#roux

#roux

"Tight head, bud of a flower - that's what I want." This comparison emphasizes the importance of selecting asparagus with tightly closed tips for optimal freshness.

The story of poule au pot starts in Pau, in southwestern France, a city famous for this chicken dish and as the birthplace of its alleged originator, le Bon Roi Henri - otherwise known as Henry VI, King of France for 21 years bridging the 16th and 17th centuries. Good King Henry has gone down in history for his benevolence.

Suddenly, a strange, loud, rhythmic, prolonged noise, like the dying moan of an organ, then the dying wail of the breeze sighing in the cloisters, struck the indignant ears of the nuns with astonishment. The nuns all turned to stare at Sister Agnès, who in her embarrassment, tripped and let fly a spoonful of her chou pastry dough into a pot of boiling fat, and the doughnut-like pet de nonne, 'nun's fart' was born.

The word ketchup was first documented centuries ago, but it was advertised as more of an ingredient than a condiment, and the primary components were anything but tomatoes.

When churning out cover after cover at the saute station you can't exactly be picky about what's on the shelf above the stove. But that doesn't mean professional chefs don't have opinions about the pans they use every day during service.

Of the five mother sauces, velouté is extremely under-appreciated and not talked about enough. It's what we as Americans call gravy, which we know has so many various uses. Velouté, which means velvety in French, is made with a light roux (or a mixture of flour and fat, like butter), stock or broth, and some seasoning like salt and pepper, and a bay leaf.

Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course is the best resource for those who want to learn from him in an understandable, digestible fashion - cooking meals for regular folk, using accessible ingredients and simple techniques. The book, first released in 2012, was initially a companion to a TV show with the same name that aired in the U.K.

Using phyllo dough instead of traditional shortcrust for quiche changes the whole personality of the dish. The paper thin sheets of phyllo dough becomes light, flaky, and crunchy when baked, swapping rich, buttery heft for a lighter quiche with a crispy shell that shatters a little when you cut into it.

By the time mushrooms enter the conversation in a beef bourguignon recipe, the heavy lifting of layering the dish's flavors is mostly done. The beef has browned and braised, the veg has caramelized and come together, the wine has reduced, and the meat's collagen has melted into the sauce. It's a long, gentle cook, in which mushrooms are lost if they're added too early.

Few desserts are more evocative in French cuisine than a decadently creamy chocolate mousse. And if anyone embodies the spirit of simple French cuisine that folks can make at home, it's Julia Child. When you put the two together, well, you're guaranteed a sure hit. In Julia's world, however, you don't just make a chocolate mousse - you make mousseline au chocolat, a lighter, heavenly version of the popular dessert.

Indeed, beyond its delicate, airy texture and rich flavor, the hallmark of this old school dish is its theatrical impressivo. Soufflés comprise a crème patisserie (egg yolk base) beaten into a meringue and baked in individual ramekins, a once-popular side dish that has fallen out of favor due in part to its daunting reputation among unacquainted home cooks. More specifically, the elegant, somewhat retro spinach soufflé receded from a mid-20th-century status-symbol dish to a relic of elevated dinners past.

In this review, I'll provide instructions on how to use the stovetop, oven, Instant Pot, and air fryer to prepare caramelized onions in six different ways, using nothing more than butter, salt, onions, and sometimes vegetable broth. Although you can achieve shockingly good caramelized onions with a variety of ingredients like brown sugar, alcohol, and balsamic vinegar, I kept things simple so that I could better evaluate the flavor and texture of the onions themselves.

Heavy whipping cream is one of those things that pops up in a lot of recipes, but for some reason, it's never sold in exactly the amount you need. Instead, you're always left with some odd amount of heavy cream left over and no real idea what to do with it because, well, the recipe you bought it for is done now. That's where these recipes to use up heavy cream come in handy.