Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Father's Day Giveaway: Win a Two-Pound Cowboy Chop

THAT is my fav.

three_em at 10:00AM on 06/07/11

French in a Flash: Creamed Leeks

great with salmon, and i've been known to use it as a stuffing for a salmon en croute. yum.

three_em at 6:50PM on 05/26/11

How To Grill a Gigantic Rib-Eye Steak

The key is well-marbled and aged. Not being pretentious here: even to medium, what your local supermarket sells as a "one-rib roast" is going to end up tough, (even though you let the salt sink in hours beforehand and let the chill come off it).

Whether grill or stovetop/oven, I'll always use a a cast-iron pan to get a completely even sear. Pressing or weighing down the meat here isn't a bad idea either.

Now, I do two unorthodox things that I've found to work best: first, I use medium heat as a guide and then go to indirect heat as the crust develops; the sheer length of time this thing is cooking will yield a deep, brown crust with no black spots or juvenile grill marks (which are just bitter and poorly-cooked meat).

The other thing is start the steak on its back and sear "around" it, in a dry pan. Because it's so thick, it will stand on its own. Because it's a ribeye, you're hitting the fattiest part of it anatomically here. I want to stress that this starts the fat to melt and baste throughout the whole steak, which a post-sear doesn't do as well.

Anyway, on medium heat, a lot of that fat will quickly render out, and the steak will be a lot more self-basting cooking for twentysomething minutes in its own fat. It suddenly becomes more clear why it's in a pan and not on grates.

I'm not afraid to flip reasonably often and I'll always finish the steak with comical amounts of butter, herbs, and garlic. Then, I rest for as much as fifteen minutes.

three_em at 10:35AM on 05/26/11

Matzo Toffee With Almonds

I make these, except lining a baking sheet with cheapo whole wheat Premium Plus crackers. They've got the salt built in, and the whole wheat adds a nice textural component that matzo doesn't. And for those that don't like almonds it stands on its own as easy salted sweets go.

three_em at 2:03PM on 04/18/11

Eggs in a Hole + Grilled Cheese = Grilled Cheese Eggsplosion!

tears of joy. :')

three_em at 12:04PM on 02/28/11

Ways to use Prosciuitto?

don't underestimate the value of using it as a flavouring agent. just one slice adds a lot of body some sauces or sautés. often i'll trim the fat and then throw that fat into something else i'm cooking slowly, from caramelized onions to a pipérade...

be careful with the salt content though.

three_em at 12:01PM on 02/28/11

From Drinks

Taste Test: Cream Soda

completely agree with IBC and i admit i immediately looked to see where it ranked on your list as soon as i clicked the link. being that it is tough to find here, IBC represents the only legitimate reason to go to red lobster aside from the scones.

three_em at 8:46PM on 02/25/11

Dinner Tonight: Beer-Battered Fish

i've had success by simply mixing all-purpose flour and heavy medium-coloured beer. i also add a pinch of salt, curry powder, and baking powder. it works pretty well if you ask me. i also season a cornstarch and flour mixture as well to dredge, and that way no salt touches fish to suck out moisture until it's already swimming in canola oil.

having said that, i'm interested to understand the rationale behind the egg if anyone has tested it because I know a lot of English recipes use an egg and because on occasion my recipe will turn out soggy if the batter isn't given enough attention after frying. if the egg somehow improves the texture, i'm all for revising the way i make beer-battered cod.

three_em at 6:38PM on 02/23/11

Weekend Cook and Tell Round Up: Stale Bread Salvation

winter panzanella. so right.

now with this in my head i'll need to buy some bread and watch it for a day or two.

three_em at 6:23PM on 02/23/11

From Sweets

Cookie-Stuffed Cookies

brilliant, an inception cookie. a cookie within a cookie.

three_em at 4:13PM on 02/16/11

From Drinks

Why Coffee Dates Make Great First Dates

@erin you should do a post, but if it's on the... grounds that it'd be better for the farmer -- a sort of hyper-fair-trade policy -- i completely disagree. it may not even be close to what you intend to argue so i'm not ascribing this viewpoint to you, but it reminds me of a great coffee shop conversation i had a little while ago:

fair trade, IMO, needs to be completely affordable to consumers without changing their habits. i liken penalizing the final consumer on the price front to trickle-down economics; there's no guarantee my extra few cents or dollars will help anyone who needs it. there's no guarantee it'll improve the working conditions or product quality involved in harvesting my cuppa at all. contrast that with organic farming, which usually involves meeting certain rigorous standards of care.

a price increase creates a larger consumer market for shitty coffee somewhere, and then people who can't afford the daily investment get stuck with the worst of the worst (thereby supporting the practice). it's already bad enough that a relatively-unlaborious americano costs more than drip when so much of the latter is often wasted when a new batch is made (so therefore it costs more). personally, i already pay $3.50 per tiny cappuccino at rooster coffeehouse in toronto, and if they hiked the price any more i'd end up on the street due to my addiction before ever realizing i'm being overcharged. please don't raise the price on me!

three_em at 11:19AM on 02/15/11

From Drinks

Why Coffee Dates Make Great First Dates

not really sure why coffee "should" cost more, or why the time was set aside to say that the time wouldn't be set aside to suggest it...

coffee first dates are excellent, as long as they don't substitute for drinks when drinks are called for. sometimes you just know that coffee won't cut it for this girl, in which case you've ruined your chances (or at least all the fun) by suggesting it.

three_em at 5:11AM on 02/15/11

Seriously Delicious Holiday Giveaway: Charles Chocolates' Edible Chocolate Holiday Box

pots de creme/mousse mos def.

three_em at 10:40AM on 12/20/10

The Food Lab's Complete Guide to Buying, Storing, and Cooking Prime Rib

@kenji:

i've read far too many conflicting reports about when to salt a roast or a steak; abstracting your post to the steak context it would seem you're advocating here to salt nearly an hour before cooking so that the juices have time to reabsorb in (i've heard this opinion given elsewhere, albeit citing much less empirical evidence).

what would you have to say to those individuals who advocate seasoning right before cooking? or those small few who actually tell people to do so after? one of the reasons i ask is that my local butcher will vacuum-pack steaks upon request for me and i was considering cooking a couple in a pseudo-sous-vide method by simply dropping the damn things into some controlled 135-degree water, then opening them up, seasoning, and searing them really quickly. sounds foolproof.

on a final note: i may be imagining it but it seems to me that slowly-cooked roasts have more unmelted fat (i suppose sustained heat is important in rendering it out). any thoughts or comments on this? milliways FTW.

three_em at 6:17PM on 12/10/10

Seriously Delicious Holiday Giveaway: Two Peter Luger Steaks

ribeye, bone in. me me me!!

three_em at 11:20PM on 12/07/10

Cook the Book: 'Avec Eric'

Certainly Italy and Spain, but staying out of the city.

three_em at 6:15PM on 11/25/10

Burger Buns; Kaiser or Sesame

i'm a squishy bun convert. in the case of burgers (and few other things), the simple textural quality of a lightly toasted simple bun is unparallelled.

three_em at 1:03PM on 11/11/10

StarBuck's Salted Caramal Hot Choc, to drink or not to drink?

i've loved this since it first came out (back when they tried to hawk their "signature" line). works well as a mocha too and whip is necessary.

oh yeah and it's so disgustingly rich and bad for you that i only order it in "short".

three_em at 12:59PM on 11/11/10

From Serious Eats: New York

Lamb virgin, need recipe for loin chops.

marinate for 40 minutes (more and the acid will basically start cooking it) in white wine, lemon juice and zest, diced garlic, and wintery herbs, which should first be rubbed into the meat along with the garlic. also season the marinade slightly with cracked pepper and salt.

get a pan to medium high and turn your oven on; season the chops on both sides with salt and pepper and sear either side, under the herb sprigs from your marinade. stick the whole thing in the oven to cook to your liking (total cooking time for medium would be about eight minutes) and then add butter to baste with as a finishing touch. rest the lamb, and then profit.

three_em at 11:44PM on 10/28/10

Poll: What Do You Think of the Michelin Stars?

there's a great episode of bourdain's no reservations in paris, where eric ripert gets beat up on in conversation by a couple of young chefs who make great food and have no time pandering to michelin inspectors.

the show's theme basically (which is overstated but very interesting), is that there's a new renaissance emerging in france that goes against what michelin considers a great restaurant. they're focusing a lot more on the food and preparation than anything else (like style of service, ambiance, profit margins, etc.). that is, michelin still has it's place, but it's a conservative institution of diminishing relevance. i tend to agree with that criticism.

three_em at 1:48PM on 10/26/10

Cheese Sauce for Cheese Fries and Nachos

i usually add those ingredients to a fairly thick béchamel. i find that to have a good consistency and taste but am i missing a superior result here? why corn starch?

three_em at 9:36PM on 09/19/10

Perfect Roasted Potatoes

i suggest giving them a parboil to almost cooked; it'll reduce cooking time and ensure they are creamy on the inside so a hotter oven can be used mainly just to create a crust. also, if you salt your water well, a much richer crust will form in the roasting.

i personally always peel them and cut them bite-size, but if you were to bundle and add the skins to the water they'd impart some of their flavour to the potatoes as well.

three_em at 10:33AM on 08/31/10