Cooks and country

Barbecued Burnt Ends From Cook's Country | June/July 2014 WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Real burnt ends are all about moist meat and plenty of flavorful, charred bark, but most pit masters use the fatty point-cut brisket. To make the leaner (and more widely available) flat-cut brisket work, we cut it into strips and brine it for maximum moisture and flavor. Three hours of smoke on the grill—with a water pan for more moisture—followed by a few more hours in a low oven ensures fully tender brisket with plenty of char. We cut the meat into cubes before tossing it with a flavorful, homemade sauce.

SERVES 8 TO 10 Look for a brisket with a significant fat cap. This recipe takes about 8 hours to prepare. The meat can be brined ahead of time, transferred to a zipper-lock bag, and refrigerated for up to a day. If you don’t have 1/2 cup of juices from the rested brisket, supplement with beef broth.

INGREDIENTS BRISKET AND RUB 2 1/2 1 1/4

cups plus 1 tablespoon kosher salt cup granulated sugar (5- to 6-pound) beef brisket, flat cut, untrimmed cup packed brown sugar

2

tablespoons pepper

4

cups wood chips

1

(13 by 9-inch) disposable aluminum roasting pan (if using charcoal) or 2 (8 1/2 by 6-inch) disposable aluminum pans (if using gas)

BARBECUE SAUCE 3/4

cup ketchup

1/4

cup packed brown sugar

2

tablespoons cider vinegar

2

tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2

teaspoons granulated garlic

1/4

teaspoon cayenne pepper

INSTRUCTIONS 1. FOR THE BRISKET AND RUB: Dissolve 2 cups salt and granulated sugar in 4 quarts cold water in large container. Slice brisket with grain into 1 1/2-inch-thick strips. Add brisket strips to brine, cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours. Remove brisket from brine and pat dry with paper towels.

2. Combine brown sugar, pepper, and remaining 1 tablespoon salt in bowl. Season brisket all over with rub. Just before grilling, soak

wood chips in water for 15 minutes, then drain. Using 2 large pieces of heavy-duty aluminum foil, wrap soaked chips in 2 foil packets and cut several vent holes in tops.

3A. FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent halfway and place disposable pan filled with 2 quarts water on 1 side of grill, with long side of pan facing center of grill. Arrange 3 quarts unlit charcoal briquettes on opposite side of grill and place 1 wood chip packet on coals. Light large chimney starter halfway filled with charcoal briquettes (3 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over unlit coals and wood chip packet. Place remaining wood chip packet on lit coals. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent halfway. Heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, about 5 minutes.

3B. FOR A GAS GRILL: Add 1/2 cup ice cubes to 1 wood chip packet. Remove cooking grate and place both wood chip packets directly on primary burner; place disposable pans each filled with 2 cups water directly on secondary burner(s). Set grate in place, turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn off other burner(s). (Adjust primary burner as needed to maintain grill temperature of 275 to 300 degrees.)

4. Clean and oil cooking grate. Arrange brisket on cooler side of grill as far from heat source as possible. Cover (positioning lid vent over brisket for charcoal) and cook without opening for 3 hours.

5. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Remove brisket from grill and transfer to rimmed baking sheet.

Cover sheet tightly with foil. Roast until fork slips easily in and out of meat and meat registers about 210 degrees, about 2 hours.

Remove from oven, leave covered, and let rest for 1 hour. Remove foil, transfer brisket to carving board, and pour accumulated juices into fat separator.

6. FOR THE BARBECUE SAUCE: Combine ketchup, sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire, granulated garlic, cayenne, and 1/2 cup defatted brisket juices in medium saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium heat and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

7. Cut brisket strips crosswise into 1- to 2-inch chunks. Combine brisket chunks and barbecue sauce in large bowl and toss to combine. Serve.

CUT BRISKET INTO STRIPS

Slicing a flat-cut brisket into 1 1/2-inch strips creates more surface area to facilitate brining, browning, and smoke absorption. We cube it just before serving.

GO WITH THE GRAIN: Cut the brisket into strips before brining.

Black Bean Burgers From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: Vegetarian Essentials WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: For great-tasting, cohesive burgers, we start by grinding tortilla chips in the food processor. We then pulse the beans with the chips so the beans maintain some texture. Eggs, and flour, which contains sticky amylopectin, help to hold the burger mix together. To keep the preparation simple, we add no-cook seasonings that bolster the Latin American flavor of the burgers. Letting the mixture sit in the refrigerator for an hour gives the starches time to soak up moisture from the egg, so the patties are easier to shape.

Serves 4 The black bean mixture needs to be refrigerated for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours prior to cooking. When forming the patties, it is important to pack them firmly together. Our favorite canned black beans are Bush’s Best. Serve the burgers with your favorite toppings or with one of our spreads (see related content).

INGREDIENTS 2

(15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed

2

large eggs

2

tablespoons all-purpose flour

4

scallions, minced

3

tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

2

garlic cloves, minced

1

teaspoon ground cumin

1

teaspoon hot sauce (optional)

1/2

teaspoon ground coriander

1/4

teaspoon salt

1/4

teaspoon pepper

1

ounce tortilla chips, crushed coarse (1/2 cup)

8

teaspoons vegetable oil

6

hamburger buns

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Line rimmed baking sheet with triple layer of paper towels and spread beans over towels. Let stand for 15 minutes.

2. Whisk eggs and flour together in large bowl until uniform paste forms. Stir in scallions; cilantro; garlic; cumin; hot sauce, if using; coriander; salt; and pepper until well combined.

3. Process tortilla chips in food processor until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Add black beans and pulse until beans are roughly broken down, about 5 pulses. Transfer black bean mixture to bowl with egg mixture and mix until well combined. Cover and refrigerate

broken down, about 5 pulses. Transfer black bean mixture to bowl with egg mixture and mix until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

4. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Divide bean mixture into 6 equal portions. Firmly pack each portion into tight ball, then flatten to 3 1/2-inch-diameter patty. (Patties can be wrapped individually in plastic wrap, placed in a zipperlock bag, and frozen for up to 2 weeks. Thaw patties before cooking.)

5. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Carefully place 3 patties in skillet and cook until bottoms are well browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Flip patties, add 2 teaspoons oil, and cook second side until well browned and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer burgers to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and place in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining 3 patties and 4 teaspoons oil. Transfer burgers to buns and serve.

TECHNIQUE

BEAN BURGERS GONE BAD Mixing lots of starchy binders with whole or coarsely chopped beans makes a dry, crumbly burger without much flavor. Pureeing the beans allows you to use minimal binders but turns the patty mushy and gluey.

CRUMBLY AND TASTELESS Lots of starchy binders mute the bean flavor and dry out the burger.

WET AND MUSHY Pureed beans need fewer binders but lead to burgers with a hummus-like texture.

TECHNIQUE

KEYS TO AN IDEAL BLACK BEAN BURGER Here’s what we did to create a burger full of earthy bean flavor that wasn’t muted by too much starchy binder.

DRY BEANS Removing excess moisture by draining on paper towels helps cut down on the need for absorbent binders.

PULSE, DON’T PUREE Pulsing the beans with tortilla chips (we processed them first) keeps the beans chunky for textural contrast.

GIVE IT EXTRA CLING In addition to eggs and starchy tortilla chips, we add flour, which contains sticky amylopectin, to hold the mix together.

LET IT REST Letting the mixture sit gives the starches time to soak up the eggs so the burgers are easier to handle.

Blitz Torte From Cook's Country | December/January 2014 WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: The name is German but this layered dessert is an American invention. Meant to look impressive but come together with ease, it combines tender cake, crispy meringue, and creamy filling. We start by spreading thick yellow cake batter into two pans and topping it with billowy meringue (the yolks go into the cake and the whites into the meringue, so there’s no waste). The two bake together with a sprinkling of almonds on top. We found that a low oven helped the meringue dry out and crisp without overcooking the cake. While pastry cream fillings are common, we preferred the ease of whipped cream, stabilized with gelatin and combined with rich, tangy lemon curd (store-bought, to save time). Fresh raspberries macerated in orange liqueur are the final ingredient in this show-stopping dessert.

SERVES 8 TO 10 We developed this recipe using light-colored cake pans, which we prefer for baking cakes. If your pans are dark, reduce the baking time in step 6 to 30 to 35 minutes. In step 1, be sure to whip the heavy cream–gelatin mixture to firm, stiff peaks, and let the filling set up in the refrigerator for at least 1½ hours before assembling the cake.

INGREDIENTS FILLING 1

teaspoon unflavored gelatin

2

tablespoons water

1

cup heavy cream, chilled

1

teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2

cup lemon curd

10

ounces (2 cups) raspberries

2

tablespoons orange liqueur

1

tablespoon sugar

CAKE 1/2 4

cup whole milk large egg yolks

1 1/2

teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4

cups (5 ounces) cake flour

1 1 1/2

cup (7 ounces) sugar teaspoons baking powder

1/2

teaspoon salt

12

tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened

MERINGUE 4

large egg whites

1/4

teaspoon cream of tartar

3/4

cup (5 1/4 ounces) sugar

1/2

teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2

cup sliced almonds

INSTRUCTIONS 1. FOR THE FILLING: Sprinkle gelatin over water in small bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Microwave until mixture is bubbling around edges and gelatin dissolves, 15 to 30 seconds. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip cream and vanilla on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high and whip until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Add gelatin mixture and whip until stiff peaks form, about 1 minute.

2. Whisk lemon curd in large metal bowl to loosen. Gently fold whipped cream mixture into lemon curd. Refrigerate whipped cream filling for at least 1½ hours or up to 3 hours. (Filling may look slightly curdled before assembling cake.)

3. FOR THE CAKE: Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 2 light-colored 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper, grease parchment, and flour pans.

4. Beat milk, yolks, and vanilla together with fork in 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed until combined, about 5 seconds. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, and mix until only pea-size pieces remain, about 1 minute. Add half of milk mixture, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to medium-low, add remaining milk mixture, and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds (mixture may look curdled). Give batter final stir by hand. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and spread into even layer using small offset spatula.

5. FOR THE MERINGUE: Using clean, dry mixer bowl and whisk, whip egg whites and cream of tartar on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high and whip whites to soft, billowy mounds, 1 to 3 minutes. Gradually add sugar and whip until glossy, stiff peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes. Add vanilla and whip until incorporated.

6. Divide meringue evenly between cake pans and spread evenly over cake batter to edges of pan. Use back of spoon to create peaks in meringue. Sprinkle meringue with almonds. Bake cakes until meringue is golden and has pulled away from sides of pan, 50 to 55 minutes, switching and rotating pans halfway through baking. Let cakes cool completely in pans on wire rack. (Cakes can be baked up to 24 hours in advance and stored, uncovered, in pans at room temperature.)

7. To finish filling, 10 minutes before assembling cake, combine raspberries, liqueur, and sugar in bowl and let sit, stirring occasionally.

8. Gently remove cakes from pans, discarding parchment. Place 1 cake layer on platter, meringue side up. Spread half of whipped cream filling evenly over top of meringue. Using slotted spoon, spoon raspberries evenly over filling, leaving juice in bowl. Gently spread remaining whipped cream filling over raspberries, covering raspberries completely. Top with second cake layer, meringue side up. Serve cake within 2 hours of assembly.

HOW THE LAYERS COME TOGETHER

This multilayered, European-style cake is easier to make than it looks, in part because several of the components are combined.

TWO LAYERS BAKE AS ONE: The meringue gets spread over the raw cake batter, and the two bake together.

A RICH FILLING: We fortify the standard whipped cream filling with lemon curd and gelatin, and we layer it with raspberries.

Kolaches From Cook's Country | December/January 2013 WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Brought to America by Czech immigrants and popular in Texas, these sweet pastries are heaped with either fruit or cheese filling. Many recipes call for mixing the dough gently, but we found that lengthy kneading yielded a more supple dough that held air well, giving our kolaches a lighter crumb, while increased egg yolks and butter tenderize the dough. A greased and floured measuring cup makes even indentations in the formed pastries, and a sweet cheese or tangy fruit filling comes together easily and is spooned inside before baking.

MAKES 16 KOLACHES Do not use nonfat ricotta cheese in this recipe. In step 1, if the dough hasn’t cleared the sides of the bowl after 12 minutes, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, up to 2 tablespoons. In step 6, to prevent sticking, reflour the bottom of the measuring cup (or drinking glass) after making each indentation.

INGREDIENTS DOUGH 1 10 1 3 1/2 1/3

cup whole milk tablespoons unsalted butter, melted large egg plus 2 large yolks cups (17 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour cup (2 ounces) sugar

2 1/4

teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast

1 1/2

teaspoons salt

CHEESE FILLING 6

ounces cream cheese, softened

3

tablespoons sugar

1

tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/2 6

teaspoon grated lemon zest ounces (3/4 cup) whole-milk or part-skim ricotta cheese

STREUSEL 2

tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

2

tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sugar

1

tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces and chilled

1

large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk

INSTRUCTIONS

1. FOR THE DOUGH: Grease large bowl. Whisk milk, melted butter, and egg and yolks together in 2-cup liquid measuring cup (butter will form clumps). Whisk flour, sugar, yeast, and salt together in bowl of stand mixer. Fit stand mixer with dough hook, add milk mixture to flour mixture, and knead on low speed until no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium and knead until dough clears sides of bowl but still sticks to bottom, 8 to 12 minutes.

2. Transfer dough to greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions. Place dough on lower-middle rack and place loaf pan on bottom of oven. Pour 3 cups boiling water into loaf pan, close oven door, and let dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

3. FOR THE CHEESE FILLING: Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, and lemon zest on low speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add ricotta and beat until just combined, about 30 seconds. Transfer to bowl, cover with plastic, and refrigerate until ready to use.

4. FOR THE STREUSEL: Combine flour, sugar, and butter in bowl and rub between fingers until mixture resembles wet sand. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until ready to use.

5. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Punch down dough and place on lightly floured counter. Divide into quarters and cut each quarter into 4 equal pieces. Form each piece into rough ball by pulling dough edges underneath so top is smooth. On unfloured counter, cup each ball in your palm and roll into smooth, tight ball. Arrange 8 balls on each prepared sheet and cover loosely with plastic. Place sheets on oven racks. Replace water in loaf pan with 3 cups boiling water, close oven door, and let dough rise until doubled, about 90 minutes.

6. Remove sheets and loaf pan from oven. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bottom of 1/3-cup measure (or 2 1/4-inchdiameter drinking glass). Make deep indentation in center of each dough ball by slowly pressing until cup touches sheet. (Perimeter of balls may deflate slightly.)

7. Gently brush kolaches all over with egg-milk mixture. Divide filling evenly among kolaches (about 1½ tablespoons per kolache) and smooth with back of spoon. Sprinkle streusel over kolaches, avoiding filling. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Let kolaches cool on pans for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

TEST KITCHEN TECHNIQUE: FILLING KOLACHES

Divide the dough into 16 balls, let each ball double in size, and then shape and fill them.

INDENT BALLS OF DOUGH: Using a greased and floured measuring cup, press an indent into each ball of dough.

The dough will deflate slightly.

FILL KOLACHES: Spoon the filling into each indent. Brush the kolaches with egg wash, sprinkle them with streusel, and bake.

Chicken Spiedies From Cook's Country | June/July 2009 WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: None of the recipes we found for the grilled sandwiches known as chicken spiedies called for a marinating time shorter than 24 hours.

When we first tried these versions, our Chicken Spiedies tasted pickled, and the chicken was grainy and chalky. Our solution was to shorten the marinating time to just half an hour. To help the marinade’s flavors penetrate the chicken, we pricked the raw meat all over with a fork before marinating. We also cut the chicken into small cubes to expose more surface area to the marinade. We removed the acid component from our marinade, as it was chemically “cooking" the chicken before it even hit the grill. However, tasters missed the tangy, bright flavor of the lemon juice and vinegar. So, we split the marinade into two bowls, adding the chicken to one and the lemon juice and vinegar to the other to make a “dressing" to dribble on the cooked meat later. The oil, salt, spices, and garlic in the marinade flavored the meat and improved its texture by acting as a brine, while the acidic dressing—drizzled over the chicken before serving— refreshed the marinade flavors.

SERVES 6 You will need six 12-inch metal skewers here. To prevent sticking, preheat the grill, covered, for 15 minutes (5 minutes if using charcoal) and scrape and oil the cooking grates before grilling.

INGREDIENTS 1/2

cup olive oil

2

garlic cloves, minced

2

tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil

1/2

teaspoon dried oregano

2

teaspoons grated zest plus 1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon

1

teaspoon salt

1/2

teaspoon pepper

1/4

teaspoon red pepper flakes

3

tablespoons mayonnaise

1

tablespoon red wine vinegar

4

boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)

6

(6-inch) sub rolls, slit partially open lengthwise

INSTRUCTIONS 1. MAKE SAUCES Combine oil, garlic, basil, oregano, lemon zest, salt, pepper, and pepper flakes in large bowl. Transfer 2 tablespoons oil mixture to separate bowl and whisk in mayonnaise, vinegar, and lemon juice; refrigerate. (Sauces can be refrigerated, covered, for 2 days.)

2. PREP CHICKEN Following photos 1 to 3, prick chicken breasts all over with fork, cut into 1¼-inch chunks, and transfer to bowl with remaining oil mixture. Refrigerate, covered, for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.

3. GRILL CHICKEN Remove chicken from marinade and thread onto six 12-inch metal skewers. Grill chicken over hot fire, covered and turning frequently, until lightly charred and cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to sub rolls or bread, remove skewers, and drizzle with mayonnaise mixture. Serve.

SPEEDY SPIEDIE PREP

For the most flavor in the least time, follow these quick steps.

1. To help the marinade penetrate the meat, prick the chicken breasts all over with a fork.

2. To expose more surface area to the marinade, cut the chicken into 1 1/4-inch cubes.

3. The highly seasoned marinade builds a lot of flavor in only 30 minutes.

Chocolate-Caramel Layer Cake From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: Chocolate-Caramel Layer Cake WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Many chocolate-caramel cakes barely contain enough caramel flavor to merit the name. To ensure caramel flavor in each bite, we sandwich three layers of thick but spreadable caramel filling between layers of deep, dark, moist chocolate cake. For a not-too-sweet caramel that is spreadable but thick enough to stand out between the layers, we cook it until it’s dark (but not burnt) and add extra butter to ensure that it sets up at room temperature and does not ooze. Our thick, satiny chocolate frosting comes together in the food processor in minutes.

Serves 12 Baking spray that contains flour can be used to grease and flour the pans. Both natural and Dutch-processed cocoa will work in this recipe. When taking the temperature of the caramel in steps 3 and 4, remove the pot from the heat and tilt the pan to one side. Use your thermometer to stir the caramel back and forth to equalize hot and cool spots and make sure you are getting an accurate reading.

INGREDIENTS Cake 1 1/2 3/4

cups (7 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour cup (2 1/4 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2

cups (10 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar

1 1/4

teaspoons baking soda

3/4

teaspoon baking powder

3/4

teaspoon salt

3/4

cup buttermilk

1/2

cup water

1/4

cup vegetable oil

2

large eggs

1

teaspoon vanilla extract

Caramel Filling 1 1/4

cups (8 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar

1/4

cup light corn syrup

1/4

cup water

1

cup heavy cream

8

tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

1

teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4

teaspoon vanilla extract teaspoon salt

Frosting 16

tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3/4

cup (3 ounces) confectioners' sugar

1/2

cup (1 1/2 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder Pinch salt

1/2

cup light corn syrup

3/4

teaspoon vanilla extract

6 1/4—1/2

ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled teaspoon coarse sea salt (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS 1. FOR THE CAKE: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper, grease parchment, and flour pans. Sift flour and cocoa into large bowl. Whisk in sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk buttermilk, water, oil, eggs, and vanilla together in second bowl. Whisk buttermilk mixture into flour mixture until smooth batter forms. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and smooth tops with rubber spatula.

2. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 22 to 28 minutes, switching and rotating pans halfway through baking. Let cakes cool in pans on wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove cakes from pans, discarding parchment, and let cool completely on rack, at least 2 hours.

3. FOR THE CARAMEL FILLING: Lightly grease 8-inch square baking pan. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in medium saucepan.

Bring to boil over medium-high heat and cook, without stirring, until mixture is amber colored, 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook, swirling saucepan occasionally, until dark amber, 2 to 5 minutes longer. (Caramel will register between 375 and 380 degrees.)

4. Off heat, carefully stir in cream, butter, vanilla, and salt (mixture will bubble and steam). Return saucepan to medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until smooth and caramel reaches 240 to 245 degrees, 3 to 5 minutes. Carefully transfer caramel to prepared pan and let cool until just warm to touch (100 to 105 degrees), 20 to 30 minutes.

5. FOR THE FROSTING: Process butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add corn syrup and vanilla and process until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl, then add chocolate and pulse until smooth and creamy, 10 to 15 seconds. (Frosting can be made 3 hours in advance. For longer storage, cover and refrigerate frosting. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before using.)

6. Using long serrated knife, score 1 horizontal line around sides of each cake layer; then, following scored lines, cut each layer into 2 even layers. 7. Using rubber spatula or large spoon, transfer 1/3 of caramel to center of 1 cake layer and use small offset spatula to spread over surface, leaving 1/2-inch border around edge. Repeat with remaining caramel and 2 of remaining cake layers. (Three of your cake layers should be topped with caramel.)

8. Line edges of cake platter with 4 strips of parchment to keep platter clean. Place 1 caramel-covered cake layer on platter. Top with second caramel-covered layer. Repeat with third caramel-covered layer and top with final layer. Spread frosting evenly over sides and top of cake. Carefully remove parchment strips. Let cake stand for at least 1 hour. (Cake can be made 2 days in advance and refrigerated. Let stand at room temperature for at least 5 hours before serving.) Sprinkle with coarse sea salt, if using. Cut and serve.

TECHNIQUE

DON'T BE AFRAID OF CARAMEL

DON'T BE AFRAID OF CARAMEL Caramel is simply sugar (sucrose) that’s been heated until it melts, browns, and develops complex flavor. You can use it to make a fluid caramel sauce or chewy or hard candy by adding cream, butter, and other flavorings. The longer the mixture cooks, the more water will evaporate and the stiffer the caramel will become.

Though caramel gets a bad rap for being finicky to make, with the right recipe, it’s easy to overcome its two main pitfalls: The sugar can melt unevenly and burn, or it can seize up and crystallize. The latter happens when some of the sucrose molecules are not hot enough to melt and break down into glucose and fructose and instead bond, creating a grainy texture. Here’s what we do to make a caramel that works.

TECHNIQUE

ESSENTIAL TECHNIQUES ADD WATER: Water, which makes a “wet caramel,” helps the sugar dissolve and spread across the pan so that it melts evenly and reduces the risk that some sugar burns before the rest caramelizes.

ADD CORN SYRUP, NOT ACID: Adding acid or corn syrup to sugar as it caramelizes can prevent crystallization; both ingredients interfere with sucrose’s ability to bond with itself.

ACIDS: A small amount of lemon juice, vinegar, or cream of tartar speeds the breakdown of sucrose into fructose and glucose. These molecules dilute the remaining sucrose molecules, decreasing their chances of bonding together before they, too, can break down.

CORN SYRUP: Corn syrup already contains glucose molecules (and water); thus, it dilutes the sucrose molecules faster. For this reason, we prefer it over acids.

USE A HEAVY-BOTTOM SAUCEPAN: Sugar is prone to burning in lightweight cookware, which does not transfer heat evenly. A heavy saucepan helps the sugar cook evenly.

USE TWO LEVELS OF HEAT: Over high heat the sugar can heat unevenly or even burn, but over low heat it can crystallize. That’s because there will be enough heat to evaporate the water, but not enough to melt the sugar, so the sucrose molecules can bond. We melt the sugar over medium-high heat and then reduce the heat to low to prevent it from burning.

TECHNIQUE

"TIPS" TO AVOID As long as you cook the sugar over a hot enough flame, it will melt, so skip these common caramel techniques.

STIRRING: Stirring the sugar to help it melt isn’t necessary. We simply swirl the pan occasionally as the syrup cooks to even out hot spots.

WASHING/COVERING: Brushing the walls of the pot with a wet pastry brush and covering the saucepan to create condensation are both meant to “rinse” away any sugar molecules that might be clinging to the sides, but they will melt eventually anyway.

TECHNIQUE

TECHNIQUE: TAKING THE TEMPERATURE OF CARAMEL Before inserting an instant-read thermometer (which we prefer to a candy thermometer) into the caramel, swirl the caramel to even out any hot spots. Then tilt the pot so that the caramel pools 1 to 2 inches deep and move the thermometer back and forth in the caramel for about 5 seconds before taking a reading. If using a clip-on thermometer, swirl the caramel for at least 15 seconds and tilt the caramel toward the probe.

TECHNIQUE

PERFECTING THE CARAMEL FILLING Our caramel filling is soft enough to spread on the cake layers but not so fluid that it soaks into the cake or drips down the sides of a cut slice.

SOFT, BUT NOT RUNNY

TECHNIQUE

DO I REALLY NEED TO USE PARCHMENT PAPER? It may sound like overkill, but the most effective way to ensure that a cake releases cleanly from a baking pan is to grease the pan, line it with parchment paper, and then grease and flour the parchment and pan sides. The parchment guarantees that the cake pulls away from the pan bottom completely, and a coat of grease and flour on the parchment and up the pan sides helps the batter cling and rise and ensures that the parchment pulls away from the cake bottom without removing large crumbs.

GOT STUCK: Just grease and flour.

CLEAN RELEASE: Grease, flour, and parchment.

Coq au Riesling From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: Why Not Add Wine?

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: For our take on the elegant white wine version of coq au vin, starting with a whole chicken and then breaking it down ourselves was a must, not only to obtain evenly sized parts that would cook at the same rate but also so that we could use the back and wings to enrich the sauce. The fond created from browning the chicken skin was also essential for flavor but required browning the chicken parts in batches. Plus, the skin turned flabby during braising. The solution? Removing the skin from the meat, browning it in one batch, and then discarding it before serving. Adding about three-quarters of a bottle of dry Riesling along with a cup of water produced a sauce that was nuanced and balanced. Finally, we finished the sauce with crème fraîche for just the right silkiness and body.

Serves 4 to 6 A dry Riesling is the best wine for this recipe, but a Sauvignon Blanc or Chablis will also work. Avoid a heavily oaked wine such as Chardonnay. Serve the stew with egg noodles or mashed potatoes.

INGREDIENTS 1

(4- to 5-pound) whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces (4 breast pieces, 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs), wings and back reserved Salt and pepper

2

slices bacon, chopped

3

shallots, chopped

2

carrots, peeled and chopped coarse

2

celery ribs, chopped coarse

4

garlic cloves, lightly crushed and peeled

3

tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 1/2

cups dry Riesling

1

cup water

2

bay leaves

6

sprigs fresh parsley, plus 2 teaspoons minced

6

sprigs fresh thyme

1

pound white mushrooms, trimmed and halved if small or quartered if large

1/4

cup crème fraîche

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Remove skin from chicken breast pieces, drumsticks, and thighs and set aside. Sprinkle both sides of chicken pieces with 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; set aside. Cook bacon in large Dutch oven over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until beginning to render, 2 to 4 minutes. Add chicken skin, back, and wings to pot; increase heat to medium; and cook, stirring frequently,

beginning to render, 2 to 4 minutes. Add chicken skin, back, and wings to pot; increase heat to medium; and cook, stirring frequently, until bacon is browned, skin is rendered, and chicken back and wings are browned on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove pot from heat and carefully transfer 2 tablespoons fat to small bowl and set aside.

2. Return pot to medium heat. Add shallots, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until no dry flour remains, about 30 seconds. Slowly add wine, scraping up any browned bits. Increase heat to high and simmer until mixture is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in water, bay leaves, parsley sprigs, and thyme and bring to simmer. Place chicken pieces in even layer in pot, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until breasts register 160 degrees and thighs and legs register 175 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking. Transfer chicken pieces to plate as they come up to temperature.

3. Discard back and wings. Strain cooking liquid through fine-mesh strainer set over large bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Let cooking liquid settle for 10 minutes. Using wide shallow spoon, skim fat from surface and discard.

4. While liquid settles, return pot to medium heat and add reserved fat, mushrooms, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes.

5. Return liquid to pot and bring to boil. Simmer briskly, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened to consistency of heavy cream, 4 to 6 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in crème fraîche and minced parsley. Return chicken to pot along with any accumulated juices, cover, and cook until just heated through, 5 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

TECHNIQUE

PICKING THE RIGHT WHITE Shopping for Riesling can be tricky. For this recipe, don’t worry about the wine’s origin, but do make sure to get a drier style of Riesling rather than a sugary one. Since this information isn’t always clearly indicated on labels, here are a few tips: 1. Austrian Rieslings are usually a safe bet; most are dry.

2. On bottles of German Riesling, look for the word “trocken,” which means dry.

3. On the back label of some Rieslings, you’ll find a sliding scale indicating where the wine falls on the dry-sweet spectrum. Make sure it falls on the drier half.

4. Look for Riesling that is 11 percent alcohol by volume or above. The higher the alcohol level, the drier the wine.

5. Alternately, we found that Sauvignon Blanc or Chablis will work. Avoid oaky Chardonnays, which can turn bitter when reduced.

TECHNIQUE

CHICKEN SKIN: TURNING A LIABILITY INTO AN ASSET The flabby chicken skin produced by braising is always unappealing. But the crisp, well-browned skin on a great roast chicken can be the best part of the dish. That’s because when skin is sautéed or roasted, its unsaturated fats oxidize, producing deeply flavorful compounds. At the same time, once the skin reaches temperatures over 300 degrees, amino acids, the building blocks of the skin’s proteins, react with some of its carbohydrates to set off the Maillard reaction, which produces browning and hundreds of additional complex flavor compounds.

To capitalize on these assets and avoid flabby texture, we treat the skin like a stand-alone ingredient, removing it from the cut-up chicken and then browning it in the pot along with the bacon and chicken wings and back. Leaving the skin in the pot throughout the simmer and only straining it out at the end of cooking ensures that all its flavors dissolve into the sauce.

DON'T DITCH THE SKIN: We brown the skin along with the back and wings to extract flavor and then simmer it in the sauce before discarding it.

discarding it.

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: A Hearty Start to the Day WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Toasted, skinned hazelnuts and some cocoa powder supply a nice balance of nut and chocolate flavor, while a food processor and some oil bring the two together. We also mix in some confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and salt for sweetness and depth to create this rustic, homemade version of Nutella. In addition to the boost of nuttiness, this chocolate hazelnut spread has another advantage: coarse texture.

Makes 1 1/2 cups INGREDIENTS 2

cups hazelnuts

6

tablespoons baking soda

1

cup (4 ounces) confectioners' sugar

1/3

cup (1 ounce) unsweetened cocoa powder

2

tablespoons hazelnut oil

1

teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8

teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Fill large bowl halfway with ice and water. Bring 4 cups water to boil. Add hazelnuts and baking soda and boil for 3 minutes.

Transfer nuts to ice bath with slotted spoon, drain, and slip skins off with dish towel.

2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Place hazelnuts in single layer on rimmed baking sheet and roast until fragrant and golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through roasting.

3. Process hazelnuts in food processor until oil is released and smooth, loose paste forms, about 5 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl often.

4. Add sugar, cocoa, oil, vanilla, and salt and process until fully incorporated and mixture begins to loosen slightly and becomes glossy, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

5. Transfer spread to jar with tight-fitting lid. Chocolate hazelnut spread can be stored at room temperature or refrigerated for up to 1 month.

TECHNIQUE

HOW TO SKIN HAZELNUTS 1. After blanching, transfer hazelnuts to ice bath using slotted spoon.

2. Drain nuts, then rub with dish towel to remove skins.

Duck Fat-Roasted Potatoes From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: A Roast for the Holidays WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Our crispy roasted potatoes are made with Yukon Golds, which give us the best balance of creamy interior and crisp exterior. Duck fat provides unmatched flavor and richness. We peel them for maximum surface area and roast them on a sheet pan on the top shelf of a hot oven to cook them from all sides at once. We boil them briefly in a mild baking soda bath, which degrades the pectin in the spuds’ exterior, and then rough them up in the pot to create a starchy paste that transforms into a crispy shell in the heat of the oven. And we use an easy but effective scrape-and-toss approach rather than turn them one at a time.

Serves 6 Duck fat is available in the meat department in many supermarkets. Alternatively, substitute chicken fat, lard, or a mixture of 3 tablespoons of bacon fat and 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil.

INGREDIENTS 3 1/2

pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces Kosher salt and pepper

1/2

teaspoon baking soda

6

tablespoons duck fat

1

tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Adjust oven rack to top position, place rimmed baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 475 degrees.

2. Bring 10 cups water to boil in Dutch oven over high heat. Add potatoes, 1/3 cup salt, and baking soda. Return to boil and cook for 1 minute. Drain potatoes. Return potatoes to pot and place over low heat. Cook, shaking pot occasionally, until surface moisture has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 5 tablespoons fat and 1 teaspoon salt; mix with rubber spatula until potatoes are coated with thick paste, about 30 seconds.

3. Remove sheet from oven, transfer potatoes to sheet, and spread into even layer. Roast for 15 minutes.

4. Remove sheet from oven. Using thin, sharp, metal spatula, turn potatoes. Roast until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. While potatoes roast, combine rosemary and remaining 1 tablespoon fat in bowl.

5. Remove sheet from oven. Spoon rosemary-fat mixture over potatoes and turn again. Continue to roast until potatoes are well browned and rosemary is fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

TECHNIQUE

SAVING FAT FOR COOKING Saving the leftover fat from bacon, roasts, or poultry is easy to do. Pour the warm fat through a fine-mesh strainer into a Mason jar and discard any solids. (Alternatively, let the fat cool and harden and then scoop it into the jar, leaving any solids behind.) Put the lid on the jar, label it, and refrigerate it for up to one month or freeze it for up to six months, adding more fat as desired.

jar, label it, and refrigerate it for up to one month or freeze it for up to six months, adding more fat as desired.

Foolproof New York Cheesecake From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: New York Natives WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: The classic New York Cheesecake owes its distinctive browned top and velvety texture to a risky baking technique. It spends 10 minutes in a 500-degree oven, after which the oven is turned down to 200 degrees for the remainder of the baking time. Success with this method is dependent on the oven temperature falling at a very specific rate: too fast and your cheesecake will be soupy; too slow and it will be burned, cracked, and grainy.

For success every time, we turned the conventional method on its head: We baked the cheesecake for about 3 hours at the lower temperature and then removed it from the oven while we heated the oven to 500 degrees. Finishing the cake at the higher temperature produced the proper appearance and texture, without the risk. A hybrid graham cracker/shortbread crust gave our cheesecake the classic flavor and the structure to withstand prolonged contact with the wet filling without turning soggy, for a perfect cheesecake every time.

Serves 12 to 16 This cheesecake takes at least 12 hours to make (including chilling), so we recommend making it the day before serving. An accurate oven thermometer and instant-read thermometer are essential. To ensure proper baking, check that the oven thermometer is holding steady at 200 degrees and refrain from frequently taking the temperature of the cheesecake (unless it is within a few degrees of 165, allow 20 minutes between checking). Keep a close eye on the cheesecake in step 5 to prevent overbrowning.

INGREDIENTS Crust 6

whole graham crackers, broken into pieces

1/3

cup packed (2 1/3 ounces) dark brown sugar

1/2

cup (2 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour

1/4

teaspoon salt

7

tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling 2 1/2

pounds cream cheese, softened

1 1/2

cups (10 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar

1/8

teaspoon salt

1/3

cup sour cream

2

teaspoons lemon juice

2

teaspoons vanilla extract

6

large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks

INSTRUCTIONS 1. FOR THE CRUST: Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 325 degrees. Process cracker

1. FOR THE CRUST: Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 325 degrees. Process cracker pieces and sugar in food processor until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Add flour and salt and pulse to combine, 2 pulses. Add 6 tablespoons melted butter and pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened, about 10 pulses. Brush bottom of 9-inch springform pan with 1/2 tablespoon melted butter. Using your hands, press crumb mixture evenly into pan bottom. Using flat bottom of measuring cup or ramekin, firmly pack crust into pan. Bake on lower-middle rack until fragrant and beginning to brown around edges, about 13 minutes.

Transfer to rimmed baking sheet and set aside to cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees.

2. FOR THE FILLING: Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar, and salt at medium-low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Beat in remaining 3/4 cup sugar until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape beater and bowl well; add sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla and beat at low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Add egg yolks and beat at medium-low speed until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Scrape bowl and beater. Add whole eggs two at a time, beating until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds after each addition. Pour filling through fine-mesh strainer set in large bowl, pressing against strainer with rubber spatula or back of ladle to help filling pass through strainer.

3. Brush sides of springform pan with remaining 1/2 tablespoon melted butter. Pour filling into crust and set aside for 10 minutes to allow air bubbles to rise to top. Gently draw tines of fork across surface of cake to pop air bubbles that have risen to surface.

4. When oven thermometer reads 200 degrees, bake cheesecake on lower rack for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove cake from oven and use toothpick to pierce any bubbles that have risen to surface. Return to oven and continue to bake until center registers 165 degrees, 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hours longer. Remove cake from oven and increase oven temperature to 500 degrees.

5. When oven is at 500 degrees, bake cheesecake on upper rack until top is evenly browned, 4 to 12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes; run paring knife between cheesecake and side of springform pan. Let cheesecake cool until barely warm, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold and firmly set, at least 6 hours. (Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.)

6. To unmold cheesecake, remove sides of pan. Slide thin metal spatula between crust and pan bottom to loosen, then slide cheesecake onto serving plate. Let cheesecake stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes. To slice, dip sharp knife in very hot water and wipe dry between cuts. Serve.

TECHNIQUE

FOUR FAMILIAR FAILURES A nut-brown surface, puffed-up rim, velvety interior, and buttery graham cracker crust are classic New York cheesecake traits.

Unfortunately, so are these common pitfalls.

CRACKED: When exposed to high heat for too long, the cheesecake will overbake and develop unsightly fissures.

BURNT: Too much high heat can also cause the cheesecake to burn.

SPOTTY: Air bubbles that rise to the batter’s surface during baking brown faster, giving the facade an undesirably mottled appearance.

SOUPY: Even when the exterior is nicely set, the interior can be underdone and runny at the core.

TECHNIQUE

PROBLEM SOLVING: A CRUST THAT WON’T SOG OUT A typical graham cracker crust turns soggy because the structure of the crushed-up crackers is loose and porous. As a result, moisture from the heavy, wet cream cheese filling seeps into the crevices and saturates the crumbs before the water has a chance to evaporate during baking.

The key to a more moisture-resistant crust was to “waterproof ” the crumbs, which we did by working them into a pastry dough.

Because the structure of pastry dough is much less porous than a crumb crust—picture a sheet of rock versus the absorbent “sand” of a crumb crust—water from the filling never soaks into it and simply evaporates in the oven. Furthermore, our pastry dough contains a high ratio of butter, which coats both the crumbs and the starch granules in the flour, making the dough even more resistant to soaking up water.

WATERPROOF CRUST: Graham cracker crumbs don't get soggy when worked into a moisture-resistant pastry dough.

TECHNIQUE

BAKER BEWARE: OVENS COOL DOWN AT DIFFERENT RATES The textural and visual contrast that defines a New York cheesecake is typically produced by a high-to-low oven method: an initial blast of heat that puffs the sides and browns the top before the temperature is turned way down for the duration of baking to ensure just the right velvety interior. But baking cheesecakes in a variety of test kitchen ovens made us realize that this method works only in ovens that lose heat at a particular rate. If the oven is more thoroughly insulated and the temperature falls too slowly, the cheesecake will overcook; if the oven is less well insulated and the temperature falls too quickly, the beautifully browned exterior of the cheesecake is likely to hide a soupy, raw interior.

We confirmed this theory after monitoring the time it took three different ovens in the test kitchen to fall from 500 to 200 degrees. The results were all over the map. Even more compelling was that in the slowest oven, the temperature took almost 2 hours to reach 200 degrees—45 minutes longer than the recommended baking time for our previous recipe for New York–Style Cheesecake.

THE SOLUTION: To eliminate the drop in oven temperature as a variable, we took the bold step of reversing the typical high-to-low method. We baked the cake in a 200-degree oven until it was completely set, removed it, and then cranked the heat to 500 degrees.

Once the oven came up to temperature, we placed the cake on the upper rack, where in just 10 minutes the top browned and the edges puffed, creating that characteristic slope from edge to center.

Frosted Meatloaf From Cook's Country | February/March 2014 WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: If you think “frosting” is just for cake, think again. This homey, World War II–era dish coats traditional meatloaf with a layer of mashed potatoes before baking. Making a free-form meatloaf instead of using a loaf pan allowed us to easily cover the top and sides of the loaf.

We found that we had to bake the meatloaf before applying the mash, and to keep the mash from sliding off, we broil the meatloaf twice: first naked to create a crust and then coated with a tangy glaze for flavor. After we frost the loaf, a final stint under the broiler turns the fluffy crown of potatoes beautifully brown.

SERVES 6 TO 8 If you don’t have a ricer or a food mill, just mash the potatoes thoroughly.

INGREDIENTS 1/4

cup ketchup

1

tablespoon packed light brown sugar

1

tablespoon cider vinegar

1/2

teaspoon hot sauce

8

tablespoons unsalted butter

1

onion, chopped fine

3

garlic cloves, minced

17

square or 19 round saltines, crushed (2/3 cup)

1

cup whole milk

1

pound ground pork

2

large eggs plus 1 large yolk

1/3

cup minced fresh parsley

2

teaspoons Dijon mustard

2

teaspoons Worcestershire sauce Salt and pepper

1/2

teaspoon dried thyme

1

pound 90 percent lean ground beef

2

pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat broiler. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, set wire rack in sheet, and place 14 by 6-inch piece of foil in center of rack. Whisk ketchup, sugar, vinegar, and hot sauce together in bowl; set aside glaze.

2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until just softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Set aside off heat.

3. Combine saltines and 1/3 cup milk in large bowl and mash with fork until chunky paste forms. Add pork, eggs and yolk, parsley, mustard, Worcestershire, 1 teaspoon salt, 3/4 teaspoon pepper, thyme, and onion mixture and knead with your hands until mostly combined. Add beef and knead until combined.

4. Transfer meat mixture to foil rectangle on wire rack and form into 9 by 6-inch loaf. Broil on upper-middle oven rack until well browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Brush glaze over top and sides of meatloaf, return to upper-middle rack, and broil until glaze begins to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Move meatloaf to lower-middle oven rack, adjust oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake until meatloaf registers 160 degrees, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven.

5. Meanwhile, bring potatoes and 2 quarts water to boil in Dutch oven over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are tender, 20 to 25 minutes; drain potatoes thoroughly in colander. Set ricer or food mill over now-empty pot and press or mill potatoes into pot. Stir 1 teaspoon salt, remaining 6 tablespoons butter, and remaining 2/3 cup milk into potatoes until combined.

6. Using offset spatula, spread mashed potatoes evenly over top and sides of meatloaf. Heat broiler and return meatloaf to lowermiddle oven rack. Broil until potatoes are browned, about 15 minutes. Using foil as sling, transfer meatloaf to carving board and let rest for 15 minutes. Slice and serve.

Foolproof New York Cheesecake From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: New York Natives WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: The classic New York Cheesecake owes its distinctive browned top and velvety texture to a risky baking technique. It spends 10 minutes in a 500-degree oven, after which the oven is turned down to 200 degrees for the remainder of the baking time. Success with this method is dependent on the oven temperature falling at a very specific rate: too fast and your cheesecake will be soupy; too slow and it will be burned, cracked, and grainy.

For success every time, we turned the conventional method on its head: We baked the cheesecake for about 3 hours at the lower temperature and then removed it from the oven while we heated the oven to 500 degrees. Finishing the cake at the higher temperature produced the proper appearance and texture, without the risk. A hybrid graham cracker/shortbread crust gave our cheesecake the classic flavor and the structure to withstand prolonged contact with the wet filling without turning soggy, for a perfect cheesecake every time.

Serves 12 to 16 This cheesecake takes at least 12 hours to make (including chilling), so we recommend making it the day before serving. An accurate oven thermometer and instant-read thermometer are essential. To ensure proper baking, check that the oven thermometer is holding steady at 200 degrees and refrain from frequently taking the temperature of the cheesecake (unless it is within a few degrees of 165, allow 20 minutes between checking). Keep a close eye on the cheesecake in step 5 to prevent overbrowning.

INGREDIENTS Crust 6

whole graham crackers, broken into pieces

1/3

cup packed (2 1/3 ounces) dark brown sugar

1/2

cup (2 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour

1/4

teaspoon salt

7

tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling 2 1/2

pounds cream cheese, softened

1 1/2

cups (10 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar

1/8

teaspoon salt

1/3

cup sour cream

2

teaspoons lemon juice

2

teaspoons vanilla extract

6

large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks

INSTRUCTIONS 1. FOR THE CRUST: Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 325 degrees. Process cracker

1. FOR THE CRUST: Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 325 degrees. Process cracker pieces and sugar in food processor until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Add flour and salt and pulse to combine, 2 pulses. Add 6 tablespoons melted butter and pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened, about 10 pulses. Brush bottom of 9-inch springform pan with 1/2 tablespoon melted butter. Using your hands, press crumb mixture evenly into pan bottom. Using flat bottom of measuring cup or ramekin, firmly pack crust into pan. Bake on lower-middle rack until fragrant and beginning to brown around edges, about 13 minutes.

Transfer to rimmed baking sheet and set aside to cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees.

2. FOR THE FILLING: Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar, and salt at medium-low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Beat in remaining 3/4 cup sugar until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape beater and bowl well; add sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla and beat at low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Add egg yolks and beat at medium-low speed until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Scrape bowl and beater. Add whole eggs two at a time, beating until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds after each addition. Pour filling through fine-mesh strainer set in large bowl, pressing against strainer with rubber spatula or back of ladle to help filling pass through strainer.

3. Brush sides of springform pan with remaining 1/2 tablespoon melted butter. Pour filling into crust and set aside for 10 minutes to allow air bubbles to rise to top. Gently draw tines of fork across surface of cake to pop air bubbles that have risen to surface.

4. When oven thermometer reads 200 degrees, bake cheesecake on lower rack for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove cake from oven and use toothpick to pierce any bubbles that have risen to surface. Return to oven and continue to bake until center registers 165 degrees, 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hours longer. Remove cake from oven and increase oven temperature to 500 degrees.

5. When oven is at 500 degrees, bake cheesecake on upper rack until top is evenly browned, 4 to 12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes; run paring knife between cheesecake and side of springform pan. Let cheesecake cool until barely warm, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold and firmly set, at least 6 hours. (Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.)

6. To unmold cheesecake, remove sides of pan. Slide thin metal spatula between crust and pan bottom to loosen, then slide cheesecake onto serving plate. Let cheesecake stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes. To slice, dip sharp knife in very hot water and wipe dry between cuts. Serve.

TECHNIQUE

FOUR FAMILIAR FAILURES A nut-brown surface, puffed-up rim, velvety interior, and buttery graham cracker crust are classic New York cheesecake traits.

Unfortunately, so are these common pitfalls.

CRACKED: When exposed to high heat for too long, the cheesecake will overbake and develop unsightly fissures.

BURNT: Too much high heat can also cause the cheesecake to burn.

SPOTTY: Air bubbles that rise to the batter’s surface during baking brown faster, giving the facade an undesirably mottled appearance.

SOUPY: Even when the exterior is nicely set, the interior can be underdone and runny at the core.

TECHNIQUE

PROBLEM SOLVING: A CRUST THAT WON’T SOG OUT A typical graham cracker crust turns soggy because the structure of the crushed-up crackers is loose and porous. As a result, moisture from the heavy, wet cream cheese filling seeps into the crevices and saturates the crumbs before the water has a chance to evaporate during baking.

The key to a more moisture-resistant crust was to “waterproof ” the crumbs, which we did by working them into a pastry dough.

Because the structure of pastry dough is much less porous than a crumb crust—picture a sheet of rock versus the absorbent “sand” of a crumb crust—water from the filling never soaks into it and simply evaporates in the oven. Furthermore, our pastry dough contains a high ratio of butter, which coats both the crumbs and the starch granules in the flour, making the dough even more resistant to soaking up water.

WATERPROOF CRUST: Graham cracker crumbs don't get soggy when worked into a moisture-resistant pastry dough.

TECHNIQUE

BAKER BEWARE: OVENS COOL DOWN AT DIFFERENT RATES The textural and visual contrast that defines a New York cheesecake is typically produced by a high-to-low oven method: an initial blast of heat that puffs the sides and browns the top before the temperature is turned way down for the duration of baking to ensure just the right velvety interior. But baking cheesecakes in a variety of test kitchen ovens made us realize that this method works only in ovens that lose heat at a particular rate. If the oven is more thoroughly insulated and the temperature falls too slowly, the cheesecake will overcook; if the oven is less well insulated and the temperature falls too quickly, the beautifully browned exterior of the cheesecake is likely to hide a soupy, raw interior.

We confirmed this theory after monitoring the time it took three different ovens in the test kitchen to fall from 500 to 200 degrees. The results were all over the map. Even more compelling was that in the slowest oven, the temperature took almost 2 hours to reach 200 degrees—45 minutes longer than the recommended baking time for our previous recipe for New York–Style Cheesecake.

THE SOLUTION: To eliminate the drop in oven temperature as a variable, we took the bold step of reversing the typical high-to-low method. We baked the cake in a 200-degree oven until it was completely set, removed it, and then cranked the heat to 500 degrees.

Once the oven came up to temperature, we placed the cake on the upper rack, where in just 10 minutes the top browned and the edges puffed, creating that characteristic slope from edge to center.

New York Bagels From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: New York Natives WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Our bagels are as good as those found in the best New York bagel bakeries. They’re chewy yet tender, with a fine crumb, and they have a crisp, glossy, evenly browned exterior and a complex, slightly malty flavor. To get the right amount of chew, we use high-protein bread flour, supplemented with vital wheat gluten, along with a minimum amount of water. To further increase the chew, we incorporate a number of gluten-strengthening shaping techniques: rolling with a rolling pin, forming the dough into a rope, and twisting the dough around itself before shaping it into a ring. And to ensure even, rapid browning, we add baking soda to the boiling water. To create a crisp crust, we bake the bagels on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet, with boiling water poured onto the pan to create steam.

Makes 8 bagels This recipe requires refrigerating the shaped bagels for 16 to 24 hours before baking them. This recipe works best with King Arthur bread flour, although other bread flours will work. Vital wheat gluten and malt syrup are available in most supermarkets in the baking and syrup aisles, respectively. If you cannot find malt syrup, substitute 4 teaspoons of molasses. The bagels are best eaten within a day of baking; fully cooled bagels can be transferred to heavy-duty zipper-lock bags and frozen for up to one month.

INGREDIENTS 1

cup plus 2 tablespoons ice water (9 ounces)

2

tablespoons malt syrup

2 2/3

cups (14 2/3 ounces) bread flour

4

teaspoons vital wheat gluten

2

teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast

2

teaspoons salt

1/4

cup (1 1/4 ounces) cornmeal

1/4

cup (1 3/4 ounces) sugar

1

tablespoon baking soda

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Stir ice water and malt syrup together in 2-cup liquid measuring cup until malt syrup has fully dissolved. Process flour, wheat gluten, and yeast in food processor until combined, about 2 seconds. With processor running, slowly add ice water mixture; process until dough is just combined and no dry flour remains, about 20 seconds. Let dough stand for 10 minutes.

2. Add salt to dough and process, stopping processor and redistributing dough as needed, until dough forms shaggy mass that clears sides of workbowl (dough may not form one single mass), 45 to 90 seconds. Transfer dough to unfloured counter and knead until smooth, about 1 minute. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces (3 1/2 ounces each) and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

3. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time and keeping remaining pieces covered, form dough pieces into smooth, taut rounds. (To round, set piece of dough on unfloured counter. Loosely cup your hand around dough and, without applying pressure to dough, move your hand in small circular motions. Tackiness of dough against counter and circular motion should work dough into smooth, even ball, but if dough sticks to your hands, lightly dust your fingers with flour.) Let dough balls rest on counter, covered, for 15 minutes.

ball, but if dough sticks to your hands, lightly dust your fingers with flour.) Let dough balls rest on counter, covered, for 15 minutes.

4. Sprinkle rimmed baking sheet with cornmeal. Working with 1 dough ball at a time and keeping remaining pieces covered, coat dough balls lightly with flour and then, using your hands and rolling pin, pat and roll dough balls into 5-inch rounds. Starting with edge of dough farthest from you, roll into tight cylinder. Starting at center of cylinder and working toward ends, gently and evenly roll and stretch dough into 8- to 9-inch-long rope. Do not taper ends. Rolling ends of dough under your hands in opposite directions, twist rope to form tight spiral. Without unrolling spiral, wrap rope around your fingers, overlapping ends of dough by about 2 inches under your palm, to create ring shape. Pinch ends of dough gently together. With overlap under your palm, press and roll seam using circular motion on counter to fully seal. Transfer rings to prepared sheet and cover loosely with plastic, leaving at least 1 inch between bagels.

Let bagels stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Cover sheet tightly with plastic and refrigerate for 16 to 24 hours.

5. One hour before baking, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position, place baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees.

6. Bring 4 quarts water, sugar, and baking soda to boil in large Dutch oven. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet and spray rack with vegetable oil spray.

7. Transfer 4 bagels to boiling water and cook for 20 seconds. Using wire skimmer or slotted spoon, flip bagels over and cook 20 seconds longer. Using wire skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer bagels to prepared wire rack, with cornmeal side facing down. Repeat with remaining 4 bagels.

8. Place sheet with bagels on preheated baking stone and pour 1/2 cup boiling water into bottom of sheet. Bake until tops of bagels are beginning to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Using metal spatula, flip bagels and continue to bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes longer. Remove sheet from oven and let bagels cool on wire rack for at least 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

TECHNIQUE

SHAPING BAGELS LIKE A PRO Thoroughly working the dough during shaping helps a New York bagel develop its characteristic chew.

1. Pat and roll dough ball (lightly coated with flour) with rolling pin into 5-inch round.

2. Roll into tight cylinder, starting with far side of dough.

3. Roll and stretch dough into 8- to 9-inch-long rope, starting at center of cylinder (don’t taper ends).

4. Twist rope to form tight spiral by rolling ends of dough under hands in opposite directions.

5. Wrap rope around fingers, overlapping ends by 2 inches, to create ring. Pinch ends together.

6. Press and roll seam (positioned under your palm) using circular motion on counter to fully seal.

TECHNIQUE

SECRETS TO A GLOSSY CRUST, GREAT FLAVOR, AND BIG CHEW Here’s how we created the hallmarks of a New York bagel without the ingredients and equipment (or tap water) used by the local pros.

HIGH-PROTEIN DOUGH: Lots of gluten is key to achieving that jaw-working chew, so we used relatively high-protein bread flour supplemented with vital wheat gluten, a powdered form of the protein that is sold in most supermarkets.

COLD FERMENTATION: Proofing the dough overnight in the fridge allows it to develop an especially complex mix of flavor compounds.

ROUGH HANDLING: We roll, stretch, and twist the dough to shape it into rings—actions that help tighten the gluten network and thus yield a bagel with substantial chew.

A BETTER BOIL: Adding baking soda and sugar to the water in the boiling step helps encourage consistent browning.

STEAM TREATMENT: Baking the bagels on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet (set on a baking stone) and adding a small amount of boiling water creates steam that leads to a crisp, delicate crust.

Our New York–style bagels, made here in Brookline.

TECHNIQUE

HOW TO ADD TOPPINGS Place 1/2 cup poppy seeds, sesame seeds, caraway seeds, dehydrated onion flakes, dehydrated garlic flakes, or coarse/pretzel salt in small bowl. Press tops of just-boiled bagels (side without cornmeal) gently into topping and return to wire rack, topping side up.

For Everything Topping, combine 2 tablespoons poppy seeds, 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon onion flakes, 2 teaspoons garlic flakes, 2 teaspoons caraway seeds, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse or pretzel salt.

TECHNIQUE

IS IT SOMETHING IN THE WATER? It’s often said that what makes New York bagels distinctively crisp, chewy, and flavorful is something available only in that city: the

It’s often said that what makes New York bagels distinctively crisp, chewy, and flavorful is something available only in that city: the local water. Curious if that claim is true or merely an urban legend, we set up taste tests pitting bagels made with water that we brought back from Brooklyn against those made with our local Brookline water. The results: The vast majority of tasters found the two batches virtually identical.

For due diligence, we then sent samples of water from both sources to an independent lab to test for factors that might affect the dough’s gluten and, thus, its texture: mineral content, pH, titratable acidity, and chlorine level. The only significant difference between the two samples was in their respective pHs: The Brooklyn water was mildly acidic (5.48 pH), while Brookline water was slightly basic (7.34 pH). But when we measured the pH of the two doughs after they’d fermented, the differences were negligible.

That’s good news for bagel enthusiasts outside New York, since it means that all anyone really needs to make a good bagel is a good recipe.

Milk-Braised Pork Loin From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: Pork and Pears WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: This Italian classic involves braising a pork loin in a large quantity of milk. As the roast cooks, the milk curdles and reduces into an intensely flavorful but unattractive sauce. We minimize curdling and amp up the flavor by adding a touch of fat from rendered salt pork. A small amount of baking soda raises the pH of the sauce to conditions more favorable for Maillard browning, a series of reactions that create flavorful aromatic compounds. Oven-braising at a low temperature yields a juicy and tender roast. Then, while the roast rests, we stir in wine, mustard, and herbs to finish the sauce.

Serves 4 to 6 The milk will bubble up when added to the pot. If necessary, remove the pot from the heat and stir to break up the foam before returning it to the heat. We prefer natural pork, but if your pork is enhanced (injected with a salt solution), do not brine. Instead, skip to step 2.

INGREDIENTS Salt and pepper 1/4

cup sugar

1

(2- to 2 1/2-pound) boneless pork loin roast, trimmed

2

ounces salt pork, chopped coarse

3

cups whole milk

5

garlic cloves, peeled

1

teaspoon minced fresh sage

1/4

teaspoon baking soda

1/2

cup dry white wine

3

tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1

teaspoon Dijon mustard

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Dissolve 1/4 cup salt and sugar in 2 quarts cold water in large container. Submerge roast in brine, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 1/2 hours or up to 2 hours. Remove roast from brine and pat dry with paper towels.

2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Bring salt pork and 1/2 cup water to simmer in Dutch oven over medium heat. Simmer until water evaporates and salt pork begins to sizzle, 5 to 6 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until salt pork is lightly browned and fat has rendered, 2 to 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, discard salt pork, leaving fat in pot.

3. Increase heat to medium-high, add roast to pot, and brown on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer roast to large plate. Add milk, garlic, sage, and baking soda to pot and bring to simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Cook, stirring frequently, until milk is lightly browned and has consistency of heavy cream, 14 to 16 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook, stirring and scraping bottom of pot constantly, until milk thickens to consistency of thin batter, 1 to 3 minutes longer. Remove pot from heat.

scraping bottom of pot constantly, until milk thickens to consistency of thin batter, 1 to 3 minutes longer. Remove pot from heat.

4. Return roast to pot, cover, and transfer to oven. Cook until meat registers 140 degrees, 40 to 50 minutes, flipping roast once halfway through cooking. Transfer roast to carving board, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 20 to 25 minutes.

5. Once roast has rested, pour any accumulated juices into pot. Add wine and return sauce to simmer over medium-high heat, whisking vigorously to smooth out sauce. Simmer until sauce has consistency of thin gravy, 2 to 3 minutes. Off heat, stir in 2 tablespoons parsley and mustard and season with salt and pepper to taste. Slice roast into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Transfer slices to serving platter. Spoon sauce over slices, sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley, and serve.

TECHNIQUE

HOW FAT KEEPS MILK FROM CURDLING Most recipes for milk-braised pork yield a sauce that’s rich and meaty but also curdled. That’s because the pork’s slightly acidic juices lower the pH of the milk, causing the clusters of casein proteins in milk that normally repel one another to suddenly attract one another and form clumps. Heating the milk speeds up this reaction.

The easy fix: Add a little fat to the 3 cups of milk in our recipe before it simmers. The fat molecules—we use rendered salt pork fat to boost meaty flavor—surround the casein clusters, preventing them from bonding. Fat’s ability to prevent curdling is so effective that we were even able to brighten the flavor of the cooked sauce with highly acidic wine and Dijon mustard without affecting its smooth consistency.

LUMPY AND FRUMPY: Whole milk doesn’t have enough fat to prevent curdling in the presence of slightly acidic pork juices and heat.

SMOOTH AND SIlKY: A couple of tablespoons of fat added to the whole milk keeps it from curdling—even when superacidic wine and mustard are introduced.

New York Bagels From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: New York Natives WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Our bagels are as good as those found in the best New York bagel bakeries. They’re chewy yet tender, with a fine crumb, and they have a crisp, glossy, evenly browned exterior and a complex, slightly malty flavor. To get the right amount of chew, we use high-protein bread flour, supplemented with vital wheat gluten, along with a minimum amount of water. To further increase the chew, we incorporate a number of gluten-strengthening shaping techniques: rolling with a rolling pin, forming the dough into a rope, and twisting the dough around itself before shaping it into a ring. And to ensure even, rapid browning, we add baking soda to the boiling water. To create a crisp crust, we bake the bagels on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet, with boiling water poured onto the pan to create steam.

Makes 8 bagels This recipe requires refrigerating the shaped bagels for 16 to 24 hours before baking them. This recipe works best with King Arthur bread flour, although other bread flours will work. Vital wheat gluten and malt syrup are available in most supermarkets in the baking and syrup aisles, respectively. If you cannot find malt syrup, substitute 4 teaspoons of molasses. The bagels are best eaten within a day of baking; fully cooled bagels can be transferred to heavy-duty zipper-lock bags and frozen for up to one month.

INGREDIENTS 1

cup plus 2 tablespoons ice water (9 ounces)

2

tablespoons malt syrup

2 2/3

cups (14 2/3 ounces) bread flour

4

teaspoons vital wheat gluten

2

teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast

2

teaspoons salt

1/4

cup (1 1/4 ounces) cornmeal

1/4

cup (1 3/4 ounces) sugar

1

tablespoon baking soda

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Stir ice water and malt syrup together in 2-cup liquid measuring cup until malt syrup has fully dissolved. Process flour, wheat gluten, and yeast in food processor until combined, about 2 seconds. With processor running, slowly add ice water mixture; process until dough is just combined and no dry flour remains, about 20 seconds. Let dough stand for 10 minutes.

2. Add salt to dough and process, stopping processor and redistributing dough as needed, until dough forms shaggy mass that clears sides of workbowl (dough may not form one single mass), 45 to 90 seconds. Transfer dough to unfloured counter and knead until smooth, about 1 minute. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces (3 1/2 ounces each) and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

3. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time and keeping remaining pieces covered, form dough pieces into smooth, taut rounds. (To round, set piece of dough on unfloured counter. Loosely cup your hand around dough and, without applying pressure to dough, move your hand in small circular motions. Tackiness of dough against counter and circular motion should work dough into smooth, even ball, but if dough sticks to your hands, lightly dust your fingers with flour.) Let dough balls rest on counter, covered, for 15 minutes.

ball, but if dough sticks to your hands, lightly dust your fingers with flour.) Let dough balls rest on counter, covered, for 15 minutes.

4. Sprinkle rimmed baking sheet with cornmeal. Working with 1 dough ball at a time and keeping remaining pieces covered, coat dough balls lightly with flour and then, using your hands and rolling pin, pat and roll dough balls into 5-inch rounds. Starting with edge of dough farthest from you, roll into tight cylinder. Starting at center of cylinder and working toward ends, gently and evenly roll and stretch dough into 8- to 9-inch-long rope. Do not taper ends. Rolling ends of dough under your hands in opposite directions, twist rope to form tight spiral. Without unrolling spiral, wrap rope around your fingers, overlapping ends of dough by about 2 inches under your palm, to create ring shape. Pinch ends of dough gently together. With overlap under your palm, press and roll seam using circular motion on counter to fully seal. Transfer rings to prepared sheet and cover loosely with plastic, leaving at least 1 inch between bagels.

Let bagels stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Cover sheet tightly with plastic and refrigerate for 16 to 24 hours.

5. One hour before baking, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position, place baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees.

6. Bring 4 quarts water, sugar, and baking soda to boil in large Dutch oven. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet and spray rack with vegetable oil spray.

7. Transfer 4 bagels to boiling water and cook for 20 seconds. Using wire skimmer or slotted spoon, flip bagels over and cook 20 seconds longer. Using wire skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer bagels to prepared wire rack, with cornmeal side facing down. Repeat with remaining 4 bagels.

8. Place sheet with bagels on preheated baking stone and pour 1/2 cup boiling water into bottom of sheet. Bake until tops of bagels are beginning to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Using metal spatula, flip bagels and continue to bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes longer. Remove sheet from oven and let bagels cool on wire rack for at least 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

TECHNIQUE

SHAPING BAGELS LIKE A PRO Thoroughly working the dough during shaping helps a New York bagel develop its characteristic chew.

1. Pat and roll dough ball (lightly coated with flour) with rolling pin into 5-inch round.

2. Roll into tight cylinder, starting with far side of dough.

3. Roll and stretch dough into 8- to 9-inch-long rope, starting at center of cylinder (don’t taper ends).

4. Twist rope to form tight spiral by rolling ends of dough under hands in opposite directions.

5. Wrap rope around fingers, overlapping ends by 2 inches, to create ring. Pinch ends together.

6. Press and roll seam (positioned under your palm) using circular motion on counter to fully seal.

TECHNIQUE

SECRETS TO A GLOSSY CRUST, GREAT FLAVOR, AND BIG CHEW Here’s how we created the hallmarks of a New York bagel without the ingredients and equipment (or tap water) used by the local pros.

HIGH-PROTEIN DOUGH: Lots of gluten is key to achieving that jaw-working chew, so we used relatively high-protein bread flour supplemented with vital wheat gluten, a powdered form of the protein that is sold in most supermarkets.

COLD FERMENTATION: Proofing the dough overnight in the fridge allows it to develop an especially complex mix of flavor compounds.

ROUGH HANDLING: We roll, stretch, and twist the dough to shape it into rings—actions that help tighten the gluten network and thus yield a bagel with substantial chew.

A BETTER BOIL: Adding baking soda and sugar to the water in the boiling step helps encourage consistent browning.

STEAM TREATMENT: Baking the bagels on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet (set on a baking stone) and adding a small amount of boiling water creates steam that leads to a crisp, delicate crust.

Our New York–style bagels, made here in Brookline.

TECHNIQUE

HOW TO ADD TOPPINGS Place 1/2 cup poppy seeds, sesame seeds, caraway seeds, dehydrated onion flakes, dehydrated garlic flakes, or coarse/pretzel salt in small bowl. Press tops of just-boiled bagels (side without cornmeal) gently into topping and return to wire rack, topping side up.

For Everything Topping, combine 2 tablespoons poppy seeds, 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon onion flakes, 2 teaspoons garlic flakes, 2 teaspoons caraway seeds, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse or pretzel salt.

TECHNIQUE

IS IT SOMETHING IN THE WATER? It’s often said that what makes New York bagels distinctively crisp, chewy, and flavorful is something available only in that city: the

It’s often said that what makes New York bagels distinctively crisp, chewy, and flavorful is something available only in that city: the local water. Curious if that claim is true or merely an urban legend, we set up taste tests pitting bagels made with water that we brought back from Brooklyn against those made with our local Brookline water. The results: The vast majority of tasters found the two batches virtually identical.

For due diligence, we then sent samples of water from both sources to an independent lab to test for factors that might affect the dough’s gluten and, thus, its texture: mineral content, pH, titratable acidity, and chlorine level. The only significant difference between the two samples was in their respective pHs: The Brooklyn water was mildly acidic (5.48 pH), while Brookline water was slightly basic (7.34 pH). But when we measured the pH of the two doughs after they’d fermented, the differences were negligible.

That’s good news for bagel enthusiasts outside New York, since it means that all anyone really needs to make a good bagel is a good recipe.

New York Bagels From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: New York Natives WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Our bagels are as good as those found in the best New York bagel bakeries. They’re chewy yet tender, with a fine crumb, and they have a crisp, glossy, evenly browned exterior and a complex, slightly malty flavor. To get the right amount of chew, we use high-protein bread flour, supplemented with vital wheat gluten, along with a minimum amount of water. To further increase the chew, we incorporate a number of gluten-strengthening shaping techniques: rolling with a rolling pin, forming the dough into a rope, and twisting the dough around itself before shaping it into a ring. And to ensure even, rapid browning, we add baking soda to the boiling water. To create a crisp crust, we bake the bagels on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet, with boiling water poured onto the pan to create steam.

Makes 8 bagels This recipe requires refrigerating the shaped bagels for 16 to 24 hours before baking them. This recipe works best with King Arthur bread flour, although other bread flours will work. Vital wheat gluten and malt syrup are available in most supermarkets in the baking and syrup aisles, respectively. If you cannot find malt syrup, substitute 4 teaspoons of molasses. The bagels are best eaten within a day of baking; fully cooled bagels can be transferred to heavy-duty zipper-lock bags and frozen for up to one month.

INGREDIENTS 1

cup plus 2 tablespoons ice water (9 ounces)

2

tablespoons malt syrup

2 2/3

cups (14 2/3 ounces) bread flour

4

teaspoons vital wheat gluten

2

teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast

2

teaspoons salt

1/4

cup (1 1/4 ounces) cornmeal

1/4

cup (1 3/4 ounces) sugar

1

tablespoon baking soda

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Stir ice water and malt syrup together in 2-cup liquid measuring cup until malt syrup has fully dissolved. Process flour, wheat gluten, and yeast in food processor until combined, about 2 seconds. With processor running, slowly add ice water mixture; process until dough is just combined and no dry flour remains, about 20 seconds. Let dough stand for 10 minutes.

2. Add salt to dough and process, stopping processor and redistributing dough as needed, until dough forms shaggy mass that clears sides of workbowl (dough may not form one single mass), 45 to 90 seconds. Transfer dough to unfloured counter and knead until smooth, about 1 minute. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces (3 1/2 ounces each) and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

3. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time and keeping remaining pieces covered, form dough pieces into smooth, taut rounds. (To round, set piece of dough on unfloured counter. Loosely cup your hand around dough and, without applying pressure to dough, move your hand in small circular motions. Tackiness of dough against counter and circular motion should work dough into smooth, even ball, but if dough sticks to your hands, lightly dust your fingers with flour.) Let dough balls rest on counter, covered, for 15 minutes.

ball, but if dough sticks to your hands, lightly dust your fingers with flour.) Let dough balls rest on counter, covered, for 15 minutes.

4. Sprinkle rimmed baking sheet with cornmeal. Working with 1 dough ball at a time and keeping remaining pieces covered, coat dough balls lightly with flour and then, using your hands and rolling pin, pat and roll dough balls into 5-inch rounds. Starting with edge of dough farthest from you, roll into tight cylinder. Starting at center of cylinder and working toward ends, gently and evenly roll and stretch dough into 8- to 9-inch-long rope. Do not taper ends. Rolling ends of dough under your hands in opposite directions, twist rope to form tight spiral. Without unrolling spiral, wrap rope around your fingers, overlapping ends of dough by about 2 inches under your palm, to create ring shape. Pinch ends of dough gently together. With overlap under your palm, press and roll seam using circular motion on counter to fully seal. Transfer rings to prepared sheet and cover loosely with plastic, leaving at least 1 inch between bagels.

Let bagels stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Cover sheet tightly with plastic and refrigerate for 16 to 24 hours.

5. One hour before baking, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position, place baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees.

6. Bring 4 quarts water, sugar, and baking soda to boil in large Dutch oven. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet and spray rack with vegetable oil spray.

7. Transfer 4 bagels to boiling water and cook for 20 seconds. Using wire skimmer or slotted spoon, flip bagels over and cook 20 seconds longer. Using wire skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer bagels to prepared wire rack, with cornmeal side facing down. Repeat with remaining 4 bagels.

8. Place sheet with bagels on preheated baking stone and pour 1/2 cup boiling water into bottom of sheet. Bake until tops of bagels are beginning to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Using metal spatula, flip bagels and continue to bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes longer. Remove sheet from oven and let bagels cool on wire rack for at least 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

TECHNIQUE

SHAPING BAGELS LIKE A PRO Thoroughly working the dough during shaping helps a New York bagel develop its characteristic chew.

1. Pat and roll dough ball (lightly coated with flour) with rolling pin into 5-inch round.

2. Roll into tight cylinder, starting with far side of dough.

3. Roll and stretch dough into 8- to 9-inch-long rope, starting at center of cylinder (don’t taper ends).

4. Twist rope to form tight spiral by rolling ends of dough under hands in opposite directions.

5. Wrap rope around fingers, overlapping ends by 2 inches, to create ring. Pinch ends together.

6. Press and roll seam (positioned under your palm) using circular motion on counter to fully seal.

TECHNIQUE

SECRETS TO A GLOSSY CRUST, GREAT FLAVOR, AND BIG CHEW Here’s how we created the hallmarks of a New York bagel without the ingredients and equipment (or tap water) used by the local pros.

HIGH-PROTEIN DOUGH: Lots of gluten is key to achieving that jaw-working chew, so we used relatively high-protein bread flour supplemented with vital wheat gluten, a powdered form of the protein that is sold in most supermarkets.

COLD FERMENTATION: Proofing the dough overnight in the fridge allows it to develop an especially complex mix of flavor compounds.

ROUGH HANDLING: We roll, stretch, and twist the dough to shape it into rings—actions that help tighten the gluten network and thus yield a bagel with substantial chew.

A BETTER BOIL: Adding baking soda and sugar to the water in the boiling step helps encourage consistent browning.

STEAM TREATMENT: Baking the bagels on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet (set on a baking stone) and adding a small amount of boiling water creates steam that leads to a crisp, delicate crust.

Our New York–style bagels, made here in Brookline.

TECHNIQUE

HOW TO ADD TOPPINGS Place 1/2 cup poppy seeds, sesame seeds, caraway seeds, dehydrated onion flakes, dehydrated garlic flakes, or coarse/pretzel salt in small bowl. Press tops of just-boiled bagels (side without cornmeal) gently into topping and return to wire rack, topping side up.

For Everything Topping, combine 2 tablespoons poppy seeds, 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon onion flakes, 2 teaspoons garlic flakes, 2 teaspoons caraway seeds, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse or pretzel salt.

TECHNIQUE

IS IT SOMETHING IN THE WATER? It’s often said that what makes New York bagels distinctively crisp, chewy, and flavorful is something available only in that city: the

It’s often said that what makes New York bagels distinctively crisp, chewy, and flavorful is something available only in that city: the local water. Curious if that claim is true or merely an urban legend, we set up taste tests pitting bagels made with water that we brought back from Brooklyn against those made with our local Brookline water. The results: The vast majority of tasters found the two batches virtually identical.

For due diligence, we then sent samples of water from both sources to an independent lab to test for factors that might affect the dough’s gluten and, thus, its texture: mineral content, pH, titratable acidity, and chlorine level. The only significant difference between the two samples was in their respective pHs: The Brooklyn water was mildly acidic (5.48 pH), while Brookline water was slightly basic (7.34 pH). But when we measured the pH of the two doughs after they’d fermented, the differences were negligible.

That’s good news for bagel enthusiasts outside New York, since it means that all anyone really needs to make a good bagel is a good recipe.

New York Bagels From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: New York Natives WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Our bagels are as good as those found in the best New York bagel bakeries. They’re chewy yet tender, with a fine crumb, and they have a crisp, glossy, evenly browned exterior and a complex, slightly malty flavor. To get the right amount of chew, we use high-protein bread flour, supplemented with vital wheat gluten, along with a minimum amount of water. To further increase the chew, we incorporate a number of gluten-strengthening shaping techniques: rolling with a rolling pin, forming the dough into a rope, and twisting the dough around itself before shaping it into a ring. And to ensure even, rapid browning, we add baking soda to the boiling water. To create a crisp crust, we bake the bagels on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet, with boiling water poured onto the pan to create steam.

Makes 8 bagels This recipe requires refrigerating the shaped bagels for 16 to 24 hours before baking them. This recipe works best with King Arthur bread flour, although other bread flours will work. Vital wheat gluten and malt syrup are available in most supermarkets in the baking and syrup aisles, respectively. If you cannot find malt syrup, substitute 4 teaspoons of molasses. The bagels are best eaten within a day of baking; fully cooled bagels can be transferred to heavy-duty zipper-lock bags and frozen for up to one month.

INGREDIENTS 1

cup plus 2 tablespoons ice water (9 ounces)

2

tablespoons malt syrup

2 2/3

cups (14 2/3 ounces) bread flour

4

teaspoons vital wheat gluten

2

teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast

2

teaspoons salt

1/4

cup (1 1/4 ounces) cornmeal

1/4

cup (1 3/4 ounces) sugar

1

tablespoon baking soda

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Stir ice water and malt syrup together in 2-cup liquid measuring cup until malt syrup has fully dissolved. Process flour, wheat gluten, and yeast in food processor until combined, about 2 seconds. With processor running, slowly add ice water mixture; process until dough is just combined and no dry flour remains, about 20 seconds. Let dough stand for 10 minutes.

2. Add salt to dough and process, stopping processor and redistributing dough as needed, until dough forms shaggy mass that clears sides of workbowl (dough may not form one single mass), 45 to 90 seconds. Transfer dough to unfloured counter and knead until smooth, about 1 minute. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces (3 1/2 ounces each) and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

3. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time and keeping remaining pieces covered, form dough pieces into smooth, taut rounds. (To round, set piece of dough on unfloured counter. Loosely cup your hand around dough and, without applying pressure to dough, move your hand in small circular motions. Tackiness of dough against counter and circular motion should work dough into smooth, even ball, but if dough sticks to your hands, lightly dust your fingers with flour.) Let dough balls rest on counter, covered, for 15 minutes.

ball, but if dough sticks to your hands, lightly dust your fingers with flour.) Let dough balls rest on counter, covered, for 15 minutes.

4. Sprinkle rimmed baking sheet with cornmeal. Working with 1 dough ball at a time and keeping remaining pieces covered, coat dough balls lightly with flour and then, using your hands and rolling pin, pat and roll dough balls into 5-inch rounds. Starting with edge of dough farthest from you, roll into tight cylinder. Starting at center of cylinder and working toward ends, gently and evenly roll and stretch dough into 8- to 9-inch-long rope. Do not taper ends. Rolling ends of dough under your hands in opposite directions, twist rope to form tight spiral. Without unrolling spiral, wrap rope around your fingers, overlapping ends of dough by about 2 inches under your palm, to create ring shape. Pinch ends of dough gently together. With overlap under your palm, press and roll seam using circular motion on counter to fully seal. Transfer rings to prepared sheet and cover loosely with plastic, leaving at least 1 inch between bagels.

Let bagels stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Cover sheet tightly with plastic and refrigerate for 16 to 24 hours.

5. One hour before baking, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position, place baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees.

6. Bring 4 quarts water, sugar, and baking soda to boil in large Dutch oven. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet and spray rack with vegetable oil spray.

7. Transfer 4 bagels to boiling water and cook for 20 seconds. Using wire skimmer or slotted spoon, flip bagels over and cook 20 seconds longer. Using wire skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer bagels to prepared wire rack, with cornmeal side facing down. Repeat with remaining 4 bagels.

8. Place sheet with bagels on preheated baking stone and pour 1/2 cup boiling water into bottom of sheet. Bake until tops of bagels are beginning to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Using metal spatula, flip bagels and continue to bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes longer. Remove sheet from oven and let bagels cool on wire rack for at least 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

TECHNIQUE

SHAPING BAGELS LIKE A PRO Thoroughly working the dough during shaping helps a New York bagel develop its characteristic chew.

1. Pat and roll dough ball (lightly coated with flour) with rolling pin into 5-inch round.

2. Roll into tight cylinder, starting with far side of dough.

3. Roll and stretch dough into 8- to 9-inch-long rope, starting at center of cylinder (don’t taper ends).

4. Twist rope to form tight spiral by rolling ends of dough under hands in opposite directions.

5. Wrap rope around fingers, overlapping ends by 2 inches, to create ring. Pinch ends together.

6. Press and roll seam (positioned under your palm) using circular motion on counter to fully seal.

TECHNIQUE

SECRETS TO A GLOSSY CRUST, GREAT FLAVOR, AND BIG CHEW Here’s how we created the hallmarks of a New York bagel without the ingredients and equipment (or tap water) used by the local pros.

HIGH-PROTEIN DOUGH: Lots of gluten is key to achieving that jaw-working chew, so we used relatively high-protein bread flour supplemented with vital wheat gluten, a powdered form of the protein that is sold in most supermarkets.

COLD FERMENTATION: Proofing the dough overnight in the fridge allows it to develop an especially complex mix of flavor compounds.

ROUGH HANDLING: We roll, stretch, and twist the dough to shape it into rings—actions that help tighten the gluten network and thus yield a bagel with substantial chew.

A BETTER BOIL: Adding baking soda and sugar to the water in the boiling step helps encourage consistent browning.

STEAM TREATMENT: Baking the bagels on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet (set on a baking stone) and adding a small amount of boiling water creates steam that leads to a crisp, delicate crust.

Our New York–style bagels, made here in Brookline.

TECHNIQUE

HOW TO ADD TOPPINGS Place 1/2 cup poppy seeds, sesame seeds, caraway seeds, dehydrated onion flakes, dehydrated garlic flakes, or coarse/pretzel salt in small bowl. Press tops of just-boiled bagels (side without cornmeal) gently into topping and return to wire rack, topping side up.

For Everything Topping, combine 2 tablespoons poppy seeds, 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon onion flakes, 2 teaspoons garlic flakes, 2 teaspoons caraway seeds, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse or pretzel salt.

TECHNIQUE

IS IT SOMETHING IN THE WATER? It’s often said that what makes New York bagels distinctively crisp, chewy, and flavorful is something available only in that city: the

It’s often said that what makes New York bagels distinctively crisp, chewy, and flavorful is something available only in that city: the local water. Curious if that claim is true or merely an urban legend, we set up taste tests pitting bagels made with water that we brought back from Brooklyn against those made with our local Brookline water. The results: The vast majority of tasters found the two batches virtually identical.

For due diligence, we then sent samples of water from both sources to an independent lab to test for factors that might affect the dough’s gluten and, thus, its texture: mineral content, pH, titratable acidity, and chlorine level. The only significant difference between the two samples was in their respective pHs: The Brooklyn water was mildly acidic (5.48 pH), while Brookline water was slightly basic (7.34 pH). But when we measured the pH of the two doughs after they’d fermented, the differences were negligible.

That’s good news for bagel enthusiasts outside New York, since it means that all anyone really needs to make a good bagel is a good recipe.

One-Pan Prime Rib and Roasted Vegetables From Cook's Country | December/January 2014 WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: To achieve an evenly cooked holiday prime rib with minimal fuss, we skipped the usual step of stovetop browning and went straight to the oven. Keeping the temperature low for 3 hours produces rosy meat from end to end with an evenly browned crust, and salting the roast overnight yields flavorful, juicy meat. While the meat rests, we increase the oven temperature and use the flavorful fat in the pan to roast vegetables—carrots, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, and red onion—to a golden brown. A final pass under the broiler crisps the roast’s fat cap.

SERVES 8 TO 10 The roast must be salted and then refrigerated for at least 24 hours before cooking; salting and refrigerating for the full 96 hours results in the most tender, flavorful meat. Serve with Red Chimichurri Sauce (see related content), if desired.

INGREDIENTS 1

(7-pound) first-cut beef standing rib roast (3 bones), fat trimmed to 1/4 inch Kosher salt and pepper Vegetable oil

2

pounds carrots, peeled, cut into 2-inch lengths, halved or quartered lengthwise to create 1/2-inch-diameter pieces

1

pound parsnips, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick on bias

1

pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

1

red onion, halved and sliced through root end into 1/2-inch wedges

2

teaspoons minced fresh thyme

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Using sharp knife, cut through roast’s fat cap in 1-inch crosshatch pattern, being careful not to cut into meat. Rub 2 tablespoons salt over entire roast and into crosshatch. Transfer to large plate and refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 24 hours or up to 96 hours.

2. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Season roast with pepper and arrange, fat side up, on Vrack set in large roasting pan. Roast until meat registers 115 degrees for rare, 120 degrees for medium-rare, or 125 degrees for medium, 3 to 3½ hours. Transfer V-rack with roast to carving board, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for about 1 hour.

3. Meanwhile, increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from pan. (If there isn’t enough fat in pan, add vegetable oil to equal 2 tablespoons.) Toss carrots, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, onion, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper with fat in pan. Roast vegetables, stirring halfway through roasting, until tender and browned, 45 to 50 minutes.

4. Remove pan from oven and heat broiler. Carefully nestle V-rack with roast among vegetables in pan. Broil roast until fat cap is evenly browned, rotating pan as necessary, about 5 minutes. Transfer roast to carving board, carve meat from bones, and cut into ¾inch-thick slices. Season vegetables with salt and pepper to taste. Serve roast with vegetables.

SHOPPING: BUY THE RIGHT ROAST

This recipe calls for a first-cut, bone-in standing rib roast, which contains ribs 9, 10, and 11 (the ribs that are closest to the tail of the steer; butchers often label this cut “loin-end”). First-cut roasts contain the largest eye of meat. While second-cut roasts are pretty good, too, they are slightly fattier and more irregular, making them more difficult to cook evenly. Since these cuts are often priced the same, it’s worth your while to ask for the superior first-cut roast.

FIRST CUT: More meat, larger eye.

SECOND CUT: More fat, smaller eye (but still good).

TEST KITCHEN TIP: CARVING A STANDING RIB ROAST

Carving a bone-in rib roast may seem intimidating to the uninitiated, but it’s really quite easy. Simply hold the roast in place with a carving fork and cut parallel to the rib bones to remove the meat in one big piece. Then slice and serve the meat.

One-Pan Roast Chicken and Potatoes From Cook's Country | February/March 2014 WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: To make the classic combination of chicken and potatoes weeknight-friendly, we use our everyday skillet. In order to fit 2 pounds of potatoes into the 12-inch pan, we cut them into thick rounds. Browning the potatoes first on the stovetop ensures a deeply caramelized crust, and before putting them in the oven, we place the chicken right on top of the spuds where it bastes them with flavorful juices during roasting. While the chicken rests, we cover the pan and return the potatoes to the oven to finish softening. Finally, for a traditional but not boring spin on a classic, we flavor our bird with fresh thyme, smoky paprika, and tangy lemon zest.

SERVES 4 Use uniform, medium potatoes.

INGREDIENTS 3

tablespoons olive oil

2

teaspoons minced fresh thyme

1 1/2

teaspoons smoked paprika

1 1/2

teaspoons grated lemon zest, plus lemon wedges for serving Salt and pepper

1

(4-pound) whole chicken, giblets discarded

2

pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, ends squared off, and sliced into 1-inch-thick rounds

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine 2 tablespoons oil, thyme, paprika, lemon zest, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in bowl. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and use your fingers or handle of wooden spoon to carefully separate skin from breast. Rub oil mixture all over chicken and underneath skin of breast. Tie legs together with kitchen twine and tuck wingtips behind back.

2. Toss potatoes with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Arrange potatoes, flat sides down, in single layer in 12-inch ovensafe nonstick skillet. Place skillet over medium heat and cook potatoes, without moving them, until brown on bottom, 7 to 9 minutes (do not flip).

3. Place chicken, breast side up, on top of potatoes and transfer skillet to oven. Roast until breast registers 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Transfer chicken to carving board, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, cover skillet, return potatoes to oven, and roast until tender, about 20 minutes. Carve chicken and serve with potatoes and lemon wedges.

TEST KITCHEN TECHNIQUE: KEYS TO POTATOES THAT ARE TENDER AND BROWN

Potatoes don’t cook at the same rate as a chicken. Here’s how we got the dish to work.

ON THE STOVE: Brown one side of the potatoes on the stovetop. Then top the spuds with the chicken and roast.

IN THE OVEN: Once the chicken is done, set it aside, cover the pan, and return it to the oven to finish cooking the potatoes.

Pork Ragu From Cook's Country | April/May 2014 WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: A meaty, long-cooked ragu requires the right cut of meat, and we found that baby back ribs fit the bill, providing tender meat and lots of flavor and body from the bones. Browning the ribs first creates flavorful fond, and a base of onion, carrot, and fennel lends traditional Italian flavor. Braising the meat in the oven in broth, tomatoes, and wine renders it fork-tender, and cooking a whole head of garlic along with the meat requires less work than chopping a dozen cloves. We return the shredded meat to the savory cooking liquid along with the sweet, mellow garlic before tossing it all with pasta and topping it with Parmesan cheese.

MAKES ABOUT 8 CUPS This recipe makes enough sauce to coat 2 pounds of pasta. Leftover sauce may be refrigerated for up to three days or frozen for up to one month.

INGREDIENTS 2

(2 1/4- to 2 1/2-pound) racks baby back ribs, trimmed and each rack cut into fourths

2

teaspoons ground fennel Kosher salt and pepper

3

tablespoons olive oil

1

large onion, chopped fine

1

large fennel bulb, stalks discarded, bulb halved, cored, and chopped fine

2

large carrots, peeled and chopped fine

1/4 1 1/2

cup minced fresh sage teaspoons minced fresh rosemary

1

cup plus 2 tablespoons dry red wine

1

(28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and crushed coarse

3

cups chicken broth

1

garlic head, outer papery skins removed and top fourth of head cut off and discarded

1

pound pappardelle or tagliatelle Grated parmesan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Sprinkle ribs with ground fennel and generously season with salt and pepper, pressing spices to adhere. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of ribs, meat side down, and cook, without moving them, until meat is well browned, 6 to 8 minutes; transfer to plate. Repeat with remaining ribs; set aside.

2. Reduce heat to medium and add onion, fennel, carrots, 2 tablespoons sage, rosemary, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to now-empty pot.

Cook, stirring occasionally and scraping up any browned bits, until vegetables are well browned and beginning to stick to pot bottom, 12 to 15 minutes.

3. Add 1 cup wine and cook until evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and broth and bring to simmer. Submerge garlic and ribs, meat side down, in liquid; add any accumulated juices from plate. Cover and transfer to oven. Cook until ribs are fork-tender, about 2 hours.

4. Remove pot from oven and transfer ribs and garlic to rimmed baking sheet. Using large spoon, skim any fat from surface of sauce. Once cool enough to handle, shred meat from bones; discard bones and gristle. Return meat to pot. Squeeze garlic from its skin into pot. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons sage and remaining 2 tablespoons wine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 2 tablespoons salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente.

Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain pasta and return it to pot. Add half of sauce and toss to combine, adjusting consistency with reserved cooking water as needed. Serve, passing Parmesan separately.

TEST KITCHEN TECHNIQUE: MAKING RAGU FROM BABY BACK RIBS

Baby back ribs are an unusual choice for ragu. But they make perfect culinary sense for this dish, as these ribs have great meaty flavor, contain lots of bone to contribute body to the sauce, and cook relatively quickly (compared with other bony cuts like shanks). We cut two racks into three-rib segments, brown them, then braise them in flavorful liquid. Two hours later, we remove the meat, shred it, and add it back to the sauce.

Quick Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: Saucing Up Chicken and Roasting Mushrooms WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Wanting to create a simple sauce that would provide a boost of flavor and richness to quick-cooking chicken breast cutlets, we found inspiration in the classic Spanish sauce romesco. We started with a base of oil-toasted bread and nuts, which added richness and texture. To keep things simple, we then added a combination of boldly flavored jarred and no-cook ingredients to build up the sauce. A final addition of herbs and spices created a complex flavored sauce that could be made in about 5 minutes.

Makes about 1 cup For the best taste and texture, make sure to rinse all the dried herbs off the sun-dried tomatoes.

INGREDIENTS 1/2

slice hearty white sandwich bread, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/4

cup pine nuts

2

tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2

garlic cloves, sliced thin

1

small tomato, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2

cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed

2

tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil

2

tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2

teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS Heat bread, pine nuts, and 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat; cook, stirring constantly, until bread and pine nuts are lightly toasted, 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer bread mixture to food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped, about 5 pulses. Add tomato, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, vinegar, salt, and remaining 1 tablespoon oil to processor. Pulse until finely chopped, 5 to 8 pulses. Transfer to bowl and let stand, at least 10 minutes. (Sauce can be prepared up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated in airtight container.)

Quick Tomatillo Sauce From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: Saucing Up Chicken and Roasting Mushrooms WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Wanting to create a simple sauce that would provide a boost of flavor and richness to quick-cooking chicken breast cutlets, we found inspiration in the classic Spanish sauce romesco. We started with a base of oil-toasted bread and nuts, which added richness and texture. To keep things simple, we then added a combination of boldly flavored jarred and no-cook ingredients to build up the sauce. A final addition of herbs and spices created a complex flavored sauce that could be made in about 5 minutes.

Makes about 1 cup You will need at least a 15-ounce can of tomatillos for this recipe.

INGREDIENTS 1/2

slice hearty white sandwich bread, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/4

cup pepitas

2

tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2

garlic cloves, sliced thin

1

cup canned tomatillos, rinsed

2

tablespoons jarred sliced jalapeĂąos plus 2 teaspoons brine

2

tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

1

teaspoon honey

1/2

teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS Heat bread, pepitas, and 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat; cook, stirring constantly, until pepitas and bread are lightly toasted, 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer bread mixture to food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped, about 5 pulses. Add tomatillos, jalapeĂąos and brine, cilantro, honey, salt, and remaining 1 tablespoon oil to processor. Pulse until finely chopped, 5 to 8 pulses. Transfer to bowl and let stand, at least 10 minutes.

(Sauce can be prepared up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated in airtight container.)

Quick Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: Saucing Up Chicken and Roasting Mushrooms WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Wanting to create a simple sauce that would provide a boost of flavor and richness to quick-cooking chicken breast cutlets, we found inspiration in the classic Spanish sauce romesco. We started with a base of oil-toasted bread and nuts, which added richness and texture. To keep things simple, we then added a combination of boldly flavored jarred and no-cook ingredients to build up the sauce. A final addition of herbs and spices created a complex flavored sauce that could be made in about 5 minutes.

Makes about 1 cup For the best taste and texture, make sure to rinse all the dried herbs off the sun-dried tomatoes.

INGREDIENTS 1/2

slice hearty white sandwich bread, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/4

cup pine nuts

2

tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2

garlic cloves, sliced thin

1

small tomato, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2

cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed

2

tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil

2

tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2

teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS Heat bread, pine nuts, and 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat; cook, stirring constantly, until bread and pine nuts are lightly toasted, 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer bread mixture to food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped, about 5 pulses. Add tomato, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, vinegar, salt, and remaining 1 tablespoon oil to processor. Pulse until finely chopped, 5 to 8 pulses. Transfer to bowl and let stand, at least 10 minutes. (Sauce can be prepared up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated in airtight container.)

Quicker Cinnamon Buns From Cook's Country | October/November 2013 WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Most recipes for quick cinnamon buns result in something more like a biscuit—they rely on chemical leaveners (baking powder and soda) instead of yeast. To get the soft sweet-bread texture and yeasty flavor of a true bun with a quicker timetable, we use both yeast and baking powder. After shaping, the buns need only 30 minutes of rise time. A low oven temperature ensures that they have enough time to rise high before the tops set, creating a fluffy interior. A buttery brown sugar filling and tangy cream cheese glaze make these buns irresistible.

MAKES 8 BUNS Since the filling, dough, and glaze all require melted butter, it’s easier to melt all 10 tablespoons in a liquid measuring cup and divvy it up as needed. Stir the melted butter before each use to redistribute the milk solids. We developed this recipe using a dark cake pan, which produces deeply caramelized buns. If your cake pan is light-colored, adjust the oven rack to the lowest position, heat the oven to 375 degrees, and increase the baking time to 29 to 32 minutes.

INGREDIENTS FILLING 3/4

cup packed (5 1/4 ounces) light brown sugar

1/4

cup (1 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar

1 1/8

tablespoon ground cinnamon teaspoon salt

2

tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1

teaspoon vanilla extract

DOUGH 1 1/4

cups whole milk, room temperature

4

teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast

2

tablespoons granulated sugar

2 3/4

cups (13 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour

2 1/2

teaspoons baking powder

3/4

teaspoons salt

6

tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3

ounces cream cheese, softened

2

tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

GLAZE

tablespoons whole milk

2

tablespoons whole milk

1/2

teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8

teaspoon salt

1

cup (4 ounces) confectioners' sugar, sifted

INSTRUCTIONS 1. FOR THE FILLING: Combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt in bowl. Stir in melted butter and vanilla until mixture resembles wet sand; set aside.

2. FOR THE DOUGH: Grease dark 9-inch round cake pan, line with parchment paper, and grease parchment. Pour ¼ cup milk in small bowl and microwave until 110 degrees, 15 to 20 seconds. Stir in yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar and let sit until mixture is bubbly, about 5 minutes.

3. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 5 teaspoons sugar together in large bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons butter, yeast mixture, and remaining 1 cup milk until dough forms (dough will be sticky). Transfer dough to well-floured counter and knead until smooth ball forms, about 2 minutes.

4. Roll dough into 12 by 9-inch rectangle, with long side parallel to counter edge. Brush dough all over with 2 tablespoons butter, leaving ½-inch border on far edge. Sprinkle dough evenly with filling, then press filling firmly into dough. Using bench scraper or metal spatula, loosen dough from counter. Roll dough away from you into tight log and pinch seam to seal.

5. Roll log seam side down and cut into 8 equal pieces. Stand buns on end and gently re-form ends that were pinched during cutting.

Place 1 bun in center of prepared pan and others around perimeter of pan, seam sides facing in. Brush tops of buns with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Cover buns loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.

6. Discard plastic and bake buns until edges are well browned, 23 to 25 minutes. Loosen buns from sides of pan with paring knife and let cool for 5 minutes. Invert large plate over cake pan. Using potholders, flip plate and pan upside down; remove pan and parchment. Reinvert buns onto wire rack, set wire rack inside parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet, and let cool for 5 minutes.

7. FOR THE GLAZE: Place cream cheese in large bowl and whisk in butter, milk, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Whisk in sugar until smooth. Pour glaze evenly over tops of buns, spreading with spatula to cover. Serve.

TEST KITCHEN DISCOVERY: TWICE THE POWER, HALF THE TIME

By adding a lot of yeast to an ordinary biscuit dough, we combine some of the speed of biscuit-making with the flavor and texture of sweet yeast dough. With both yeast and baking powder, our Quicker Cinnamon Buns take just 2 minutes to knead and 30 minutes to rise.

FOUR TEASPOONS OF YEAST: Add to biscuit dough for a biscuit-bun hybrid that’s the best of both.

TEST KITCHEN DISCOVERY: LIGHT PAN MAKES UNDERDONE BUNS

We’ve long known that dark cake pans produce more deeply browned cakes, but it wasn’t until we tested our Quicker Cinnamon Buns recipe in both light and dark cake pans that we understood how great the difference can be. We developed our recipe using a dark cake pan, which absorbs heat more efficiently. Made in a light-colored pan, the same recipe yielded doughy, pale, and sunken buns.

BAKED IN A LIGHT PAN:Â No dark pan? Increase the time and temperature, or your buns will be pale like these.

Roasted Brined Turkey From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: A Hearty Fall Feast WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Big birds and small birds, kosher birds, and self-basting birds—with all of these choices, and more, on the market, how can the home cook make the right choice and then cook the bird properly? Our roasted turkey recipe allows for a brined or an unbrined turkey (we found you should never brine a kosher or a self-basting bird because it will become too salty) and for a turkey brined for four hours or overnight (the shorter the soak, the saltier the brine). It also provides timing and temperature guidelines for small (12- to 15-pound), medium (15- to 18-pound), and large (18- to 22-pound) birds (large birds get a hotter oven to start out, then a cooler oven to let them cook through without burning the skin).

Serves 10 to 22, depending on turkey size We offer two brine formulas: one for a 4- to 6-hour brine and another for a 12- to 14-hour brine. The amount of salt used in each brine does not change with turkey size. If you’re roasting a kosher or self-basting turkey, do not brine it; it already contains a good amount of sodium. Rotating the bird from a breast-side down position to a breast-side up position midway through cooking helps to produce evenly cooked dark and white meat. If you’re roasting a large (18- to 22-pound) bird and are reluctant to rotate it, skip the step of lining the V-rack with foil and roast the bird breast-side up for the full time. If making gravy, scatter 1 cup each of coarsely chopped onion, celery, and carrot as well as several fresh thyme sprigs in the roasting pan at the outset; add 1 cup water to keep the vegetables from burning.

INGREDIENTS Table salt 1

turkey (12 to 22 pounds gross weight), rinsed thoroughly, giblets and neck reserved for gravy, if making

4

tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Dissolve 1 cup salt per gallon cold water for 4- to 6-hour brine or 1/2 cup salt per gallon cold water for 12- to 14-hour brine in large stockpot or clean bucket. Two gallons of water will be sufficient for most birds; larger birds may require three gallons. Add turkey and refrigerate for predetermined amount of time.

2. Before removing turkey from brine, adjust oven rack to lowest position; heat oven to 400 degrees for 12- to 18-pound bird or 425 degrees for 18- to 22-pound bird. Line large V-rack with heavy-duty foil and use paring knife or skewer to poke 20 to 30 holes in foil; set V-rack in large roasting pan.

3. Remove turkey from brine and rinse well under cool running water. Pat dry inside and out with paper towels. Tuck tips of drumsticks into skin at tail to secure, and tuck wing tips behind back. Brush turkey breast with 2 tablespoons butter. Set turkey breast-side down on prepared V-rack; brush back with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Roast 45 minutes for 12- to 18-pound bird or 1 hour for 18- to 22pound bird.

4. Remove roasting pan with turkey from oven (close oven door to retain oven heat); reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees if roasting 18- to 22-pound bird. Using clean potholders or kitchen towels, rotate turkey breast-side up; continue to roast until thickest part of breast registers 165 degrees and thickest part of thigh registers 170 to 175 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 50 to 60 minutes longer for 12- to 15-pound bird, about 1 1/4 hours for 15- to 18-pound bird, or about 2 hours longer for 18- to 22-pound bird.

Transfer turkey to carving board; let rest 30 minutes (or up to 40 minutes for 18- to 22-pound bird). Carve and serve.

TECHNIQUE

TECHNIQUE

FLIPPING THE TURKEY With a towel or potholder in each hand, grasp the turkey and flip it over, placing it breast-side up on the rack. Take care to protect your hands from hot juices that will run out of the turkey.

TECHNIQUE

TAKING THE TEMPERATURE To take the temperature of the thigh: Use an instant-read thermometer, inserted into the thickest part of the thigh away from the bone, to determine when the leg meat is done.

To take the temperature of the breast: Insert the thermometer at the neck end, holding parallel to the bird. Confirm the temperature by inserting the thermometer in both sides of the bird.

Roasted Pears with Dried Apricots and Pistachios From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: Pork and Pears WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Roasted fruit can easily become colorless and mushy or burned and crunchy without a correct method. By starting our fruit over direct heat we were able to evaporate some of the juices released by the fruit that would otherwise get in the way of proper caramelization.

Finishing the fruit in the oven allows the ambient heat to cook through the fruit while the fruit continues to darken in color.

Serves 4 to 6 Select pears that yield slightly when pressed. We prefer Bosc pears in this recipe, but Comice and Bartlett pears also work. The fruit can be served as is or with vanilla ice cream or plain Greek yogurt.

INGREDIENTS 2 1/2 4 1 1/4

tablespoons unsalted butter ripe but firm Bosc pears (6 to 7 ounces each), peeled, halved, and cored cups dry white wine

1/2

cup dried apricots, quartered

1/3

cup (2 1/3 ounces) sugar

1/4

teaspoon ground cardamom

1/8

teaspoon salt

1 1/3

teaspoon lemon juice cup pistachios, toasted and chopped

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in ovensafe 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Place pear halves, cut side down, in skillet. Cook, without moving them, until pears are just beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

2. Transfer skillet to oven and roast pears for 15 minutes. Using tongs, flip pears and continue to roast until fork easily pierces fruit, 10 to 15 minutes longer (skillet handle will be hot).

3. Using tongs, transfer pears to platter. Return skillet to medium-high heat and add wine, apricots, sugar, cardamom, salt, and remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Bring to vigorous simmer, whisking to scrape up any browned bits. Cook until sauce is reduced and has consistency of maple syrup, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in lemon juice.

4. Pour sauce over pears, sprinkle with pistachios, and serve.

Secret Ingredient Biscuits From Cook's Country | April/May 2013 WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: The secret ingredient in these biscuits, also called mystery biscuits, is mayonnaise. It may sound odd, but just like the shortening, butter, or cream in more traditional recipes, the mayonnaise provides the fat in these biscuits. The emulsification of oil and egg yolks in mayo makes for incredibly tender biscuits, and the dough comes together with just a stir. The salt and vinegar in the mayonnaise mean that these biscuits are well seasoned and just a touch savory, and the simple drop method makes them some of the easiest biscuits we’ve ever made.

MAKES 12 BISCUITS These biscuits are best with whole milk, but the recipe will work with reduced-fat milk. Don’t use nonfat. Reduced-fat mayonnaise can be used, but the biscuits will be less tender and flavorful. Don’t use fat-free mayonnaise.

INGREDIENTS 2

cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour

1

tablespoon sugar

2

teaspoons baking powder

1/2

teaspoon baking soda

3/4

teaspoon salt

1 3/4

cup whole milk cup mayonnaise

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Whisk milk and mayonnaise together in separate bowl. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture until just combined.

2. Using greased 1/4-cup measure, drop 12 level scoops of dough onto prepared sheet, spacing them 1 1/2 inches apart. Use small spoon, if necessary, to dislodge dough from measure. (This dough is sticky, and you may have to regrease your measure several times during portioning.) Bake until biscuit tops are golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Transfer biscuits to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve.

YOU PUT WHAT IN YOUR BISCUITS?

You’ve probably heard of biscuits made with butter, with cream, and with lard. But have you ever tasted a biscuit made with mayonnaise? Granted, they sound pretty weird. But think about it: Mayonnaise is primarily an emulsification of oil and egg yolk, and these are fats that can make very tender biscuits. Plus the savory quality of mayonnaise comes through in these biscuits, making them perfect for eating with dinner.

MAYO CLINIC

Mayonnaise is made from oil, eggs, salt, and vinegar—all good things to put in biscuits.

Slow-Cooker Chinese Barbecued Pork From Cook's Country | October/November 2013 WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: For a slow-cooker version of the Chinatown favorite char siu, we start with a boneless pork butt cut into 1-inch-thick pieces. After seasoning the meat with salt, pepper, and five-spice powder (a classic char siu flavoring), we “braise” it to tenderness in the cooker. A coating of concentrated (and quick) no-cook sauce and a few minutes under the broiler render this pork glazed, crispy, deeply browned, and—most important—intensely delicious.

SERVES 8 Pork butt roast is often labeled Boston butt in the supermarket. Look for five-spice powder and hoisin sauce in the international aisle at your supermarket.

INGREDIENTS 1 1/2

teaspoons salt

1 1/2

teaspoons five-spice powder

1/2 1

teaspoon pepper (5- to 6-pound) boneless pork butt roast, trimmed and sliced crosswise into 1-inch-thick steaks

1/3

cup hoisin sauce

1/3

cup honey

1/4

cup sugar

1/4

cup soy sauce

1/4

cup ketchup

2

tablespoons dry sherry

1

tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1

tablespoon grated fresh ginger

2

garlic cloves, minced

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Combine salt, 3/4 teaspoon five-spice powder, and pepper in bowl. Rub spice mixture all over pork and transfer to slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low until pork is just tender, 5 to 6 hours.

2. When pork is nearly done, combine hoisin, honey, sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, sherry, oil, ginger, garlic, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon five-spice powder in bowl. Set wire rack inside aluminum foil–lined rimmed baking sheet. Pour 1 cup water into sheet. Adjust oven rack 4 inches from broiler element and heat broiler.

3. Using tongs, transfer pork from slow cooker to prepared wire rack in single layer. Brush pork with one-third of hoisin mixture and broil until lightly caramelized, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip pork, brush with half of remaining hoisin mixture, and broil until lightly caramelized on second side, 5 to 7 minutes. Brush pork with remaining hoisin mixture and broil until deep mahogany and crispy around edges,

about 3 minutes. Transfer to carving board and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice crosswise into thin strips. Serve.

TEST KITCHEN TECHNIQUE: CUTTING PORK STEAKS

Trim a 5- to 6-pound boneless pork butt roast of excess hard, waxy fat and then slice it into 1-inch-thick steaks.

Most of the fat in the steaks will render during the slow cooking.

Slow-Roasted Chicken Parts with Shallot-Garlic Pan Sauce From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: Roast Chicken and Potatoes Revisited WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Slow roasting promises extremely juicy chicken but offers little in the way of crispy skin. We switched from a whole chicken to breasts and leg quarters so that we could easily sear the skin in a skillet and double the amount of people we could serve to eight. We left the skin wet before searing in order to promote more fond development, which we used for an easy, robust pan sauce. After searing we transferred the chicken to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet and slowly roasted it at 250 degrees, ensuring even, gentle cooking throughout. A final spin under the broiler turned the rendered skin crispy and golden brown.

Serves 8 To serve four people, halve the ingredient amounts.

INGREDIENTS 5

pounds bone-in chicken pieces (4 split breasts and 4 leg quarters), trimmed Kosher salt and pepper

1/4 1 2 1/4

teaspoon vegetable oil tablespoon unflavored gelatin cups chicken broth

2

tablespoons water

2

teaspoons cornstarch

4

tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

4

shallots, sliced thin

6

garlic cloves, sliced thin

1

teaspoon ground coriander

1

tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1 1/2

teaspoons lemon juice

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Adjust 1 oven rack to lowest position and second rack 8 inches from broiler element. Heat oven to 250 degrees. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and place wire rack on top. Sprinkle chicken pieces with 2 teaspoons salt and season with pepper (do not pat chicken dry).

2. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place leg quarters skin side down in skillet; cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, 5 to 7 minutes total. Transfer to prepared sheet, arranging legs along 1 long side of sheet. Pour off fat from skillet. Place breasts skin side down in skillet; cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, 4 to 6 minutes total.

Transfer to sheet with legs. Discard fat; do not clean skillet. Place sheet on lower rack, orienting so legs are at back of oven. Roast until breasts register 160 degrees and legs register 175 degrees, 1 hour 25 minutes to 1 3/4 hours. Let chicken rest on sheet for 10 minutes.

minutes.

3. While chicken roasts, sprinkle gelatin over broth in bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Whisk water and cornstarch together in small bowl; set aside.

4. Melt butter in now-empty skillet over medium-low heat. Add shallots and garlic; cook until golden brown and crispy, 6 to 9 minutes.

Stir in coriander and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in gelatin mixture, scraping up browned bits. Bring to simmer over high heat and cook until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, 5 to 7 minutes. Whisk cornstarch mixture to recombine. Whisk into sauce and simmer until thickened, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in parsley and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover to keep warm.

5. Heat broiler. Transfer sheet to upper rack and broil chicken until skin is well browned and crisp, 3 to 6 minutes. Serve, passing sauce separately.

Smoky Potato Salad From Cook's Country | August/September 2014 WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: For a summery potato salad that can be cooked on the grill from start to finish, we begin with halved red potatoes: The skin helps them stay intact, and their firm, waxy texture can stand up to the grill. We grill rounds of onion alongside the potatoes to add sweetness to the salad. A spicy, smoky vinaigrette with just a touch of mayo is the perfect match for this potato salad, while crispy bacon and fresh scallions finish the job.

SERVES 8 Use small red potatoes 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. If you don’t have 2 tablespoons of fat in the skillet after frying the bacon, add olive oil to make up the difference.

INGREDIENTS 6

slices bacon

3

tablespoons red wine vinegar

2

tablespoons mayonnaise

2

teaspoons minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce Salt and pepper

3

tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing

3

pounds small red potatoes, unpeeled, halved

1

large onion, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds

4

scallions, sliced thin

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Cook bacon in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until crisp, 7 to 9 minutes; transfer to paper towel–lined plate. Set aside 2 tablespoons bacon fat. When cool enough to handle, crumble bacon and set aside. Whisk vinegar, mayonnaise, chipotle, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in large bowl. Slowly whisk in 3 tablespoons oil until combined; set aside dressing.

2A. FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter three-quarters filled with charcoal briquettes (4 1/2 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.

2B. FOR A GAS GRILL: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium.

3. Clean and oil cooking grate. Toss potatoes with reserved bacon fat and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Push toothpick horizontally through each onion round to keep rings intact while grilling. Brush onion rounds lightly with extra oil and season with salt and pepper. Place potatoes, cut side down, and onion rounds on grill and cook, covered, until charred on first side, 10 to 14 minutes.

4. Flip potatoes and onion rounds and continue to cook, covered, until well browned all over and potatoes are easily pierced with tip of paring knife, 10 to 16 minutes longer. Transfer potatoes and onion rounds to rimmed baking sheet and let cool slightly.

5. When cool enough to handle, halve potatoes; remove toothpicks and coarsely chop onion rounds. Add potatoes, onion, scallions,

and bacon to dressing and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Sweet Potato Pie From Cook's Country | October/November 2013 WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: To streamline this holiday dessert, we start by “baking” whole sweet potatoes in the microwave. A food processor makes quick work of pureeing the flesh and lends a silky-smooth texture. Sour cream adds subtle tang while smoothing out the custard even more, and supplementing whole eggs with two extra yolks helps with richness and sliceability. For flavor, we bloom cinnamon and nutmeg in butter before adding them, along with some bourbon and vanilla, to the pie. Finally, a layer of caramelized brown sugar baked right onto the crust takes this pie to the next level.

SERVES 8 The best pies use homemade crust. If you’re pressed for time, try our favorite store-bought crust, Wholly Wholesome 9" Certified Organic Traditional Bake at Home Rolled Pie Dough. Choose sweet potatoes that are about the same size so that they’ll cook evenly.

INGREDIENTS 1

(9-inch) single-crust pie dough

1 1/4

cups packed (8 3/4 ounces) light brown sugar

1 3/4

pounds sweet potatoes, unpeeled

1/2

teaspoon salt

4

tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2

teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4

teaspoon ground nutmeg

1

cup sour cream

3

large eggs plus 2 large yolks

2

tablespoons bourbon (optional)

1

teaspoon vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough into 12-inch circle on lightly floured counter.

Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into plate bottom with your other hand.

2. Trim overhang to ½ inch beyond lip of pie plate. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of pie plate.

Crimp dough evenly around edge of pie using your fingers. Wrap dough-lined pie plate loosely in plastic and freeze until dough is firm, about 15 minutes.

3. Line chilled pie shell with 2 (12-inch) squares of parchment paper, letting parchment lie over edges of dough, and fill with pie weights. Bake until lightly golden around edges, 18 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove parchment and weights, rotate crust, and continue to bake until center begins to look opaque and slightly drier, 3 to 6 minutes. Remove from oven. Let crust cool completely.

Sprinkle ¼ cup sugar over bottom of crust; set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

4. Meanwhile, prick potatoes all over with fork. Microwave on large plate until potatoes are very soft and surface is slightly wet, 15 to 20 minutes, flipping every 5 minutes. Immediately slice potatoes in half to release steam. When cool enough to handle, scoop flesh into bowl of food processor. Add salt and remaining 1 cup sugar and process until smooth, about 60 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Melt butter with cinnamon and nutmeg in microwave, 15 to 30 seconds; stir to combine. Add spiced butter; sour cream; eggs and yolks; bourbon, if using; and vanilla to potatoes and process until incorporated, about 10 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

5. Pour potato mixture into prepared pie shell. Bake until filling is set around edges but center registers 165 degrees and jiggles slightly when pie is shaken, 35 to 40 minutes. Let pie cool completely on wire rack, about 2 hours. Serve.

KEYS TO RICH AND SILKY SWEET POTATO PIE

Too often, sweet potato pie is grainy or bland. Here’s how we made our filling smooth, rich, and flavorful.

USE EXTRA YOLKS: Three eggs plus two extra yolks add richness and make the pie velvety smooth.

BLOOM SPICES: Heating the cinnamon and nutmeg in melting butter brings out their full flavor.

ADD SOUR CREAM: Sour cream makes for an especially creamy pie, plus its tang balances the sweetness.

TEST KITCHEN TECHNIQUE: TEMP THE FILLING

Custard pies, such as sweet potato pie, require careful baking. Overbaked pies may crack and will lose their voluptuous creaminess.

Underbaked pies won’t set up and will be difficult to slice cleanly. Properly baked sweet potato pie is done when just the center jiggles slightly if you gently shake the pie. A fail-safe way to know: Take its temperature. When the custard is 165 degrees, the pie is done.

PROBLEM 1: Overbaking.

PROBLEM 2: Underbaking.

SOLUTION:Â Use a thermometer. Our favorite inexpensive model is the ThermoWorks Super-Fast Waterproof Pocket Thermometer.

Tex-Mex Cheese Enchiladas From Cook's Country | February/March 2014 WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Unlike their Mexican kin, Tex-Mex enchiladas have no meat and no tomatoey sauce. Instead, a smoky chile gravy provides the bulk of flavor in the dish. Dried ancho chiles, along with cumin, garlic, and oregano, are the perfect backbone for our roux-based sauce, and a splash of vinegar brightens it up. Instead of going with the processed cheese typical of the dish, we opted for a mixture of cheddar for flavor and Monterey Jack for smooth meltability. Finally, while traditional recipes call for frying the corn tortillas one at a time, we found a shortcut that reduces time (and excess grease): brushing the tortillas with oil and microwaving them for a mere minute.

SERVES 6 Dried chiles vary in size and weight. You’ll get a more accurate measure if you seed and tear them first; you need about 1/2 cup of prepped chiles. You’ll lose some flavor, but you can substitute 2 tablespoons of ancho chile powder and 1 tablespoon of ground cumin for the whole ancho chiles and cumin seeds, decreasing the toasting time to 1 minute.

INGREDIENTS GRAVY 2

dried ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded, and torn into 1/2-inch pieces (1/2 cup)

1

tablespoon cumin seeds

1

tablespoon garlic powder

2

teaspoons dried oregano

3

tablespoons vegetable oil

3

tablespoons all-purpose flour Salt and pepper

2

cups chicken broth

2

teaspoons distilled white vinegar

ENCHILADAS 12 1 1/2

(6-inch) corn tortillas tablespoons vegetable oil

8

ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (2 cups)

6

ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)

1

onion, chopped fine

INSTRUCTIONS 1. FOR THE GRAVY: Toast chiles and cumin in 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to spice grinder and let cool for 5 minutes. Add garlic powder and oregano and grind to fine powder.

2. Heat oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Whisk in flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and spice mixture and cook until fragrant and slightly deepened in color, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in broth and bring to simmer.

Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, whisking frequently, until gravy has thickened and reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 5 minutes.

Whisk in vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat, cover, and keep warm. (Sauce can be made up to 24 hours in advance. To reheat, add 2 tablespoons water and microwave until loose, 1 to 2 minutes, stirring halfway through microwaving.)

3. FOR THE ENCHILADAS: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Brush both sides of tortillas with oil.

Stack tortillas, then wrap in damp dish towel. Place tortillas on plate and microwave until warm and pliable, about 1 minute.

4. Spread 1/2 cup gravy in bottom of 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Combine cheeses in bowl; set aside 1/2 cup cheese mixture for topping enchiladas. Place 1/4 cup cheese mixture across center of each tortilla, then sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon onion. Tightly roll tortillas around filling and lay them seam side down in dish (2 columns of 6 tortillas will fit neatly across width of dish). Pour remaining 1 cup gravy over enchiladas, then sprinkle with reserved cheese mixture.

5. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. Let enchiladas cool for 10 minutes, then sprinkle with remaining onion. Serve.

TEST KITCHEN TIP: ENCHILADA ORIENTATION

The arrangement matters: After you have spread 1/2 cup of chile gravy in the 13 by 9-inch baking dish, fit the 12 enchiladas by creating two snug rows of six.

WHAT IS CHILE GRAVY?

Chile gravy is considered by many experts—and Texans—to be the defining food of Tex-Mex cuisine. Like beef or poultry gravy, it’s based on broth thickened with a roux (usually vegetable oil or lard plus flour). Unlike those gravies, chile gravy gets its signature flavor not from meat drippings or fond but from spices plus ground ancho chiles (which are dried poblano peppers). Shortcut recipes often call for chili powder, but that shortcuts the flavor, too. Instead, we make our own chile powder by toasting the anchos and grinding them with cumin seeds, garlic powder, and dried oregano. Chile gravy should be dark, thick, and very flavorful; it’s not that spicy, though.

Tuscan-Style Beef Stew From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: Why Not Add Wine?

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Tuscan beef stew (peposo), a stew made by the tilemakers of Florence's famous Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral Duomo, is a simple stew of beef braised in wine, with loads of peppercorns and a head of garlic cloves. To improve the texture and flavor of ours without veering too far from the original, we added tomato paste and anchovies for meatiness, powdered gelatin for body, and shallots, carrots, and herbs for complexity. To ensure a full-bodied wine flavor, we add some wine at the beginning of the long braise, more before reducing the sauce, and a small amount at the end. And we did the same with the peppercorns: cracked pepper at the start, ground pepper toward the end, and more cracked pepper on serving.

Serves 6 to 8 We prefer boneless short ribs in this recipe because they require very little trimming. If you cannot find them, substitute a 5-pound chuck roast. Trim the roast of large pieces of fat and sinew, and cut it into 2-inch pieces. If Chianti is unavailable, a medium-bodied wine such as CĂ´tes du RhĂ´ne or Pinot Noir makes a nice substitute. Serve with polenta or crusty bread.

INGREDIENTS 4

pounds boneless beef short ribs, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces Salt

1

tablespoon vegetable oil

1

(750-ml) bottle Chianti

1

cup water

4

shallots, peeled and halved lengthwise

2

carrots, peeled and halved lengthwise

1

garlic head, cloves separated, unpeeled, and crushed

4

sprigs fresh rosemary

2

bay leaves

1

tablespoon cracked black peppercorns, plus extra for serving

1

tablespoon unflavored gelatin

1

tablespoon tomato paste

1

teaspoon anchovy paste

2

teaspoons ground black pepper

2

teaspoons cornstarch

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Toss beef and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt together in bowl and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Adjust oven rack to lower-

1. Toss beef and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt together in bowl and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Adjust oven rack to lowermiddle position and heat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of beef in single layer and cook until well browned on all sides, about 8 minutes total, reducing heat if fond begins to burn. Stir in 2 cups wine, water, shallots, carrots, garlic, rosemary, bay leaves, cracked peppercorns, gelatin, tomato paste, anchovy paste, and remaining beef. Bring to simmer and cover tightly with sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil, then lid. Transfer to oven and cook until beef is tender, 2 to 2 1/4 hours, stirring halfway through cooking time.

3. Using slotted spoon, transfer beef to bowl; cover tightly with foil and set aside. Strain sauce through fine-mesh strainer into fat separator. Wipe out pot with paper towels. Let liquid settle for 5 minutes, then return defatted liquid to pot.

4. Add 1 cup wine and ground black pepper and bring mixture to boil over medium-high heat. Simmer briskly, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened to consistency of heavy cream, 12 to 15 minutes.

5. Combine remaining wine and cornstarch in small bowl. Reduce heat to medium-low, return beef to pot, and stir in cornstarch-wine mixture. Cover and simmer until just heated through, 5 to 8 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Serve, passing extra cracked peppercorns separately. (Stew can be made up to 3 days in advance.)

TECHNIQUE

CHEAP WINE IS FINE Early recipes for peposo relied on inexpensive Chianti, while modern versions call for a midpriced bottle (whether Chianti or a similar Tuscan wine such as Montepulciano or Brunello). We made batches using cheap ($5), midpriced ($12), and pricey ($20) Chianti, along with other varieties we often use in the kitchen: Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Côtes du Rhône.

We were surprised that the stew made with the cheapest Chianti went over well with most tasters. While the midpriced wine was agreeable to everyone, there was no advantage to cooking with the expensive bottle. Highly oaked, tannic wines like Cabernet became harsh when cooked, but cheap bottles of fruitier pinot and Côtes du Rhône made good stand-ins for the Chianti.

TECHNIQUE

MAXIMIZING THE FLAVORS FROM WINE AND PEPPER The flavor compounds in wine and pepper can be classified by their behavior during cooking. Stable compounds don’t change, but volatile compounds evaporate, and unstable compounds break down. Over time, the result is a loss of flavor. Most recipes we found for this stew call for adding all the wine and pepper at once, at the start of a 2 1/2-hour simmer. At the end of cooking, the flavors remaining were only those of the stable compounds. By adding some of the wine and pepper 15 minutes before finishing cooking, and the remainder of wine and pepper at the end, we were able to preserve more of the volatile and unstable compounds, capturing the most fleeting, bright, fresh flavors from both the wine and the pepper.

OTHER STEWS: LESS FLAVOR All the wine and pepper are added at the start, so many of the compounds break down or dissipate by the end of the long simmer.

TRIANGLES: Volatile compounds evaporate CIRCLES: Unstable compounds break down SQUARES: Stable compounds remain

OUR STEW: MORE FLAVOR We add wine and pepper in three stages to guarantee full flavor

We add wine and pepper in three stages to guarantee full flavor contributions from all three types of compounds.

Vegetable Broth Base From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: Vegetarian Essentials WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: A good vegetable stock is an important ingredient to have on hand, but supermarket offerings don’t taste like vegetables, and traditional homemade versions are expensive and time-consuming to make. In our recipe, we grind a selection of fresh vegetables, salt, and savory ingredients to a paste that we can store in the freezer and reconstitute as needed. Leeks provide good allium flavor, and a small amount of freeze-dried onions support the fresh flavor of the leeks. Tomato paste and soy sauce provide an umami boost.

Makes about 1 3/4 cups base; enough for 7 quarts broth For the best balance of flavors, measure the prepped vegetables by weight. Kosher salt aids in grinding the vegetables. The broth base contains enough salt to keep it from freezing solid, making it easy to remove 1 tablespoon at a time. To make 1 cup of broth, stir 1 tablespoon of fresh or frozen broth base into 1 cup of boiling water. If particle-free broth is desired, let the broth steep for 5 minutes and then strain it through a fine-mesh strainer.

INGREDIENTS 2

leeks, white and light green parts only, chopped and washed thoroughly (2 1/2 cups or 5 ounces)

2

carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2/3 cup or 3 ounces)

1/2

small celery root, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (3/4 cup or 3 ounces)

1/2

cup (1/2 ounce) parsley leaves and thin stems

3

tablespoons dried minced onions

2

tablespoons kosher salt

1 1/2 3

tablespoons tomato paste tablespoons soy sauce

INSTRUCTIONS Process leeks, carrots, celery root, parsley, minced onions, and salt in food processor, scraping down sides of bowl frequently, until paste is as fine as possible, 3 to 4 minutes. Add tomato paste and process for 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl every 20 seconds. Add soy sauce and continue to process 1 minute longer. Transfer mixture to airtight container and tap firmly on counter to remove air bubbles. Press small piece of parchment paper flush against surface of mixture and cover. Freeze for up to 6 months.

TECHNIQUE

WHAT’S IN? WHAT’S OUT? BUILDING A BALANCED BROTH The key to our concentrate was finding a combination of vegetables that produced a broth that was unobtrusive but still had enough backbone to give a dish depth and complexity.

CELERY ROOT, BUT NOT CELERY: Celery root contributes a mild yet complex celery flavor, while celery comes across as bitter and

yet complex celery flavor, while celery comes across as bitter and sour. Celery gets its bitter flavor from a compound called sedanolide. Celery root possesses it, too, but in lesser quantities.

LEEKS AND FREEZE-DRIED ONION, BUT NOT ONION: Onion made the stock sulfurous and sweet (and too watery). Low-moisture, lowsugar leeks are more neutral, while freeze-dried minced onions provide depth.

TOMATO PASTE, BUT NOT TOMATO: Fresh tomatoes were too mild and watery, while sun-dried tomatoes were too sweet-sour; tomato paste adds a savory depth without identifying itself.

TECHNIQUE

A BROTH BASE YOU CAN FREEZE—AND NEVER THAW Our recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of kosher salt (we use Diamond Crystal). That might seem like a lot, but once the base is diluted, it contains just 399 milligrams of sodium per 1-cup serving; commercial broth ranges from 240 to 1,050 milligrams per cup.

Furthermore, because salt depresses water’s freezing point, the concentrate will never freeze solid. This means that you can keep it in the freezer for months and scoop out exactly the amount you need without ever having to thaw it.

SCOOP AND RECONSTITUTE: Mix 1 tablespoon of base with 1 cup of boiling water.

Vietnamese-Style Caramel Chicken with Broccoli From America's Test Kitchen Season 16: Sweet and Spicy Asian Specialties WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Traditional Vietnamese-style caramel chicken promises a dish that balances a bittersweet caramel with salty and spicy flavors, but most recipes miss the mark. Cooking the caramel until it was a deep, dark color was key to achieving the right complex bittersweetness, while fish sauce (in a 1:4 ratio of fish sauce to caramel) lent the traditional balancing salty component. A combination of ginger and black pepper provided the right amount of heat. Cutting the boneless, skinless chicken thighs in half, rather than into smaller bits as called for in many of the recipes we found, gave the chicken more time to absorb the sauce, while a quick soak in a baking soda–water bath helped the chicken stay juicy over a longer cooking time that turned the meat ultratender. To complete the meal, we steamed broccoli to serve alongside.

Serves 4 to 6 The saltiness of fish sauce can vary; we recommend Tiparos. When taking the temperature of the caramel in step 2, tilt the pan and move the thermometer back and forth to equalize hot and cool spots; also make sure to have hot water at the ready. This dish is intensely seasoned, so serve it with plenty of steamed white rice.

INGREDIENTS 1

tablespoon baking soda

2

pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and halved crosswise

7

tablespoons sugar

1/4

cup fish sauce

2

tablespoons grated fresh ginger

1

pound broccoli, florets cut into 1-inch pieces, stalks peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick

2

teaspoons cornstarch

1/2

teaspoon pepper

1/2

cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves and stems

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Combine baking soda and 1 1/4 cups cold water in large bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Rinse chicken in cold water and drain well.

2. Meanwhile, combine sugar and 3 tablespoons water in small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat and cook, without stirring, until mixture begins to turn golden, 4 to 6 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook, gently swirling saucepan, until sugar turns color of molasses and registers between 390 and 400 degrees, 4 to 6 minutes longer. (Caramel will produce some smoke during last 1 to 2 minutes of cooking.) Immediately remove saucepan from heat and carefully pour in 3/4 cup hot water (mixture will bubble and steam vigorously). When bubbling has subsided, return saucepan to medium heat and stir to dissolve caramel.

3. Transfer caramel to 12-inch skillet and stir in fish sauce and ginger. Add chicken and bring to simmer over medium-high heat.

Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until chicken is fork-tender and registers 205 degrees, 30 to 40 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through simmering. Transfer chicken to serving dish and cover to keep warm.

chicken halfway through simmering. Transfer chicken to serving dish and cover to keep warm.

4. Bring 1 inch water to boil in Dutch oven. Lower insert or steamer basket with broccoli into pot so it rests above water; cover and simmer until broccoli is just tender, 4 1/2 to 5 minutes. Transfer broccoli to serving dish with chicken.

5. While broccoli cooks, bring sauce to boil over medium-high heat and cook until reduced to 1 1/4 cups, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water together in small bowl, then whisk into sauce; simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Stir in pepper. Pour 1/4 cup sauce over chicken and broccoli. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve, passing remaining sauce separately.

TECHNIQUE

SCIENCE: TAKE SOME SWEET OUT OF CARAMEL Most of us think of caramel as a sweet sauce. But if cooked long enough, caramel will become less sweet and more complex. Here’s what happens: When table sugar is heated, a cascade of chemical reactions occurs that transforms some—and eventually all—of its single type of molecule into literally hundreds of different compounds that bring new flavors, aromas, and colors. At first these compounds are mild and buttery in flavor, and the caramel still tastes very sweet. With continued cooking, even more sugar molecules break down, and the caramel begins to taste markedly less sweet; meanwhile bitter, potent-tasting molecules also begin to form (along with those that bring a darker color). We found that cooking sugar to between 390 and 400 degrees produced a caramel with subtle sweetness and an appealingly bitter edge. Any additional cooking, though, made the caramel taste acrid and burnt.

SIMPLY SWEET (340°): Only some sucrose molecules have broken down. Color is amber, and flavor is mild and still very sweet.

BITTERSWEET (390°): More sucrose has broken down. Color is molasses-like, and flavor is less sweet and more complex.

Whole-Wheat Blueberry Muffins From Cook's Country | August/September 2014 WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: One hundred percent whole-wheat muffins can often be dense, squat sinkers that nobody wants to eat. Our goal was to fix that problem.

After combining two leaveners and incorporating ingredients with high amounts of moisture (buttermilk, eggs, and blueberries) and a mix of melted butter and oil with 100 percent whole-wheat flour, we were ecstatic to find our blueberry muffins as tender as they are. After a sprinkle of streusel on the top of the muffin, we now had a tender, slightly sweet whole-wheat muffin with that signature nutty, wholewheat flavor.

MAKES 12 MUFFINS Do not overmix the batter. You can substitute frozen (unthawed) blueberries for fresh in this recipe.

INGREDIENTS STREUSEL 3

tablespoons granulated sugar

3

tablespoons packed brown sugar

3

tablespoons whole-wheat flour Pinch salt

2

tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

MUFFINS 3 2 1/2 1/2

cups (16 1/2 ounces) whole-wheat flour teaspoons baking powder teaspoon baking soda

1

teaspoon salt

1

cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar

2

large eggs

4

tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/4

cup vegetable oil

1 1/4

cups buttermilk

1 1/2

teaspoons vanilla extract

7 1/2

ounces (1 1/2 cups) blueberries

INSTRUCTIONS 1. FOR THE STREUSEL: Combine granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, and salt in bowl. Add melted butter and toss with fork until

evenly moistened and mixture forms large chunks with some pea-size pieces throughout; set aside.

2. FOR THE MUFFINS: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 12-cup muffin tin, including top, generously with vegetable oil spray. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk sugar, eggs, melted butter, and oil together in separate bowl until combined, about 30 seconds. Whisk buttermilk and vanilla into sugar mixture until combined.

3. Stir sugar mixture into flour mixture until just combined. Gently stir in blueberries until incorporated. Using heaping 1/4-cup dry measuring cup, divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups (cups will be filled to rim); sprinkle muffin tops evenly with streusel.

4. Bake until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out with few crumbs attached, 18 to 20 minutes, rotating muffin tin halfway through baking. Let muffins cool in muffin tin on wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from muffin tin and let cool 5 minutes longer. Serve.

DON’T MAKE THIS MISTAKE: HEAVY AND DENSE MUFFINS

You can’t simply swap whole-wheat flour into a regular muffin recipe and expect it to work. But if you know the science behind baking and account for the variables, you can make great blueberry muffins using 100 percent whole-wheat flour.

THE WRONG WHOLE-WHEAT MUFFIN: Makes for a fine doorstop . . . but bad eating.