Serves 6 to 8

If you are pressed for time you can “quick-brine” your beans. In step 1, combine the salt, water, and beans in a large Dutch oven and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let stand 1 hour. Drain and rinse the beans and proceed with the recipe. We prefer cannellini beans, but navy or great Northern beans can be used. We prefer pancetta, but bacon can be used. To make this soup vegetarian, substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth and 2 teaspoons of olive oil for the pancetta. Parmesan rind is added for flavor, but can be replaced with a 2-inch chunk of the cheese. In order for the starch from the beans to thicken the soup, it is important to maintain a vigorous simmer in step 3. The soup can be cooled, covered tightly, and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Reheat it gently and add basil just before serving.

For five minutes of stirring, just Dutch and cover.

Serves 6 as a side dish

This recipe does not employ the traditional risotto method; the rice is mainly stirred for 3 minutes toward the end of cooking instead of constantly throughout. This more hands-off method does require precise timing, so we strongly recommend using a timer. The consistency of risotto is largely a matter of personal taste; if you prefer a looser texture, add extra broth in step 4.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Classic risotto can demand half an hour of stovetop tedium for the best creamy results. Our goal was five minutes of stirring, tops.

First, we chose to cook our risotto in a Dutch oven, rather than a saucepan. A Dutch oven’s thick, heavy bottom, deep sides, and tight-fitting lid are made to trap and distribute heat as evenly as possible. Typical recipes dictate adding the broth in small increments after the wine has been absorbed (and stirring constantly after each addition), but we added most of the broth at once. Then we covered the pan and simmered the rice until almost all the broth had been absorbed, stirring just twice during this time. After adding the second and final addition of broth, we stirred the pot for just a few minutes to ensure the bottom didn’t cook more quickly than the top and turned off the heat. Without sitting over a direct flame, the sauce turned out perfectly creamy and the rice was thickened, velvety, and just barely chewy. To finish, we simply stirred in butter, herbs, and a squeeze of lemon juice to brighten the flavors.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/test-kitchen-community/2012/08/best-of-the-best-day-six-almost-hands-free-risotto/

Serves 4 to 6
Two tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley leaves may be substituted for the tarragon in this recipe.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
In search of a streamlined technique that would give this classic French braise weeknight potential and a brighter, more complex sauce, we replaced the bone-in chicken parts with convenient boneless, skinless breasts and thighs. We found two ways to add back the richness that we’d lost when we opted for boneless chicken: We browned the meat in a combination of butter and oil, and we browned the vegetables until they developed their own fond to serve as the base of the sauce. Increasing the amount of glutamate-rich mushrooms boosted the fricassee’s meaty flavor. As a final step, we finished the sauce with sour cream, which added body and a pleasant tang. Whisking an egg yolk into the sour cream thickened the sauce and made it incredibly silky.

Serves 4
We prefer to use a 3 1/2- to 4-pound chicken for this recipe. If roasting a larger bird, increase the time when the oven is on in step 2 to 35 to 40 minutes. Cooking the chicken in a preheated skillet will ensure that the breast and thigh meat finish cooking at the same time.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Roast chicken is often described as a simple dish, and it is, at least in terms of flavor—when done properly, the rich flavor and juicy meat of the chicken need little adornment. But the actual process of preparing and roasting chicken is anything but simple: Recipes often call for complicated trussing techniques and rotating the bird multiple times during the course of cooking. The most time-consuming part is salting or brining the bird, a step that ensures juiciness and well-seasoned meat. We wanted to find a way to skip this step—without sacrificing flavor—and get roast chicken on the table in just an hour. After systematically testing the various components and steps of a typical recipe, we discovered we could ditch both the V-rack and flipping the chicken by using a preheated skillet; preheating the pan and placing the chicken breast side up gave the thighs a jump start on cooking. Starting the chicken in a 450-degree oven and then turning the oven off while the chicken finished cooking slowed the evaporation of juices, ensuring moist, tender meat.

Makes one 8-inch square cake, serving 8 to 10

This cake packs potent yet well-balanced, fragrant, spicy heat. If you are particularly sensitive to spice, you can decrease the amount of dried ginger to 1 tablespoon. Guinness is the test kitchen’s favorite brand of stout. Avoid opening the oven door until the minimum baking time has elapsed. If your cake pan has thin walls, you might want to wrap it with premade cake strips or make your own from cheesecloth and foil. This extra insulation will help ensure that the edges of the cake don’t overbake. Serve the gingerbread plain or with lightly sweetened whipped cream. Leftovers can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for 2 days.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Most gingerbread recipes that are moist also suffer from a dense, sunken center, and flavors range from barely gingery to spice overload. Focusing on flavor first, we bumped up the ginger flavor by using ground ginger and grated fresh ginger and accented the ginger with cinnamon and fresh-ground pepper. As for the liquid components, dark stout had a bittersweet flavor that brought out the caramel undertones of the molasses. Finally, swapping out the butter for vegetable oil and replacing some of the brown sugar with granulated let the spice flavors come through. To prevent a sunken center, we incorporated the baking soda with the wet ingredients instead of the other dry ones, which helped to neutralize those acidic ingredients before they were incorporated into the batter and allowed the baking powder to do a better job. And vigorous stirring gave our bread the structure necessary to further ensure the center didn’t collapse.

Serves 4 to 6

We strongly prefer the flavor of natural pork in this recipe, but if enhanced pork (injected with a salt solution) is used, reduce the salt to 2 teaspoons (1 teaspoon per side) in step 2. For tips on “double-butterflying,” see step-by-step below.

Pairs with:
Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Chardonnay
Chardonnay is rich enough to stand up to a meal with pork and herbs.

Serves 4

It’s important to follow visual cues, as pan thickness will affect cooking times. If using an electric stove, heat one burner on low heat and a second on medium-high heat; move the skillet between burners for temperature adjustment. If you don’t have half-and-half, substitute 8 teaspoons of whole milk and 4 teaspoons of heavy cream. To dress up the dish, add 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley, chives, basil, or cilantro or 1 tablespoon of dill or tarragon to the eggs after reducing the heat to low.

MAKES ONE 9-INCH CAKE, SERVING 12 TO 16

We recommend using either Callebaut Intense Dark L-60-40NV or Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bar, but any high-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate will work. If you’re refrigerating the cake for more than 1 hour in step 6, let it stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Using ground nuts in place of some of the flour gave our rich, fudgy, flourless chocolate cake a sturdy enough texture to serve as the base of our chocolate-raspberry torte recipe. We combined raspberry jam with lightly mashed fresh raspberries for a tangy-sweet mixture that clung to the cake. And for the glaze, melting bittersweet chocolate with heavy cream created a rich-tasting, glossy ganache that poured smoothly over the cake and made the perfect topping to our chocolate-raspberry torte.

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/print/detail.asp?docid=26328&Extcode=N00SPHA00

Serves 4 to 6

For tips on trimming asparagus, see related tip. Campanelle is our pasta of choice in this dish, but farfalle and penne are acceptable substitutes.

Serves 12

One cup of plain yogurt thinned with ½ cup milk can be substituted for the buttermilk. Grate the onion on the large holes of a box grater. The ingredients in this recipe can be reduced by two-thirds to serve 4. For instructions on how to cook the pasta in less water, see Lots of Pasta, Less Water (related).