Category Archives: Cooking

Here you’ll find everything about cooking that isn’t actually a recipe. Tips, techniques, gripes, whatever.

How do I know when my steak is done?

The other day I had a tour of Trowbridge Farm, a cow-calf operation in the Hudson Valley, courtesy of Yelp and the New York Beef Council. At the end of the tour Beef Council President Jean O’Toole gave us a … Continue reading

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Taste Test: La San Marzano Marinara Sauce

Exhibitors who serve pasta are always a top attraction at the Fancy Food Show. After all the snacking, it’s good to get some real food in your gut. But these booths are not so great for actual product sampling because … Continue reading

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Taste test: La San Marzano canned tomatoes

After the Summer Fancy Food Show, the folks at La Regina di San Marzano sent me some product for testing. First up was this 28-oz can of Diced Tomatoes, which excited me because I hoped to replicate the yearly taste-off … Continue reading

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Mike’s Hot Honey

In the Fancy Food Show’s Front Burner pitch competition, the “expert” judges choose Mike’s Hot Honey over No Evil’s Comrade Cluck. This irked me no end because how hard is it to mix two ingredients, chili and honey? But I … Continue reading

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Best way to cook and peel a hard boiled egg

You’ll get lots of suggestions when you google “best way to peel a hardboiled egg” but this method actually works. Thanks to Laura at the Momables website. To cook, place eggs in a saucepan sufficient to hold them all without … Continue reading

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Our favorite rotten foods

The other night I cooked up a tragic, inedible version of Gluten-Free Paleo Eggplant Parmigiana. I returned from a trip and discovered some eggplants that were clearly past their prime. They smelled okay, but the flesh was grey and had … Continue reading

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ISO Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco Treat

I had disdain for Rice-A-Roni when I lived in San Francisco. How dare they put a cable car on their box and pound our ears with a jingle that called it “the San Francisco Treat”? I equated the packaged mix … Continue reading

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We now have an official paper towel, and it’s Viva!

We use a lot of paper towels at Burnt My Fingers. To mop up spills, handle the general mess around a smoker or outdoor grill, blot the excess fat off the top of a soup stock, and also to substitute … Continue reading

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Take the white sauce challenge!

The other night I made shish kabob and wanted some white sauce to drizzle on the accompanying pilaf. You know, like the Halal Guys white sauce dished out from their truck in Manhattan. But not exactly. I also wanted it … Continue reading

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Hacking the Salt & Char Ribeye Cap Steak

I have long been fascinated by the Salt & Char ribeye cap, from  the high end steakhouse in downtown Saratoga Springs, NY. When Bobby Flay proclaimed it the “best thing I ever ate” on a recent Cooking Channel show, I … Continue reading

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