Cook's Country December 2016 - January 2017

THE RESPONSES AROUND the test kitchen to the announcement that we’d be developing a recipe for eggnog fell into two distinct camps: pro and con. Folks either loved eggnog or hated it. There was no in between. Test cook Morgan Bolling had her work cut out for her—not just to create a perfect recipe for eggnog but to win over the naysayers. (Spoiler alert: She did. See the recipe on page 17.) I’ll admit my bias: I was in the pro camp. For most of my life I was . . . well, I was just fine with eggnog. I liked it, but I didn’t crave it. But then I watched the classic screwball comedy The Awful Truth. In one early scene, Cary Grant stands behind a gargantuan punch bowl,…

What’s in a Name? What’s the difference between broccoli rabe, broccolini, and broccoli? Jerry Schutz, Hopewell, Va. Most Americans are familiar with broccoli, but not the other two. Broccoli, broccolini, and broccoli rabe are all cruciferous vegetables, but broccoli rabe is more closely related to turnips, another member of the Brassicaceae family. Broccolini is a cross between broccoli and Chinese broccoli, and it looks like broccoli stretched into a long, skinny form. Broccoli rabe has a bitter bite that can be polarizing: People who love dark leafy greens are typically fans, while others can be turned off by its pungent flavor. In a recent tasting, our tasters lauded its “sharp” and “minerally” flavor and spicy finish. Broccolini is a bit sweeter than broccoli, with a flavor some tasters likened to…

NEAT IDEA Organize It! Beth Haber, Colorado Springs, Colo. Frosting and decorating holiday cookies can turn into a huge mess—especially if my kids are involved. To keep things neat and orderly, I use a 12-cup muffin tin to hold the sprinkles, glitter, and candy. This way all the decorations are contained in one place. SMART TIP Grate Idea for Brown Sugar Mike Harrison, Palmyra, Va. I’ve found myself with rock-hard brown sugar on many occasions; the kind that’s too hard to salvage with any of the well-known tricks. Unwilling to pitch it in the trash, I’ve found that I can grate the sugar using a rasp-style grater and use the dry, granular sugar for sprinkling on oatmeal, berries, or buttered toast. Waste not, want not. GREEN CLEAN Citrus Scent Bob…

IT’S HARD TO imagine anything more comforting than a traditional pot pie: savory chicken and vegetables suspended in a velvety cream gravy and topped with a flaky pie crust. That is, unless you imagine a perfect slice of this rich, savory pie, standing tall on a plate, with a second buttery crust underneath. I started with a favorite test kitchen pie dough, which I bolstered with a beaten egg for richness (and to make it easier to work with), as well as a healthy dose of sour cream to lend it a slightly tangy flavor. The dough came together easily in the food processor and, after a quick knead to bring it all together and an hour-long chill in the fridge, it rolled out easily and neatly on my very…

AMONG THE MOST popular dishes served at Alexander Bodnar’s tiny restaurant in the Hazelwood neighborhood of Pittsburgh (see “On The Road”) is his signature Transylvanian goulash. Like its Hungarian counterpart, Transylvanian goulash (named for the picturesque area in central Romania, Hungary’s next door neighbor) is a flavorful stew made of browned meat, aromatic vegetables, and a heavy dose of paprika. But while most Hungarian goulash is made with beef, Bodnar’s version features pork and tangy sauerkraut. To re-create the dish, I started with a boneless pork butt roast that I cut into chunks. I knew that this cut has good marbling and was therefore well suited to a prolonged braise that would result in tender meat and deep flavor. Browning the pork in batches built up a flavorful fond in…

P ALE GREEN AVOCADO and vibrant pink grapefruit, both in season during winter’s bleakest months, make a handsome couple. At the fruits’ best, the buttery and nutty notes of the soft avocado play well with the grapefruit’s invigorating tang. But if assembled carelessly, the combination can be bitter and wet. I wanted a salad that showcased the natural beauty and best flavors of each fruit. Grapefruit peel is intensely bitter, as is the pith—the soft white layer between the fruit and its skin. I tried simply cutting away these two offending layers and then slicing the exposed fruit into rounds. This method was quick and easy, but the result still retained too much membrane and was tricky to eat. The better method was to cut each segment away from its…