Make Ahead

Growing up in the South, we were surrounded by three-bean salads, which are something of an aquired taste. We ate up Mama’s beans and ham hocks, but give us kids a cold bean salad and we’d be out the backdoor. Well, now we’ve seen the error of our ways—plus canned beans seem to be better these days, less mushy and more flavorful. Here we toss them with spicy cheese and leftover ham for a main-course salad that’s delicious served with cornbread.

We owe enormous thanks to our slow cooker for making it possible to turn our absolute favorite weekend treat, barbecued pork, into a four-ingredient recipe we can throw together for a weeknight. We love to make sandwiches with the soft, flavorful shredded pork on hamburger buns, and serve them with some Lemony Coleslaw with Raisins (page 116), on top or alongside.

Cold fruit salads like this one are an old-fashioned piece of Americana. You can find recipes for stuffed canned peaches and pears and other so-called salads like this one in historic Southern cookbooks and of course in classics like the Joy of Cooking and The Settlement Cookbook. You don’t see them much around anymore, which is a shame because this salad is cool and refreshing—a great thing to serve for a summer lunch or as a first course for a dinner party. It may seem weird nowadays to serve canned pears with mayo, but would I waste my time with something that wasn’t good as hell? I didn’t think so.

On the second season of Pitmasters, I wasn’t a competitor; I was a judge. What can I say—that’s what happens when no one can beat you. Anyway, the judging panel consisted of football star Warren Sapp, chef Art Smith, and yours truly. On one episode, we held a competition for the best homemade potato salad. I pride myself on my potato salad. I said to the contestants, “You got to have mayonnaise to have a good potato salad.” I don’t care what else you put in it—it’s got to be a little bit creamy.

Trout is a freshwater fish, the majority of which swim in the rivers of Idaho and North Carolina. Because it’s so commonly farmed, trout is available in markets year-round. It’s a meaty fish with a naturally salty flavor, and it takes well to smoking. I like to eat smoked trout as a main dish with a little garlic butter on top and some cheese biscuits on the side. It’s also really good in a sandwich with some horseradish, or mixed into a dip with a little mayonnaise and sour cream.

St. Louis–style ribs do very well in KCBS contests, and because they’re larger they tend to be a little bit easier to handle. A lot of folks favor them because they’re surrounded by more fat to flavor the meat, and when they’re cooked right, they’re tender and bursting with real hog flavor. I cook four racks of ribs at competition, so that’s what these recipes call for; that should serve a nice-size group of people, depending on appetites and on what else is on your menu. If you’re going to cook fewer ribs, you’ll still need to make the rub, marinade, and glaze. You can either cut those recipes in half or you can save the leftovers and use them on other meats (the rib rub, for example, would be great on a pork loin roast), and I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what you can do with leftover glaze (I like mine on burgers, though). Regardless of how many racks you’re cooking, the cook time stays the same.

Nowadays chicken is cut into eight pieces: two legs, two thighs, two breasts, and two wings. Traditionally, though, when I was growing up, butchers used an eleven-piece cut: two legs, two thighs, two breasts, two wings, the neck, the back, and the wishbone. I created this recipe with the old-style cuts in mind because I like the way it gives you more pieces to enjoy and because it’s an homage to an old-fashioned way of doing things. It’s a recipe that relies on the flavors of smoke, of course, mingled with brown sugar, which caramelizes the skin. It’s a wonderful take on classic saucy-style so-called barbecue chicken. The easiest way to do this is to ask your butcher to cut up a whole chicken into eleven pieces. Then you’re done. However, if you’d like to try it yourself, I’ve included instructions opposite.

I make this pastry dough on a leisurely weekend when I want to treat myself to a small quiche for lunch, or a fruit pastry for dessert. Then I store the rest of the dough in the freezer, so I’ll have it on hand if family or friends show up unexpectedly, or if I feel like making something for myself one night that requires a pastry topping, such as Beef and Kidney Pie (page 34). I use a food processor to make the dough, because it is so easy, and if you measure the pulses carefully as you are mixing the dough, you can’t go wrong. I learned from Lydie Marshall, that incomparable French-cooking teacher, the trick of saying “alligator” out loud to determine the length of each pulse.

The correct term for these cookies today is, of course, “refrigerator cookies,” but I cling to “icebox” because it reminds me of the old ice chest that we used during summers in Vermont. The dough is wrapped in wax paper and chilled. Then you slice the cookies as thin as you like, and as many as you want. Bake only what you figure you will eat in the next few days and then cut and bake another batch, so the cookies are always fresh—a boon to the single cook. You can play with the dough, too, and vary the ingredients, so you never tire of exactly the same flavor. Here is an almondy-tasting version that I particularly like.

Wild rice isn’t really a rice—it’s a grain—and the best of it comes from Native Americans in the upper Midwest who harvest it in the traditional way, beating the ripened grains into their canoes at harvest time. The cultivated variety is all right and takes a little less time to cook, but it doesn’t have the texture of the wild variety. Evan, being a loyal Minnesotan, always sent for wild rice from Blackduck, Minnesota, and I have kept up the tradition, ordering Slindee wild rice, as the producers are now known. It takes about an hour for wild rice to cook, so it’s not for a quick dinner. But it reheats perfectly, and I always make extra and enjoy it in a number of ways.

There’s nothing like knowing you have stashed away in your freezer good tomato sauce made from sweet San Marzano canned tomatoes. It comes in handy in so many ways. I usually make 3 cups of thick sauce, to freeze in 1-cup containers. You can easily double or triple that amount if you’re feeling ambitious and have enough freezer space.

This is a good way to make use of those unnecessarily large bouquets of parsley that we get at our supermarkets, as well as fennel fronds that usually go to waste.

It is so easy to make a vinaigrette, the classic French salad dressing, that I can’t fathom why so many people living alone go out and buy bottled dressings. Not only do they pay more, but the dressing never tastes as fresh, and you can’t vary the seasonings as you wish. So I beg you to make your own vinaigrette as part of your cooking life. The amounts I’m giving will be enough to dress two or three small salads, but you can double or triple the quantities if you’re an avid salad consumer and want enough dressing to see you through the week. Just refrigerate the extra in a jar, tightly sealed.

This is something I’m tempted to make when my supply of rich beef broth is low. But maybe that’s an excuse. The truth is, I love eating these cuts, spooning out the marrow from the shank, and, in the second dish, sucking off meat from the little tail bones. It’s nice, messy eating, perhaps best enjoyed alone with a kitchen towel around one’s neck. I usually still have some meat left after lapping up these two dishes—just enough to make myself a pasta on a night when I want a quick supper. Then there’s the treasure of the rich beef broth to put away.

Creamed soups are often used as a base ingredient in casseroles, and cream of chicken is among the most popular of choices. Trust us when we say that making this soup from scratch and using it in recipes will really make a huge flavor difference by highlighting the freshest ingredients and doing away with preservatives and artificial colorings. This soup is fantastic as a ingredient in recipes, but don’t be afraid to make it as a stand-alone dish as well.

Store-bought beef broth works just fine, but—just as with chicken broth—it simply doesn’t compare in taste to the homemade version. The trick with beef stock is to roast the bones first in order to achieve a nice caramelized flavor.

There are some exceptions where homemade just makes good common flavor sense. This recipe boasts a lovely, woody mushroom flavor that doesn’t compare to the canned variety. It’s perfect for adding to your favorite recipes, such as our Oh Boy! Broccoli Casserole, page 131.

Fuggedaboutit! Marinara sauce is a great thing to have on hand at all times to make a fast and flavorful meal. Double or triple this recipe and freeze the sauce in pint-sized containers. Just pull out of your freezer and make a quick and delicious dinner by tossing it with cooked pasta. Or for a quick snack, spoon on some toasted Italian bread and sprinkle with your favorite cheese (Parmesan and mozzarella work nicely).

So why make your own broth? The main reason is that you’ll get a richness of flavor in your homemade stock that you just can’t buy at the store. Homemade broth has an intense chicken flavor and an unbeatable smell. While the thought of making your own broth may seem intimidating, we promise that it’s not! In fact, it requires little attention once all the ingredients hit the pot.