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.