Ann Seranne's Bone-in Prime Rib Roast

 

Ann Seranne was born in Ontario in 1913. She moved to the United States in 1936.  She became famous for two things: dogs and food. She was a very serious breeder of Yorkshire terrier show dogs. And she was a serious lover of all things having to do with food. She earned her living as a food consultant and eventually became the editor of Gourmet Magazine.

But she is little remembered these days, for she was a one-hit wonder in the vein of Billy Ray Cyrus and his song "Achy Breaky Heart". But, oh, what a hit she had. She single-handedly created the greatest recipe for medium-rare prime rib. Published in the New York Times in 1966, it was revolutionary. It was beyond simple. And absolutely foolproof.

Her recipe called for blasting the bone-in roast at 500º for a brief period and then turning off the oven...leaving the beef undisturbed for 2 hours. Unbelievably perfect medium-rare, every single time. Plus you can carve the roast the minute you take it out of the oven because it has already been resting for 2 hours.

For this recipe to work, your prime rib roast must be bone-in. You can cook it with the bones intact or do what I do... I have the butcher cut the bones and then tie them back to the roast. That way, I can just make a couple of snips of the butcher's twine and carve the roast up....reserving the ribs for a later snack that only I will get to enjoy.

Ingredients

One, 2 to 4 rib, beef prime rib roast, weighing 4 to 12 pounds

Kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper

Au jus and horseradish for serving

Directions

1. The day before you are going to cook the roast, unwrap it and set it on a wire rack inside a cookie sheet. Salt the entire roast generously with Kosher salt. Place roast, uncovered, back in the refrigerator and let it rest overnight.
2. Remove the roast from the refrigerator 4 hours before cooking and let it come up to room temperature.
3. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
4. Place the roast in an open, shallow roasting pan, fat side up (bone-side down). You don't need a roasting rack as the bones will serve that purpose.  Season generously all over with salt and pepper.
5. Put the roast in the preheated oven (on the second lowest rack) and roast for 5 minutes per pound ( e.g., a 6-pound roast would cook for 30 minutes at 500º). When the cooking time is finished, turn off the oven. Do not open the door at any time. Allow the roast to remain in the oven for two hours. The roast will have a crunchy brown outside and a perfect internal temp of 130º. Remove the rib portion from the roast, then slice and serve with au jus and horseradish.

NOTE: Prime rib prices are through the roof right now, so make sure your oven is accurate so you don't wreck the roast. Buy an oven thermometer (they cost less than $10 on Amazon) and verify that 500º on the oven dial is the same as 500º in the oven. The perfect 500º temp is required to make the recipe foolproof.

Wine Pairing: Barolo

Slow Cooker Hungarian Goulash

 

Hungarian Goulash originated with Magyar herdsmen (gulyás) in the 9th century. It was cooked in large metal cauldrons over fires using tough cattle meat harvested from their herd. Seasoned simply with paprika, onions, salt and caraway seeds...it evolved from a simple peasant stew to become a permanent symbol of Hungarian identity. 

While it is often served in a simple bowl (like chili), it pairs very well as a hearty topping on top of pasta. Buttered egg noodles are always a hit...or for a little European flair, try spaeztle (which is a German potato pasta). 

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2-1/2 pounds chuck roast, cut in 1-inch cubes

Salt and pepper

2 medium onions, sliced 

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 cups beef broth

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 tablespoons sweet paprika

1 teaspoon hot paprika

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon crushed caraway seeds (mortar and pestle)

Optional for thickening/thinning goulash gravy: Potato flakes or extra beef broth (see #5 below)

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat half the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Liberally season the stew meat with salt and pepper. Working in batches, brown the beef chunks in the oil until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch. Add to slow cooker.
2. Add the remaining oil to the skillet and add the onions and garlic. Cook the onions until they're soft and translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the paprika, smoked paprika, and thyme to the pan and mix well with the onions, cooking for an additional minute. Add to slow cooker. 
3. Deglaze the pan with the balsamic vinegar and some of the beef broth. Using a wooden spatula, scrape loose all the bits of flavor and spice. Pour this liquid into the slow cooker.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker: remaining beef broth, tomato paste, both paprikas, thyme, bay leaves and crushed caraway seeds. Stir to mix throughly. Then cover slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.
5. After 8 hours, taste goulash and add salt and pepper to taste. If you want your goulash gravy thicker, add potato flakes, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring well after each add. If you want your goulash gravy thinner, add beef broth, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring well after each add.  
6. Divide into bowls and serve. Alternatively, the goulash can also be served on plates over buttered egg noodles or spaetzle.

Wine pairing: Syrah

Thanksgiving: Make Ahead Turkey Gravy

 

 I'm really anal about making turkey gravy from scratch. Use butter and flour to make a roux, then add turkey drippings and turkey stock. The problem here is that the drippings come at the end....after you've removed the turkey for carving.

But alas, Mark Bittman (former food writer for the New York Times) solved my problem by creating this make-ahead gravy recipe. It can be made up to five days in advance, then re-heated just in time for Thanksgiving dinner. And the gravy still gets the flavor boost from the pan drippings...you just add them in at the last second to your already "at serving temperature" gravy. This recipe yields about 5 cups of gravy.

A small note here about the stock. Most grocery stores have an abundance of turkey stock on their shelves at this time of year. But if you couldn't find any or simply forgot to pick some up, chicken stock is a really good second choice.


INGREDIENTS

For the Gravy
1 stick of butter (4 ounces)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup flour
Salt and pepper
4 cups warm turkey stock
Turkey drippings

Thickening/Thinning Agents

Potato flakes

1 cup turkey stock

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then add onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour on the onions, stirring constantly, and cook until flour is golden to brown. Adjust heat so mixture does not burn.
2. Gradually whisk in 4 cups of warm stock until mixture thickens and is smooth. If it is too thick, add more stock. Cool, cover and chill. Gravy can be held up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
3. When ready to serve, reheat mixture over low heat, stirring. Scrape bottom of turkey pan and add drippings  to gravy. Whisk to mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasonings. 
4. OPTIONAL: If you want your gravy thicker, add 1 tablespoon of potato flakes at a time (whisking thoroughly) until you get the consistency you want.  If you want your gravy thinner, add 1 tablespoon of turkey stock at a time (whisking thoroughly) until you get the consistency you want.
5. Serve.

Thanksgiving: Make Ahead Garlic Mashed Potatoes

 

 

The frenetic pace and challenge of getting turkey and side dishes to be served together at precisely 6:00pm on Thanksgiving day is exhausting. So over the years, I've been working on "make-ahead" recipes that makes serving the meal a whole lot easier. Make-ahead gravy. Make-ahead stuffing.

Back in 2018, I added make-ahead, garlic mashed potatoes. And I'm here to tell you they were the best mashed potatoes ever. First off, I avoided all of the chemistry-class theatrics required of boiling potatoes from scratch with cold water. And that method requires great precision in order to serve piping hot potatoes with piping hot turkey at the same time.

This method is foolproof. You cannot screw it up. Anyone who can read can make perfect mashed potatoes. It will transform you instantly...drop the "Home Cook" moniker and embrace the new you: "Gourmet Chef."

While the recipe calls for peeled potatoes, I really like the skins, so I don't peel mine. As a bonus, the skin is the tastiest, most nutricious and fiber rich part of the potato. This recipe makes 20 servings. My experience is that the majority of folks come back for seconds....and a few for thirds.

Ingredients
5 pounds of russet potatoes, peeled or not, cut into 2-inch cubes
8 cloves garlic, peeled
1-1/2 cups whole milk

8 tablespoons butter
2 cups of half & half
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Chopped chives, for garnish


Directions

1. Peel (or not) and cube potatoes and place in slow cooker with garlic and 1-1/2 cups of milk. Set slow cooker to high and cover. Cook for 5 hours.
2. After 5 hours, turn slow cooker to warm. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes right in the slow cooker.
3. Melt butter in a medium saucepan. When melted, add half & half to the pan and heat to warm (do not boil). When warm, add mixture to slow cooker. Using masher, blend potatoes with butter/half & half mixture.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste....a half of a teaspoon at a time for the uninitiated.
5. Cover potatoes in slow cooker (still set to warm) and serve whenever you want.

Thanksgiving: Hot Italian Sausage Stuffing

 

If you are smoking your turkey on a pellet grill, you'll want to bake your stuffing in the oven. If you are deep frying your turkey, you'll want to bake your stuffing in the oven. If you are roasting a whole turkey for Thanksgiving, you'll want to bake your stuffing separately in the oven. You don't ever want to bake  stuffing in the turkey's body cavity. Let me explain why.

If your turkey is cooked to perfection, the stuffing in the cavity is going to be undercooked. That sort of error leads to salmonella, in which case your guests will suffer horrific gastrointestinal pain followed by death. If your stuffing in the cavity is cooked to 165º perfection, the meat on your turkey will be overcooked and your guests will chew on it as if it were part of the sidewall of a worn Pirelli Formula One tire.

So do the right thing. Bake your stuffing by itself in the oven. It will taste fantastic with no chance of flatlining your guests. This recipe is incredibly easy. It uses simple, store-bought ingredients and comes together very quickly. 

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 pounds hot Italian sausage

2 yellow onions, chopped

6 stalks celery, chopped

16 ounces mushrooms, chopped

10 tablespoons butter

4 cups chicken broth

2, 12-ounce bags Pepperidge Farm Sage & Onion Cubed Stuffing

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat olive oil until it is shimmering. Then add sausage, onions, celery and mushrooms. Cook until there is no pink in the sausage and all of the vegetables have softened (about 8 minutes).
2. In a large saucepan, heat butter and chicken broth over medium heat until all of the butter has melted into the broth.
3. Preheat oven to 350º.
4. In a large casserole, add the two bags of cubed stuffing. Add sausage, onions, celery and mushrooms then stir thoroughly to mix. Then add broth/butter mixture and stir again to thoroughly mix.
5. Cover casserole and bake for 60 minutes. Remove cover for last 15 minutes if you like your stuffing browned. Serve.

Little Bites

NINJA CRISPI AIR FRYER: I absolutely love air fryers. They are such a great accessory to make healthy meals (okay....they are also great at French fries and tater tots!!!!). We use ours all the time for entrees and sides.

I bought my first one, a 5.5 quart Cosori, back in 2019. It was recalled for an electrical defect and fully replaced by the manufacturer in 2023. I loved using it, but it came up short in two areas. First, while it does not use a Teflon coating (now illegal in MN), it does have a PFTE coating on the cooking surface. This coating is completely safe when intact, but scratches or flaking mean it's time to get a new one. While ours was in perfect shape,  the second area was the bigger draw.

This second benefit was huge to me. The cooking vessel in the Ninja Crispi is borosilicate glass. No coatings to worry about.....easiest surface to clean...but the big deal was being able to see the food as it cooked. A lot of air fryer recipes are hit or miss because of the vast differences in machines. Having to stop the air fryer and pull out the basket to check cooking status was a hassle and a half. Now just a quick glance at the Crispi tells me how I'm doing.

Given that it is just Becky and I at home, we really had no need for the giant 5.5 quart capacity. So we bought the small Crispi, perfect for the two of us. For $159, you get a 4-quart and 6-cup cooking vessel along with covers to keep the leftovers in the fridge. The cooking vessels are dishwasher safe (huge bonus). If you need more capacity, Ninja just rolled out the Crispi Pro for $279, which comes with a 6-quart and 2.5-quart cooking vessel. The Ninja Crispi (pictured above), is a small, portable air fryer, while the Ninja Crispi Pro is a substantial countertop model. Either way, you can't go wrong.

GINO BAMBINO SOURDOUGH PIZZA STARTER KIT: A tip of the hat to Costco on this one. They are selling a 3-pack of pizza crusts and sauce for just $9.99. The 11-inch sourdough crusts are each hand stretched and stone baked....and the sauce is pure Italian plum tomatoes. It is, without a doubt, the best store-bought pizza crust I have ever had (Gino has been making them for 60 years).

 

This is a relatively new item to Costco....I saw it for the first time in September. Make sure you get great toppings. I've been making them for a crowd and two of the recipes are really popular. First is a bacon and onion with fresh mozzarella....and lots of red pepper flakes for heat. The second is a charcuterie pizza with salami, mortadella, prosciutto, canicola, sun-dried tomatoes and Calabrian peppers. While I am an absolute failure at making my own pizza crusts from scratch, I'm a Super Hero when I pull out these pizza crusts.

Slow Cooker Korean Pot Roast

 

The summer of 2025 is in the books.....and I'm hoping the likes of it stays there. Thanks to climate change, Minneapolis only had two kinds of weather all summer....sweltering 90º heat and/or torrential rain. For the first time in 17 years, I did not turn on the sprinkler system once this year.

It's now the middle of October and change is in the air. The summer toys are put away. The sprinkler system has been blown out and the stagnant water replaced with antifreeze. Even got the snow tires on both cars last Thursday. (In the era before climate change, the average first snowfall in the Twin Cities was October 20.)

So time for our favorite season of year....fall. Cool, crisp air and time to roll out the comfort food repertoire. Pot roast is a favorite of ours. If you peruse this blog, you'll find pot roast recipes from all over the world: America (Mississippi, Texas and Minnesota), Italy, Portugal, Mexico...and now Korea.

The slow cooker is an incredible tool for making melt-in-your-mouth pot roast. Low and slow always wins the day. This Korean pot roast is a favorite and I typically serve it with sticky rice and  spicy kimchi. The neutral rice helps offset the heat of the pot roast and kimchi. And if you'd like even more heat in your pot roast, stir in some chili crisp...either at Step #3 or just before serving.

INGREDIENTS

4 to 5 pound chuck roast, cut into 3-inch pieces 

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger

2 tablespoons Gochujang paste

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 cups beef stock

Cilantro, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Pat the chuck roast pieces dry and season with kosher salt. 
2. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in batches, about 10 minutes per batch, then transfer to slow cooker.
3.  Lower the heat on the Dutch oven to medium, add the onion and cook for 4 minutes until softened. Stir in garlic and ginger, cooking until fragrant, about 1 minute. If needed, deglaze the pan with ¼ cup beef stock, scraping up browned bits. Add all to the slow cooker.
4. Add the gochujang paste, brown sugar, soy sauce, and remaining beef stock to the slow cooker. Stir to mix thoroughly.
5. Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours. Then plate, garnishing each serving with cilantro.

Wine pairing: A big, fruity Zinfandel

Naked Martini

 

Our Friday nights typically begin with an "oh-so-civilized" Vodka Martini. We like ours served up, crowned with some blue cheese stuffed olives. When you order it at the bar, it's made with five parts vodka and one part dry vermouth. It gets chilled from the ice in the shaker and the taste of it is absolute heaven.

A Naked Martini is an entirely different animal. A regular martini is Barney Fife...a naked martini is Dwayne Johnson...a much stronger and colder form of the cocktail. Why stronger? As I mentioned, the ratio in a regular martini is 5:1. The ratio in a Naked Martini is 30:1. It's a very boozy concoction.

Why colder? A regular martini is chilled by shaking it with ice. A Naked Martini uses vodka that is stored in the freezer. Since bars don't store their vodka in freezers, you can't get one when you are out in the wild. You will have to make yours at home, providing you have stored your vodka next to your popsicles.

INGREDIENTS

2-1/2 ounces vodka (Belvedere recommended)

1/2 teaspoon dry vermouth

2 blue cheese stuffed olives

DIRECTIONS

1. Pour vodka into a martini glass. 
2. Add vermouth and olives. 
3. Serve.

Bang Bang Chicken

 

You may want to believe that the "Bang Bang" name of this dish is attributed to the heat of the sauce. Don't believe it. The "Bang Bang" comes from the ancient Chinese recipe, where a large wooden cudgel was used to beat the chicken meat to tenderize it. 

This particular recipe is the Americanized version of Bang Bang Chicken. No need to tenderize the chicken. You can keep your cudgel in the drawer as you are just going to use bite-sized pieces of chicken thighs. 

A shout out to my boyhood friend, Jeff Pinkham, for providing me the air fryer version of this recipe. I made it last night and it was awesome....and a lot less to clean up versus the wok version! These Sam Zien and Jeff Pinkham recipes serve four and I always serve this meal with a big, steaming bowl of sticky rice.

INGREDIENTS

For the Chicken

4 chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons Shaoxing Chinese cooking wine (substitute = dry sherry)

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons minced ginger

4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 egg white

Corn starch for coating

Neutral oil for wok frying or avocado oil spray for air fryer

Diced green onions for garnish

For the Bang Bang Sauce

1/2 cup mayo

1/4 cup sweet chili sauce (I use Sambal Oelek)

3 tablespoons Sriracha

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon lime juice

WOK DIRECTIONS

1. Combine first 9 ingredients in a bowl. Mix thoroughly and then refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Combine the 5 Bang Bang sauce ingredients.  Mix thoroughly and then set aside.
3. Heat frying oil in a wok to 350º.
4. Coat the chicken pieces in the corn starch, shake off any excess, then deep fry 5 to 6 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Do this in batches so you do not overcrowd your wok. When all the chicken is done, get the oil back to 350º and fry chicken once more 45-60 seconds for a final crisping.
5. Toss fried chicken with the sauce, a little at a time, until it is coated the way you like it.
6. Plate and garnish with green onions.

AIR FRYER DIRECTIONS

1. Combine first 9 ingredients in a bowl. Mix thoroughly and then refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Combine the 5 Bang Bang sauce ingredients.  Mix thoroughly and then set aside.
3. Preheat air fryer for 3 minutes at 400º
4. Coat the chicken pieces in the corn starch and shake off any excess. Place chicken pieces in air fryer and lightly coat with avocado oil spray. Cook for 7 minutes at 400º. Then remove basket, shake chicken thoroughly and then cook again for 7 more minutes at 400º.
5. Toss fried chicken with the sauce, a little at a time, until it is coated the way you like it.
6. Plate and garnish with green onions.

Pairing: Sauvignon Blanc

Grilled Garlic Shrimp Skewers

 

You can keep your utensils in the drawer because this dish is meant to be eaten strictly with fingers and opposable thumbs. So you'll have to buy shell-on shrimp, because as you peel them after grilling, you're going to spread that incredible garlic paste all over the shrimp. And all over your fingers....which will in turn spread it to the next shrimp you pick up. Yum. But, you're going to need a bucket of WET ONES hand wipes when this is over.

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds large unpeeled shrimp (21 to 25 per pound)

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 tablespoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

Lemon wedges for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. Mash garlic with salt to form smooth paste. Combine garlic paste with cayenne, paprika, olive oil, and lemon juice in small bowl. Toss shrimp with paste until evenly coated. Thread shrimp onto skewers.
2. Prepare your grill for direct cooking over high heat.
3. Grill shrimp, uncovered for 1 to 2 minutes, until shells are lightly charred and bright pink. Then flip skewers and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Serve hot with lemon wedges.

Wine Pairing: An oaky Chardonnay

Yamitsuki Cabbage

 

This is the perfect accompaniment for any Asian BBQ. If you are grilling Korean short ribs, Japanese fish or Teriyaki baby backs....you will not find a better salad to serve alongside your masterpiece. This salad is considered a Japanese national treasure....which was made famous by the highly regarded BBQ chain Gyu-Kaku.  And what's not to love? Green cabbage gently tossed with toasted sesame oil, garlic, sesame seeds and the umami king...dried seaweed.

If you don't have any of the ocean's weed on hand, just type "seaweed" into the search function on Amazon.com and you'll find a huge number of options. I used Pacific Kombu, which is dried kelp. But any seaweed that hits your fancy will do. If you're a basmati rice fan, you might have some Nori Kumi Furikake on hand. That will do in a pinch, but I would encourage you to get real dried seaweed...it absolutely makes this salad. One word of advice when making this: follow the quantities in the recipe precisely. If you don't, the salad will not be properly seasoned. This salad serves four.

   

INGREDIENTS

4 cups of firmly packed, chopped green cabbage

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 firmly packed teaspoon of dried seaweed flakes

2 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds, plus more for garnish

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2 cloves garlic, pressed or very finely minced

DIRECTIONS

1. Place cabbage in a large bowl. Sprinkle salt and seaweed on the cabbage. Toss to mix thoroughly.
2. In a small bowl, mix the sesame oil and garlic. Then pour over cabbage. Add sesame seeds to cabbage.
3. Toss salad to mix thoroughly, then plate to small salad dishes. Garnish with extra sesame seeds, then serve.

Smoked Buffalo Chicken Wings

 

This is as simple as it gets. You just need 2 ingredients....chicken wings and Frank's Hot Sauce. And then just 2 hours of low and slow in the smoker. For smoking, I recommend either cherry or apple wood  to impart a nice sweet taste. If you don't have a smoker, no problem. Just skip the wood and cook 'em in your oven.

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds chicken wings

1-1/2 cups Frank's Original Hot Sauce

DIRECTIONS

1. Remove wings from packaging and pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Place wings in a ziplock bag and add hot sauce. Toss to mix thoroughly. Place bag in refrigerator and let wings marinate for 4 hours.
3. Preheat smoker to 225º.
4. Place wings into the smoker and cook for 2 hours, flipping the wings at the 1 hour mark.
5. After the 2 hours, remove wings and serve with either ranch or blue cheese dressing.

Pairing: An Ice Cold Pilsner

Little Bites

 

Kirkland Caesar Salad: Becky and I love our caesar salads...we usually have 2 to 3  each week. While my favorite caesar dressing is the original one: (https://terrygruggen.blogspot.com/2024/07/happy-100th-birthday-caesar-salad.html), it takes quite awhile to make that. During the week, I like my prep time to be minimized, so I often reach for a store-bought caesar dressing. Until last week, Briannas Home Style Creamy Caesar was our favorite.

Last Thursday, we bought the Kirkland Caesar Salad at Costco. For $8 and change, you get all the fixings and enough salad for 4 entree portions (or 2 nights of salads for empty nesters). We were discussing how their salad had the best dressing.....and so I decided to do a little online sleuthing. A few keystrokes later, I uncovered that Costco contracts with Ken's Salad Dressing for their dressing packets in the Kirkland Salad.

If you have enjoyed the Kirkland Caesar Salad as much as we have, the cat is now out of the bag. Costco's dressing is actually "Ken's Creamy Caesar with Roasted Garlic". Hands down, it's the best bottled dressing I have ever tasted. I checked with the 3 grocery stores I frequent, but none of them carried it. Amazon has it for about $7 a bottle. But go to Stockup Express, an online grocery wholesaler , and you can score 9 bottles for less than $18....bringing the cost per bottle down to $1.94. That's a pretty small price for the biggest tasting caesar dressing in a bottle.

Really Great Coffee on the Cheap: For years, Becky and I have been Keurig K-Cup fans. Our coffee of choice is a really hearty dark roast.... Barista Prima Italian Roast. We love that each cup is fresh, piping hot and ready in less than a minute.

While we were on vacation last February, we ordered 2 French Press coffees on our last day. Damn....those were tasty! (thanks Bigs) A French Press makes incredible tasting coffee through immersion (letting the boiling water commingle with the ground beans) and air pressure (forcing the water through the grounds and a micro-filter).

When we got back, I started researching what kind of French Presses were available for home use. One name kept jumping to the forefront....AeroPress. Unlike the competition that were married to the classic coffee pot design, AeroPress kind of resembles a big test tube. I could describe how it works, but watching it in action is much more fulfilling: https://youtu.be/3rHj76QLSe0?si=KXrTFVaszo-LEFWw

I think it makes the best cup of coffee around. And it grabs 3 of my brass rings: it's delicious; it's easy to use/clean; and it's dirt cheap. In a world of outrageously priced espresso machines, this leaves them all in the dust. I got mine at Amazon for just $34.99. We still use our K-Cups, but the AeroPress is our go-to when we want that special cup of coffee.

Pork Bulgogi with Spring Vegetables

 

Where did the Korean concept of bulgogi come from?

Imagine, if you will, ancient Korea. We're talking way, way back, before K-Pop and even before Gangnam Style. Picture a time when people weren't scrolling through TikTok, but probably, like, trying to figure out how to keep their food from running away.

We can trace its delicious lineage back to the Goguryeo Kingdom (37 BC – 668 AD). Back then, they had something called "maekjeok". And what was maekjeok, you ask? Well, it was essentially skewered meat, grilled over an open flame. Think of it as the great-great-great-grandpappy of bulgogi, a bit rough around the edges, perhaps, but with good, honest intentions. These were likely nomadic warriors, who, after a long day of, you know, being nomadic warriors, probably just wanted some sizzling meat on a stick. No fancy marinades, probably just "Meat. Fire. Eat."

Fast forward a few hundred years, and we enter the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897). This is where things get a bit more refined, a touch more sophisticated and definitely more saucy. During this period, the dish evolved into something called "neobiani", which literally means "thinly sliced." And that's where the magic really starts to happen.

Imagine a royal chef, perhaps tired of the King complaining about chewy, tough meat, deciding to thin-slice the pork. And then, perhaps, someone accidentally (or brilliantly) dropped it into a mix of soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and who knows what else. "Oops! My bad! ...Wait a minute, this is actually amazing!" And thus, the tender, flavorful, marinated meat we know and love began to take shape. It was the VIP meal, the dish for royalty, so you know it had to be good. 

From these noble beginnings, bulgogi slowly but surely made its way from the royal palace to us common folk, adapting and evolving with local ingredients and preferences. It wasn't always called bulgogi, mind you. "Bulgogi" itself is a more modern term, literally meaning "fire meat" – which, let's be honest, is a pretty accurate and badass name for something so frigging delicious. 

This Melissa Clark recipe from The New York Times serves four.

INGREDIENTS




For the Marinade and Sauce

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup gochujang

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon white sesame seeds

2 tablespoons neutral oil (grapeseed, avocado or sunflower)

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1, 2-inch piece of ginger, minced

2 scallions, thinly sliced







For the Pork and Vegetables

1 pound boneless pork chops, sliced thin  

1 tablespoon of neutral oil (grapeseed, avocado or sunflower)

4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup radishes, thinly sliced

8 ounces snow peas, stems removed and each cut in half 

6 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced

Cooked white rice for serving







DIRECTIONS

1. Make the marinade: Add marinade ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk until combined. In a small bowl, reserve half the marinade at room temperature for serving.
2. Add pork to the marinade and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. 
3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add neutral oil. Once the oil is hot, add mushrooms. Let sear, stirring once or twice, until just tender and caramelized, 4 to 7 minutes.
4. Raise heat to high. Add pork along with its marinade, radishes, snow peas and all but 2 tablespoons of the scallions (reserve for garnish) to pan. Let cook, stirring often, until the pork is just cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes. (Take care not to overcook it; it won’t brown, and it may still look slightly pink inside).
5. Garnish with reserved scallions and sesame seeds, and serve hot over rice with reserved marinade for drizzling.

Wine pairing: Zinfandel