Claire Saffitz Quotes

Claire Saffitz

Profession : Editor

Birth : September 16, 1986

As a kid, I was overly studious, overly serious, very academically driven. It was important to me on a cellular level to do well. And then I went to college at Harvard, and I relaxed a little bit.

Claire Saffitz

When the urge to bake strikes, it strikes hard and fast. You want to get in the kitchen and start breaking eggs right away, so it can be real buzzkill to find out that the recipe you're using calls for room-temperature butter.

Claire Saffitz

Depending on when vegetables are picked, they might take different lengths of time to cook.

Claire Saffitz

Running - it keeps me balanced, energetic, and primed for pasta intake.

Claire Saffitz

The main problems with cooked ground turkey are, one, it doesn't taste like much, and, two, it's dry.

Claire Saffitz

Only bake one type of thing at a time. Even when it seems like you're killing two birds with one stone, baking multiple recipes at the same time in one oven presents a tricky balancing act.

Claire Saffitz

Generally I don't find that basting does a lot of anything! I think what makes the most difference is treating the turkey ahead of time with a dry brine. It really does provide a very moist result.

Claire Saffitz

I know very little about my great grandparents, who came through Ellis Island in the early twentieth century, settled in Baltimore, and spoke only Yiddish.

Claire Saffitz

Always use liquid measuring cups to measure liquid and dry measuring cups to measure dry. Especially when measuring flour, accuracy is important, so using only dry measuring cups - or better yet, weighing on a scale - is key.

Claire Saffitz

For reasons that aren't quite clear I derive a weird and almost inappropriate pleasure from making a cake that looks like a decomposing log. Essentially, that's what a Buche de Noel is supposed to look like, complete with meringue 'mushrooms' poking out of the chocolate buttercream 'bark.'

Claire Saffitz

I don't like a too-perfect cake. You want people to know it came from your kitchen and not the cake case in the bakery aisle.

Claire Saffitz

Butter that is too warm won't aerate properly when beaten with sugar, leading to a decidedly un-fluffy result.

Claire Saffitz

Holiday eating is a study in paradox. You're surrounded by food, but you're so busy shopping and cooking that you don't have time to eat. Then, when your blood sugar dips to the point of derangement, you make a desperate lunge for the closest foodstuff - and the next thing you know, you've eaten an entire box of regifted peppermint bark.

Claire Saffitz

Every year since culinary school I have made a Buche de Noel, or Yule Log.

Claire Saffitz

Generally, if you're a baker who's still learning the ropes, substitutions can be risky. It's always best to make a recipe the first time as written, and only after that initial success should you make substitutions.

Claire Saffitz

For rave-worthy soups, skip the store-bought stock. You can extract a cleaner, stronger broth from a combination of water and several pantry ingredients. It's all about layering powerful flavor-enhancers that you probably already have on hand - bacon, tomato paste, herbs, peppercorns, a Parm rind, and, of course, kosher salt.

Claire Saffitz

For a while I thought I would work in museums, so my first job after college was an internship at the 9/11 Museum. I quickly found out that I did not want to do that. So I signed up for culinary school, and directly following culinary school, I went to graduate school at McGill.

Claire Saffitz

If you bake all the time, just leave your butter on the counter so it's always ready.

Claire Saffitz

I brought babkallah to a party and people freaked. They hovered over like it was a newborn baby, oo-ing and ah-ing. Its beauty didn't prevent them, however, from devouring the entire thing within minutes. It makes a lovely hostess gift, as it's both novel and delicious.

Claire Saffitz

As an adult, I use whole-milk cottage cheese anywhere you might use plain Greek yogurt or ricotta cheese.

Claire Saffitz