Section 02 of 06 · 5 guides

Dishes

The repertoire, and what each one is really doing. Every entry says what the technique or the dish is FOR before it says how it is done, and where households disagree it says so.

Two people prepping vegetables at a table, from above — FIG. 01Two boards and two knives — most of the work in this repertoire happens before any heat is involved.Photo: Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels

2.1
Coq au vin

An old bird, a strong red and enough time. The dish exists because the bird was tough.
2.2
Ratatouille, cooked apart

Each vegetable has its own water content and its own timing. Cooked together they become one texture; cooked apart they stay several.
2.3
Blanquette

A white stew that is never browned — the whole point is what is absent.
2.4
Gratin, and the crust

The top is the dish. What forms it and what stops it forming.
2.5
Onion soup

Forty minutes of onions before anything else happens.

The whole register, all 25 guides →

Dishes

Coq au vin

Ratatouille, cooked apart

Blanquette

Gratin, and the crust

Onion soup