Rachael Ray's Blog, page 89

Philly; Part 2 of 3

Half the fun of discovering a new restaurant is sharing it with people you know will enjoy it. As Rachael Ray’s resident restaurant guru, here’s an inside look at what I report back to Rach about some of my favorite restaurant finds and food experiences!

From: Kappy

To: RR

Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 10:15am

Subject: Philly Series, Part 2 of 3

Hey RR - I’m back with Part 2 of 3 of my year in Philly food. Picking up from the last batch, I continue to love what Philly has to offer. Philadelphia seems like a hidden gem when it comes to food cities these days. Not to take anything away from it, because there’s some serious talent, here - and it has a history of serious talent - but it’s not like you’re reading about it as a food destination on every page.

Every time I mention that I’m heading Philly I hear that I’ve got to try the Tartufo Pizza from Pizzeria Stella. I made my way there for an early snack ahead of another meal. I swore I was only going to have one bite. I posted up at the pizza bar, ordered the ‘za and was mesmerized by what took place next. Now, I know you love Motorino in New York, but this gives it a run for the money. A blistering crust pizza with fontina cheese, black truffle and a sunny-side up egg was placed in front of me. Like an artist at work, the server broke the egg and spooned the yolk all over the pizza (while I drooled). I had a slice… and another - but stopped myself before I lost all of my appetite for my next meal. This pizza was definitely worth it.

I think I may have told you about my next stop, Pub & Kitchen. Now, I can get down with some pub food as you know, but put it this way: this is Philly’s answer to New York’s The Spotted Pig, and a darn good answer at that. Chef Jon Adams has some top-shelf talent in the kitchen, and I got to see it first hand. He started me out with a mini Caesar salad with perfectly grilled shrimp. Next, I had to ask about the Buffalo wings on the menu. You know I love my wings. Heck, if you’re a talented chef and you have Buffalo wings on the menu, I’m going to try them. He gave me a taste of their Buffalo-style and a taste of their honey-whisky-style. They came out just how I like them: small, crispy and not too much fat. After a rich and delicious potted crab and artichoke dip, I demolished a bowl of fusilli with smoked pork shank ragu. This was one of the best bowls of pasta I’ve had in a long time. Chef finished me off with a burger, which he takes great pride in, as one should. It was fantastic, but I barely made a dent in it since I was so full! I ended on a sweet note with a piece of ginger carrot cake and pumpkin ice cream. Good night and get there soon!

I can get down with a good cheesesteak, and I’m pretty confident that I know what I like in a cheesesteak, but if you talk to enough locals in Philly you’ll find that most of them go for a roast pork sandwich with broccoli rabe and sharp provolone. I had mine at Shank’s Original, a little hut along Pier 40. It was quite alright, but the secret weapon for this sandwich is definitely the sharp provolone. Next time you’re in Philly, do as the locals do and try a roast pork sandwich. Although, come to think of it, I know you have a pretty great recipe for a very similar sandwich.

Now, I know New York has its fair share of barbecue, but Percy Street BBQ in Philly is the real deal. I made a quick stop there for a little taste of brisket and mac and cheese…next thing I knew, I had about ten plates all around me. From the German Potato Salad to brisket, mac and cheese and ribs to the pork belly, beans and smoked turkey tail. Yea, I said it. Smoked, then grilled and tossed in barbecue sauce, the turkey tail was something different, that’s for sure, but quite good and well worth trying. There’s a first time for everything, and Percy Street does it right! And I can’t forget - even though I know you’re not a sweets person, you’ve got to at least have a taste of the pecan pie.

And that’s what’s on my plate!

~ Kappy

Pizzeria Stella

420 South 2nd Street

Philadelphia, PA 19106

(215) 320-8000

www.pizzeriastella.net

Pub & Kitchen

1946 Lombard Street

Philadelphia, PA 19146

(215) 545-0350

www.thepubandkitchen.com

Shank’s Original

901 S Christopher Columbus Boulevard

Philadelphia, PA 19147

(215) 218-4000

www.shanksoriginal.com

Percy Street BBQ

900 South Street

Philadelphia, PA 19147

(215) 625-8510

www.percystreet.com

Andrew “Kappy” Kaplan loves food. A professionally trained chef, by day he runs Yum-o!, Rachael Ray’s charity focused on kids and cooking, and keeps special projects running smoothly for her. By night he hops course to course, place to place, all across the country. He’s Rach’s own personal dining guide! You can also follow Kappy on Twitter to see what’s On Kappy’s Plate in real-time!

Raspberry Almond Baked Oatmeal Casserole

Baked oatmeal is hearty, easy and most of all incredibly delicious, making it a fantastic recipe to make for and with the kid It can even be prepared the night before and baked off in the morning which makes it the perfect breakfast for sleepovers. And it even tastes delicious as leftovers, served chilled right from the fridge.

Raspberry Almond Baked Oatmeal Casserole

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups milk
1 large egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup raspberries (or your favorite berry)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 10-inch glass pie plate (or a 10-1/2 by rectangular baking dish) with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl stir together oats, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, almonds and chocolate chips. In another medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg, butter and vanilla extract. Add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and stir to combine. Gently fold in raspberries taking caution not to mash them up. Pour mixture into prepared pie plate/baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool for five minutes before serving.

TIP: To prevent a messy oven, set baking dish/pie plate onto a baking sheet before filling with oatmeal mixture.

Christina Stanley-Salerno is a mama, recipe developer, food stylist, photographer and blogger atTakeBackYourTable.com. She loves cooking for and with her family. Life is hectic, but Christina is passionate about mealtime because she believes that family meals are the glue that holds everyone together. Creating simple, quick and healthy meals is her specialty and her trick to keeping the family meal a reality, even on busy weeknights.

Follow her on Twitter @TakeBackTables

A Lesson in Doneness at Waffle House

My obsession with hash browns, like my obsessions with hamburgers, U.S. Presidents, grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches, Barbara Eden, and the works of Philip K. Dick, has taken me to some strange places. None of these are stranger, or at least more alien to my basic makeup, than the Waffle House. That Waffle House is without a doubt the great American restaurant I’ve argued, vehemently and unconvincingly, many times; but it’s the kind of claim only an invisible outsider could make.

I bring all this up in the context of how to cook hash browns.

Danit and I were returning from a family vacation in our white Japanese rental car when I spotted what I knew to be one of the very northernmost Waffle Houses, and I veered into it with an almost manic glee. Here at last I would see those hash browns that I define the dish for me: shredded into identical white lozenges, each one ripe for browning and the absorption of precious tropical oils. Much to my dismay, though, the usual efficiency and command were no more to be found. As so often happens as Waffle Houses extend toward the Mason-Dixon line and out of the reach of their Georgia headquarters, management was shaky at best. “Where’s my cook?” a testy waitress kept saying, angrily thrusting her liver-spotted hands into rubber gloves and and angrily taking up cooking duties. Two other waitresses lounged impertinently around; they were going off shift, but wanted to have some light sport with their friend, a forty-ish blonde with loads of attitude. “He probably just had a problem with his ride, Marsha,” one said. “How many sausages are supposed to be down?” she barked out, unappeased. This drama all played out while my hash browns cooked, and cooked, and cooked. “Maybe it will make them better,” I said to Danit. “I used to deliberately order them well done.” Danit looked back at me, mocking my earnest agitation with a round-mouthed open-eyed gape. “Maybe they will!”

The manager, an apologetic looking milquetoast, wandered out briefly, but acted with all the authority of a Jewish husband who has wandered into an angry quarrel between his wife and sisters, and soon slinked out again. Marsha continued to act out, slamming her sausage weights and cursing at being stuck there. Meanwhile, the hash browns continued to cook. Eventually Marsha remembered about their existence and dropped them in three piles onto a plate - so as to make sure that most of the order would become steamed and soggy, and lose the emphatic crunch she accidentaly gave them.

It didn’t matter. The hash browns, while they looked great, even askew, were dried out inside - a fact no amount of crispy outside could cover. I pondered what to do. I had waited so long for my favorite thing at my favorite restaurant, and endured the kind of cringing that only watching somebody else’s meltdown bring. At that point, Leo, the missing cook, walked in. I had expected him to be a middle-aged biker type with jailhouse tattoos and a thousand-yard stare. But it was a shaggy-haired teen who looked something like Bobby Sherman, or one of the Jonas brothers. To me, this was bad news. Those convicts generally know how to cook, and I was still weighing the option of asking for a new order. Leo walked behind the counter, and all wrath immediately melted away. It was obvious that the entire all-female staff was either crushing on him, or had a maternal affection that amounted to the same thing. More surprising still, Leo, despite his juvenile appearance and late arrival, turned out to be a masterful grill operator. Within seconds he was laying down bacon, dropping sausages, readying his egg cartons, staggering toast orders, and - at my behest, putting a second order of hash browns on the grill. This one, when he put it in front of me, was every bit as brown on the outside as the wreckage I had been given before; but the inside potato shreds were soft and tender and moist, and gave the dish a flavor on the whole that even crust, grease, and salt - which I had hitherto thought its basic elements - hadn’t delivered. What had happened? What could lesson could I learn from this mishap? How could I use it to my advantage in my own hash browns. I am still thinking about it, and I have Leo to thank.

Refreshing Citrus Mint Granita

A few days after we moved into our new home I noticed two extremely large bunches of mint growing. At first I wasn’t sure what type of plant they were but a quick sniff and a google search confirmed that we were indeed inundated with mint plants. At first Iw as really excited an all gung-ho about making mojito mocktails and cocktails for days but then I realized that the honey bees shared my enthusiasm for the fragrant plant and the wind was sort of knocked out of my sails.

We decided to remove quite a bit of the plants for the safety of the kiddos and use up as much of the mint as we could so as to not let it go to waste. Besides making a boat load of alcoholic and non alcoholic mojitos, I was searching for another refreshing way to use up our plethora of fresh mint leaves. The entire family was really digging the combo of citrus mint and judging by the way my kids (ages 3 and 1) sucked down their virgin mojitos (aww so sweet, baby’s first cocktail mocktail) my next inclination was to turn those ingredients into one killer granita. The bright, fresh flavor of citrus fruit (in this case lemon and orange) works so well with the coolness of fresh mint.

Granita is a dessert that originated in Sicily and it’s made from sugar, water and various flavorings. I make them all of the time in various ways. Once you’ve got the technique down you are free to play around with ideas and create your own recipes. You are only limited by your imagination. My older son just loves helping me scrape the ice and get so excited to see it fluff up like delicious sugary snow. Yum! Granita really couldn’t be simpler to make and can even be made ahead of time which makes them killer as a summer dessert to entertain with.  After the granita is frozen and scraped, you can keep it in the freezer until you are ready to serve.

Citrus Mint Granita

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 cup of freshly squeezed citrus juice (I used lemon and orange)
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups water

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl whisk together citrus juice and sugar. Add in mint leaves and muddle (or smash) them to bruise them and release their flavor. Strain the juice to remove the mint leaves and any seeds or pulp.

2. Pour into a baking dish or pie plate with high sides (I used a 10-inch glass pie plate). Make sure that will fit into your freezer. Freezer for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the freezer and scrape with a fork to break up the ice. Return dish to the freezer for another 2-3 hours, then remove again and continue to scrape the ice. Repeat this process one more time until all of the ice is shaved into a fluffy, snow-like texture. Scoop out and serve when ready.

Christina Stanley-Salerno is a mama, recipe developer, food stylist, photographer and blogger atTakeBackYourTable.com. She loves cooking for and with her family. Life is hectic, but Christina is passionate about mealtime because she believes that family meals are the glue that holds everyone together. Creating simple, quick and healthy meals is her specialty and her trick to keeping the family meal a reality, even on busy weeknights.

Follow her on Twitter @TakeBackTables

Good news pet lovers! New study shows kids who grow up with pets are healthier

If you have a pet, you know that they provide companionship, exercise, and love. And now there’s one more reason owning a pet is good for families - a new study in the journal Pediatrics shows that kids who grow up with pets during their first year of life are healthier in some ways than kids who don’t.

The study specifically showed that kids who lived in a house with a dog during that first year had fewer respiratory tract infections, ear infections and used fewer antibiotics than pet-free households. Researchers attribute the findings to the possibility that kids with animal contacts early in life might possibly build a greater resistance to some illnesses.  Cats were also shown to have a positive effect on kids’ health, although not as strong as dogs. Cheers pet lovers!

Coloring Short Hair

Coloring short hair can be a very tricky endeavor, and should never be approached in the same manner as coloring long hair.  Color expert Dallace Walsh of Cutler 57th St offers up some tips on how to get the best results for coloring your short tresses.

If you have a haircut that is like Victoria Beckham’s or Michelle Williams’, highlights should fade from very heavy around the face to almost nothing in the back to the nape. This avoids that strong shelf of color from blonde to your natural color.

Now, if you have something closer to a pixie cut like Emma Watson, and you want highlights, then you really only have a couple of good options. Either a few highlights on top near to the face to accent the haircut, or tipping the ends of the whole head so that it looks more like a grown out single process. Having some of your own root color will give it dimension and it will look like highlights.  This is also a great haircut to do a full Marilyn Monroe double process blonde on. To make it more modern, have your colorist tone the roots a level darker to keep some subtle dimension.

The biggest pitfall to avoid is doing any kind of traditional foil highlights if your hair is shorter than 2 inches, that is unless you want to look like a leopard. Other potential problems for those with short hair come at the point of choosing to cut it short or deciding to grow it back out.  If you’re just now thinking of cutting your long locks; do not, I repeat, do not highlight your hair first!  Not only will you be wasting a ton of money on hair that’s going to hit the floor, but also you might actually have to spend more time and money redoing the hair to work with your new haircut. Coloring after your cut will also give your stylist and your colorist an opportunity to work together to create something special just for you.

If you want to grow your hair back out, color can really help get past some of the awkward moments and actually make it look longer. Once you have 3 to 4 inches of hair, you’ll want to either go one solid color (single process) or do a more traditional full highlight. This is a time where dimensional color is not your friend. It will exaggerate the short and choppy look where a more solid color will soften and lengthen.

Farmers Market Yellow Beans and Potatoes Sautéed with Cumin

In recent weeks, I have switched out shopping for produce at the grocery store with shopping at the Farmers’ Market. The experience is certainly bringing with it certain comforts and discomforts and after speaking to a few others, I realized that I was not alone in my apparently ‘random’ thoughts:

Week 1 – The market was intimidating and restrictive. There was so much to choose from and yet there was an absence of some of my habitual items.

Week 2 – I took the plunge. I promised myself not to over think it and just pick up produce on an instinct. I was still figuring out how to prepare some of these less familiar items but there was one certainty, they sure tasted better.

Week 3 – Freedom. There was a freedom in making choices within what nature intended to be eaten ‘locally’. Rather than showing up with my predestined menu and seeking ingredients to support the dish, the farmers market ‘rightfully’ shifted the balance of power. The dish would be inspired by the vegetables. But I wasn’t just there for the food. The vendors moved me with their stories, the customers nourished me with their suggestions, the relationship with the produce was tactile and there was a satisfaction in was washing the grit from under my finger nails. This was so simple and yet so humanizing. No Styrofoam packaging and shrink wrapping, just bare and imperfect vegetables.

Photo by Curtis

Sure, the produce is a little more expensive and there are no value packs and specials, but isn’t this how we started to lose respect for food in the first place? Buy more and waste more? Whatever goes in to my shopping bag now gets full utilization because now I shop with full intention and purpose.

This week, I was charmed by the delicate yellow string beans and potatoes. The beans were tender and their happy yellow color put a smile on my face. Something so beautiful requires very little work. I sautéed them in a splash of cumin infused oil and potatoes. Delicious.

Yellow String Beans and Cumin

Ingredients

1 tbsp. oil
¾ tsp. cumin seeds
½ tsp. turmeric
½ tsp. black pepper
Salt
1/2 lb. baby potatoes
1 lb. green beans, tips removed and cut in to 1 cm pieces
½ a tomato, sliced thinly
Handful of cilantro

Method

1) Heat the oil on high, add the cumin and fry for about 4 seconds, the cumin will turn a couple of shades darker and will become aromatic

2) Add the potatoes, turmeric, salt and pepper and cook until almost done

3) Add the string beans and tomato slices and cook until tender

4) Garnish with cilantro

Saira Malhotra is a classically trained French chef and graduate from the French Culinary Institute. A British born Punjabi, Saira has grown up around food which started from her family pizza business in a small suburb of London. Having studied in France and Italy and living in the Big Apple for the past 12 years, Saira has brought her European, Asian and American influences together via the palate and communicated through her food blog ‘Passport Pantry’.

Philly; Part 1 of 3

Half the fun of discovering a new restaurant is sharing it with people you know will enjoy it. As Rachael Ray’s resident restaurant guru, here’s an inside look at what I report back to Rach about some of my favorite restaurant finds and food experiences!

From: Kappy

To: RR

Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2012 10:00am

Subject: My Year in Philly Food - Part 1 of 3

Hey Rach - my apologies for holding out on these for so long, but I’m coming at you with a big, bad recap of my (last) year in Philly food. I’ll be sharing this one in three parts, so get ready!

Whenever we head out to PA to do your QVC appearances, I’m always sure to stop at Philly’s best restaurants. I’ve been loving their dining scene! Hands down one of my favorites is Zahav Restaurant. It is the best authentic Israeli food I’ve ever had. You probably remember this place because I brought you that condiment they serve called zhoug, that spicy, herbaceous, chimichurri-like sauce made with serrano peppers, cilantro, garlic and a couple other ingredients.

Anyhow, the chef there, Michael Solomonov, is super talented; he also has a couple other places I’ll be writing about in the coming weeks. I sat at the bar - solo - and there were so many things I wanted to try, so he gave me bite-size portions to get a good mix of it all. I had one of his many hummuses on the menu, but this one was warm and served with house-baked laffa bread, which is similar to pita and has spices dusted over it. I also had an excellent Crispy Haloumi Cheese with Date Paste, Pistachios and Honey. Brussels Sprouts served with Whipped Feta as well as a Fried Cauliflower dish were satisfying , but let me tell you what really blew me out of the water: the Oxtail Soup with Yukon Gold Potatoes and Fenugreek. A rich and flavorful beef broth with some balls of potatoes, pulled oxtail meat and spices…words don’t do it justice. The flavor was seriously insane. I practically drank this soup. Some other highlights include a Ground Duck Kebob; a crispy piece of Chicken Confit; a wonderful Crispy Eggplant that was brined, fried and grilled; Crispy Branzino served with a poppyseed potato salad; and also a great mezze salad dish, which changes almost daily. Not that I had room, but their homemade rugelach was fantastic, as was a dessert called Katafi, a chocolate and shredded phyllo with lebnah ice cream and kumquat. You need to try this place.

Speaking of Israeli food, I was all about the 4th Street Delicatessen - Philly’s version of Katz’s (not to take anything away from the owner Russ with that comparison, because this veteran was behind some big delis in New York, too). A friend of mine who works for Vienna Beef in Chicago told me I had to go in there because they smoke all of their own meats and do it better than most delis in Chicago and New York City. I tried a small slice of their homemade corned beef, pastrami and brisket, and couldn’t miss out on a couple bites of the mammoth-size Matzah Ball Soup and the Potato Latke/Pancake, whatever you choose to call them.

And yes, I finally got to Chef Michael Schulson’s Sampan! Oh, how I’ve missed those Edamame Dumplings of his. I LOVED those things when he was at Buddakan in New York. I went in for a quick bite with a couple co-workers and we picked a bit. We of course had the Edamame Dumplings and also had the General Tso’s Dumplings, which rock, too. We enjoyed a fantastic Lobster Gazpacho and added a few more small plates, including the Crispy Spicy Shrimp , Korean Beef Skewer and a Tomato Burrata and Melon Salad with an Anise Balsamic-like dressing.

Just before going to Sampan, we sat for a quick sample from Marc Vetri’s Amis. I could have easily had my whole meal here. I’m not a huge animal tongue person, but the person I was with is, so we ordered the Veal Tongue. It was actually quite good. We also had the Mortadella Mousse, which was delicious, and a really unique free-form Eggplant Lasagna that kind of blew my mind - it had the ricotta mixed with roasted and pureed eggplant.

Mortadella Mousse

Eggplant Lasagna

And I can’t forget to mention the housemade fennel salumi! I need to return here or to one of his other places. I know many out-of-town chefs are fans of Vetri’s.

Rounding out the food portion of Part 1 of this Philly extravaganza was a delicious meal at Barbuzzo. I know you featured this restaurant in your magazine and on the show. I love the 13th Street Ladies! They’ve made this particular block in Philly really exciting. I went with Abigail from the kitchen staff at the show and shared a bunch of dishes. We ordered a big meat board with salami, chorizo, lomo, and sopressata, the squash and parsnip salad and the Uovo Pizza with Brussels sprout leaves, guanciale, a secret white sauce, fior di latte cheese, truffle and a farm egg. Needless to say, it rocked. We also tried the Casarecce Pasta with hen of the woods mushrooms, arugula, ricotta and preserved lemon walnut pesto and the Caciocavallo-stuffed meatballs with ground short rib and pork - I couldn’t pass up a meatball! But wait…their Budino dessert is madness! It has Oreo crumbs, butterscotch pudding, vanilla bean caramel, sea salt and whipped crème fraiche. Beat that!

Oh, one more thing. If you need a cup of gelato that’s a little out of the ordinary, check out Capogiro. I tried the Thai Coconut Milk flavor and Mexican Coffee and they were both winners!

And that’s what’s on my plate!

~ Kappy

Zahav

237 Saint James Place

Philadelphia, PA 19106

(215) 625-8800

www.zahavrestaurant.com

4th Streeet Deli

700 South 4th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19147

(215) 922-3274

www.famous4thstreetdelicatessen.com

Sampan

124 South 13th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19107

(215) 732-3501

www.sampanphilly.com

Amis

412 South 13th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19147

(215) 732-2647

www.amisphilly.com

Barbuzzo

110 South 13th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19107

(215) 546-9300

www.barbuzzo.com

Capogiro

www.capogirogelato.com

Andrew “Kappy” Kaplan loves food. A professionally trained chef, by day he runs Yum-o!, Rachael Ray’s charity focused on kids and cooking, and keeps special projects running smoothly for her. By night he hops course to course, place to place, all across the country. He’s Rach’s own personal dining guide! You can also follow Kappy on Twitter to see what’s On Kappy’s Plate in real-time!

Come Fry With Me

I see where Friday is national French Fry Day. I’m not fooled for one minute by these fake days of observation, which are manufactured by the PR wings of trade groups to promote or another food. Last week was Fried Chicken Day. Next week will be something else. But National French Fry day, like National Fried Chicken Day, actually deserves to be a national observance. But, interestingly, it’s for the opposite reason.

Fried Chicken’s most magical qualities come from the fact that it isn’t really fried; as I decried in a recent OTV segment, immersing a chicken in hot oil is a kind of crime against gastronomy. But potatoes - they should hardly be made any other way! It’s not just potatoes; practically all vegetables benefit from its Midas-like qualities. As I wrote some years ago, in one of my more effusive moments, “A plate of limp, cadaverous scallops or a ball of mashed up chickpeas doesn’t excite anybody; on the contrary, they’re more likely to inspire repulsion or even a kind of universal dread. But pop them into some hot oil, and before you know it, these inert bodies have metamorphosed into miniature suns, radiating pure excitement in every direction. This is what hot grease can do. Its festive pop and spatter fills every kitchen with glee; and through some miracle of chemistry, the hotter it is, the less greasy are its products.”

Of all these products, surely none are more universally loved than fries. But how often do you make them at home? I rarely do, but the feeling sometimes comes over me, and I think that may happen on Friday. So my plan is to keep the oil from its characteristic paradox. Because, like so many of us in our clogged heart of hearts, I actually like my fries to be greasy. It was at one time believed that this was because of what Brillat- Savarin calls the “surprise” effect: the potato hits the oil and the outside is immediately cauterized by the hot fat. In fact, the action is far more complex than that. Deep-frying is actually a form of boiling; the water in the fries creates the barrier that keeps the fat out. As Chris Young, one of the co-authors of the authoritative Modernist Cuisine puts it so expressively, “Plunged into hot oil, countless steam-filled bubbles erupt and envelop the food in a cloud of swirling steam and churning oil. Seen in microscopic detail, the surface of the deep-frying food is continually rocked by violent explosions that release plumes of steam-a telltale sign that water just beneath the surface is boiling.”

So how do you avoid this? Well, one way is to make sure that the french fry doesn’t boil so much as simmer - cook in oil under 340 degrees farenheit, or better still something like lard or duck fat, that won’t take high heat anyway. And then, consider using a jaquard tenderizer, an evil-looking device that functions as a kind of Iron Maiden for steaks. It will make many tiny holes in the french fries where grease can get in. The other technique, much easier but resulting in a heavier fry, is to cut the potatoes up and then freeze them - the ice crystals will do the jaquarding work for you. (You can always boil up whole potatoes too, and then chill them down and slice them - anything that does violence to the potato will work.)

I hope that you will at least think about all this before you make french fries this Friday. But why stop with french fries? Once that oil is boiling away, think of all the wonderful things you can put in it. Like the alchemists of old, everything it touches turns to gold.

Buying and Grilling Tips from New York’s best butcher, Pat Lafrieda

Want to impress your friends and family or just learn a little bit more about grilling?  Take note of what Pat has to say,  and believe me, he knows meat!

Pat LaFrieda is a fourth generation butcher and provides meat to over 1,000 restaurants in New York City and beyond.  His family business is featured on the hit Food Network show MEAT MEN.  Pat also has an app where he shares everything you need to know about meat.  Pat LaFrieda’s Big App for Meat is available on iTunes.  Get it today!

Buying Tips

1.       Odor over color - Fresh meat should practically be odorless. If you get home and open the package and it has a slight gas odor, this does not mean your meat is spoiled. This is a natural occurrence and should dissipate within a minute. If the odor does not dissipate, your meat is spoiled.

2.       Look for the USDA inspection seal on package. This ensures food safety & that the product was processed under government oversight.

3.       When USDA product is not available, buy from a trusted butcher. Get to know your butcher & observe the facility. I.E. A butcher’s outer garment should be a clean, white coat and should not look like he had done roof work that day.

4.       Buy domestic - The USA has the best meat in the world. Don’t worry if product is local. As long as it’s domestic, you’re helping a farmer in the USA. From coast to coast, we have the best growers in the world.

5.       Stay away from marinated meats in the supermarket. Today’s marinated meats can be yesterday’s oxidized or spoiled meats.

Grilling Tips

1.       Heat your grill - Before you even start fussing with your meat. Heating with the top down will heat the grill as fast as possible. Your first piece of meat should hit the grill at no less than 450 degrees F surface grill temperature.

2.       Once your meat is on the grill - do not close the top. The beauty of BBQ is to be cooking with the surface temperature. This will allow the beautiful caramelization of the meat, which is the maillard reaction you want to occur.

3.       A little brown sugar goes a long way. Most marinades can cook off the meat but a little brown sugar will help the marinade to adhere to the meat.

4.       Salt before the grill. Pepper after the grill. Salt gives a nice crust. Pepper will get bitter if used before grilling.

5.       If you’re looking for an external sear on  a rare or medium-rare steak - do not bring your meat up to room temperature before hitting the grill. If you put cold meat on the grill you will ensure the exterior will sear while keeping you’re the interior rare or  medium-rare.

Thank you Pat!  Those are really helpful tips for a rookie griller like myself. Want more meat tips? Check out Pat LaFrieda’s Big App for Meat, available on iTunes.