Thermo Dynamics! Get excited!

“Temperature can’t hold sway over density and conductivity.”

Lost? About a year ago, I would have been. But thanks to the brilliance of Alton Brown, I understand thermo dynamics–and you can, too!

Thermo-wha?

Here’s the deal: If you’re looking to thaw/defrost something and a microwave is either unavailable or, well it pretty much ruins your food so I wouldn’t bother, what would you do? I won’t try to explain it because I can’t do a better job than Mr. Brown himself.

This is a snippet of the Good Eats episode, “What’s Up, Duck?” but I’m not interested in the duck part–today. Fast forward to 5:00 into the video for the most important cooking lesson every amateur chef needs to know. You can stop at 9:35 if you’re too aren’t into duck for the time being.

I will only add that at this very minute, I’m trying this technique by myself for the first time, and it’s working like a charm. (I’ve seen Frank, who introduced me to this, do this over and over again, but I wanted to give this a shot on my own.)

The Death of Baconmania?

If you ask me, bacon has never been better. Bacon at breakfast is great, but bacon isn’t limited to the first meal of the day. Just ask Frank, who has said famously, “Bacon is my favorite vegetable.” Or my brother Mark, who says, “Bacon is meat candy.”
The cool folks at Slate.com who put the following video together, however, think bacon has had its 15 minutes of fame. (Hat tip to Grub Street)
Read more »