Custards
A custard is a mixture, usually one containing some milk or cream, that’s set with whole eggs, egg yolks, or egg whites. It’s helpful to know that one egg or two egg yolks or two egg whites reliably set 2/3rds of a cup of mixture,…
Crêpes
Essentially pancakes without leavening, crêpes are thin and delicate and, despite their reputation, are a snap to make. I make a stiff batter with eggs and milk (mostly eggs) that I work with a whisk until smooth. I then gently whisk in milk until the…
Crème Anglaise
A crème anglaise is simply milk that’s been sweetened, flavored, and thickened with egg yolks. Unlike most custards, which are allowed to set, crème anglaise is kept in constant motion so that rather than setting, it thickens. It is usually flavored with vanilla (a whole…
Clarified Butter
Butter that’s been clarified has had all the milk solids (which are proteins) and water removed. Clarified butter is useful for sautéing and browning foods because it has a much higher smoking point than whole butter. It’s the proteins in whole butter that burn at…
Hollandaise Sauce
While I’m not going to give a complete lesson on making hollandaise sauce, there are a couple of tricks and caveats I’ve learned over the years. Hollandaise sauce is essentially an emulsion of butter and egg yolks that’s been flavored with lemon. One important trick…
Hare
Most of us assume a hare is just a big rabbit. This is not the case at all as hare, which is very large relative to rabbit, has red meat instead of white and a full gamey and very distinct flavor. It appears on menus…
Rabbit
Before we can eat rabbit we need to get over our bunny rabbit anxieties. I know they’re cute, but so are lots of other things such as baby chicks. They also happen to be pretty stupid, so don’t think eating a rabbit is like eating…
Sweetbreads
The next time someone makes a comment about the questionability of eating sweetbreads, ask them if they ever eat hotdogs. Why something so delicious and delicate should be eschewed by Americans, I have no idea, but sweetbreads may be the most delicious and satisfying of…
Vegetables
by James Peterson Have you ever seen vegetables like chayote, fiddlehead ferns, beet greens, or jicama and wondered how to cook them? With the popularity of farmers’ markets and the advent of better shipping methods, there are vegetables available today that were virtually unknown just…
Fish Soups and Stews
You’ll learn a lot a lot about fish soups and stews if you make a bouillabaisse but it also helps to study soups and stews from other countries. The oldest and most simple approach to making a fish soup is simply to toss whole cleaned…