Cook's Country December/January 2021

AS THIS ISSUE goes to press, we still don’t know what the holidays will hold for us. Will we be gathering in groups this year or celebrating in smaller bubbles? Will we have a big meal or a more modest one? Will we travel or stick close to home? It’s impossible to know for sure. But I have faith that no matter the circumstances, it will still feel special. Even in difficult times, holidays help us stop, look around, celebrate each other, and embrace the kind of thoughtful gratitude that can get lost in the workaday world. This year, we’ll all be holding each other a little extra close—literally if we can, figuratively if we must. We’ve filled this issue of Cook’s Country with a few new favorites that I…

How to Rim a Glass with Salt (or Sugar) Moisten about ½ inch of the glass rim by running a citrus wedge around the outer edge (or by dipping the edge of the glass in a small saucer of water). Spread ½ cup of kosher salt or sugar (for up to four glasses) into an even layer on a small saucer, and then dip the moistened rim in the salt or sugar to coat. How to Garnish with Citrus Zest For a citrus zest twist, use a citrus zester/channel knife to remove a 3- to 4-inch strand of citrus peel, working around the circumference of the fruit in a spiral pattern to ensure a continuous piece. Curl the strand tightly to establish a uniform twist, and then place it directly…

The difference between steel-cut oats and old-fashioned (“rolled”) oats lies in the manufacturing process. Steel-cut oats are full oat groats (whole oat kernels with the hull, or outer shell, removed) sliced into small pieces with steel blades. This leaves much of the kernel intact and helps give steel-cut oats their signature chewy texture. Rolled oats are oat kernels that have been steamed and flattened using large disks, which makes the oats thin, flaky, soft, and able to readily absorb liquid. Quick-cooking and instant oats are processed the same way that rolled oats are, but they are rolled thinner and are sometimes precooked and then dried so that they cook even more quickly. Because steel-cut oats are physically more dense, they require more liquid during cooking and typically take about 25…

We love sweet and tender roasted beets, but you’re right—roasting them can take more than an hour, and then you have to factor in the time for cooling and peeling. Is there a faster way to cook beets? Yes, in the microwave. Simply peel the beets, cut them into pieces (whole beets do not cook efficiently in the microwave), put them in a bowl, and add a bit of water to create steam and prevent the beet chunks from drying out. After microwaving for about 12 minutes, stir the beets and continue to microwave for about 12 minutes or until the beets are perfectly tender. Here’s the recipe. MICROWAVED BEETS Serves 6 Total Time: 50 minutes If you’re using a Pyrex bowl and need to set the hot bowl down,…

Self-Mincing Anchovies I love using anchovies to add a savory punch to dishes such as stews and pasta sauces, but I’ve never enjoyed the messy task of mincing them (or the lingering odor they can leave on cutting boards). Recently, while I was making a recipe that called for minced anchovies, I fished out a couple fillets to chop them up and noticed that one of them broke in half as I tried to grab it with a fork. It occurred to me that most anchovy fillets are fragile enough to dissolve on their own with just a little sautéing and stirring. So I stirred them into the hot oil whole with the garlic. They essentially dissolved on their own, and since then I’ve found that for most recipes that…

ATK REVIEWS WE LOVE LARGE plastic cutting boards because they’re inexpensive, relatively lightweight, and easy to clean and maneuver; unlike wood or bamboo cutting boards, they require no maintenance. We had never devoted an entire review solely to these practical boards, so we bought seven models, priced from about $19 to about $70, and used them as we chopped onions, minced parsley, pounded chicken breasts, and cleaved chicken parts for stock. We also washed each model by hand or in the dishwasher 50 times. In the end, we found that the best large plastic cutting board for most home cooks is the Winco Statik Board Cutting Board 15" x 20" x ½". This utilitarian board is about ½ inch thick, so it didn’t flex or bounce during use, and it…