The best reasons for grilling a big-ass steak this summer is it’s easy, it’s perfect for a larger party, and it’s impressive, something party guests love. First, about easiness. One builds a charcoal fire and once all the coals are white hot lay a beef tri-tip on the grill, using a meat thermometer so you […]
Simple, Inventive Cooking for One
One benefit of being a food writer and cookbook author is that eating is pretty good. One is either recipe-testing, taking photographs, or writing about food. Guests and children love it too because someone has to eat all this stuff. However, when does a cookbook writer have “down time” in terms of cooking? When my […]
Grilled Beef Short Ribs for a Lazy Summer Day
About 10 years ago, braised beef short ribs were very popular in restaurants (maybe they still are—I don’t eat out often enough to know) and home cooks joined the bandwagon. Due to the nature of the short rib there is no way you will be cooking this when you come home from work because it […]
Grilled Porterhouse Steak Very Rare
Grilling a whole, thick, big porterhouse steak that can feed four people is not only a great treat, but tricky enough to require some attention. In Florence, this very same steak is known as bistecca alla Fiorentina. In the region around Florence, a tall, lean, and heavy breed of cattle called Chianina is raised: a […]
Cozy Braised Beef Short Ribs for a Winter’s Eve
In the first decade of this century beef short ribs became enormously popular with restaurants and one would find it on menus as often as one found veal scaloppini on 1970s restaurant menus. On a cold winter’s eve, perhaps this weekend, a long-braising casserole of beef short ribs sounds perfect, don’t you think? However, due […]
Prime Rib, the Most Extravagant of Christmas Dinners
There’s no doubt that a standing rib roast of USDA Prime beef is an extravagant Christmas presentation. It’s a center piece—and it’s expensive. The standing rib roast in the picture, a 3-rib approximately 8-pound USDA Prime piece of beef cost about $250. Because of the enormous expense of prime rib you must pay close attention […]
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