Table of Contents

PART ONE : STOCKING THE
MODERNIST KITCHEN

Chapter 1: Countertop Tools
Invaluable Modern Tools
Digital Scales
Digital Thermometers
Silicone Mats and Molds
Microplanes
Blenders
Mixers and Frothers
Ice-Cream Makers
Blowtorches
Jaccards
Injectors
Sieves and Strainers
Whipping Siphons
Juicers
Dehydrators

Chapter 2: Conventional Cooking Gear
Stoves
Pots and Pans
Pressure Cookers
Conventional Ovens
Combi Ovens
Microwave Ovens
Grills

Chapter 3: Sous Vide Cooking Gear
Four Simple Steps
Getting the Air Out
Cooking Sous Vide

Chapter 4: Modern Ingredients
Uncommon Ingredients
Not Your Parents’ Supermarket
Walk on the Wild Side
Unusual Fruits and Vegetables
Foraged Foods

PART TWO: RECIPES

Chapter 5: Composing and Plating
Textures
Flavor Combinations
Plate-Up Techniques
Menus
Timing

Chapter 6: Basics
Stocks
Pressure-Cooked White Chicken Stock
Brown Beef Stock
Sous Vide Fish Stock
Sous Vide Vegetable Stock
Corn Stock
Mushroom Jus
Redeye Gravy
Brown Chicken Jus
Red Wine Sauce
Home Jus Gras
Sauces
Pan Gravy
Fluid Gel
Common Problems When Thickening and Gelling
Pressure-Cooked Gravy
Pistachio Pesto
Pesto Variations
Mughal Curry Sauce
Curry Sauce Variations
Sous Vide Hollandaise
Basic Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise Variations
Not-So-Secret Special Sauce
Ketchup
Salsa Verde
Marinara
Marinara Variations
Strawberry Marinara
Thai Sweet, Sour, and Savory Glaze
Oils and Fats
Sous Vide Lemon Herb Oil
House Vinaigrette
Spiced Chili Oil
Montpelier Butter
Stovetop Carotene Butter
Pressure-Cooked Shellfish Butter
Pressure-Rendered Chicken Fat
Condiments
Grilled Applesauce
Pressure-Cooked Pickled Mustard Seeds
Garlic Confit
Pressure-Cooked Caramelized Onions
Tomato Confit
Tomato Leather
Pickled Vegetables
Vacuum-Infused Celery
Brining
Basic Brine for Poultry
Sweet Brine for Meat
Fish Brine
Marinade
Marinade Variations
Spice Mixes
Special Curry Spice
Chaat Masala
Fish Spice Mix
Pain d’Epices Powder
Chili Spice Mix
Basic Meat Rub
Chapter 7: Breakfast Eggs
Egg Textures
French Scrambled Eggs
Omelet Fillings
Steamed Omelet
Striped Mushroom Omelet
Mushroom Puree
Cream of Mushroom Variation
Shiitake Marmalade
Eggs Sunny-Side Up
Chapter 8: Salads and Cold Soups
Raspberry Gazpacho
Fruit Minestrone
Sous Vide Vichyssoise
Onion Slaw
Engineering a Great Salad
Green Salad
Pressure-Cooked Quinoa Salad with Cauliflower
Pressure-Cooked Chickpea Salad
Sous Vide Tuna Confit
Pressure-Cooked Lentil Salad

Chapter 9: Pressure-Cooked Vegetable Soups
Caramelized Carrot Soup
Caramelized Vegetable Soup Variations
Pressure-Cooked Vegetable Jus
Pressure-Cooked Vegetables
Pressure-Cooked Barley
Vegetable Soup Plate-Up and Presentation

Chapter 10: Steak
Sous Vide Steak
Low-Temp Oven Steak
Sous Vide Steak in a Cooler
Creamed Spinach
Grilled Steak
Grilled Pork Chop
Lamb Skewers

Chapter 11: Cheeseburger and Milk Shake
Modernist Hamburger Patty
White Sandwich Bread
Ultrafrothy Milk Shake
Cheeseburger Assembly
Meatloaf Sandwich

Chapter 12: Carnitas
Pressure-Cooked Carnitas
Carnitas Variations
Crispy Pork Chicharrón
Refried Bean Foam
Pressure-Cooked Spiced Black Beans
Pressure-Cooked Pork Belly Adobo

Chapter 13: Short Ribs
Sous Vide Short Ribs
Potato Puree
Pork Belly B.L.T.
Lamb Curry
Chapter 14: Roast Chicken
Home Roast Chicken
Roast Chicken Variations
Baked Chicken with Onions
Sous Vide Chicken
Sous Vide Turkey Legs
Sous Vide Turkey Breast

Chapter 15: Chicken Wings
Sous Vide Buffalo Wings
Crispy Chicken Wings, Korean-Style
Crispy Fried Chicken Wings
Boneless Yakitori Wings
Tsukune
Skewer Variations
Buffalo Sauce
Honey Mustard Sauce
Yakitori Sauce
Korean Wing Sauce
Blue Cheese Sauce
Chinese Garlic Chili Condiment

Chapter 16: Chicken Noodle Soup
Aromatic Chicken Broth
Aromatic Broth and Soup Variations
Fresh Noodles
Dressed Noodle Variations
Pressure-Cooked Carrots and Leeks
Chicken Noodle Soup

Chapter 17: Salmon
Fragrant Sous Vide Salmon
Crispy Fish Skin
Selecting Salmon

Chapter 18: Shellfish
Lobster Roll
Poached Lobster Variation
Mussels Marinière
Clams in Chowder Sauce
Sous Vide Braised Snails

Chapter 19: Pizza
Neapolitan Pizza Dough
Rustic Pizza Dough
Poolish
No-Knead Pizza Dough
Pizza Margherita
Oven-Fried Pizza
Pizza Toppings

Chapter 20: Mac and Cheese
Mac and Cheese
Cheese Variations
Baked Mac and Cheese
“Fat-Free” Mac and Cheese
Cheese Crumble
Perfect Melting Cheese Slice
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Chapter 21: Risotto and Paella
Parcooked Vegetable Risotto
Pressure-Cooked Paella del Bosco
Risotto and Paella Variations
Chapter 22: Cornmeal
Pressure-Cooked Polenta
Shrimp and Grits
Fresh Corn Tamale
Hush Puppy Variation

Chapter 23: Dishes for the Microwave
Microwave Eggplant Parmesan
Sichuan Bok Choy
Bok Choy Variations
Microwaved Trout with Scallions and Ginger
Microwaved Fish Variations
Microwaved Beef Jerky
Crispy Beef Strands
Crispy Beef and Shallot Salad
Microwave-Fried Herbs
Instant Chocolate Cake
Instant Cake Variations

Chapter 24: Custards and Pies
Coffee Crème Brûlée
Vanilla Panna Cotta
Lemon Posset
Sous Vide Lemon Curd
Sous Vide Crème Anglaise
Pistachio Gelato
Gelato Variations
Short and Flaky Pastry Dough
Sous Vide Pastry Cream

About the Author

Dr. Nathan Myhrvold is chief executive officer and a founder of Intellectual Ventures, a firm dedicated to creating and investing in inventions. In addition to stimulating the invention of others, Myhrvold is himself an active inventor, with nearly 250 patents issued or pending—including several related to food technology. Before founding his invention company, Myhrvold was the first chief technology officer at Microsoft. He established Microsoft Research, and during his tenure he oversaw many advanced technology projects. He left Microsoft in 1999 to pursue several interests, including a lifelong interest in cooking and food science.

Myhrvold competed on a team that won first place in several categories at the 1991 World Championship of Barbecue, including first prize in the special pasta category for a recipe that Myhrvold developed on the day of the contest.

After working for two years as a stagier at Seattle’s top French restaurant, Rover’s, Myhrvold completed culinary training with renowned chef Anne Willan at the Ecole De La Varenne. In addition, he has worked as Chief Gastronomic Officer for Zagat Survey, publisher of the popular Zagat restaurant guidebooks. Through his many visits to the world’s top restaurants, Myhrvold has become personally acquainted with many of the leading Modernist chefs and the science-inspired cooking techniques they have pioneered.

Myhrvold is himself an accomplished practitioner of Modernist cuisine. He has contributed original research on cooking sous vide to online culinary forums, and his sous vide techniques have been covered in the New York Times Magazine, Wired, and PBS’s “Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie” television series.

Myhrvold’s formal education includes degrees in mathematics, geophysics, and space physics from UCLA, and PhDs in mathematical economics and theoretical physics from Princeton University. In his post-doctoral work at Cambridge University, Myhrvold worked on quantum theories of gravity with the renowned cosmologist Stephen Hawking.

Maxime Bilet received a BA in creative writing, literature, and visual arts from Skidmore College. Bilet then graduated with highest honors from the Institute of Culinary Education in New York. He completed a stage at Jack’s Luxury Oyster Bar and was quickly hired to the head chef position there by Jack Lamb. Moving to London, he accepted a stage with Heston Blumenthal’s development team at The Fat Duck. Just prior to joining the culinary team as head chef for recipe research and development at The Cooking Lab, Bilet trained as sous chef to open the London branch of Auberge de L’Ile. In 2011, Bilet was named to Forbes Magazine’s 30 Under 30 list in the category of Food and Wine.

Reviews

Modernist Cuisine at Home is destined to change the way we cook—and the way we use recipes. For all of us who cook regularly, this book opens up a whole new world of possibilities. It is full of insights that encourage us to try something new, and that teach us something on every single page.
-Martha Stewart

Modernist Cuisine at Home offers useful techniques and solutions that expand our abilities, and it provides us with a practiced and thorough understanding of why things happen the way they do. Most importantly, it ignites a curiosity within and compels us to ask ourselves not “What should we make for dinner?” but rather, “What can we make for dinner?”
-Thomas Keller