Some recipes are notoriously difficult to perfect, but we’ve crafted simple, cheat-friendly versions of some of the world’s toughest dishes. While these shortcuts aren’t exact replicas, they are delicious and much easier to prepare!
- Consommé
The Challenge: A clear soup made from meat, tomato, egg whites, and stock, slowly simmered to clarify impurities. Even top chefs struggle with the delicate clarification process.
Quick Fix: Simmer beef stock with celery, carrot, and onion. Strain and pour over seared sirloin steak, carrot ribbons, and sliced shallots. - Turducken
The Challenge: A turkey stuffed with duck, stuffed with chicken. Deboning without damaging the appearance is tricky, as is ensuring all layers cook evenly.
Quick Fix: Stuff a chicken with a mix of turkey mince, sausage meat, breadcrumbs, and herbs. Rub with duck fat and roast. - Béarnaise Sauce
The Challenge: A tarragon-flavored French sauce made with clarified butter and egg yolks. Too much heat causes the eggs to scramble.
Quick Fix: Soften shallots and garlic in butter, and add tarragon and vinegar. Stir in crème fraiche for a creamy sauce. - Baked Alaska
The Challenge: Ice cream is encased in a sponge and meringue and baked briefly at high heat without melting the ice cream.
Quick Fix: Top homemade sponge cake with vanilla ice cream and crushed meringue pieces instead of baking. - Croissants
The Challenge: Achieving flaky, buttery pastry requires slow, patient dough handling and multiple resting periods.
Quick Fix: Use thawed puff pastry, brush with butter, and bake. Add chocolate or cheese and ham for extra flavor halfway through. - Soufflé
The Challenge: Getting enough air into the egg whites to ensure it rises perfectly without collapsing.
Quick Fix: Whisk eggs until fluffy, add cheese, and bake in greased muffin tins for an easy, risen treat. - Macarons
The Challenge: These delicate, meringue-based confections require precise egg white separation and careful baking to avoid undercooking or burning.
Quick Fix: Mix butter, honey, and icing sugar with a touch of red food coloring, and spread between store-bought mini meringues. - Beef Wellington
The Challenge: Wrapping fillet steak in pâté, mushrooms, pancake, and puff pastry while cooking the beef to rare perfection.
Quick Fix: Fry seasoned steak and slow-cook with red wine, garlic, and mushrooms. Top with puff pastry and bake until golden. - Chile en Nogada
The Challenge: Roasting poblanos, preparing a spiced meat stuffing, and topping with a walnut sauce can take days of preparation.
Quick Fix: Cook pork mince with onion, garlic, and cinnamon. Stuff into halved bell peppers, add raisins and almonds and bake. - Galantine
The Challenge: A labor-intensive process of deboning, stuffing, poaching, and coating meat with jelly, traditionally served cold.
Quick Fix: Combine chopped bacon, shallots, pistachios, and dried apricots with cream. Roll into flattened chicken breast, secure, and bake.
