The Test Kitchen
and the "How To"

Welcome to the Test Kitchen

In this chapter, we introduce the test kitchen, in this case, your well stocked kitchen. From here, we will lead off to the "how to" of making your own signature recipes for entrees. Developing judgment for the home cook is what FERC is all about.

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The general formula is:
A Protein + A Marinade + A Sauce = An Entree

From this page, we suggest experiments to develop your signature marinade that knocks their socks off.

Then, when you have your protein all squared away with the infused flavors of your excellent marinade, top off your entree with your own signature sauce.

Cooking methods for various proteins will add a third chapter leading off this page.

Finally, add your carb and your veggie, and you're all set.

Here's an example of the test kitchen to get the ball rolling.

The Experiment: Delicate Proteins with Caesar Marinade served with Dill Yogurt Sauce

The marinade:

One cup olive oil, half a cup of lemon juice small tin of anchovy filets, drains. A dash or Worcestershire sauce, 2 cloves or garlic, half a teaspoon of dry mustard. Whisk them all together.

The proteins:

were the delicate ones: chicken breast, veal, and tilapia filet, and halibut filet.

The sauce:

I chose to make a Dill Yogurt Sauce:

1. fresh basil - about 20 leaves
2. fresh tarragon - about 3 sprigs
3. about 3/4 cup yogurt
4. about half a teaspoon of dried dill

I had to resort to dried dill because mine didn't thrive in the garden this year but I would have preferred the fresh. A yellow and green caterpillar pest pretty much took care of the dill. They were very selective, however, and did not disturb any of the other herbs.

Put these in a blender until smooth (no, not the caterpillar, the ingredients!).

The method:

Thawed the proteins completely to room temp and then removed them from of their marinade pouches. I pounded the chicken thin because the breast was too thick to cook well - and grilled the breasts on a cast iron griddle (spray with Pam). The uniformity of thickness makes for more even cooking and the pounding makes the entree more tender as the connective tissue is broken.For the fish, I chose a non-stick flying pan and took the precaution of spraying it with Pam and a tiny drizzle of olive oil. Turn only once to minimize flaking. When the center turns from translucent to opaque, the fish is done. It only takes a minute and overcooked fish is a disaster. Test by using a fork to see when it flakes.

Conclusion and findings:

The marinated chicken was great counterpoised against the piquant dill yogurt sauce. Both the fish proteins were wonderful this way. The veal, however, it was a bust because it was tough even though the flavors went together well.

The fix? Next time, I'll pound the veal also and cook it more slowly to soften the connective tissue.

I served samples of each dish to my friend Carol, who loved the flavors but suggest that perhaps the yogurt sauce was a little strong. I tend to like strong, so you may want to use 10 basil leaves, 2 sprigs of fresh tarragon and half a teaspoon of dried dill.

In my test kitchen, I still haven't tried the more robust proteins (beef, lamb and pork) with the Caesar and the yogurt sauce. I bet the dill yogurt will

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