Monthly Archives: June 2011

Happy Father’s Day, 2011

By Michael Ruhlman | Published: June 19, 2011

Happy Father's Day to all you guys out there who have brought little people into the world! I hope you're duly honored. Most of you reading this do so because you cook—God bless you for that! I love guys who cook for their family. There's something really powerful about them. Maybe because my dad, above, circa 1968, cooked food over fire all year long for us. Happily, Donna let's me cook anything I want on Father's Day, so I'll relaxing by the grill tending a spatchcocked turkey (thanks for the idea, Cheryl). This is not steak or a burger. This is 12-pound bird—currently soaking in a sage brine—and so will require a good couple hours, at least, of hanging out around the fire, tending the fire, mopping the bird with butter seasoned with ...

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Posted in Memories | Tagged Rip Ruhlman | Comments closed

How to Make Steak Tartare

By Michael Ruhlman | Published: June 16, 2011

Steak Tartare at Greenhouse Tavern, Cleveland/Photo by Donna Turner Ruhlman

I've been loving Jonathon Sawyer's Greenhouse Tavern in downtown Cleveland recently and after a joyous meal there not too long ago Donna asked to hang out and shoot. She'll be posting a gallery soon but the above is of one of my favorite dishes to eat, period. I can almost never help myself from ordering it when I see it on the menu. It's also something that's inexpensive and great to serve at home, and easy if you have a grinder (or a sharp knife—some of the best tartare I've had is roughly chopped beef). Chef Brian Reilly (pictured above) made it for us the other day. Greenhouse grinds beef tenderloin to order with an old fashioned hand crank ...

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Posted in Appetizers, Beef, Butchery, chefs, Restaurants | Tagged Brian Goodman, Brian Reilly, Cleveland, Jonathon Sawyer, The Greenhouse Tavern | Comments closed

Simply Ming: Revising the Dump-and-Stir Format

By Michael Ruhlman | Published: June 14, 2011

For years I’ve wanted to devise a new way to present how-to cooking information on a show. There's a reason why they've been dubbed dump-and-stir; because they’re inherently rote. Given that there are only about twenty things you need to know to cook just about anything, it’s inevitable that presenting a few of those techniques is going repetitive after oh, 40 or 50,000 shows. Yes, people are pushing the format. Michael Symon does a good job with Cook Like an Iron Chef. Others are trying to put cooking info in the framework of a story, adding layers of media. My old friend from Cooking Under Fire, Ming Tsai, invited me out to be part of his ninth season of "Simply Ming," a how-to, yes, but always interesting, always informative, with travel, and knowledgeable guest chefs (look for ...