Cook's Country

HERE IN THE Cook’s Country test kitchen, we celebrate Thanksgiving at least three times a year. The first celebration happens in the kitchen as the team develops recipes for Thanksgiving appetizers, sides, and more. The second comes around when the p

Cooking shows make dicing onions seem easy, but I feel unsafe cutting horizontally into the side of a halved onion. Is there an easier/safer way? –Kristin Morse, Portland, Maine We often dice onions according to the method you described: Halve and pe

–Don Wilson, St. Augustine, Fla. I often make soft-cooked eggs for the whole family at breakfast. I cook them and then run them under cold water so that they’re not too hot to peel. Problem is, by the time I’ve peeled all 10 eggs, they’re cold. To ke

CANNED GREEN CHILES are an inexpensive and convenient way to add a burst of flavor to foods, which makes them a pantry staple for some folks. We like to use this versatile ingredient in all kinds of dishes: chilis, stews, dips, biscuits, and more. To

TITO GONZALEZ WAS a firefighter until he retired in the 1960s. According to his grandson Travis Knight (above), Tito got bored about two weeks later. “He was in charge of cooking at the firehouse,” Travis says. “His natural progression was a restaura

“CHICKEN PROVENÇAL” SOUNDS fancy, doesn’t it? But it’s just chicken cooked with the signature flavors and ingredients of Provence, the region of southeast France that borders Italy and the Mediterranean Sea. We’re talking herbs, wine, olives, tomatoe

FRANKS AND BEANS. Cassoulet. Sausage with lentils. These classic combinations prove that legumes and pork are a match made in heaven. But I like the last one best, with the savory, herby sausage elevating the earthy flavor of the tender lentils. This

HAVING WORKED IN professional kitchens for many years, I o_ er this advice for cooking salmon: Slow down, and go big. Let me explain. I’ve learned the hard way that it’s easy to overcook a fillet of salmon—or any fish, for that matter—especially if y

THE GOLDEN, STUFFED sopaipillas at Mary & Tito’s Cafe in Albuquerque, New Mexico (see “Chile Dreams”) come smothered in a lightly spicy, smoky green chile sauce that coats every bite. We knew that re-creating this local favorite at home would be a pr

I ’ M TURNING 12 and I’m out for my birthday dinner. Across the counter from me is a wisecracking daredevil with a hip holster full of knives. He’s juggling squeeze bottles and conjuring fireballs on a ripping-hot flat-top grill—and then he makes a f

BOK CHOY, A member of the cabbage family, has been cultivated in Asia for thousands of years. Supermarkets sell both large heads of mature bok choy, which can measure over a foot long, and smaller heads of baby bok choy, which are more tender, milder

THE AIR GETS sweeter as you walk through the dirt lot toward the apple orchards in fall. It’s the aroma of hot apple cider doughnuts straight from the fryer: warm and spicy. But these treats can be a bait and switch, promising apple flavor but rarely

ORDER UP! HASH browns! Practiced short order cooks keep a mound of these crispy shredded spuds cooking on their flat-top griddles all through the breakfast rush. But a home cook has two options: using frozen supermarket hash browns (convenient but no

THERE’S NOTHING LIKE a real bodega chopped cheese sandwich straight off a flat-top griddle in East Harlem. But once you’ve had one of these local favorites—ground beef, seasonings, and cheese piled atop a soft sub roll along with ketchup, mayonnaise,

IT’S A HOT afternoon in East Harlem. The broad streets are free of the usual New York hustle, but the drumbeats of a salsa festival pop from a few blocks away. I arrive at the corner of 110th Street and First Avenue and step into Blue Sky Deli, known

SPINACH-ARTICHOKE DIP IS an economical comfort food that easily feeds a crowd, making it an ideal holiday appetizer. But all too often, it’s overly cheesy and the spinach and artichokes get lost in the mix. I set out to create a more balanced version

AMERICANS CONSUME ABOUT 222 million pounds of turkey each Thanksgiving. But the classic method of cooking a turkey—roasting—is just one way to prepare it. I wanted to create a recipe that would employ an alternate cooking method and highlight the ver

SOUTHERN CORNBREAD DRESSING has a crisp, buttery top and a moist, almost creamy interior. My wife’s family in Louisiana makes one studded with smoky andouille sausage and bacon; it balances a Cajun-style spicy kick with sweet corn flavor. I set out t

I GREW UP head over heels in love with my mom’s macaroni and cheese. Her version featured cooked elbow macaroni that was evenly coated with a creamy cheese sauce enriched with eggs and then baked until set. This sliceable casserole was sturdy enough

I’M ALWAYS THANKFUL for my mom’s sweet potatoes. She roasts the orange spuds in their jackets until they wrinkle and start to ooze a sort of natural sweet potato caramel, and then she removes the peels and whips the soft flesh in a stand mixer with a

CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE is a welcome shake-up to your usual pecan pie—still traditional but with a fun twist. It’s not a complicated idea: Put some chocolate and pecans into a pie crust (usually prebaked); pour in a filling of eggs, brown sugar, and corn

MANY OF OUR pie recipes call for blind baking—baking the crust either partially or completely before adding the filling. But without a filling to hold the raw dough in place, the bottom can puff up or the sides can slump during baking, resulting in m

1. Mix and knead dough Stir masa harina, salt, warm water, and oil together with a rubber spatula, then knead the dough until it is the texture of Play-Doh. Why? To create a workable dough, everything needs to be fully incorporated. 2. Test hydration

I LOVE INDIAN food, but I don’t cook many Indian-inspired dishes at home. So to expand my repertoire, I looked to an icon of Indian cuisine, Madhur Jaffrey—and specifically to her recipe for Durban-style roast chicken. My goal was to take some season

For even cooking, it’s essential to layer the ingredients as shown below. I LOVE CHOWDERS of all kinds, whether they’re brimming with briny clams or studded with sweet corn kernels. But what is a chowder, anyway? As it turns out, a chowder is simply

WHEN MOST PEOPLE think of chili, they think of a large pot of rich, spicy meat and (sometimes) beans simmering for hours on the back of the stove. It’s quintessential weekend food: easy to prepare, feeds an army, and makes great leftovers. While a bi

• Bake yellow cake and cut into 24 squares with paring knife• Make Classic Macaroni and Cheese and portion and remove from baking dish with metal spatula• Make One-Pan Salmon with Broccoli and Shiitake Mushrooms and portion and remove from baking dis

IN THE PAST, home cooks didn’t have the luxury of buying their butter in sticks at the supermarket; for many, making butter was a tedious and labor-intensive household chore. Today, transforming cream into butter can be as easy as it is satisfying: T

½ teaspoon black gel food coloring1 recipe Chocolate Cake Batter*1 recipe Faux Swiss Meringue Frosting*4 teaspoons orange gel food coloring¼ teaspoon red gel food coloring2¼ teaspoons yellow gel food coloring45–50 pieces candy corn Adjust oven rack t

30-MINUTE SUPPER Serves 4 Be sure to wash the kale leaves well before cooking, as they can often be full of sand. 1½ pounds curly kale, stemmed, leaves cut into 2-inch pieces ½ teaspoon table salt, plus salt for cooking kale 2 tablespoons vegetable o