America's Test Kitchen

I read cookbooks like novels. So a few years ago when I bought my first cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen I felt I had found a new love. If you are not familiar with this line of cookbooks (or the TV show) then I’ll give you a bit of a description. Basically, the cooks of America’s Test Kitchen are on a quest to create the best recipe for anything you would eat—from salsas to creme caramel. (And yes, I have made the creme caramel pictured to the left. Oh yea, it's heaven.) They are always dead on. But prefacing each recipe in their books is a description of their journey in creating The Best Recipe. This is where the humor comes in. They don't mince words. These people are the ultimate food snobs. Their descriptions of recipes crack me up! Oh so true, OH-SO-TRUE!

Pasta with Garlic and Oil
“Resist by all means, an urge to pour the contents of a little green cylinder on this dish—it will be forever ruined.”

Pancakes
“Most pancakes are either so tough and rubbery that they snap back and smack you in the face or so cottony and tasteless that they must be accompanied by a very tall glass of milk.”

Tuna Noodle Casserole
“ Is tuna noodle casserole an American institution or a national nightmare? In most cases, the answer is both, no doubt because most versions of this dish are so bad.”

Quick Cinnamon Buns
“It’s a shame that making cinnamon buns at home can try the patience of the most devoted cook……The alternative is to make cinnamon buns from a tube or a box, options that produce interior buns whose flavor lies somewhere between chemicals and cardboard.”

Nachos
“Finding good nachos can be difficult. The worst combine chips that taste like cardboard with squirts of unnaturally fluid ‘cheese’ and watery jarred salsa. If you're lucky, a miniscule portion of guacamole is served on the side.”

Fried Chicken
“Who wants to bite through a crisp, rich, seasoned crust only to hit dry, white Styrofoam?

Lest you think their scathing reviews are confined to recipes, they also rates products:

Trader Joe’s Free Range Chicken Broth
“Tasters couldn’t make up their mind whether this broth tastes ‘more like bad Chinese soup’ or ‘the cardboard container it comes in’. The wretched odor earned it no extra points.”

Brownie Mix
“We came away with only one boxed brownie mix to halfheartedly recommend: Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix. No one loved these brownies, but they had a decent amount of chocolate flavor and were the least offensive of the bunch.
Betty Crocker Traditional Chewy Fudge Brownie Mix: "Artificial;" "like chewing on a chocolate chamois."

Hummus

What is it about hummus that I like so much? Is it my Mexican roots coming out that make me crave anything similar to refried beans? After all, hummus is like a healthy version of frijoles refritos. Instead of bacon fat and pinto beans you use olive oil and garbanzo beans. Obviously this isn't completely authentic because I never seem to have tahini on hand. (Sesame butter.) My two little girls didn't care. Between the three of us we almost ate this entire batch with corn chips for lunch. Yes, pita chips would be authentic, but let's face it. Whatever chip you use is merely a vehicle to get the hummus into your face. After a while Hallie (my 2 yr. old) grabbed her baby spoon and just ate it as is. I know that using roasted garlic would remove a bit of the raw garlic taste so if you have the time to roast your garlic, be my guest. Mark Bitman, author of How to Cook Everything adds cumin to his recipe. I like that touch.

Hummus
1 can (15oz) drained garbanzo beans
1 small cloves of garlic
1 tsp. honey
1-2 tsp. cumin
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper
about 1/4 cup extra-virgi olive oil

Place all ingredients in food processor (except oil) and pulse until smooth. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil until hummus is the consistency of a smooth dip.

Butternut Squash Soup

I decided to give Butternut Squash Soup another chance. I made the soup once a few years ago and didn't like it. Most recipes out there make the soup with apples, sugar, and other sweet ingredients. I usually don't like foods that should be savory that are made to be sweet. Just watching Iron Chef America proves that point. They're always making chicken liver ice cream or quail egg ice cream. Not good, not good at all! Anyway, I knew I could rely on the Silky Butternut Squash Soup recipe from America's Test Kitchen. Wow, was I blown away. I eventually put down my spoon and just drank this from the bowl because it was so good. It's nutty, buttery, and still tastes like squash--not pumpkin pie. It reheated well the next day for my lunch.

Silky Butternut Squash Soup
servings: 4 to 6
4 tablespoons butter
2 medium shallots , minced (about 4 tablespoons)
3 pounds butternut squash (about 1 large), unpeeled, squash halved lengthwise, seeds and stringy fibers scraped with spoon and reserved (about 1/4 cup), and each half cut into quarters
table salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon dark brown sugar (trust me, this won't make it sickly sweet)

1. Heat butter in large Dutch oven over medium-low heat until foaming; add shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add squash scrapings and seeds and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and butter turns saffron color, about 4 minutes. Add 6 cups water and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to Dutch oven and bring to boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low, place squash cut-side down in steamer basket, and lower basket into pot. Cover and steam until squash is completely tender, about 30 minutes. Off heat, use tongs to transfer squash to rimmed baking sheet; reserve steaming liquid. When cool enough to handle, use large spoon to scrape flesh from skin into medium bowl; discard skin.

2. Pour reserved steaming liquid through mesh strainer into second bowl; discard solids in strainer. Rinse and dry Dutch oven.

3. In blender, puree squash and reserved liquid in batches, pulsing on low until smooth. Transfer puree to Dutch oven; stir in cream and brown sugar and heat over medium-low heat until hot. Add salt to taste; serve immediately.