Cook like a pro Recipes & tips for home cooks

Food Network host Garten's disappointing 11th cookbook revolves around the author's professional tips intended to elevate home cooking, but much of her advice will come as no surprise. She begins by touching on basics, such as proper seasoning ("You've been under-salting") and plating ("Plating food is like arranging flowers in a vase") that are helpful yet too familiar. A tomato and avocado salad incorporates arugula, lemon juice, and red onion, and the helpful hints include instructions to use a serrated knife to cut the tomatoes. A sidebar on baking (deemed "very scientific") cautions that an oven takes 20 minutes to preheat. A recipe for turkey sandwiches made with store-bought mayonnaise suggests toasting the bread in the oven, but doesn't explain why that's preferable to using a toaster. Many dishes are inspired by other recipes: the fried chicken sandwich from Shake Shack, and Charlie Bird's farro salad with shaved parmesan (use a vegetable peeler, Garten advises), which is based on a recipe written by Melissa Clark in the New York Times. As a result, Garten's own style doesn't shine through. Her recipes are all perfectly sound, but the lack of a strong point of view or game-changing advice makes this one of her lesser collections. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Crispy Mustard Chicken & Frisee Serves 4 This is a great summer dinner! I love the interplay of hot and cold--the crispy chicken and roasted fingerling potatoes with the slightly bitter greens and mustard vinaigrette. This hits all the right notes for me. 2 garlic cloves 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 cup panko (Japanese bread flakes) 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest Good olive oil 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted 1/4 cup good Dijon mustard 1/4 cup dry white wine 1 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (4 large) 1 pound fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise 12 ounces baby frisée or chicory salad greens (see tip) Mustard Vinaigrette (recipe follows) Pro tip: Vinaigrette won't cling to wet lettuce. Wash and thoroughly spin-dry greens before dressing them. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the garlic, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until the garlic is finely minced. Add the panko, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and the butter and pulse a few times to moisten the panko. Pour the mixture into a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, whisk together the mustard and wine. Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Dip each piece first in the mustard mixture to coat the top and bottom and then coat the skin side only in the crumb mixture, pressing gently to make the crumbs adhere. Place the chicken on one side of a sheet pan, crumb side up, and press any remaining crumbs onto the chicken. Place the potatoes, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and toss. Spread the potatoes on the other side of the sheet pan in one layer and roast both together for 40 to 50 minutes, turning the potatoes once during roasting, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees. The chicken and potatoes should be done at the same time. Meanwhile, place the greens on a serving platter. When the chicken and potatoes are done, toss the salad with enough vinaigrette to moisten and place the chicken and potatoes on top, adding any crumbs from the sheet pan. Sprinkle with salt and serve while the chicken and potatoes are still warm. Mustard Vinaigrette Makes 3/4 cup 1/4 cup minced shallots 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 1/2 cup good olive oil 1 tablespoon good Dijon mustard Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Place the shallots, vinegar, olive oil, mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl and whisk until emulsified. Pro tip : To cut onions or shallots neatly, cut them in half and peel them, leaving the root end intact before slicing, chopping, or mincing. Otherwise, you'll have onions all over your cutting board! Excerpted from Cook Like a Pro: Recipes and Tips for Home Cooks by Ina Garten All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.