Chicken Under a Brick

August 2026

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, March 2026

It has been several months since my last post, but for good reason: our kitchen underwent a complete renovation. Now that the dust has settled, I am thoroughly enjoying being back in the space and putting the new setup to work with new recipes.

A recent issue of Cook’s Illustrated featured a Tuscan-style roast chicken that caught my eye. The technique calls for spatchcocking (butterflying) a four-pound chicken and weighing it down during cooking to speed up the process. Naturally, I had to test if it actually streamlined the cooking time as promised.

The Process

First, I removed the backbone from a four-pound chicken and flattened it by pressing firmly on the breastbone. I loosened the skin and salted the flesh underneath. Next, I heated oil in a skillet until just smoking, then laid the chicken skin-side down, weighing it down with a cast-iron Dutch oven (no bricks on hand today!).

After five minutes on the stovetop, the entire setup—skillet, chicken, and Dutch oven—went into a 400°F oven. Twenty minutes later, I removed the Dutch oven, flipped the chicken over, and let it finish roasting until the thickest part of the breast reached 150°F.

While the chicken roasted, I whipped up a quick sauce using fresh lemon zest and juice, fresh parsley and  rosemary, mustard, garlic, and black pepper. The sauce was finished by adding some of the drippings from the chicken once it was done. My only tweak to the original recipe was omitting the red pepper flakes.

The Verdict

From prep to placing the chicken in the oven took just 20 minutes, with the total time from start to finish clocking in at a little over an hour.

The results were excellent. The chicken was tender and remarkably juicy across four separate dinners for two. The herb-lemon sauce added a vibrant, tangy lift that complemented the roasted flavor perfectly. If you are looking for a efficient, straightforward way to prep high-quality meals for the week, this technique is well worth adding to your routine.

Skillet-Roasted Chicken Breasts

February 2026

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, January 2026

I’m almost always up for trying a simple chicken recipe, and this one fits the bill—easy enough for a weeknight and paired with a flavorful pan sauce made from pantry staples.

I halved the recipe for the two of us and substituted granulated garlic for fresh. Two bone-in breasts were seasoned with kosher salt under the skin, which I pricked to help render the fat before lightly spraying with oil. I started them skin side down on the stovetop until well browned, then flipped and finished them in a 325° oven to 160° internal temperature.

After removing the chicken, I returned the skillet to the heat and cooked the juices until they formed a dark fond. Butter and granulated garlic went in, followed by orange zest and thyme. Once fragrant, I stirred in orange juice and whole-grain mustard. Off heat, I added another strip of zest and a few fresh thyme sprigs. The chicken was removed from the bones, sliced, and served with the sauce. Total time was just under an hour.

The dish lived up to expectations. The chicken was tender and the sauce a nice complement, though the mustard was the dominant flavor. Halving the recipe gave us dinner for two nights. I’d make it again—perhaps trying the lime-hoisin or pineapple-cilantro variations next time.

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

February 2026

Recipe from King Arthur Baking Company

My go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies has a rich flavor from browned butter. I've tried other recipes, too, but the ATK recipe for "Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies" is the one I keep returning to. It is reasonably easy to execute and the cookies are very good. However, I still occasionally try new recipes and this is one such trial using a King Arthur recipe. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, vegetable shortening, salt, vanilla extract, vinegar, and baking soda were combined and beaten until smooth and creamy. I omitted the optional almond extract though this might be interesting to try. A large egg was beaten into the mixture then flour and chips were mixed in. The recipe specified a range of 12-16 ounces for the chips, I used 14. The cookies were dropped onto a baking pan using a #30 portioning scoop (about 2 tablespoons), my favored size for cookies, and baked in a 375° oven. I also made a batch using a smaller #60 scoop (about 1 tablespoon). The recipe made 24 of the larger cookies plus 17 of the smaller ones. Total time was 75 minutes.

These are good cookies. At first I missed the nutty brown butter flavor but I enjoyed how crispy these cookies are. In part his is because they were over baked, not so much to have given them a bitter taste but enough so there is little to no chewy cookie. The extra chocolate chips didn't hurt. The recipe said to use a tablespoon scoop and in 36 minutes you would have 36 cookies. My experience did not match either of these expectations, but the cookies are still pretty good. I might try them again, perhaps with the almond extract and baking for a shorter time.

Bacon and Gruyère Egg Bites

 February 2026

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, January 2026

I was not familiar with egg bites until reading about this recipe. Apparently they are a popular and widespread breakfast item that you can get in coffee shops or buy frozen in supermarkets and big box stores. Diane usually has eggs for her brunch so it seemed a natural item to try as it could make for a convenient meal for her.

Bacon was chopped, cooked until crisp, and transferred to a paper towel-lined plate. Next, cottage cheese was processed in a blender. Our blender did not do a particularly good job with the thick cheese. I had to stir it some so it would blend and I added an egg sooner than specified in the recipe to provide some added liquid. The creamy mixture was poured into a large bowl and 11 eggs and salt were added then whisked until well combined. Gruyère, which had been grated on the large holes of a box grater, and the bacon were distributed among 12 muffin cups that had been sprayed with vegetable oil. The egg mixture was added and stirred with chopsticks. The muffin tin was placed on a rimmed baking sheet in a 325° oven and the baking sheet was filled with boiling water. The eggs were baked to an internal temperature of 170°. Total preparation time was about 70 minutes.

The egg bites were good and worth making again. They kept reasonably well in the refrigerator for brunches and other breakfast-for-dinner meals; a short re-heating in the microwave was all that was needed to serve them. While good they were a little bland. The cheese flavor was subtle and they would have benefitted from some chives or scallions. Indeed, the recipe includes a long list of other foods–cheeses, meats, vegetables, herbs–that could be added to the egg bites depending on what you might have on hand. The bacon tended to sink to the bottom so perhaps some more vigorous stirring was needed.

Chili-Spiced Chicken Thighs and Potatoes

 December 2025

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, September 2023

I leaned of this sheet-pan recipe from Cook's Illustrated magazine. While the idea of a sheet-pan dinner seems like a culinary fad to me this particular combination was appealing. We like roasted potatoes and we like chicken thighs so it seemed a good combination to try and an interesting use of a sheet pan. I found a "for two" recipe online and used it to prepare four chicken thighs rather than the six or more in the original recipe. As usual it provided two meals for the two of us.

The primary change I made to the recipe was using yellow potatoes rather than Yukon Gold potatoes due to supermarket availability. I also skipped the scallion and lime garnishes. A spice rub was made with kosher salt, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, granulated garlic (subbing for garlic powder), and cayenne pepper. Yellow potatoes were peeled and cut into one-inch pieces. Four bone-in chicken thighs were trimmed of excess fat and skin, three slits were made on the flesh side of each thigh, the skin was pierced with a paring knife, and the spice mixture was rubbed over both sides of the chicken pieces. The trim was placed on a quarter sheet pan and roasted to render the fat; the trim was discarded leaving the fat on the pan. While the trim cooked the potatoes were parboiled in water seasoned with baking soda. The potatoes were drained and dried over low heat then the rendered fat and salt were added and stirred coating the potatoes with a starchy paste. (This helps the potatoes to brown.) The potatoes were transferred to the baking sheet and baked in a 450° oven until browned on the bottom. They were flipped and room was made on the baking sheet for the chicken thighs. The pan was returned to the oven to roast the potatoes and chicken. Total time was 110 minutes.

The potatoes and chicken were pretty good, though some of the potatoes were black rather than golden brown. The potatoes were nice and crispy and did not take on a strong chicken flavor from cooking in the schmaltz. The spice rub was a little too spicy for our tastes and we wondered if a gentler spice mixture could be used, perhaps garlic powder and salt or salt, parsley, sage, and thyme? Cooking the chicken and potatoes together was convenient and the leftovers were reheated in a 350° oven.

German Farmer's Breakfast

 December 2025

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, September 2023

I saw this recipe demonstrated on an episode of America's Test Kitchen. It is the sort of meal that Diane likes and has for brunch most days, so I added it to my list of recipes to try. Half of it was served as dinner for the two of us and the second half warmed for a second dinner.

I made no changes to the recipe other than omitting the fresh parsley garnish. The recipe specifies Yukon Gold potatoes but not finding these I used gold potatoes. Three strips of bacon were chopped and cooked in a skillet to render their fat. Finely chopped onion was added and cooked until soft and golden brown. The bacon and onion were transferred to a bowl leaving the fat behind. Butter was added to the fat, melted, and potato slices were added. They were cooked, uncovered, for about 9 minutes, then covered and cooked until tender. The cover was removed and the potatoes cooked until golden brown. The bacon and onion were then stirred into the potatoes. Butter was added and after it had melted gently-beaten eggs poured over and between the potatoes. Once the eggs had set they were lifted around the edges as the skillet was tipped so the uncooked egg ran under the mixture to cook. The pan was covered and cooked until the eggs were set. Preparing ingredients took about 20 minutes and total time was an hour. 

This was a pretty good dinner. It was a little bland but adding some additional salt and parsley should fix this.  The dish didn't hold together real well so maybe it should have cooked a little longer, but this was not a big problem. The leftovers were heated in a skillet and were just as good, if not better, than the original dish.

Oven-Roasted Salmon

December 2025

Recipe from The America's Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook, America's Test Kitchen, 2012, p. 214; a version is also available online.

While flipping through this cookbook for a mini-meatloaf recipe I happened to stumble over some salmon recipes. Several of the recipes from this book have become staples for us as they are good to eat and relatively easy to prepare. There are several salmon recipes that we have been enjoying but trying something new might lead to a new household staple.

A rimmed baking sheet was placed on the lowest rack of the oven and the oven was heated to 500°. The skin on two salmon fillets was scored to prevent curling and to allow rendered fat to drain. The salmon was rubbed with olive oil then with a dry rub of coriander, sugar, salt, pepper, and cayenne. When the oven had reached 500° the temperature was reduced to 275° and the baking sheet was removed. The salmon fillets were placed on the hot baking sheet skin side down and placed in the oven. The salmon was roasted to an internal temperature of 125° (medium rare), about 11 minutes. Total time was 45 minutes and much of this (about 30 minutes) was heating the oven to 500°.

The salmon was good, nicely cooked with a crispy skin. However we didn't think that the dry rub added anything to the salmon. It fish have been improved with a sauce or glaze which, if used, would seem to make the dry rub redundant. Indeed, the online recipe uses just salt and pepper. Scoring the tough salmon skin without going too deep into the flesh was a challenge. I don't know that this method of cooking salmon is easier or quicker than other methods which are also quick and easy. 

Dutch Apple Pie (Appeltaart)

November 2025

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, September 2024

This was one of two new apple recipes that I wanted to try, but it was actually the other one (Gâteau Invisible) that I had in mind. But when I looked at my ingredients after a trip to the supermarket I found I had purchased items for the Dutch Apple Pie. Fortunately I had planned on trying this one, too, so all is good. This treat is often served at celebrations, such as birthdays, in The Netherlands.

The only modification I made to the recipe was to omit the small amount of nutmeg as Diane doesn't like it. Golden Delicious apples were peeled, cored, and cut into 16 wedges (we have a tool that makes this easy). They were combined with sugar and cooked until slightly softened. The apples and juices were transferred to a baking sheet to cool. (Unintuitively, this step prevents the apples from losing their shape when baked.)

The crust was prepared while the apples cooled. Flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt were combined in a bowl. A lightly-beaten egg, melted butter, and water were stirred into the flour mixture. The dough was divided into three equal portions. One was rolled out and refrigerated. One was pressed into the bottom of a 9" springform pan. The other was pressed into the sides of the pan and the pan was also refrigerated for about 25 minutes.

The cooled apples were transferred to the bowl and mixed with golden raisins, cornstarch, lemon juice, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, coriander, and salt. They were then pressed into the chilled, dough-lined pan. The sheet of chilled dough was cut into 1¼-inch stirips that were placed on top of the apples. The pie was baked at 375° for 70 minutes until the apples were tender. For the last 30 minutes the crust was covered with aluminum foil. Total time, except for cooling, was about 3 hours with a significant amount hands off.

The pie was good. As usual for apple pies Diane thought it did not have enough cinnamon though I appreciate the more conservative amount and, in this case, the other spices. The slices of pie are larger than usual because of the height of the pie; we usually have it over the course of 4 nights eating ⅛-th at a timed some times it was too much. Some of the apples turned to apple sauce while cooking. I suspect these were riper than the others, there was a mix of yellow and green-ish apples which should be avoided in the future. The crust is easier to make than the usual butter-and-flour flaky crust when fresh it was nice and crispy, which I enjoyed, though not so crispy on subsequent eating.

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Grapes and Fennel

October 2025

Recipe from Cook's Country, October 2021, available online.

I maintain a list of recipes that I might like to try. It's a pretty long list. This chicken recipe was on the list and it had many appealing features: dark chicken meat, interesting accompaniment, and relatively easy to prepare. I don't remember where I learned about this recipe but I gave it a go. The recipe is for eight bone-in chicken thighs, but I halved it and prepared four thighs (2.2 pounds) which should make two dinners for the two of us. 

Melted butter, dried thyme, and minced garlic were combined in a small bowl. A fennel bulb was cored, sliced thin crosswise, and tossed with some of the butter mixture, salt, and pepper then spread on a quarter sheet pan. Red seedless grapes were tossed with more of the butter mixture and also spread on the sheet pan. These were roasted until the fennel began to soften. While the fennel and grapes cooked the chicken was seasoned with salt and pepper and browned, skin side down, in a skillet. Space was made on the sheet pan for the chicken which was placed skin side ups and brushed with the remaining butter mixture. The chicken was roasted in a 450° oven to a temperature of 175°. The chicken, grapes, and fennel were sprinkled with chopped fennel fronds and served. Prep time for this recipe was 20 minutes, total time 70 minutes.

We enjoyed our two dinners with this recipe. The chicken was very good and easy to prepare. The grapes added a nice sweetness. The fennel wasn't very flavorful itself, perhaps it was overcooked. There are many additional Test Kitchen recipes for roasted chicken thighs, I should try some others in addition to making this one again.

Coconut Cream Pie

 September 2025

Recipe from The Perfect Pie, Americas Test Kitchen, 2019, p. 49 and 334, also available online. 

I recently made a vanilla cream pie and published a blog post about it. The pie was good but I criticized the time needed to make it and the expense of several ingredients. A reader commented on social media that they enjoy coconut cream pie. I had never made a coconut cream pie so I thought I would give it a go. It didn't hurt that it was the next recipe in the pie cookbook after the vanilla cream pie.

For the crust, Nilla Wafer cookies, sweetened flaked coconut, sugar, flour, and salt were ground in the food processor. Melted butter was added and the mixture pulsed to combine the ingredients. The mixture was pressed in a pie plate and baked at 325° until set. Making the "dough" took just 15 minutes, total time was 30 minutes exclusive of cooling.

For the filling, milk, sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch, and salt were whisked together. Milk was brought to a simmer and a portion of the hot milk was whisked into the yolk mixture to temper it. The tempered mixture was slowly whisked into the remaining hot milk then cooked until it thickened and bubbled and registered 180°. The filling was strained and sweetened flaked coconut and vanilla extract were stirred in. The filling was poured into the cooled crust and refrigerated until set. Preparing the filling took 50 minutes.

Sweetened flaked coconut was carefully toasted in the microwave to create a garnish. Toasting it for 30 seconds was too long and it burned so, for the second try, it was toasted in 10 second increments. The pie was served with whipped cream and the toasted coconut.

Curiously, we thought the pie was just okay the first time we had it, but after several more days (a pie lasts us four days) it grew on us and we liked it more and more. It was easier and faster to make than the vanilla cream pie and without wasting any ingredients. I might make it again, time will tell. The recipe called for sweetened shredded coconut but all I could find in the supermarket was sweetened flaked coconut. I don't think this had a large effect on the pie.

Onion -Braised Beef Brisket

 September 2025

Recipe from America's Test Kitchen

I had a hankering for brisket. I used to smoke brisket on our gas grill but I haven't used the gas grill for several years so I went looking for another recipe. I settled on this onion-braised brisket recipe. Brisket is lean and needs to be cooked for a long time to become tender. This recipe takes two days to complete and makes a gravy/sauce as a bonus.

The recipe is for a 4 to 5 pound brisket, way too much for the two of us. I purchased a 2.1 pound brisket but didn't reduce the quantity of the rest of the ingredients. For braising I used an 11x8-inch dish rather than 13x9 and lined it with two sheets of aluminum foil. The brisket was dried with paper towels, holes poked in the fat cap with a fork, and both sides were seasoned with salt and pepper. The brisket was well browned on the stove then set aside while the braising liquid was prepared. Sliced onions were cooked in some of the rendered beef fat along with some sugar and salt. Minced garlic was added and cooked until fragrant then tomato paste. Paprika and cayenne pepper were added and cooked then flour was sprinkled over the mixture and stirred until well combined. Chicken broth, red wine, bay leaves, and fresh thyme were added and simmered. The sauce and onions were poured into the foil-lined pan under the brisket. The foil was folded over the brisket which then cooked until the brisket was fork tender, 4 hours in a 300° oven. The brisket was placed in a bowl and the sauce was strained over the meat. Discarding bay and thyme, the onions were placed in a second bowl. Both bowls were stored overnight in the refrigerator. Except for the roasting period it took just over an hour to prepare the brisket.

On the second day congealed fat was removed from the brisket and sauce.  The sauce was simmered and the brisket cut into ¼-inch slices; we got 9 slices. The sliced brisket was placed in an 11x8-inch baking dish and covered with the sauce to which the onions and vinegar had been added. This was heated in a 350° oven until heated through then served. The preparation on the second day took 45 minutes.

We had brisket for dinner four times, reheating the meat and sauce together in the microwave. The brisket and gravy and onions were good. The brisket was a little bland, perhaps it should have cooked longer. The sauce did not stay in the aluminum foil and some of it boiled away in the oven but there was enough for our four meals. The sweet braised onions added a nice element to all meals. While good, I don't expect to use this recipe again. The preparation is rather involved and takes two days. There are other recipes for roast beef and gravy that are just as good and take less time and effort.

Almond-Crusted Chicken Cutlets

 September 2025

Recipe from The America's Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook, America's Test Kitchen, 2012, p. 154; also available online.

Chicken cutlets make a good, quick dinner; it is probably my favorite way to prepare chicken breasts. The thin breasts cook quickly and generally come out tender and juicy. Rather than use a recipe that I have  used before I looked in a cookbook that has provided several recipes that we now use regularly and I found a new-to-us recipe that looked worth trying.

I bought 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts weighing 1.35 pounds. I cut them into 6 cutlets plus two tenderloins. They were pounded to uniform thickness, or perhaps thinness. A sauce was made whisking together honey and Dijon mustard, omitting the chopped chives that were in the recipe.  Slivered almonds were ground in the food processor and combined with panko bread crumbs. Eggs and Dijon mustard were whisked together. The cutlets were patted dry and seasoned with salt and pepper. They were dredged in the egg mixture then in the panko mixture. (They were supposed to have been dredged in flour then egg then bread crumbs, but I forgot the flour step, although the online recipe omits this step.) The cutlets were fried in oil for 2-3 minutes a side, drained on paper towels, and served with the honey-mustard sauce.  Total time was 50 minutes.

These were good chicken cutlets, tender on the inside and crunchy on the outside. The honey-mustard sauce was a good addition to the dish. The coating adhered well to the chicken even without the flour layer. The cutlets were also good leftover after re-heating on the stove top in a covered skillet and the sauce was a welcome addition.  We had enough chicken for 3 dinners total.

Vanilla Cream Pie

September 2025

Recipe from The Perfect Pie, Americas Test Kitchen, 2019, p. 46; also available online

Flipping through the ATK Pie book, looking for something we haven't tried it, I came across this recipe for a vanilla cream pie. We enjoy several chocolate cream pie recipes from ATK and this inspired me to try their recipe for a vanilla cream pie.

The recipe for all-butter pie dough was used to make a one-crust pie. After chilling the dough was baked blind. It was a warm day and the dough had softened after rolling and so was not fluted. For the filling sugar, cornstarch, and salt were whisked together. Evaporated milk was whisked into the mixture, followed by egg yolks, and finally milk. A vanilla bean was split in two and the contents and the bean were added to the sugar mixture. It was brought to a simmer while being whisked until it reached 180° (which happened very quickly). Off heat butter was whisked in. The brandy specified in the recipe was not used. After a brief cooling period the vanilla bean was removed and the filling was poured into the cooled crust. The pie was covered with oiled parchment paper and chilled in the refrigerator. 

The pie was good and we enjoyed eating it for dessert for four nights. It was very smooth, creamy, and flavorful. I ate it with whipped cream while Diane had it plain. While the pie was good I don't expect I will make it again. The recipe was wasteful, using only a small fraction of a can of evaporated milk. Also, the recipe specifies using half a vanilla bean. One bean cost $20 so I used a whole bean since I had no plans to make something to use the other half bean. It also took some time to make the pie including the four hour chilling time after everything was assembled. 

Cheese Quesadillas for Two

August 2025

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, May 2023

Quesadillas have been called Mexican grilled cheese sandwiches and this test of the techniques described in this Cook's Illustrated article live up to that description. The magazine article describes several variations with more complex fillings than the simple cheese filling used here. I hope to try some other fillings and I'll try to amend this post with comments.

The recipe is for two quesadillas but we found that one satisfied our dinner appetites. Four ounces of Monterey Jack cheese was grated then spread over half of a large, 10", flour tortilla. The tortilla was folded over the cheese and pressed to seal. Vegetable oil (¼ cup) was heated in a 12-inch nonstick skillet. The tortilla was cooked in the oil until both sides were browned. It was then placed on a wire rack lined with paper towels, sliced into wedges, and served. Total time was about 20 minutes! 

This was a good and very quick dinner. The quesadillas were crispy on the outside with warm gooey cheese on the inside. The recipe called for the cooked quesadilla to be sprinkled with salt. We didn't do that and found it to be salty enough from the cheese. We ate the cheese quesadillas with refried beans and avocado mixed with fresh salsa.

Filling 2: a combination of ham, Gruyère cheese, and Swiss cheese made a nice quesadilla. The mild cheeses, though, did not hold up well next to the strong flavor of the ham, but that's probably okay.

Filling 3: Chicken, Mushroom, and Poblano Quesadillas I made a few changes to the ingredients: I used 1 instead of 2 poblano chiles, medium rather than sharp cheddar cheese, and omitted canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce. Sliced cremini mushrooms, diced poblano chile, and water were cooked until almost dry then oil and salt were added and the mixture cooked to brown the mushrooms. Shredded rotisserie chicken, cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, cumin and salt were added to the cooked mushrooms then used to fill the quesadillas before cooking them as described above. It took about one hour to prepare these quesadillas and the recipe made enough for 4 dinners for the two of us. The result was more filling and more suitable for a dinner than cheese quesadillas. They were tasty perhaps a little bland so it might be worth increasing the poblanos.

Corn Chowder for Two

 August 2025

Recipe from Cook's Country, August 2025

I have made corn chowder several times, usually in the cooler months when we have more soup for dinner. One recipe uses canned cream-style corn. The other recipe uses fresh sweet corn, though since I made it in January it is questionable just how fresh the corn was. Recently I saw this new recipe demonstrated on the Cook's Country TV show. Since fresh corn is now available and the recipe was for a modest amount of chowder I decided to give it a try.

I made a few changes to the published recipe. I omitted the jalapeño chile as we are not fond of spicy foods. I also omitted the cilantro as the small amount listed in the recipe didn't justify buying a whole bunch, most of which would go to waste. Kernels were cut from two ears of white corn and the cobs were scraped to get additional corn pulp. Two slices of coarsely chopped bacon was cooked in a two-quart sauce pan to render the fat and crisp the bacon. A finely chopped onion, salt, and pepper were added and cooked to soften the onion. A minced garlic clove and dried oregano were added and cooked until fragrant. A tablespoon of AP flour was stirred in and cooked for a minute. Two cups of chicken broth were whisked in then a chopped red potato was added. The mixture was simmered until the potato was tender then heavy cream, the corn kernels, and corn pulp were stirred in and simmered until the corn was tender.  It took just over an hour to make this chowder, about half of the time was for prep. It made enough for the two of us to have two dinners which is a good quantity,

The chowder was good. The corn was sweet and plentiful. For the first meal we both thought it had a pretty strong bacon flavor and that it was too salty. When we had it as a leftover the flavors were better balanced, the bacon flavor was not so prominent and it wasn't nearly as salty. If we have this again we might use half the bacon or not eat it on the day it was prepared. It might also be worth trying it with frozen sweet corn.

Bourbon Chicken

 August 2025

Recipe from Cook's Country, August 2021

I learned about this recipe from an episode of Cook's Country on PBS. Bourbon chicken is apparently served in many mall food courts and some chain restaurants, though I don't recall seeing it. However it looked good on the TV show, the recipe had no exotic ingredients, and it looked to be easy to prepare so it was worth trying.

The recipe is for 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs . For the two of us I bought 1.15 pounds of chicken and halved the other ingredients. For the sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, water, bourbon, toasted sesame oil, and pepper were whisked in a measuring cup, heated in the microwave, then whisked again to ensure all the sugar was dissolved. The chicken was cut into bit-sized pieces then tossed with cornstarch and some of the soy mixture, a process called velveting which helps keep the chicken tender and thickens the sauce. The chicken was browned in a 10" skillet. Grated ginger and minced garlic were cooked until just fragrant and the soy sauce mixture was added. It was brought to a boil and cooked until syrupy. Off heat some cider vinegar was added. The preparation time was 40 minutes.

This recipe made chicken for two dinners. It lived up to its promise of being easy and quick to prepare. Moreover it tastes good. The teriyaki-like sauce has a lot of flavor and the chicken is tender and juicy. It was a little salty, probably from the soy sauce; this could be addressed by using a low-sodium soy sauce.

Crispy Salmon Cakes

 July 2025

Recipe from America's Test Kitchen, Season 25

This is the second salmon cake recipe I have tried recently. We enjoyed the first recipe both for the flavor  as well as the convenient preparation. It has been a few months since we tried the first recipe, too long for  a side-by-side tasting, but we can find out it if these salmon cakes are worth having again. 

I used two filets measuring just over 10 ounces total with the skin on; the recipe specified 9 ounces. The salmon was removed from the skin and pulsed a few times in the food processor to a coarse texture, not a paté. A binding agent was made by mixing panko, dill (I used 1 tsp of dry dill rather than 1 tbs of minced fresh dill), mayonnaise, minced shallot, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard. The chopped salmon was folded into this mixture along with chopped smoked salmon and capers. The salmon mixture was divided into four portions which were shaped into 1-inch high cakes. These were a little fragile and thus were handled with care. The cakes were coated with panko bread crumbs. The cakes were fried in vegetable oil until golden brown and crisp on both sides, 2-3 minutes per side. Total time to prepare and cook four salmon cakes was about an hour.

As usual for us and "for two" recipes, this recipe provided us with two dinners. The cakes were crispy with good salmon flavor and not at all fragile. They were a little salty which we speculated came from the smoked salmon. Diane thought they needed a condiment; I had skipped making the tartar sauce that was in the recipe and forgot to serve lemon juice on the side. The leftovers cakes were warmed in a covered skillet over medium-low heat. They came out nice and crispy and were served on slider buns, which they fit nicely. These are worth having again for all the same reasons as the cakes made from the earlier recipe, but maybe without the smoked salmon.

Braised Chicken Thighs with Lemon, Spices, and Torn Basil

June 2025

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, March 2023

We've made Chicken with Vinegar, a simple easy-to-make dish of braised chicken thighs, several times. Apparently it was so popular that ATK developed several variations which they published a few years ago. I finally got around to trying one of them.

This dish uses mostly pantry ingredients, the only exceptions being fresh basil leaves and coriander seeds. The published recipe is for 8 bone-in chicken thighs, way too much for the two of us, so I halved all of the ingredients; 4 chicken thighs provided us two dinners. The chicken thighs were trimmed, patted dry with paper towels, and seasoned with salt and pepper. They were then browned with oil in a 10" skillet over medium heat and transferred to a large plate. To make a braising liquid, all but 1 tablespoon of fat was poured off from the skillet. Minced shallot and garlic were cooked then ground cumin and coriander were added and cooked briefly. Chicken broth and lemon juice were added and brought to a simmer. The chicken was returned to the skillet, skin side up, and baked in a 325° oven until the chicken registered 195°. The chicken was removed to a serving platter and tented loosely with foil. The skillet was placed on high heat and coriander seeds (lightly crushed in a mortar and pestle) were added. The mixture was brought to a boil and cooked until reduced to about ¾-cup. The heat was lowered to medium-low. A slurry of corn starch and water was whisked in and cooked for one minute. Off heat, lemon zest and butter were whisked into the sauce. The chicken was topped with torn basil leaves and served with the sauce. Total time was 95 minutes, about 30 of which were hands off.

Like Chicken with Vinegar, this is a very good chicken dish. It is easy to make and can be done on a weeknight. The lemon juice adds acidity taking the place of vinegar in the original recipe. The sauce was good on the chicken but didn't go well on potatoes like a gravy would. Also, the torn basil added little to the end product so could easily be skipped. A good dish but not necessarily better than Chicken with Vinegar.

Salmon with Lentils

 June 2025

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, March 2023

I learned about this classic French preparation, Saumon Aux Lentilles,  on a recent episode of America's Test Kitchen on TV. Salmon is our favorite fish and this recipe seemed to provide a new and easy method to prepare it. In addition, the lentils, which we had heretofore only had in soup, seemed a good pairing for the fish, so this recipe made it onto my list of things to try.

I made a few modifications to the ingredients: I cooked two rather than four salmon filets, used green lentils in place of French du Puy lentils (hard to find), and replaced sherry vinegar with red wine vinegar. 

First the lentils were prepared. Onion, celery, and carrot were diced fine and cooked with salt in olive oil until softened. Minced garlic, tomato paste, dried thyme, and pepper were added and cooked. Water and lentils were stirred into the mixture and simmered until the lentils were tender. Just before serving vinegar, Dijon mustard, and olive oil were stirred into the lentils. The lentil preparation, mostly hands off, took about 70 minutes. 

The salmon was brined for 15 minutes then patted dry with paper towels. It was placed, skin-side down, in a cold non-stick skillet that had been sprinkled with salt and pepper. Additional salt and pepper were sprinkled on the top of the salmon and the skillet was heated on medium-high. The salmon was cooked until the skin started to brown and the bottom ¼-inch turned opaque. The salmon was carefully turned over and cooked to 125°. It took about 15 minutes to cook the salmon. The total time to prepare lentils and salmon was about 85 minutes.

We both liked this dish. This simple method of cooking the salmon ensured that the flavor of the fish was preeminent with no distractions from a sauce or glaze. We also liked the lentils and can imagine fixing them again to go with other entreés. They provide a a strong earthy accompaniment to the rich salmon. For leftovers the lentils were simply reheated while cooking two new salmon filets.

Blueberry Pie

 May 2025

Recipe from The Perfect Pie, Americas's Test Kitchen, 2019, page 30; also available online

This pie was inspired by a bad blueberry pie that I purchased at Whole Foods. Since it is blueberry season I thought some store-bought pie would be good but I was wrong. The crust was unremarkable and the pie lacked any real blueberry flavor. The filling was dominated by the flavor of nutmeg rather than blueberries. I'm glad I only bought half a pie.

For our homemade blueberry pie the crust was made using the all-butter crust recipe (page 320 of The Perfect Pie) which I have written about before. It took 45 minutes to prepare the crust which was divided into two halves each of which was  chilled in the refrigerator for two hours. After warming for about 10 minutes, the first portion of dough was rolled out,  fitted into a 9" pie plate, and refrigerated. The second portion was rolled into a 12" circle, 1¼" circles were cut from it (to allow steam to escape), and also refrigerated. 

Half of the blueberries, 3 cups, were mashed in a saucepan and cooked over medium heat until the mixture was reduced to about 1½ cups. It was then set aside to cool. A peeled Granny Smith apple was grated and a towel used to squeeze out most of the water. The dry grated apple was placed in a large bowl and mixed with sugar, ground instant tapioca (ground using a mortar and pestle), lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, the cooked blueberries, and the remaining 3 cups of whole berries. The berry mixture was poured into the prepared pie plate and chunks of butter were scattered over the surface. The top crust was added in the usual way and brushed with an egg wash. The pie was baked in a pre-heated 400° oven for 25 minutes then another 55 minutes at 375°. Total time was 45 minutes for the dough plus 2 hours chilling and 70 minutes to prepare the filling. Total time from start to taking the pie out of the oven was about 5½ hours, much of it hands off, and not counting the subsequent cooling time.

We enjoyed this pie. It had a great blueberry flavor and the crust was light and buttery. Making this pie was a project, though. It took most of a day to make, created a lot of dirty dishes, and the berries, in particular, were not cheap to buy. It would be worth making again but it's not a dessert to make on a regular basis, but perhaps just when blueberries are in season.