charisstoma

Feb. 10th, 2018

How to make a pie crust
https://cooking.nytimes.com/guides/3-how-to-make-a-pie-crust?smid=email&smtyp=ob2

Before You Start

1. You’ll need a 9-inch pie pan, a rolling pin and pie weights (or use dried beans).

2. Your butter must be cold; even frozen butter works as long as you cut it into cubes before freezing.

3. Be sure to factor in at least one hour to let your dough chill before rolling it out.

All-Butter Pie Crust
YIELDOne 9-inch single pie crust
TIME 15 minutes, plus chilling

The Basics of Perfect Pie Crust
Evan Sung for The New York Times

Some bakers use lard in their pie crust, while others turn to shortening. But in general, butter is your best bet: it's easy to find, it has fantastic flavor, and it yields a tender, flaky crust. This is an all-butter crust recipe that will empower even the most nervous pie makers, a simple dough of butter and all-purpose flour that is easy to make and dependable as can be. If you plan to make a pie with a top crust, double the recipe; when it's time to chill the dough, divide it in half and shape into two disks to put in the fridge. The dough will also keep for 3 months in the freezer, if you want to stash a few disks there. Defrost in the fridge overnight.

INGREDIENTS
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (150 grams)
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water, as needed ( Read more... )

Crossposts: https://charisstoma.livejournal.com/1430026.html

https://cooking.nytimes.com/guides/32-how-to-make-steak

WHY MASTER IT?
There are few faster, easier and more impressive ways to get dinner on the table than to sauté a juicy steak over a hot flame, then whisking together a sauce from the coppery drippings at the bottom of the pan.

Although the technique for making pan sauce is used here with beef, it is easily adaptable to all sorts of meats, including pork, lamb, chicken, veal and even fish.

A proper pan sauce begins with browning the meat. The pan needs to be hot enough to sear the meat and cause the Maillard reaction, which is the caramelizing of the amino acids and sugars in food.

After the meat is cooked to taste, it is removed from the pan, leaving behind a seared-on layer of browned bits called the fond. The fond is culinary gold, containing an incredible savory character that forms the foundation of the sauce. To access that meaty flavor, the fond needs to be dissolved into a liquid; this is called deglazing the pan. Technically, any liquid can be used, and water and stock frequently are. But something alcoholic and acidic, such as wine, is better at extracting the flavors.

A classic method of building a pan sauce, which we use here, is to develop the flavors in stages. First, brandy is used to deglaze the pan, then wine and stock are added and simmered down until syrupy. At the very end, butter is whisked into the pan to thicken the sauce, giving it a silky texture that helps it cling to the steak for serving. Other liquids can stand in for the brandy, wine and stock: fruit and vegetable juices, cream or milk, condiments like soy sauce and chile paste, vinegars and spirits.

Once you’ve learned this adaptable technique, you will always be able to whisk up a fast and pungent pan sauce from whatever fond your pan has produced.