no, not by a panel of judges…just my friend. a few friends, really. But one in particular who is a total foodie generally, ice cream aficianado specifically. Of course, she’s also a dedicated lover of all nuts, and the version I made for her barely had room for the ice cream, so that might have swayed her a little. (Some key aspects include actually browning butter and adding it -pour off the clarified part-, toasting the fresh pecans, chopped, in a sprinkling of brown sugar, butter and SALT… salt is key. Custard base, generous with yolk, use more cream than milk.)
But others seem to agree, and I have to say I do as well. Others may be as good, but I can’t think of any possible way it could be better.
I have also acheived this level of “untoppable” with two other dishes: Macaroni and cheese, and carnitas. My ribs have been called that once or twice, but I’m not satisfied with my own consistency there.
So now that I have boasted and bragged and strutted my cooking stuff, YOU go. Is there anything you make that you, along with at least two more people, agree is the best possible version of that dish, not to be improved upon? (I figure at least three is good enough… all good cooks can make versions of dishes that are exactly right for themselves and maybe their partner, but once you have at least 3 people saying it, you are on to something serious.)
My stepmother makes pretty outlandishly excellent mashed potatoes, and she starts by…brace yourself… ***actually cooking the potatoes in pure half n half. ***No water anywhere. Since a major key to having delicious mashed potatoes is getting as much water OUT so you can get dairy and butter IN, bypassing the water and cooking in the dairy turns out to be the ultimate answer to that issue.