Method 1: Pre-bake

Method: Preheat your oven to 375° F. Bake cut potatoes for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, cool, season and bake again, 7-10 minutes on each side until browned.
Results: These turned out nice, but I didn’t like all the turning, and having the oven on for longer than absolutely necessary during the heat wave we’d been having was not ideal. I also found it harder to get an even crunch across an entire tray of fries, as the turning was pretty gosh darn important to the success of these.

Method 2: Soak

Method: Add cut potatoes to large bowl and cover with warm water. Allow to soak for 20 minutes as you preheat your oven to 475°F. Drain the potatoes, pat dry and toss in oil to coat. Season and bake for 10-15 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through. Turn the fries and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Results: These produced nice, crispy french fires, but they were also a bit time consuming with all the soaking, drying and then baking again. Still, the quality was good and the fries tasty.

Method 3: Boil

Method: Add cut potatoes to a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over a medium-high heat and boil for 8 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and pat dry. Toss with oil and seasonings. Broil for 4-5 minutes per side or until crisp.
Results: These took considerably less time total than the other two methods, which was nice. You had to be careful on the boiling time, so as not to overboil and end up with mashed potatoes, and you obviously need to remain close to the oven as the fries are under the broiler. This method produced crisp fries that were cooked through on the inside and plenty crisp on the outside.

Conclusion

All of these methods worked in their own way, and I ended up with crisp french fries that were delicious to eat each and every time. However, I ended up liking “boil then broil” method best. It was important to make sure your boiling liquid started cold, so as not to overcook the potatoes, but the time invested was considerably less. Plus, it also lent itself well to adding in a bit of extra flavor if you wanted, which I’ll tell you about tomorrow with my final french fry recipe that I submitted to the Alexia Reinvent a Classic Challenge!

Before you go, a few announcements. First, we just had a new post go up on the Piccolini TV site, and they revised the comment policy, so now it’s really easy to leave one! Second, I’m writing for Enough Time Moms for Day-Timer, and I’d love if you’d check out my first two posts: Saving Time in the Kitchen and 6 Tips to Meal Planning Success!

• Only sauté certain vegetables. For me, this includes spinach, which creates moisture rather than sticking to the pan. I roasted my potatoes rather than gunk up the pan, as well, and this helps to keep the surface of the pan free from stuck on food, and if food is already stuck before you dump in the eggs, well, more food is bound to stick.
• Butter it up. Before melting my butter in the pan, I rub the unmelted butter all over the bottom and up the sides. This way, I know I’ve thoroughly greased all the stainless before introducing the eggs.
• Use a silicone or rubber spatula to help release the edges. Rather than just dig right in with your metal turning spatula or a hard plastic one, run a silicone spatula head around the edge to help release the frittata before you go to pull the pieces out.

Next week’s Kitchen Tip Tuesday will be hosted by the lovely Katie Kimball of Kitchen Stewardship. Then it’s back to Tammy!

Now it’s YOUR turn! Add your kitchen tips below.

Remember the scene in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation where the turkey comes to the table, browned and glorious, and then as Clark goes to carve it the whole thing deflates? Here, let me refresh your memory.

We try to maintain active social lives, and even though the O6 are a busy family, we usually are able to cram all of our family commitments in and still have time for the occasional show at First Ave. , movie with the gang, or random gathering at a local dining establishment.  This was not the case last week.  We were invited to a happy hour at The Lyndale Tap House, a bar in Uptown Minneapolis which specializes in a classic Baltimore cuisine (yeah, I know, that sounds like an oxymoron) – pit beef.

Sadly we had to bow out.  The schedule was full.  A request for the event to be moved to the following week produced the following terse email “Pit beef waits for no Scandinavian”.  Fair enough.  So, in the true spirit of the O6 I decided that if I can’t go to pit beef, I’d just have to bring pit beef to me.

A quick side note.  Some of you may not be familiar with pit beef. I wasn’t either until I caught an episode of Diners Drive-ins and Dives featuring this delicacy.  The Lyndale Tap House sums it up as well as I can: “This preparation involves rubbing a high-quality piece of meat with a special spice mixture and allowing the meat to marinate. The meat is then seared on a specially installed pit grill which chars the meat on the outside and cooks it juicy and tender on the inside. Finally it is sliced paper thin and served on a kaiser roll.”

That is all I need to get started.  I’ve seen the video, read a few recipes, and am now ready to share my experience with you.

First, I’m throwing out fancy marinades and special grills.  We’re going back to basics with this one.  In my opinion, all beef needs is salt and pepper, and as far as grills go – a basic charcoal number is the perfect hardware.


Step one:  Light your coals.  Charcoal is fine, but over the last year I’ve been turning into a coal snob.  I’ve switched to lump coal – an all wood charcoal.  The flavor is better and there’s less clean up, but it burns faster and hotter than regular charcoal, so it does need a little more attention.

Step two:  Season your meat.  I rubbed this cut (2.5 lb sirloin tip roast) with around one tablespoon of kosher salt and fresh black pepper.

Step three:  Prepare your coals.  Add the hot coals to an even bed of new coals and allow them all to heat up.
Step 4:  Lay the meat on the grill.
Step 5:  Tend the meat.  Give it a flip every five or eight minutes.  You are looking for an even sear/char but not a burn (obviously).

Step 6:  When it’s done (looking for a medium rare core about 135F) loosely wrap it in foil and let it sit for ten to fifteen minutes.

Step 7:  Slice and serve.  An industrial meat slicer would be perfect for this, but last time I checked, I wasn’t on Iron Chef, so a carefully guided large knife would have to do.  Slice as thin as you can.

Pile the result onto a Kaiser roll, top with raw onion and horseradish and be transported to a Baltimore parking lot, where apparently, all of the best pit beef is served.

Around our house, chicken rules. Beef is king, but due to the higher fat content, we try to limit our red meat intake. We eat plenty of fish, but with the cumulative toxins that can come with it, we hold off on going overboard. Sure, there’s pork, but the only way Shaina is not a fan and will only occasionally allow it in some smoked varieties – you know: bacon, ribs, pulled pork. So, by default, we are left with either more exotic meats like lamb and ostrich or we fall back on the most common of edible birds – the chicken. When it’s chicken, there are tons of different ways to go, and even though we’ve been cooking chicken for years and years, there’s one method I’d never done (until now).

How to spatchcock your chicken: First, butterfly the chicken by removing the backbone, pulling out the breastbone and laying flat. Weight is applied to the chicken during cooking to speed the process. You’ll be amazed at the speed, simplicity, and versatility that this combo offers. Pick your favorite flavors and go. Want a sweet barbecue sauce or a spicy rub? Steps 1 and 2 are still the same. How about lemon pepper or garlic and herbs? Again, see Steps 1 and 2. Today we went with a salt, pepper, oregano and cumin mixed with butter prior to grilling and then finished with a lime and scallion butter that we adjusted from the Food & Wine’s Quick from Scratch Chicken Cookbook.

Find yourself a clean brick and wrap it in heavy-duty foil. I had a few pavers left from our compost project in the spring, but anything around 8×12 inches will do, large enough to cover the chicken.



A good pair of kitchen shears will go a long way here. Cut along each side of the backbone until it has been completely removed. Then open up the bird and make a small cut through the tissue holding in the breastbone. Slide your finger underneath it and gently pull it out. Lastly, trim any excess skin and fat.


I apologize if you are squeamish around raw chicken. Just keep scrolling. It will be worth it down there.


Place your brick on the grill and light it before you mix the butter, salt, pepper, oregano and cumin together.


Spread the mixture onto the chicken. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty if you don’t have gloves.


At this point, your grill and brick should be hot. Using oven mitts, flip up the brick, lay down the chicken (skin side down), and ease the brick back down on the chicken. Turn the grill down to medium low, close the lid and walk away for ten minutes.


Back inside, prepare your finishing baste. Mix together butter, lime juice, kosher salt and scallions. Ten minutes should be up, so go outside and flip your chicken, reapply the brick and let it go for another ten minutes.


After the second ten minutes has elapsed remove the brick and check the internal temperature of the chicken with a meat thermometer (180° F means done).


Back inside, apply the desired amount of scallion and lime butter to the top of the hot chicken and let it melt down the sides.


The added butter at the end melted over the crisp skin gives it just enough added flavor to really make the chicken stand out.


With the abbreviated cooking time and full juicy flavor, this will definitely make the menu again.

Ready?  This one is going to go fast.

Ingredients:

Sweet corn

Water


The trick here is in the technique.

First, peel and remove any loose leaves.  Only the loose ones, we’ll need the rest later. This is the perfect time to get your kids involved. Everyone wanted to get their hands on their own ear of corn as we got them ready.

Next, as evenly as possible, split and fold back the remaining husks just enough to remove the silk, then close the husks back up around the corn.

Place the resulting product into a bucket or cooler full of cold water.  Repeat this procedure on the rest of your ears.  I’ve found that they don’t really need to soak that long, maybe ten minutes.

Oops, Kumquat went a little too far on one of those.

In the mean time, light your grill and let it warm to about 400 degrees.  Place the corn, still wet and in the husks directly onto the grill.  Close the lid and let them cook for six to eight minutes.

After the allotted time, flip the ears over.  You should notice that the kernels that were on the bottom have taken on a more vibrant yellow color, this means you are on the right track.

Notice the darker yellow in the two on the left.

I like to leave them a little on the firm side because there’s nothing worse than mushy corn.  Plus, they will continue to cook off the grill if you remove them to a covered foil pan which is what I do.

Wrapped in foil, they will stay hot for up to thirty minutes or more, which will give you plenty of time to prepare other sides, a main course and drinks.  If your guests don’t mind, leave the husks on and let them peel the corn themselves. The peeled leaves can also act as a handle of sorts.

We had this corn along side herb crusted beef tenderloin and toasted cheese bread tonight.  The best part was, I didn’t set out butter or salt or pepper, and no one even asked for it.  The corn was that good on its own.  The final product is sweet and firm with a distinct roasted flavor that you just can’t get from boiling water.

So do yourself a favor, keep the heat outside and cook your sweet corn on the grill.  I don’t remember the last time I boiled corn, and I really don’t care if I ever do it again.