Inside the Test Kitchen

September 1, 2014
In his newest volume, Florence attempts to discover the best approaches for over 100 dishes. Some, like DIY bacon, tortilla chips, and ricotta, and the use of a mixture of meats for meatloaf and burgers (Florence recommends a 50/50 mix of beef chuck and short rib) aren’t exactly revelatory, but others, such as his Thanksgiving gravy that calls bacon, turkey backbone and a litany of vegetables and no-boil polenta gnocchi beg to be tried. Ingenious techniques such as poaching eggs in a muffin pan enable the cook to prepare a dozen at a time and riffs like French onion arancini, in which balls of risotto are stuffed with brie and caramelized onions, breaded, and the fried will send readers scurrying to the closest grocery store. Some of his “perfect” recipes are labor-intensive, such as Wayfare Tavern’s fried chicken, which is roasted and cooled before frying, but he also suggests spatchcocking your Thanksgiving turkey to cut roasting time in half and includes a time-saving risotto and a basic mix that can be used for pancakes, waffles, muffins, cakes and even cookies. Whether readers are looking to save time or create the ultimate burger, scrambled eggs or pork chops, Florence and his staff have the answers.