Ask the Test Kitchen with Cook’s Country Editors Morgan Bolling and Cecelia Jenkins
Welcome to a new series–Ask the Test Kitchen–where we sit down with ATK employees for an unfiltered, unscripted Q&A.
Get the recipe for French-Style Mashed Potatoes:
Get the recipe for Millionaire’s Shortbread:
Watch Cecelia’s series The Test Cook for her Cuban Sandwich development:
Get the recipe for Texas Barbecue Brisket:
00:30: Gluey Mashed potato pros and cons
01:47: After testing a recipe, how long before you can eat that food again?
02:42: The Cook’s Illustrated recipe for Millionaires Shortbread turns out crumbly. What am I doing wrong?
03:15: Tips for buying used/secondhand appliances
03:32: Where do you temp a steak? From the bottom or the side?
04:44: How necessary are V-Roasting racks?
05:22: Recommendations for knife sharpening?
05:47: Silicone muffin tin troubleshooting
06:46: Can I really make bread with a hand mixer dough hook?
07:14: Is an airfryer worth the cost + counter space?
08:09: When pan frying a steak, how do I keep the edges from curling?
09:07: Difference between muffins and cupcakes?
09:56: Other than in Thom Ka Gai soup, where else can I use Galangal?
10:51: What the most difficult recipe you’ve developed at ATK?
12:39: Do you eat the failures as well as the successes?
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Disclaimer: Hi everyone! This video was filmed earlier this year and our team is currently working at home for the foreseeable future. Stay healthy and hope you enjoy!
that was a treat.💜
When blending recipes together to see what works better, how do you decide which parts of the recipe or techniques to try? I found myself mixing recipes to get them more how my family likes them, but sometimes I feel like food are lacking in variety or taste.
Muffins vs. cupcakes – I would say that the difference lies in the method of making. Muffins would tend to use the whisking/mixing method of cake making, whereas cupcakes would traditionally use the creaming/folding method 👍
A Question for another episode. I have a Smooth Top Stove & I love to Pressure Can different foods. Since Canning on the Smooth Top Stoves isn't recommend can you point me in the right direction on purchasing a high quality Heavy Duty Hot Plate to can on? I would prefer something that uses the standard 110V outlet, but would consider using something that requires a 220V outlet. I truly appreciate any help you can give me! Love everyone @ ATK❣
Hello. I have never really understood the benefit of pulsing in a food processor… i.e. ten 1 second pulses vs. one 10 second continuous run. Dosen’t 10 X 1 = 1 X 10? What is the advantage of the pulse? Thanks and have a super great day.
My Mom has always used an electric mixer to make mashed potatoes.They're fine.
If you want to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, which inexpensive beef cut is best to sous vide?
Love the video. It's awesome we get to see the dynamics and great chemistry between two highly-skilled and charismatic team-mates! Go CJ, Go MB!
Question for another episode – Pros and Cons of tilt-head versus bowl-lift stand mixers, e.g. ease-of-use, durability, cost. It seems you use tilt-head on the shows. Is it because they are better when filming the show? Are there other types of stand mixers?
I gave up on the Millionaire's Shortbread base for the same reason. Now I substitute the Betty Crocker Toffee Bar recipe as the base & they turn out beautifully.
For mashed/ whipped potatoes I exclusively use a vintage Model 9 Sunbeam Mixmaster following its manual/recipe instructions. It has never failed me. I also use it to make Butternut squash puree/mash with brown sugar, or maple syrup. Next up is using it's juicer attachment to juice, and freeze lemon juice ice cubes for use until next year's crop.
How much if a difference does blooming spices make and does grinding your own salt or pepper make a difference?
Even if you fry a lot, Air fryers are NOT worth the cost or counter space! They are no substitute for a a pot of hot oil.
Galangal is a building block for many South East Asian dishes. Curries, rendang, fried rice, marinades – plenty of other recipes that use it.
I learned you keep frying meat from cupping by flipping frequently, like every minute (use a timer). Good show & thanks.
This is funny! I have always used a mixer for my mashed potatoes – that's more than 60 years – and they have always been great.
In my country we use galangal in a lot of different soups, braises and marinades
I tried the knife sharpening tip, but everyone freaked out at the dentist when I pulled out my chef knife.
This was my favorite of this series so far. I hope you folks can keep it going from home – Ask The Socially Distanced Test Kitchen?
The difference between a muffin, and a cupcake is the time of day!!
You can use a mixer (I use a hand mixer) to mash potatoes – but if you do not want glue – do it this way. Slightly overcook the potatoes so they easily fall apart when you put a knife point through them – Drain them VERY WELL and put them BACK INTO the pot(I don't use non-stick) – and add ONLY the Butter (THe hot potatoes will melt them) – and use the Mixer to finely break up the Potatoes – DO NOT ADD MILK OR CREAM – and when the potatoes are broken up(Almost Ricer consistency) – add cream or milk – let it soak for a minute – and mix that in with a spoon. I have been doing it this way for Decades (I am 81) and they will not be glue.
It’s technically impossible to make mashed potatoes with a stand mixer. You can make some really good whipped potatoes with a stand mixer. But not mashed potatoes.
There answers really don’t have a professional “feel” to them. It’s just like asking your random friends what their opinions are about cooking stuff. I don’t have a ton of confidence with their responses.
Glad to see things with more personality.
After a hard day, to be able to finally sit and relax and discover that two of my favorite chefs have a video out just really made my day! Be safe guys, much love!
We have used an electric mixer my whole life growing up and now for last 30 years of life myself. If you know how long to cook your potato- warm your wet ingredients and use it just till creamy- works beautifully!
I love your advice on cooking salmon (farm-raised) to 125 degrees, but I often see a recommendation of 140. That seems like it would be terrible. Why is yours so much lower?
What has happened to Julia and Bridget ???
The techniques of the snake………..
Galagal goes in my sate spice mix. Which you should do if you haven't.
Muffins vs. Cupcakes? Clearly you guys don’t bake! A muffin is made using quickbread techniques, i.e. essentially dump the ingredients in a bowl & mix: the results being denser; cupcakes are made using the cake-making technique, a more careful process to keep them tender: creaming the eggs & sugar, alternating adding liquid & dry ingredients, etc.
Gluten………Morgan.