Like anything in the kitchen, learning to cook meat to the correct “doneness” comes with time and practice. Eventually, after preparing enough pork loins and whole turkeys, testing for internal temperature will feel less scientific and more second-nature. At some point, you might even able to know if a steak is medium-rare with a just press of a finger.
I grew up just outside Pasadena, California — the birthplace of Trader Joe’s — with a father who was an early fan of the quirky chain of grocery stores, so my childhood was spent eating peanut butter-filled pretzels and wrapping my textbooks in inside-out Trader Joe’s paper bags. In college, I introduced many an out-of-state classmate to the wonders of Two-Buck Chuck, and as an adult, I shopped so consistently at the same Trader Joe’s location, I actually created a shopping list template for it.
So you can imagine my horror last year when, amid the excitement of a move from Los Angeles to New Orleans, I discovered that the closest Trader Joe’s would be in Baton Rouge, about an hour and a half away. So deep was the loss, I literally shook my fist at the sky and said, “NOOOOO!” like I was cursing a vengeful god.
A year later, I can tell you: it doesn’t get any better.
4.44 / 5 Stars | 38 Reviews
by ANNELISA1211
“A mix of black beans, black-eyed peas, and garbanzo beans, corn, onion, garlic, parsley, and basil tossed with a red wine and olive oil vinaigrette dressing makes a fabulous dip or side dish. Kidney beans and navy beans can also be used.”
Being a food editor, people have made a lot of assumptions about the way I eat. Specifically, when I made the transition to working mostly from home, there was the general thought that I must have really upped my lunch game.
I used to laugh at the idea, but really, it depends how you look at it: I’m no longer buying questionable sandwiches from the corner deli, but I’m not cooking myself a fancy meal either. Although what I am having is something that’s truly and utterly delicious, from the first to last bite. The kind of timeless meal that has the power to make you feel good inside and out: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
No yard? No grill? No problem! Trust me when I tell you that you — yes, you! — can still make world-class, fall-off-the-bone barbecue ribs in your oven at home. It’s not even that hard. Cross my heart. Today’s video will tell you everything you need to know.
Show me a cook who’s never burned a pot, oversalted a dish, or forgotten to add some key ingredient, and I’ll show you an alien. Yes, that’s right — all cooks (of this world, at least) fail to get it right every once in a while. We’ve been there hundreds of times, and it’s frustrating!
But take heart: Most things can be salvaged if you’re smart about it. Here are 15 ways we’ve messed up in the kitchen, and how we fixed it.
Among frozen summer desserts, granitas are a hard sell, not matter how you rename them. A coarse, grainy sorbet, they’re the shaved ice of the Italian food world. Sure, they’re insanely refreshing, require no churning and are probably the kind of thing you ought to be cooling off with on a very hot day, but who’d choose them over hot fudge sundae cakes, toasted marshmallow milkshakes, saltine crack ice cream sandwiches or key lime pie popsicles? Nobody we’re going to be friends with, for sure.
Except, my friend Ang, who freely admits that she’s not a dessert person — and is therefore inherently suspect, I know — makes them all the time and every time she does I wonder why I don’t more often. We were halfway out the door after her crab boil last weekend with two almost melting down children* when she insisted I stop to at least try the golden raspberry granita she’d made and it was so good, I kind of wanted to run away with it.
… Read the rest of raspberry crushed ice on smittenkitchen.com
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4.56 / 5 Stars | 41 Reviews
by MARY4SEEDS
“A low budget, low fat, easy and delicious salsa. You can add as many or as little veggies to your taste. This can easily be multiplied. Serve with crackers or tortilla chips.”
