"Al dente" means "to the tooth" in Italian. (Like "terroir", it's one of those concepts that poorly translates into English.) The phrase refers to the desired texture of cooked pasta, which should be soft but still slightly firm at the core of the noodle (or shell or spiral or alphabet letter). Some cooks define "al dente" as "not hard and not soft."
Pasta cooked "al dente" should require some chewing but not crunch or stick to the teeth when chewed. The firm texture should allow you to taste some of the pasta's flavor. Overcooked pasta tends to be mushy and flavorless.
So how do you know when your pasta is "al dente"? In my house growing up, we threw a strand of spaghetti at the wall -- as soon as it sticks, it's done. The problem with that test is that overcooked pasta sticks to the wall, too. So now I just use my teeth: Before I think it's ready, I draw a piece of pasta from the pot, let it cool a few seconds and take a bite. If it's ready, my mouth knows.
Related: What's the point of putting oil in my pasta water?
Related: How to cook garlic for pasta
Pasta alla carbonara (usually spaghetti, but occasionally linguine or bucatini) is a family of Italian pasta dishes based on eggs, parmesan, pancetta or guanciale and black pepper.
Carbonaro means charcoal-burner in Italian, but the connection is unclear. Some food historians believe the dish may have been popular among charcoal makers working in the Apennine Mountains; or perhaps it is called carbonara simply because of the specks of black pepper it is seasoned with.
I love the smooth mildness of cooked garlic. This is a quick way to get that while boiling your pasta.
When the salted water comes to a boil and the pasta is tossed in, also toss in any number of unpeeled garlic cloves. If the pasta being used cooks more quickly (like fresh pasta), add the cloves to the boiling water about 2 minutes before adding the pasta. If the pasta -- such as ziti -- takes longer to cook, wait until about 7 minutes of cooking time are left and then add the garlic.
When the pasta is al dente -- after 6 to 9 minutes -- drain it. To peel the cooked garlic, hold the papery tip of the garlic peel in one hand and use a wooden spoon to press downward, towards the root end of the clove. The clove should just pop it out.
Reference: What does al dente mean? (Cookthink)
Reference: What's the point of putting oil in my pasta water? (Cookthink)
What can't you do with an egg? You can't grill it, but you can boil it, broil it, fry it, roast it, scramble it, simmer it, steam it or drop it from 10 meters in a balsam wood cage.
incredible The really amazing thing about the egg is the versatility of textures it can create. It can be as light as a meringue, and as dense as a pound cake. It all depends on how you rearrange an egg's proteins--break them apart and whip them full of air, or use them to bind together heavier ingredients like cream and sugar.
colorblind Some chickens produce white eggs, others brown. Some are even blue. Among the common grocery store offerings, there isn't too much difference, whatever the color.
put together An egg is made up of a couple of different components: a semi-permeable outer shell, a viscous "albumen" or white, and the center yolk, which is also made up of microscopic layers. Many recipes call for either the yolk or the white alone. Don't worry, separating them is is easy enough to do.
sinker As eggs age, they gradually lose moisture through the pores inthe shells. So an old egg will be much less dense than a new one. You can test an egg's relative freshness by putting it in a bowl of cold water; the fresher it is, the faster it sinks. And if it floats, toss it out.
no boil Don't let the name fool you. Actual boiling water is too violent for cooking eggs; the constant bubbling shifts them around, possibly cracking the shell and letting the white leak out. Eggs should be cooked in barely simmering water, 3-5 minutes for soft boiled or coddled eggs, 10-15 minutes for hard boiled.
what you need
A nonstick pan is almost essential for eggs. It lets you fry or scramble or make an omelet without using a lot of butter. Unless you want to, of course.
For the true egg devotee, try any of the recipes in The Good Egg: More than 200 Fresh Approaches from Breakfast to Dessert. Make sure to pick up a few dozen eggs first.
If you're a stickler for perfectly round fried eggs (it can't overlap your English muffin, after all), try an egg form.
what you do
The lightest of desserts, this Apple Snow will look graceful on any table.
Try your eggs Passover- style with Matzo Brie. Think of it as Jewish French toast.
When scrambled eggs grow up, they become quiche. And what little scramble wouldn't want to be an elegant Quiche Lorraine?
These Spicy Baked Eggs with Tofu are great for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or that late-night craving.
featured recipe
This springy Pasta with Leeks, Asparagus, Mushrooms, And Fried Eggs is the featured recipe of this week's Root Source Challenge. We loved the creaminess of the cheese combined with the yolk of the egg. Congratulations to Amy and Jonny of We Are Never Full.
Fettucine Alfredo is a rich pasta dish named after Alfredo di Lello, a Roman restaurateur who supposedly created it in the 1920s for his pregnant wife.
What he was really doing is just making a rich version of the classic Italian dish fettucine al burro and slapping his own name on it. Legend has it that his celebrity American clientele brought news of it to the States, and the rest is history.
But if classic Italian fettucine al burro is made with fresh fettucine, sweet butter and grated parmesan, the Italian-American Alfredo sauce is gluey and made richer with the unnecessary addition of heavy cream. It is often further mucked up with ham, peas, garlic and other ingredients.
Despite the name, Alfredo sauce can be used on other noodles, like orecchiette.
What do we mean by shimmering oil?
What do we mean by shimmering oil?
Shimmering oil is hot oil that is nearing its smoke point.
At room temperature, common cooking oils like vegetable and olive oil seem fairly thick. Put them in a pan and heat them though, and they thin out when you swirl the pan. As they get hotter, they tend to "flow" and coat the pan more easily.
In the right light, when you look at oil that's at a good temperature for sautéing -- nice and hot, but not yet smoking -- it shimmers. It forms "tines" like those on a wine glass. It looks colorful, iridescent even.
Shimmering oil is good for sautéing because it increases the chances that the food won't stick. Hot oil immediately seals the bottom of food, creating a natural barrier between it and the bottom of the pan.
What does it mean for bacon to render its fat?
What does it mean for bacon to render its fat?
Bacon renders -- or gives up -- its fat when cooked over low to medium heat. Cooking the bacon melts the fat, which separates from the connective tissue and meat, and becomes what is otherwise known as bacon fat.
Rendering is also used to describe what happens when butter is clarified -- meaning heated until its milk solids separate and can be removed -- as well as the process of turning suet into tallow and pork fat into lard.
Recipe: Braised Mustard Greens With Bacon And Shallots (Cookthink)
Reference: Do I need to blanch bacon before using it in a recipe? (Cookthink)
