423 recipes. Page 11 of 18
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Sugar, butter and eggs make up nearly all of the filling in this Southern pie, yet the oven turns them into two textures: a thin, crackly top over a dense, caramel-tasting custard. As it cools the center firms to an almost fudge-like density, and it comes to the table at room temperature with a little unsweetened whipped cream.
Pressed firm tofu mixed into the ricotta makes a lighter filling than ricotta alone, and a pinch of nutmeg ties the spinach and cheese together. When these ravioli burst, the cause is almost always a wet filling: the tofu needs squeezing in cloth until it barely drips, and the blanched spinach needs wringing too. The water stays at a moderate bubble, since a rolling boil can also split the seams. Straight from the pot, the pieces go into sage brown butter before their surfaces dry.
Spinach wilted briefly in butter takes the place of bacon or ham, sitting between a toasted English muffin and a soft poached egg under hollandaise. Moisture is what ruins it: squeeze the spinach hard and keep the toasted halves spread apart so their steam does not turn them soggy. Fresh eggs hold a neater shape in the poaching water, and the hollandaise needs a gentle bain-marie, since too much heat splits it.
Added in a lump, chestnut paste leaves dense streaks through the crumb, so it is loosened with a little milk first and then mixed evenly through the batter. Any bite of the moist center tastes of chestnut and honey. The batter is chilled before baking, and when it meets a hot oven the middle shoots up into the signature hump.
Butter, garlic, cream, and Parmesan make up the whole sauce, and the truffle aroma comes entirely from oil stirred in after the heat is off. The garlic warms in butter over low heat and stops before it browns, since browned garlic leaves a harsh edge in the cream. The cream simmers for only about two minutes, until a spatula leaves a brief trail; reduced further, it turns too heavy to coat the fettuccine thinly. Parmesan melts in over lowered heat with steady stirring so it does not clump. Plates go to the table straight from the pan, because the sauce keeps tightening and the truffle scent fades as it cools.
Neither boiled under water nor fried dry, the kernels steam briefly in butter and a splash of water under a lid, which cooks them through while keeping them springy. Mayonnaise and crumbled cotija never meet the stove; they are spooned onto each cup afterward, and since cotija brings its own salt, salt is added a little at a time.
Chestnut paste folded with whipped cream is piped in thin strands over small butter cupcakes until each one looks like a tiny Mont Blanc. In Japan the Mont Blanc is closely tied to autumn, and the cupcake format makes it easy to serve one per person rather than cutting a whole cake.
Yuja marmalade joins the lemon and capers of a classic piccata sauce, laying a bittersweet citrus note over the sourness. Chicken breast flattened to 1cm and dusted thinly with flour cooks for 3 minutes a side, enough for a golden crust and a moist middle.
Under a lid of forked mashed potato, chunks of white fish and peas sit in a creamy white sauce, with cheddar browning on the ridges. The fish only spends a few minutes in the sauce before baking, because it keeps cooking in the oven and breaks into flakes if heated too long beforehand. Adding the milk in several splashes, whisking each time, gives a lump-free sauce that just coats the back of a spoon. Potatoes mashed soft enough to spread but not runny will seal the filling right to the edges. A short rest out of the oven helps each spoonful hold fish and potato together.
Two Korean autumn staples go in, each with its own job. The sweet potato is mashed smooth and loosened with milk so it spreads through the whole batter, while the chestnuts are chopped coarsely and folded in last, leaving starchy, nutty pieces to bite into. The sweet potato's moisture keeps the muffins from drying out once cool.
Deeply browned chuck and the dark bits it leaves in the pot, lifted with red wine, form the backbone of this French braise. A thin dusting of flour rather than a heavy paste helps the surface brown instead of steam. Browning in batches matters too: a crowded pot steams the meat instead of searing it. Potatoes join late, after the beef has had its long simmer, and soften without falling apart. Like most braises, it improves when reheated the next day.
Crack the golden crust with a spoon and a thick cream sauce full of chicken, carrot, potato and peas comes up in a puff of steam. It is an everyday American home bake, and the sauce is butter and flour cooked together, then loosened with chicken stock and cream.
Thin-sliced beef and melted Swiss cheese go into a baguette, and each bite gets dunked in a bowl of au jus served alongside. Despite the name, the sandwich comes from Los Angeles.
Measured in cups the American home-baking way, this dough uses equal amounts of white and brown sugar, landing between crisp and chewy. Shift the balance toward brown sugar and the cookies turn softer and chewier, since it holds moisture; more white sugar makes them spread wider and bake crisper.
Pale yellow with no browning outside and barely set, almost custardy curds inside, a French omelette gets rolled into a neat oval. The French call that soft center baveuse. With so few ingredients, heat control and how you move the pan decide nearly everything. The eggs are beaten only until yolk and white are even, without whipping in bubbles, and poured in while the butter is still foaming, before it browns. From the moment the eggs hit the pan, the whole thing should be done within 90 seconds; too much heat colors the surface and tightens the texture. Keep additions to herbs such as chives rather than heavy fillings.
A short bake in a very hot oven sets the sides and top like cake while the center stays as melted chocolate that runs out at the first spoonful. Since the cakes are turned out onto the plate, the ramekins are buttered and coated with cocoa with no gaps. The batter can wait in the ramekins in the fridge; baked straight from cold, it needs 1 or 2 minutes more.
Thick slices of bread soak up a vanilla and cinnamon egg mixture, then brown slowly in butter until golden outside and soft in the middle. Day-old, slightly dry bread absorbs it more evenly, and medium-low heat with no pressing lets the center warm through before the outside darkens.
A spoon breaking through the thin, set crust finds hot chocolate cream underneath that is still half liquid. The table and any vanilla ice cream should be ready before the ramekins enter the oven, since it starts to sink almost as soon as it comes out. The butter and sugar lining gives the batter something to climb, and without it the rise tilts or splits.
The edges of a thin buckwheat crepe are folded into a square, leaving ham, melted Gruyère and a still-wobbling yolk showing in the middle. In the Breton tradition the yolk stays runny rather than fully set.
Hollow choux shells filled with cold vanilla cream start as a paste cooked in the saucepan, and in the oven the water in that dough turns to steam and inflates each mound. The shells must be completely cool before filling, or the cream melts. A fresh one gives a crisp crack and then cold custard, but moisture from the cream gradually softens the pastry. Fill them close to serving, or refrigerate filled puffs and eat them within two to three hours.
White wine, butter, and the juices the mussels release become one broth in the same pot, and baguette is there to soak it up. Opening shells tell you the mussels are done, so watch under the lid rather than the timer, and discard any that stay shut.
Rolled, split and twisted, the loaf shows a dark cinnamon swirl in every slice against a pale, buttery crumb. Rich with butter and eggs, the dough eats closer to brioche than to sandwich bread and pulls apart in soft layers. Babka comes from Eastern European Jewish baking and sits as easily on a breakfast table as on a dessert plate.
Snappy green beans, a soft mushroom cream sauce, and a crunchy fried onion topping give this American casserole three textures in one dish. The beans get just three minutes in boiling water and a cold rinse, leaving the oven to finish them. The fried onions wait until near the end of baking, since at the start they would lose their crunch.
Swedish kanelbulle go lighter on sugar and add cardamom; American rolls are coiled thicker and covered in glaze. This one sits on the American side, with a cream cheese glaze spread on while the rolls are still warm. In the oven the sugar melts between the coils and turns sticky, and the soft bread unwinds by hand along the spiral.