Notes about Recipes in this book

• MC special sauce

  • twoyolks on April 09, 2013

    This doesn't resemble McDonald's special sauce all that closely. It's much more refined and understated. With that said, it does compliment a cheese burger very well.

• Sous vide Hollandaise

  • twoyolks on April 30, 2014

    This was very simple to make. It did take a bit of work to get the cooked egg mixture out of the plastic bag. Additionally, the hollandaise was rather thick. I'd consider watering it down slightly in the future.

• Pressure-caramelized peanut sauce

  • Fyretigger on February 05, 2021

    Quite good. Definitely superior to commercial bottled peanut sauce. Lacks the slight spicy bite that some commercial sauces have, but can easily be added to a dish with other ingredients.

• Mondernist vinaigrette

  • twoyolks on March 28, 2016

    The vinaigrette tastes fine and like most other vinaigrettes. It does stay stable which is nice.

• Pressure-cooked pickled mustard seeds

  • Fyretigger on February 05, 2021

    Mild flavored, slightly sweet. Probably good for texture and eye appeal in dressings and around roasts.

• Pressure-cooked garlic confit

  • Fyretigger on January 30, 2021

    Using pre-peeled garlic, takes minutes of hands on time to prepare. Tried it on Avocado Toast and it was a nice addition.

• Pressure-caramelized onions

  • Fyretigger on February 15, 2021

    For me, this was more trouble than it was worth, and I still needed to cook it down in a skillet to reduce the liquid. It did have wonderful flavor and beautiful, consistent color. But I think I will be sticking to the classic low-and-slow method.

  • mna001 on March 16, 2025

    I could never master the stove-top method, so this works great for me. Set it and forget it, and I only need to pay attention during the reduction part.

• Grilling spice mix

  • twoyolks on May 26, 2016

    The spice mix didn't seem to add a lot of flavor to the steak. The spice mix also tended to burn a bit.

• Shiitake marmalade

  • Fyretigger on February 07, 2021

    Very nice flavor. Easy to make. Essentially a duxelles. It would make a nice filling for a puff pastry tart. And I used it as filling for an omelette and it was the best mushroom omelette I've ever had.

• Caramelized carrot soup

  • Fyretigger on January 30, 2021

    Delicious, but very rich. Best as a small appetizer. Might make a good base for a sauce. Puréed in a KitchenAid blender, sieving would have been unnecessary -- everything passed right through the sieve. And I used the hot carrot juice to rinse the blender to get the remainder of the purée.

• Squash soup

  • twoyolks on January 09, 2015

    This was not very good. The lemongrass and coconut milk overpowered the squash.

• Broccoli-Gruyère soup

  • twoyolks on January 03, 2013

    This is intense in flavor and really should only be served in appetizer portions.

• Corn soup

  • twoyolks on September 08, 2013

    As full recipe only made enough for a main course for two. I suspect that the amounts listed are for an appetizer portion.

• Barley salad

  • tekobo on February 18, 2017

    Making up the barley salad was quite simple. The recipe for spinach pesto called for boiling the leaves first. I ignored that. Whizzed the leaves in machine then pounded in mortar and pestle with hazel nuts and hazel nut oil. The gouda was too mild for my taste so I added pecorino. Tasty.

• Pressure-cooked pork belly adobo

  • twoyolks on March 30, 2014

    This is very rich and very flavorful. It's hard to eat much more than the suggested serving size.

  • deborah_5z565j on March 20, 2026

    Don’t skip the vinegar in the sauce at the end. It refreshes the flavors and offsets the fattiness of the pork belly

• Potato puree

  • twoyolks on November 28, 2013

    There's way too much butter in this. The potatoes became soupy just from the butter. I added some of the milk and discarded the rest. There was very little potato flavor and instead it tasted mostly of the butter.

• Pizza sauce

  • Jojobuch on July 26, 2016

    The amount of oil seemed excessive (there was a slick of oil on top of the pizza sauce version of this); however, I liked the flavour of garlic, which worked well on pizza

• Fingerling potato confit

  • twoyolks on December 16, 2013

    The potatoes have a strong potato flavor but pick up very little, if any, of the flavor of the chicken fat.

• Roast chicken

  • twoyolks on December 16, 2013

    There are a lot of steps but it produces some very juicy and flavorful chicken.

• Sous vide Buffalo wings

  • twoyolks on January 21, 2013

    Cooking the wings this way works fine but I actually prefer the texture of wings that have been broiled.

• Buffalo sauce

  • twoyolks on January 21, 2013

    The flavor of the sauce is primarily of jalapeno which is unusual in a Buffalo sauce. The texture also doesn't really work well with chicken wings. While being oil based prevents the wings from getting soggy, they also don't soak up any of the sauce.

• Chicken breast satay

  • twoyolks on August 29, 2020

    The flavor is fine but this turns into a gloopy, greyish sauce on sous vide chicken. It was not at all appetizing.

• Pressure-cooked carrots and leeks

  • twoyolks on February 05, 2015

    I don't feel this technique added a whole lot. The tapered ends of the carrots were overcooked and the thick end was undercooked. The carrots were difficult to peel after the cooking and would be easier before hand. The leeks mostly fell apart when I tried to cut them.

• Chicken noodle soup

  • twoyolks on February 05, 2015

    There's a lot of ingredients for a small amount of broth. I didn't really care for the raw mushrooms in the soup.

• Thai soup

  • twoyolks on October 06, 2014

    For a Thai soup, the broth is rather mild. Some chile and tamarind added to the soup would go a long way. Additionally, some meat, vegetables, and garnishes would make this a much nicer recipe.

• Fragrant sous vide salmon

  • Daylabraithwaite on January 27, 2026

    Should have left the skin on- did the 5 hour brine- sous vide for 25 mins w/ the butter and taking it out of the bag it was completely falling apart. Maybe it’s the Sockeye I used?

• Mussels marinière

  • twoyolks on February 23, 2013

    Shucking the mussels takes a lot of time. If making anything more than a single batch, blanch the mussels in batches. A light hand with the herbs yields better results.

  • mna001 on March 16, 2025

    I haven't tried this method, but the instant pot, pressurized version of moules mariniere is way easier and tasted great (serves 2 -3)

• Neapolitan pizza dough

  • twoyolks on May 30, 2013

    The dough stretches very well and has a nice chew when baked.

  • Jojobuch on July 26, 2016

    I replaced the 00 flour and gluten with high-strength bread flour; the dough required a bit less water but otherwise it worked very well. The rise in the fridge resulted in nice flavor, and overall, the dough had perfect stretch.

• P. B. & J. gelato

  • twoyolks on September 16, 2013

    This tastes exactly like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in gelato form.

• Fondue

  • twoyolks on November 02, 2013

    The fondue ended up more watery than what I would've imagined. In the future, I'd probably decrease the amount of liquid.

• Bomba rice with chorizo and broccoli-Gruyère puree

  • twoyolks on December 11, 2013

    The combination of flavors was perfect. There was a lot of oil in the end result. I think this resulted from the chorizo I used rendering more fat than expected. In the future, I would reduce or omit the olive oil added at the end.

  • Sco1988 on November 05, 2016

    Would this dish be a stand alone Entrée or a side dish? If a side dish does anyone have suggestions on what might accompany it.

  • twoyolks on November 08, 2016

    When I made it, we had it as a standalone dish. It's quite rich.

• Vegetable risotto

  • twoyolks on January 01, 2014

    The rice becomes a brilliant yellow and becomes rather rich from the cheese. I used the pressure cooker technique which yielded perfect rice in a fraction of the time (and effort).

• Sichuan bok choy

  • twoyolks on January 04, 2014

    The sauce is very good. However, the bok choy didn't fully cook even after doubling the cooking time.

• Mac and cheese

  • twoyolks on May 28, 2014

    The cheese sauce was very cheesy but there was too much liquid for the pasta and it was a little too runny.

• Microwaved black cod with scallions and ginger

  • bching on July 08, 2020

    Can substitute many kinds of fish. See Modernist cuisine blog here: https://modernistcuisine.com/recipes/microwaved-tilapia/

• Food52

  introduces home cooks to new techniques & approaches previously isolated to high-end restaurants, and will bestow great rewards on those who take the time to follow the scientific recipes carefully...

  Full review

• Ruhlman

  ...this version does take care of one of my criticisms, that it needed serious paring. Well, here it is, pared. Highly recommended for passionate and committed cooks, and a must for professionals.

  Full review

• Fine Cooking

  Every spread is filled with cool cooking information and mind-blowing photography. Would I ever cook from it? I'm not sure. But I'd love to incorporate some of the lessons found in the book...

  Full review