Our Approach to Quick Cooking
Here in the test kitchen, we tend to take our time, keeping our eye on developing the best possible recipe—not on the clock. But with this book, everything changed. We were after fast recipes with big flavor, recipes that busy home cooks could make handily on a hectic weeknight. This called for some drastic rethinking of our methods. Traditional braises would be out. So would chilling times, long baking times, and the standard methods for building flavor. Yet we still wanted a well-rounded collection of satisfying recipes—from appetizers, soups and stews, and casseroles and other entrées to baked goods and desserts.
We set some ground rules at the outset of the project. First, every recipe had to clock in at 45 minutes or less, start to finish, including prep time and cooking time. We made the assumption that cooks would preheat the oven and start prepping immediately—no time wasted. And as for prep time, we were generous and didn’t assume home cooks would have the knife skills of a pro.
Convenience products would have to play an important role in helping us meet our goal, and we roamed the freezer and refrigerated sections of local supermarkets in search of products to try in new ways. Of course, they had to deliver good results as well as a significant time reduction. Boursin cheese, shelf-stable polenta, jarred sauces, precooked rice, and naan breads all passed the test.
Equipment and technique also helped us shave time. The microwave became a trusted ally when it came to jump-starting the cooking of vegetables and sauces. Ovensafe skillets turned out pasta casseroles with ease while also going from stovetop to hot oven to make roasted meats and vegetables possible in under an hour. And flavor boosters like porcini mushrooms, tomato paste, and soy sauce helped us mimic the deep, earthy flavors of long braises in recipes that trimmed cooking time.
We hope you’ll agree we’ve succeeded in creating a revolution in quick cooking. If you rely on smart strategies, we firmly believe that you can spend less time at the stove and still eat well. Our ultimate goal is for you to find that the more than 750 recipes—along with many tips and techniques—presented in this book inspire you to cook more efficiently and more often.