What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained

and bone marrow, to a rich brown sauce. (You may not be able to get the marrow out of the rather thin bones—osso buco, it’s not—but as it cooks its flavorful fat drips into the sauce.) Success here depends to a great degree on the choice of cooking vessel. For best results, use an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven, which holds its heat to ensure even c

1 cup dry white wine, such as sauvignon blanc, sancerre, or muscadet ¼ cup minced shallots 2 cloves garlic, minced ½ cup parsley, chopped 2 tablespoons salted butter 1. Rinse the mussels in tap water, pulling off any protruding beards by tugging away from the hinge. Discard any mussels whose shells are parted and don’t close up promptly when struck

baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix the milk, eggs, and butter well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just enough to make a thin, homogeneous batter. Allow the batter to rest for 10 minutes. 2. Stir in the flour and mix the batter until patches of white disappear. Do not overmix. Fold in the bl

2 pounds mussels, cleaned and debearded

Tapas Almonds In Spain, complimentary dishes of almonds fried in olive oil and salted are set out at bars. They are addictive. You can make them at home either by frying or, for less fat, toasting them in the oven. Both methods are given below. In either case, the best way to make the salt adhere to the almonds is to use kosher salt ground to a pow

Rock Cornish Brined Hens Bob’s Mahogany Game Hens Cornish game hens are flavorful and juicy, especially when brined before roasting. In this recipe we give them an Asian flair by basting with a soy-garlic-ginger sauce to produce beautiful mahogany-brown skins. How much brine to use? Put the hens into the bowl, crock, or resealable plastic bag that

2. Pour the olive oil into a small, deep saucepan to a depth of 1 inch and turn the heat to

to the pan. Turn the birds breast side up and continue to roast for another 30 to 40 minutes, basting every 10 minutes. Make sure to get some of the solids onto the skins, especially on the final basting. The birds will be tender, juicy, and mahogany brown all over. SERVES 2 GENEROUSLY

Thin Skins and Gelatins Greek Lamb Shanks The shin bones of young animals such as lambs are surrounded by an abundance of collagen-containing cartilage, which cooks down into lots of mouth-watering gelatin in the meat and contributes, along with the meat juices, fat,