Notes about Recipes in this book

• Browned and braised cauliflower with garlic, ginger, and soy

  • ashallen on December 11, 2019

    I'm not fond of the flavor of cauliflower. However, I really like this dish because once you finish cooking the cauliflower in all that delicious sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and soy, it tastes mostly like those ingredients and not so much like cauliflower! Yum! [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine/Cook's Ill. Cookbook.]

• Master recipe for chicken and rice with tomatoes, white wine, and parsley

  • ashallen on October 25, 2019

    Good recipe - both rice and chicken are moist and have very good flavor. Recipe specifies 3-4 pounds of chicken - I used 3 pounds and found the rice to be very moist and rich from the chicken juices - 4 pounds would be over the top for me! I substituted red bell pepper for green since we're not fond of the latter in a dish like this - worked well. Substituting slivered carrots for bell pepper also works well, as does adding some additional yellow onion. I've fiddled with the original cooking technique in this recipe to get the rice/chicken textures I prefer. I now cook the dish in a covered 8-quart Le Creuset dutch oven in the oven vs. simmering on the stovetop - I find that the rice and chicken cook more evenly that way. The Le Creuset pot has not needed any additional sealing (e.g., with foil) - in fact, I've cut back a bit on the amount of liquid added because the rice was coming out a bit too moist for my taste. [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine/Cook's Ill. Cookbook.]

• Chicken and rice with Indian spices

  • ashallen on October 18, 2019

    This is one of several variations Cook's Illustrated suggested for their basic Chicken and Rice recipe. Basic chicken and rice can be a mild-tasting (though luscious) dish, so I really liked the extra flavors from the spices in this version. I've fiddled with the original cooking technique in this recipe to get the rice/chicken textures I prefer. I now cook the dish in a covered 8-quart Le Creuset dutch oven in the oven vs. simmering on the stovetop - I find that the rice and chicken cook more evenly that way. The Le Creuset pot has not needed any additional sealing (e.g., with foil) - in fact, I've cut back a bit on the amount of liquid added because the rice was coming out a bit too moist for my taste. [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine/Cook's Ill. Cookbook.]

• The best banana bread

  • ashallen on September 06, 2019

    This is the banana bread base I like to use when making banana chocolate chip/chunk bread (not one of the variations in Cook's Illustrated) - its flavor and texture works great with the chocolate. I've found the recipe to be sensitive to excess moisture - sometimes I've had extra-large eggs or a little extra yogurt or banana and have thrown them in only to end up with a overly heavy/rubbery bread. I now use 1 1/4-1 1/3 c banana (vs. 1.5 c as called for in the recipe), 3/4 c chocolate chips/chunks, and a strong flour like King Arthur all purpose. I also make sure everything's at room temperature. Salt gets bumped up to 3/4 tsp for the chocolate chip/chunk version. [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine.]

• The ultimate flourless chocolate cake

  • mfto on August 05, 2011

    I have made this for Christmas Dinner in the past but the children prefer simpler desserts. It is just too rich for their tastes. Alice Medrich is famous for her use of chocolate.

• Big, super-nutty peanut butter cookies

  • ashallen on September 14, 2019

    My current favorite peanut butter cookies. Deep peanut flavor, moist center, moderately chewy. Instead of white sugar + dark brown sugar as called for in the recipe, I usually use a bit less light brown sugar + 1 tbsp unsulfured molasses. The molasses adds some additional complexity to the flavor and makes the cookies a bit moister and chewier. The recipe's worked with either chunky or creamy peanut butter and with or without chopped peanuts (though they can seem a bit sweet without the peanuts). [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine/Cook's Ill. Cookbook.]