From the category archives:

Ingredients and Techniques

Time and Space

April 8, 2010

Mushrooms — just like some people — need time and space to achieve greatness. Composed of 80 – 90 % water, they’ll cry their eyes out in a crowded pan, weeping excess moisture and preventing a perfect sear. The next time you have to use mushrooms in any recipe try cooking them on [...]

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Gone Fishin’

March 30, 2010

When I was much much younger my mom packed up the car, bought me a Chinese take out container of grass shrimp, and took me on a fishing trip. The lake churned with blue gill and my bait was like potato chips. I was pulling fish out of the water as fast as [...]

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Millions of Peaches

August 4, 2009

I think these farmers are up to something.  On little plastic plates piled high for grubby hands were the sweetest, most perfect representation of peachy pleasure I’d encountered all summer.  I’d been waiting for peach season for weeks and rumors that the rainy Spring was great for stone fruit was fueling desire.
At home with the [...]

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Your stove is stupid

July 7, 2009

When I started reading the Comme Ça burger recipe I quickly identified it as one of those techniques that works well in a restaurant, but doesn’t translate perfectly at home because residential ovens don’t pack the same heat.  It’s the same reason roast chicken skin at your favorite bistro is just a little bit crisper, [...]

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A la Plancha

July 1, 2009

They won’t leave me alone.  Today’s NY times piece on burgers has opened up a Pandora’s box of craving.    The same cake tester, potato rolls, handling instructions, pickles and other pointers I’ve been playing with for weeks have been re-arranged and laid out for me in a way that has stoked an absolutely ravenous  burger [...]

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Cake Tester Thermometer: Part 2

June 24, 2009

While hunting for the perfect hot dog, I spent some time with Peter Smith at PS-7. There was a lull in the interview so I mentioned my recent steak debacle, and asked him if he ever used cake testers to test the doneness of steak. Peter confirmed I was right to not toss [...]

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Cake Tester Thermometer: Part 1

June 23, 2009

To read more about this technique be sure to check out Part 2.
I don’t cook steak very often.   When I do, I’ll  go all out and buy big.  Massive dry aged porter houses. Rib eyes so thick they look like they belong on the Flintstones.  It’s expensive and usually worth it, but only when [...]

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Funions

June 18, 2009

I’ve been spending too much time making the best burger or a perfect roast chicken.  Maybe I should just chill out and not worry about a 450 pixel well lit piece of food porn.  I’ll take a couple of red onions and slice them about an eight of an inch thick.  Let ‘em cool out [...]

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Building the Best Burger

June 16, 2009

I’m beginning to wonder if burger joints are like condominiums percolating upwards in what will amount to a great burger bubble.  Five guys and Elevation burger were early adapters as Hell burger in Arlington and others continue to join an increasingly competitive environment.  I’m all for open markets and capitalism but the growth of the [...]

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What’s in Season when…

June 9, 2009

With artichoke and asparagus season coming to an end it’s nice to know what to expect next. I’ve encountered a few calendars that list a breadth of produce and show season duration and peaks. Most guides either focus on a small local area and some take a more aggregate view, but I’ve [...]

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