Cookbooks

This elegant dish is perfect for brunch. The artichokes resemble flower petals, with the eggs, hollandaise, and thin slices of smoked salmon their centers. See page 296 for how-to photos of trimming artichokes.

Because they are cooked in water, with no oil or other fat added, poached eggs are a healthful alternative to eggs cooked by many other methods. But their true appeal is in their texture, the ideal being a still-runny yolk surrounded by a just-set white. Their no-fat cooking method also suggests that the eggs might benefit from being served with a rich, flavorful Hollandaise Sauce (see page 96), as in eggs benedict. But they are also delicious on a slice of toast, which soaks up the yolk. A bit of practice is required to prevent the egg white from dispersing into the water, causing the edges to become frayed. Some cooks prefer to add a drop of white vinegar to the water to help the white coagulate; others swirl the water vigorously to create a whirlpool (technically a vortex, which traps the egg inside) just before sliding in the egg. Generally, though, you should not have a problem if you heed these suggestions: Use very fresh eggs; keep the water at a bare simmer (it should hardly move); gently slide the broken egg into the water; and spoon the edges of the whites over the egg as soon as it is in the pan.

The hamburger might be an easy weeknight staple, but it can also be a gourmet creation worth serving to company—if prepared right. The best hamburgers begin with top-quality meat. Grinding it yourself is preferable to buying packaged meat because you have a lot more control over the cut and quality of the meat you use. Chuck, with at least 15 percent fat, produces a juicier, more flavorful burger than a leaner cut like sirloin. Start with a top-quality chuck roast from the butcher’s counter. Doing your own grinding also allows you to determine the coarseness of the meat. The technique below was developed after much experimenting. Dividing the meat in half and grinding it two ways, one a bit coarse to keep the mixture juicy and not too dense, and one finer to help bind everything together, results in the very best burger. It’s more work than opening a package and tossing patties into a pan, but the effort pays off in a big way. You can add whatever seasonings you like to the meat, but don’t skimp on salt and pepper—a generous sprinkling of each is imperative. Handle the ground meat as little and as gently as possible—form it into patties with your hands, taking care not to press or condense the meat too much—since overworked meat will yield a tough burger. Make a slight indentation in the center of each patty; this will prevent a “ballooning” effect as it cooks, and help you resist the temptation to press it down with a spatula, condensing the patty and forcing delicious juices to be lost. Also, keep in mind that the meat will shrink while cooking. To ensure that your hamburger will be the same size as the bun, form the patties a half-inch larger in diameter than the size of the bun. Finally, because ground meat cooks relatively quickly, chilling the burger before cooking (especially on the grill, as in the variation below), will make it easy to achieve a burger with a rare, juicy center, if that’s what you’re aiming for. Chilling is also more convenient for entertaining, since the patties can be formed ahead of time and refrigerated and covered until needed.

This recipe makes good use of a bone-in cut that takes very well to braising. The ribs are marinated overnight in red wine to give them a deep flavor, then the marinade is reduced to a sauce that glazes the meat. You will need to start with more liquid than in other braising recipes, to avoid having to turn the ribs frequently during cooking, but this leaves excess liquid that must be reduced separately later, before it can be used for glazing (all that reducing is advantageous, since it concentrates the flavors for a rich and unctuous sauce). To do this, use a technique called depouillage, whereby the pan is placed off-center over the burner as the liquid simmers, allowing the impurities to collect on one side for easy skimming and discarding.

Hard-cooked eggs should never actually be boiled for any length of time, or they will turn rubbery and dry. Instead, follow the directions below for gently cooking eggs—the whites will be tender and yolks still slightly soft in the center. These eggs would be perfect for sprinkling with salt and pepper and eating whole, halving and scooping out the yolks to make deviled eggs, or cutting into wedges for salads. They are also the starting point for making the classic mayonnaise-based egg salads. Soft-cooked eggs are classically served in their shell in a cocottier (small egg cup), with a tiny silver spoon and toast points (triangles) or soldiers (baton shapes) for dipping into the still-soft yolks. The eggs are also delicious scooped out of the shells and served on slices of toasted buttered rustic bread.

A simple butter cake is often referred to as yellow cake, but it’s not the butter that produces its distinctive color; most butter cakes also contain whole eggs, so the yolks contribute to the color (as well as the rich flavor). The creaming method is essential to many classic American layer cakes like this one, but here an electric mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment) is used, rather than a wooden spoon. Be sure to cream for the suggested amount of time to create the finest texture and a velvety crumb. Using a combination of flours is equally important; cake flour imparts tenderness and a delicate crumb, all-purpose flour lends structure.

The popular version of fish tacos—as opposed to those made with grilled fish, native to Mexico—is believed to have originated in Southern California, where there is a strong Mexican influence on cooking and plenty of coastline for reeling in fish. They are garnished with a variety of piquant salsas and relishes and usually crema, the Mexican equivalent of sour cream; these are topped with a sour cream–based sauce, spiked with smoky chipotle chiles.

Like many favorite comfort-food dishes, pot roast was born of frugality. Here was a dish based on inexpensive cuts of meat and basic root vegetables, cooked together in the same pot, that could be stretched to make meals for days to come. Many fans of pot roast think it tastes even better the next day, so it’s also a good make-ahead option for a big gathering. This particular recipe calls for less liquid than other, more typical braises; here, the water will reach only about 1 inch up the sides of the roast, instead of halfway. With less liquid in the pot, you’ll need to watch it more carefully, and turn the roast more frequently, but you probably won’t need to reduce the sauce in the end or add much thickener (only a tablespoon or so of flour). A common frustration of many new cooks—and even some experienced ones—is that their pot roast turns out stringy or dry. It could be that the meat is too lean, causing it to dry out quickly; this is why it’s important to buy a cut with fat marbled throughout the flesh. A loose-fitting lid might also be the culprit, because the cooking liquid will have evaporated. The cooking liquid should remain at a constant, gentle simmer, rather than a rapid boil—lower heat melts the collagen into gelatin more effectively. It might seem counterintuitive, but a dry or stringy pot roast could also result from undercooking, not overcooking, the meat. In fact, one of the beauties of braising is that it occurs at such a low temperature that it’s fairly difficult (and takes quite a long time) for the meat to overcook.

Deep frying works best for smaller pieces of fish (and chicken), since they will cook through before the crust has a chance to darken too much. Most any type of coating will do, but beer batter is favored for its puffy yet sturdy crust. The beer’s effervescence produces a lighter texture than those made with other liquids (such as buttermilk) and imparts subtle flavor, depending on the type of beer used (the dark beer used here will be more perceptible than lighter lagers). You can alter the flavor by whisking dried herbs (dill is great with fish), ground dried chiles, and other seasonings into the dry ingredients. This batter also makes a nice choice when coating shrimp, chicken tenders, and onion rings. Pair the fish with French fries (page 333) and serve with malt vinegar and salt for authentic pub-style fish and chips. Or make Baja-style tacos de pescado, or batter-fried fish tacos (page 276).

Soft shell crabs are blue crabs that have shed their hard shells. But they are soft for only a very short amount of time; in another six to eight hours, if left in the water, their hard shells re-form. Their season is also brief, depending on the region. In the cold waters of the Chesapeake Bay (shared by Maryland and Virginia)—the most famous region for blue crabs—they are available only in the spring; those from the warmer waters of the Gulf of Mexico may be harvested for longer periods but in much smaller numbers. In parts of Asia, where there is a high demand, crabs have become available year-round.