Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

This recipe is adapted from “The Pleasures of Cooking for One” by Judith Jones, Julia Child’s longtime editor at Knopf, who gave it to The Sunday Times Magazine in 2009. It is easily prepared and a savory accompaniment to a steak or roast, crisp and buttery, with just a hint of garlic. Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

The abalone’s oceanic flavor comes with a uniquely al dente texture — it’s like an oyster crossed with a scallop with a twist of snail. (Only otters can eat it straight from the shell: fresh abalone requires tenderizing to transform its eraserlike consistency.) Long prized in Asian cuisine, it has become an American delicacy as well, served in high-end restaurants like Michel Richard's Citronelle in Washington. Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

There is perhaps no better salad to represent the coming of age of California cuisine than this one, which began at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, where Alice Waters was looking for something to do with what was then a new ingredient on the American plate: goat cheese. It’s best with little gem or other, delicate and young lettuces. Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

There is no true definition of buttermilk, according to Anne Mendelson, the author of “Milk.” Originally it was the liquid that separated from churned butter. In warm climates, like the American South or India, it refers to sour milk, since unrefrigerated milk turns within hours. Today most buttermilk is made from milk to which cultures of lactic-acid bacteria are added. Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Strictly traditional poundcakes don’t include any leavening – just one pound each of eggs, sugar, flour, and butter – which explains why they are often leaden and crumbly. This recipe has a touch of baking soda and a shot of buttermilk, which work together to lighten the crumb and give it moisture and tang. It’s the perfect foil for summer berries and superb plain on its own. Buttermilk you can buy from local dairy farms may not be “real” buttermilk – which is the leftover liquid from churning cream into butter – but it will certainly be fresher and richer-tasting than supermarket brands. Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

This rich, elegant gratin, adapted from the chef Naomi Pomeroy's book "Taste and Technique," brings together braised fennel, Gruyère sauce and crisp bread crumbs, with outrageously delicious results. As with many recipes in this highly instructive book, this gratin is more labor intensive than what you may expect — coarse bread crumbs are toasted and shattered just so — but every component is key to the final dish. A lot happens simultaneously, so breathe deep, and be sure to prep your ingredients before beginning, and carefully read through the recipe to the end (a good practice always). If you'd like to get a head start, the bread crumbs may be toasted and stored at room temperature; the fennel and cheese sauce can be made up to 1 day in advance and refrigerated, separately, until you are ready to assemble, bake and serve. It's ideal for entertaining. Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

This recipe came to The Times from John Currence, the celebrated chef in Oxford, Miss. It is a meditation on the delights of summer: fresh, juicy peaches, cold buttermilk and whipped cream -- and grilling. The alcohol from the bourbon will burn off when you mix it into the caramel, so don’t worry about serving it to children. Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Donald Link, the chef and owner of the award-winning restaurants Herbsaint and Cochon in New Orleans, and his chef de cuisine, Ryan Prewitt, like to use Cajun Grain brown jasmine in a luxe shrimp risotto. “It’s really nutty and comes out a lot creamier,” Mr. Link said. Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Here is an excellent project recipe that Christine Muhlke, then an editor and columnist at The New York Times Magazine, brought to us in a 2007 profile of the cookbook writer Gail Monaghan, who adapted it from a cookbook written by the Vicomte de Mauduit in 1933. It is infinitely more chic and cosmopolitan than most Neapolitan cakes, with no cartoon hue or bulk. Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

This showstopper of a dessert is everything traditional s'mores are – chocolatey, gooey, crunchy – in grown-up, travel-friendly pie form. It is not difficult to make, but it does take some time, so set aside a few hours to make and assemble all of the worthy parts. Ultimately, what you end up with is a chocolate pudding pie in a graham cracker crust, topped with a blanket of homemade marshmallow that's browned to perfection. Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Biscuit recipes don’t vary much. Usually, the difference between a good biscuit and a great one is technique. Scott Peacock honed the technique taught to him by the great Southern cook Edna Lewis while he was a chef at Watershed restaurant in Decatur, Ga. It’s a touch fussy – one is required to make baking powder from baking soda and cream of tartar – but the results are superior. Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

This uncomplicated lemon pie is a variation of one attributed to the Shakers, a religious community best known for their simple living philosophy and exquisitely designed furniture. It is said that Shaker cooks waste nothing, and if that is true, this tart is a perfect example of that ethos. The entire lemon (minus the seeds) is used – sliced thinly and macerated with plenty of sugar overnight – then baked with eggs and melted butter in a soft, flaky pastry. The end result is delicately-flavored and bright without the lip-puckering quality of most lemon desserts. (This recipe calls for Meyer lemons, which are milder than standard lemons, but the traditional variety will do – the thinner-skinned the better.) Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Think of this miso-ginger sauce as a universal sauce, because it’s so good on so many things: tofu, tempeh, winter squash and napa cabbage salads, for starters. This recipe, adapted from "In My Kitchen," by the vegetarian cookbook author Deborah Madison, spoons the dressing over sweet potatoes, and suggests serving them with spicy Asian greens or stir-fried bok choy, and maybe soba noodles or brown or black rice. Not surprisingly, the sauce is good on them, too. Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke

Christine Muhlke · NYT Cooking

Christine Muhlke