal ly.
4. Check early and often for doneness.
5. Reserve some cooki ng water and drai n.
6. Sauce, season, and serve i mmediately.
Water and Pot: You' l l need 4 quarts of
water to cook I pound of dri ed pasta.
Any l ess and the noodl es may sti ck. Pasta
l eaches starch as i t cooks . Without pl ent
of water to di l ute i t, the starch coats the
noodl es, maki ng them sti ck.
The pot shoul d be l arge, wi th at l east
a 6- quart capaci t-to guard agai nst
boi l overs. But forget expensive metal
pots and fancy mesh i nserts. A l i ght
wei ght, i nexpensive stockpot wi th sturdy
handl es and a l i d does the j ob j ust fi ne.
Dumpi ng sauce on top of a
mound of pasta i s an Ameri can
habi t we avoi d-the noodl
e
s
cl ump as they cool . I nstead, we
take a cue from the I tal i ans, who
transfer the drai ned pasta back to
the hot pot and add j ust enough
sauce to coat the pasta evenly,
al ong with enough reserved pasta
cooking water to thi n
i t sl ightly.
I TALI AN PASTA COOKI N G G U I D E
Pasta cooks qu i ckly and shoul d be served i mmedi ately, so have al l the necessary
i ngredi ents and utensi l s assembl ed before you begi n , i ncl udi ng your di nner guests.
A the I tal i ans say, " Peopl e wai t for pasta, not the other way around. "
Oi l : Unl ess you ' re servi ng a butter or cream- based sauce, keep
s ome extra-vi rgi n ol ive oi l on hand for drizzl i ng over t he sauced pasta
for a fi nal burst of flavor. J ust don ' t waste i t in the cooki ng water:
I t won ' t prevent the pasta from sti cki ng ( not a probl em i f you use
enough water) , but i t wi l l prevent the sauce from coati ng the pasta.
Psta: One pound of dri ed pasta
general ly serves fou r to si x peopl e as
a mai n course, dependi ng on whether
the sauce i s l i ght (tomato sauce) , ri ch
(creamy Alfredo or heart Bol ognese) ,
or bul ked u p wi th other i ngredi ents
such as vegetabl es or seafood .

Uqui d Measuri ng Cup:

I n that l ast fl urry of acti vi t
before sauci ng the pasta and
getti ng di nner on the tabl e,
i t' s easy to forget to reserve
some cooki ng water to thi n
the sauce, i f needed . We
often pl ace a measuri ng cup
i n the col ander as a remi nder
when we start to cook.
Q U I C K T I P :
Don' t Forget the Sal t
I f you ' re worri ed that the sal t
may sl i p your mi nd, spoon i t
di rectly i nto the box of pasta.
Col ander: Once the pasta is drai ned ,
give the col ander a shake or two, but
don' t shake the pasta bone- dry. The l i ttl e
bit of hot cooki ng water cl i ngi ng to the
pasta wi l l hel p the sauce coat i t. Another
no- no: ri nsi ng cooked pasta.

/
.
Sal t: Properly seasoned
cooki ng water i s cruci al
for good flavor-use
I tabl espoon tabl e sal t (or
2 tabl espoons kosher sal t)
per 4 quarts of water.
'
.
Serving Bowls and Ldl e:
We l i ke to serve pasta i n
Pasta Fork: Of t he countl ess i tems of pasta para
phernal i a we've tested over the years, the only one
we recommend i s a pasta fork, a l ong- handl ed ,
perforated spoon wi th ri dged teeth . The wood
vari et i s cl unk and prone to spl i tti ng, but the
pl asti c and stai nl ess-steel versi ons are great. Not
essenti al -basi c tongs work fi ne-but we' re gl ad we
bought one.
.
.
Q U I C K T I P :
Sauce: Don' t drop the pasta i nto the water
unti l the sauce i s nearl y ready. Smooth sauces
and sauces wi th ver smal l bi ts , such as garl i c
and oi l , are best wi th l ong strands of pasta.
Chunki er sauces are best matched wi th short
tubul ar or mol ded shapes.
wi de soup bowl s , as the edge
provi des an easy pl ace to twi rl
noodl es on a fork. To warm
them before servi ng the pasta
(especi al ly i mportant wi th
cream sauces, whi ch cool
qui ckly and congeal ) , add a
few extra cups of water to the
pasta pot. When i t boi l s, l adl e
about 1/2 cup of boi l i ng water
i nto each bowl and l et stand
whi l e the pasta cooks.
Warm the Seri ng Bowl
I f you ' re usi ng a l arge servi ng bowl ,
try pl aci ng it underneath the col
ander whi l e drai ni ng the pasta. The
hot water heats u p the bowl , whi ch
keeps the pasta warm l onger.
^\ ^ Y c ) L " | 2 0 0 6
l .
Foolproof Veal Scaloppini
Supermarket veal cutl ets are a far cry from the del icate fare served i n restaurants.
We set out to transform these convenient cutl ets from tough to tender .
C
all thcm what you wi ll-scaloppi ni ,
scallops,cscalopcs,orcvcnschnitzcl
thcsc thinly sliccd cutlcts arc rcmark
ablycasytoprcparc. Ccntlypoundthc
cutlcts,sautcthcmquickly,andscrvcwithabasic
pan saucc. Withits tcndcrmcatanddclicatc Ua
vor, vcal i s a natural |or this prcparati on. It` s
also a luxurious choicc ovcr thc morc popular
and,|rankly,morcpcdcstriansubstitutc. chickcn.
Rcstaurantsalwayssccmtogctthi sdishj ustright,
pairing thc lightl y browncd vcal cutlcts with a
bracing| cmonsauccorswcctMarsalarcducti on.
Isually,sucha basic rcstaurantdishi sa grcat
candidatc|orancasymcalathomc.Supcrmarkcts
always stock pristinc pi nk vcal cutlcts rcady to
j ump |rom packagc to pan. Sounds simplc, but
a quick scar told a di ||crcnt story. Bland U avor,
tough mcat, and slimy cxtcrior wcrc common
complaintsancrmynrstroundo|tcsti ng.
A l i ttl c diggi ng rcvcal cd that thc vcal I was
gctting|rom thc supcrmarkcti s|romthc shoul
dcrorthcl cg,thctwotoughcstpartso|thccal|,
and quc unlkc thc vcal scaloppini tromthc rib
or loin scrvcd by top chc|s. Lxccuting this dish
pcr|cctlywasgoingtobctrickicrthanI thought.
HowcouldIrccrcatcrcstaurant qualityvcal scal
oppiniusingsupcrmarkct qualitycutlcts`
Veal Reveal ed
Jo undcrstandthcdi||crcntcuts, I consultcdmy
localbutchcr. Hcin|ormcdmcthatthcprcparcd
cutlctshc rcccivcs |rom thc mcat supplicr comc
in largc vacuumscalcd packs, making i t impos
siblc to tcll i|thc vcal was cut |rom tl:c shoul
dcr or thc lcg. A thc shouldcr and lcg arc tl:c
musclcs workcd thc most, thcy arc naturally thc
toughcstmcat. I bricll yrcconsidcrcdmydccision
touscsupcrmarkctcutlcts,butthcnotiono|slic
ingmyowncutlcts|roma loinroastorribchop
sccmcd bcyondthc palc |or wccknight cooking,
cspccially|or such a simplc rccipc. I did dccidc
to o||cr thcsc handcut cutlcts as an opti on, scc
JhcLltimatcScaloppi ni onpagc I . )
Withthistoughcrcuto| vcal ,I nccdcdasurc
nrc approach to tcndcrncss. Ii rst, I tricd soak

Go to w . cooksi l l ustrated. com
Key i n code 5065 for our reci pe for
Tarragon-Sherr Cream Sauce.
Key i n code 5066 for our arti cl e on the
safet of nonstick cookare.
Thi s i nformati on will be avai l abl e unti l
November I , 2006.
. B Y S ARA II W I L S O N E
By fl ouri ng only one si de of the veal cutl ets, we achi eved
a cri sp crust wi thout overcooki ng the del i cate meat.
ing thc vcal i n milk ovcrni ght. I hopcd that
thc lactic acid i n milkwould hclp tcndcrizc thc
mcat. !n|ortunatcly, tastcrs noticcdl i ttlc di||cr
cncc bctwccn soakcd and unsoakcd cutl cts, i n
addition, thc milk soakcd cutlcts stcamcd, thcn
burncdi ntl:cpan. cxtI tricda{accard,ahand
hcl d tcndcri zcr that works by |orci ng multiplc
nccdl cs through thc mcat, brcaking thc tough
nbcrs. Jhis was slightlymorc c||cctivc, buttast
crs compl ai ncd that thcsc odd l ooking cutl cts
rcmindcdthcmo|Sal i sburystcak.
Dcspcratc, I rcachcd |or thc shakcr o|mcat
tcndcrizcr-Adolph` s, tl:cbrandmymothcruscd
so manyycarsago. Jhcsc cutlctswcrc as tcndcr
as any I `vc cvcr tastcd, and tastcrs wcrc startlcd
whcnIrcvcalcdmysccrctingrcdi cnt. Iordctails
onhowmcattcndcrizcrworks,sccpagc! . ) Jhis
dccidcdly unglamorous product turncd rcason
ablypri ccdsupcrmarkct cutlctsi nto cutlcts cvcry
bit as tcndcr as thsc |ound in rcstaurants. o
homcbutchcring,nohighpri cctag. otbad|or
atcndcrizcrthatcostspcnnicspcrusc.
Fl our Makes a Di fference
Cutlcts scasoncd with mcat tcndcrizcr and pcp
pcr and thcn sautccd tailcd to dcvclop much o|
a crust. Drcdging thc scasoncd cutlcts in llour
dcnnitclyhclpcd. Butbythctimc thccutlctswcrc
nicclybrowncd,thcywcrc also ovcrcookcd. Lcss
timc i n thc pan yicldcd a palc, colorlcss cxtcrior
and bland llavor. Jo solvc this probl cm, I tricd
cooking only tl:c nrst sidc unti l goldcn brown,
thcn lli ppi ng cach cutlct and nnishi ng. Jhis
mcthod prcvcntcd ovcrcookng, but thc sccond,
quicklycookcdsidcwaspasty. I nnally|oundthc
answcr. U ouringj ust onc sidc oIuc cutlct. Jhc
llourcd sidc obtaincd a rich, goldcn brovn cxtc
rior, and thc othcr sidc, nowwithout Uour, was
nolongcrgummy.
Ahcr cooking urcc batchcs o|vcal dcrc was
pl cntyo| fond llavormlbrowncdbits) in thcpan,
but dcsc cutlcts di dn` t a||ord mc thc luxuryo|
spcnding I 5 mi nutcs on sautci ng shal l ots and
rcducing liquids in dc cmpty pan. Jo kccp thc
vcaltcndcrandhot,Ihadtorcvcrsctl:cusualpro
ccssandmakcdcpansaucc nascparatcsauccpan
before cooking thc vcal . ncc uc last batchwas
donc, I pourcd thc al mostnnishcd saucc into
dcskillctandscrapcddcpantoincorporatcuc
mcaty Uavors i nto mysaucc. I nnishcd uc saucc
wi th buttcr and hcrbs, and a mi nutc latcr my
sauccd andtcndcr)cutlctswcrcondctablc.
P b N G . Mi l k- Fed vs. Natural ly Ri sed Veal
Veal calves trdi ti onal ly have been fed a strict mi l k or formul a di et, and thei r movement has been l i mi ted. A a resul t,
mi l k-fed veal i s whi te i n col or. (I n general , the more muscl e ti ssue i s used, the darker i t becomes. ) I n recent year,
naturl ly ri sed veal cal ves, fed mi l k as wel l as gri n and not gi ven any anti bi oti cs or homnones, have gotten peopl e' s
attenti on . These ani mal s are al l owed more exerci se, and thei r meat i s pi nk .
Ethi cal and appearnce concerns asi de, we wondered i f our tasters coul d tel l the di fference between mi l k-fed
and natural ly rai sed veal . I n terms of flavor, our panel concl uded that the to stl es were i ndi sti ngui shabl e. Texture
was another matter. Tasters fel t that the mi l k-fed veal was more tender, fi ndi ng naturl ly rai sed veal a bi t chewy.
When we spri nkl ed the cutl ets wi th meat tenderi zer, however, the di ference di sappeared . -S.W.
C | | |

: | | L L : 1 K / 1 L |
1 8
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s
0
s
Z

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t;

How Meat Tenderizers Work

The use of pl ants to tenderize meat dates back hun
dreds of year to the native peopl es of what i s now
Mexico, who wrapped meat in papaya leaves. Both
papaya and pi neappl e contai n enzmes that break
down col lagen-the connective tissue that makes
meat tough. These enzmes, papai n (from papaya)
and bromel ai n (from pi neappl e) , are the active
i ngredi ents i n bottles of meat tenderizer. We' ve
di smissed these products in the past because they
efectively tenderize only the outermost layer of a
pi ece of meat-not much of an i mprovement for
a thi ck, tough steak. But our ul tra-thi n veal cutl ets
were j ust the right thi ckness for the bottled tender
izer to penetrte compl etely.
To see if brnd mattered, we gathered six tender
izer ( "seasoned" and unseasoned varieties from
Adol ph' s, Durkee, and McCormi ck) and headed to
the kitchen with severl pounds of tough veal cutl ets.
Adol ph' s and Durkee contai n
papai n, whi l e McCormi ck rel i es
on bromel ai n to do the work.
Al l of them worked equal ly
wel l -nei ther the brnd nor the
tpe of enzme made any dif
ference. Shoul d you opt for sea
soned or unseasoned? Whi l e
the extr spi ces aren' t enough
to rui n di nner, we' d j ust as soon


|rJ
do the seasoni ng ourelves.
TE N D E RN E S S
-Garth Cl i ngi ngsmi th
I N A BOTTLE
VEAL SCALOPPI N I
S E RVE S 4
Cook thc vcal in batchcs to avoid ovcrcrowdi ng
thc skillct, bccausc thc sizc o|packagcd cutlcts
varics,cachbatchmaycontainas|cwasthrcccut
lctsorasmanyassix. Apansaucc rccipcs|ol l ow)
isamust, startprcparingthcsauccbc|orccooking
t|:ccutlcts,thcnnnishi nthcskil l ctuscdtobrown
t|:c cutlcts. Bccausc mcat tcndcrizcr contains
sodium, i tisunncccssarytosaltt|:ccutlcts.
1 11 pounds veal cutl ets, about 'I i nch thi ck
3
1 teaspoon meat tenderi zer
11s teaspoon ground bl ack pepper
11 cup unbl eached al l - purpose fl our
3 tabl espoons vegetabl e oi l
l . I |cutl cts arc thi ckcr than '/+ i nch, pl acc
bctwccn two shccts o|pl astic wrap or waxcd
papcrandpoundtocvcn '+ i nch thickncsswi th
skillctormcatpoundcr. I|somccutl ctsarc thi n
ncrthan '+ i nch,poundtocvcn's i nchthickncss
thcn|ol di nhal|Bl otcutlctsdrywithpapcrtow
cl s. Sprinklc tcndcrizcr and pcppcr cvcnly ovcr
bothsidcso|cutlcts.
2 . Pl acc U our i n ri mmcd baki ng shcct and
sprcad tothi n, cvcnl aycr. Hcat I tablcspoon oi l
in I 2 inch nonstick ski l l ct ovcr high hcat unti l
The Ul ti mate Scal oppini: Ver Tender, Ver Expensive
To experi ence super-tender veal scal oppi ni wi thout using meat tenderizer, you must buy a roast or chops from the
l oi n or ri b and butcher your own cutl ets. Among these premi um choi ces, the ri b chop i s probabl y the easi est to work
wi th and the most wi dely avai l abl e. But don' t expect to save any money for your eforts. Supermarket cutl ets from
the leg or shoul der cost $ I 0 to $20 per pound, dependi ng on the market. Cutl ets that you make yourself from ri b
chops wi l l end up costi ng cl oser to $ 25 or $ 30 per pound. If the sticker shock doesn' t stop you, here' s how to make
the most tender scal oppi ni i magi nabl e.
I. Start by tri mmi ng the bone from 2. Tri m outsi de fat, but l eave i nte- 3 . Sl i ce meat i n hal f horizontal ly,
the meat l obe of each ri b chop. ri or fat al one. then pound to '/- i nch thi ckness.
bcgi nni ngtosmokc. Drcdgcnrstbatcho|cutl cts
sccnotcabovc ) in Hourononcsidconl y, shakc
o||cxccss,andplaccinski l l ct, llourcdsidcdown,
maki ngsurc cutlctsdo not ovcrlap. Cook,wi th
outmovingcutlcts,unti l wcl l browncd, I to I l/
mi nutcs. Ilip with tongs and cook unti l sccond
sidcs arc no longcr pink and cutl cts |ccl nrm
whcnprcsscd, about3Oscconds . Jrans|crcutl cts
toplattcrand tcntl i ghtlywith|oi l tokccpwarm.
Rcpcat to cook rcmai ni ng cutlcts in 2 batchcs,
usi ngadditional I tablcspoon oi l |or cachbatch.
I|ski l l ctbccomcstoodarkancrcookingsccond
batch,rinscbc|orccontinui ng. ) Iscpapcrtowcls
towipcaway|at, liquid,orwhitcmattcri nski l l ct
wi thoutrcmovingfond. Rcturn pan to mcdi um
hcat,h nishpansaucc rccipcs|ol l ow) , pourovcr
cutl cts,andscrvc.
PORC I NI - MARSALA PAN SAUC E
MAKES ABOUT I CUP
113 ounce dri ed porci ni mushrooms, ri nsed wel l
(about 113 cup)
1 1 cup hot water
2 teaspoons vegetabl e oi l
2 medi um shal l ots, mi nced (about 113 cup)
cup dry Marsal a
1 11 cups l ow-sodi um chi cken broth
2 tabl espoons unsal ted butter, cut i nto 4 pi eces
tabl espoon mi nced fresh chives
Tabl e salt and ground bl ack pepper
l . Covcr mushrooms wi th watcr i n smal l
mi crowavc sa|c bowl , covcr wi t h pl asti c wrap,
cut scvcral stcam vcnts in pl asti c wi th pari ng
kni|c, andmi crowavc onhi ghpowcr|or 3Oscc
onds. Lctstandunti l mushroomssoncn, about5
mi nutcs. Lin mushrooms hom l i qui d with |ork
and chop i nto '/+ i nch picccs you should havc
about 3 tablcspoons ) . Strai n l i qui d through nnc
mcshstraincrl i ncdwi thpapcrtowclintomcdi um
. \\ i \Y c I |' ' | 2 0 0 6
1 9
bowl . Sctmushroomsandstraincdl i qui dasidc.
2 . Hcatoil in mcdi umsauccpanovcrmcdi um
hi ghhcatuntilshi mmcri ng. Addshallotsandcook
untilbcginningtosoncn, aboutImi nutc.Rcmovc
pan |rom hcat and add Marsala. Rcturn pan to
high hcat, si mmcrrapi dl yunti l l i qui di s rcduccd
to l cup, about 4 mi nutcs. Add mushroomsand
straincdsoakingl i qui dandsimmcruntil liquid in
pani sagainrcduccdto l cup, about4 minutcs.
Add brothandsimmcrunti l l i quidisrcduccdto I
cup, about8 mi nutcs. Sctasidc.
3 . A|tcr trans|crri ng l ast batch o|cutlcts to
pl attcr, pour saucc i nto cmpty pan and bring to
si mmcr, scrapi ng up browncd bits on pan bot
tom. ||hcat, whisk in buttcr, chivcs, and salt
and pcppcrto tastc. Pour saucc ovcrcutlcts and
scrvc i mmcdiatcly.
LE MON- PARS LEY SAUCE
MAKE S ABOUT '
I
C U P
2 teaspoons vegetabl e oi l
2 medi um shal l ots, mi nced (about 113 cup)
1 11 cups l ow-sodi um chi cken broth
2 tabl espoons mi nced fresh parsl ey l eaves
2 tabl espoons unsal ted butter, cut i nto 4 pi eces
Tabl e sal t and ground bl ack pepper
1 -2 tabl espoons j ui ce from I l emon
I . Hcatoil i nmcdi umsauccpanovcrmcdium
high hcat until shi mmcri ng. Add shal lots and
cook until |cgi nni ngto so|tcn, about I minutc .
Add broth and i ncrcasc hcat to hi gh, simmcr
rapidl yuntil l iquidi srcduccdto/+ cup,about8
mi nutcs . Sctasidc.
2 . A|tcr trans|crri ng l ast batch o|cutlcts to
pl attcr, pour saucc into cmpp pan and bring to
si mmcr, scrapi ng up browncd bits on pan bot
tom. ||hcat, whiski nparslcy, buttcr, and salt,
pcppcr,andl cmonj ui cctotastc. Ioursauccovcr
cutl cts and scrvc i mmcdi atcl y.
A New Twist on Chicken Salads
/vinaigrette is a great remedy for the mayo rut . I f onl y it woul d cling to the chicken.

or many cooks , mysc| |inc| udcd) , may

onnaiscisthcgotoi ngrcdicnt |orturn
ing |ast ni ght` s | c|tovcrs into chi ckcn
sa|ad. Ii nc |or a si mp| c sandwich, but
mayonnaisc ismorcabout|uscious tcxturc than
i ntcrcsti ng Uavor, as thc crcamy |at tcnds to
du| | thc i mpact o|othcr i ngrcdi cnts, no mat
tcrhowaggrcssivc|yyoucmpty yourspi cccabi
nct. I nstcad, I thought a vinai grcttc drcsscd
chickcn-somcthing you mi ght scrvc on a bcd
o|grccns as a | i ghtdi nncr-wou| d havc |rcshcr,
bo|dcr||avors.
Yct it wasn` t | ong bc|orc I ran into troub| c.
Bccausc oi | and vincgar scparatc so casi|y, thcy
c|ing poor|y to chickcn, yic|ding grcasy, watcry
sa|ads. I hatcdtoadmitit,butmysa|adswcrccry
ingout |or thc cohcsivcncss I had |ost by ru| i ng
outmayonnaisc. I nccdcdto crcatc an cmu| sion
, asuspcnsion o|two|iquids that don` tnatura||y
mi x) . Lmulsi ncati on can bc achicvcd through
vigorouswhisking-whichdspcrscsthcoi|i nti ny
drop|cts throughout thc vincgar-but thc most
stab|ccmu| si onsi nvo|vc a thi rdingrcdicnt. Jhi s
ingrcdicnt ca| | cd, | ogi ca| | y cnough, an cmu| si
cr gcts in thc wayo|thc oi | drop| cts,maki ngi t
hardcr|orthcmt oco| | ccti nthata| | too|ami| iar
poo| o|oi | thatUoatsontopo|manyvinaigrcttcs.
I succcssm||y uscd sundricd tomatocs, pcanut
buttcr,androastcdrcdpcppcrsascmu| si h crs.
Using a b| cndcrwaskcy. A mcchanica| b| adc
canrcducc oi| to sma| | drop|cts morcc||cctivc|y
than a whisk, thc sma||cr thc drop| cts, thc morc
|ikc|ythcyarctomai ntainsuspcnsioni nancmu|
sion.Withbright,crcamydrcssingsatthcrcady,I
juststirrcd in handm| so||rcshvcgctab|cs,hcrbs,
and toastcd nuts to makc thcsc dinncr sa|ads
comcto| i |c.
AFuss- Free Roast Chi cken
To make the right amount of chicken for ou r sal ad
reci pes. roast a 3- to 3 1/2- pound chi cken (seasoned
with sal t and pepper) i n a 375-degree oven unti l
an i nstant-read thermometer i nserted i n the thi gh
registers 1 65 to 1 70 degrees. about I hour, I 0
mi nutes. When cool . pul l the meat of the bones i n
2- i nch shreds, di scardi ng fat and si new. Don' t dress
the chicken whi l e it's warm-i t will absorb too much
of the dressi ng. The chi cken can be roasted, shred
ded, and refrigerted i n an ai rtight contai ner for up
to 24 hours. For even less fuss, use a ful ly cooked
supermarket rotisserie chi cken.
- B Y R E B E C C A I I A Y S E
C H I CKE N SALAD WI TH AS PARAG US AND
S U N- D RI E D TOMATO DRESS I NG
S E RVES 6
Jhi s rccipc , and thc two that |o| | ow) arc bcst
scrvcdovcrsa| adgrccns.
1h cup pl us I tabl espoon extra- vi rgi n ol ive oi l
'I cup red wi ne vi negar
1h cup s un- dri ed tomatoes packed i n oi l , drai ned,
ri nsed, and mi nced
smal l garl i c cl ove , mi nced or pressed through
garl i c press (about 11 teaspoon)
Tabl e sal t and ground bl ack pepper
1 h pound asparagus, tri mmed of tough ends and
cut on di agonal i nto l - i nch pi eces
cup chopped fresh basi l l eaves
5 cups shredded roast chi cken, room temperature
(see box bel ow)
3 ounces goat cheese, crumbl ed (opti onal )
' h cup pi ne nuts, toasted
l . Purcc 12 cup oi|, vincgar, sun dricd toma
tocs, gar| i c, 14 tcaspoon sa| t, and 12 tcaspoon
pcppcri nb| cndcrunti | smooth. Jrans|crto| argc
bow| . , Orcssi ng may bc madc ahcad o|ti mc,
covcrcd, and rc|rigcratcd ovcmi ght. Whi sk to
rccombi ncbc|orcusing. )
2 . Hcat rcmaining tab|cspoon oi | i n IO i nch
nonsti ckski | | ctovcrhighhcatunti | bcgi nni ngto
smokc, add asparagus, 14 tcaspoon sa| t, and 14
tcaspoonpcppcr,cookunti|asparagusisbrowncd
andalmosttcndcr,about3 minutcs,stirringocca
siona| |y. Jrans|crtop|atctocoo| .
3 . Add coo| cd asparagus and basi | to vi nai
grcttc, sti r to combi nc . Add chi ckcn and toss
gcnt| ytocombi nc,| ctstandatroomtcmpcraturc
I 5 mi nutcs. Adj ustscasoni ngwith sa| tand pcp
pcr and sprink|c with goat chccsc, i |using, and
pi ncnuts. Scrvci mmcdi atc|y.
THAI - STYLE C HI CKE N SALAD WI TH
S P I CY PEAN UT D RE S S I NG
S E RVES 6
1h cup canol a oi l
3 tabl espoons smooth peanut butter
' h cup j ui ce from 3 to 4 l i mes
2 tabl espoons water
Tabl e sal t
3 smal l garl i c cl oves, mi nced or pressed through
garl i c press (about 1 11 teaspoons)
C O O K
'
s I L L U S r R A I I D
2 0
2 teaspoons very fi nely grated fresh gi nger
2 tabl espoons l i ght brown sugar
I 'h teaspoons hot red pepper fl akes
' h medi um cucumber, peel ed, seeded, and cut i nto
I i nch by 1/- i nch matchsti c ks (about I cup)
medi um carrot, peel ed and grated on l arge hol es
of box grater (about 11 cup)
4 scal l i ons, whi te and green parts sl i ced thi n
3 tabl espoons mi nced fresh ci l antro l eaves
5 cups shredded roast chi cken, room temperature
(see box bel ow)
1h cup chopped roasted peanuts
l . Purccoi|,pcanutbuttcr,|imcj ui cc, watcr,14
tcaspoonsa| t, garl i c,gi ngcr,brownsugar,andrcd
pcppcrUakcsi nb| cndcrunti | combi ncd. Jrans|cr
to | argc bow| . , Drcssing may bc madc ahcad o|
ti mc, covcrcd, and rc|rigcratcdovcmi ght. Whisk
torccombincbc|orcusi ng. )
2 . Addcucumbcr,carrot,sca| | ions,andci| antro
tovinaigrcttc, tosstocombi nc. Addchickcnand
toss gcnt|y to combi nc, |ct stand at room tcm
pcraturc 15 mi nutcs. Adj ust scasoning with sa|t
andsprink|cwithpcanuts. Scrvc i mmcdiatc|y.
S PAN I S H- STYLE C H I C KE N SALAD WI TH
ROASTE D RED PE PPE R DRE S S I NG
S E RVE S 6
1h cup extra-vi rgi n ol ive oi l
3 tabl espoons sherry or bal sami c vi negar
I 0 ounces j arred roasted red peppers, drai ned and
di ced medi um (about 1 111 cups)
smal l garl i c cl ove , mi nced or pressed through
garl i c press (about 11 teaspoon)
Tabl e sal t and ground bl ack pepper
I smal l shal l ot, mi nced (about 2 tabl espoons)
3 tabl espoons mi nced fresh parsl ey l eaves
2 cel ery ri bs, sl i ced very thi n (about 1 '1 cups)
1h cup roughl y chopped pitted green ol i ves
5 cups shredded roast chi cken, room temperature
(see box at l eft)
1h cup sl i ced al monds, toasted
l . Purcc oi | , vincgar,
2
/
3
cup roastcd rcd pcp
pcrs, gar| i c, 14 tcaspoon sa|t, and 12 tcaspoon
pcppcri nb|cndcrunti| smooth. Jrans|crtobow| .
2 . Add sha| | ot , pars| cy, cc| cry, o| i vcs, and
rcmai ni ng
2
1 cuprcdpcppcrs tovinaigrcttc, stir
tocombinc.Addchickcnandtossgcnt|ytocom
bi nc, | ctstandat room tcmpcraturc 1 5 minutcs.
Adj ustscasoni ngwithsa|tandpcppcrandspri n
k|cwi tha|monds . Scrvc i mmcdi atc|y.
Garlc and Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes
We l oved the idea of addi ng extra-vi rgi n ol i ve oi l and garl i c to our
mashed potatoes-but not the harsh fl avors and pasty texture.
A
hcaping moundo|rich yct U utra
ditional mashcd potatocs i s to many
main dishcs what a scoop o|vanill a
icc crcam i s to dcsscrt. a grcat all
Amcricansidc.Butin thcMcditcrrancan,anothcr
takcon mashcdpotatocscxists thati ncorporatcs
thcdisti nctl|avorso|cxtravirginolivcoi|, uscdin
licuo|dairyproductslikc buttcrandcrcam) and
garl i c. Iorcxampl c, thc Crcckshavc skordalia, a
putcc o|cookcd potatocs, cxtravirgin olivc oi l ,
garlic, and l cmon scrvcd mczc stylc as a sprcad
or dip. I wantcd to translatc thcsc samc bo| d
, buto|tcnovcrpowcri ng)Uavorsi ntoal i ghtand
crcamymashcdpotato sidc dish to partncrwith
simplcgrillcdmcatsorh sh.
Back to Basics
Iirst, I nccdcd thc idcal potato basc, so I bcgan
with thc tcst kitchcn` s cstablishcd mcthods .
Rathcr than simmcring pcclcd, cut potatocs, I
optcd |or who|c potatocs in thcir | ackcts. Jhis
minimizcs thc opportunity |or watcr to cntcr
andbindwiththcpotato` sstarchmolcculcs,thus
kccping thc mashcd potatocs |rom bccoming
thin,watcrloggcd, andbland.
Whi | c Yukon Colds providcd a ni cc gol dcn
colorandacrcamy,dcnsctcxturc,russctpotatocs
yicldcdl ightcr, llumcr mashcd potatocs that my
tastcrs prc|crrcd. Jo cnsurc that thc potatocs
wouldbcsil kysmoothrathcrthangritty, Itcstcd
doncncss i n what wc`vc |ound to bc thc most
accuratcway.Whcnaknilc bladcslipsi nandout
o|thc potatocs casily, thcy`rc donc . Putting thc
drai ncd,pcclcd,sti l l hotpotatocsthroughariccr
or |ood mi | | rathcr than usi ng a potato mashcr
cnsurcdasmooth,h nctcxturc.
Bye- Bye, Bi te
3 B Y S A N D R A \V U E
Oi l Change?
Ikncwthatrcp|aci ngthc|u| | I '/ cupso|f , but
tcrandha||and ha|[i nourtraditiona|rccipcwith
cxtravirgin olivc oi| would bc a disastcr , morc
likcpotato U avorcdol ivcoi| ) . Rcduci ngthcoilto
a| itt| cmorc than 12 cup madctl:cmashcdrusscts
smoothandcrcamywithoutbcingwatcry,grcasy,
orpasty. owthctcxtutcwasright,butthcl|avor
o|tl:c cxtravirgin o|ivc oil was sti | l ovcrwhcl m
i ng, so I tricd othcroptions. Ixtral i ghtol ivc oi l
hadal l thc U avor o|vcgctablc oil , whi l c rcgu| ar
olivcoil wason|yslight|ybcttcr. Stumpcd, I took
a brcak |rom t|:c olivc oil problcm to |ocus on
thcgarl i c.
Taki ng the Edge Off
I quick|y lcamcd that stirri ng raw mi nccd gar|ic
intothcmashcdpotatocsmadctoraharshl|avor.
cxt, I tricd smashing raw minccd garlic with
koshcr salt i nto a smooth pastc . Jhis i mprovcd
thc tcxturc by cl i mi nating pockcts o| grai ny
garlic but did not|+i ng|or thc harsh bitc. Boi l i ng
whol cpcc| cdc|ovcsrcduccdt| :cllavor to almost
nothing. lan toastingunpccl cdclovcswasawi n
ncr-thc rcsulting llavor was swcct androastcd.
Sl owly cooking thc gar|ic purcc i noi l ovcr |ow
hcat, howcvcr, provi dcd a si mi | arly mi l d swcct
l|avorwith an addcd bcncnt. I had i nadvcrtcnt|y
madc a mi l dgarlicoil .
Jhi swasthc solutionI ` d|ccnlooki ngtor.1hc
I O tab|cspoonso|rawcxtravirgino|ivcoil I had
bccnusingwastoopotcnt,butusing| cssthanhal|
thatamount,4tab|cspoons,or14 cup) tosi mmcr
thcgarlictcmpcrcdthcoi | ` srawll avor, hcataltcrs
thcoi | ` stastc ) andaddcd a hinto|garl i c. Ncxt, I
addcd thc cookcdgar|icoi| to thc potatocsa| ong
wi ththcrcmai ni ngtab| cspoons
o|uncookcdoil .Jhcrcsul t`Vcry
Extr-vi ri n ol ive oil and garl i c can make for a bol d and flavorful combo-or a
ful l -frontal assaul t. By cooki ng most of the garl i c in ol ive oi l and l eavi ng a mod-
ni cc, but tamc . 1hc answcr was
to add | ust 1 tcaspoon o|l: cshly
madc garlic pastctora |u| l -but
notovcrwhc| mi ng-|lavor.
est portion uncooked, we achi eved the right bal ance-compl ex. wel l - rounded
flavor without the bi te.
4 PARTS COOKE D
GARLI C
PART RAW
GARLI C

Jo | i ghtcn and brightcn thcsc

mashcd potatocs without mak
i ngthcmsourorovcrl ycitrusy, I
BALANCE D
addcd| usta sp|ash, 2tcaspoons )
F LAVOR
ol | cmon | ui cc . Sooot h and
crcamy, wi th di sti nct but |al
anccdl|avors,myMcdi tcrrancan
sty| cmashcdpotatocswcrchnal | y
rcadylorsi dcdi shduty.
.\\ ^ ` c I |' I 2 () () 6
2 1
GARLI C AN D OLI VE OI L MAS HE D POTATOES
S E RVE S 6
As thisdishisdcnscrand morcintcnsclyU avorcd
than traditional mashcd potatocs, our suggcstcd
scrvi ng sizc is smallcr than you might cxpcct.
Jhcsc potatocs makc a hnc accompanimcnt to
simp| yscasoncdgril l cdmcats,h sh, andpou| try.
2 pounds russet potatoes, unpeel ed and scrubbed
5 medi um garl i c cl oves, peel ed
2 teaspoons pi us 1/s teaspoon kosher sal t
'h cup pl us 2 tabl espoons extra-vi rgi n ol ive oi l
'h teaspoon ground bl ack pepper
2 teaspoons j u i ce from I l emon
l . Pl accpotatocsi nl argc sauccpanwi thwatcr
to covcr by I i nch. Bri ngt boi| ovcr high hcat,
rcducc hcat to mcdi um low and cook at barc
si mmcrunti l | ust tcndcr , potatocs willohcrvcry
| i ttl c rcsistancc whcn pokcd with paring knilc) ,
4Ot o45mi nutcs.
2. Whi| cpotatocsarcsi mmcring,mi ncc l gar
l i c c| ovc , or prcss through garl ic prcss ) . l| acc
minccdgarliconcutting board and spri nk| cwith
I tcaspoon koshcrsal t. Lsi ngU atsidcolchcl`s
kni tc, drag gar|ic and salt back and lorth across
cut t i ng board in smal | ci rcul ar moti ons unti |
garlic i s ground i nto smooth pastc. 1ranshr to
mcdi umbowl and sct asidc .
3 . Mi ncc rcmai ni ng 4 c| ovcs garlic ,or prcss
through gar| ic prcss ) . l| acc in sma| l sauccpan
with |+ cup o| ivc oi l and cook ovcr | ow hcat,
stirring constantly, unti l garlic toams and is sott,
hagrant, and go| dcn, 5 mi nutcs. Jranshr oi| and
garlictobowlwithrawgarlicpastc.
4. Drai ncookcdpotatcs,scttoodmi l l orriccr
ovcr nowcmpty s+ . ccpan. Lsi ng pari ng knilc,
pccl ski nshom potatocs. Wor|ingin batchcs,cut
pcc| cd potatocs i nto | argc chunks and proccss
through loodmi | | orriccri nto sauccpan.
5 . Add rcmai ni ng sa| t, pcppcr, l cmon j uicc,
and rcmai ni ng tablcspoonsuncookcd o|ivc oil
to bowl with gar|ic andcoo|cdoi l andwhiskt
com|i nc . Ioldmi xtutci ntopotatocs and scvc.
Go to w. cooksi l l ustrated. com
Key i n code 5067 for our I l l ustrated
Gui de to Garl i c.
Th1 s mforrat1 on w1 l l be avai l abl e unti l
November I . 2006.
Ultimate Turtle Brownies
Dark chocol ate browni es, rich and chewy caramel , and sweet pecans-it' s hard
to go wrong with turtl e brownies. But it' s even harder to make them right.
U
ndcniably, caramcl and choc
olatc havc an a|hni ty. Add
pccanstothatuni onandthc
con|cctioncrycombinationis
sonotcworthythati thasa namc. aturtl c.
1hi sappca| i ngcon|cctionhasalsoinspircd
ptotcssi ona| browni c bakcrs, and turt| c
brownics nowappcar i n bakcrics and co|
tcchouscs|romcoasttocoast .
Vcnturc to makc thcm at homc, how
cvcr, and thc rcsults arc uninspiri ng. Jhc
rcason is si mp| c cnough . Most turtl c
browni c rcci pcs cal l |or boxcd brownic
mixcs and j arrcd caramcl saucc, yiclding
lacklustcrrcsults. lwantcdsomcthingrcm
inisccnto|acandyturtl c. rich, chcwy, and
chocol aty,wi tha bittcrswcct,toothsinking
caramc| andanabundancco|pccans.
Brown (i e) Nosi ng
3 B Y D A W N Y A N A G I I I A R A E
caramcltoproduccadistinctmi ddlclaycr.
Itwasalltonoavail . Ircturncdtolaycring
andswirl i ng, this ti mcdri zzl i ngthcbakcd
brownics with additional caramc| . cttcr,
butt|:cysti| l di dn` trcadasturtl cbrown
i cs. Indauntcd,Iblankctcdthccntircsur
|acc o|tl:c chi | l cd, bakcd browni cs with
caramcl, thcn garnishcd cach squarc with
a toastcd pccan hal| Iinally, tastcrs wcrc
appcascd.
Sti l l , thisturtlc had not crosscdthc nn
i sh l i nc. Jhc caramcl saucc didn`t havc
cnough chcw-or cnough tcxtural con
trastwit|: t|:c browni c. I kncw|rom trial
and crror t|:at a typical caramcl saucc was
toollui d|oraturtlcbrowni c. Bccausct|:c
brownics wou| d | i kcly bc catcn at room
tcmpcraturc-orslightlychillcd-uccar
amcl hadtobcviscouscnoughtoholdits
|orm. Ior thc I'4 cups o|sugar nccdcd
to yicld thc right amount o|caramcl , I
cxpcri mcntcd wi th I cup-or I o tablc
spoons-o|crcam and cvcntuallyworkcd
my way down to a mcrc o tablcspoons,
whi chproduccda caramcltI:atwasplcas
antlychcwyand goocy.
I bcgan by choosingt|:c typc and amount
o| chocolatc. rownics madc solcly wit|:
cocoa had a oncdi mcnsional llavor and
a chalky tcxturc. Lnswcctcncd chocolatc
packcd a punch, but tl:c llavor quickly |cll
llat. i ttcrswcctchocolatcgavc thcbrown
i cs comp|cxity and a nuanccd llavor that
l i ngcrcd,butlackcd asscrtivcncss. I |andcd
on4ounccso|bi ttcrswcct, |orcomplcxity)
Wi th a thi ck bl anket of homemade caramel and a toasted pecan hal f. the
transformati on from turtl e candy to turtl e browni e i s compl ete.
I had a couplc otrun i ns wi th gritty,
crystalli zcd caramcl s. Rcscarch suggcstcd
that addi ng somc corn syrup would prc
vcnt thi s . Indccd, oncc I bcgan adding and 2 ounccs o| unswcctcncd chocolatc
torasscrtivcncss ) .
l nowhadt ogctthctcxturcrightbyadj usting
thc quantitics o|cggs, llour, and |cavcncr. Jhc
|i ght,opcn tcxturc o|classic cakcy brownicswas
casi|yovcrwhclmcdbythccaramcl . nt|:cothcr
hand, J dcnsc,n|dgybrownic was morc con|cc
tioncry than bakcd good oncc paircd with thc
caramc| . l wantcd somcthing i n bctwccn. Jwo
wholc cggs workcd niccly to givc thc brownics
st|ucturc without untoward l i n. Jhrccquartcrs
cupo|al l purposcU ourwasi dcal|orproducinga
moistbrownicwithchcw. Jhc lcavcncro|choicc
was baking powdcr, a hal |tcaspoon gavc thc
brownicsthcs|ightcstamountotlin,|oradistinct
ctumbwithouttoomuchcaki ncss.
1hc h nal addi ti ons to thc browni cs wcrc a
gcncrous amount o|choppcd pccans and-|or
yct anothcr di mcnsi on o|chocol atc-a hand
m| otchoco| atc chi ps. Somc tastcrs |ound thc
chocolatc chips supcrU uous, so I madcthcm an
optionalingrcdicnt . )
Sti ck Si tuati on
With t|:c brownic componcnt compl ctc, i t was
onward to t|:c caramcl . A common tcchniquc
i s to laycrtl:c caramcl witl: t| :c brownic battcr
and somctimcs swir| i t in) |c|orc baki ng. Wit|:
t|:is mcthod, though, t|:c caramcl is lost visually
totl: cdarkcoloro|thcchocolatc, andthcturtlc
brownicsimply docsn`t lookt|c part .
l tricd scvcral tacti cs, i ncludi ngprcbaki ngthc
bottom browni c l aycr and adding llour to thc
Wi th Shortcuts Li ke These . . .
2 tablcspoons o|co syrup to thc sugar bc|orc
cooki ng, I had no morc problcms. uttcr is a
common i ngrcdi cnt in caramcl , so I tricd vcr
sions with andwit|:out, 2 tablcspoons madc thc
caramcl smoot|:crandsi| kicrin U avorand|ccl . A
touch o|vanil| a and a small amount o|sa|t f
ishcdthi ngso||Jurtlcbrownicshadh nal| ycomc
outo|thcirshcll .
In the test kitchen. we' re no snobs when i t comes to reci pe
shortcuts. But for our Turtle Browni es. we qui ckly rejected
the most common one: mel ti ng store- bought caramel can
di es i nto a sauce. Not only was the flavor i nsi pi d and the
texture wax. but i ndivi dual ly unwrppi ng a sufici ent number
of candi es-5 2 of them-made thi s "shortcut" not so shor
after al l . I nstead, we came up wi th a fool proof reci pe for
homemade caramel that takes Jess than I 0 mi nutes.
' S H ORTCUT' CARAM E L SAUCE
3 3U | 5|| U~3U | Dl5D
l6U| Du5uDNG|g
| | | |

' | | | l ' l H ^ J l |
? ?
Fool proof Carmel I 0 I
Carmel has a reputati on for bei ng trick, but i t' s actual ly quite straightforard i f you know what to l ook for. Bel ow is a handy vi sual gui de.
CENTER SUGAR DAMPEN WI TH S PATUL PALE GOLDEN LI GHT AMBER ME DI UM AMBER
I . Pour granul ated sugar i nto
center of saucepan , maki ng sure
grnul es don' t touch si des.
2. Gently sti r wi th cl ean spatul a
unti l sugar i s damp. Cover unti l
mixture boi l s and sugar di ssol ves
compl etel y; remove l i d.
3. Cook unti l bubbl es show fai nt
gol den col or, then l ower heat.
Ful l gol d bubbl es mean you ' ve
gone too far.
4. Cook for I to 3 mi nutes
more, unti l mi xture i s l i ght amber
(the col or of honey) . Remove
pan from heat.
5 . Add cream. butter, and vani l l a,
whi ch wi l l cause caramel to turn a
darker shade of amber.
U LTI MATE TU RTLE BROWNI E S
MAKES TWE NTY- F I VE 1 ' /z - I NC H - S QUARE B ROWN I E S
1o drizzlcthccaramcli nstcp4, usca '+cupdry
mcasuri ng cup that has bccn spraycd with non
stick cooking spray. l |thc caramcl istoocool to
ocHui d, rchcatitinthc microwavc.
Caramel
1/ cup pl us 2 tabl espoons heavy cream
1/ teaspoon tabl e sal t
1/ cup water
2 tabl espoons l i ght corn syrup
1 '1 cups (ounces) sugar
2 tabl espoons unsal ted butter
teaspoon vani l l a extract
BroJnies
tabl espoons ( I sti ck) unsal ted butter, cut i nto
pi eces
4 ounces bi ttersweet chocol ate, chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocol ate, chopped
3 cup ( 1 ounces) unbl eached al l - purpose fl our
' h teaspoon baki ng powder
2 l arge eggs, room temperature
cup (7ounces) sugar
1/ teaspoon tabl e sal t
2 teaspoons vani l l a extract
21 cup (about 2'1 ounces) chopped pecans
1h cup semi sweet chocol ate chi ps (opti onal )
Garnish
25 pecan halves (about 1 1 1 ounces) , toasted
l . TO MAKE THE CARAMEL: Comoi nc
crcamandsalti nsmallbowl ,stirwcllt odissolvc
salt. Combinc watcr and corn syrup in hcavy
oottomcd 2 to 3 quart sauccpan, pour sugar
into ccntcr o|sauccpan, taking carc not to lct
sugar granul cs touch sidcs o|pan. Ccntly sti r
wi thcl canspatulato moi stcnsugarthoroughly.
Covcrandbringtoboilovcrmcdi um hi ghhcat,
cook, covcrcd andwi thoutstirring, unti l sugar
iscomplctclydissolvcdandl i qui di scl car, 3 5
mi nutcs. Lncovcrandconti nuctocook,wi thout
stirri ng, unti l bu||l csshow |ai ntgol dcncolor, 3
to5 mi nutcsmorc. Rcducchcattomcdi um l ow.
Conti nuc cook , swirling occasi onal l y) unti l
caramcl i s l i ght am|cr and rcgistcrs about 3O
dcgrccsoncandyori nstant rcadthcrmomctcr, I
3 mi nutcsl ongcr. Rcmovcsauccpantomhcat
andcarc|ul lyadd crcamtoccntcro|pan,stirwith
whiskorspatu| a mixturcwill |u|ol c and stcam
vigorously) until crcam i s|ullyi ncorporatcd and
bub|l i ngsu|si dcs. Sti ri nbuttcrandvani l l auntil
combi ncd, trans|cr caramcl to mi crowavcabl c
mcasuri ngcupor|ow| andsctasidc .
2 . TO M THE BROWIES: Ad| ust ovcn
rack to lowcr middlc posi ti on, hcatovcn to 325
dcgrccs. Lightly spray i nchsquarc |aking pan
with nonstickcooki ngspray. Cut I 4 i nchlcngth
cxtrawidc hcavy duty |oi l , |old cut cdgcs back
to |orm 8 '/ i nch width. With tol dcd sidcs |acc
down, nt |oil sccurcl y i nto |ottom and up si dcs
o|baki ng pan, all owi ng cxccss to ovcrhang pan
sidcs. Spray|oilwithcooki ngspray.
3 . Mcl t |uttcr and |ittcrswcct and unswcct
cncd chocolatcs i n mcdi um hcatproo|bowl sct
ovcrsauccpano||arclysimmcringwatcr,stirring
occasi onal l y, unti l smooth and com|i ncd, sct
asidc tocoo| slightly. Mcanwhilc,whi sktogcthcr
llourand|aki ngpowdcri nsmall bowl , sctasi dc.
Whcn chocolatc has coolcd slightly, whi skcggs
i n | argc bowl t com|i nc, add sugar, salt, and
vanilla andwHiskunti l i ncorporatcd. Add uc| t cd
chocolatc mi xturc to cgg mi xt urc, wHi s| antil
homogcnous. Add tl our mi xturc, stir vv. th r .o
bcr spatulauntilalmostcombi ncd.Addchoppcd
pccans and cHocolatc cHi ps , i |us. ng) , m. x unt i l
i ncorporatcdandnoll ou|strcalrcmai n.
4. Io| lowingi l l ustrati onsoclow,di stri outchal|
o|orownicoattcri nprcparcdba|i ngpan,sprcad
i ngincvcnlaycr lrizzlcscant14 cupcarauc| o\ cr
oattcr. Drop rcmai ni ng oattcr i n | argc uounds
ovcrcaramcl laycr, sprcadcv cnl yandi ntoconcrs
o| pan with ruobcr spatul a. Dri zzl c add. t. onal
scant '+ cupcaramcl ovcr up Lsing tip oloa|
tcrkni|c, swir|caramcl and oattcr. a|c|.ovo. cs
unti l toothpi c| i nsc.tcd i nto ccntcr comcs out
wi thonl yahwmoi stcrum|s attachcd, 35 40
mi nutcs. Cool browni cs i n pao on wi rc .ac|
roomtcmpcraturc,about I '/ Hou|s.
5. Hcat rcmai ni ng caramcl , you sHou| d havc
a|out+ cup) . nm. crowavc unti | warmandour
ablcbutstillthick, donot |oi | ) , 45 Oscconds,
stirringoncc or twi cc, pourcaramcl ovcr |rovn
i cs. Lsi ngspatul a, sprcadcaramcltocovcrsurlic.
Rcliigcratc oowni cs,uncovcrcd, at lcast2 hours.
. Lsi ng lo. l cxtcnsi ons, | i |t browni cs lrom
baki ng pan, looscni ngsi dcs with pari ng |o. lc, . |
nccdcd. lcclawayand di scard loi l . Lsing chc|`s
kni |c, cutbrowni csi nto 25 cvcnly sizcd squarcs .
lrcss a pccan hal|onto surlcc o|cachorovnic .
Scrvcchi l l cdoratroomtcmpcraturc .
I . Add hal f of browni e batter to pre- 2. Dri zzl e wi th scant '/ cup warm 3 . Usi ng ti p of buter knie, sir
pared baki ng pan and spread evenly. caramel . Repeat steps I and 2. caramel a n d browni e batter.
\\ .\ Y t^ I |' ` | 2 0 0 6
2 3
Best Strawberry Cream Cake
What coul d possi bl y ruin the heavenl y trio of cake , cream, and ripe
strawberries? How about soggy cake , bl and berries, and squishy cream?
N
ot hi ng bet t er s howcas es
tangy, j ui cy strawberri es
t han a strawberry cream
cake . True, a si mpl e straw
berry shortcake puts the berri es font
and center, but i t s homespun, l ast
minute nature ofien doesn' t sui t a more
dressed- up occasion. However, the con
cept is much the s.lme: Frui t, cake, and
cream arc a wi nni ng combination, espe
cially when artflly layered.
Whil e I found no shortage of recipes
for strawberry cream cakes that l ooked
good, I was di senchanted by their lack
l uster taste and texture . The probl em
resided with ei ther the c,ke i tsel f: whi ch
collapsed under the weight of the fl l i ng,
or the whi pped cream, whi ch squi rted
out the sides of the cake upon sl i ci ng.
But most egregi ous, whi l e my eyes told
me there were strawberries in the cake,
my taste buds remained unconvi nced. I
anted a sturdy cake , a frm fl l i ng, and
strawberry flavor ft for a starring role .
Supporti ng Character

3 B Y E R I K A B R U C E E
Retraci ng my steps , I drew i nspira
ti on from the test ki tchen' s strawberry
shortcake recipe, macerating the berries
i n sugar for an hour, mashi ng a portion,
and fol di ng thi s mash into the remain
ing berri es. Wi l e this helped bind the
berries, i t also decreased thei r vol ume,
al l owi ng me to use four pi nts i nstead
of the two I ' d started with. The prob
l em was that the macerated sl iced ber
ries became soft and were not visually
appeal i ng once added to the cake layers.
The sol ution? Di vi di ng the berries i n
hal f: One porti on was sl i ced and used
around the edges of the fl l i ng layers for
vi sual appeal , whi l e the other hal f was
macerated, pul sed in a food processor,
and spread over the center.
With multiple layers, I needed a cake that
was structurally sound. That meant but
ter cakes-rich but fiagil e-were out, so
I moved on to sponge cakes. But tasters
found the vari ous sponge cakes I tried
too lean and dry. I real i zed that what
I wanted was the structure of a sponge
Addi ng cream cheese and pureed strawberri es between the cake' s l ayers
i ntensi fi ed i ts flavor and kept it stabl e enough to hol d i ts form when sl i ced .
But I found that these processed ber
ries exuded too much j ui ce, which made
the cake soggy. I tried straini ng off the
excess l iqui d, but thi s was vital berry fa
vor going down the drai n. My next step
was to boil down the strained juices to
evaporate the excess water, then add the
syrupy remains back to the berries. This
provided the perfect amount of soak for
the cake, wi th no berry flavor l ost. The
fnal adj ustment to favor was some sweet
l i queur ( Ki rsch was the favorite ) , cooked
along with the strained j uices to el i mi
nate any boozy overtones.
cake coupl ed with the moistness and richness of
a butter cake .
There was one sponge cake I had yet to try
the chi fon cake, an American invention i ntro
duced at Hollywood' s Brown Derby restaurant
i n the 1 920s and popul arized by Betty Crocker in
the 1 940s. Si mi l ar an angel food cake, a chi t:
fon cake has more fat ( i n the form of egg yolks
and vegetable oi l ) than most sponge cakes, mak
ing it high and l ight |mabo moist and tender.
When I baked the Cook>s ( May/J une 1 996)
reci pe tor d1i fon cake i n a r ound cake pan
( instead of t he traditional tube pan) , there was
Go to ww. cooksi l l ustrated. com
Key i n code 5068 for our Cake Pn
Equi pment Test.
Ti s i nformation wi l l be avai l abl e unti l
November I . 2006.
no way to hang it upsi de down whi l e cool i ng to
hel p the cake mai ntai n i ts hape . The resul t was a
sunken center and retracted sides . I tried i ncreas
i ng the flour and decreasing the l i qui d. The cake
no l onger sunk, but tasters fl t it was n' t ri ch
enough. The answer was switch out the oi l for
butter, whi ch produced a deeper, tidl er fl avor.
Berri ed Treasure
Most recipes call for folding the sliced strawber
ries into whipped cream. Tasters deemed this fl l
i ng one- di mensional and fel t that the favors were
muddi ed. I decided to treat the berries as a sepa
rate layer and began focusi ng on enhancing thei r
fl avor. Addi ng sugar the naked berri es was a
must. Hopi ng strawberry j am mi ght act as both
sweetener and flavor enhancer, I found i nstead
that i t added a dul l , cooked- berry qual i ty.
| | |

' | | l L' ' | H ^ | |. | `

24
Cream Sequence
Wi th the strawberry and cake components
securely i n place, all I needed to fx was the insub
stantial whipped cream l ayer. It needed more
flavor and texture to stand up to the strawber
ries. Pastry cream was a popular suggestion, but
I di dn' t want to add unnecessary cooking steps.
I nstead, I experi mented with flavoring agents.
Sour cream, yogurt, and cream cheese al l offered
a forward tang, but onl y cream cheese provided
a boost in texture. Wen whipped with the heavy
cream, cream cheese produced a stiff yet silky
smooth blend that helped anchor the cake layers.
Even when sliced, the cake remained cohesive.
Not onl y di d this cake meet aU my expecta
ti ons-sturdy yet moist chi ffon cake, vi brant ber
ries, and a robust, tangy cream-it even surpassed
the classic yet humbl e strawberry shortcake.
STRAWBERRY CREAM CAKE
S E RVES b TO I 0
I| using a cakc pan, you will nccd onc with
straight sidcsthatarc atlcast2 inchcs hi gh, oth
crwisc, usc a spring|orm pan. Jhc cakc portion
canbcmadcahcado|ti mc, wrappcdi na doublc
laycro|plasticwrap, and|rozcn,thawthc|rozcn
cakc, unwrappcd, atroomtcmpcraturc|orabout
two hoursbc|orcprocccdingwiththcrccipc.
Cake
1 '1 cups ( 5 ounces) cake fl our
1 11 teaspoons baki ng powder
'I teaspoon tabl e sal t
cup (7ounces) sugar
5 l arge eggs (2 whol e and 3 separated) , room
temperature
6 tabl espoons unsal ted butter, mel ted and cool ed
sl ightly
2 tabl espoons water
2 teaspoons vani l l a extract
StraJherry Filling
2 pounds medi um or l arge strawberri es (about
2 quarts) , washed, dri ed, and stemmed
4-6 tabl espoons sugar
2 tabl espoons Ki rsch
Pi nch tabl e sal t
Whipped Cream
ounces cream cheese, room temperature
11 cup ( 3 11 ounces) sugar
teaspoon vani l l a extract
'Ia teaspoon table sal t
2 cups heavy cream
l . FOR THE CAE: Adj ustovcnracktolowcr
middlc position and hcat ovcn to 325 dcgrccs.
Crcascandllourround by2inchcakc panor
inch spring|orm pan and lincwi thparchmcnt
papcr. Whisk l|our, baki ng powdcr, sal t, and al l
but 3 tablcspoons sugar i nmi xi ngbowl . Whisk
in 2 wholc cggs and 3 yolks , rcscrving whi tcs) ,
buttcr,watcr,andvani l l a, whiskuntilsmooth.
2. Inclcanbowlo|standingmixcrnttcdwith
R E c 1 P E o 1 A G N o s 1 s : Troubl eshooti ng Strawberr Cream Cake
Here are some of the probl ems we encountered whi l e devel opi ng our reci pe-and the sol uti ons we came up with.
I . S OGGY M E S S
3 . HOU S E O F
CARDS
2. B U Rl E D B E RRI E S
whiskattachmcnt , bcatrcmaining3cggwhitcsat
mcdi um low spccd until |rothy, I to 2 mi nutcs.
Withmachi ncrunni ng, graduallyadd rcmai ni ng
3 tabl cspoonssugar, i ncrcasc spccd to mcdi um
hi gh, and bcat until sonpcaks |orm, O to O
scconds. Stir oncthi rd o|whitcs i nt o battcr t o
l i ghtcn, add rcmai ni ng whi tcs and gcntl y |ol d
i nto battcr unti l no whitc strcaks rcmai n. Iour
battcri ntoprcparcdpanandbakcunti l toothpick
or woodcn skcwcr inscrtcd into ccntcr o|cakc
comcsoutclcan, 3O to4O minutcs. Cool i npan
I O mi nutcs, thcn invcrt cakc onto grcascd wirc
rack,pccl o||anddiscardparchmcnt . I nvcrtcakc
agai n, cool complctcly, about2 hours.
3. FOR THE STRAWBERRY FILLING: Halvc
24 o|bcst looking bcrrics and rcscrvc. Quartcr
rcmai ni ng bcrrics, toss with 4 to tablcspoons
sugar , dcpcndi ng on swcctncss o|bcrri cs ) i n
mcdi umbowlandlctsitl hour,stirringoccasion
ally. Strain | uiccs |rom bcrrics and rcscrvc ,you
shoul dhavcabout ': cup) . Inworkbowlo||ood
proccssorhttcd with mctal bladc, givcmaccratcd
bcrri cs hvc I sccond pulscs ,you shoul d havc
aboutI ':cups ) . I nsmal l sauccpanovcrmcdi um
highhcat,si mmcrrcscrvcd| uiccsandKirschunti l
syrupyandrcduccdtoabout3 tablcspoons,3 to
5 mi nutcs. Iour rcduccd syrup ovcr maccratcd
bcrrics, add pi nch o|sal t, and toss to combi nc.
Sctasidcunti l cakc is cool cd.
. LbP Tender butter cakes can' t support fi l l i ng.
LU M A chi fon- stl e cake combi ned the rich
favor of a butter cake with the l ight-yet-sturdy texture
of a sponge cake.
2 . LbP Weak, one- di mensi onal strawberr favor.
LU M Maki ng a flavorful berr "mash" and
reduci ng the macerated j ui ce i n a saucepan hel ped
concentrate and round out favors.
. LbP Fi l l i ng squi rts out when the cake is sl i ced,
and layers fal l apart.
LU M Reduci ng the number of l ayer from four
to three and fortifing the whi pped- cream fi l l i ng with
cream cheese provi ded extr cohesiveness.
4. FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM: Whcn cakc
hascoolcd,placccrcamchccsc,sugar,vanilla,and
salt in bowl o|standing mi xcr httcd with whisk
attachmcnt. Whisk at mcdi um high spccd until
light and llu||, I to 2 mi nutcs, scraping down
bowlwithrubbcrspatulaasnccdcd. Rcduccspccd
tolowandaddhcavycrcami nslow,stcadystrcam,
whcn almost |ully combi ncd, i ncrcasc spccd to
mcdi um high and bcat unti l mi xturc holds sti||
pcaks, 2 to 2 '/ mi nutcs morc, scraping bowl as
nccdcd, youshoul dhavcabout4!cups ) .
5 . TO ASSEMBLE THE CAE: Lsinglargcscr
ratcdkni|c, slicc cakcinto thrcc cvcnlaycrs . llacc
bottom l aycr on cardboard round or cakc platc
andarrangcringo|2Ostrawbcrryhalvcs,cutsidcs
down and stcm cnds |aci ng out, around pcri m
ctcro|cakc laycr. Iouronc hal|o|purccdbcrry
mixturc , about
3
/4 cup) i nccntcr, thcn sprcadto
covcranycxposcdcakc. Ccntlysprcadaboutonc
thi rd o|whi ppcd crcam , about I |: cups ) ovcr
bcrry l aycr, l cavi ng ': i nch bordcr |rom cdgc.
Ilacc mi ddlc cakc laycr on top and prcss down
gcntly, whippcdcrcamlaycrshoul dbccomc llush
withcakccdgc ) . Rcpcatwith2Oadditionalstraw
bcrryhalvcs,rcmai ni ngbcrrymi xturc, andhal|o|
rcmai ni ngwhippcd crcam, gcntlyprcss lastcakc
l aycr on top. Sprcad rcmai ni ng whippcd crcam
ovcr top, dccoratc with rcmai ni ng cut strawbcr
ri cs. Scrvc,orchi l l |orupto4 hours.
STE P- BY- STE P B U I L D I N G A STRAWB E RRY C RE AM CAK E
I , With serrated kni fe, use sawi ng 2. Pl ace sl i ced berri es evenly
moti on to cut cake i nto 3 l ayers, around edges (they wi l l be vi si bl e
rotating cake as you go. once layers are assembl ed) .
3 . Cover center of cake com- 4. Spread one-thi rd of whi pped
pl etel y with hal f of pureed cream over berri es, leaving 1/2 i nch
strawberri es. border. Repeat layeri ng.
^ ^ Y c7 J U N I 2 0 0 6
2 5
5 . Press l ast l ayer i nto pl ace,
spread wi th remai ni ng cream,
and decorate wi th berri es.
The Scoop on Vanila I ce Cream
How about a heaping bowl of guar gum and pulverized spent vanil l a pods? Can ice cream
makers fool Mother Nature (and our tasters) ? We scooped up c brands to find out.
D
roth makcrs do i t with ycast cxtract.
Jomatocanncrsdoi twithcalciumchlo
ridc. But whcn i t comcs to counti ng
on thc magi c o||ood cngi nccri ng to
improvc onMothcraturc, icccrcammanu|ac
turcrsrcallytakcthccakc.
Surc , somc supcrmarkct vani l l a i cc crcams
attcmpttogctbyonj ustthcbasics-allnatural
blcndso|crcam,sugar,vanilla,andlittlcclsc. But
manycartonssportlabclsthatrcadl i kchighlights
|rom a chcmistrytcxtbook. Somc manu|acturcrs
substitutc i mi tati on vani l l a cxtract |or thc rcal
stu||, whilc othcrs bct on vi sual appcal , usi ng
groundupvanilla bcanspcckstogivcthcillusion
o|mll|lavor.
Docs any o|thi s hocuspocus dclivcr a bct
tcrproduct` Johnd out,wc tastcd I 8 varictics,
including I O Ircnch stylc , wi th cgg yolks) and
cightrcgular, yolkl css)vanillaicccrcams.
Creamy Secrets
A varicdas thc icc crcams lookcd onpapcr, thc
side- by-side comparisonwasstriking. Somcwcrc
Hu|[andlight,othcrswcrcdcnscandrich. A|cw
had asscrtivc vanilla notcs that rcmindcd tastcrs
o||rozcn, boozy cggnog. Scvcral i cc crcams,
onthcothcrhand,sccmcdtobclackingi nvanilla
Havoraltogcthcr.
Contrary to cxpcctations, thc Ircnch vanilla
icccrcams-prizcd|orthcrichHavorandcrcamy
tcxturcthatcomcs|romcggyolks-didnotswccp
thccompctition. In|act,rcgular stylcJurkcyHi ll
Vanilla Bcan j ust cdgcd out Ircnch stylc Idy's
Drcamcry, thcwinncro|our2OOI Ircnchvanilla
tasting) |or hrst placc. Ycs, thc Ircnch stylc icc
crcams , wi th I 2. 5 pcrccntto I . Opcrccnt but
tcr|at)tookhvco|thcsi xtopspots,whilclcancr
3 B Y J O L Y O N I I E L T E R M A N E
cgglcss vanilla icc crcams , wi th I I . o pcrccnt to
I 2 . 3 pcrccntbuttcr|at)took |ouro|thchvc bot
tom placcs. But t|:c top ranki ng o|Jurkcy Hill
Vani l l a Bcan , wi th just l 2 . I pcrccnt buttcr|at)
di d not ht thc ncat pattcrn o|morc |at cquals
bcttcrquali ty.
ustaspuzzl i ngwcrctastcrs'commcntsabout
thc tcxturc o|thi s yolkl css wi nncr. What an
amazi ngly goocy, crcamy tcxturc' wrotc onc
tastcr. i cc cggy mouth|ccl , sai d anothcr.
Doubl c chccki ng thc l i st oli ngrcdi cnts, I saw
nocvidcncc o|any cgg product. Ivcn strangcr,
a quick skim through thc rcst olthc commcnts
rcvcalcd si mi l ar rcmarks about thc custardy
tcxturc o|a |cw o|thc othcr rcgular , yolkl css)
sampl cs. Fi thcrmytastcrswcrc complctclycl uc
lcss, orthcrcwassomcthingi nthcsci cc crcams
that was givi ng thcm , thc i cc crcams) a |aux
Ircnchdcmcanor.
Cranti ng my col l cagucs thc bcnc|i t o|thc
doubt, I studicd thc labcls and soon noticcd a
clcar pattcrn. Lvcry rcgular stylc icc crcam that
had passcd |or Ircnch vani l l a contai ncd s ub
stanccs s uchas carob bcan gum, carragccnan,
guar gum, and mono and di glyccri dcs. Could
thcsc additivcs bc mi micki ng thc tcxtural c||cct
o|cggyolks`
JurnsoutIwaspartlyright. Carobbcangum,
carragccnan,andguargumarcallstabilizcrs,addcd
toicccrcamtohclpkccpicccrystals|rom|ormi ng
andwrcakinghavocontcxturc. Mono anddiglyc
cridcs,ontl:cot|+crhand,arccmulsihcrs,addcdto
icccrcamtokccptl+c|at|romscparating-whi ch,
i nturn, contri butcsaluscious, silkytcxturc. Igg
yolks,whi chnaturallycontainthccmulsi hcrl cci
thi n, scrvcthissamc|unctioni nIrcnch stylcicc
crcams. Soi twasthcmono anddiglyccridcsthat
Ai r Apparent: Why I s Some I ce Cream So Fl uff?
All ice creams are aerted to make thei r texture l i ghter and sofer. Federl regulati ons al l ow manufacturer to i ncrease
the vol ume of ice cream by up to I 00 percent. The air added to the ice cream is cal l ed overrun. Premi um brnds with
a dense texture (often sol d i n pint contai ner) have less overrun than fuf brnds (often sold i n bi g contai ner) .
Brnds with low overrun ( beteen 2 1 percent and 24 percent) took most of the top spots in our tasti ng
(i ncl udi ng second, thi rd. and fourth) , whi l e brands with h igh overrun ( beteen 78 percent and 97 percent)
l anded i n the last four spots. But there was one brand that did not fi t this neat pattern. Our taste-test wi nner,
Turkey Hi l l Vani l l a Bean, has 94 percent overrun (the second- hi ghest i n our tasti ng) . I t achi eved better texture
through better engi neeri ng (see stor for detai l s) . So what does thi s mean in practi cal terms? A I 0- ounce seri ng
ofTurkey Hi l l wi l l tower over a regul ar sugar cone. A I 0- ounce seri ng of second- pl ace Dreamer (wi th 2 1 percent
overrun) l ooks prett ski mpy by compari son. -j . H.
C | | |

: | | | L : 1 K / 1 L |
Z
had |oolcd ourpancli sts i nto praising t|:c cus
tardytcxturco|thccgglcssi cccrcams.
A much clcarcr picturc was cmcrgi ng. Hi gh
|at contcnt and cgg yolks can givc i cc crcam a
rich, crcamy tcxturc, but thc j udi ci ous usc o|
stabilizcrsandcmulsi|icrsgocsal ongwaytoward
makingup |or thc abscncco|ci thcronc . Jhc icc
crcams in ourl i ncup that got thc lowcst scorcs
|ortcxturchavclow|atcontcntandnocggyolks,
stabilizcrs, or cmulsihcrs , that is, t|:c natural
rcgular stylci cccrcams ) . urwinning icccrcam,
Jurkcy Hill Vani l l a Bcan, contai ns cmul si hcrs
as wcll as two stabilizcrs. And runncrup Idy's
Drcamcryhascggyolks,stabilizcrs,andahigh|at
contcnt. owondcr it rcccivcdthc highcstscorc
|or tcxturc in thccntircl i ncup.
Look Can Be Deceivi ng
|coursc, i cc crcan: i s morc than ust crcamy.
Somc o|thc bcst tcxturcd contcndcrs mmblcd
whcni tcamcto Uavor. Although thc occasional
i cccrcam lostpoints |or toopotcntvanillanotcs
, cspcci al l y arti cial or booz
y
"
thc cnd o|thc tasti ng it was clcar why vanilla
i soncn synonymous with pl ai n. I n|act,wcak
vanillaUavorwas thc rcasonci tcd most oncn by
panclists|orawardingani cccrcama lowscorc.
Jhcrcarcdrcc|ormsol vanilla|oundinsupcr
markctvanillaicccrcams. aturalvanillacxtractis
madc bystccpi nggroundvanilla bcans i nasolu
tion o|alcohol and watcr to cxtract morc than
24O|lavorml compounds,tl+cmostdominanto|
whichi scallcdvanillin. Imi tationvanillacxtractis
madcbysynthcsi zi ngvani l l i n|romcithcrcugcnol
, |oundin clovcoil ) orli gnin,a byproducto|thc
papcr i ndustry) . Jhc third |ormi svani l l a bcans
thcmsclvcs.
nl ytwoo| thci cccrcams-8lucBunnyrcgu
lar and Bl uc 8cl l Ircnch-contai ncd i mitation
vanilla cxtract. nc |ai l cd to makc i t out olthc
cl i mi nationround, andthcothcrlandcdi nncxt
tolastplacc in thc mai ntasti ng. Clcarly, natural
vani l l aisakcycomponcntin goodi cccrcam.But
howmuchi scnough`
Joanswcrthisqucstion,wchadourlabcxan:inc
all I 8 samplcs |or v contcntand |oundthat
morcv gcncrallytranslatcdto highcrraungs
nom our tastcrs. Jhc dihcrcnccs wcrc lairly dra
matic.ntl:clowcnd,scvcralicccrcamscontaincd
only 2 milligrams o|vanillin , pcr kilogram) , and
many olthcsc wcrc climinatcd carly on lor wcak
vanillaHavor, includingBrcycrsaturalandJurkcy
HillIrcnch) . thcricc crcamscontaincdncarly1 0
timcs as much. I n thc cnd, our winning Jurkcy
HillVa Bcan ,4milligrams) andsccondp|acc
Ldy's Drcamcry I0 milligrams) rcprcscntcd thc
cxtrcmcs o|what ourtastcrs considcrcd thc right
amounto| vanillaHavor.Icccrcamswithmorcthan
I0 milligrams tcndcd to losc points |or cxtract
ovcrkill ,whi|cthoscwith|cwcrthan4milligrams
hadtastcrsaskingwhcrc' sthcHavor`
Lvcn morc stri ki ng wcrc thc di ||crcnccs i n
vani llabcan spccks |ound i n about hal|o| our
sampl cs. In somc, thc spcckslookcdl i kc a uni
|orm sprinkling o|hncly groundbl ackpcppcr,
i nothcrs,thcpi cccswcrclargcandlcss|rcqucnt.
Butscci ngvanillaspccksdocsn' tncccssarilymcan
thatyou' rcgoingtotastcvani l l a.
Myhrstcl ucthatsomcthi ngwas amiss camc
ancrrunni ngtastctcstswithandwi thoutbl i nd
|olds. Whcnaskcd to pi ck thc sampl cswith thc
most vani lla Uavor, tastcrs almost unani mously
chosc thc samplcs with bcan spccks . But whcn
Iranthc samc tcstwith blind|olds,tastcrschosc
samplcswithout bcan spccks as havingthc most
intcnsc vanilla Uavor. Jhc lab conhrmcd thcsc
rcsults. otonlywcrcthcscvisiblcvanillaspccks
notarcliablcindicatoro|vanillai ntcnsi ty,butthc
icc crcamswith bcan spccks gcncrallycontaincd
less vanilla Havor' Additionalrcscarch contirmcd
thatthcscvanillabcanspccksarcthcpulvcrizcd
pods o|spcnt vani l l a bcans-not thc Uavorml
bcansthcmsclvcs-andcarrylittlctonotlavor.
The Cream of the Crop
Sowhcrcdi dwccomcout` Jurnsouti ti spos
si bl cto pul l oncovcron Mothcraturc-and,
whcni tcomcst ovani l l ai cccrcam,somcstratc
giccnginccringis actuallyadcsirablcthi ng. ur
tastcrs l i kcdboth Ircnch stylc i cc crcamswi th
stabilizcrsandrcgular,yolklcss) icccrcamswi th
stabili zcrsandcmul si ti crs . I |youprc|cryouri cc
crcamsmooth,subtl c, andbalanccd, JurkcyHi l l
VanillaBcan i sourtopchoi cc, whi lcthoscwho
likcvanillathatpacksmorco|apunchmi ghtopt
|orthcsccondplaccLdy'sDrcamcry.
What We Tasted
Twent Cook's Ilustrated stf member tasted
1 8 supermarket vani l l a ice creams- I 0 French- stle
brnds (made with eg yol ks) and ei ght regul ar
(made wi thout eg yol k) . The two stl es were
tasted separtely i n prel i mi nar rounds; the top fve
of each group advanced to a fnal round. the resul ts
of whi ch appear in the char at right.
Te fol l owi ng brnds were el i mi nated after scor
i ng low in prel i mi nar rounds: BLUE BELL French
Vani l l a. BLUE BELL Naturl Vani l l a Bean, BREYERS
French Vani l l a, BREYERS Naturl Vani l l a, DOUBLE
RI NBOW French Vani l l a. EDY' S Grnd French
Vani l l a. EDY' S Grnd Vani l l a. and TURKEY HI LL Al l
Naturl Flavor French Vani l l a.
TASTI NG VANI LLA I CE CREAMS
Overrun was esti mated by compari ng the wei ght of I gal l on of each i ce cream to 9 pounds, the approxi mate
wei ght of I gal l on of commerci al i ce cream mi x before processi ng. Vani l l i n content was determi ned by an
i ndependent l abortor: fat and sugar content (per 11- cup servi ng) are based on the l abel i ng i nformati on. I ce
creams are l i sted i n order of preference from l eft to ri ght wi thi n each category.
H I G H LY RE CO M M E ND E D
TURKEY HI LL All Natural Flavor
Vani l l a Bean ( regul ar)
Mono- and Diglycerides,
Guar Gum, and Carrageenan
$4. 99/ 1 . 7S quarts Fat: 1 2. 1 %
Sugar: 1 6 g Vani l l i n: 4 mgkg
Esti mated Overrun: 94%
" Exactly what vani l l a i ce cream shoul d taste l i ke, " sai d
one panel i st about the only yol kl ess contender i n our
top si x. "Subdued vani l l a, " noted one taster. " but a very
cl ean flavor. and an amazi ngly creamy. gooey texture. "
RE CO M M E N D E D
HAAGEN- DAZS Vani l l a (French-stl e)
No Stabi l izer or Emul sifiers
$ 3 . 79/ 1 pi nt Fat: 1 7. 0%
Sugar: 2 1 g Vani l l i n: I S mgk
Esti mated Overrun: 2 1 %
Ri ch, creamy, and " butter. " thi s hi gh-fat. " high- octane"
brand was some tasters' favorite, but others found the
vani l l a flavor much too strong: fairly boozy. " l i ke a good
egnog.
RE CO M ME N D E D WI TH RE S E RVATI ON S
BEN &J ERRY' S Vani l l a (French- style)
Guar Gum and Carrageenan
$ 3 . 49/ I pi nt Fat: 1 4. 6%
Sugar: 1 9 g Vani l l i n: 4 mgkg
Esti mated Overrun: 24%
Creamy. ri ch, and subtly flavored, but some found it
too subtl e i n vani l l a i ntensi t. " Fatt but flavorl ess, "
compl ai ned one taster.
TURKEY HI LL Phi l adel phi a
Stl e All Natural Vani l l a Bean
( regul ar)
No Stabi l izers or Emulsifiers
$4. 99/ 1 . 7S quarts Fat: 1 1 . 8%
Sugar: 1 6 g Vani l l i n: 6 mg/kg
Esti mated Overrun: 88%
Lost poi nts for a " l ean and icy" consi stency that i ts si bl i ng
(our wi nner) solved wi th stabi l izers and emul si fi ers.
BLUE BUNNY Premi um Vani l l a
( regul ar)
Carob Bean Gum. Guar Gum.
Mono- and Di glycerides. and
Carrgeenan
$ 3 . 24/ I . ?S quarts Fat: 1 1 . 8%
Sugar: I S g Vani l l i n: 26 mg/kg
Esti mated Overrun: 88%
One of two i ce creams that used syntheti c vani l l a. thi s
brand confounded tasters with i ts texture-"velvety" to
some. " gummy" and "taff- l i ke" to others.
.\1 ^ Y t I l; N F 2 0 0 6
? /
EDY' S Dreamery Vani l l a (French- style)
Carob Bean Gum, Guar Gum,
and Carrgeenan
$ 3 . 69/ 1 pi nt Fat: 1 4. 2%
Sugar: 24 g Vani l l i n: 1 0 mgkg
Estimated Overrun: 2 1 %
Tasters gave Dreamer the top score for texture (" ultra
creamy and yummy" ) . cl early enhanced by three stabi l i z
ers and eg yol ks, and prai sed i ts strong vani l l a flavor.
This brand is called Dreye1's on the West Coast.
HAAGEN- DAZS Vani l l a Bean
( French- styl e)
No Stabi l izers or Emul sifiers
$ 3 . 79/ I pi nt Fat: 1 7. 0%
Sugar: 26 g Vani l l i n: 1 4 mgkg
Esti mated Overrun: 2 1 %
" So many vani l l a specks i t l ooks l i ke Cooki es ' n' Cream. "
sai d one taster. The strong. boozy flavor cal l ed to mi nd
"rum steeped with vani l l a. " and thi s was the sweetest
entry in the l i neup Some compl ai nts about icy texture.
BLUE BUNNY Premi um Natural
Vani l la Bean ( French- stl e)
No Stabi l izers or Emul sifiers
S 3 . 24/ 1 . 7S quarts Fat: 1 2. S%
Sugar: 1 6 g Vani l l i n: 1 2 mg/kg
Estimated Overrun: 78%
Hi gh vani l l i n and modest fat content were a reci pe for
major vani l l a i ntensi t. "Too much vani l l a to eat a whol e
bowl . " sai d one taster. Texture was on the icy si de.
BREYERS Extra Creamy Vani l l a
( regul ar)
Carob Bean Gum and
Guar Gum
$4. 99/ 1 . 7S quarts Fat: 1 1 . 6%
Sugar: 1 4 g Vani l l i n: 2 mg/kg
Esti mated Overrun: 8 S%
The probl em with thi s yol kl ess ice cream wasn ' t texture
or ri chness; there j ust wasn' t enough vani l l a flavor.
EDY'S Grand Vani l l a Bean (regul ar)
Cel l ulose Gum, Mono- and
Diglyceri des, Guar Gum, and
Carrageenan
$4. 79/ 1 . 7S quarts Fat: 1 2. 3 %
Sugar: 1 4 g Vani l l i n: 3 mgkg
Estimated Overrun: 97%
Taster decried the "frozen Marhmal low Fl uff" texture, and

the abundance of van i l l a specks bel i ed the low vani l l i n con

tent. Tis brand is called Dreye1's on the West Const.
The Tong Show
Are the new design features on some tongs more than j ust gimmicks?
We tested pairs to see i f it was possi bl e to improve on this kitchen workhorse.

ro|cssionalchc|soncnj okcabouthaving
asbcstos handsthatcan takc thchcat
|rom scari nghot |ood and blazinghot
sautcpans. Iorthosco|uswhoschands
arcmadc|roms|i n, U csh, andboncs,usingapair
o||itchcntongsisadccidcdlysa|crapproach. In
thctcstkitchcnand ourhomckitchcnsalikc,wc
usc thcm to l i |t, U i p, turn, rotatc, andothcrwisc
movc cvcry concci vabl c typc o||ood whilc it
cooks, |rom ramckinso|custard in a watcr bath
to small shrimp sautcing i na pan to gargantuan
primcribroastscmcrging|romthcovcn.
cl i cvc i t or not , tongs arc no l ongcr thc
straight|orwarda||airthcyonccwcrc . |coursc,
you can still buy a basic modcl-twoplain mctal
armsconncctcd by a spring, with scallopcd pi n
ccrs |or gripping-but you arc j ust as l i kcl y to
h nd tongs that |ol d i n hal|, tcl cscopc, or pul l
doubl cduty asa spatul a. Armscomccushioncd
or curvcd, and pinccrs can bc nonstick|ricndly
andhavcvariousdcgrccso|scallopingaroundthc
cdgcs. With so many i nnovations, our qucstion
hcrcwassimplc.Arcthcscncw|anglcdtongsany
bcttcrthanbasic,ol dschoolmodcls`
Get a Gri p
Jhc busincss cndo|a pairo|tongs, thc pinccrs,
can bc smooth or scallopcd, and wc |ound that
thosc with scallopcd cdgcs gct a bcttcr grip
on |ood. ut that's not thc cnd o| thc story.
1hc shapc o|thc scalloping can vary. ur tcsts
showcd that cdgcs with dccp, sharp scallopi ng
APi ncer I s Worh a Thousand Words
3 B Y i D i i\ R I E D E
wcrc morc likcly brcak through thc dclicatc
brcading ona chickcn cutlct orshrcdmcatnbcrs
on apot roastthancdgcswitl+ widc,shallowscal
loping. Ironounccdscallopingdidnot ncccssarily
spcll di sastcr, butwc prc|crrcd thc gcntlcr touch
o|widc, shallowscallopi ng.
Iinccrsthatwcrcsl i ghtl yconcavc, orcuppcd,
di d a good j ob o| graspi ng hard, i rrcgul arl y
shapcd, and l argc obj ccts. 1hc ncarly llat pi n
ccrs o|t hc KitchcnAid tongs, |or i nstancc, had
a tcnuous hold on lobstcrs, ramcki ns, and pot
roasts. I magi nc shooti ng a baskct whi l c wcar
ing a sti||ovcn mittthatl i mi tcd thc U cxo|your
hand. Lsingyourpalmandnngcrstocupthcball
i mprovcscontrol , thcsamcprovcd trucwiththc
pi nccrs-thc concavity hclpcd tongs cradlc thc
curvcdsidcso|thcramcki nsandlobstcrs .
Jwo o| our contcstant s |caturcd nonsti ck
nicndlypinccrs,madco|nylononthc xo, and
hcatsa|c up to 4OO dcgrccs) and siliconc on thc
Chc|' n. Jhc nylon xo rcally surpriscd tcstcrs,
matching tl+c ai m and prccision o|thc rcgular
xo movc |or movc until hard, slick l obstcrs
slippcdrightouto|thc pinccrs. ccausc o|thci r
wi dc bodydcsi gnand bulk, thc si l i conc pinccrs
on thc Chc|'n su||crcd thc oppositc problcm-
thcy wcrc cl umsy and i mprcci sc |or hnc work
suchasmovingascalloporaspcaro|asparagus.
Jhc Kuhn Ri kon t ongs had uni quc pi n
ccrs, shapcd l i kc spatul as and madc o|wi rc .
Ln|ortunatcly, uni quc docs not cqual c||cctivc.
Jhc llcxi bl c wirc ti ncs o||crcd a poor grip on
hard, largc, and hcavy i tcms, andthcy
wcrctoowi dc to position small i tcms
After weeks of testing. we found that we coul d tel l a l ot about the per
formance of a pai r of tongs j ust by noti ng the shape of its pi ncers. Tongs
with flat pi ncers (l eft) had troubl e keepi ng hol d of awkard or bul k
items, such as rameki ns and pot roasts. I n general , we preferred model s
wi th concave. scal l oped pi ncers. Of those. we found that pi ncers wi th
deep. sharp scal l opi ng (mi ddl e) had a tendency to tear apart del i cate
foods. Our favorite stl e? Pi ncers with wi de. shal l ow scal l opi ng (right) .
accuratcly.
What'sthc moralo|thcpi nccrstory`
Whcthcr you go nonstick |ri cndl y or
not, look |or pi nccrs with gcntlc con
cavi tyandwi dc,shallowscallopi ng.
Armed and Dangerous
Jhc arms o| scvcral contcndcrs |ca
turcd unusual dcsigns that, by and
largc, madc littlc scnsc to our tcstcrs.
Wc tailcd to scc any advantagc to thc
curvcd arms o|t|:c Chantal tongs, or
thc I O to I 4i nchtclcscopingarmso|
thc Aco tongs , which could not bc
sctto I 2 inchcs, ourprc|crrcdl cngt|: ) .
Worsc yct, thc C&S Dcsign tongs,
which |old up along thc lcngth o|tl+c
F LAT DE E P
S CALLOPI N G
S HALLOW
S CALLOP I NG
C | | |

b | | | L : | K ^ l | l
2 8
Tweezer Tongs: PFi ne Job
Though appearance may sugest otherise, those
giganti c tweezer-nearly the same size as regul ar
tongs-bi l l ed as "fi ne" or "preci si on" tongs were
not i nvented so the Jol ly Green Gi ant coul d pl uck
hi s eyebrows. Sai d to be the brai nchi l d of Japanese
cook worlking wi th smal l morsel s of rw fish or
vegetabl es, fi ne tongs are bi l l ed si mi l arly here-for
preci si on worlk wi th del i cate foods that requi re
accurcy and the gentl est touch. We woul dn' t thi nk
of repl aci ng our al l - purpose kitchen tongs wi th fi ne
tongs. but we di d wonder if they woul d make a use
ful suppl ement.
We tested four pai rs-i ncl udi ng the $ 3 6 Gl obal
Chefs Tweezers. $22 Rosi e Fi ne Tongs, and $4
R. S VP-on the most del i cate foods i n our tong
tri al s: scal l ops, breaded cutl ets. and asparagus
spears. Long stor short, none of the preci si on
tongs outmaneuvered the best of the regul ar
tongs. and four of the five testers sai d they' d never
use them at home. -A. R.
PRE C I S I ON WORK O N LY
The Rosi e Fi ne Tongs were the best we tested,
but they aren' t necessary unl ess you' re a food
stl ist charged with adjusti ng strands of pasta
a mi l l i meter to the lef or right.
tongs|orcasystoragc, inmriatcdusbyratchcting
downward undcr strain-bad ncws during thc
pot roast trial s. Jhc good ncws i s tl+t thc son
cushioningonthc armso|both thc xoandthc
Chc|'n modcls kcpt hands com|ortabl c, hrmly
plantcd, and cool in casc tl:c tongs hcatcd up
during usc. , I| i ppi ng |rying chickcn can makc
allmctaltongsunbcarab|yhot . )
Ancrallthctcstingwasdonc, thcxotongs-
both nonsti ck |ri cndl y and rcgul ar-rovcd to
bcthc bcst o|show. I|youwicldyourtongs with
wild abandon , andworryaboutscratchi ngyour
nonsti ck cookwarc ) , xo' s nyl on tippcd tongs
( $9. 95 ) may bc tl+c way to go. But i|you rcally
wantj ustoncpairthatwilldoi tal|andarcwil|ing
to usc thcm gingcrlywhcnusingnonstickcook
warc,youcan't bcat xo'srcgular, mctal tippcd
tongs( $9. 95 ) .
RTI NGS
GOOD: ***
FAI R: **
POOR: *
We tested I I pai rs of 1 2- i nch tongs
(or as close to that size as possi bl e
from some manufacturers) and
eval uated them accordi ng to the
fol l owi ng cri teri a. A range of testers
(l arge- and smal l - handed. more and
l ess experi enced) parti ci pated i n
the performance tests and eval ua
ti ons of overal l handl e comfort, ease
of use. and pi ncer desi gn . Testers
rated the tongs on a scal e of I to
I 0, and those scores were averaged
i nto rti ngs of good, fair, and poor.
Scores were averaged to determi ne
overall rank. and tongs are l i sted i n
order of preference.
PRI CE: Prices pai d i n Boston- area
retai l . nati onal mai l -order, or onl i ne
outlets.
CONSRUCI ON: Materi al s and
stl e.
PI NCER DESI GN: The pattern of
the edge that comes i nto contact
with the food.
PERFORMANCE, LRGE ITEMS:
Testers lifted a cooked, 411- pound
beef roast from a deep pot of brai si ng
l i qui d and rated tongs for strength
and grip securit.
PERFORMANCE, SMALL ITEMS:
Testers moved I pound of cooked
asparagus i n a ski l l et and rted tongs
for preci si on and grasp.
PERFORMANCE, HARD ITEMS:
Testers lifted 1 1/ - pound l obsters from
tal l pots and custard-fi l l ed rameki ns
(round and deep as wel l as oval and
shal l ow) from a water bath and rated
tongs for gri p securit.
PERFORMANCE, SOFT ITEMS:
Testers turned both sea scal l ops and
breaded chi cken cutl ets i n a ski l l et
and rated tongs for gri p preci si on and
gentl eness.
HANDLE COMFORT: Testers eval u
ated handl e comfor based on shape.
materi al s, and fit in hand.
TESERS' COMMENT: These com
ments augment the i nformati on on
the chart wi th obserati ons about
the tongs' design or performance i n
specific tests.
RATI NG KI TCHEN TONGS
RECOMME ND E D
Oxo Good Gri ps 1 2- l nch Locki ng Tongs
P RI CE o $9. 95
CONSTRUCTI ON, Stai nless steel and Santoprene:
spri ng-l oaded, l ocki ng
P I NCE R DE S I G No Shallow scal l op
Oxo Good Gri ps 1 2- l nch Tongs ( Nyl on Ti ps)
P RI CE o $9. 95
CONSTRUCTI ON: Stai nl ess steel , Santoprene, and
nyl on: spri ng-l oaded. l ocki ng
P I NCE R DE S I G No Shal l ow scal l op
Edl und 1 2- l nch Locki ng Tongs
P RI CE o $9. 25
CONSTRUCT I ONo Stai nl ess steel : spri ng-l oaded, l ocki ng
P I NCE R DE S I G N: Deep scal l op
RECOMME NDE D WI TH RES E RVATI ON

S
_

Vol l rath 1 2 - I nch One- Pi ece Uti l i t Tongs

P RI CE o $7. 65
CONSTRUCTI ON: Stai nless steel with coated handl e:
nonl ocki ng
P I NCE R DE S I G N: Shallow scal l op
Chantal Contoured Kitchen Tongs
P RI CE : $ 1 4. 99
CONSTRUCTI ON: Stai nl ess steel : spri ng- loaded. l ocki ng,
cured handl es
P I NCE R DE S I G N: Tapered
PE RFORMANCE
LARG E I TE MS o ***
S MALL I TE M S o **
HARD I TE MS o ***
S OFT I TE MS : ***
HANDL E COMF ORTo ***
LARGE I TE MS : ***
S MAL L I TE M S o ***
HARD I TE MS : **
S OFT I TE MS : ***
HAN DLE COMF ORT: ***
LARGE I TE MS : ***
SMALL I T E M S o ***
HARD I TE MS : ***
S OFT I TEM S o **
HAN DLE COMF ORTo ***
LARG E I TE MS : **
SMALL I T E M S o **
HARD I TE MS o ***
S OFT I TE MS : **
HAND LE COMF ORT: ***
LARGE I TE MS : **
SMALL I T E M S o ***
HARD I TE MS o ***
S OFT I TE MS : **
HANDL E COMF ORT: **
..
Amco Houseworks 1 0- l nch and 1 4- l nch
Tel escopi ng Tongs
P RI CE : $ 1 2. 95
CONSTRUCTI ON, Stai nless steel : spri ng- l oaded, l ocki ng
P I NCE R DE S I G N: Small scal l op
KitchenAid Uti l i tTongs
PRI CE : $9. 99
CONSTRUCTI ON, Stai nl ess steel : spri ng- loaded. l ocki ng
P I NCE R DE S I G N: Shallow scal l op
NOT RE COMME ND E D
Chef' n Tongo 1 2 - I nch Si l i cone Tongs
P RI CE : $ 1 4. 99
coNSTRUCT I ON: Stai nless steel and si l i cone:
spri ng-l oaded, l ocki ng
P I NCE R DE S I GN: Smooth
Kuhn Rikon Easy- Lock Wi re Tongs
PRI C E : $ 1 9. 99
CONSTRUCTI ONo Stai nless steel : l ocki ng
P I NCE R DE S I G N: Wire
G&S Design Compactabl es Locki ng Tongs
P RI CE o $ 1 6. 99
coN STRU CTI oN: Stai nless steel and Santoprene:
spri ng- loaded. l ocki ng
P I NCE R DE S I G No Scal l oped
Progressive Mul ti - Purpose ( 1 0- l nch)
-: Ki tchen Tongs
P RI CE : $ 1 . 99
CONSTRUCTI ON: Stai nless steeljf C-coated handl es:
scissor tpe, non l ocki ng
P I NCE R DE S I GN: Smooth
LARG E I TE MS : ***
S MALL I T E M S o **
HAR D I TE MS : **
S OFT I TE MS : **
HAND LE COMF ORT: **
LARGE I TE MS : **
SMALL I T E M S o **
HARD I TE MS : **
S OFT I TE MS o **
HAND LE COMF ORTo **
LARGE I TE MS : **
SMALL I T E MS : *
HARD I TE MS : **
S OFT I TE MS : **
HAN DLE COMF ORT: **
LARG E I TE MS : *
SMALL I TE M S o ***
HARD I TE MS o *
S OFT I TE MS : **
HAN D LE COMF ORT: **
..
LARG E I TE MS o *
SMALL I TE MS : **
HARD I TE MS : **
S OFT I TE MS : **
HAN DL E COMF ORTo *
....
LARGE I TE MS o *
S MALL I TE MS : *
HARD I TE MS : *
S OFT I TEM S o *
HANDL E COMF ORT: *

.\ / Y c J | ' | 2 0 0 6
2 9
TESTE RS ' COM ME NTS
Mi ssed a perfect score only because
one pick tester thought the pi ncer
brui sed cooked asparagus-a mi nor
compl ai nt. Class val edi ctori an i n ever
other respect.
Nonsti ck-fnendly and efective with
everthi ng but hard objects. We could
get a (tenuous) gri p on rameki ns. but
l obster was a no-go.
Descri bed as l i ght and natural : one
tester remarked. 'They j ust bel ong
i n your hand. " Sharp. deeply defined
scal l opi ng can tear del i cate foods.
Performance equaled (surpassed,
in fact) that of many of the l ocki ng
tongs, but storge i s less conveni ent.
Some testers found the tensi on a bi t
too stiff.
Several testers noted that the pi ncers
shredded fibers on the surface of ten
der meat and the crust of chi cken cut
l ets. The cured handl es l eft testers
more puzl ed than i mpressed.
Foret about pi cki ng up a roast wi th
these tongs i n the 1 0- i nch posi ti on.
Many testers di sl i ked both l engths.
fi ndi ng that "the l ong i s too l ong and
the short i s too short. "
The nearly flat pi ncers made for a
compromised gri p on large. hard, and
soft objects al i ke (but created a ni ce
spatul a effect) . Pi ncers and handl es
struck some testers as too broad.
Tongs with a doubl e whammy: bul k
pi ncers that were too fexi bl e to be
precise and arms that had a procl i vit
for pi nchi ng unsuspecti ng fingers.
Hybri d spatul a/ pi ncers sl i d under
asparagus and breaded cutl ets easily
but coul d nei ther fit around nor lift
lobsters and pot roast.
The fol di ng arms col l apsed under the
weight of the pot roast, causi ng a ti dal
wave of hot bri si ng l i qui d when the
meat dropped i nto the pot. Tester
found the handl es awkward.
When i t comes to these hardware
store standards, one word says i t al l :
flims. More words' How about
"misal igned, uncomfortabl e, and
loose ?
KI T CHEN NOTES
Is It Done Yet?
ur prc|crrcd mcthod |or dctcr
mi ni ng whcn boi l cd potatocs arc
mllycookcdistopokcthcmwitha
paringkni|c , a |orkmcrcl ywcdgcs
thc potatocs opcn, maki ng thcm
hl l upwi thwatcr ) . But a|tcrcook
ing dozcns o|pounds o|potatocs
|or Carlic and l ivc il Mashcd
Iotatocs , pagc 2 I ), wc rcal i zcd
that thi s tcchni quc wasn` t qui tc
|oolproo|-somctimcsthcpotatocs
wcrc slightly undcrdonc, marring
our crcamy mashcd potatocs with
granul ar bi ts . Bccausc our paring
knivcsarcsosharp,wcmistookthc
lack o|rcsistancc |or |ul l y cookcd
spuds . Wc|ound that an cvcn bct
tcrtcstwastopokcthcpotatoand
thcntrytol i|ti touto|thcwatcr. I |
i tcl ungtothckni|c cvcn |or a scc
ond, backi ntothcpoti twcnt.
H OLD O N A S E CON D
l 50l|630j j6l.
Kcgu|8f V8. Lwcf 5odI um
5o58ucc
Iowcrsodiumsoysaucccontainsas
muchas3pcrccntlcsssodiumthan
rcgularsoysaucc. Butisitalsolight
onHavor`1ohndout, wccomparcd
Kikkomanrcgularsoysaucc,ourtop
supcrmarkct brand, with its lowcr
sodiumcountcrpartovcrplainwhitc
ricc, in an uncookcd dipping saucc
with tuna stcaks, and sautccd with
bokchoy.
Instcad o|tasting watcrcddown
orbland,t|:clowcrsodiumsoysaucc
was su:prisingly ntl l uavorcd. vcr
riccandi ntl+cdippingsaucc|orthc
tuna, tastcrs actuallyprc|crrcd i tto
rcgul ar soy saucc |or its swcctcr,
morc complcx |lavor. Civcn that
thc i ngrcdi cnt l i sts arc vi rtual l y
3 B Y E R I K A B R U C E E
STE P- BY- STE P P RE PARI N G POTATOE S F OR F I S H AND C H I P S
I. Trim each end. Careful ly cut a thi n
sl i ce from one si de. Rotate the potato,
and repeat wi th the remai ni ng si des.
2. Cut each potato l engthwi se i nto 1/2 -
i nch sl i ces.
3. Cut each potato sl i ce i nto '2 - i nch
batons.
idcntical, it was clcar that with lcss
salt,thcnuanccsi nt|+clowcrsodium
soysauccbccamcmorcpronounccd.
But whcn cookcd , bricny, addcd
towardthccndo|cooking) , mosto|
thcscdclicatcnuanccswcrclost,and
thc cnd rcsult was a mildcrtasting
sidcdish. In cookcdrccipcs,suchas
our stir|rics on pagc I 5, soy saucc
mnctionsasascasoni ng,rat|:crtl+n
a compl cx navor componcnt ) and
thc rcgularsoy saucc, with its addi
tionalsodium, isprc|crabl c.
Shoppi ng for Strawberri es
A|t cr purchas i ng scvcral quart s
o|bcrri cs |or St rawbcrry Crcam
Cakc , pagc 25) , wc rcal i zcd that
|cw i nhabi t ant s o| t hc producc
aislc havc as uncanny an abi l i ty to
l ook pcr|cct yct tastc disappoi nt
i ngly bl and. Lnl i kc |rui ts such as
bananas and pcachcs, whi ch con
ti nuc to ri pcn a|tcr pi cki ng , and
arc cal l cd cl i mactcri c ) , strawbcr
rics , noncl i mactcric ) don` tgct any
swcctcr oncc o|| thc vi nc , so i t` s
vitaltoscl cctthcswcctcstoncsyou
can hnd. Strawbcrrics continuc to
dcvcl opadccprcdpi gmcnt, callcd
anthocyani n) , butabcrrythatlooks
rcddcrisnotncccssarilyabcrrythat
tastcs swcctcr.
What,dcn, isthcbcstwaytopick
outaripcpinto|strawbcrrics`Bcing
upstandingci ti zcns, wcwouldncvcr
o|hciallyrccommcndthcmost|ool
proo| mcthod-tcari ngopcnabcrry
or two to scc i |thc rcd pi gmcnt
cxtcndsallthcwaytothccorc,which
1 P b 1 W . Green Oi ives
Ll| N6D6g3 06v6|0g0u||660|0|03LhK 6
[3g6 1] , N6 N6|6 u3N3|6 0 [u5l h0N m3j g|66 0|v6
v3|6l35 N6|6 0ul lh6|6~|0m lh6 . VV 3[3| 0K l3| g3|~
5hl0 lh6 Z. VV 6|0u0 |6hm0|. Lu|u|05Q
[30 l35l6 Du05] Qu60, N6 50u|60 |03| 5u6|m3|K 6l
5h6|v65 30 |6lu|60 Nlh 63|j W0 00Z6 [ 3|5 30 06|
0l36C.V6l|603||0lh60|v65|3,lh600K 60lh6m
0u| 0|03LhK 6.
blGghl |0m lh6 0l36|, lh6 h305 00N 3v0|l65
N6|6 lh6 m0+60 [30 50m6Nh3l 6X65v6] |6h 53m~
|65~LuQu6530h0|65~0|lh6|Dull6Q,D|ghl|3v0|
30 3| 06l6 l6Xlu|6. 6 DGNj b35h [u665/L0|03|5
N6|6|3K |u5l6|30m63|jl050m6,6353l|jm|0 3050H
l00lh6|5.h63Z3||35 [0m3+3m6] N6|63u|l60 0|
3 0v6Oh6|mg ug6j Dul |3560 0| lh6| m63l655.
h6|6 N6|6 W0 5Q|65 0 L|66K L056O0|63~56 D|6U
3053|lD|60~30D0lh 5Q65 N6|6GK 60, 3m6lh000
u|g lh3l v0|v65D|63K glh60|v6 5|65h l0 6XlGl 3Dl~
l6| 0m0u0 3||60 0|6u|06.35l6|5 lh0ughl lh5 u|g
m6lh00 |6l lh6 56D|60 L056O0|635 |3K g 0|v6
|3v0| Dul 0u0 lh653|lD|60 v3|6Q D|ghl 30u||.
Vh60|0Gl60l0 3 00K 6005h,m05l 0lh6 0|v6S
m3l360 lh6| l3| h3Gl6|5l5, Nlh 06 6X6l0.
Hlh6| lh3 l3lg 0u| |66 Nlh lh6| l3||ju|6353
ug6j 30 Dll6|655,lh6 3Z335 g360 0l5 0| 3
6w0u0 U6lh 0l |3v0| 3U m63Q l6Xlu|6. bl|| Su6||0|
D0lh 3l6g0|65, h0N6v6|, N6|6 lh6 GK 60, 53|lD|6U
L0D56O0|635 [Lv3 N35 0u| 3v0|l6 DG0] , Nhh l06U
lh6 h3|l5 0| D6g D|ghl 30 53y~3n0 which, 3l
J. 1V3[3|,|6H3|O|6g|660u|w||65. L|Z3D6lh0mZ6
CONS E RVOLEAS
|ghl3053j
L UCQU E S
L|5 30 Dul6Q
MANZAN I LLAS
ug6l 30 m63Q
P I CHOLI N E S
j 30D|ghl
S PAN I S H QU E E NS
|3Nj 30m|U
C | |! ' l | | l' ' 1 H ;\ 1 | |

is a rcl i ablc sign. , r, bcttcr yct,

stcal ing a qui ck tastc. ) Jhc thi rd
bcst mct hod` Jaki ng a whi t|.
Aswcct,|rui tyaromais amuchbct
tcr i ndi cator o|what l i cs bcncath
thcrosycxtcriorthanthcrosycxtc
rioritscl|
cruci al |or maxi mum tcndcrncss .
Bcst achi cvcd wi th a vcry sharp
carvi ng, or sl i ci ng, kni tc, thi s task
bccomcs all but i mpossi bl c with a
dul l chc|` s kni |c . So what shoul d
you do i |you` rc stuckwi tha not
so sharp bl adc`
A Dul l Moment?
l t might not sccm likc much, but
thc simplc stcp o|cutti ng Crillcd
Iondon Broi l , scc thc rccipc on
pagc I 3 ) i nto ul tra thi n sl i ccs is
Ancrthc stcak has rcstcd, cut i t
i n hal |l cngthwi sc, thcn sl i cc cach
hal|scparatcly i nto vcry thi n, cvcn
sl i ccs . Jhc shortcr sliccs arc much
casi cr to managc wHcn you arc
worki ngwi thani n|cri orkni|c.
I . Cut the steak i n hal f l engthwise. 2. Cut each hal f crosswi se i nto even sl i ces.
E o u 1 P M E N T T E s T 1 N . Candy Thermometers
Candy thermometers are desi gned for stovetop
reci pes where cl ose moni tori ng of temperature
i s key-especi al l y candy- maki ng and deep-fry
i ng. The thermometer stays in the l i qui d duri ng
cooki ng. But whi ch brand i s best? To fi nd out,
we brought 1 3 model s i nto the test kitchen and
made mul ti pl e batches of carmel for our Turtl e
Browni es (page 23) .
Thermometers with the si mpl est stl e-a pl ai n
glass tube-worked fi ne, but they are al so fragi l e
and the gradati ons were hard to read. What' s
more, a few model s had a tendency to sl i de
down and touch the bottom of the pan , gi vi ng a
false readi ng. Si mi l ar thermometers wi th a metal
"foot" to keep the thermometer off the pan
bottom di dn' t work in a smal l (shal l ow) batch
of carmel and were al so hard to read . Di al -face
thermometers requi red as much as 2 1/2 i nches of
l i qui d-a rarit when maki ng candi es.
The best of the bunch were the digital mod
el s, whi ch have easy-to- read consol es and al arm
features that warn the cook when the caramel
is done. But they tend to be top- heavy, wi th
a precari ous gri p on the saucepan. Maveri ck' s
Redi - Chek Digital Oi l & Candy Thermometer
( $34. 95) had the most rel i abl e gri p, and i t' s
a decent choi ce. Essential ? Probabl y not. An
i nstant-read thermometer capabl e of register
ing tempertures up to 400 degrees-we l i ke
ThermoWorks' Thermapen ( $79) -i s j ust as rel i
abl e and can al so be used to check the tempera
tures of roasts, breads, sauces, and more.
-Garh Cl i ngi ngsmi th
TI P PY TOP C HOI C E
Digital thermometers: Eas to read
but seem ir danger of ti ppi ng over.
Maveri ck' s Redi -Chek ( $ 34. 95 )
was the best we found.
*

. , ..

NOT- S O- EASY READI N G

Tradi ti onal candy thermometers:
Hard to read, and some have a
tenuous grip on the pan.
H I G H AND D RY
Di al -face thermometers: Requi re up
to 2 11 i nches of l i qui d to register
accurtely-too much for our
Turle Browni es caramel .
HL L ' | L O | P1L
+a+w t+v+ tev ae
When readers asked how to make a whi te wi ne versi on of ou r Best Sangria
( May/J une 1 998) , we wondered if i t woul d be as easy as swappi ng out red wi ne
for whi te. After a few si ps, i t was cl ear that some fi ne- tuni ng was i n order. The
whi te sangria tasted too sweet and l acked the ful l body and di sti nctive "wi ney"
profi l e of the red versi on. We qui ckly zeroed i n on the di fference i n tanni ns-the
source of the astri ngent flavors that are abundant i n red wi nes but not i n whi te
wi nes. To temper the astri ngency of the red sangria, we had added a fai r amount
of sugar and Tri pl e Sec orange l i queur, but that l evel of sweetness overwhel med
the l ess tanni c whi te sangria. So we experi mented wi th reduci ng the orange
l i queur and sugar in i ncrements. In the end, reduci ng j ust the orange l i queur
proved key-both l esseni ng the sweetness and di mi ni shi ng competi ti on from
the l i queur' s orange aromati cs. The ful l er body was easy to achi eve. In a tasti ng
of whi te sangrias made with several common vari etal s, tasters preferred Pi not
Gri gi o and unoaked Chardonnay for thei r ful l body and fru i t fl avor profi l es. (See
Cook' s Extra, bel ow, for the reci pe. )
C+ :ea1e,+ eat+e3
Severl gri l l enthusiasts wondered if our Chicken Teriyaki Uanuar/Februar
2005) coul d be adapted for the gri l l . Because our origi nal reci pe depends on char
ri ng bonel ess (but ski n- on) thighs under the broi l er, a high- heat gri l l opti on seemed
l i ke a no- brai ner. We first tri ed a modified two- l evel fire, browni ng the ski n first and
fi ni shi ng the chi cken on the cool er si de of the gri l l . However, thanks to flare- ups
from the renderi ng fat, the chi cken tended to scorch before i t cooked through.
Unwi l l i ng to remove the ski n to fix the probl em (the ul tra- cri spy ski n i s what
we l i ke best) , we came up wi th an al ternate sol uti on . Setti ng a di sposabl e al umi
num roasti ng pan i n the center of the gri l l , wi th hot coal s ban ked on to si des,
we tri ed cooki ng the chi cken di rectl y over the pan , ski n si de up (wi th the cover
on) , unti l the i nternal temperature registered 1 60 degrees. At thi s poi nt, the
ski n was not ful ly rendered , so we fi ni shed cooki ng the chi cken di rectl y over the
charcoal wi th the ski n si de down . The area over the dri p pan served as a "ti meout
zone" for the occasi onal fl are- up-much rarer now that most of the fat had been
rendered . The resul t was cri spy ski n that boasted deep, brown col or-the perfect
match for a spoonful of sweet, pungent teriyaki sauce. (See Cook' s Extra, bel ow,
for the reci pe. )
-+ s at+e Cee e)!+
I nqui ri ng readers wanted to know whether both of our chocol ate chi p cooki e
reci pes coul d be made i n bar form. The easy answer i s yes-and no. The reci pe for
our Thi ck and Chewy Chocolate Chi p Cookies Uanuar/February 1 996)
transferred beautiful ly to a 1 3 by 9- i nch baki ng pan: same proporti ons, j ust a
sl i ghtl y l onger baki ng ti me. ( See Cook' s Extra, bel ow, for the reci pe. ) But our
more recently publ i shed Thi n, Crispy Chocolate Chi p Cooki es ( March/
Apri l 200 I ) were a di fferent stor. With substanti al ly more sugar and butter and
l ess fl our (to hel p the cooki es spread as dramati cal ly as the words "thi n" and
"crispy" suggest) , thi s dough l acked the structure to produce a decent bar.
-Compi l ed by Matthew Herron
IF YOU HAVE A QUESTI ON about a recently publ i shed reci pe, let us know. Send
your i nqui ry, name, address, and dayti me tel ephone number to Reci pe Update,
Cook' s I l l ustrated, P. 0. Box 470589, Brookl i ne, MA 02447, or write to us at
reci peupdate@bcpress. com.
Go to ww. cooksi l l ustrated. com
Key i n code 5069 for Whi te Sangri a.
Key i n code 506 1 0 for Gri l l ed Chicken Teriyaki .
Key i n code 506 1 I for Chocol ate Chi p Cooki e Bars.
Reci pes avai l abl e unti l November I , 2006.
,\\ , \ ` I | ' N | 2 0 0 6
'
E QU I P ME NT C OR N E R
N EW P RO D U CT: Si mpl y Mash Potato Masher
Potato mashers general l y come i n one of two
\'arietie: a tat perforated plate attached to a han
dle or wire l oops ( also fl at) attached to a handle .
You lif the masher, you mash the potatoes. Simple
stuf but Chef's Pl anet new Simply Mash Potato
Masher ,S. 5) represents an attempt to make the
process even easier. The business end has
I 2 spokes that curve upward, givi ng
the masher a natural rocking motion.
By rocki ng the handle back and forth
i n a circular marion, the potatoes get
mas hed-no l i ft i ng r equi r ed. We l l ,
al most none : VVe had no l uck achi ev-
i ng smooth potatoes wi thout at least
some poundi ng. Nothi ng beats
a traditional masher-especially
one with a flat, perforated plate,
MAS H LESS MAS H E R?
such a s WMPs Profi Pl us
No match for
Masher ( $ 1 5 . 99) , wi nner
traditional model s of a previous kitchen test.
E Q U I P ME NT U P DATE : food Mi l l
We emerged from our September/October
2OO2 rating of food mi l l s wi t h two wi nners: the
ultimate, a $90 number from Cui si pro, and a
much l ess expensive runner- up, the Moul i nex
Moulin a Legumes No. 2 S I 5) , whi ch chured
out nearly as smooth a puree. Moul i nex, how
ever, has become i ncreasi ngl y hard to fnd in
the United States. For months, our search for
a similarly inexpensive food mi l l came up frui t
l ess. The cheap models we found were too smal l ,
fli msy, or t oo hard to t ur n, or they were too
rough on toods. Fina.l y, we came across R. S. V. P.
Rotary Food Mi.l l , which is suspiciously similar to
Moulinex-same white pl astic, same red handl e,
almost as modest a pri ce , S I 9. 95 ) . In our tests,
the R. S. V. P. mi l l proved every bit as good as our
test kitchen' s Moul inex at berry purees and ap
plesauce. The Cuisipro i s sti l l our favorite, but the
R. S. V. P. ranks as a "best buy. "
E QU I P M E NT TE STI N G : French Fry Cutters
While developing our recipe for Fi sh and Chi ps
(page 8), we used a knife to cut the potatoes into
proper "chi p" shape . Could a tiench try cutter
make the j ob any easier? To find out, we rounded
up four cutters and a few bushel s of potatoes
and went to work. Each design forces a potato
through a crisscross of thin metal blades. The
most basic of these rel ies on brute force-sort of
like an appl e corer. Once VL trimmed the ends of
the potato ( to make it sit still ) , then pushed down
hard, we got satisfactory results . But we did have
to usc a lot of muscl e . We also tested l ever- style
: B Y C / R I I I C L I N C I N C S M I T I I E
cutters, which, despite the mechani cs, requi re a
good deal of oomph as wel l . The potatoes are
placed i n a horizontal hopper, and, with a pul l of
the l ever, fench fries shoot out from the blades.
Pulling that lever is no easy task, and the hoppers
coul dn' t accept potatoes l onger than 4i nches.
I f you've got the strength, the si mpl e appl e
core r- styl e cutters make qui ck work of t ur
i ng russets i nto a pile of tries-and, i n fact, arc
quicker than a knife. Of the two we tested, onl y
the metal Cui si pro French Fry Cutter/ Appl e
Corer ( $ 1 9. 95) seemed sturdy enough.
E Q U I P M E NT U P DATE : Baking Peel s
ln the March/ April 2OO5 i ssue, we praised the
Super Peel for i ts abi l i ty to get pi zza and bread
dough onto a baking stone without sticking or
mi shap. This clever peel rel ies on a pastry cl oth
liner that is threaded through the board l ike a
conveyor bel t. The dough is pl aced on the cl oth,
and, as the board i s pul l ed back, the cloth ro
tates and gently deposits the dough onto the hot
stone i n the oven. While preparing materials for
Cooking at Home Iith America;s Test Kitchen, the
companion book to thi s year's television series,
we i nadvertentl y put a "not recommended" l abel
on this product. We stand by our ori gi nal assess
ment ofthi s product. While a wel l - fl oured regular
peel will work after some practi ce , the Super
Peel a. ll but guarantees tl awless transfer of sticky
dough. We apologize for the conft sion.
50ufCcS
The fol l owi ng are mai l - order sources for i tems recom
mended i n thi s i ssue. Pri ces were current a t press ti me
and do not i ncl ude shi ppi ng and handl i ng. Contact
compani es di rectl y to confi rm pri ces and avai l abi l i t, and
vi si t our Web si te (cooksi l l ustrated . com) for u pdates.
Page 3: CHASEN
Chasen ( Bamboo Whisk) : $ 1 8, I n Puruit ofTea
(866- 878- 3 83 2, ww . i npursuitoftea.com) .
Page 3 : PASRY FLOUR
Ki ng Arthur Fl our Unbl eached Pastry Fl our ( 3 pounds) :
$ 2 . 9 5 , i tem #3 3 3 1 , King Arhur Fl our (800- 827- 6836,
ww . kingarhurlour. com) .
Page 9: DEEP FRYERS
Oster I mmersi on Deep Fryer: $ 79. 95 , item # 2 1 2064,
Cookingocom (800-663 - 88 1 0, ww . cookingo com) .
Masterbui l tTurk' N' SurfTurkey Fryer and Seafood
Kettl e: $ 1 99. 9 5, item #SEFT, Masterbui lt Outdoor
Products (800-489- 1 5 8 I , WW o masterbuil t. com) .
Page 29: TONGS
Oxo Good Gri ps 1 2- l nch locki ng Tongs: $ 9 . 9 5 , item
# I 02087, Cooking. com.
Page 3 1 : CANDY THERMOMETER
C C V 1 | b | | ' |' : | H ^ l | l
?
Maveri ck Redi - Chek Digital Oi l & Candy Thermometer:
$ 3 4. 9 5 , item #20 1 6 1 3 , Cooking. com.
Page 3 2 : POTATO MASHER
WMF Profi Pl us Potato Masher: $ 1 5 . 99, code
#74400409 5906, (800-458- 26 1 6,
WW o thegadgetsource . com) o
Page 3 2 : FOOD MI LL
R. S.V.P. Rotar Food Mi l l : $ 1 9. 9 5 , item #43 5420,
Cooki ng. como
Page 3 2 : FRENCH FRY CUTER
Cui si pro French Fry Cutter I Appl e Corer: $ 1 9. 9 5, item
# 1 3 75 77, Cooking. com.
Page 3 2 : BAKI NG PEEL
Super Peel : $ 3 3 . 9 5 , Exoproducts ( 5 1 8- 3 7 1 - 3 1 73 ,
WW o superpeel . com) .
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RE C I PE S
May / June Zll
Mai n Di shes
Chi cken Sal ads
Chi cken Sal ad wi th Asparagus and
Sun- Dri ed Tomato Dressi ng 20
Fuss- FreeRoast Chi cken for Salad 20
Spani sh- Stl e Chi cken Sal ad wi th
Roasted Red Pepper Dressi ng 20
Thai - Stl e Chi cken Sal ad wi th
Spi cy Peanut Dressi ng 20
Fi sh and Chi ps 9
London Broi l
for a Charcoal Gr i l l I 3
for a Gas Gri l l I 3
Moroccan Chi cken
wi th Chi ckpeas and Apri cots 7
with Ol i ves and Lemon 7
Veal Scal oppi ni 1 9
Vegetabl e Sti r- Fri es
Sti r- Fri ed Portobel l os wi th Gi nger
Oyster Sauce I 5
Sti r- Fri ed Portobel l os wi th Sweet
Chi l i - Garl i c Sauce I 5
Sti r-Fri ed Tofu I S
Si de Di sh
Garl i c and Ol ive Oi l Mashed
Potatoes 2 1
Desserts
Strawberry Cream Cake 2 5
Ul ti mate Turtl e Browni es 23
Sauces
Sweet and Smok Gri l l ed Tomato
Sal sa 0
| L| VL PL b LPLL| | | | | .
Lemon- Parsl ey Sauce 1 9
Porci ni - Marsal a Pan Sauce 1 9
New Reci pes Avai l abl e on the Web
The fol l owi ng reci pes
are avai l abl e free unti l
November I , 2006.
Go to w. cooks
i l l ustrted. com and enter the code l i sted
after the reci pe ti tl e.
Chi mi churri Sauce 5063
Chocol ate Chi p Cooki e Bars 506 1 I
Couscous Pi l af wi th Rai si ns and
Al monds 506 1
Gri l l ed Chi cken Teriyaki 506 1 0
Sti r- Fri ed Eggpl ant wi th Sweet Chi l i
Garl i c Sauce 506 1 2
Sti r- Fri ed Portobel l os wi th Soy
Mapl e Sauce 5064
Tarragon Sherry Cream Sauce 506 5
Whi te Sangria 5069
www. cooks i l l u strated . com
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tel evi si on ever week. For more i nformati on .
i ncl udi ng reci pes and program ti mes. vi si t
V. ameri castestki tchen . com.
London Broi l , | J
Fi sh and Chi ps . V Vegetabl e Sti r- Fry, | b
Moroccan Chi cken ,
Ul ti mate Tu rtl e Brown i es. 2 J Strawberry Cream Cake, 2 b
PHOTOGRAPHY: CARL TRE M BLAY. STYLI NG : MARI E PI RAI NO
AX A N G R E E N S