Cold-start Pan-seared Chicken Breasts

March 2025

 Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, March 2024

I have used the cold-start method for steak and for pork chops. This straightforward technique is my go-to method for cooking steak. So when a recipe was published using this technique for chicken breasts I immediately want to try it. 

The recipe is for chicken breast plus a mustard and caraway pan sauce. A boneless, skinless chicken breast was pounded to about ½-inch thick, brushed with vegetable oil, and sprinkled with kosher salt. It was placed in a cold nonstick skillet then cooked over high heat (8 on our stove) for 2 minutes. The breast was flipped and cooked for another 2 minutes.  The heat was reduced to medium (4) and the meat was flipped every 2 minutes until the internal temperature read 155°. It was rested under a loose foil tent for 10 minutes. While the chicken rested the pan sauce was made. Chopped shallot was cooked on medium heat in olive oil until lightly golden. Chicken broth was added and simmered on medium-high heat to reduce it to about 2 tablespoons. Cream and chicken juices were stirred in and reduced slightly. Dijon mustard and ground (mortar and pestle) caraway seeds were stirred into the sauce. Total time to make this dish was about 45 minutes.

This is a good chicken dish. Cooking the chicken this way couldn't be much easier. The sauce, which was also easy to make, tasted good and it was a good accompaniment to what is a lean and rather bland protein. We shared one chicken breast and had enough sauce left over for another. It was quick enough for a weeknight meal. The web site also has a recipe for a cherry and rosemary pan sauce and I could see using barbecue sauce, too.

Pasta alla Vodka

March 2025

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, September 2024

I have a vague memory of once making penne alla vodka. There are several America's Test Kitchen recipes for this dish backing up this memory. However, I could not find an entry for it in this blog so I have nothing in writing to jog my memory of the effort.  A recent issue of Cook's Illustrated brought this to mind with a new recipe. It looked appealing so I gave it a go. 

The pasta (rigatoni) and sauce are prepared separately then brought together in the last step of the recipe. The only modificationI made to the ingredients was a nod to our dislike of spicy food, using half the red pepper flakes, just ⅛ teaspoon. After preparing the ingredients, chopped pancetta and red pepper flakes were cooked in a Dutch oven. Minced garlic was added and cooked followed by tomato paste. Vodka was added to the mixture and cooked until most of the liquid was gone. (I did not remove the Dutch oven from the heat, as described in the recipe, as I was using an electric stove with no open flame.) Passata (an uncooked tomato puree found at the supermarket), cream, salt, and pepper were stirred in and simmered about 10 minutes. A little more vodka was stirred into the sauce then the cooked rigatoni was mixed in  along with a small amount of pasta cooking water to adjust the consistency.  The pasta was served with grated Parmesan cheese. Total time was about one hour; this could have been reduced some by cooking the pasta sooner.

This is a good dish, pretty easy to make and taking only an hour. We should get at least four meals from this preparation. It was not spicy and so could have been okay with the full ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes. The sauce is velvety, it adheres well to the pasta, and the acidic nature of the tomatoes is muted by the cream. It was good as a leftover, reheated in the microwave, though perhaps a little dry. According to the recipe the vodka enhances the flavors of the other ingredients without adding any flavor of its own.

Fresh Corn Chowder

January 2025

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated All Time Best Soups, America's Test Kitchen, 2016, p. 83

In the cooler months we like homemade soup for dinner. I have made corn chowder before using a family recipe but this time I decided to try an ATK recipe. Among other things it uses fresh corn, which is not easy to come by in the winter. But the supermarket had some packages of ears of corn that I could use. While they are probably not very fresh their availability made this dish possible.

The recipe specifies 10 ears of corn. The packages I bought had 4 smallish ears of corn each and I bought 2. The kernels were cut off 3 of these and the remainder were grated on the large holes of a box grater. Finely chopped bacon was cooked in a Dutch oven until crisp. One finely chopped onion was added and cooked until softened then 2 cloves of minced garlic were added and cooked until fragrant. Flour was sprinkled over the mixture and cooked for a few minutes. Chicken broth and whole milk were stirred in slowly. Cubes of red potato, bay leaves, thyme, and the grated corn were added and the chowder brought to a simmer. When the potatoes were almost tender the corn kernels and cream were added and cooked until the corn kernels were tender. Finally, minced parsley was added along with salt and pepper to taste.  Total time was around 100 minutes.

The chowder is good. I can't compare it with the family recipe chowder as it has been a while since I've had the latter. The kernels of corn provide sweet, slightly crunchy bits that are enjoyable to eat. Overall, though, the chowder could have had more corn flavor, probably a combination of not enough corn plus lack of freshness. Making this chowder in the summer with fresh corn should improve it. While we don't usually have soup in the summer this recipe might provide some inspiration to change that pattern.

Peanut Brittle

 January 2025

Recipe from Cook's Country, December 2024

I don't have much experience making candy. However, during the holidays, my wife, Diane, often makes several batches of nut brittle. She uses a family recipe that relies on a microwave oven to cook the candy. I enjoy eating the brittle, especially peanut brittle, so I was interested in trying the ATK recipe published recently in Cook's Country.

I made one ingredient substitution, using salted Cocktail Peanuts in place of salted dry-roasted peanuts. Getting all of the ingredients and needed hardware ready in advance was very helpful. Water and butter were cooked in a large saucepan until the butter was melted. Sugar and light corn syrup were added to the middle of the pan then stirred to moisten the sugar. This was brought to a boil and heated, without stirring, to a temperature of 300°. The heat was reduced and the mixture cooked until it reached 325°. Peanuts, which had been warmed in a 350° oven so the candy would not be cooled too much, were stirred into the mixture. Off heat, baking soda was stirred in; unfortunately it did not foam as expected. Working quickly as the candy hardens quickly, the candy was poured onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper sprayed with oil then immediately sprinkled with sea salt. After one hour to cool, the brittle was broken into pieces and stored in a sealed container. Total time, not counting the cooling, was one hour. 

The candy taste good but was hard rather than brittle. It could still be bitten and eaten but it did not have the expected consistency characterized by small holes throughout. This is because of the lack of foaming when the baking soda was added, something I was expecting from watching Diane make brittle. I suspect the baking soda was too old, it was well past the date printed on the box. I will have to try again with some newer baking soda, once I eat up this batch!

February 2025

I made this again with a fresh box of baking soda and using slated dry-roasted peanuts. The texture of the candy was a little better, a little lighter than with the old box of baking soda. The type of peanuts didn't make a significant difference.