• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 213 0

into your ham. Unless your health is at risk, due to age, illness, or pregnancy, don’t be afraid of the “Safe-Handling/Cooking Instructions” sticker on a package of uncooked country ham, which would have you believe that you must cook the ham before you eat it. As long as you refrigerate the ham once the package is opened, it will keep for about a week or more, wrapped in waxed paper, in the refrigerator.

BRAISED CARROTS WITH TARRAGON AND LIME

serves 4 • TIME: 25 minutes

We loved the utilitarian cooked veggies we ate as kids—steamed carrots, steamed spinach, steamed broccoli—not for their own sake but because they were efficient carriers of melted butter! And we love ’em even more now that the vegetables themselves interest us.

These carrots are no more difficult than the steamed-with-butter variety, yet they have a playful tartness to them, and a depth of flavor that will jolt the kid in you awake. We braise the carrots briefly in white wine, scatter them with fresh tarragon and a squeeze of fresh lime juice, and then toss the carrots with crunchy-sweet caramelized onions and a dusting of lime zest.

Serve these carrots with straightforward main dishes like broiled pork chops, Smoked Trout, or Easy Chicken and Dumplings.

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 large (8-ounce) white onion, thinly sliced

½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into rods about 2 to 3 inches long and ⅓ inch thick

½ cup full-flavored dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, or unoaked Chardonnay

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

Leaves from 3 sprigs fresh tarragon (about 2 tablespoons)

Grated zest and juice of ½ lime

1 Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat until it begins to smoke. Add the onion slices, and spread them around in an even layer. Season with ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring at 2 minute intervals, until browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer the onions to a medium bowl.

2 Add the carrots and wine to the same skillet, and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and the black pepper. Cover and cook until the carrots are tender, about 6 minutes. Uncover the skillet, add the tarragon, and continue to cook until the liquid is almost all evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add the lime juice and reserved onions, and toss together. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and serve warm with a small amount of lime zest scattered over each serving.

garnish it rich

•••

With pieces of Buttermilk Fresh Cheese broken over the carrots.

SMOKED CAULIFLOWER

serves 4 • TIME: 5 minutes preparation, 20 minutes cooking

Wylie Dufresne of the New York restaurant wd-50, one of this country’s foremost avant-garde chefs, turned us onto the stovetop smoker’s genius and simplicity (see Notes on Successful Stovetop Smoking). We were reporting a story about whether two flounders like us could replicate in our home kitchen the sort of groundbreaking dishes Wylie (and compatriots like Ferran Adrià and Grant Achatz) cooks. One exception to the onerous nature of this cooking was Wylie’s smoked mashed potatoes, which came together in a snap and sent us into the kitchen to experiment with smoking a wide range of vegetables.

Cauliflower tweaked with hickory smoke emerged a victor from our tests. It’s an easy, and just slightly unconventional, hot side dish that’s a superb partner for Skirt Steak with Parsley Sauce, and Grillades and Gravy.

1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

One 2½-pound cauliflower, halved, cored, and cut into large florets

1 cup whole or lowfat buttermilk

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Freshly ground black pepper

1 Pour 4 cups water into a 2-quart saucepan, and add the salt and cauliflower. Bring to a boil over high heat, and continue to cook until fork tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Drain the cauliflower.

2 Put 1 tablespoon hickory smoking chips in the center of a stovetop smoker pan, or in the center of a 9-x-13-inch steel or aluminum roasting pan. If using a smoker pan, place the drip tray