Cookin’ (solution)
by Alex Calhoun and Michael Colao
The first thing to do is to identify the various foods being cooked. Each of them is named for a particular place or region. To make ID easier, the dishes are in alphabetical order.
There are two key observations:
- Each of the script clips contains exactly one number
- Each of the script clips begins with a different letter of the alphabet, A-Y
We use the number as an index into the location word. We use the alphabetic letter to provide the ordering.
Reordering alphabetically by first word, we get: PHILIPPINE VINEGAR MARINADE. Which is ADOBO, our answer.
| Dish being prepared | Script | Letter (order) | Number | Index of number (in red) into location |
| Adana Kebap | X-raying this mass of meat would reveal the long thin iron skewer impaled directly through the middle. Actually mounting the hand-minced lamb along the skewer is a two-handed process, with the off (usually the left) hand controlling the skewer while the main (usually the right) hand manipulates the meat. This is actually the hardest part of the recipe to get right. If not done properly, the meat will separate from the skewer during grilling. | X | 2 | D |
| Arbroath Smokies | Be sure to tie the tails of the haddock together tightly, before we rinse them and hang them on the rails to dry out before the curing, with some eight pairs on each rail. Depending on the weather, they will take most of an hour to cook. | B | 8 | H |
| Beef Wellington | Carefully brush the egg-wash along the pastry, which will assist us in wrapping the meat, the minced mushroom, and the rest of the ingredients into a compact parcel. Wait five minutes, and then open the... | C | 5 | I |
| Bombay Potatoes | Smoothly, pull the spoon through the dish, as the coating will attach itself to the potatoes. The smells of the cumin, the garlic and the curry leaves in particular will be coming through strongly. Stir it a good five minutes... | S | 5 | A |
| Boston Cream Pie | It’s now time to apply the ganache. We have heated it for about six minutes until it reaches a pouring consistency, and now we simply pour it onto the top layer of sponge letting it run down over the sides. Down over the vanilla custard in the middle. Look at that. This is why this dish was declared the official state dessert. | I | 6 | N |
| Buffalo Wings | Please let them stand for five minutes or so, in order to drain off some of the fat, before we mix the crispy meat into the peppery sauce we prepared earlier. | P | 5 | A |
| Chicken Kiev | Keep a hold of the sliced breast as we carefully wrap it around the chilled garlic butter, which should be evenly divided into four pieces. Use fingers on both hands as well as the thumb to achieve control of the breast during the wrap. | K | 4 | V |
| Chicken Madras | The mixture is now carefully stirred. We want the pieces soaking up the sauce and allowing the flavours of the ginger, turmeric, garam masala, tamarind, chili, and the rest of the spices to infuse into the meat. We will cover it and let this Southern Indian dish simmer for a while until the chicken is tender, stirring about every four minutes or so. | T | 4 | R |
| Chicken Marengo | Now we carefully slice the breast into strips. Of course, it is reported that that the original chef chopped up the chicken with a sabre. But that is going a little too far today. After all, getting this wrong today will not result in death on the battlefield. This next step needs four of our ingredients. While holding the chicken with the left hand, cut it into quarter inch slices. Note: The battlefield reference is an allusion to Napoleon’s insistence that this is lucky food that must be served before every battle—it was served just before his victory at Marengo and every battle thereafter. |
N | 4 | E |
| Chicken Parmigiana Note: Chicken Parmigiana literally means “Chicken of Parma”, but this is actually a southern Italian dish from nowhere near Parma. |
Great. Now we are ready to add the sliced or shredded mozzarella on top of the sauce. One thing we keep in mind is that we try to place the cheese directly over the cutlets rather than let it get in the spaces between them. | G | 1 | P |
| Eggs Florentine (named for Florence) |
Just gently place the poached eggs on top of the baby leaves ready for the sauce. Pour no more than five tablespoons over each egg. That will be plenty. | J | 5 | E |
| Insalata Caprese | We then slice the fresh mozzarella into medium thin slices, trying to make them the same rough thickness as our vine ripened tomatoes. These two flavors, the mozzarella and the pomodoro will play off of each other in the mouth. | W | 2 | A |
| Irish Stew | ...exactly like that. Now we let it simmer for several hours. While neck mutton chops are more traditional, we use neck lamb today. This is one of the few changes that we are making in this traditional recipe. | E | 1 | I |
| Lady Baltimore Cake | Dissolve the sugar completely in the water bringing the syrup mixture to a boil. While the syrup is boiling, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks and with the mixer running add the hot syrup in a stream. Beat in the vanilla and beat the icing until it is cool. Now we fold in the chopped figs, the chopped pecans, three teaspoons of vanilla extract, and the raisins. | D | 3 | L |
| London Broil Note: This is an American cut of meat, unknown in London, England |
Very thinly, slice across the grain into diagonal slices. Serve at least three slices per person. And this should be the first time you cut into the meat. Scoring or otherwise penetrating the cut before cooking will result in a tougher dish, for it would allow the juices to run out of the meat. | V | 3 | N |
| Mississippi Mud Pie | Right. Mix in the nuts (often pecans, as we are using today), and sometimes a tablespoon of vanilla into the cocoa, eggs, sugar and flour mixture. This will make our bottom layer, which we will cover with a dark chocolate based topping later on. One thing we should check is that we have prepared our spring form cases so that... | R | 1 | M |
| Peking Duck | ... Absolutely super. Now we brush on the hoisin sauce with the spring onions. The light crepes are then rolled and eaten immediately. One trick during the preparation is to blow air under the skin. When done properly, there will be virtually no fat left under the skin. | A | 1 | P |
| Philadelphia Cheese Steak | Finally, bring the cooked beef and the cheese over and onto the roll with a large spatula. One thing we must be careful of is that we always have ... | F | 1 | P |
| Salad Nicoise (named for Nice) |
How about that? Now pile the quartered and peeled eggs, the tomatoes, capers, olives and two types of onions on top, before adding the tuna and drizzling with vinaigrette | H | 2 | I |
| Spaghetti Bolognese (from Bologna) |
OK, by this point the meat is well browned and we can add the dry red wine. We want to cook it until the wine is completely absorbed. When that happens and the meat may just be beginning to dry out a bit, we will add the tomato paste, stir that through for about five minutes, add salt, and then leave the ragu to simmer on a very, very low heat for another hour and a half, possibly adding the beef stock as required. | O | 5 | G |
| Swedish Meatballs | Up to about an inch they would still be considered a traditional size, unlike for example the big Greek variants. We will want some five tablespoons of lingonberry jam to serve with these when they are done cooking. Though you can also use cranberry or red currant jelly if you cannot get lingonberry. | U | 5 | I |
| Turkish Delight | Quite carefully wait until the mixture is golden brown, then add one and a half tablespoons of the rosewater for flavouring, and ensure that this is well whisked in. How long will we need to whisk it? That depends on how it is coming along. A few minutes is too little, three hours is too much, and everything in the middle you have to judge by eye and by nose. | Q | 3 | R |
| Welsh Rarebit | You want to grasp the pot firmly, and then spoon the sauce directly onto the toast. The sauce should be thick and smooth by this point. You need to stir the mixture for at least two minutes in order to get the strong beer, strong cheddar cheese and other ingredients mixed thoroughly into the roux. | Y | 2 | E |
| Wiener Schnitzel (named for Vienna) |
Move the veal from the water to the breadcrumbs, patting it down to get a full coat. You may need to flip the meat up to four times to fully cover the surface on both sides. | M | 4 | N |
| Yorkshire Pudding | Let the fat, or possibly oil, get and stay extremely hot. It should be smoking when you add the batter, and fill the wells right to the top. You will want to have at least seven... | L | 7 | I |
| Letter (order) | Number | Index of number (in red) into location |
| A | 1 | P |
| B | 8 | H |
| C | 5 | I |
| D | 3 | L |
| E | 1 | I |
| F | 1 | P |
| G | 1 | P |
| H | 2 | I |
| I | 6 | N |
| J | 5 | E |
| K | 4 | V |
| L | 7 | I |
| M | 4 | N |
| N | 4 | E |
| O | 5 | G |
| P | 5 | A |
| Q | 3 | R |
| R | 1 | M |
| S | 5 | A |
| T | 4 | R |
| U | 5 | I |
| V | 3 | N |
| W | 2 | A |
| X | 2 | D |
| Y | 2 | E |