Turmeric or cinnamon? Nuts or raisins? The players may change, but the fundamentals of fluffy, fragrant pilaf are always the same. — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
I have made cassoulet more times than is advisable - first in culinary school, once with a friend for a dinner party,… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
Whipped ganache is a great gateway icing if you're working your way slowly into the vast world of egg-based buttercreams. It's just… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
I ate cottage cheese all the time growing up, but it wasn't until I was in college that I became aware of… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
Canned chickpeas are my tried-and-true pantry fallback for those days where I get home late with no game plan and no energy… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
Sometimes there is dogma in baking and sometimes there is not - you just have to know when to break the rules… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
Lemon curd is a basic custard, meaning it's thickened by eggs. Although many curd recipes call for just yolks, I prefer to… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
Only bake one type of thing at a time. Even when it seems like you're killing two birds with one stone, baking… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
The problem with traditional pie weights is you never have enough and they're expensive. Common substitutes like dried beans just aren't heavy… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
Plating your salad with groupings of ingredients may seem fussy but in fact it's the opposite. All the prepped ingredients go directly… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
Lame blades can dull relatively quickly, so after slashing several loaves the blade won't slice through the dough with tremendous ease. (When… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
For rave-worthy soups, skip the store-bought stock. You can extract a cleaner, stronger broth from a combination of water and several pantry… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
For reasons that aren't quite clear I derive a weird and almost inappropriate pleasure from making a cake that looks like a… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
If you are the kind of person who makes homemade chicken stock on the regular and keeps it frozen in various sized… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
Holiday eating is a study in paradox. You're surrounded by food, but you're so busy shopping and cooking that you don't have… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
Lemon curd is one of the first things I remember cooking when I was old enough to use the stove without supervision.… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
Simmering vegetables in a covered pot over low heat so that they steam in their own liquid - a French technique called… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
Gluten - the elastic strands that give bread its chewy texture - forms when certain proteins in flour interact with water, which… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
For baked goods where lightness is a prized attribute - almost all cakes, some cookies - it's important to start with room-temperature… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
My maternal grandmother, a.k.a. Nanny, wasn't much of a cook. As a kid I remember her making only a handful of things,… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
Serve as a sweet brunch treat or with tea in the afternoon. No one would turn it down as dessert after a… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
If you think about it, composed salads are like nachos (I'll explain). When you're eating a plate of nachos, it's always a… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
When making any pureed soup, don't blend all the liquids and solids together at once. Hold back some liquid at first and… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
Hearty soups with relatively long cook times like minestrone, for example, are chock-full of aromatics and flavor-lending ingredients like bacon, onions, and… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
Even though they have long shelf lives, chemical leaveners will lose potency over time. If the only box of baking soda you… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
Usually, turkey burger recipes result in something so lifeless and tasteless that drowning one in ketchup (that most perfect and delicious of… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
Deep-frying properly requires you to keep the oil at a precise temperature range depending on the food. If you're frying in more… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
The mild creaminess of cottage cheese makes it a perfect blank canvas for almost any flavor combination, savory or sweet. Since it's… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
You don't need a specialty lame (French for 'blade') to make professional-level bread at home, but it certainly helps in creating those… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share Image
Replacing white flour with whole wheat generally makes baked goods denser, drier, and more crumbly because the germ and bran in whole wheat absorbs… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share
Usually, turkey burger recipes result in something so lifeless and tasteless that drowning one in ketchup (that most perfect and delicious of condiments) doesn't… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share
Always bake in the center of the oven. A pan placed too close to the bottom of the oven will receive more heat radiating… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share
Lame blades can dull relatively quickly, so after slashing several loaves the blade won't slice through the dough with tremendous ease. (When this happens,… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share
Always use liquid measuring cups to measure liquid and dry measuring cups to measure dry. Especially when measuring flour, accuracy is important, so using… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share
I've always just operated with the attitude that if I work just as hard as I can, everything will be fine. — Claire Saffitz Copy Share
Depending on when vegetables are picked, they might take different lengths of time to cook. — Claire Saffitz Copy Share
Poached quince are so tender, aromatic, and rosy that you'd hardly believe the raw fruit is white, fibrous, and hard as a rock. — Claire Saffitz Copy Share
True marshmallow - and I'm not talking about those ones from a bag - is nothing more than an Italian meringue set with gelatin. — Claire Saffitz Copy Share
The mild creaminess of cottage cheese makes it a perfect blank canvas for almost any flavor combination, savory or sweet. Since it's so soft,… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share
One thing I hear a lot is that people feel less stressed out after they watch 'Gourmet Makes.' There's a transference of their stress… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share
I don't like a too-perfect cake. You want people to know it came from your kitchen and not the cake case in the bakery… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share
For reasons that aren't quite clear I derive a weird and almost inappropriate pleasure from making a cake that looks like a decomposing log.… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share
Simmering vegetables in a covered pot over low heat so that they steam in their own liquid - a French technique called a l'etouffee… — Claire Saffitz Copy Share
