Cooking

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Margaret - What a nice memory. This sounds simple and perfect for a cold and wet day like we had here in Boston yesterday. Thanks for sharing! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by April Dodd

Great question, Linh. There are some nonstick pans (like Swiss Diamond brand) that are actually designed to be used without oil. If you have one of those, then you should heed the manufacturer instructions and seek out recipes designed for that cookware. For most nonstick pans, though, oil still serves multiple purposes. First, oil conducts heat more evenly, preventing hot spots that might be caused by the design of the cooktop or the pan itself. In addition, oils and butters are great vehicles for flavor in recipes, not just a protection against sticking. (Most spices, for example, are fat-soluble, so having some kind of fat in the pan allows the flavors of those spices to bloom and carry throughout the dish.) Finally, most recipes call for using some kind of oil even in nonstick pans because even excellent nonstick pans wouldn't truly succeed in, say, frying an egg with no oil at all, and getting stuck-on bits out of a nonstick pan is especially frustrating because you don't want to accidentally scratch the coating. If you'd really like to be able to control the amount of oil you use in your nonstick pan without running the risk of sticking, then I have a final (and perhaps counterintuitive) tip for you, which is to season your nonstick pans in roughly the same manner you might for a cast iron. To do this, simply rinse and thoroughly dry the pan, then place it over low heat and use a paper towel to rub about a teaspoon of neutral oil into the pan. For extra non-stick power, you can do this before each time you use the pan. - April D.

Answered by April Dodd

Zachary - a brisket can feel like a big project, but we've found that it quickly becomes manageable when done in a pressure cooker. Do you have an Instant Pot or other multi-cooker? If so, the techniques described in our Mexican brisket salad are excellent for any brisket preparation, and you can easily make a sauce with a different flavor profile than the one called for here: Mexican Shredded Brisket Salad Just say the word if you don't have a pressure cooker and I'll get back to you with recommendations for other ways of tackling brisket. - April D.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Kimberly - A mornay sauce can be tricky but you've got the right idea by using freshly grated cheese and adding it off the heat. It's likely the type of cheese you are using. Aged cheeses don't melt well. For this reason when I make macaroni and cheese I use a combination of cheeses - sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack. Sharp cheddar has a ton of flavor, but doesn't melt well (you can tell that it won't because it sort of crumbles when you cut it). Monterey Jack is a creamy cheese that melts really well, but lacks a ton of flavor. The two together create the perfect balance of flavor and texture. This flavor profile creates a pretty classic Mac and cheese, but yny good melting cheese can be used in place of the Monterey Jack - gruyere, fontina, muenster, taleggio. Feel free to experiment with a flavor combination you like best and good luck! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by April Dodd

Hi Susana - we do have a recipe for an excellent Thai soup that we learned as Khao Tom; take a look and let us know if it is what you're looking for: Thai Rice Soup (Khao Tom) In terms of whether these ingredients are available in supermarkets, that will depend on the supermarket! Fish sauce and chili garlic sauce have become pretty widely available staples. If you can't find lemongrass, simply add an additional shallot, as well as the zest of one large, or two small, lemons. - April D.

Answered by April Dodd

Mike - there are about as many ways to caramelize onions as there are cooks, so the short answer here is that if you have a technique that works for you, then use it! There's no "correct" answer here: rather, if the approach you use gives you the results you want, then it's a good one. The longer answer is that the lower and slower the heat, the more sweetness will be coaxed out of the onions over time. A traditional French-style caramelized onion might cook for two hours or more, with occasional splashes of water added to loosen up anything that might have gotten stuck to the bottom of the pan. However, for the home cook, there's no shame in cooking them over medium heat for less time - even 20 minutes will see a good amount of caramelization - like we do in our Lentils and Bulgur with Caramelized Onions: https://bit.ly/2wn6WBt. I will note that salt can dramatically transform caramelized onions; added too early, salt can result in oddly mushy onions. Wait to season to taste until the end. - April D.

Answered by April Dodd

Good questions, Chi. In our gnocchi recipe, we recommend boiling the potatoes until tender, draining, and then drying them further in a hot pot back on the stove top. Our goal is cloudlike, airy gnocchi, meaning that we want to avoid anything that might produce dense or gummy texture. To that end, we are looking to minimize the moisture trapped inside the dough and to control gluten development. That's why we wait until the potatoes cool before ricing; as they cool, steam evaporates off the surface of the potatoes, and excess moisture drains through the wire rack. This is also why we use a comparatively small ratio of flour to potatoes: more flour produces a glutinous, chewy pasta, not the airy one we want. Using too little flour, however, results in a gummy texture reminiscent of overwhipped mashed potatoes. - April D.

Answered by April Dodd

What we do in our development kitchen is this: simply place a whole clove of garlic on a cutting surface, then place the flat side of a chefs knife over the clove and smash with the palm of the hand. The knife helps to distribute the force of the smash so that the garlic's skin pops open, making it easy to peel off. Then, if needed for the dish you're making, just slice off that small root end. Happy cooking! -April D.

Answered by April Dodd

Michael, we're so happy to hear that you're using this time to tackle some big cooking projects. I'm not surprised to hear that you're having trouble finding salt pork; it has fallen somewhat out of favor these days. You could certainly use pancetta (rolled, not sliced like bacon) as a stand-in; it's similarly salty but has a slightly higher meat:fat ratio than salt pork does. I'd recommend that over lardons or smoked ham hocks, which can be quite intensely smoky and overwhelm the other flavors in a cassoulet. For ease, I'd go with the pancetta, but if you make your own salt pork, more power to you! - April D.

Answered by April Dodd

Nancy - I'm glad to hear that you have plenty of ginger on hand and that you are thinking about how to make it last. Here are some favorite options: Peel your ginger and cut it into thin (about 1/4 inch) slices. Place the slices on a parchment paper-lined sheet and freeze until very firm, then transfer to a tightly sealed plastic baggie. When you need fresh ginger, simply pull out a few discs from the freezer, let thaw for 10-20 minutes, then cut as needed. These are good for a year or more. If you frequently use ginger in curries in soups, then you could make frozen ginger paste. Peel and finely grate the ginger, then pack it into the cubes of an ice cube tray. Freeze until solid, then transfer to a tightly sealed plastic baggie. These are good for a year or more. Make a snack of candied ginger. I love this recipe from David Lebovitz: https://www.davidlebovitz.com/candied-ginger/. Just save the syrup from this recipe and use it for cocktails or homemade sodas. This stays good for up to two weeks in a sealed container in the fridge. Hope that helps! - April D.