Okay, campers, rise and shine: you can own the Royal Victorian Manor, featured in the 1993 classic Groundhog Day. The Woodstock, Ill. property served as the exterior for the Cherry Street Inn, the bed and breakfast where Bill Murray's character stays in the film. The Victorian is listed for $985,000.

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New York Fashion Week is going strong at Lincoln Center, but there's plenty of action off the runway as well. Check out this backstage peek at the Mercedes-Benz green room where celebs and designers relax and recover between shows. True to the spirit of Fashion Week, its decor is decked out with a clever nod to car culture but in the most glamorous way possible.

READ MORE »

tastefullyoffensive:

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nsfw ikea

[Photograph: Metro; graphic: Robyn Lee]

A Papa John's employee threw some uncooked pizza dough into a dumpster. This bubbling, heaving dough monster greeted pedestrians the next morning. —Max Falkowitz, NY Editor

So, our San Francisco photographer (and local burger popup chef) Wes Rowe teamed up with Sonya Haines to do a little brunch popup at the Mission's Dear Mom this past weekend. They overnighted bagels from New York and planned to serve 'em up with homemade schmears. (The lox wasn't from NY, which is kind of sad.) Turns out that San Franciscans really, really want New York bagels, and are willing to wait in line for them. (Even day-old ones.) The lines stretched for blocks. Bagel bakers of the world: maybe it's time to move to SF? —Maggie Hoffman, Senior and Drinks Editor

Thanks to Toothpaste For Dinner, I now know what the foodie food chain is. —Robyn Lee, AHT Editor/Art Director

Rick Bayless's Topolobampo turns 25 this year, and to celebrate, it is getting a fascinating new menu. Chicago Reader has an epic interview with Bayless about the history of the restaurant and the updated dishes. —Nick Kindelsperger, Chicago Editor

The photo of the Cup Noodles Mascot shoveling snow made my week. Not only is it adorable, but it makes sense. Cup Noodles is definitely the best defense agains the snow. —Carrie Vasios Mullins, Sweets Editor

Looking for a little armchair travel? Spend a few minutes with Tejal Rao's profile of Kobe Desramaults, a Michelin-starred chef working in In De Wulf, an isolated restaurant in the foggy hills of Dranouter, on the northwestern edge of Belgium. Highlights of his menu include headcheese served in roasted pig heads and aged pigeons served without silverware. —Jamie Feldmar, Managing Editor

But wait, there's more! Follow Serious Eats on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!

Big Mac [Photograph: Kenji Lopez-Alt]

Last weekend, the Vietnam's first-ever McDonald's opened in Saigon. The move drew worldwide attention, but as the Times article points out, the Golden Arches are coming to the party a little late. Consider how many locations there are of these fast food giants in Vietnam already: KFC has 134 locations, Pizza Hut has 34, and Baskin Robbins and Dunkin' Donuts have a combined 18, with plans to open 60-80 more a year throughout Southeast Asia.

The positioning for McDonald's and its Western fast food brethren is as a middle-class lifestyle choice, rather than an inexpensive meal option, which appeals to Vietnam's burgeoning middle class. But will a Big Mac ever replace banh mi in food-obsessed Vietnam? Or will more more traditional foods enjoy a renaissance as a rejection of Mickey D's presence? And is it a zero sum game, or could both be true? We asked Vietnamese food blogger Mark Lowerson—who took Jamie and Carey on an excellent street food tour of Hanoi last year — for his take on the new arrival.

What does the McDonald's opening and the proliferation of American fast food joints in Vietnam say about Vietnamese culture in general and Vietnamese food culture in particular? "I think it's just another step on the way to development and our impending status as a 'middle income nation.' It says more about the economy than the culture to me. McDonald's has obviously deemed the time right for entry into Vietnam. They see the demographics—60% of the population is under 35 —and that's ripe for the picking. But in terms of the perception in Vietnam, apart from natural curiosity—particularly amongst the young—I don't think most people would have thought about McDonald's as a competitor to traditional street food culture here."

What explains the apparent burgeoning popularity of these American fast-food brands in Vietnam? "To me, they're not that popular yet. Vietnamese people do not yet have the palate for highly processed food. KFC has been in the country for over a decade and in Hanoi, but I rarely see their outlets busy or crowded. Young moneyed people will try these places because they're curious about Western popular culture, but whether they become an entrenched part of food culture here remains to be seen. I personally hope not, because this country has their own version of 'fast food' that is better, less processed and, indeed, faster!"

Banh mi [Photograph: Robyn Lee]

Will American fast food have any effect on traditional inexpensive Vietnamese foods like pho and banh mi? "If it does, it will take a long time. The Vietnamese are used to recognizable food, made from scratch, in transparent kitchens on the street. They are fanatical about the freshness of ingredients and produce. I would imagine that McDonald's will market itself as a luxury brand, rather than a fresh food alternative, in order to attract market share here. It will be a status thing rather than a serious food choice."

Could you ever see pho being sold in a Vietnamese McDonald's or a fried chicken banh mi at a Vietnamese KFC? "I'm not sure, though I will be intrigued to see how McDonald's puts a Vietnamese twist on their menu, like they've done in other parts of the world. Maybe they'll introduce pork, which is by far the dominant meat used in the cuisine here."

Do these American fast food chains threaten Vietnamese street food culture in any way? "Not at this stage."

So what conclusions can a serious eater draw from all this? It sounds like curious young people with some cash to burn will entertain the idea of American fast food, while the rest of the country will keep eating the high-quality pho and banh mi they know and love. What do you think of all this? Sound off in the comments!

About the author: Ed Levine is the founder of Serious Eats.

But wait, there's more! Follow Serious Eats on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!

Being a vegetarian, I consume a lot of hummus. It’s a great source of protein and makes a super healthy dip to enjoy while watching football games on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. It’s no secret that I slather hummus on everything from sandwiches to veggies to pizza.

I’ve known that making hummus at home is easy for a long time, and I’ve even made a couple batches of hummus in the past, but I never got into the habit of regularly making it at home from week to week. Instead, I would shell out a lot of money for hummus at the grocery store. I think what deterred me was the fact that most good hummus recipes called for the inclusion of tahini, or sesame seed paste, in order to get the taste and texture achieved by store brands. And since a jar of tahini can be a little pricier (on par with a nice jar of almond butter) I thought it seemed silly to buy a jar just to use a couple tablespoons in a recipe for hummus. I didn’t really take the time to think about the fact that a single jar of tahini could last me weeks of not months.

For the past couple months, I’ve been making it a weekly routine to whip up a batch of hummus for the week. It’s much less expensive than buying it at the store and the results are delicious. Plus, I love being able to customize the hummus I make and control what ingredients are put into the mix. This recipe has been in heavy rotation at our house, and I think the addition of buffalo wing sauce really punches up the flavor. It’s not so much that you’re overwhelmed with buffalo flavor, just enough to add a little heat. Of course, you could leave out the buffalo sauce and sub a little bit of extra olive oil and water instead.

Buffalo Hummus
Ingredients
*2 cans (15 oz each) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
*1/4 cup buffalo wing sauce
*2 tablespoons olive oil
*2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)
*1 to 2 tablespoons water to thin, if necessary/desired
*1/2 to 1 tsp. salt (taste at 1/2 teaspoon and add more salt if desired)
*1/2 teaspoon paprika
*1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped

Directions
*Combine all the above ingredients together in a food processor and process 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of bowl as necessary, until hummus is smooth and well blended. If desired, you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons water to thin the hummus a bit, or omit the water completely for a thicker hummus. Transfer to a plastic storage container to store. Store in refrigerator.

Happy Cooking!
Madison

From Drinks

[Photographs: Heather Vandenengel]

Quebec has long held the unofficial title as the best Canadian province for good beer. According to The Oxford Companion to Beer, Canadian brewing got its start here, when French settlers introduced beer in the 17th century. Unibroue, of Fin du la Monde fame, and McAuslan Brewing Company, who brew the solid St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout and Pale Ale, led the first wave of microbreweries in the early 1990s. And in recent years, Dieu du Ciel's range of rich stouts and hoppier offerings have made them one of Canada's best-known breweries among American beer lovers.

Belgian styles and strong, often dark, beers have ruled the beer scene in Quebec for many years, but now hoppy and experimental influences from American breweries are moving in where Abbey ales and the ubiquitous witbier left off. Québécois brewers, already an adventurous bunch, are producing complex barrel-aged beers, experimental sours, and wonderful citrusy IPAs.

Today there are more than 70 breweries in Quebec. Here are six great ones to seek out ASAP.

Le Trou Du Diable

Le Trou Du Diable literally translates to "the devil's hole," a reference to the whirlpool at the base of Shawinigan Falls. Let's just say this: you'll want to put any and all beer from this brewery in your mouth hole.

The brewery was started by five friends in 2005 in Shawinigan, about halfway between Montreal and Quebec City. They produce fine flagships—like the dry stout Sang D'Encre and refreshing, effervescent Saison Du Tracteur—as well as wild and wood-conditioned beers. The labels are fantastic, showcasing a wicked sense of humor; perhaps the best-known beer is their Shawinigan Handshake, a 6.5% ABV weizenbock with a label depicting the former prime minister of Canada, Shawinigan native Jean Chrétien, choking the devil. It's a reference to the time Chrétien actually put a protester in a chokehold and forced him to the ground. Politics never tasted so good.

Brasserie Dunham

Brasserie Dunham is a hophead's kind of brewery; they've already worked their way through the IPA style lineup, from American to Belgian to black to Imperial. One of the more intriguing takes is Leo's Breakfast IPA, a collaboration with Denmark's Kissmeyer Brewery, brewed with Earl Grey tea. It's subtle and probably unlike most IPAs you've had before, but it works. You can find their beers in 12-oz bottle singles, perfect for picking up a few trying out the whole collection.

Microbrasserie Le Castor

Le Castor is the rookie all-star of Quebec beer, thanks in large part to their excellent Yakima IPA, a 6.5% ABV big, resiny, tropical IPA. It's terrific on draft—when in Montreal, look for it at the recently opened Bier Markt downtown—and is also available in 660-mL (22-oz) bottles. The Blonde Pale Ale, also part of their year-round lineup, is pleasantly fruity and a bit sweet—more of a summer quencher than a winter warmer. For the heartier styles, they have a Grand Reserve line featuring a Wee Heavy Bourbon Ale and a Russian Imperial Stout. The brewery, located in Rigaud, QC, west of Montreal, has been open for about a year and a half and is one worth watching as they grow.

Les Trois Mousquetaires

Good German-style beers are always appreciated, and even more so among shelves crowded with Belgian and Belgian-inspired styles. Les Trois Mousquetaires, who brew out of Brossard, QC, produce a fine lineup of clean, high-quality German-inspired beers (kellerbier, maibock, altbier) for their Signature Series, along with more American and English styles like a barleywine and a pale ale. The Kellerbier—a unfilterered, full-bodied lager—is an easy drinking favorite while their 9.2% ABV Grande Cuvée Baltic Porter, a rich black lager, is made for sipping and sharing.

MicroBrasserie Charlevoix

Charlevoix have two lines of beer with labels and styles so different it might be hard to tell they're brewed by the same company. Dominus Vobiscum features traditional Belgian styles—saison, double, triple, blanche—while La Vache Folle includes more American and English styles, like a Rye Pale Ale, an ESB and an Imperial Milk Stout, a perfect dessert beer with a nice creamy tan head, chocolate flavor and abundant bitterness. Their lineup also boasts a Champagne de Biere—a bubbly beer called Dominus Vobiscum Brut, made with Champagne yeast in secondary fermentation, riddled and disgorged in the brewery according to the traditional Champagne method. Pick it up for a special occasion.

Dieu du Ciel

At both its Montreal brewpub and its production brewery in Saint-Jérôme, Dieu du Ciel cranks out dependably inventive and quality beers. Their portfolio is rather prolific, with a style of beer for every craving, from the Rosée d'hibiscus, a tart wheat beer brewed with hibiscus flowers to the Solstice d'Hiver barleywine. The barrel-aged stouts and sour ales may make many a beer geek's heart flutter, but one of their greatest Quebecois beer contributions of late is the Moralité American-style IPA, available in six-packs at most local dépanneurs (convenience stores). Originally brewed as a collaboration with Vermont's Alchemist brewery, it's the kind of IPA you want stocked in your fridge—highly aromatic, tropical and grassy, medium-bodied, with a dry finish.

About the Author: Heather Vandenengel is a nomadic beer writer and the News Editor for All About Beer. You can follow her on Twitter @heathervandy.

Read More by Heather Vandenengel:

Where to Drink Beer in Montreal
Beer Geek Glossary: Making Sense of Beer Trading Terms
Brewery to Watch: Propolis Brewing, Port Townsend, WA
The State of Sour Beer: We Chat With Brewers at the What the Funk?! Fest

A while back, someone posed the question on Twitter, asking it was okay to bring your own knives if you’re a houseguest for the weekend. It’s a question I didn’t think was all that odd, since I do it all the time. Then a friend of mine also noted recently that, like me, he brings red pepper powder with him, when he’s cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen. Which got me thinking about the mini-arsenal of equipment and foodstuffs I tote along with me when heading out to the country to stay with friends or family.

I try to be a good guest and bring food to take some of the burden off my hosts. I’ll usually prepare and freeze a few rolls of cookie dough, or maybe a disk of tart dough, which I’ll bring along to make a tart. I might take along a marinated lamb or pork shoulder (or loin) studded with garlic and rubbed with spices, ready to roast off with little fuss. And I always bring a couple of loaves of bread from Paris since it can be a challenge to find good bread in the countryside. (And I don’t like eating baguettes that can be tied in a knot.) And I always arrive with a couple of bottles of wine, because I don’t want to be known as the guest who drank his hosts out of house and home.

Continue Reading Things I Bring When I’m a Guest for a Weekend (or Week)...

Hi lovelies, I hope you will love these few pictures of this very Precious room.

Bonjour à tous, j'espère que vous aimerez ces quelques images de cette pièce très Précieuse.

I fell in love with this room, or better this loft that is so feminine and french inspired. I love all those mottled objects that seem to tell a story, soft colours, huge mirrors, the room's brightness and architecture. A real crush for this gorgeous girl place which actually is a photography studio!

Je suis tombée amoureuse de cette pièce, ou plutôt ce loft, à la déco très féminine d'inspiration française. J'aime tous ces objets chinés qui semblent raconter une histoire, les couleurs douces, les grands miroirs, la luminosité et l'architecture de la pièce. Un vrai coup de coeur pour ce sublime petit cocon de fille qui en réalité est un studio photo !

And who could also resist this cute little dog ...

Et qui ne craquerait pas également pour ce mignon petit chien...

I simply love it all!

J'adore tout simplement !

 

 

 

Images source Style Me Pretty Living

With that said - how's your game day menu look?  I think you'll need to make room for one more item because you HAVE to make these sliders.  Look how cute they are!

They taste just like White Castle and couldn't be easier to make.  Let me show you (full recipe at the bottom)...

Step 1:  The ingredients.  That's all of them (well, add in salt and pepper).  You must use 80% ground beef or this wont work.  The beef is the star, so get good stuff -organic etc.  I love Pat LaFreida has a line of meat for Fresh Direct.  And I think the Martin's brand buns are just as critical. 

Step 2:  Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. 

Step 3:  Sprinkle some minced onions in the bottom a glass or oven-proof square baking dish.  As much as you like.  They really just add great flavor.

Step 4:  Using your fingers, GENTLY spread the ground beef on top of the onions.  Don't pack it too hard here or they burgers get tough.  Just little pats on that beautiful meat until it covers the pan.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Step 5:  Take a straw and poke holes in the meat.  You don't need to press firmly, just a quick tap down and up all over the meat.  This allows some of the grease to pool at the top so you can wipe it up later (gross, but important).  FYI - this straw technique is how they do it at White Castle too.

Step 6:  Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Step 7:  Remove from oven and pat off the grease with a paper towel.  Be careful - it's hot.  I use a few rounds of dabbing until most of the grease is gone.  Again, be gentle.  Don't press into the meat.

Step 8:  Lay American cheese over the meat.  You can use any cheese you like here, but I think American cheese on thees is a classic combo.

Step 9:  Pop back into oven for one to two minutes until cheese has melted.  See how gooey?

Step 10:  Let sit for at least five minutes until meat has cooled and grease has settled a little.  I wipe a little grease up from the sides with a paper towel as well.  After they've cooled a little, use a spatula and cut into patties.  I held the top of the bun over them to get an eye for how big to cut each square.

Step 11:  Use a spatula to lift patty onto bun.  I like mine with just a tiny bit of ketchup, but these are so moist and cheesey they really don't need much. 

Step 12:  Eat every last one. :) 

• 1 lb. 80% lean ground beef
• 1 Tablespoon minced onions
• 4 slices American Cheese
• Martin's party-size potato rolls
• Straw
• Salt and Pepper

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Sprinkle minced onions in the bottom a glass or oven-proof square baking dish.
3. Using your fingers, gently spread the ground beef on top of the onions.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Take a straw and poke holes in the meat.
5.  Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.
6. Remove from oven and pat off the grease with a paper towel.
7. Lay American cheese over the meat.
8. Pop back into oven for one to two minutes until cheese has melted.
9. Let sit for at least five minutes until meat has cooled and grease has settled a little.
10. After they've cooled a little, use a spatula and cut into patties.
11. Use a spatula to place in between potatol roll.
12. Dig In!

The cheese case at France 44. [Photograph: Emily Schnobrich]

"What's your favorite cheese?"

That's the question. The one the customers ask when they're staring, overwhelmed by the vast array of often-unpronounceable cheeses displayed before them. I sell cheese for a living on the vast tundra of Minnesota. We have two cut-to-order cheese shops in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, which means that you want to buy our cheese, you have to talk to a cheesemonger and have them cut a piece for you. And you're probably going to want to know if it's their favorite.

Well, let's see. Are you about to cram yourself into the middle seat of an airplane for the next three hours? Then I'd definitely buy a ripe Epoisses, stick it under the seat in front of me, and let its stinky magic work wonders as my seat mates look around for new places to sit. Are you heading to the house of a friend with forged Japanese steel cheese knives who only touches a slice if they know the exact breed of cow that the milk came from? If that's the case, I'm rocking Cato Corner Bloomsday and dropping knowledge about the high butterfat content of Jersey cow milk.

I have a different favorite cheese for every occasion. With so many cheeses spanning so many styles, it's an impossible question to ask someone like me, who sells cheese all day, every day. Creamy, stinky, goat. Sheep, cheddar, alpine, blue. But surely, you're thinking, there has to be one favorite, one cheese to unite them all? Well, if I'm really being backed into a corner...

Beautiful Comte. [Photograph: Emily Schnobrich]

Some day, when I'm kicked out of society, sent to a deserted island, and allowed to take only one cheese with me, I will have to choose one type to eat for the rest of my days. This is a serious matter with many considerations—imagine a college basketball-style tournament bracket, with cheeses pitted against one another in a battle to the final championship.

It's worth noting that we're talking about real, artisan cheeses here. Cheese still made by hand, by a person sticking their hand in the vat. That means consistency is a serious issue. My favorite cheese needs to be consistently good. This eliminates three-quarters of the would-be contenders. Some cheeses are spectacular one batch and ho-hum the next, and I can't have that on my desert island.

I want my favorite cheese to be versatile. I need to be able to snack on it, cook with it, or even travel with it unrefrigerated. As much I love a ripe Camembert or an earthy farmhouse cheddar, both are limited in their application. Conventional wisdom says cheddar is great for melting, but in fact, it often separates into unappetizing oily globs. Keep a Camembert out of the fridge for more than a day and you're likely to have a blobby cheese soup.

Flavor profile is the next test. Some cheeses just aren't meant to be eaten every day. They're rich and flavorful, but you can only eat so much. Sweet and savory aged Goudas are a great treat, but not something I can snack on all that often. They overwhelm most accompaniments and often end up being a one-use kind of cheese. So the perfect cheese needs to be flavorful, versatile, and never-tiring.

Comte aging in the longest cheese cave in the world, at Fort des Rousses, Juraflore in Poligny [Photograph: Kenji Lopez-Alt]

This narrows us down on a genre—Alpine cheeses. These are the workhorse cheeses of the case, with names like Gruyere, Appenzeller, Emmenthaler, and Challerhocker. They're fantastic snacking cheeses as well as unrivaled cooking cheeses. They melt beautifully in grilled cheese, macaroni, or anywhere else you want gooey, stretchy cheese. But even in this crowded field there is one cheese that stands above the rest.

I pick Comte. It's nutty, slightly sweet, and deeply savory. I've been on the journey that's well-documented here, and the cave at St. Antoine truly is a magical place. This is the cheese to be stuck eating day after day. Young Comte is great grated on your eggs or tossed on top of fries. Aged Comte can go in your backpack while you're hiking through the woods. Any Comte should have a place on your cheese board, alongside caramelized onions and pickles.

Choosing a favorite cheese is like choosing a favorite child. Every parent has a favorite child (right?), but no one wants to own up to it. I love all my cheeses, but for different reasons. Luckily no one is forcing me to settle on one cheese just yet. While Comte is the wheel I keep coming back to, I still reserve the right to bring my favorite tangy goat to the friend who's "not eating cow dairy right now." And since any respectable cheese counter will let you try a cheese before you buy it, your new favorite cheese might be just a taste away.

About the author: Benjamin Roberts sells cheese, eats cheese, dreams about cheese and runs a burgeoning Minnesota cheese empire France 44 & St Paul Cheese. You can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, or tumblr.

   
The Ninja Ultima Blender was sent to us for review. No other bribes were exchanged. All opinions are my own and my kids’ jaden

A few weeks ago we released “First look at the Ninja Ultima Pro Blender” – here’s our full video review!

This review has been long overdue! As my parents and brother can attest to, I’m a big fan of Vitamix and Blendtec (I’ve purchased and gifted units to both them) and it’s the ONE appliance that I’m always using in the kitchen.

We make smoothies, soup, sauces, chop nuts and even snow. But it’s a pricey investment:

• Vitamix 5200 (lowest model) will set you back $480
• Vitamix Professional Series 750 is $680 (2.2 horsepower) – this is the one I have and am using in the video review
• Blendtec costs $400 (1,560-watt + 3 horsepower motor)

Is it worth the money? Absolutely. Are there cheaper alternatives that work just as well?

You’re just about to find out! Ninja recently came out with the Ninja Ultima Blender Plus for $259.00.

It has a 1500 watt, 2.5 horsepower motor. All these watts and horsepower talk makes my head spin. In the end, I want to see the Ninja perform. Will it hold its own against the Vitamix?

Ninja Ultima Blender Plus on Amazon: $259.00 + free shipping

You might want to watch the “First look at the Ninja Ultima Pro Blender” first before the full review below.

 

Full Review: Ninja Ultima vs. Vitamix Blender VIDEO

 

 

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©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2014. | Permalink | 20 comments

preach

Parisians have been welcoming an influx of foods coming from a few unexpected shores for a number of years now – tacos, hamburgers, tortillas, banh mi in mobile form, and now, pastrami. I’ve never seen anyone with a more far-away look of longing than my French partner after recounting a giant pastrami sandwich in New York, piled high on soft rye bread. On a tip a few years ago, someone sent us to Coffee Parisien for his fix. And he was so irked with the thin, wan slices of pastrami between the bread that he walked over to the kitchen and told them they were doing it all wrong. (And now you know why I have to be on my toes around here all the time!)

However there was no need for that at Freddie’s Deli. Located in a charming little square, you’ll find the white tiled storefront, the brainchild of Kristin Frederick, who launched the burger and food truck craze in Paris with Le Camion qui Fume.

Continue Reading Freddie’s Deli...

gotemcoach:

Division II’s University of Bridgeport Purple Knights’ 2-3 zone, starring Manute Bol.

If I don’t move…no one will notice me. 

I guess some weekends are more about practically understanding the meaning of fun… and then keeping your head down and working your way through.  Like whoa.  That’s ok.  Some Wednesdays are more about doughnuts than emails, so I guess it all evens out down the line.

To ease my worky worky weekend, I made this Whipped Ricotta.  Its simplicity and creaminess surprised me!  Just to be sure I knew what I was getting into… I ate spoonfuls of whipped ricotta on toasted bread for Sunday breakfast and Sunday lunch.  I had to be sure.

I’m sure now.  I worked my way through.  Success!

Whipped Ricotta feels too good to be true.  It’s just dairy transformed, but it’s sooo good!

I tend to think of ricotta as the cheese I use to make lasagna (mostly because I’m small-minded and super-love lasagna).  I also totally into smashing ricotta into my Lasagna Grilled Cheese (yes, again with the lasagna).  Ricotta is a soft Italian cheese made from whey, acid, and heat.  The end product is a creamy, slightly textured (think: cottage cheese, but don’t freak out), and very mild in flavor.

When beaten, ricotta becomes delightfully smooth and fluffy. I added cream cheese to boost the creaminess. With a big pinch of sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, the cheese is totally on its way to appetizer status.  With good olive oil and lemon zest… I mean, you’re a total class act!

I like to spread generously on toasted baguette slices.  Make a lot.  It’s hard to share.  I also served these toasts with eggs and almonds.  There aren’t many food items that you can serve with both eggs and almonds… so let’s just go with it while we have the chance.

I tell you this with nothing but love and understanding. I tell you this as a person who received the most mediocre grades in middle school science. I tell you this as someone who copied her chemistry homework from the nicest chemistry-smart boy she could find in high school.  Don’t judge.  It’s just the truth.

Baking is a science. It’s important to understand the reactions.

We need to talk about baking powder and baking soda… and you can totally copy my homework if you need to. It’s cool.

The difference between baking soda and baking powder:

Baking soda and baking powder are both odorless white powders that work their magic in our cakes. Though they’re both white powders, the two are certainly not interchangeable. Let’s talk about the facts behind these baking essentials.

Baking soda is also known as sodium bicarbonate. I told you we were talking science. Stay with me.

When sodium bicarbonate meets with heat, carbon dioxide gas is formed. It’s this gas that gives rise to our favorite cakes, cookies and biscuits. There is one drawback to the production of this gas. When heated, sodium bicarbonate also produces sodium carbonate, which doesn’t taste very good. If you’ve ever eaten any metallic tasting cakes or biscuits, you know what I’m talking about.

Thankfully, the metallic taste of sodium carbonate can be neutralized by acid. Lemon, yogurt, buttermilk, and unsweetened natural cocoa powder can neutralize the taste of sodium carbonate and keep our baked goods risen and lifted.

Baking powder is a mixture of baking soda and acid. Yea! Baking powder is part baking soda! Baking powder is made up of baking soda, a powdered acid, and cornstarch.

Most baking powders are labeled ‘double-acting’ meaning they release a small amount of carbon dioxide gas when they’re stirred into the batter or dough, but they release a majority of their precious gas when triggered by the heat of the oven.

Because baking powder is a leavener that contains both the sodium bicarbonate and the flavor-saving acid, it is usually paired with non-acid ingredients like whole milk and Dutch-processed cocoa.

Baking soda need an acid.  Baking powder has an acid.  We made that science easy, right?

The leader of the free world and the queen of all things wonderful having a secret love affair?!?

Um, sorry, whaaaa?! In what fantasy world would Beyoncé and President Barack Obama ever be romantically involved?

The answer is apparently France!

A leading French newspaper, le Figaro, picked up the scoop of the Prez and Bey’s hush-hush hookups after paparazzo Pascal Rostain spilled the rumor in a radio interview!

Mr. Rostain happens to be friends with the former First Lady of France, Carla Bruni, and promised that this bombshell would blow up in Obama and Beyoncé's faces!

He exclaimed:

"It'll go out tomorrow in the Washington Post. I can assure you that the world will talk about it.”

Well, sorry Frenchie, but the Post is now pledging to not waste a drop of ink on this totally outlandish tale! They slammed the sensational story earlier today and reiterated that they have no plans to publish Pascal's accusations.

Sure, American presidents have a bit of a track record with infidelity. Heck, we still can’t look at a blue dress the same way thanks to Bill Clinton.

But Queen Bey and Barry O?

C’mon!

No proof, no evidence, NO WAY!

[Image via AP Images.]

aatombomb:

Because, you know, they won’t be doing anything else that day.

[Photograph: shop.ruhlman.com]

Spoons. They're so simple. But Michael Ruhlman thought they weren't designed quite right, so he started bending them to make them easier for basting, skimming, and scooping. Then a friend suggested he could make them so they looked nice—you know, instead of manhandling the current spoons.

And that's how Ruhlman's offset spoons ($19.95 for three) were born—spoons so loved they led him to start a web store and custom kitchen tools company, Dalton-Ruhlman, with his friend and manufacturer Mac Dalton.

I found the bends in the spoons do make them less awkward for scooping up pan juices to baste food with, and for skimming the froth off the top of a simmering liquid. The bend isn't so extreme that it feels odd when you hold it.

The main downside to the spoons is finding a place to put them. The bends, which are functionally a good idea, don't make them great for storage among their straighter brethren. Right now my spoons are living in a utensil crock, which is working well enough and keeps them readily available.

Earthshaking? No. But I didn't expect them to be. Regular spoons do the same job, it's just that these make those particular jobs easier. So if you do a lot of basting or skimming, this shape makes more sense.

In theory, you could bend your own spoons if you have some that are sufficiently bendable, but if they're that bendy, they're probably not going to hold their shape all that well. Also, they won't look as nice as these spoons.

About the author: Resident yeast whisperer and bread baking columnist Donna Currie also has a serious gadget habit. When her father-in-law heard about this column, he upgraded the nickname for her kitchen from "gadget world" to "gadget heaven." You can find her on her blog, Cookistry or follow her on Twitter at @dbcurrie.

Disclaimer: Testing samples were provided to Serious Eats.

I love Cuban food, and Cuban sandwiches in particular. So when I saw a recipe for Cuban Chicken Cordon Blue in the book Stuffed by Dan Whalen, I knew I had to give it a try. The general idea is that you flatten some chicken breasts and then stuff them with ham, Swiss cheese, pickle and a smear of mustard.

As is usual when I'm making a recipe from a new book, I followed the recipe as closely as possible. Unfortunately, I ran into couple little glitches along the way. Not necessarily recipe problems, but things where I might have gone off the rails a bit. You'll see.

Technical difficulties aside, we really liked the results a lot. And to be honest, once these were cooked, you really couldn't tell that I had any difficulties. I like that in a recipe. You can mess up, but the results still look presentable and taste great.

Cuban Chicken Cordon Bleu
Adapated from Stuffed by Dan Whalen

For the chicken rolls:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt (maybe) and pepper
6 tablespoons mustard (I suggest brown)
6 large slices rosemary ham (I suggest thin-sliced deli ham)
12 slices dill pickle
6 slices Swiss cheese

For the breading:
2 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
2 cups bread crumbs
Vegetable oil, for frying

Slice the chicken breasts the long way to form two thinner cutlets.

This was my first technical difficulty. Chicken breasts come in different sizes, and mine weren't huge. I think this would have worked better if I had bought larger chicken breasts, or if I had not sliced them into two pieces per breast. At some point, you don't want these to be overly huge, because you'd probably want each one as a serving, but you could also present these as slices, or cut each one in half if they're really huge. So ... choose your breasts wisely.

Now, pound the chicken breast halves thinner. The instructions suggested using two sheets of plastic wrap, but I put them, one at a time, into a zip-top plastic bag to pound them thinner. That's just what I do. Less mess since nothing can escape from the sides, and the plastic is thicker so it holds up to the pounding and it just seems easier to manage than some flimsy plastic wrap. But you can do it any way you like. I've been known to just flatten them with the chicken breasts sitting on my cutting board. As long as you end up with evenly-thick slices that can be rolled, you're good to go.

One at a time, you salt-and-pepper the chicken breasts. I didn't add any salt, since the ham, cheese, and pickles were all salty ingredients. I think it was a good choice. If I was going to salt, I'd add it to the flour or the bread crumbs rather than the inside part of the chicken.

So, for the mustard, I used a brown mustard because that's what I use for Cuban sandwiches. I think it makes a difference, but use yellow mustard, if that's what you have. You probably don't want to use hot Chinese mustard ... but then again, that could be interesting, too. Your choice.

Then on top of the mustard goes 1 slice of the rosemary ham. Okay, here's my second technical difficulty. I had no idea what "rosemary ham" might be. I'd never heard of it, and never seen it. Maybe it's a regional thing. I assumed it wasn't a ham steak, but the note to use a "large" slice was puzzling. When you buy deli ham or lunchmeat-style ham, the slices tend to be all the same size, but you can vary the thickness. I ended up with a slightly thick slice of regular lunchmeat-style ham, which worked, but not as well as it could have. When it came to rolling, I would have been MUCH better off with paper-thin slices of ham and using more than one slice if I wanted more ham flavor. The thick(ish) ham slices made this harder to roll. Or, then again, if my chicken breasts had been a little larger, this might have been fine. Stupid chicken breasts. Sigh.

Then you add the pickle chips and the cheese. That's easy enough.

And now the rolling. The instructions suggested using the plastic wrap to help the rolling process, but I had used one plastic bag, so my chicken breasts weren't all sitting on pieces of plastic. No biggie, except that for some reason I envisioned this rolling like a jelly roll, with a swirl of chicken and filling. No go, there. What I ended up with was ham wrapped around pickle and cheese, and chicken wrapped around that. Which actually makes more sense because with the chicken all on the outside rather than swirled in the center, it cooks more evenly.

As far as the cheese, a little log of cheese or even shredded would be fine since it didn't need to be swirly. Heck, chopped pickles mixed with the cheese might have been fun, too.

Next time, I'm going to wrap the ham around the pickle and cheese, then put the ham on top of the chicken breast and wrap the chicken around the outside and secure. I think that will be easier and the final result won't be any different.

Since one of my chicken breasts was undersized, I ended up taking one of the six pieces and using that to fill out some of the halves that were a little smaller. That worked well, and I ended up with a total of five rolls. And, once cooked, you'd never know I did that. Pretty cool.

It's suggested that you wrap each chicken breast in the plastic and twist the ends to tighten the rolls and refrigerate them as you make the rest. I didn't do that. But if I was making these for company, I might. Making them ahead and refrigerating would make this a pretty quick dinner, since you just unwrap, bread, fry, and bake. Once they're in the oven, you have time to make a salad and set the table.

Then you need a lightly greased baking dish - I used a quarter-sheet pan lined with aluminum foil rather than a baking dish, and it was just right for my 5 rolls with some space between them. So if you're using a baking dish, you'll need a pretty large one, particularly if your chicken breasts are larger than the ones I used. But ... I tend to use sheet pans for a whole lot of stuff. I do have some pretty baking dishes, but I tend to use them when I'm going to serve in the dishes.

Which ... hmmm ... if you had smaller baking dishes, you could cook these each in their own dish and serve in the dishes. That's a thought.

So ... after unwrapping the breasts from the plastic, secure with toothpicks so they don't unroll. I actually toothpicked as I made them, since I skipped the plastic wrap step. If they're plastic-wrapped for a while, they might not need the picks, but they're good insurance. I used 2 picks in each one. Some could have worked with just one, but I always use the same number in each piece when I do something like this - that's so I know how many I need to remove later.

Dredge in flour, then coat with the eggs, then coat with the bread crumbs. You know how to do this, right? Flour in one flat dish, eggs in another, and crumbs in another. Then just roll them through, coating on all sides with each ingredient.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the oil in a frying pan, and brown the crumbed chicken on all sides, cooking in batches so you don't overcrowd the pan. As they're done, transfer to the baking sheet/dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. I'm not actually sure if they needed that much cooking, but I guess it depends on how thick your chicken layer is, and how long it took to brown them on the stovetop. They might be pretty close to cooked when they're done browning, but you also want to heat the filling and melt the cheese, so some oven time makes sense.

And ... ta da!

About the book:

The premise of this books is things stuffed into other things, and I've got to say there are a lot of creative ideas, and a lot of mashups of cuisines, which is something I like. So there are recipes like cheesesteak pot stickers, carnitas burrito manicotti, Italian bolognese polenta tamales, mac and cheese ravioli, and teriyaki ravioli.

Some of these are the types of recipes where you'd purposely go into the kitchen and make them totally from scratch (like the chicken I made), but others I think would be great for those days when you've got something left over and you're looking for some way to transform it into something else.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to be making the mac and cheese stuffed burgers the next time I have a little bit of mac and cheese left over, for example.

There are also a lot of recipes that are great inspirations for other things. There's a recipe for couscous salad that's stuffed into giant shell pasta. And the first thing I thought was, wouldn't that be great stuffed with tuna salad? Or a shrimp seafood salad?

That's one thing I love about cookbooks - you see one thing and think, "gee, that's great. And now let me run with that idea and try something else." With all the crazy "stuff this into that" recipes here, there's lots of room here for inspiration.

This might even get me out of my rut where all leftovers are fodder for tacos.

Dan Whalen blogs at The Food in My Beard. Go visit him there.

This book was provided to me by the publisher for review. Opinions are my own.

Many of us resist the idea of limiting the total amount of time we spend on email. Instead, we allow the volume of email we receive, and the number of messages that require a response, to dictate how much of our day goes to the endless cycle of send and receive.

But letting email set the pace and structure of your working life makes sense only if answering email is the single most important part of your job. Unless you work on the frontlines of customer support, there’s probably a lot of other work that’s more important – even if it doesn’t feel as urgent as the message that just arrived. Committing to a minimum and maximum amount of time you’ll spend on email instead allows you to undertake focused work when you need to – and just as important, to take actual downtime.

The best way to keep email from crowding out the rest of your professional and personal priorities is to set an email budget: a specific amount of time you’ll spend on email, and a plan for how you’ll make the most of that time. Like a financial budget, an email budget helps you make the best use of a limited resource — in this case, your time.

Setting your email budget

Start by determining the total size of your email budget: the amount of time email warrants relative to your other priorities and workload. A good place to start is by looking at how much time you spend on email now, especially if you add up all those quick phone check-ins while you’re in line or on the commuter train, or grabbing a couple of minutes between meetings.  If you reallocated a portion of that time to the incomplete project on your desk, or to the marketing campaign you putting off, or to restorative activities like sleep and exercise, would your professional effectiveness be enhanced or diminished? Use this self-assessment to determine the proportion of your workday that should go to email.

Allocating your email time

Once you’ve determined the size of your email budget, you should divide it up into a series of regular, brief check-ins (10 or 15 minutes maximum) throughout the day along with one or two extended periods of an hour or more per day.  Keep your email program closed (and notifications on your phone off!) outside of your regular email hours and check-ins. Use a note-taking program or a task manager to keep a list of emails you need to send, rather than starting to write each email as it occurs to you, and leaving it open to finish at some later time.

Use the short check-ins to read or reply to time-sensitive items, while immediately deleting anything you don’t need to see at all. During your extended periods of email processing time, tackle messages that will take longer to process — to read or to form a thoughtful response — and try to clear out the day’s accumulation, archiving and sorting through what remains. Recognize that you may not get through every message within the hour you’ve set aside, and allocate your attention accordingly: don’t proceed chronologically through your inbox but rather attack what appear to be the most critical messages first. Also be wary of letting your “email time” go to actual project work: just because you were assigned a task over email doesn’t mean that you should be doing it in your allotted email hour.

Focus on the emails that matter

You will make the most of your limited email time if you spend it actually reading and responding to important messages rather than on the time-consuming task of plowing through a long list of incoming emails that may or may not warrant your attention. That means automating your message triage process in a way that reflects conscious and explicit choices about what kinds of emails you will and won’t read, and when.

Email management tools like Sanebox and Other Inbox offer a quick way to limit the amount of inbound messages you need to scan. You’ll have the greatest control over what hits your inbox if you set up your own set of mail rules or filters, however. This functionality is available in most popular email programs such as Outlook, Gmail, and others; you can find a step-by-step guide to using rules and filters in my latest ebook, Work Smarter: Rule Your Email.

A filter-based triage system sends less-important messages straight to folders, giving the inbox a miss entirely. You can then check those folders as often as you need to — daily for relatively important types of messages, or never for messages you only want to keep on hand for later reference. For example, you might direct all calendar invitations into a scheduling folder that you review at the end of each day, and industry newsletters into a folder that you review once a week. What remains in your primary inbox are just those messages that meet your standard for must-read-now email, a standard you should keep raising until the number of messages in your inbox fits within the email budget you’ve set.

Staying responsive

Setting an email budget doesn’t mean abandoning your commitment to email responsiveness. You’re just focusing on what types of email will get immediate attentions, and identifying some that won’t.

Nonetheless, the very idea of an email budget tends to provoke a range of anxieties. What if I get a message from my boss after after I’ve used up a day’s email time? What if I work in an organization where same-day (same-hour?) turnaround is a universal expectation? What if — worst of all — I miss an important message?

The best way to mitigate these risks is with transparency. Make your plan explicit with colleagues and clients so they know when you’ll respond, and how to reach you in between times. For example, let colleagues know that you always look at your email first thing, or at lunch time, or that you have two hours booked into your schedule every afternoon so that you can focus on email in a meaningful way; that lets them know that they need to email you that memo by 2 pm if they want you to review it.

Even if you communicate your system clearly, living within an email budget is not going to win you any awards for being your company’s fastest or most diligent correspondent. But is that what you want to be known for? Better to set limits that let you be okay at email – and brilliant at the creative, intellectual and leadership work that email would otherwise crowd out.

Paris has metro stations that are unused and abandoned. The artist Nathalie Koziuscot-Morizet has some amazing ideas of what to do with them. Paris is one of the only cities I can imaging getting on board with one of these.

Read the recipe »

In a season filled with hearty stews, warm baked goods, and rich sauces, we found this Orzo with Kale and Roasted Tomatoes from TK member Lindsay to be refreshing and light while still being festive for the cold months. This recipe is quick with flavors that, although simple, will knock those winter socks off. And it’s perfect for the day after all that Super Bowl noshing!

 
 
 

Here’s what you’ll need: dried orzo cooked to package directions, kale, whole Roma tomatoes, salt, sugar, olive oil, garlic, and Parmesan cheese, either shaved or grated.

 
 
 

Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Cut your tomatoes into 1-inch pieces …

 
 
 

Like so.

 
 
 

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the tomatoes on the pan, and then sprinkle with salt and sugar.

 
 
 

Place in the oven and roast for 1 1/2 hours.

 
 
 

Right before tomatoes have roasted, begin preparing the rest of the ingredients by removing the stems from the kale.  

 
 
 

Thinly slice the leaves.

 
 
 

Add the kale to a large bowl, and sprinkle with salt.

 
 
 

Massage the leaves for 30 seconds to tenderize the kale.

 
 
 

Mince the garlic clove.

 
 
 

Measure out ¼ cup of the olive oil.

 
 
 

Saute the minced garlic in the olive oil over medium-low heat. Stir until just fragrant. Turn the heat off and let the oil cool.

 
 
 

When tomatoes are done roasting, they should come out dried and wilted with the edges slightly dark.

 
 
 

Stir the cooked orzo into the bowl of kale.

 
 
 

Pour the garlic oil into the same bowl and stir. Add salt to your taste preference. It’s best to do this a little at a time while tasting.

 
 
 

Add most of the Parmesan …

 
 
 

And roasted tomatoes.

 
 
 

Toss well.

 
 
 

Serve the orzo in a bowl, and then top with the rest of the shaved Parmesan. This could be served as a side or a main course. The roasted tomatoes added a whole other level of depth to the dish. Lindsay created a masterpiece that is just as hearty as it is simple! Visit her blog FunnyLove for more inspired recipes like this.

 
 

Recipe

 
 
_______________________________________

There’s so much to say about Georgia, we don’t know where to start. Leaving Wall Street for the French Culinary Institute, followed by a stint at the Gramercy Tavern and La Chassagnette in France, her passion for food and food traditions are evident and inspiring. Visit her site at Georgia Pellegrini, where you’ll find more recipes, photos, learn all about her wonderful books Girl Hunter and Food Heroes, and enjoy her latest adventures.

 

From Chicago

VIEW SLIDESHOW: The Best Dry-Aged Steaks in Chicago

[Photograph: Huge Galdones]

I love steak. Part of me feels a bit guilty about admitting this fact, as if it's not cool. But try as I might to bury this affection, I simply can't hide my pleasure in sitting down with a massive hunk of tender beef in front of me. Perhaps it's the fact that steak was always a celebratory meal for me growing up, so I naturally associate the two. Regardless, after mostly avoiding the topic on this site for the past two years, I decided that it was time to feast.

Chicago is known as a steakhouse town, and you only need to take a walk around River North to recognize this obvious truth. Every other block seems to house some glittering and ostentatious temple to beef, where men in suits unabashedly wine and dine clients, and ring up ridiculous checks to expense later.

Most "best steak" features take the seemingly logical path of visiting all of Chicago's iconic steakhouses. Thing is, while I love steak, I'm not sure how I feel about the steakhouse. There's part of the ritual—the fawning service, the uncomplicated and straightforward menu, the enormous portions of meat—that I occasionally find appealing, even if I never want to spend my own money for it. I mean, there's no getting around the fact that steakhouses are expensive. But it used to be that the only place to get a genuinely great steak was at a steakhouse. Don't they have access to the best cuts and the best equipment to get the job done? Fortunately, after eating steak for the past six months, it's my belief that this assumption is not completely true. (I'll be talking more about my feelings on steakhouses later in the week.)

I had a hunch that the many of Chicago's best steaks weren't in steakhouses. So I took a more circuitous route, one that still allowed for some traditional heavy hitters, but left just as many behind.

The Search

40-Ounce Rib Steak at Butter Midtown in New York [Photograph: Nick Solares]

I was inspired to take this quest by two fellow Serious Eats writers, Nick Solares and J. Kenji Alt-Lopez. Nick writes the Steakcraft column in New York, and week after week he chronicles some incredible looking steak. While he's been to plenty of steakhouses along the way, just as often he writes about a restaurant with only one or two steaks on its menu. To my surprise, these are the steaks that often look the best. I mean, doesn't the steak picture above from Butter Midtown look insane?

I also learned much from Kenji's epic post about dry-aging steak at home, because it dispelled some often-repeated myths of what makes a great steak. This led me to some guidelines, which helped me focus my search.

Dry-Aged Steak > Wet-Aged Steak

Inside David Burke's Primehouse Dry-Aging Room [Photograph: Huge Galdones]

I started with one guiding principle: dry-aged steak is better than wet-aged steak. Usually this difference is tossed off as a preference, a choice adults are allowed to decide for themselves. Most people know that dry-aging beef in a temperature controlled room adds all kinds of funky aromas to the meat, but wet-aged steaks are often described as the juicer and more tender option. I genuinely believe that wet-aging is an inferior method, and if I'm going to spend a lot of money on a steak, I want it to be done right.

There is no doubt which one is cheaper. As Kenji bluntly put it in his guide to dry-aging beef: "It's easy to let that cryo-vacked bag of beef from the distributor sit around for a week before opening the bag, allowing you to call it 'aged' and sell it for a higher price." While the meat does become more tender, it also comes at a price; because the meat is sealed in plastic, "wet aging prevents the drainage of excess serum and meat juices," which often results in a "sour" profile.

Not that I ever doubted Kenji (I promise!), but just to make sure, I tested this theory out at two different steakhouses that serve both wet and dry-aged steaks, Benny's Chop House and Fleming's. This allowed for a side-by-side comparison of the two styles. The results were as clear as could be. Both of the wet-aged steaks had an unappealing and mushy texture, along with a dulled beefy flavor, almost like the flesh was waterlogged. Not only did the dry-aged steaks have a more complex and appealing profile, they were also beefier.

To my astonishment, most of Chicago's so-called "classic" steakhouses, serve wet-aged beef, which meant I immediately crossed off a host of contenders, including Gene & Georgetti's, Gibson's, Lawry's, Morton's, Tavern on Rush, and Chicago Chop House. All of these place may serve a satisfying steak in a great atmosphere, but that wasn't good enough for me. (By the way, more people should be upset about this.)

Sourcing Matters

Even after knocking off a bunch of potential options, I still faced a daunting list. This stalled the project for a month or two, until I came across a rather surprising fact: not all dry-aged steaks served in Chicago is aged on the premises. In fact, a sizable number is aged elsewhere and then shipped in. At first, this seemed like a shortcut—isn't it always better to age on location?—but I came to see the benefits of this method.

Dedicating a portion of your restaurant to aging beef is expensive, especially if your restaurant is located in River North. Unless you are going to truly obsess about the process, like David Burke's Primehouse or Publican Quality Meats, it kind of makes sense for a top-quality distributor to do the work for you. More importantly, this allows non-steakhouse restaurants to have one absolutely top-notch steak on their menu. And since they aren't serving hundreds a night, these places can lavish a bit more attention on each one.

This dramatically increased the number of potential restaurants serving dry-aged beef, which was not exactly what I wanted. But once I figured out where restaurants were sourcing the meat from, I was able to identify the different distributors. Instead of looking at individual restaurants, I started to track where the steaks came from. This, finally, cracked Chicago's steak code.

Age Matters, But Older is Not Always Better

Where preference does genuinely come into play is in the length of the age. Older isn't necessarily better. As Kenji discovered, two to three weeks is usually the minimum for any sort of tenderness to occur, while the funkier blue cheese characteristics start to pop up around 28 to 45 days. Beyond that point, the meat starts to develop even richer and more intense flavors. Whether or not you enjoy those flavors is entirely up to you, and I tried to take that into account when evaluating the steaks.

Okay, let's get to the important part. Here's my top ten.

The Top 10 Dry-Aged Steaks in Chicago

1. 40 Day Ribeye at David Burke's Primehouse
2. 60 Day Dry-Aged Ribeye at Publican Quality Meats
3. 38 oz. Prime Dry-Aged Bistecca Fiorentina at RPM Italian
4. 30 Day Dry-Aged Ribeye at Next's Chicago Steakhouse
5. Prime Bone In Dry Aged Ribeye at Bavette's Bar & Boeuf
6. 22oz Dry Aged Ribeye Steak at Owen & Engine
7. Bone-In Rib Eye at Chicago Cut Steakhouse
8. 16 oz. Bone-In Rib eye at Chicago Chop Shop
9. Prime Dry-Aged Ribeye at Fleming's
10. 16 oz. Bone-In Rib Eye at Benny's Chop House

#1: 40 Day Ribeye at David Burke's Primehouse ($51)

As conflicted as I sometimes feel about steakhouses, David Burke's Primehouse is the rare exception completely worth the splurge. No restaurant in Chicago cares about dry-aging large hunks of beef as much. You can see that passion for yourself in the restaurant's massive aging room that is lined with pink Himalayan salt, which the owners claim purifies the air and imparts a subtle salinity to the meat. But that room is just one part of David Burke's commitment. The process actually starts with Prime, David Burke's very own Black Angus bull, which has the tough job of siring all of the beef that eventually ends up at the restaurant. (Read Prime's inspirational story here.) Once properly trimmed, each steak is seasoned with salt and pepper, before being slipped under an infrared broiler set at 1300°F. The final flourish is a brushing of suet, made by rendering the funky trimmings cut off the aged steaks.

Now, all of this makes for a good story, but you fortunately don't need to know or care about any of it to fall deeply in love with this richly marbled and immensely beefy steak. Personally, I love the balance of the 40-day ribeye, but you can go for the relatively milder 28-day or the much funkier 75-day, depending on how you're feeling that day.

David Burke's Primehouse, 616 N Rush St, Chicago, IL 60611 (map); 312-660-6000

#2: 60 Day Dry-Aged Ribeye at Publican Quality Meats

Should this count? On one hand, the only other place in town besides David Burke's that takes dry-aging as seriously is Publican Quality Meats. Sure, the butcher shop won't actually cook the steak for you, though Avec occasionally offers the steak as a special (not right now, however). But if you're looking for the most intense steak experience possible, it's hard to argue with PQM's 60 Day Dry-Aged Ribeye.

The meat is sourced from Slagel Family Farms, which is about 100 miles south of Chicago. But unlike the other Slagel beef you'll find on this list, PQM handles the aging process itself, pushing the unique flavors of the full flavored beef to the extreme. Obviously, there is a lot of blue cheese going on here, but the most appealing trait is a mineral tang. My wife is not much of a steak eater, and even she admitted that this steak was incredible.

Publican Quality Meats, 825 W Fulton Market, Chicago, IL 60607 (map); 312-496-0012

#3: 38 oz. Prime Dry-Aged Bistecca Fiorentina at RPM Italian ($118)

This sounds crazy, I know. Not only is RPM an Italian restaurant, it's one that is primarily known as a great place to spot celebrities. (After all, it's co-owned by reality TV stars, Bill and Giuliana Rancic.) That's to speak nothing of the steak's price, which is a seemingly ludicrous $118. To be fair, it's also enormous and meant to share with two to four other people. But still. So what is it doing here? Because it's a stunning piece of meat. It also looks amazing—I giggled like a six-year-old when the enormous platter landed on my table.

As I first learned from a random post on LTHForum, RPM Italian sources its steaks from Master Purveyors in the Bronx (click here for a tour of its impressive facilities), which also provides some of the steaks used at Peter Luger. The meat is aged for 36 days and RPM cooks it simply. After a brief trip under a broiler, it's brushed with melted butter and seasoned with cracked black pepper and Sicilian sea salt. The result is a true spectacle. Obviously, I'm not the only one who feels this way, as the owners are planning on opening RPM Steakhouse soon.

RPM Italian, 52 W Illinois St, Chicago, IL (map); 312-222-1888

#4: 30 Day Dry-Aged Ribeye at Next's Chicago Steakhouse

For its interpretation of a Chicago steakhouse, Next could have gone with some epically aged cut, pushing the peculiar flavors of dry-aged meat to the extreme. Instead, the restaurant went with a genuinely beautiful and intricately flavored ribeye from Flannery Beef in San Francisco that is aged for only 30 days. While there are some slightly funky background aromas, those are secondary to the minerally beef base.

Each cut is poached in butter and then briefly seared, resulting in slices that go from dark brown on the exterior to rosy red in middle, with almost no gray in between. There's no other steak in Chicago like it. The only issue is that the only way to try this incredible steak is to pay for the full 9-course extravaganza, which is not cheap. Plus, as good as the other courses are, I kind of wish I could just go with the steak and forget about the rest. Basically, if you're a steak aficionado, you probably owe it to yourself to give it a shot. But you better hurry, this menu ends in a couple months.

Next Restaurant, 953 W Fulton Market, Chicago, IL 60607 (map); 312-226-0858

#5: 24 oz. Prime Bone In Dry Aged Ribeye at Bavette's Bar & Boeuf ($56)

Bavette's serves steaks, but it seems wrong to call it a steakhouse. Perhaps it's too French, with a menu full of refined bistro classics. Plus, its golden-hued room certainly doesn't look like any other steakhouse in town. (I can't think of a more stunning atmosphere to eat steak in the city.) Finally, essentially every dish I've tried, from the roast chicken to the immaculate wedge salad, is worth ordering. It can make the steaks seem like an afterthought, and the majority are. There's actually only one dry-aged steak on Bavette's menu, and it's the only one you need to worry about. The ribeye is one of the more aggressively flavored cuts I tried, and completely worth your attention.

Bavette's Bar & Boeuf, 218 W Kinzie St, Chicago, IL 60654 (map); 312-624-8154

#6: 10 oz. Dry Aged Ribeye Steak at Owen & Engine ($25)

I'm not sure what compelled me to order a steak at an English pub, but I'm so glad I did, because this is the steak that first gave me the idea to look beyond the usual steakhouse scene for great beef. Though Owen & Engine isn't aging the steaks on premises, it is sourcing some truly excellent dry-aged beef from Slagel that is far more flavorful and beefier than what the majority of steakhouses downtown serve. It's also drastically cheaper. That's a pretty good combination, right? And if that 10 ounce portion sounds a bit too dainty, Owen & Engine also serves a 22-ounce ($39) and a 32-ounce ($52) bone-in version.

Owen & Engine, 2700 N Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60647 (map); 773-235-2930

#7: Bone-In Rib Eye at Chicago Cut Steakhouse ($54)

I've been kind of rough on traditional steakhouses in this post, but I'm not completely immune to its pleasures, especially when done with as much verve as at Chicago Cut Steakhouse. Even though I ended up with a massive bill, I left thinking about what a pleasure it was for me to dine there, which I realize sounds crazy, but it's the truth. That sort of describes the steak here, too. It's aged in-house, and while it is not the most intense or funky steak in town, the ribeye is expertly cooked and utterly satisfying, with a clean and satisfying flavor. It's just right for the airy and open atmosphere.

Chicago Cut Steakhouse, 300 N LaSalle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654 (map); 312-329-1800

#8: 16 oz. Bone-In Rib Eye at Chicago Chop Shop ($34)

Chicago Chop Shop in Wicker Park is attempting a lot of different things at once. There's a butcher shop, a bar, a lunch menu full of sandwiches, and a sit-down dinner menu with straightforward and satisfying food. Eventually, the restaurant plans to dry-age its own beef, but currently it's serving an excellent Slagel dry-aged ribeye with a bordelaise sauce and herbed butter. I think the kitchen is a bit aggressive with the char—some bites went beyond browned, into blackened territory—but that's a minor quibble on an otherwise great steak at a truly reasonable price.

Chicago Chop Shop, 2033-35 W. North Ave, Chicago, IL 60622 (map); 773-537-4440

#9: Prime Dry-Aged Ribeye at Fleming's

Fleming's is one of a number of chain steakhouses downtown serving mostly wet-aged beef. Basically, it's exactly the kind of place I wanted to avoid for this list. But recently Fleming's introduced a dry-aged option to its menu. What's especially interesting is that you can ask for the steak to be cooked in a cast-iron pan, which provides a more distinct and crustier exterior than a steak cooked under a broiler. I wish more places offered to cook their meat this way, but until then, Fleming's is the best place to try it.

Fleming's, 25 E Ohio St, Chicago, IL (map); 312-329-9463

#10: 16 oz. Bone-In Rib Eye at Benny's Chop House ($56.99)

Benny's gets its dry-aged meat from Allen & Brothers, a very good local outlet. It's not as bold as others on this list, and some more salt would work wonders, but it's still an excellent hunk of beef served in an otherwise very traditional steakhouse. The dry-aged steak is also dramatically better than the wet-aged offering, which I ordered for a side-by-side comparison. Where the wet-aged steak was almost mushy and flabby, the dry-aged ribeye was tender, but still with its character intact.

Benny's Chop House, 444 N Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL (map); 312-626-2444

[Photographs: packages, Pasta Chips; others, Brooke Porter]

Jerry Bello—the man behind health-conscious snacks like Sensible Portions, Pita Bites, and Veggie Straws—has a new snack on the market, this one inspired by a meal he had in Tuscany. They're called Pasta Chips; made of semolina flour and oven-baked, they're about the size of ravioli, complete with the ridges. Each flavor is inspired by a sauce, and tied to a region or city in Italy—Spicy Tomato Herb is meant to evoke Calabria, for example; while Mediterranean Sea Salt nods to Puglia (where you'll find the largest salt flat in Europe). Here's what we thought of all five flavors, which—as the bags say—have 60% less fat than regular potato chips.

Marinara

The inspiration for this flavor comes from the pizza mecca of Naples—so I shouldn't have been shocked to discover that the chips tasted exactly like Bagel Bites. Dusted with a red seasoning, the chips are equally tangy and salty, with hints of garlic and onion powder.

Rank: 1, for reminding me of Bagel Bites.

Mediterranean Sea Salt

These were the only flavor without a visible coating of spices or seasoning. All in all, they were simple, salty—but not overwhelmingly so—and satisfying. The ingredients list ran half as long as the rest, which is always a bonus (though there were still a few words I couldn't pronounce). And because these were the most bare bones, they pair well with dips like salsa or hummus.

Rank 2, despite being a bit too plain to stand out on on their own.

Garlic and Olive Oil

I happen to love garlic, so I was not turned off by the fact that these taste (and smell) like someone dumped an entire canister of garlic salt in the bag. It more than lives up to its name, though the olive oil flavor is overpowered. My advice: have a stash of mints handy, for this is one garlicky (and addictive) chip.

Rank 3. The strong flavor was great for this garlic lover.

Alfredo

Though this flavor hints at what the real, creamy sauce tastes like, it falls short of the real thing. They could stand to be cheesier; the parmesan and romano cheese flavors get lost beneath the garlic and onion powder. Bottom line: if it's alfredo you want, just splurge on the pasta. And note that you'll want to have napkins handy to wipe off the fine white powder that will coat your fingers.

Rank: 4, for being a tad too salty and not cheesy enough

Spicy Tomato Herb

For such a savory-sounding name, these were actually a bit bland and unbalanced, and don't really taste tomato-y (despite having both tomato powder and dehydrated tomato in the ingredients). There was just the faintest hint of spice, which only hits once you've swallowed the chip, so those looking for a kick will be left wanting. They have a tang to them, and a hint of red pepper. For some reason, they reminded me of the Italian dressing that comes in packets at fast-food restaurants.

Ranking: 5, for not being spicy or flavorful enough.

Samples provided for review consideration.

About the author: Brooke Porter is a Los Angeles native now living in Brooklyn. She is an associate editor at Travel + Leisure. Follow her on Twitter at @brookeporter1.

This is probably going to get me a ticket on the crazy train, but I actually like the process of hand-whipping cream to make my own whipped cream. Unfortunately, after a bad work relationship with a poorly designed computer mouse, my wrist doesn't enjoy the process quite so much. So I use my stand mixer.

The Mastrad Qwik Wisk ($19.99) gives me another option, particularly for small quantities. The Qwik Wisk holds a bit over a cup, so it's a good choice for a few small servings of whipped cream. It operates with an up-and-down motion, with two spinning disks doing the whipping in the enclosed container.

Like many kitchen gadgets these days, this is another that would be great for kids who want to help in the kitchen, since the motion is simple and the mess is contained. Also great for folks who have lost some manual dexterity.

I tested it first (and second and third) by making whipped cream, and it did a fine job - just as good as I'd get from using a whisk and a bowl, but less messy. Next, I made salad dressing. And last, mayonnaise.

I have to say that I was particularly pleased with the mayonnaise, since making that in small quantities can be annoying. With too few egg yolks, a standard blender won't grab the yolks to beat them before adding the oil, and a stand mixer is overkill for a small job like that.

Since the Qwik Wisk's lower disk reaches all the way to the bottom of the container, it had no trouble grabbing and whipping a single egg yolk in preparation for making mayonnaise, and it had no trouble incorporating the oil, even when I glugged it in a little too fast. And, since you're doing this by hand, you can feel the ingredients thicken as you whip.

While this wouldn't be useful for someone who makes whipped cream by the gallon and mayonnaise by the quart, it's quite useful for someone who wants to make a cup of whipped cream or mayonnaise and who doesn't want to dirty a big bowl in the process.

The rubber base of the whipper comes off and becomes a lid for the container, so you can use it for storage of the finished product, if you like.

And, completely irrelevant - it's kind of fun to use.