The New Home Ec

Greek Yogurt layered with rhubarb compote and toasted pecans. 1/2 gallon cow milk 1 Tbsp. yogurt Choose your milk: it must be animal milk (someone else will have to figure out vegan yogurt) and it must NOT be Ultra-pasteurized (so no Organic Valley.) I used Clover Organic Whole Milk. Choose your yogurt: it needs to say “live active cultures” because that’s what will magic your milk into yogurt. It should, naturally, be plain yogurt. I used Greek Gods full fat traditional plain yogurt. This has pectin in it, which didn’t seem to cause any problems despite dire warnings on the internet that you should use yogurt that contains only milk and cultures. That’s the internet for you. Choose your weapons: I used the non-stick inner pot. There was, ultimately, still a little sticking but no scorching. I also used the glass lid from my fry pan, which happens to fit my Instant Pot. That’s because Laura Doyle said her yogurt picked up the smell from the rubber seal of the metal lid...

A couple of years ago ago, at a restaurant that was cute but ultimately disappointing*, I decided to order fried chicken with smashed potatoes and bacon gravy, and green beans with slivered shallots**. As any cook worth her salt will tell you, restaurant fried chicken is a foolish order. The best fried chicken is lightly floured*** and shallow-fried, producing plenty of nice fat and cracklins for milk gravy, which is IMHO the entire point of fried chicken. Restaurant fried chicken is usually heavily breaded and deep fried, and the gravy, if it exists at all, is a sad broth based thing, or nothing more than white sauce. Also I don't like chicken very much. Nonetheless, I ordered it because I had never considered putting bacon gravy on potatoes. Readers, it was a divine combination. The potatoes were buttery and slightly lumpy (in a good way) and the gravy was just the right texture, smoky and not too rich with a good dash of pepper. I made it the next week at home, and I'...

This is never going to be the prettiest sandwich in the place, but it could easily be the best. I have leftover turkey and gravy, bacon in the freezer and all the good cheese you could ever want. Kentucky Hot Brown Sandwich Serves 2 2 brioche buns butter 1 onion, caramelized (optional) 6-8 ounces thinly sliced turkey breast 1 cup Mornay sauce, warm or 2/3 cup turkey gravy, warm, and ½ cup grated colby-jack cheese 3 slices cooked bacon Toast buns and butter them. Place on oven-proof plates. Top with onion if using. Shingle turkey across toast. Pour sauce or gravy over top. Add cheese if using. Place under broiler and broil until sauce or gravy and cheese is bubbling and lightly browned. Remove from oven and crumble bacon over top. Serve at once. Serves two. Mornay Sauce 2 tablespoons butter 1½  tablespoons flour 1 cup milk ½ cup grated colby-jack or other melty cheese In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour, mixing well, and cook o...

I taught myself to make potstickers after we moved to Davis because there weren't any here as good as we could get in San Francisco.These are a great Lockdown cooking project, particularly if you have kids you can recruit to do the stuffing and folding. Potstickers from Scratch Makes 24 1 cup all purpose flour plus more for rolling 1/2 tsp. salt 6 Tbsp. boiling water 1 1/2 cups filling* 1 Tbsp. oil 1/2 cup broth or water Soy sauce for serving Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Stir in water. It will look awful. Let it cool for a minute or two (because boiling!) then knead together until it looks less awful, about 3 minutes. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes while you make your filling. Divide dough into 24 pieces. Look small, don’t they? Roll each piece into a ball and flatten with the heel of y...