Culinary Intelligence

Eggs Benedict

When poaching eggs, use the freshest eggs possible. Fresh eggs produce a centered yolk, compact white, and clean edge when cooked. The poaching liquid should be about three inches deep, at a gentle simmer, and it should contain a small amount of salt and vinegar to firm the egg proteins and to prevent the whites from separating.

English Muffins

Makes 12 servings

- 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 cup water, warmed to 110°F
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup cornmeal, or as needed
- Oil or solid vegetable shortening, as needed

1. Place the yeast and warm water in the bowl of a mixer and stir to completely dissolve. Let the yeast proof until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the flour, butter, sugar, and salt to the yeast mixture. Mix ingredients together on low speed using the dough hook until all ingredients are blended, about 2 minutes.

2. Increase the speed to medium-high and mix until the dough is smooth, another 5 minutes.

3. Shape the dough into a ball and place it into a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours. Fold the dough gently over on itself in three or four places and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.

4. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape into rounds and place on sheet pans that have been heavily dusted with cornmeal. Turn each muffin over to coat both sides with cornmeal. Cover and let rise until slightly risen, about 30 minutes.

5. Preheat a griddle over medium heat and brush lightly with oil or shortening. Cook the English muffins until lightly brown on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Turn the muffins over and cook until golden brown, another 5 minutes.

6. Split the English muffins by pulling them apart with a table fork. Toast them just before serving. Serve very hot.

Nutrition analysis per one-ounce serving: 120 calories, 3g protein, 18g carbohydrate, 3.5g fat, 200mg sodium, 5mg cholesterol, less than 1g fiber.

Ingredients

Eggs Benedict
Makes 8 servings
16 slices Canadian bacon
16 poached eggs
8 English muffins, split, toasted, and buttered
2 cups Hollandaise sauce

When poaching eggs, use the freshest eggs possible. Fresh eggs produce a centered yolk, compact white, and clean edge when cooked. The poaching liquid should be about three inches deep, at a gentle simmer, and it should contain a small amount of salt and vinegar to firm the egg proteins and to prevent the whites from separating.

Directions

Heat a sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the Canadian bacon and sauté on both sides until heated through, about 1–2 minutes on each side.

If eggs have been poached in advance reheat them in simmering water until warmed through and blot on toweling. Top each English muffin half with a slice of Canadian bacon and a poached egg. Spoon warm Hollandaise over each egg and serve.

Poached Eggs
Makes 8 servings
3 quarts water, or as needed
2 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
16 large eggs

1. Combine the water, salt, and vinegar in a deep pan and bring to a gentle simmer.

2. Break each egg into a clean cup, and carefully slide each egg into the poaching water. Cook until the whites are set and opaque, about 3 minutes.

3. Remove the eggs from the water with a slotted spoon and blot them on absorbent toweling. Serve immediately or store chilled eggs in the refrigerator until needed.

 

Nutrition information per 9.5-ounce serving:
730 calories, 29g protein, 36g carbohydrate, 52g fat, 1420mg sodium, 645mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber.

Ingredients

Makes 2 cups
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked peppercorns
- 1/4 cup white wine or cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup water, or as needed
- 4 large fresh egg yolks
- 1 1/2 cups melted whole butter, unsalted
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice, or as needed
- 2 teaspoons salt, or as needed
- Pinch ground white pepper
- Pinch cayenne (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the peppercorns and vinegar in a small pan and reduce over medium heat until nearly dry, about 5 minutes. Add the water to the vinegar reduction. Strain this liquid into a stainless steel bowl.

2. Add the egg yolks to the vinegar reduction and set the bowl over a pot of simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook the egg yolk/vinegar mixture until the yolks triple in volume and fall in ribbons from the whisk. Remove the bowl from the simmering water and place it on a clean kitchen towel to keep the bowl from slipping.

3. Gradually ladle the warm butter into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. If the sauce becomes too thick and the butter is not blending in easily, add a little water to thin the egg mixture enough to whisk in the remaining butter. Season the Hollandaise with lemon juice, salt, pepper, and cayenne if desired. Serve immediately or keep the sauce warm in a bowl over simmering water.

Nutrition analysis per 9.5-ounce serving: 730 calories, 29g protein, 36g carbohydrate, 52g fat, 1420mg sodium, 645mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber.

Ingredients
Makes 2 loaves or 16 rolls
4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoons baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup dark raisins
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 cup cold milk

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying it lightly with cooking spray or lining it with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt together into a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the shortening into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse meal.

Add the raisins, caraway seeds, and milk. Mix the dough until just combined; avoid overmixing as this will cause the dough to toughen.

Turn the dough into a lightly floured surface. Press the dough into a ball. Form the dough into two equal loaves, or cut into sixteen equal pieces to make rolls. Dust with flour and lightly score an "X" across the top of each roll or loaf with a sharp knife.

Bake the soda bread until it is lightly browned and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, about eight to ten minutes for rolls and twenty-five minutes for loaves. Wrap the bread in a tea towel directly out of the oven.

Cool the soda bread in the tea towel on a wire rack before serving. It can be held at room temperature for up to two days or frozen for up to four weeks.

Nutrition information per 2.5-ounce serving:
210 calories, 4g protein, 41g carbohydrate, 4g fat, 520mg sodium, 0mg cholesterol, 1g fiber.

Ingredients
Makes 6 servings

Dressing
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
10 basil leaves, finely chopped
Salt and pepper as needed

Salad Ingredients
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped, divided use
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, divided use
5 plum tomatoes, blanched and peeled
1 fennel bulb
1 each yellow and red pepper
1 1/4 cups new potatoes or fingerlings
4 cups arugula
3 cups mesclun lettuce
12 radishes, quartered
1 1/2 cups haricots verts, parcooked and halved
6 artichoke hearts, quartered
3 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
6 anchovy fillets, cured in vinaigrette
1 12-ounce can tuna in oil, drained
3/4 cup black niçoise olives

Directions

Preheat the oven to 275°F.
To make the dressing, place the vinegar in a bowl and gradually add the olive oil while whisking thoroughly to form an emulsion. Add the garlic, chopped basil, and seasoning.

Prepare the salad's components. Brush a baking sheet with olive oil. Sprinkle a little of the chopped garlic and thyme onto the baking sheet. Cut the tomatoes into eighths and remove the seeds to make "petals." Lay these tomato petals into the baking sheet, brush with some of the olive oil, and sprinkle with a little more of the garlic and thyme. (You should have about half of the garlic and thyme still remaining to add to the fennel.)

Place this tray in the oven and cook until the tomatoes lose their rawness and yield slightly to the touch, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove them from the oven and set aside to cool.

Parcook the fennel in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Remove it from the water with a slotted spoon. Cut the fennel in half vertically. Slice it thinly using a mandoline set 1/16-inch thick. Lay theses slices on a baking sheet in the same fashion as the tomatoes. Brush with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with garlic and thyme. Cook them the same way you did the tomatoes. The fennel will take a little longer to soften fully—about 30 minutes. Remove the fennel from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 350°F.

Rub the red and yellow peppers with olive oil and bake them in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until soft to the touch. Remove them from the oven. Peel away the skin, remove the seeds and stems, and cut the peppers into 2-inch julienne.

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for about 20 minutes. When cooked, drain and cool slightly. Cut into 1/4-inch dice and, while still warm, toss them in a bowl with seasoning and 3 tablespoons of the dressing.

Mix the arugula and mesclun together in a bowl with a little dressing and season to taste with salt and pepper. Now for the fun and creativity: Arrange the mixed lettuces on your chosen plates and design your salad using all its component parts. Finish the plate with a little drizzle of dressing.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Icebox cookies have been around since, well, the invention of the icebox. Also known as refrigerator cookies, they were the original "slice and bake" cookies. Do you think Grandma sat around all day mixing and measuring, waiting for your arrival? No, she threw together batches of her favorite icebox cookies ahead of time, froze the dough, then sliced and baked them straight from the freezer, perfectly timed for your arrival.

Making refrigerator cookies is simple, quick and gives you the flexibility to cook as many, or as few cookies as you need, when you need them. The Culinary Institute of America's classic chocolate chunk and sand cookie doughs can be premixed and frozen, ready for the arrival of unexpected guests, hungry kids home from school, or maybe even Grandma.

Ingredients
Makes 16 cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Directions
Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars on medium speed with the paddle attachment, scraping down the bowl periodically, until the mixture is smooth and light in color, about five minutes.

Combine the eggs and vanilla. Add to the butter-sugar mixture and blend until fully incorporated, scraping down the bowl as needed. On low speed, mix in the sifted dry ingredients and the chocolate chunks until just incorporated.

Shape the dough into one sixteen-inch log on a piece of waxed or parchment paper, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate or freeze until firm enough to slice into sixteen pieces. (Dough can alternatively be scaled into two-tablespoon portions and baked immediately.)

Arrange the cookies on the parchment-lined baking sheets in even rows.

Bake at 375 degrees F until golden brown around the edges, about twelve to fourteen minutes. Cool completely on cookie sheets.

Hazelnut Romesco Sauce

This rich sauce is the perfect accompaniment to grilled and broiled vegetables or to accompany savory vegetable entrees.

Ingredients
Makes 2 cups
2 ancho chiles (dry)
Cold water as needed
2 cups chopped roasted red bell pepper
2 cups chopped hazelnuts, skinned
2/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp Spanish paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt as needed

Directions
Put the ancho chiles in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately remove the pan from the heat. Let the chiles steep for 20 minutes. Strain the chiles from the water. Reserve some of the soaking liquid to adjust the consistency of the sauce.
Put the roasted red pepper, hazelnuts, olive oil, tomato paste, vinegar, garlic, paprika, and cayenne in a blender. Puree to a smooth consistency, adding a bit of the chile soaking liquid, if necessary, to puree the sauce and reach a soft, saucelike consistency (about the same consistency as mayonnaise). Place in a covered container, refrigerate, and allow to rest overnight to develop the best flavor. Adjust the seasoning with salt before serving.