Herbs & Spices

Serve with a green salad or vegetable sticks.

These white chocolate sheets are a wonderful example of the synergy between agar and locust bean gum. They are delicate and flexible, with a rich flavor. They can be draped across fruits, cheeses, or desserts. If you prefer, you can also let the chocolate set in one piece and slice it for serving as custard, or puree it for something softer and more pudding like. The sheets are best served cold, although they will hold their shape at room temperature.

These short ribs are everything you want braised meat to be. They are tender and juicy with a rich beefy flavor that is nicely balanced by the sweetness of the carrots. The root beer and birch bark draw on familiar aromatics and tastes but we use them in a slightly different manner. Come to think of it, these short ribs are not too far off from a traditional cola-glazed ham.

Veal breast is a flavorful and economical alternative to the traditional veal shanks used to make osso buco. In fact, it produces a better yield and makes portioning a heck of a lot easier. We’ve braised the breast in apple cider and added some horseradish for a bit of heat and spice. We like to serve this with Sourdough Spaetzle (page 87), but it’s equally delicious with buttered egg noodles, risotto, or a stew of salt-roasted root vegetables. Alternatively, season the veal with nutmeg, lemon zest, ground fennel, and black peppercorns to change up what is soon to become a staple in your kitchen.

We like roasting in salt because it transfers heat and flavor beautifully. Here we’ve combined the salt with ginger and egg whites to form a crust around the whole beets. The roasting process sweetens and intensifies the flavor of the vegetables. The roasted beets peel easily and have a gentle, tender texture. Their surface layer will be well seasoned and the flavor of the ginger will have permeated their interior. Remember, almost any aromatics can be blended with the salt: lemongrass, cumin, star anise—the pantry is your palette.

This micro stock makes a great base for tomato soup, either hot or cold. It can also be used for soaking or finishing pasta, poaching fish or vegetables, or making Bloody Marys. The hoisin and hibiscus flowers (available from tea companies and gourmet supermarkets in the specialty tea section) round out the natural flavors of the tomatoes and give the stock that little something extra that makes the difference between good and great.

The aroma of rosemary is reminiscent of a pine forest. We thought it would be fun to pair this herbal aromatic note with the juicy, sweet-tart flesh of the pineapple. The effect of the controlled bruising brightens and tenderizes the pineapple while preserving its bright flavor. This pairs nicely with a variety of sweet and savory preparations. We like it with white, meaty fish like snapper and flounder or with shrimp or calamari. The pineapple is also pretty darned good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

There’s nothing better than melted cheese on a chilly winter evening. A wide range of dishes center around hot cheese, like Welsh rarebit, queso fundido, raclette, and the classic fondue. Fondue hinges upon a few ingredients handled well. Cooking temperature is very important—do not give in to the urge to increase the heat. Have a glass of sparkling water or wine while you’re cooking and enjoy the process. A whisk helps bring everything together smoothly. Your fondue will start out thin and slowly thicken. At times the fat may threaten to break free, but have faith and keep whisking and everything will come together in the end. If you’re the kind of person who likes added insurance, you can toss your grated cheese with a tablespoon (6 grams) of tapioca flour before adding it to the wine. It’s not strictly necessary but will help compensate for a slightly distracted cook. We like to serve fondue with good bread, sliced apples, charcuterie, and occasionally a salad on the side.

This is the classic pudding of our childhood. Chocolate pudding is the ultimate comfort food, and this version is decadent without being overpowering. Use your favorite good-quality chocolate here because it will make your pudding that much better. A dollop of unsweetened whipped cream or lightly sweetened heavy cream poured over the top takes this to yet another level, although Aki has been known to eat it straight out of the container with a spoon. Jell-O pudding has nothing on us.

Pudding is one of Aki’s favorite desserts. Classic American puddings are made with either flour or cornstarch. We substitute tapioca flour in our stirred custards because it gels at a lower temperature and still provides the right texture in the finished dessert. This pudding was inspired by classic butterscotch pudding, which gets its flavor from brown sugar and a hint of vanilla. Burnt sugar is a slight misnomer because although the dark caramel we make here does have a slightly bitter edge, it is not the unpleasantly acrid taste of fully burnt sugar. We recommend that, if possible, you let the pudding rest for several hours or overnight before eating it. This gives the intense caramel flavor time to soften and mellow.

We love the indulgence of individual soufflés straight out of the oven. These are the perfect winter dessert; the spicy gingerbread flavors permeate every delicate bite. You can top them with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream and enjoy the play of hot and cold, spicy and sweet. Or you can pour on a little hard sauce or crème anglaise or even eat them plain. If you love gingerbread, you will be very happy with these light, airy soufflés.

These light cookies have the texture of brownie edges, crisp with a touch of chew and a surprisingly big chocolate flavor. They bake for five hours at 200°F (95°C) in order to achieve this texture. On the bright side, you can set a timer and forget about the cookies until they are done—although it’s hard to ignore them as the scent of chocolate slowly fills your home. Fortunately, they can be eaten as soon as you pull them from the oven.

While you can certainly buy ranch spice blend in the supermarket, we prefer to make our own. It just tastes fresher and we can fine-tune the seasoning exactly the way we like it.

One summer we worked as private chefs on a ranch in Montana. One of our jobs was to oversee the chefs in the employee kitchen. We watched as they lamented the crew’s love of ranch dressing, culminating one evening when a guy poured it on his lasagna. We were fascinated by how much people loved the flavor of ranch and slowly began to weave it into our repertoire just for fun. These gnocchi were one of our first experiments and are still one of the best.

The tang of these doughnuts provides an excellent counterpoint to the cinnamon sugar that coats them. Beware; these doughnuts tend to disappear quickly, especially if there are people in the kitchen when they emerge from the fryer. The doughnuts can also be dipped in warm ganache made with equal parts chocolate and cream. We’ve even been known to turn these into bomboloni by filling them with vanilla pastry cream and serving them with chocolate dipping sauce. Lemon curd or good jelly, perhaps lightened with a little whipped cream, are also nice fillings. A little caramel sauce is never an unwelcome accompaniment, whether the doughnuts are stuffed or plain. But really, the cinnamon sugar does pretty well all by itself. Warm doughnuts are one of life’s special pleasures, and once you experience them, you’ll want to make these again and again.

We love the complex flavors of this puree. We like to serve it with the Twice-Cooked Scallops (page 25). It also goes well with salmon, turkey, corned beef, and the Root Beer–Braised Short Ribs (page 226). The smokiness gives the mixture a rich meaty taste and enhances the sweetness of the dried fruits. Rest assured, though—even if you don’t have smoked fruits, you can use the regular dried version and still enjoy something special.

When we think of kimchi we tend to picture the classic kind found in Asian supermarkets, which is made primarily with Napa cabbage stained red from the chili powder and pungent with garlic. Interestingly, although that is indisputably the most popular variation, kimchi can be made with a wide array of vegetables and spices, with regional variations that affect the ingredients used and levels of heat and spice. Here we’ve used red cabbage for two reasons. The first is because we like its sweet flavor and slightly sturdy texture. The second, more practical, reason is that these fermented pickles are generally deemed ready when enough lactic acid is produced to change the pH from 6.5 to approximately 3.5. Red cabbage juice changes color at this pH and becomes a bright reddish-purple, giving you a visual cue when fermentation is complete. Kimchi is a surprisingly good condiment for grilled hot dogs. It is a great way to doctor up packaged ramen at home. In place of coleslaw on a sandwich, it can add an unexpected kick to anything from corned beef on rye to pulled pork on soft white bread. Its heat and tang are wonderful for cutting through rich ingredients, and as a substitute for sauerkraut in choucroute, it is utterly delicious.