2 THE NEW ESSENTIALS COOKBOOKRECIPES FOR EVERY OCCASION sides that go with any meal 3Cooking well is about more than just knife skills and finding a favorite lasagna recipe. It’s about knowing when to reach for a nonstick skillet and when not to, why you “reverse sear” thick chops, and what uma-mi really is. The New Essentials Cookbook presents a new approach to building skills and gaining confidence in the kitchen with a lineup of today’s essential dishes from fish tacos to olive-oil yogurt cake, each paired with an insightful, practical lesson designed to help in your larger culinary life as you tackle all kinds of recipes--in other words, to help you think like a cook.TAKE YOUR SKILLS TO THE NEXT LEVELTHE ATK STARTER BOOK FOR A NEW AUDIENCE OF COOKS Learn the fundamentals of cooking from this modern lineup of 200 fresh, globally informed (but very accessi-ble) recipes, from 100-Percent Whole-Wheat Pancakes to Butter- Basted Rib-Eye Steak, from Shakshuka to Tofu Banh Mi.FOCUSED AND APPROACHABLEThe introduction opens with “Your Kitchen Starter Kit,” listing the must-have equipment for stocking a kitchen. From here, the book offers a focused look at the best tools for upping your game, buying the right skillet, staple ingredients you will count on, which specialty ingredients deliver the most bang for your buck. The recipes also minimize special equipment—no stand mixer or pizza stone required! MASTER THE BUILDING BLOCKS, THEN GROW YOUR SKILLS The Simplest Way to Cook Everything shows how to roast a chicken, fry the perfect runny egg, braise kale, and sauté shrimp: basic recipes cooks will use again and again. From here, chap-ters become more advanced as they progress. Learn to make bakery-style muffins, the perfect grain bowl, and the ultimate French onion soup. Move on to weeknight dinners such as skillet lasagna and restaurant-style stir-fry. Finally, graduate to dinner par-ty-worthy dishes like Chinese braised short ribs, seared scallops, and flour-less chocolate cake. LEARN HOW TO “THINK LIKE A COOK” Every recipe is paired with a sidebar that uses the recipe as a jumping-off point for addressing a wider culinary topic. What’s the best way to salt meat? How do you tell when fish is done? And what exactly is umami? You’ll learn something new with every dish you make. A FRESH AND FUN COLLECTION OF RECIPES Discover how to sear steaks like chefs do. Smash cucumbers the Sichuan way. Make lasagna in a skillet, roll fresh pasta without a machine, and press tortillas using a pie plate. And turn out a killer burger—beef, veggie, or fish. Whatever you dip into, you’ll find recipes that are friendly and approachable, with instructions that set you up for success. 2 THE NEW ESSENTIALS COOKBOOKRECIPES FOR EVERY OCCASION sides that go with any meal 3Cooking well is about more than just knife skills and finding a favorite lasagna recipe. It’s about knowing when to reach for a nonstick skillet and when not to, why you “reverse sear” thick chops, and what uma-mi really is. The New Essentials Cookbook presents a new approach to building skills and gaining confidence in the kitchen with a lineup of today’s essential dishes from fish tacos to olive-oil yogurt cake, each paired with an insightful, practical lesson designed to help in your larger culinary life as you tackle all kinds of recipes--in other words, to help you think like a cook.TAKE YOUR SKILLS TO THE NEXT LEVELTHE ATK STARTER BOOK FOR A NEW AUDIENCE OF COOKS Learn the fundamentals of cooking from this modern lineup of 200 fresh, globally informed (but very accessi-ble) recipes, from 100-Percent Whole-Wheat Pancakes to Butter- Basted Rib-Eye Steak, from Shakshuka to Tofu Banh Mi.FOCUSED AND APPROACHABLEThe introduction opens with “Your Kitchen Starter Kit,” listing the must-have equipment for stocking a kitchen. From here, the book offers a focused look at the best tools for upping your game, buying the right skillet, staple ingredients you will count on, which specialty ingredients deliver the most bang for your buck. The recipes also minimize special equipment—no stand mixer or pizza stone required! MASTER THE BUILDING BLOCKS, THEN GROW YOUR SKILLS The Simplest Way to Cook Everything shows how to roast a chicken, fry the perfect runny egg, braise kale, and sauté shrimp: basic recipes cooks will use again and again. From here, chap-ters become more advanced as they progress. Learn to make bakery-style muffins, the perfect grain bowl, and the ultimate French onion soup. Move on to weeknight dinners such as skillet lasagna and restaurant-style stir-fry. Finally, graduate to dinner par-ty-worthy dishes like Chinese braised short ribs, seared scallops, and flour-less chocolate cake. LEARN HOW TO “THINK LIKE A COOK” Every recipe is paired with a sidebar that uses the recipe as a jumping-off point for addressing a wider culinary topic. What’s the best way to salt meat? How do you tell when fish is done? And what exactly is umami? You’ll learn something new with every dish you make. A FRESH AND FUN COLLECTION OF RECIPES Discover how to sear steaks like chefs do. Smash cucumbers the Sichuan way. Make lasagna in a skillet, roll fresh pasta without a machine, and press tortillas using a pie plate. And turn out a killer burger—beef, veggie, or fish. Whatever you dip into, you’ll find recipes that are friendly and approachable, with instructions that set you up for success. contentsWelcome to America’s Test KitchenIntroductionPART 1 A Walk Through Your KitchenPART 2 The Simplest Way to Cook EverythingPART 3 Recipes for Every Occasion breakfast and brunch salads and bowls sides that go with any meal soups and stews weeknight dinners sunday suppers back-pocket bakingPART 4 AppendixIndexcontentsWelcome to America’s Test KitchenIntroductionPART 1 A Walk Through Your KitchenPART 2 The Simplest Way to Cook EverythingPART 3 Recipes for Every Occasion breakfast and brunch salads and bowls sides that go with any meal soups and stews weeknight dinners sunday suppers back-pocket bakingPART 4 AppendixIndex6 THE NEW ESSENTIALS COOKBOOKA WALK THROUGH YOUR KITCHEN 7STAPLE INGREDIENTS YOU WILL COUNT ON Your pantry is an ever-evolving collection of ingredients that reflect the kinds of food you enjoy cooking and eating. There are no hard-and-fast requirements, but this list presents many of the ingredients we most often call for in our recipes and which we think make the ba-sis for a strong, adaptable home pantry. There are bound to be plenty of other foods that you consider must-haves, but you won’t get very far into most recipes without at least a few of these staples. Butter We like unsalted butter for cooking and baking, but salted butter is great for spreading on toast or homemade Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits (page 000). Cheese The type(s) depend on your taste, but we recommend at least having Par-mesan, which is a common ingredient and also good as a topping. Buy the real thing and grate it yourself. Feta and cheddar are also versatile staples.Eggs It’s hard to overstate how many things you can do with eggs. They are one of the most versatile and valu-able items in your pantry. We always call for large eggs in our recipes.Milk Lowfat milk is the most versatile. We often turn to whole milk and butter-milk when baking. Yogurt For eating plain and for recipes, we prefer whole-milk yogurt. We’re also big fans of Greek yogurt, which has a smooth, thick, decadent texture.Bacon From brunch to vegetable sides, bacon livens up pretty much any dish. Good bacon has balanced meaty, smoky, salty, and sweet flavors. We prefer cured, dry-smoked versions. Lemons and Limes A squeeze of citrus can be just the thing to brighten up a dish. Keep lem-ons and limes in the refrigerator until you need them.Dried Fruit Almost any fruit can be dried; the dry-ing process concentrates flavor and sugar. Try dried fruit in salads, granola, or baked goods, or on cheese plates.Garlic Garlic is the base of a ridiculous num-ber of savory recipes, from Asian to Italian to down-home barbecue. Don’t get caught without it.Onions Our first choice for cooking is yellow onions for their rich flavor. Red onions are great grilled or raw in salad or salsa (sweet onions are also best raw). White onions are similar to yel-low onions but lack their complexity.Shallots Shallots have a complex, subtly sweet flavor. Use them in sauces, where they melt into the texture, or to add gentle heat to vinaigrette or salsa.Ginger Fresh ginger has a bite and pungency that you just can’t get from powdered ginger. It also makes up part of the fla-vor base for many Asian recipes.Olives As a pantry staple, we like jarred brine-cured black and green olives. For the best texture, buy unpitted olives and pit them yourself.Potatoes Potatoes fall into three categories (baking, boiling, and all-purpose) based on their starch levels/textures. Make sure you know which you have, since you can’t always use any type and expect great results (see “Choos-ing the Right Potato,” page 000).ChilesDried chiles, chile flakes, and canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce are all great shelf-stable standbys for when you need to turn up the heat a little.6 THE NEW ESSENTIALS COOKBOOKA WALK THROUGH YOUR KITCHEN 7STAPLE INGREDIENTS YOU WILL COUNT ON Your pantry is an ever-evolving collection of ingredients that reflect the kinds of food you enjoy cooking and eating. There are no hard-and-fast requirements, but this list presents many of the ingredients we most often call for in our recipes and which we think make the ba-sis for a strong, adaptable home pantry. There are bound to be plenty of other foods that you consider must-haves, but you won’t get very far into most recipes without at least a few of these staples. Butter We like unsalted butter for cooking and baking, but salted butter is great for spreading on toast or homemade Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits (page 000). Cheese The type(s) depend on your taste, but we recommend at least having Par-mesan, which is a common ingredient and also good as a topping. Buy the real thing and grate it yourself. Feta and cheddar are also versatile staples.Eggs It’s hard to overstate how many things you can do with eggs. They are one of the most versatile and valu-able items in your pantry. We always call for large eggs in our recipes.Milk Lowfat milk is the most versatile. We often turn to whole milk and butter-milk when baking. Yogurt For eating plain and for recipes, we prefer whole-milk yogurt. We’re also big fans of Greek yogurt, which has a smooth, thick, decadent texture.Bacon From brunch to vegetable sides, bacon livens up pretty much any dish. Good bacon has balanced meaty, smoky, salty, and sweet flavors. We prefer cured, dry-smoked versions. Lemons and Limes A squeeze of citrus can be just the thing to brighten up a dish. Keep lem-ons and limes in the refrigerator until you need them.Dried Fruit Almost any fruit can be dried; the dry-ing process concentrates flavor and sugar. Try dried fruit in salads, granola, or baked goods, or on cheese plates.Garlic Garlic is the base of a ridiculous num-ber of savory recipes, from Asian to Italian to down-home barbecue. Don’t get caught without it.Onions Our first choice for cooking is yellow onions for their rich flavor. Red onions are great grilled or raw in salad or salsa (sweet onions are also best raw). White onions are similar to yel-low onions but lack their complexity.Shallots Shallots have a complex, subtly sweet flavor. Use them in sauces, where they melt into the texture, or to add gentle heat to vinaigrette or salsa.Ginger Fresh ginger has a bite and pungency that you just can’t get from powdered ginger. It also makes up part of the fla-vor base for many Asian recipes.Olives As a pantry staple, we like jarred brine-cured black and green olives. For the best texture, buy unpitted olives and pit them yourself.Potatoes Potatoes fall into three categories (baking, boiling, and all-purpose) based on their starch levels/textures. Make sure you know which you have, since you can’t always use any type and expect great results (see “Choos-ing the Right Potato,” page 000).ChilesDried chiles, chile flakes, and canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce are all great shelf-stable standbys for when you need to turn up the heat a little.8 THE NEW ESSENTIALS COOKBOOKTHE SIMPLEST WAY TO COOK EVERYTHING 9think like a cookPUT AN EGG ON ITAdding a fried egg on top of pretty much any dish makes it richer, heartier, and more luxurious. In addition to bulking up the protein content of your meal, a fried egg also comes with its own built-in sauce from the silky, runny yolk. This makes it a great topping for sim-ple pasta dishes (try it on top of our Spaghetti with Garlic and Olive Oil on page 000) or for salad greens to turn them into a light meal (spinach is especially nice).Other recipes in this book that feature fried eggs as their finishing touch are our Bacon and Cheddar Break-fast Sandwiches (page 000), Brown Rice Bowls with Roasted Carrots, Kale, and Fried Eggs (page 000), and Vegetable Bibimbap (page 000). We also recommend trying one on top of Hash Browns (page 000), mixed into Ten-Minute Steel-Cut Oatmeal (page 000) for a savory take on breakfast porridge, or as the ultimate decadent topping for The Burger Lover’s Burger (page 000). Fried EggsServes 2; Total Time 15 minuteswhy this recipe worksThis method produces diner-style fried eggs with crisp edges and a runny yolk. If, like us, you have struggled with whites that never fully set up, or yolks that overcook, it’s a game changer. The first thing to do is to reach for a nonstick skillet; there’s no point in frying eggs in anything else. Next, don’t skip preheating: It ensures the pan’s surface will be evenly hot, which is extra important for quick-cooking foods like eggs. Once you raise the heat, don’t dawdle: Each step from here takes under a minute. When checking the eggs for doneness, lift the lid just a crack to prevent loss of steam should they need further cooking. To fry just two eggs, use an 8- or 9-inch nonstick skillet and halve the amounts of oil and butter. To fry more than four eggs, see page 000. You can use this method with extra-large or jumbo eggs without altering the timing.2 teaspoons vegetable oil4 large eggsSalt and pepper2 teaspoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and chilled1. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over low heat for 5 minutes. Mean-while, crack 2 eggs into small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Repeat with remaining 2 eggs and second small bowl.2. Increase heat to medium-high and heat until oil is shimmering. Add butter to skillet and quickly swirl to coat pan. Working quickly, pour 1 bowl of eggs in 1 side of pan and second bowl of eggs in other side. Cover and cook for 1 minute. Remove skillet from burner and let stand, covered, 15 to 45 seconds for runny yolks (white around edge of yolk will be barely opaque), 45 to 60 seconds for soft but set yolks, and about 2 minutes for medium-set yolks. Slide eggs onto plates and serve.variationEgg in a HoleAdjust oven racks to lowest and highest positions, place rimmed baking sheet on lowest rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Spread 21/2 table-spoons softened unsalted butter evenly over 1 side of 6 slices hearty white sandwich bread. Using 21/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out and remove circle from center of each piece of buttered bread. Remove hot sheet from oven, add 21/2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter, and let melt, tilting sheet to cover pan evenly. Place bread circles down center of sheet and bread slices on either side of circles, buttered side up. Return sheet to lowest oven rack and bake until bread is golden, 3 to 5 minutes, flipping bread and rotating sheet halfway through baking. Remove sheet from oven and set inside second (room temperature) rimmed baking sheet. Crack 1 egg into each bread hole. Season eggs with salt and pepper. Bake on highest oven rack until whites are barely set, 4 to 6 min-utes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Transfer sheets to wire rack and let eggs sit until whites are completely set, about 2 minutes. Serve.8 THE NEW ESSENTIALS COOKBOOKTHE SIMPLEST WAY TO COOK EVERYTHING 9think like a cookPUT AN EGG ON ITAdding a fried egg on top of pretty much any dish makes it richer, heartier, and more luxurious. In addition to bulking up the protein content of your meal, a fried egg also comes with its own built-in sauce from the silky, runny yolk. This makes it a great topping for sim-ple pasta dishes (try it on top of our Spaghetti with Garlic and Olive Oil on page 000) or for salad greens to turn them into a light meal (spinach is especially nice).Other recipes in this book that feature fried eggs as their finishing touch are our Bacon and Cheddar Break-fast Sandwiches (page 000), Brown Rice Bowls with Roasted Carrots, Kale, and Fried Eggs (page 000), and Vegetable Bibimbap (page 000). We also recommend trying one on top of Hash Browns (page 000), mixed into Ten-Minute Steel-Cut Oatmeal (page 000) for a savory take on breakfast porridge, or as the ultimate decadent topping for The Burger Lover’s Burger (page 000). Fried EggsServes 2; Total Time 15 minuteswhy this recipe worksThis method produces diner-style fried eggs with crisp edges and a runny yolk. If, like us, you have struggled with whites that never fully set up, or yolks that overcook, it’s a game changer. The first thing to do is to reach for a nonstick skillet; there’s no point in frying eggs in anything else. Next, don’t skip preheating: It ensures the pan’s surface will be evenly hot, which is extra important for quick-cooking foods like eggs. Once you raise the heat, don’t dawdle: Each step from here takes under a minute. When checking the eggs for doneness, lift the lid just a crack to prevent loss of steam should they need further cooking. To fry just two eggs, use an 8- or 9-inch nonstick skillet and halve the amounts of oil and butter. To fry more than four eggs, see page 000. You can use this method with extra-large or jumbo eggs without altering the timing.2 teaspoons vegetable oil4 large eggsSalt and pepper2 teaspoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and chilled1. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over low heat for 5 minutes. Mean-while, crack 2 eggs into small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Repeat with remaining 2 eggs and second small bowl.2. Increase heat to medium-high and heat until oil is shimmering. Add butter to skillet and quickly swirl to coat pan. Working quickly, pour 1 bowl of eggs in 1 side of pan and second bowl of eggs in other side. Cover and cook for 1 minute. Remove skillet from burner and let stand, covered, 15 to 45 seconds for runny yolks (white around edge of yolk will be barely opaque), 45 to 60 seconds for soft but set yolks, and about 2 minutes for medium-set yolks. Slide eggs onto plates and serve.variationEgg in a HoleAdjust oven racks to lowest and highest positions, place rimmed baking sheet on lowest rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Spread 21/2 table-spoons softened unsalted butter evenly over 1 side of 6 slices hearty white sandwich bread. Using 21/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out and remove circle from center of each piece of buttered bread. Remove hot sheet from oven, add 21/2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter, and let melt, tilting sheet to cover pan evenly. Place bread circles down center of sheet and bread slices on either side of circles, buttered side up. Return sheet to lowest oven rack and bake until bread is golden, 3 to 5 minutes, flipping bread and rotating sheet halfway through baking. Remove sheet from oven and set inside second (room temperature) rimmed baking sheet. Crack 1 egg into each bread hole. Season eggs with salt and pepper. Bake on highest oven rack until whites are barely set, 4 to 6 min-utes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Transfer sheets to wire rack and let eggs sit until whites are completely set, about 2 minutes. Serve.Next >