Basics and Blends

Basic procedures and custom spice blends

Chinese Egg Noodles

16 oz bread flour
1 tsp salt
4 egg yolks from large eggs beaten
4 oz water (added gradually; start with this amount)

PREPARE DOUGH USING A STANDMIXER:
Mix the flour with salt in a mixing bowl of stand mixer or large mixing bowl.

Attached a dough hook and run it on low to medium speed (speed 4 on kitchen aid) and gradually add in the water until the dough come together and let it knead until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky. You may need to add more water, you may not. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.

PREPARE DOUGH BY HANDS:
Mix the flour with salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a small well in the middle and add in beaten egg yolks.

Add a bit more water teaspoon by teaspoon if the dough is a bit dry. Gradually incorporate the flour with the egg yolks and knead until the dough is no longer sticky to your hand and smooth.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.

SHAPING THE NOODLES:
After 30 minutes, the dough is soft and pliable at this point. Lightly flour your work surface and divide the dough into 4 and work with one dough at a time and keeping the rest covered to prevent them from drying out. I flattened the dough with my palms (flat enough to feed through the roller) and generously dust it with some flour and set the roller to 1 and roll and fold again and gradually up the setting to 4 until you get a nice “sheet” of noodles. It’s the thickness I like, not too thin and not too thick.

COOKING THE NOODLES:
If you plan to cook immediately, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, place this sheet of noodles and liberally dusted with flour and roll the rest of the dough. Change to cutter (I used fettuccine cutter for this) and feed it through the cutter and repeat with the rest of the sheets
Cook the noodles in a rolling boil water with a pinch of salt for about 1 1/2 – 2 minutes. It doesn’t take long to cook fresh noodles. Do not overcook them. Once they are cooked, drain the water and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. You may toss the noodles with a bit of oil to prevent it from sticking to each other (depending on what you are using it for). Proceed with your recipe using the noodles.

DRYING THE NOODLES:
If you don’t cook them on the same day, it is best to hang them on a drying rack to let them dry completely. Cooking time may take few minutes longer after you dry them.

RECIPE NOTES:
You may store the fresh noodles by freezing them. After you finished cutting the noodles, toss them in generous amount of flour and then roughly shape into several small round nest and place in a freezer bag. They go straight from freezer to boiling water to cook

Mee Hoon Kueh (Hand-Torn Noodles)

MEE HOON KUEH:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup water and add more as needed
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 Tbsp cooking oil of your choice

Mix all the ingredients for mee hoon kueh, except for oil, in a large mixing bowl. Start with about 1/4 cup of water and knead with your cleaned hands until it forms a large dough and no longer sticks to your hands. You may need to add more water or more flour to get to that point. Let the dough rest for at least 1 hour and cover with damp cloth. You can leave it in the refrigerator 24 hours prior to cooking too.

When ready to use the dough, Prepare a big pot of boiling water with some salt and 1 Tbsp of cooking oil. When the water is boiling, start pinching off small pieces of dough and flatten with your fingers and pulling it into thin wide sheets of irregular shape noodles. into the boiling water. Cook for about 1 minute. They will be about half cooked.

Transfer to any hot soup to finish cooking.

Quick Kaya

200 ml canned coconut cream
50 gr palm sugar
50 gr white sugar
3 pandan leaves/screwpine leaves knotted
4 egg yolks from large eggs beaten

SEPARATING EGG YOLKS FROM THE WHITES:
Make sure you separate the egg yolks from the white very carefully. Leaving as little trace of egg whites as possible when separating. If there is a trace of egg whites, you can run the egg yolks through the sieve. This is to ensure you don’t get any lumps in the kaya. Otherwise, beat the yolks until smooth just using a regular fork is perfectly fine. Run it through the sieve if you want to.

TEMPERING THE EGG YOLKS:
Place coconut cream, both sugars, and pandan leaves in a saucepan over medium heat and just cook until the sugar melted. It shouldn’t be boiling, just heated to warm.

With one hand still beating the egg yolks, the other hand holding the saucepan with coconut cream, very gradually pour 1/4 of the coconut cream mixture. Then you can pour the egg mixture back to the saucepan. Stir to mix everything and then place this on the stove over medium heat.

Continue to stir over medium heat. The mixture started to thicken for me at around 8 minutes mark and continue to stir. It may still appear a bit runny, but it will continue to thicken once it cools down completely. Discard the pandan leaves.

Once the kaya has cooled down completely, transfer to a glass jar and secure the lid. Put in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Pressure Cooker Ketupat and Lontong (Rice Cakes)

1 cup Jasmine rice
2 cups water

Rinse the rice in several changes of water and then completely drain off the water.

USING RICE COOKER:
Transfer the rice to inner pot of rice cooker. Add water. I use white rice setting in my rice cooker, which takes about 20 minutes to cook.

USING INSTANT POT PRESSURE COOKER FEATURE:
Transfer the rice to inner pot of instant pot. Add water. Cover the lid. Turn the steam release valve to sealing. Press pressure cooker, then high pressure. Set timer to 3 minutes. When it’s done, wait 10 minutes and then release pressure and proceed to moulding the cake.

USING INSTANT POT RICE FEATURE:
Transfer the rice to inner pot of instant pot. Add water. Cover the lid. Turn the steam release valve to sealing. Press RICE and the time will automatically be set. When it’s done, wait 10 minutes and then release pressure and proceed to moulding the cake.

MOULDING THE CAKE:
After it’s done cooking, immediately transfer to a loaf pan or container. Use the rice paddle or the back of the spoon to spread and really push the rice down to pack it. Repeat this process until all the rice is in.

Once all the rice is in, use a parchment paper to cover the top of the rice and use your palms to gently push down all over the surface to ensure you really pack it down and to smooth the surface.

Let cool at room temperature for 3-4 hours or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before cutting.

Use in soups and salads, or with Lontong Sayur Medan, a multicourse meal with savory dishes such as rendang, vegetables in coconut milk, jackfruit curry, shrimp, and serundeng.

Kaya Butter Toast and Kopitiam Eggs

For toast:
4 slices of white bread
Cold butter
Kaya

For eggs:
2 large chicken eggs (about 58 gr each) at room temperature
2 cups rolling-boiled hot water
White pepper powder
Soy sauce

For toast:
Toast the slices of bread in your toaster and toast until they are golden brown.

Traditionally, the crusts of the bread are removed from all four sides, but you can leave them on if you prefer.

Spread the kaya generously on both sides of the toast and then cut some slices of cold butter and arrange it on top of the toast and then top with another piece of toast. Cut them into four equal size or you can cut it diagonally into half. The cold butter will gradually melt when it comes into contact with the heat from the toast.

For eggs:
Get the eggs out from refrigerator 5 minutes before getting ready to cook. This is important because if it’s cold from the fridge, the eggs might crack when coming into contact with the hot water AND the 5-minute cooking time may not be accurate anymore.

Pour 2 cups of rolling boil water into the mug with a lid and gently add the eggs in and secure the lid. Set the timer to 5 minutes. TIMING IS EVERYTHING here!

After 5 minutes, use a spoon to get the eggs out and rinse with cold water. Use the back of the spoon to crack the shell and let the egg slip out into a bowl. The egg white should be white in color (doh!) runny, soft custard like, while the yolk appears to be whole but it’s very soft and very runny when you break it with a spoon. If you see this, then you have yourself kopitiam style soft-boiled eggs.

Season with white pepper powder and a little bit of soy sauce.

RECIPE NOTES:
The eggs that I used were large grade A white shells and about 58 grams each. Brown eggs might have “thicker” shells compare to white shells, so you might have to add another minute or so, in other words, you will have to experiment, but 5 minutes are the minimum I would imagine.

If you cook 4 eggs at one go, you may need 6-7 minutes. I would suggest limit 4 eggs in one batch though.

If it is your first time making this kopitiam soft-boiled eggs, then after 5 minutes, remove one egg and crack open to see if the egg white has turned white and no longer translucent. This way, you only “sacrifice” one egg if they haven’t cooked through and you can continue to let the other cook in the hot water for another minute.

Spicy, Tangy Noodles

1 lb of spaghetti/linguine/angel hair/rice noodles/egg noodles/ramen noodles/udon noodles

SAUCE:
1 Tbsp of sesame oil/garlic oil/truffle oil
2 Tbsp of store-bought red chili paste/black bean chili paste or more if you like it really spicy
4 Tbsp of Chinese black vinegar available at Asian grocery store
3 Tbsp of soy sauce/tamari or more to your taste

GARNISHES:
Fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
1 stalk of fresh green onions finely chopped
Fried shallots crips available at Asian grocery store

IF YOU WANT TO TURN THIS INTO A COMPLETE MEAL (USE ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING):
Soft-boiled/hard-boiled eggs
Pan-fried firm tofu cubes
Leftover rotisserie chicken
Grilled chicken/meat/seafood shrimp or crab meat lumps
Grilled/steamed veggies asparagus, broccoli, bok choy, etc

Cook the noodle as directed on the package. While the noodle is cooking, In a large mixing bowl, prepare the sauce by mixing all the ingredients. Stir to mix everything. Add in the cooked noodles (pan-fried tofu cubes, leftover rotisserie chicken or other protein of your choice if using) and tossed to make sure the sauce is coating the noodles. Have a taste to see if you like it. Add more soy sauce, or more chili paste if you prefer. It should be savory, spicy, and tangy. Garnish with some fresh cilantro leaves. Serve warm, cold or at room temperature.

Pandan Juice and Extract

INGREDIENTS:
30 gr pandan leaves (screwpine leaves) fresh or frozen
1 cup water

RECOMMENDED TOOLS:
Kitchen shears
Cheese cloth
Fine strainer
Blender

Wash the pandan leaves to get rid of sands or dirt.

Cut into a 1-inch piece with kitchen shears. Do not put into the blender whole. Pandan leaves are very fibrous and need to be broken down into smaller pieces.

FOR PANDAN JUICE:
Blitz away until the leaves are reduced to pulps.

Transfer to a cheesecloth, which I used. You can use fine mesh strainer too. Squeeze all the juice out as much as you can.

Transfer to a glass jar and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. After that, they will start to smell bad. You can even go two more rounds with the pulps and add more water to get a more diluted version of pandan juice if you want.

FOR PANDAN EXTRACT:
Once you transfer the pandan juice to the glass jar and store in the refrigerator, let them sit undisturbed for 18-20 hours. The green sediment will start to accumulate at the bottom of the jar. This is your extract. Discard the liquid layer on the top and you can use the extract at the bottom.

WHEN TO USE PANDAN JUICE AND WHEN TO USE PANDAN EXTRACT

Pandan juice is a watery version of pandan extract. You can use this to flavor rice, or desserts that allows more liquid/water for example: cendol, agar agar jelly cake, pandan mille crepe cake, pandan cinnamon rolls, pandan liu sha bao.

Pandan extract is a concentrated and has very little water in it. You can pretty much use it in recipes that needs very little water/liquid for example: French macarons, cakes recipes, etc. Pandan extract tastes more bitter because it is concentrated. So, be aware of not using too much in the recipe or you will taste that bitter taste.

Pressure Cooker Nasi Pandan Wangi (Pandan Rice)

2 cups white long-grain rice
1 cup water add another 1/2 cup if cooking on the stove
1 cup pandan juice
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tsp salt optional
1 Tbsp coconut oil optional

Wash the rice grains in several rinse of water until the water runs clear. Drain off water completely. Use a strainer if necessary to make sure you get rid of all excess water. This is important so your liquid measurement is accurate.

COOKING ON STOVE TOP:
Bring the water, pandan juice, coconut milk, and salt to a simmer in large pot. Add rice grains in. Give it a stir. Lower the heat to let it gently simmer. Close the lid and let it cook for the next 20 minutes. After 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit for 10 minutes.

Uncover the lid. The rice should have absorbed all the liquid and cooked through. Fluff the rice with a fork.

COOKING WITH RICE COOKER:
Place the rice and the rest of the ingredients in the inner pot of rice cooker. Give it a stir. Close the lid and set your rice cooker setting. My rice cooker takes about 20 minutes. Fluff the rice with the rice paddle when it’s done.

COOKING WITH INSTANT POT “RICE” FEATURE:
Place the rice and the rest of the ingredients in the inner pot of Instant Pot. Give it a stir. Close the lid. Turn the steam release valve to seal. Press on “Rice” button. It will take less than 10 minutes for the rice to cook. But keep in mind it will take about 5 minutes or so for the Instant pot to pressurize and then wait 10 minutes before unlocking the lid to fluff the rice. Stir in the coconut oil, it will melt when it comes into contact with the hot rice.

COOKING WITH INSTANT POT “PRESSURE COOKER” FEATURE:
Place the rice and the rest of the ingredients in the inner pot of Instant Pot. Give it a stir. Close the lid. Turn the steam release valve to seal. Press on “Pressure Cooker” button, and then “high pressure”. Set the timer to 3 minutes. Keep in mind it will take about 5 minutes or so for the Instant pot to pressurize and then wait 10 minutes before unlocking the lid to fluff the rice. Stir in the coconut oil, it will melt when it comes into contact with the hot rice.

Pressure Cooker Rotisserie Chicken

2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (4-pound) whole roasting chicken
1 lemon, halved
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup chicken stock

In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, thyme, paprika, oregano, onion powder and garlic powder.

Remove giblets and excess fat from the chicken cavity. Dry chicken thoroughly with paper towels. Season chicken and chicken cavity with salt mixture. Stuff cavity with lemon.

Set 6-qt Instant Pot® to the high saute setting. Add canola oil and chicken, breast side down, and cook until evenly golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Using tongs, flip, and cook for an additional 4 minutes; set aside.

Place metal trivet into the pot and add chicken stock. Gently place chicken on top of the trivet. Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 28 minutes. When finished cooking, naturally release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions, about 20-30 minutes. Let rest 10-15 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Pina Coladas

1/2 fresh pineapple, peeled, cut into 1½-inch pieces
6 ounces sweetened cream of coconut (preferably Coco López)
2 ounces unsweetened coconut milk
8 ounces white rum
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 ounces dark rum (optional)
Maraschino cherries and lime wedges (for serving)

Place pineapple pieces in a resealable plastic bag, laying them flat. Freeze until solid, at least 3 hours.

Shake cream of coconut and coconut milk in their cans before measuring. Purée pineapple, cream of coconut, coconut milk, white rum, lime juice, and 3 cups ice (about 15 oz.) in a blender until smooth. Transfer blender cup to freezer and freeze until mixture is thickened (it should be the consistency of a milkshake), 25–35 minutes.

Blend again until mixture is the perfect slushy frozen drink consistency. Divide among glasses. Top off each with ½ oz. dark rum, if using, and garnish each with a cherry and lime wedge.

Do Ahead: Pineapple can be chopped 3 months ahead. Keep frozen.

From Bon Appetit

Margaritas

Kosher salt (for serving)
1/2 thick lime wheel (for serving)
2 oz. tequila blanco
3/4 oz. fresh lime juice
3/4 oz. simple syrup

Place some salt on a small plate. Rub rim of an old-fashioned or rocks glass with lime (reserve for serving); dip in salt. Fill with ice and set aside.

Combine tequila, lime juice, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker. Fill shaker with ice, cover, and shake vigorously until outside of shaker is very cold, about 20 seconds.

Strain cocktail through a Hawthorne strainer or a slotted spoon into reserved glass. Garnish with lime wheel.

From Bon Appetit

Key Lime Pie

Crust

14 graham crackers (about 1½ sleeves)
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
4 tablespoons virgin coconut oil, melted
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Filling and Assembly

4 large egg yolks
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest, plus more for garnish
3/4 cup fresh key lime (or regular lime) juice
Pinch of kosher salt
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon dark rum (optional)

Crust

Preheat oven to 325°. Using your hands, crush graham crackers in a large bowl until coarsely ground (you could do this in a food processor if you’d like, just be sure not to process too finely; you want some texture in the larger pieces). Add butter, coconut oil, sugar, and salt and mix until well blended (mixture will resemble wet sand). Transfer to a 9″ pie dish. Using your fingers and the underside of a flat measuring cup, press mixture evenly into bottom and up sides of dish. Bake crust, rotating once halfway through, until golden brown on top and crumbs are set, 12–15 minutes. Let cool.

Filling and Assembly

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat egg yolks and condensed milk in a large bowl until paler and almost doubled in volume, about 5 minutes. Whisk in 2 tsp. lime zest, lime juice, and salt. Pour into cooled crust. Bake pie until filling no longer jiggles and is starting to slightly puff around the edges, 15–20 minutes. Let cool completely.

Whip cream and powdered sugar in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. Gently whisk in yogurt and rum, if using. Dollop onto cooled pie, creating dramatic peaks and valleys with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Garnish with lime zest.

Do Ahead: Crust can be baked 2 days ahead; pie without whipped topping can be made 2 days ahead; pie can be assembled (with topping) 4 hours ahead.

From Bon Appetit

Angel Food Cake

1 cup cake flour, sifted
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 3/4 cups egg whites (from 12–14 large eggs)
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Berries and whipped cream (for serving)

A 10″ tube pan

Preheat oven to 325°. Whisk flour and powdered sugar in a medium bowl.

Beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium-low speed to break up egg whites, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until whites are very foamy and barely form soft peaks, about 45 seconds longer. Gradually add granulated sugar and continue to beat on medium-high speed until whites are firm and glossy and hold stiff peaks (if you overbeat, the meringue will look dry, grainy, and curdled). Beat in lemon juice and vanilla.

Remove bowl from mixer. Sift one-third of dry ingredients over meringue. Return bowl to mixer and beat on low speed until incorporated. Remove bowl from mixer again and repeat sifting and mixing process 2 more times. Remove bowl again and fold batter several times with a large flexible spatula, scraping and lifting batter from the bottom to make sure all ingredients are fully incorporated.

Scrape about half of batter into ungreased tube pan. Using a spoon or small offset spatula, push batter around bottom of pan, into corners, and up sides and center tube (this helps form smooth sides and eliminate air pockets); it’s okay if batter forms a little bit of a trough, with the center at a lower level than the outer edges. Scrape remaining batter into pan, spreading evenly and smoothing top.

Bake cake until top is puffed, split, golden, and springs back firmly when touched and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 35–40 minutes. Immediately invert pan, placing hollow part of tube over a long-necked wine or other glass bottle to elevate it (if your pan has feet, simply rest upside-down on feet). Let cool at least 1 hour, then turn right side up. The upside-down cooling is key for a cake that doesn’t deflate and sink onto itself. Using a thin metal spatula, cut around sides and loosen cake. Pull on tube to release cake from pan, then cut around tube. Using thin metal spatula, loosen cake from bottom. Invert cake onto a plate or cake stand and remove bottom. Serve with berries and whipped cream.

Do Ahead: Cake can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic and store at room temperature.

From Bon Appetit

Bread Pudding (with Variations)

1/2-large (2-pound) loaf challah bread, torn into 1½–2-inch pieces (about 8 cups)
1 3-inch cinnamon stick
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 3-inch strip orange zest
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, divided, plus more for pan
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons raw sugar
1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional)

Preheat oven to 300°. Spread torn bread on a rimmed baking sheet and bake, tossing halfway through and reducing oven temperature if bread is getting too golden, until pieces are very dry and slightly toasted, 25–35 minutes. (Dry bread will absorb the custard without disintegrating, which is why this step is important.) Let cool, then transfer to a large bowl.

Meanwhile, heat cinnamon, vanilla bean, cream, milk, granulated sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high. As soon as mixture starts to boil (watch closely or milk will boil over top of pot!), remove from heat. Whisk in orange zest and 2 Tbsp. butter and let steep 30 minutes. Pluck out and discard cinnamon stick, vanilla bean, and orange zest.

Brush a 1½–2-qt. baking dish with butter. Pour milk mixture into a blender. Add egg and egg yolks and blend, starting on low and increasing speed to high, until mixture is light and foamy, 20–30 seconds. Pour over reserved bread and toss to coat. Scrape into prepared pan. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill at least 3 hours and up to 12; this gives bread time to evenly soak up custard.

Arrange a rack in center of oven; preheat to 300°. Brush remaining 2 Tbsp. butter over cold bread pieces. Sprinkle with raw sugar, then top with almonds, if using. Bake bread pudding until lightly golden, puffed, pulling away from edges of pan, and butter is bubbling, 30–40 minutes. Let cool 1 hour before serving.

Do Ahead: Bread pudding can be made 1 day ahead. Let cool; cover and chill.

For Chocolate Bread Pudding

Add 6 oz. chopped bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao or higher) and 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder to scalded milk mixture instead of butter and whisk until melted and smooth.

When ready to bake, top bread pudding with 1 oz. chopped bittersweet chocolate. Sprinkle with raw sugar, then top with ¼ cup chopped pecans instead of almonds. Bake as directed.

For Coconut Bread Pudding

Add one 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk instead of heavy cream to whole milk mixture. As soon as mixture bubbles, remove from heat and whisk in 2 Tbsp. virgin coconut oil instead of butter and a strip of lime zest instead of orange. Let steep 30 minutes. Pluck out and discard cinnamon stick, vanilla bean, and lime zest.

Brush baking dish with 2 Tbsp. melted virgin coconut oil instead of butter. Brush 2 Tbsp. melted virgin coconut oil instead of butter over cold bread pieces. Sprinkle with raw sugar, then top with 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes instead of almonds. Bake as directed.

From Bon Appetit

Classic Fettuccine Alfredo

12 ounces fettuccine or other long pasta
Kosher salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
Freshly ground black pepper

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until very al dente. Drain, reserving 2 cups pasta cooking liquid.

Transfer 1 cup pasta cooking liquid to a large skillet. Bring to a gentle simmer, then whisk in butter, a piece at a time, until melted. Whisking constantly, gradually add cheese, making sure it’s completely melted and incorporated before adding more. Add pasta and toss to coat, adding more pasta cooking liquid as needed, until sauce blankets noodles completely. Serve topped with pepper and more cheese.

From Bon Appetit.

English Muffins

1 1/4-ounce envelope active dry yeast (about 2¼ teaspoons)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup buttermilk, warmed
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour, divided, plus more
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
Cornmeal (for dusting)

Whisk yeast, sugar, and 1 cup warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add buttermilk, butter, oil, salt, and 3½ cups flour and beat on low speed until a shaggy dough forms. Increase speed to medium and beat until dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl, but is very wet and sticky, about 5 minutes.

Spray a medium bowl with nonstick spray, transfer dough to greased bowl, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Chill overnight (the cold rise makes the dough easier to handle, produces better flavor, and creates more nooks and crannies).

Dust 2 parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets generously with cornmeal (you want to cover all the parchment). Spray a clean work surface with nonstick spray, turn out dough, then spray dough. Using a bench scraper, divide dough into 12 equal pieces (they should be about 3 oz. each). Working with 1 piece at a time and using bench scraper, fold dough inward onto itself on 4 sides. Turn dough over with bench scraper so that folds are underneath and transfer to prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing evenly on sheets.

Sprinkle each piece with cornmeal. Spray plastic wrap with nonstick spray and loosely cover baking sheets, oiled side down. Let sit at room temperature until dough is nearly doubled in size, 60–70 minutes.

Heat a large skillet or griddle, preferably cast iron, over low. Place another rimmed baking sheet in the center of oven and preheat to 350°. Working in 2–3 batches and keeping remaining dough covered, slide 2 thin metal spatulas from opposite sides underneath dough, also getting underneath cornmeal to avoid sticking or deflating dough, and transfer to skillet (do not overcrowd). Cook until bottoms are dark golden brown, 5–7 minutes. Turn and cook until other side is dark golden brown, 5–7 minutes. Using spatula, transfer muffins to preheated sheet in oven and bake until cooked through and sides are dry to the touch but still spring back, 5–10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough. Let muffins cool at least 30 minutes before splitting with a fork and serving.

Do Ahead: English muffins can be made 1 day ahead. Let cool and store in a resealable plastic bag at room temperature. Toast lightly before serving.

Classic French Toast

6 large eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
6 3/4 inch-thick slices challah, brioche, or Pullman loaf
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
Pure maple syrup, jam, or powdered sugar (for serving)

Preheat oven to 250°. Lightly beat eggs, cream, milk, sugar, and salt in a large shallow baking dish (a lasagna pan is perfect). Add bread, turn to coat, then press down gently on bread until you feel it start to soak up custard mixture—this is key for a luscious, not dry, texture. Let soak, 10 minutes.

Flip bread and soak on second side, pressing down gently from time to time, until bread is saturated but not soggy, another 10 minutes or so.

Heat 1 Tbsp. butter and 1 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When foaming subsides, carefully lift 3 slices of bread from custard, letting excess drip back into dish, and cook in skillet until golden brown and center of toast springs back when pressed, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer toast to a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet and keep warm in oven while you cook remaining slices of bread with 1 Tbsp. butter and remaining 1 Tbsp. oil.

Serve French toast with butter, maple syrup, jam, and/or powdered sugar.

From Bon Appetit.

Buttermilk Pancakes

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil (for griddle)
Pure maple syrup (for serving)

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk eggs, buttermilk, and butter in a medium bowl; stir into dry ingredients until just combined (some lumps are okay).

Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium; brush with oil. Working in batches, scoop ?-cupfuls of batter onto griddle. Cook pancakes until bottoms are golden brown and bubbles form on top, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook until cooked through and other side of pancakes are golden brown, about 2 minutes longer. Serve pancakes with maple syrup.

From Bon Appetit.

Perfect Scrambled Eggs (with Variations)

4 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Flaky sea salt (for serving)

Crack eggs into a medium bowl and add kosher salt. Using an immersion blender or whisk, whip eggs until completely homogenous and pale yellow in color, about 30 seconds.

Cook butter in an 8″ nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. When foam subsides, add eggs and cook, undisturbed, until a thin layer of cooked egg appears around the edge of the skillet. Using a rubber spatula and broad sweeping motions, push eggs all the way around the circumference of the skillet, then across the bottom. Continue to push eggs around and across skillet until fluffy and barely set, about 2 minutes; they should still look runny on top. Immediately divide between 2 plates and sprinkle with sea salt.

Feta and Za’atar

Stir 2 Tbsp. crumbled feta and 1/4 tsp. za’atar into eggs halfway through cooking. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and more za’atar just before serving.

Parmesan and Basil

Stir 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan and 1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh basil into eggs halfway through cooking. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and more basil just before serving.

Soy and Scallion

Add ½ tsp. soy sauce to eggs before whipping. Stir 2 trimmed, thinly sliced scallions into eggs halfway through cooking. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt just before serving.

Cream Cheese and Chives

Stir 1 Tbsp. cream cheese and 1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh chives into eggs halfway through cooking. Top with flaky sea salt and more chives just before serving.

Hot Cheddar

Stir 2 Tbsp. grated cheddar into eggs halfway through cooking. Top with flaky sea salt and hot sauce just before serving.

From Bon Appetit.

Enriched Chicken Stock

2 tablespoons pure olive oil
1 pound chicken wings
1 pound lean beef brisket, cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 medium carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 small celery root (10 ounces), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 large tomato, cored and quartered
6 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the chicken wings and beef and cook over moderately high heat until browned all over, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the carrots, onion, celery root and tomato. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are barely softened, about 10 minutes.

Add the broth to the pan and bring to a boil. Cover partially and cook over moderately low heat for 30 minutes. Strain the stock, reserving the meat and vegetables for another use. Refrigerate the stock and remove the fat from the surface before using or freezing.

Make Ahead: The stock can be frozen for up to 1 month.