• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

24. Scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Bits of herbs, protein, or other ingredients get stuck on the pan’s bottom, glued there by natural sugars. These browned bits often carry most of the flavor in a soup, stew, or sauce. Once you’ve added a liquid to a pan, let it come to a simmer, then use a wooden spoon or heat-safe tongs to scrape these caramelized bits off the bottom. The simmering itself should help lift them free, although some are resistant enough to need several seconds to come loose.

25. Simmer slowly, simmer, boil, or bring to a full boil. A slow simmer is just a few bubbles at a time; you can count them as they appear. A simmer is slightly faster, but still gentle. A boil is more vigorous: the ingredients roil in the pot. A full boil means that even heavier ingredients are tossed in the swirl. You may be able to stir down a simmer (in other words, constant stirring will cause the liquid to stop simmering); you should not be able to stir down a boil.

26. Until lightly browned, golden, or dark brown. Color gradations are caused by sugars caramelizing on the outside of food, but the exact color achieved is a matter of time over the heat—and a matter of personal taste. By and large, the darker the color, the more prominent the taste. However, the line between browned and burned is faint but exacting.

27. Coats the back of a wooden spoon. Puddings and custards must be cooked until the flour or cornstarch thickens the liquid. Dip a wooden spoon into the mixture, stir it a couple of times, and lift it out. The back of the spoon should be coated in an opaque film. If you run your finger through the mixture adhering to the back of the spoon, the line you make should have firm borders that do not run or sag.

28. Until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into…reaches… An instant-read meat thermometer will give you the temperature in seconds, without its having to be left in the roast for hours. Gently press the thermometer’s probe into the cut as directed in the recipe and wait a few seconds for the temperature to register. Never place an instant-read meat thermometer in the oven. Always wash an instant-read thermometer before a subsequent use.

29. Refresh under cool water until room temperature. To keep vegetables crisp, you have to stop the cooking process. When they’re in the colander in the sink, run cool—not cold—water over them, tossing occasionally until they’re no longer hot to the touch.

30. Transfer to… Use a utensil large enough to hold the food securely when you pick it up and bring it to a plate, platter, or rack. Small tools mean broken, chipped, or torn food.

31. Cool on a wire rack until… A wire rack is essential for cooling foods; otherwise, they’ll sit on a solid surface and turn gummy as they cool. Invest in a large rack, one with feet that lift it up slightly. Also consider buying one with a crosshatch of wires so that smaller foods don’t fall through the slats.

Breakfast and Brunch

WE KNOW A MANHATTAN GALLERY OWNER, SHE OF HIGH-CONCEPT glasses, who has renovated her kitchen almost out of existence. Cupboards and drawers? Gone. There’s only one small shelf and a half-sized refrigerator shoved in a corner. The only other thing? A single burner so she can make herself an omelet every morning. Even she, a fashionista of the highest order, wants to wake up to breakfast.

A morning routine is so satisfying. Perhaps it’s nothing more than a cup of coffee and a piece of toast, but there’s something sacred about the day’s first moments. It’s no wonder that U. S. egg consumption has topped 250 per person a year. No wonder that bakeries have enjoyed a renaissance across the country. And no wonder that while kitchen remodeling remains our nationwide preoccupation, stats show that the number-one meal cooked in these new kitchens is…yes, breakfast.

This chapter starts with the simple breakfasts: smoothies and cereals. Then it turns to more substantial fare, brunch for many of us, but a welcome treat—or a fresh