Bad habits. They happen to all of us. And even though I know better, I sometimes get lazy about properly preheating my pan before I begin cooking in it. I put the skillet on the heat, add the oil, and as soon as things seem vaguely hot, I add my food.

The result? Never great. Meat, fish, and eggs cook unevenly and stick to the pan and I realize as I stand scrubbing at the sink that I didn’t save myself any time at all.

If you’re cooking anything over higher heat, always let the pan heat up for a few minutes before adding the oil. Why? As the metal of your pan heats up, the surface expands. Imagine microscopic little lines in the surface—small imperfections. If they’re swelling closed, and a chicken cutlet is sitting there on top of them, they can actually “grab” the meat. If the pan is fully heated and expanded, there’s nothing to stick to.

So if you’re going to pan fry or sear or sauté something, always preheat your pan heat for two or three minutes. And if you want to be even more precise about it, check out this fascinating video from Rouxbe.com (via Answers.com).

How to Properly Heat a Pan (the Mercury Ball Test)

Yankee Magazine has been in print for more than 75 years, which means that we have a wonderfully deep archive of recipes and food stories to tap for inspiration. One of our favorite jobs is to pull out an old recipe and see if we can update it to appeal to contemporary tastes, which is what I did today with an old recipe for Chicken a la King.

Chicken a la King

According to The Food History Timeline, the dish dates back more than 100 years—some time between 1800 and about 1910. As with many recipes, there are several stories of its origin: was it an invention of a chef named William King, who worked at Philadelphia’s Bellevue Hotel? A creation of chef George Greenwald, in honor of his boss, Mr. King, at New York’s Brighton Beach Hotel? There are a few other theories, but no one knows the answer for certain.

In any case, the fundamentals of the dish include chicken in a cream sauce with mushrooms and peppers or pimentos, as well as some Sherry or Madeira. Older versions of the recipe called for thickening the sauce with a combination of cream, egg yolks, and roux (a flour-butter mixture). It was classic turn-of-the-century food, and probably very tasty. But over time the dish morphed into a heavy glop of chicken swimming in overly-flour-thickened sauce. Mid-century recipes even replaced the original sauce with cream of chicken soup. It became the stuff of cafeteria lines.

But there’s still a gem of deliciousness in this recipe, and I’ve come up with an adaptation that I like very much. Compared with my source recipe, it uses more vegetables, fresh herbs and shallots, less flour, and crème fraîche instead of cream.

A classic, updated

Chicken a la King

Total time: 45 minutes; hands-on time: 45 minutes

Notes: You can poach your own chicken for this recipe, but you can save time by using the meat from a rotisserie bird.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons dry Sherry
• 1 tablespoon salted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 large shallots, minced
• 1/2 cup minced red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup minced green bell pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups sliced button mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 cup crème fraîche
• 2 1/3 cups cooked chicken (see Note)
• 2 sprigs fresh tarragon
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• Garnish: minced fresh parsley

Method:

1. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring broth and Sherry to a simmer.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add oil, shallots, peppers, and salt and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add hot broth mixture in a thin stream, stirring as you go. The sauce should bubble and thicken. Add tarragon sprigs. Reduce heat to low and add crème fraîche and parsley. Cook 10 minutes, then serve over egg noodles or rice, with a sprinkling of additional parsley. Yield: 4 to 5 servings

One of the many pleasures of working at Yankee is that our offices are just a short drive from one of New England’s great general stores.

Like the best of its kind, the Harrisville General Store is part market, part eatery, part gallery, and part social hub. Incidentally, there were people all around me as I took this photo, but since they were eating, I kept them out of the frame.

The setting of the store couldn’t be more charming. Harrisville boasts remarkably well-preserved 19th-century mill buildings and homes and an abundance of beautiful lakes. Here’s the view from the porch of the store.

Inside, you can find grocery staples, wonderful breads, and the best eggs in the world, all brought in from local farms. There’s a rotating cast of suppliers, but today’s eggs are from Wellscroft Farm.

But perhaps the best part of the Harrisville General Store is the incredible food: homemade soups, panini, burgers made with local beef, organic salads, pot pies, pizzas, cider donuts made fresh daily, towering carrot cakes, a wonderful mac n’ cheese.

Much of this baked good greatness is the work of M’Lue Zahner, whose daughter, Laura Elizabet Carden, runs the place. Laura was out today, but M’Lue was gracious enough to pose for a photo.

But as great as M’Lue’s sweets are, my real addiction at the moment is to the seasonal raw kale salad. This is not a joke. Tossed with walnuts, feta, and dried cranberries in a shallot-rice wine vinaigrette, it is sweet, salty, tart, nutty, and crunchy. A perfect mix of flavors.

So thanks, Laura and M’Lue, for all that you do to feed us so well.

In the ongoing effort to keep my three-year-old son fed, I’ve come up with endless variations on macaroni and cheese and thirty different broccoli preparations. But this dish, born of a cold winter’s morning, a hungry boy, and a mostly empty cupboard, is my favorite: creamy breakfast polenta with maple syrup and cinnamon.

Good morning!

I grew up eating polenta. My grandparents were from country towns outside of Genoa and our family ate pots of humble cornmeal mush long before it was a fashionable staple of “Northern Italian” restaurants. The next day, we’d slice it up, pan-fry it, and serve it with maple syrup.

On a recent morning, I didn’t have any pre-made polenta to serve, but I did have some “artisan” quick-cook polenta—funny, as instant polenta is considered kind of déclassé among foodies, though I’ve dropped that game since Max as born—purchased at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. So I made it fresh, using scalded milk as the liquid instead of the usual water or stock. I stirred in some maple syrup, then poured more over the top, along with a bit of milk and a dash of cinnamon. It was fast, delicious, and totally comforting—a great way to get the day started quickly and well.

Update: Food/garden writer (and former Yankee editor)  Leslie Land reminded me of how similar breakfast polenta is to Hasty Pudding, a traditional British mush made with oats or other cereal grains, which  morphed into a cornmeal dish here in New England. Like my polenta, it was often made with milk and sweetened with either molasses or, later, maple syrup.

Stirring the polenta

Breakfast Polenta with Maple and Cinnamon

Total time: 10 minutes; hands-on time: 10 minutes

In addition to the syrup and cinnamon, you can add just about any topping here: dried fruit, banana, nuts, cream, fruit butter. Consider the polenta a blank canvas and have fun.

3 cups milk, plus more for serving

1 cup quick-cook or instant polenta (look for it in the International aisle of the market)

3 tablespoons maple syrup, plus more for serving

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Ground cinnamon

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring milk just to the simmering point. Add polenta in a thin stream, whisking constantly. Add maple syrup and salt and continue to whisk until polenta thickens noticeably, 1 to 3 minutes. Serve with maple syrup, a little milk, and a dash of cinnamon. Yield: 4 to 6 servings

When it comes to cooking, I always find it a little hard to feel inspired this time of year. The holiday baking is done, the feasts are feasted, and I’ve been overindulging my appetite. So I want something light, but also bright. A tonic for the short days, long nights, and cold temperatures.

This is a great time, then, to make gremolata, a simple Italian relish made with parsley, lemons, and garlic.  All are in season (though not, admittedly, local). And the combination is zesty and refreshing. Traditionally gremolata is served on braised meats, such as osso bucco, but you can also use it on roasted chicken, eggs, roasted cauliflower, carrots, or Brussels sprouts, steamed broccoli, pasta, or grilled salmon.

Gremolata

With just three primary ingredients, it couldn’t be simpler to make. Start with:

1 lemon

1 bunch parsley

2 small cloves garlic

Most recipes call for just lemon zest, but I like bigger pieces, so I cut off the peel with a paring knife. I pick up some of the bitter white pith this way, but that’s how I like it. For less pith, use a vegetable peeler to remove only the yellow part.

Removing the peel.

Then I mince the lemon peel, enough parsley to yield 3 tablespoons, and the garlic.

The prepped ingredients

Then all you do is stir them together.  You can stop here, or for more of a sauce, you can add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice. Add a pinch of salt if you like. And that’s it! An early January pick-me-up.

Hand-made gifts are fantastic, but who has time, right? Well, this week I took to the airways to demonstrate a way to make a delicious handmade gift while you sleep!

It’s my overnight apple butter, made in a slow cooker. Here’s a video of me demonstrating the recipe on New England Cable News.

Cooking Apple Butter on NECN

Overnight Apple Butter

(from The Apple Lover’s Cookbook)

Ingredients:
· 5 pounds (about 10 large) mixed apples, peeled, cored, and cut into medium-size pieces
· 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
· 1 whole star anise pod
· 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
· 1/2 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt
· 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
· 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
· 2 cups fresh apple cider
· 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Method:
1. Turn a slow cooker on high and add all ingredients. Cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Mixture should be bubbling vigorously. Reduce heat to low and cook for 1 hour more. Remove and discard star anise pod.

The finished product

2. With the lid set slightly ajar, continue cooking until apple butter is dark brown and thick, 7 to 9 hours more. The longer it cooks, the darker and thicker it will be.  Stir well and pass through a food mill or strainer, if desired, to remove any lumps  (I skip this step). Sterilize canning jars by boiling in the large stock pot for ten minutes (do not boil lids or bands). Turn off the heat and leave jars in the water until ready to use. Wash lids and bands in hot, soapy water, then dry with clean paper towel. Use tongs to remove jars from water and divide apple butter among them, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace at top of each jar (see Note). Use tongs to put the lids on top of the jars, then use your hands to gently screw on the bands (don’t tighten all the way).

Processing the jars

3. Bring water in large stock pot or canner back to a boil and submerge filled jars, making sure they’re upright, for 10 minutes to seal. Transfer jars to a rack and let cool to room temperature. Check the seals after they cool; they should be tight. If the lids still pop when you press on them, refrigerate the apple butter and use within 3 weeks. Otherwise, screw the bands on completely and store. The sealed jars will keep for 8 to 10 months at room temperature. Yield: 6 pint jars or 12 1/2-pint jars

Stocked in My Pantry

]]> http://blogs.yankeemagazine.com/new-england-food-cooking/homemade-gifts-while-you-sleep/feed/ 1 http://blogs.yankeemagazine.com/new-england-food-cooking/favorite-christmas-cookie-pecan-puffs/ http://blogs.yankeemagazine.com/new-england-food-cooking/favorite-christmas-cookie-pecan-puffs/#comments Thu, 15 Dec 2011 03:48:04 +0000 Amy Traverso http://blogs.yankeemagazine.com/new-england-food-cooking/?p=445

I was late to my holiday baking this year, thanks to a recent trip to San Francisco. So I’m cooking whenever I can. Tonight’s project is my all-time favorite Christmas cookie: a recipe that my Aunt Madeline called Pecan Puffs … Continue reading →

I was late to my holiday baking this year, thanks to a recent trip to San Francisco. So I’m cooking whenever I can. Tonight’s project is my all-time favorite Christmas cookie: a recipe that my Aunt Madeline called Pecan Puffs and some people know as Pecan Balls or Meltaways. These simple nutty shortbread rounds, rolled in powdered sugar, look like delicate snowballs and taste like heaven. Here is a perfect example of how a few simple ingredients in the right combination can be truly sublime. Friends and family ask for them every year. Tonight, my husband asked, “What’s the recommended serving size for these? 17?18?”

I always double the recipe, so I’m writing it out in Christmas portions.

 

Pecan Puffs

Yield: about 5 dozen cookies

• 2 cups pecan halves
• 1 cup salted butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups sifted cake flour or all-purpose flour
• Confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Grind pecans in food processor to consistency of coarse meal. Set aside. With a mixer on medium speed, beat butter until soft. Add sugar, vanilla, and pecans. Carefully add flour and blend well. Coat hands with flour; roll dough into cherry-size balls. Place on greased baking sheet (or parchment paper).

They’ll look like this:

Bake until lightly golden brown on the bottom, 15 to 20 minutes. While cookies are still quite warm, roll them in confectioners’ sugar. When cool, roll again. These cookies can be made up to 3 days in advance.

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A few weeks ago, I found myself with an apple emergency. I was on my way to work, thinking about the talk and apple tasting I was scheduled to give at the Dublin town library that evening and realized that the bag of heirloom apples that I had set out the night before was still on my kitchen counter. And since my kitchen was an hour away, near Boston, there was no going back.

I panicked for a half-second before I realized I was heading towards apples, not away from them. Yankee’s offices in Dublin are just about 20 minutes away from one of New England’s best orchards, Alyson’s in Walpole. There, you’ll find more than 50 varieties of the fruit, with new breeds being added every year. A quick call to Alyson’s orchard manager, a true-blue New Englander and generous soul named Homer Dunn confirmed that there were still plenty of antique and unusual apple varieties in storage and even some fruit on the trees.

The orchards at peak foliage

An orchard in late fall is a beautiful thing, though the crowds have long gone. When I found Homer having lunch in his office, he showed me two McIntosh apples he had just picked, fruit that looked firm and healthy, despite several nights of frost and that late October snow storm.

Homer

Then he took me into the sweet-smelling storage barn, a chilly room where the apples are stored in large crates until they’re shipped or sold. Unlike some growers, Homer doesn’t keep his fruit in sealed, so-called “Controlled Atmosphere”  rooms, where fruit can be held in suspended animation for months at a time. Instead, he simply tries to get it all sold while the apples are still fresh. So the heady perfume of that barn was a rare treat.

I selected a few bags of Ashmead’s Kernel, Lady apples, Hudson’s Golden Gem, Belle de Boskoop, Reine des Reinettes, and Esopus Spitzenburg. Then Homer mentioned that one of my favorite varieties, Calville Blanc, was still out on a tree. This was surprising, given that it was mid-November and I had picked my last Calvilles in early October. But I went out to take a look. These are excellent cooking apples dating back to late 17th Century France, and they are the traditional apple used in tarte tatin. I love them for their excellent baking quality, their flavor, and their unusual knobby appearance.

Calivlle Blanc tree

The fruit was a bit past peak, having lost some of its crispness and acidity. But it had a rich sweetness and looked all the more beautiful for being the last of the season.

Late-harvest Calville Blanc apple

I thanked Homer for the rescue, passed on a copy of my book, and took one last look at the view, already looking forward to next season.

I first tasted Kabocha Squash about six years ago, when I lived in California. It’s practically a fall and winter staple food there, and in the test kitchens at Sunset magazine, where I worked at the time, we came up with all manner of ways to stew, roast, and steam it.

A whole kabocha

Kabocha is a winter squash originally from Japan, which explains why it first made inroads on the West Coast and then made its way east. I love it for its sweet, nutty flavor and silky texture. In fact, I find it even smoother than acorn or butternut squashes, particularly when roasted. So I’m happy to see it showing up in more and more supermarkets (I bought mine at a Whole Foods outside of Boston).

And roasting is just about my favorite way to prepare kabocha: done simply with butter, brown sugar, and my apple butter. Here’s how.

First, cut the squash in halve, scoop out the seeds, and then cut each half into four wedges.

Dot each wedge with about 1 teaspoon salted butter, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, and about 1 tablespoon apple butter.

Bake at 375° until tender and lightly browned at the edges, 30 to 35 minutes.

Enjoy!

Do you have your Thanksgiving menu worked out? Hopefully you do. But if you don’t, here’s  help! We’ve done a lot of Thanksgiving meals over the years here in the Yankee kitchen, and I’ve collected some recipes that happen to by my personal favorites. So if you’re looking for that great turkey or side dish or pumpkin pie, here are some recipes worth trying. In fact, they’d make a lovely menu if you put them all together. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Sam Hayward’s Brined Turkey

Cornbread and Sausage Dressing

Chai-Spiced Orange-Cranberry Sauce

Creamed Brussels Sprouts and Pearl Onions with Wildflower Honey

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie with Sweet Walnut Crust

Orange-Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie