America's Test Kitchen (2000–…): Season 21, Episode 6 - French-Inspired Comfort Food - full transcript

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-Welcome to "America's
Test Kitchen: At Home."

Today, I'm making
a beef en cocotte

with mushroom sauce,

Jack's going to tell us
all about cooking with vinegar,

and Keith's making a holiday
worthy Swiss chard

and kale gratin.



We've got so much in store
for you today.

So stick around.

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♪♪

-Today, I'm making
beef en cocotte.

Now, cocotte is a casserole dish
or a covered dish

that's used to cook
big pieces of meat.

You can actually cook
just about anything en cocotte.

It just means that you're
cooking it in a covered pot.

So today we're making beef

and I've chosen a top sirloin
roast for the job.

It's three to four pounds,

so it's going to serve
quite a few people.

But top sirloin
is just a beautiful cut.



It's got a lot of marbling
in it, big beefy flavor.

And we don't need to worry
about cooking it for hours

and hours
as we would a chuck roast.

We're actually going to
cook this to medium rare.

So I'm going to set this aside
for just a moment.

And we're going to prepare
our other ingredients

before we start to cook.

Now, we're using two different
types of mushrooms

because we're making
a beautiful mushroom sauce.

And the first thing I want to do
is bring out my porcinis.

These little dried
porcini mushrooms.

And I need a half
an ounce of these.

All right.

Now, dried mushrooms can be

dusty, a little gritty,

so I want to be sure
to drain these off,

so I'll pour these
into this fine mesh strainer

so I am going to go over
to the sink and rinse them off.

Now, these are still dried.

I need to reconstitute them.

So I've got some boiling water.

Going to pour a cup
into my measuring cup here.

Add the mushrooms.

Just make sure
they're submerged.

So I'm going to put
this bowl on top

just to trap the heat in there

and let them steep
for about five minutes.

So I mentioned that's the first
of the two mushrooms.

Here's the second --
cremini mushrooms.

These are beautiful.

And I need five ounces
of cremini mushrooms.

And now I do want
to clean these off.

I like to use
a little pastry brush

just to get any big
clumps of dirt.

So now for our
cremini mushrooms,

I'm going to trim off
just the bottom here.

So we're going to keep
the stems attached,

but just trim off
the very bottom.

All right. And then finally,
we're going to cut these

into quarter inch slices.

So for the smaller ones,
I'll probably leave these whole

and just cut through this way.

Then once my finger
gets a little close,

I can go ahead
and just cut this way.

But for a larger cremini,

I'm going to go ahead
and start by cutting it in half.

All right.
So that's it for the mushrooms.

So next step, an onion.
Using one onion here.

I'm going to finely chop it.

So it's cutting it in half,
peeling it.

Sometimes you have to get
that next layer, too.

So what I like to do
is cut it in half again.

So that way I don't need to make
any horizontal cuts.

I'm just going vertical
and then vertical

after turning the onion
and then right across.

All right.
Any big pieces?

I'm just going to chop
and then once again,

the handy bench scraper.

All right.
Same thing with my second half.

Right into the bowl.

Now, it wouldn't be
a French dish

without a little bit of garlic.

And we're using
three cloves here,

but we don't need
to mince these.

So instead, just going to use
the side of my knife

to smash them

and then take that peel away.

And now the herb,

which really is the star
of the show here -- tarragon.

Just pick a couple
of sprigs, big ones for me,

and those go right
into the bowl.

So now we can bring back
our porcini mushrooms,

which should be softened
at this point.

So I'll go ahead,
put the bowl to the side,

and we're going to strain this

because we also want to use

all of that beautiful porcini
liquid.

Just gonna use the bottom
of the cup to press

and drain out that liquid.

All right. We'll set this aside.

We're going to use that
in a little bit.

And the mushrooms,
we're going to finely chop

and add those to the bowl
with the rest of our vegetables.

There we go.

I bet you thought I wasn't
going to get to the beef,

but I am right now.

You don't need
to do a lot to it.

This is a beautiful
top sirloin roast.

A roast between three
to four pounds

will work for this recipe.

I do need to do
a little bit of trimming.

There's a little piece
of thick fat here

that's not really
going to go away.

So you don't need to go
too crazy with your trimming

just a little bit.

And one last thing to do
to the roast before you move on.

I'm just going to tie it
right in the center.

And really,
this is key to ensuring

that this beef cooks evenly.

Let's give it a little squeeze
and you can see

as soon as I let go of this,
it really releases.

So one way the butchers
will keep the meat intact

as they're tying it
is they'll wrap it around twice.

So watch when I do this,
it doesn't let go completely.

Take off the excess.

And I'm going to clean up,
and then we'll move on.

All right, it's time
to start cooking

and we've got our cocotte here,
our Dutch oven.

We're going to add
two tablespoons

of vegetable oil in there

and I'll turn this
to medium-high heat.

All right.
We're going to wait for that

to get to the point
where it starts to shimmer.

But in the meantime,

we can finish
prepping our roast.

You can see there's
some surface moisture.

I want to get rid of that
with some paper towels.

So just pat it dry because
we want to start to develop

a nice brown color
on the outside.

And I'm going to salt
and pepper both sides.

All right.
So that's good.

We just have to wait
for that oil to heat up.

I'm starting to see
the first wisps of smoke there.

So I'm going to add in
our roast.

Wait for the sizzle.

[ Roast sizzling ]

Oh, yeah. So I'm going
to cook this and turn it

so that it's browned
on all sides,

and that's going to take
anywhere between

7 to 10 minutes.

Let's check that first side.

That is some
beautiful brown color.

I'm going to continue
browning this on all sides.

Probably has another 5
to 8 minutes left.

All right. Last a little bit
of browning.

You can see gorgeous color
all over that roast.

I'm going to get it
out of the pot at this point.

I like to use two pairs of tongs
if I need to.

I'm gonna put this back
on that plate

and set it aside
for just a moment.

So now I'm going to add
a little bit more oil,

about a tablespoon to the pot.

We're going to let
that start to shimmer,

which it does almost instantly
because the pot was so hot.

So now I'm going to add all of
those beautiful vegetables

and the tarragon
and the mushrooms.

All right.
So let me toss this in the oil.

Oh, the aroma as soon as
all of this hit the pan.

I'm going to let my
vegetables sweat

under the lid
for about five minutes

so that they start
to release their liquid.

All right, let's take a look
at those vegetables.

They're nice and soft.

Oh. Amazing.

All right.

So now I'm going to continue
to cook this

with the lid off at this point.

So we're going to let these go
for about 10 minutes.

I want to keep an eye on it so
that they don't get too brown.

So in the meantime,
we're going to add 1/4 cup

of dry white wine here.

So I'm going to add this white
wine to our porcini liquid.

One more ingredient --
a little bit of cognac

is going to go in there,
two tablespoons.

This is going to add
some beautiful warmth

and depth to our sauce.

All right. So two tablespoons
goes in there.

Going to keep an eye
on my vegetables

and look for some nice browning.

All right,
so most of that moisture

has been driven off
by the heat of the pot,

so it's time to add
our next ingredient.

We're using a tablespoon
of tomato paste.

It's going to add
a nice savory counter.

And I'm going to cook this
for about 30 seconds

just to get rid of
any raw tomato flavor.

We've developed some
beautiful brown fond

in the bottom of our pot,

and we want to pull all of
that up to make the sauce.

So that's where
our porcini liquid

and the white wine
and the cognac comes into play.

I'm going to add that right now.

It's safe to add the cognac
over the heat

because it was mixed in
with those other ingredients.

So I'm going to use
my wooden spoon

to scrape up all of those bits,

and then we're going to
cook this

and let it simmer until most
of that liquid has evaporated.

That's going to take
a good five minutes.

I wish you could be in here
because this smells outrageous.

It just smells so perfect.
All right.

So most of that moisture
has been driven off.

I can see a trail when I scrape
my spoon through the pot.

Oh! But I do need to
add the beef back to the pot

at some point.

All right, so I'm just going to
nestle it down there

in the bottom,
pour any juices in there.

Ohh, yeah. And now the beef
is going to give up

a little bit of liquid
as it cooks.

And I want to trap
that liquid in there

so it can really cook the beef.

So I'm going to put
a piece of foil right on top.

So we're going to put this
into a pretty low oven,

250 degrees.

And we're going to cook this
until the internal temperature

of the roast registers between
120 and 125.

We want it to be medium rare.

♪♪

[ Sniffs ]

Smells amazing. All right.

So, again,

I'm looking for around
120 to 125,

and we are hitting it.

How about that?

So I'm going to get this
out of the pot.

Again, I like to use two pairs
of tongs.

And now we don't want
to carve it right away.

So I'm going to take
that piece of foil.

And just tent it loosely,

and we're going to let this rest
for a good 20 minutes.

So we're putting this back over
medium-high heat.

We're going to add 1 1/2 cups
of chicken broth.

give that a good stir.

And I'm going to cook this

and let it simmer
for about two minutes

just so that
the flavors can meld.

All right.
So this has been simmering

for just about two minutes,
so that looks great.

I'm going to turn the heat off

because now I need to go
fishing for some tarragon.

Remember those sprigs
that I put in there earlier?

We don't need those anymore.

So now, again, this is off heat.

We're going to finish this
with a little bit of butter,

about a tablespoon.

That goes in,
and I'm going to whisk that in

just to finish the sauce.

That is it, so I'm going to put
the lid right back on the pot

just to keep it nice and warm
while we wait for the roast.

All right,
I couldn't help myself.

I told you, I love tarragon.

So this isn't part
of the recipe,

but I had so much on hand
I decided to chop a little extra

for sprinkling on top.

But now it's time
to carve our roast.

So it's rested for 20 minutes.

So juicy.

And you want pretty thick slices
here,

about a quarter inch thick.

But you can see it still has
some beautiful rosy pink color.

Well, I can't wait, so I'm going
to go ahead and plate myself

a couple of slices.
Don't mind if I do.

I can't forget about the sauce.

I mean, come on --

mushrooms galore,
caramelized onion.

And as promised,
everything looks better

with a little bit
of green on it.

The only thing better than
smelling it is tasting it.

So let me tuck in here.

It is so tender.

That sauce is unbeatable.

Earthy, a little warm
from the cognac,

and tarragon is definitely
front and center.

I love dishes like this.

You have to do a little bit
of work at the front,

but once it goes in the oven,

really, dinner's
pretty much done.

So to make this at home,
remember these keys --

start off with
a top sirloin roast

and tie the roast
to ensure even cooking.

Build a sauce right in the pot.

And then let the beef rest
before carving.

So from "America's Test Kitchen:
At Home,"

beef en cocotte
with mushroom sauce.

C'est magnifique!

♪♪

-Shh!

Can I tell you a secret?

Actually,
I don't need to whisper

because it's really good advice.

Next time you're cooking
and you're tasting your food

and it seems bland,
and please tell me

you're tasting your food
when you're cooking,

do not reach for the salt.

Pick up some vinegar.

Acidity makes everything
taste better.

It's why I keep so many vinegars
in my pantry.

So let me break it down for you

and explain what
the differences are.

You're going to notice
some color differences.

The bigger differences
are acidity levels

which vary, and flavor notes.

So let's start with the most
simple and basic.

Honestly, is just acidity,

doesn't have
a whole lot of flavor.

It's distilled white vinegar.

It's fine for pickling.

I prefer cider vinegar.

It's a similar level of acidity.

It's usually around 5%.

You get some fruity notes,
obviously, from the apples,

but they're both solid,
inexpensive choices,

especially if you want to be
using vinegar in bulk

like you do
when you're pickling.

Next up, I've got
two vinegars from Asia.

This is rice vinegar, which is
the lowest acidity of all

the vinegars here on the table.

It's at 4%.
It's mild, it's sweet.

It's used in stir fry sauces,
dipping sauces.

You'll see it in countless
Asian recipes.

This is Chinese black vinegar.

It's more of a sort
of specialized product.

It's got woodsy, earthy,
almost spicy notes.

It's a specialty item that

if you're doing
a lot of Chinese cooking,

you're going to want
to have it on hand.

Finally,
at the end of the table,

these are all made
from wine grapes.

Now we've got white wine
and red wine.

They're made
from straight up wine.

They're not aged.

They have notes
of grape and fruit.

But there's a lot of acidity

and they're great for
vinaigrettes and pan sauces.

Probably more people get excited
about balsamic and sherry.

Frankly, I get more excited
about the sherry.

Balsamic is made from
White Trebbiano grapes.

The thing that distinguishes

these two vinegars
from the other wine vinegars

is they're aged,
so they pick up color,

that's why balsamic is brown,
from the wood cask.

They also pick up tons
of flavor, earthy notes,

leather notes, spice notes.

Sherry vinegar
is my main choice

when I want a vinegar
with personality.

It's got wood, it's got smoke,
and it's high acid.

So it makes
everything delicious.

So there's the secret
to perking up your cooking --

a little bit of vinegar.

♪♪

-When most people hear the word
"gratin,"

they think of a rich casserole
of potatoes and cream,

but today I'm going to take
a different take on gratin

and I'm going to use
all hearty greens.

So we're going to first start
with our topping.

And that topping starts
with a couple cloves of garlic.

Just going to put this
in our food processor

and buzz it
for five to seven pulses

until it's coarsely chopped.

Perfect. Now for the bread.

We want to have a nice texture
to our topping,

so we're going to use
a rustic bread.

So three cups of bread cut
into 3/4-inch cubes.

I'm going to add
a little bit of olive oil --

three tablespoons
of extra virgin olive oil.

I'm going to pulse that down
until the largest piece is

about a quarter of an inch.

Okay, that looks good.
Now, a couple more additions.

I have one cup of grated
Parmesan cheese.

Gonna add 1/4 teaspoon
of table salt

and 1/4 teaspoon
of ground black pepper.

I'm going to pulse that down.

Okay, topping is done.

Now we can move on
to the greens.

When it came to choosing
the greens for our gratin,

we actually chose two greens.

The first one was Swiss chard.

We really liked the flavor
of Swiss chard.

But when it cooked down,
it collapsed too much

and made for a dense gratin.

So we cut it with
a little bit of curly kale.

The curly kale doesn't
cook down quite as much,

so it gave the gratin
a little bit more volume,

a little bit more body.

So let's start
with prepping our kale.

So it's pretty easy with kale.

I just hold the stem in one hand

and pull down on the leaves
with another one like that.

And it should just pull
the leaves right off.

I'm going to take the stems
off of all the kale

and then go back
and cut the leaves.

Okay, now that I have
the stems out,

I'm going to cut these into
about a one inch ribbon.

You don't have to be
too precise here.

So that's our kale.
I'm going to set this aside.

I'm going to wash it later.

Okay, now for our Swiss chard.

We actually want
to save the stems here.

The stems have a lot of flavor,

and they're going to form the
aromatic base for our filling.

So for Swiss chard,

I like to lay the leaf
on the cutting board

and then cut down
either side of the stem

and then remove the stem,
put the leaves aside.

I'm going to continue
to do this two pounds

and I've already washed
the Swiss chard.

Okay, so I have these
all separated.

Now I'm going to work
with the stems first.

I'm going to cut these
into two inch planks.

I'm going to put them
in our food processor.

Now that we have our stems
in the food processor,

I can focus on the mountain
of leaves that I have here.

Now, like the kale, I'm going to
cut this into one-inch ribbons.

Our greens are prepped
and ready to go.

Now we can focus on
the aromatics for the filling.

So I have my Swiss chard
stems in the food processor,

and I'm just going to add
one onion to this.

I want to coarsely chop this.

We'll process it further
in the food processor.

But we want to get these
down into rough,

coarsely chopped pieces.

Like so.

Okay. I'll just transfer
the onion

over to the food processor.

So I have my onions in here.

I'm just going to process
for 20 to 30 seconds

until those Swiss chard stem
and onions

are broken down, finely chopped.

Now, scrape it every once
in a while as needed.

Let's check this.

That looks great.

Nice and finely chopped.

Now I can go wash my kale,

and then after that,
we can start cooking.

Now it's time
to cook our greens.

We have a large volume
of greens, so blanching

and sautéeing were out.

They would have taken
too many batches

to cook all those greens.

So we're actually going
to steam our greens.

I have a Dutch oven here
with about two cups of water.

It's about a half
an inch of water in there,

and that's going to create
a lot of steam.

It's going to cook down
all of those greens

very efficiently in one pot.

I'm going to add
our washed kale first.

I'm going to cover it.

I'm gonna turn the heat down
to medium high

and let that steam for about
five minutes, stirring once.

Okay, I think it's time
to check our kale.

Oh, yeah. You can see that that
has wilted down really nicely.

It's time to add
our Swiss chard.

Okay, so I'm adding
all of our Swiss chard leaves.

We're going to cook
our Swiss chard stems,

which we processed later on.

I'm going to cover this.

This was going to go
for four minutes.

Same thing. The Swiss chard
needs to wilt down.

We're going to stir it
halfway through

to make sure
it's cooking evenly.

Okay, it's been about
four minutes,

and we're going to check
our greens.

These look great.

You can see that they've
wilted down nicely.

I'm going to take these
to the sink, drain them,

and let them sit for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes,
I'm going to come back

and I'm going to press them down
with a rubber spatula

to get rid of all
the liquid in there.

Our greens are cooked,
and now it's time

to turn our attention
to the aromatics.

Now I have the same pot
that I cook the greens in.

I'm going to add the onion
and the Swiss chard stems

that we processed earlier.

I'm also going to add
two tablespoons

of extra virgin olive oil,

1 1/2 teaspoons
of chopped thyme,

1/2 teaspoon of table salt,

and 1/4 teaspoon
of black pepper.

And I turn this on medium high.

I'm going to let this cook down
for about 8 to 10 minutes.

What we're looking for is
for all that liquid to evaporate

and for the onions and Swiss
chard stems to start to brown.

Okay, so we'll stir this
together.

I'm going to let this cook down
for about 8 to 10 minutes.

It's been about eight minutes.

All the moisture is gone
and I can start

to see the vegetables
browning around the edges.

So I'm going to add our greens
back to the pot.

Now to this, I'm going to add
one cup of heavy cream,

just a scant little bit of
cream.

That's going to enrich it,

but it's not going to overpower
the vegetables' flavor.

And one last addition, just
a little freshly ground nutmeg,

about 1/8 teaspoon.

Okay, that's off the heat.

Now it's time
to assemble our gratin.

I'm going to put our greens
into this 13x9 baking dish.

Now we can add our bread crumbs.

So now that our bread crumbs
are on there,

I'm going to transfer this

to a 375 degree oven
on the upper-middle rack.

We're going to let this bake
for 20 to 25 minutes.

And what we're looking for
are those bread crumbs

to get nice and golden brown

and will start to bubble
around the edges.

♪♪

Okay, it's been 25 minutes.

This looks fantastic,
and it smells even better.

You can smell all that cheese
and those earthy greens.

So I can't wait to eat this,

but we're going to have to wait
for 10 minutes.

It's a little bit too hot
right now.

So we'll be right back.

♪♪

It's been 10 minutes,
and now it's time to eat.

The texture's great.

The greens are tender and soft,

but that rustic bread crumb
topping

adds a ton of crispness to it.

And the flavor is great, too.

The earthy greens really, really
come through.

You have a hint of garlic.

The Parmesan in the crust
really is nice,

and it complements the earthy
greens.

And it's not very heavy.

There's enough cream
to give it some body,

give it some richness,

but it doesn't overpower
anything.

So it's quite amazing to think

that greens can make such
a hearty and excellent gratin.

So if you want to make this
at home, remember these keys --

use a rustic bread
for the topping

to give it a nice crisp texture,

use a lot of greens,

both a combination of kale
and Swiss chard

for the best flavor,

and just a small amount of
cream, one cup,

for a velvety texture.

So from "America's Test Kitchen:
At Home,"

a surprising recipe
for Swiss chard and kale gratin.