hipcook's Profile

Joined: November 14th, 2009


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October 5th, 2022

Crispy Garlic Crumb Steak from All Recipes

Terrific technique which I'm looking forward to trying with chicken and pork. I even overcooked the steaks to try and get enough color on the crumb coating, but the pounding out (and the coating) saved... read more >


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hipcook's Reviews


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7 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 7Sort by: Title | Date | Rating

Website: Cooks Illustrated

www.cooksillustrated.com
 

6th August 2012

Blueberry Pancakes

I was impressed with how high these pancakes were. Admittedly, I like my pancake batter a little stiff, but this batter hit a sweet spot of being workable and still substantial. The flavor is creamy and sweet, if a bit plain. The method of putting the batter on the griddle and then adding berries is the only way to go.

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There's not a lot to this recipe - get thick-cut pork chops, brine them, cook on a 2-level fire. I found the timing a little short, but I was cooking on a windy day at about 60 degrees F, so my grill was cooler than it will be in July.

But it's a 5-star recipe for me, because these pork chops were every bit as good as any I've had in a restaurant. Tender and juicy with a nice smoky flavor (and a hint of the BBQ rub I used for a spice). I'm always afraid that pork on the grill will either be shoe leather or burnt on the outside, raw in the middle, but with this technique, I see how some of my summer nights will shape up.

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Every year, at Christmas or Thanksgiving, my wife says "we could make glazed carrots" and I say "we don't have a glazed carrots recipe" (meaning "I don't really like cooked carrots.") And she says "yes we do, the Cook's Illustrated one" and I say "I have no memory of what you're talking about." And then we make this one, and the strong hit of ginger balances the rosemary really well and gives needed complexity to its restrained sweetness.

And I say "you were right, honey, these are really good."

And she smiles, knowing I'll forget about them before next year.

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Good technique here for pan-seared shrimp, with a variety of glazes. We've tried all 3, and the chipotle-lime is our favorite - tropical and sweet, with just a bit of spice. Could serve as a great appetizer, an ingredient in shrimp tacos, or as a main course on its own.

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I love cacio e pepe, and I'm pretty sure this is the first recipe for it I ever tried. It's worth hunting down the video on this - the tempo at the end is a combination of do all the steps in quick order, so you don't lose your heat, but you pour the pasta water into the cheese slowly (and the same is true of the sauce over the noodles).

If I owned a fine grater blade for my food processor, I'd make this more often. Grating 6 ounces of pecorino romano is a job.

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6th August 2010 (edited: 6th August 2010)

Teriyaki Stir-Fried Beef with Green Beans and Shitakes

Nice combination of flavors, straightforward stir-frying technique. I might increase the ginger next time.

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1st December 2013

The Best Sweet Potato Pie

This is a very refined, light and custardy sweet potato pie. It has good sweet potato flavor, with a strong hit of bourbon and an eggy-milky sweetness which reminds me of egg nog. I'm partial to the rustic, dense version of sweet potato pie, but this uptown version is definitely a recipe I'll make again. A friend suggested it was lacking pecans, and we agree - a layer at the bottom of the pie would be a fantastic surprise.

(Disclaimer: this is not a review of the pie crust, because I used store-bought.)

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