Notes about Recipes in this book

• Chicken bouillabaisse

  • anya_sf on September 16, 2022

    I used chicken thighs, which are ideal for this because they don't dry out easily and the trimmed skin is just on one side. Since my broiler is super hot, the chicken simmered longer, 30 min, then just broiled about 3-4 min. The skin came out nice and crisp. I added frozen peas at the end for more green veg. Served with Ina Garten's saffron aioli on the croutons rather than this rouille, the bouillabaisse was very flavorful. However, the broth was so thick we could have eaten it on plates rather than bowls.

• Crisp roasted potatoes

  • ashallen on October 11, 2019

    This is a standard dish in our house. Great technique for getting well-browned potatoes in the oven. I've morphed the technique somewhat over the years - instead of cutting potatoes into rounds and flipping them one-by-one during roasting, I now just cut them into ~1" wedge-chunks and flip them in groups. They're not quite as evenly browned as intended by the original recipe technique (which is a good technique), but we've been happy and it's been a bit less fiddly. In my current oven, convection mode produces much better browning than regular mode, though the potatoes can get desiccated and chewy if I overdo it. I usually do some mix of the two modes to get the texture I'm looking for. Leftovers are surprisingly good - my husband loves them for breakfast with eggs. [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine/Science of Good Cooking/Cook's Ill. Cookbook.]

• Pan-seared scallops

  • mfto on December 31, 2011

    This is a basic way to pan fry scallops. They recommend using dry scallops. Their explanation: If you can only find wet scallops, soak them in a solution of 1 quart cold water, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons table salt for 30 minutes before proceeding.... If you are unsure whether your scallops are wet or dry, conduct this quick test: Place 1 scallop on a paper towel-lined, microwave-safe plate and microwave on high power for 15 seconds. If the scallop is dry, it will exude very little water. If it is wet, there will be a sizable ring of moisture on the paper towel. (The microwaved scallop can be cooked as is.) I served this with Orange-Lime Vinaigrette which is a recipe online.

• French pork and white bean casserole

  • ashallen on November 04, 2019

    This is a very rich dish that we found best to eat in small portions. The flavors are very wintery - meat and starch! I substituted pork bratwurst for French garlic sausage and probably lost some flavor by doing so. Adding a lot of parsley towards the end was a good try at adding back some of the aromatic flavors that seemed to have cooked away, but for me its flavor clashed with the other flavors in the casserole. Maybe it'd help to add some additional thyme later in the cooking process. The beans were my favorite part - very tender, rich, and flavorful. It was possible to skim some, but not a lot, of fat after cooking - most of it seemed to adhere to the beans (hmmm, no wonder they tasted good). Overall we thought this was fine, but not fabulous. Freezes well. [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine/Cook's Ill. Cookbook.]

• Chocolate-dipped pistachio shortbread

  • ashallen on September 17, 2019

    My favorite shortbreads taste strongly of butter and have a firm texture - these unfortunately came out pale with a muted butter flavor and a texture that was a bit gummy/doughy. I made them in a very cold kitchen, however, and would like to try them again under more normal conditions. The chocolate coating, however, worked very well! [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine/Cook's Ill. Cookbook.]