Category Archives: Cool Cooking Techniques

Eric Ripert’s Halibut-Mushroom Casserole

An elegant halibut dish fit for a restaurant but so easy to make at home.
An elegant halibut dish fit for a restaurant but so easy to make at home.

If there was ever anyone qualified to write a masterful cookbook on seafood, it is Eric Ripert.

After all, the renowned chef is co-owner of Le Bernardin in New York City, the absolute mecca of seafood that holds three Michelin stars and has held four stars from the New York Times for more than three decades.

What’s incredibly refreshing about his “Seafood Simple” (Random House, 2023), of which I received a review copy, is how easy and doable these recipes are.

These recipes are absolutely made for the home cook, with many of them calling for little more than a handful of ingredients and only one page of instruction. Try your hand at “Tuna Carpaccio with Ginger-Lime Mayonnaise” (made with store-bought mayo and ginger juice that only requires grating it, then squeezing out the juice); “Salmon Wrapped in Collard Greens with Beurre Rouge” (a sauce that’s simply red wine reduced, then swirled with butter); “Fish Fingers” (a favorite of his son’s that is breaded in panko and served with ketchup); and “Shrimp Skewers with Green Curry Sauce” (with the shrimp skewered with pineapple chunks and grilled).

There’s also expert advice, as well as detailed photos, on how to skin a fish, clean shrimp, split a lobster, shuck an oyster, and remove pin bones from salmon.

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A Chicken Dish For Cocktail Lovers

Plenty of sage and a splash of gin make this a winning chicken dish at this time of year.
Plenty of sage and a splash of gin make this a winning chicken dish at this time of year.

Imagine donning your best “Mad Men” pearls while standing at the stove nonchalantly sauteing chicken when — oops — you accidentally splash some of your gin martini into the pan.

That’s the happy accident Amy Thielen, a James Beard Award-winning food writer and cookbook author, aptly envisions when she makes her delicious “Crispy Smashed Chicken Breasts with Gin-and-Sage Jus.”

Whether you envision a martini or a favorite gin-and-tonic like I did, this dish delivers the herby, woodsy tastes of mint, menthol, and eucalyptus, along with a surefire technique for cooking moist chicken breasts on the stovetop.

The recipe is from her new cookbook, “Company” (W.W. Norton), of which I received a review copy.

Thielen lives in wooded, remote Northern Minnesota, where there are only three restaurants in town — a 25-minute drive away. As such, when she gathers with friends and families for a meal, it’s usually at her own home.

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Sponsored Post: Baked Frangipane Apples with Pazazz

The holiday season was made for these beautiful baked apples with a center of nutty frangipane.
The holiday season was made for these beautiful baked apples with a center of nutty frangipane.

I’m the type of person who bakes when I’m happy.

Or sad.

Or stressed.

Or curious about a particular recipe.

Or simply want to spoil myself or others with something joyfully indulgent.

And at this time of year, when I bake with samples of fresh Pazazz apples, I get especially giddy because they are a natural mood booster.

Yes, apples are loaded with antioxidants that fuel neurotransmitters in the brain that trigger the release of dopamine that elevates the feelings of pleasure, contentment, and motivation.

This mighty fruit also helps lower cholesterol, decreases the risk of diabetes, aids in weight loss, promotes good digestion, and boasts anti-inflammatory properties.

Now's the time to get your hand on some Pazazz apples.
Now’s the time to get your hand on some Pazazz apples.

Of course, they are mighty delicious, too. Ruby red with yellow-green striations, Pazazz are super snappy and full of sweet, tangy, quenching juice.

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World Central Kitchen’s First Cookbook

Chef Brooke Williamson's nourishing farro salad made with carrots and carrot juice.
Chef Brooke Williamson’s nourishing farro salad made with carrots and carrot juice.

It’s a good bet that following any disaster around the world no matter how far-flung, those jumping into action immediately after first responders are the chefs and volunteers of World Central Kitchen.

This global nonprofit was founded in 2010 by renowned Chef Jose Andres, who has a roster of restaurants around the United States.

After jumping into action to cook in Haiti after a devastating earthquake, he got the idea to create the organization. Since then, WCK has mobilized to serve more than 300 million meals worldwide.

Andres never expected that people would want recipes for the food served under those circumstances, he writes. But plenty did.

That’s what prompted “The World Central Kitchen Cookbook” (Clarkson Potter), of which I received a review copy. It was written by Andres and World Central Kitchen; with Sam Chapple-Sokol, editorial director of the Jose Andres Group.

All proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to WCK’s emergency efforts.

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The Easy Way To Zucchini and Herb Fritters

These zucchini fritters are so golden and crisp, you'd think I'd slaved over a hot frying pan making them. But I didn't.
These zucchini fritters are so golden and crisp, you’d think I’d slaved over a hot frying pan making them. But I didn’t.

Standing at the stove, frying latkes, small Korean scallion pancakes, or any other kind of veggie fritters can be not only a royal pain and time suck, but a real splattering mess.

This clever, alternative technique eliminates all of that — and seems so obvious, you’re sure to think, “Duh! Why didn’t I think of that sooner?”

The solution is oven-frying. Yes, letting your oven do all the heavy lifting by heating up a sheet pan with a generous amount of oil before dropping spoonfuls of your batter onto it, then returning the pan to the oven to cook and crisp up everything.

That’s the method behind these delicious “Zucchini and Herb Fritters.”

It’s a recipe from the new “The Secret of Cooking” (W.W. Norton), of which I received an early review copy.

The cookbook, which comes out on Sept. 26, is by By Bee Wilson, a British food writer and co-founder of TastEd, a food education focused on giving children more opportunities to experience fresh vegetables and fruits.

As the title implies, it’s filled with enticing, doable recipes that just might teach you a new, easier or faster way to prepare something.

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