Category Archives: Tips

How To Grill Corn

By Michael Ruhlman | Published: July 29, 2011

photo by Donna Turner Ruhlman

Corn is in and with the hot weather, there's no better way to cook corn than to grill it. People have asked me what's the best way to do it? There are two basic ways, depending on what you're after. Corn today is so sweet and tender, it only needs to be heated through, so your decision is really one about types of heat to use, high direct heat, which will brown the corn giving it a grilled flavor, or low temperature, steamed within its wet husk. I like both and the above corn which we ate after a day at the beach (sigh), used a little of both. I love the appearance because it tells you how it was cooked. If I want a really smoke roasted caramelized flavor, I'd shuck the ...

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Also posted in outdoor cooking, Recipes, Vegetables | Tagged bbq, grilled corn, ice cream, lime, summer | Comments closed

How To Cook Dried Beans

By Michael Ruhlman | Published: March 11, 2011

Christmas Lima Beans before and after overnight soak, photos by Donna Turner Ruhlman

Dried beans and salt. Dried beans and soaking. Ask some chefs and they'll tell you add salt in the beginning and the beans will never get soft. Some chefs have suggested that salt slows the rehydration of beans. Others say, the slower the rehydration, the better the finished bean (fewer broken ones), so it's important to soak them overnight. Others say it doesn’t really matter, or it depends. One thing that is demonstrably true is that you don't have to soak your beans overnight; if you want beans for dinner, put them in water and cook them till they're tender or at least edible, no soaking, no blanching, just put them in a pot and cook ...

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Also posted in Elements of Cooking, Kitchen Tips, Recipes, Technique, Vegetables | Tagged beans, christmas lima beans, heirloom beans, how to pick a peach, how to read a french fry, ranch gordo, ruhlman's beans and bacon recipe, Russ Parsons, Steve Sando, to soak or not to soak beans, use distilled water to cook beans | Comments closed

Squash Exposé

By Emilia | Published: November 22, 2010

Introduce yourself to jarrahdale, kabocha, red kuri, and a few other squash. Find interesting facts, recipes, and quick hints about these winter fruits, via NPR.

Also posted in Article, Recipes | Tagged acorn, heirloom, kabocha, NPR, recipes, squash | Comments closed

Thanksgiving Gravy:
Make Stock Today or Tomorrow

By Michael Ruhlman | Published: November 23, 2009

Photo by Donna

I wrote this very same thing last year: for delicious turkey gravy on Thursday, make a quart of rich turkey stock today or tomorrow. Here's what my plan is. I'm roasting a chicken for dinner and I'll also throw into the oven two fat turkey wings and cook them till they look delicious enough to eat. I'll put them in a pan and cover them with water (I may add the chicken carcass—haven't decided yet. The wings I bought weigh about 3 pounds (and cost less than $4). I'll pour in at least that much water, probably more, enough to cover them by about an inch of water in a snug pan. I'll bring the water to a simmer, then put the pan uncovered in the oven set low, 180 degrees or so, overnight. ...

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Also posted in Recipes, Technique | Comments closed

Brussels Sprouts

By Michael Ruhlman | Published: November 19, 2009

Photo by Donna

How many of you thought that Brussels sprouts grew in the ground like little cabbages? Or like me, never really thought about how they grew until you were forced to consider it? Last Friday, Thomas Keller flew to Cleveland to promote Ad Hoc At Home, a paean to family-style cooking, and among the many things we talked about were ways people can improve as cooks, such as being more organized (mise en place!) and shopping better. As Thomas has always said, "If you've got better ingredients than I, then you can be a better chef." One of the ingredients he happened to mention was Brussels sprouts—eat them in season. The very next day at my farmers market, there they were. So I had to buy. Had to. [caption id="attachment_3273" align="alignright" width="220" ...

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Also posted in TV, Vegetables | Comments closed

Category Archives: Tips

How To Grill Corn

How To Cook Dried Beans

Squash Exposé

Thanksgiving Gravy:
Make Stock Today or Tomorrow

Brussels Sprouts

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