If you don’t know what a tip sizzler steak is, check out my post on that topic. Before you cook this steak, it’s best to marinade it first.

Ingredients
2 tip sizzler steaks
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 cloves garlic (minced)
kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
canola oil

Start by combining the Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce into a plastic bag containing the two steaks. Add the minced garlic and place into the fridge for 2 hours. Make sure you put the bag into another container just in case the bag leaks. Remove your steak a half hour before cooking. A room temperature steak will cook better and quicker.

Preheat your oven to 475 degrees. Place a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Rub a little bit of canola oil on both sides of the steak, then sprinkle some kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Once the skillet is ready. Place the steak on it. Cook until a nice brown sear has formed and then flip the steak over. This can take about 45-90 seconds per side. When both sides are brown, place the entire thing in the oven. In about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes, flip the steaks over and cook another 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes. The reason we are finishing it in the oven is that by the time the inside was done, the outside would be black. The oven will gently finish the steak without burning the outside. I learn this tip from watching Alton Brown’s first episode of Good Eats on how to cook a ribeye.

The best way to know if the steak is done is to do 2 things: use an instant read thermometer and learn what the meat feels like when it’s done. When you push the meat it will have some give depending on the temperature you want it. If you do this enough along with a thermometer you will be able to figure out how much give the steak should have when you push it in with a pair of tongs or a fork. If the steak has no give, then you have overcooked it.

It is a skill to learn how to properly cook a steak and a steak like a tip sizzler, is one that can quickly go from tender to tough. Be patient with yourself and learn through trial and error.

The pork chop, a classic American slice of pig. Today I am taking that slice and giving it some serious heat via my grill pan. This recipe begins with a brine. The brine is basically the same one that Alton Brown used on an episode of Good Eats to make a slow cooked pork dish. It is also the same brine I use when making a pork loin roast.

Ingredients for the Brine

2 cups vegetable broth

1/4 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns

Combine all the ingredients into a saucepan over high heat. Cook until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Then remove from the heat and add about 1 pound of ice to cool the brine down. Give it a good stir and set it aside. The amount of liquid should be enough for 4-5 average size pork chops. Increase the brine if you are doing more chops than that.

Now take your chops and place them in a gallon sized plastic bag and dump the brine into the bag. Seal the bag well, place it in a container just in case the bag leaks, and place it into the refrigerator for 2 hours.

When you are ready to cook, either head to the grill or if you don’t have one or it is winter (which are both true for me), then pull out a cast iron grill pan. I love the cast iron that the company Lodge makes. My instructions from here on will be for cooking with the grill pan.  Spray some oil on your grill pan just to make sure we don’t have any sticking and turn the heat up to medium high. In about 5 minutes when the pan is nice and hot, add your pork chops, making sure to only fit on what you can without any of them touching. Cook times will vary, but I cook mine about 6-7 minutes per side. You can use a instant read thermometer to see if the pork is done. You are looking for at least 160 degrees. Since you brined your pork before hand if you go beyond that temperature it won’t be as dry as it you don’t brine them. This is why I always brine my pork. And also to add flavor.

Add some freshly ground pepper or some coarse set salt and enjoy! Broccoli and fried apples make two nice side dishes for this meal.

Here is my 2nd recipe combining meyer lemons and chicken. Last time we baked our chicken, this time we are going the grilled route. The recipe here starts out the same as the baked chicken, with a 1 hour lemon juice bath for the chicken.

Ingredients

boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 Meyer lemon per 2 chicken breasts
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Juice 1 meyer lemon for every 2 chicken breasts you plan to cook. Now to prepare the chicken, you want to increase it’s surface to mass ratio, so that it will cook quicker. To do this, take your chicken, one piece at a time, and place it on a layer of plastic wrap. Then put another piece of plastic wrap over this and use a meat pounder to flatten the chicken breast. Then place each breast into a large plastic zip top bag. Pour your lemon juice into the bag. Place the bag into a container, just in case it leaks, and place into the fridge for 1 hour.

To grill the chicken you can use an outdoor grill or a cast iron grill pan. You can use one of those George Foreman grills if you must, but they don’t produce the same grilled taste as an outdoor grill or grill pan because they can’t get as hot and maintain their heat. While your grilling source is heating up, remove the chicken from the bag and liberally season with kosher salt. When your grill is ready, place your chicken on it and cook each side for about 5-7 minutes. It took 6 minutes on my grill pan, but it will depend on your grill. If you cut into the chicken and see any pink, then you need to cook it longer. You can also use an digital instant read thermometer to test for doneness. You are shouting for 165 degrees.

To complete this dish, crack on some freshly ground black pepper (don’t even think of using the preground stuff!). Pepper and lemon make a great flavor combo. You get a nice spicy taste on the outside and a citrus one on the inside.

Frying pans are an essential kitchen tool. It’s one of those tools that you use often, so you want to make a wise investment. Cheap frying pans won’t do the job well and they won’t last. Most of the time when using a frying pan you want to use it over high heat, so you want it really hot. If your frying pan does not have a heavy bottom it won’t be able to conduct and even distribute the heat. With these things in mind, there are three types of frying pans I would recommend having on hand: nonstick, stainless steel, and cast iron.

Non-Stick

These pans are you want when you are concerned about cleaning the pan when you are done. I always use a nonstick frying pan whenever I am making scrambled eggs. I also steam broccoli in mine.

Stainless Steel

There are times you want a pan where things will stick to the bottom. If you are browing a piece of meat in a pan and want to make a sauce for said meat, then you will want to de-glaze, which is using a liquid to get everything that stuck to the bottom of the pan off. That stuff on the bottom is full of flavor, so you don’t want to waste it. But if you have a non-stick pan you won’t have those flavorful bits on the bottom.

Cast Iron

Cast Iron is a great choice when you want your pan really hot, like when browing a chunk of meat for a pot roast. The nice thing about cast iron is when you introduce something cold to it, it doesn’t lose much in the way of temperature. I have seen people use these pans for making cornbread in, which brings me to another advantage of cast iron, it can take any heat your oven can dish out.

So whatever you choose make sure you are getting a quality pan. Also think about your needs, what are you going to cook in it? There are times when it’s nice to have multiple sized pan around. You may not want a huge pan if you are going scrambled eggs for one person. A good frying pan equals a happy cook.

Have you ever seen a chuck arm steak in a store and wonder what to do with it? Or even what it is? Well I have that answer for you. The chuck arm comes from the chuck primal on the cow. The chuck primal is located towards the head of the cow. The muscles in this area get a lot of work, so the meat tends to be tough. The positive thing is that cuts from this area are plentiful thus cheap. The arm cut is located in the bottom half of the chuck primal. This cut doesn’t have as much fat in it than other cuts of chuck like the chuck eye which is perfect for pot roasts and can be made into a grilled steak. But the arm wouldn’t work as well for either. I definitely would never grill it, as it will be really tough. The only way to cook it is by braising it (which is cooking in a small amount of liquid). Braising the meat low and slow will give the connective tissues time to break down so that when you eat the meat, it won’t be so tough.

Here is how I cooked my chuck arm steak.

1 pound chuck arm steak

2 cups Beef or mushroom broth

4 oz. tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried thyme

kosher salt

canola (or vegetable) oil

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Before you begin to braise your meat you have the chance to add some additional flavoring by searing it. Heat up a grill pan (cast iron would be great) over high heat with a little bit of oil in the bottom, just enough to cover. While doing that season both sides of the meat with kosher salt. When the pan is hot in about 4-5 minutes, place the steak on the pan. Wait about 1 minute and then flip and cook for 1 more minute. Since this is a steak cut, so it’s a thinner piece than a roast, we just want to cook it quickly to give it a good sear to add additional flavor. We definitely do not want to cook the steak entirely now. Once the steak is done searing, remove it to a plate.

Now it’s time to prepare the braising liquid. Take the 2 cups of mushroom or beef broth and mix in the 4 oz of tomato paste until combined (the acids in the tomato will help break down connective tissue). Then add 1 teaspoon of dried thyme, mix to combine. Place your steak onto some heavy duty aluminum foil. You will want to completely cover the steak in foil so make sure you have enough. The reason for this is to make the best braise the meat needs to be completely surrounded in the liquid. With the foil you can accomplish that. Just make to place the entire thing in some kind of pan because no matter how good you seal it, there is still a good chance some liquid will escape. Better for it escape into a pan than onto the bottom of your oven.

Place in the oven and cook for about 1 hr 30 minutes to 1 hr 45 minutes. This should give the connective tissues enough time to break down so that the meat will be tender and not long enough to dry out the meat. Alton Brown said in one of his book that meat in the oven acts like a sponge that is being rung out. It’s liquid escapes to the outer surroundings. Since the arm steak has less fat than other chuck cuts, there is a greater chance for the meat to dry out, even though it is surrounded by liquid.

When your meat is done, give it at least 5-10 minutes to rest before cutting into.

So now, next time you see an arm steak in the store you will know what to do with it. It is possible to turn this cheap, tough cut into something to enjoy!

Before you begin I recommend you read my post on “How to Cook a Flavorful Pot Roast“.

For this recipe you will need the following ingredients:

7-bone chuck roast

canola oil

Better then Bouillon Mushroom Base (or any other mushroom soup base)

3-4 cloves of garlic

1 onion (your choice of type)

kosher salt

freshly ground cumin

flour, corn starch, or arrowroot (if you wish to make gravy)

A couple notes about these ingredients.

1.Better than Bouillon makes a wide range of soup bases. I use them all of time whenever a recipe calls for a broth. For this pot roast, I am using their mushroom base. You can use another brand if you want, but I think Better than Bouillon is better than the rest.

2. Buying whole cumin and grinding it yourself (check out my post on spice grinders) will provide you with the best flavor possible. Spices lose flavor over time, so who knows how long ago that pre-ground cumin was ground.

3. You may be wonder where are the carrots? Well I think if you cook the carrots along with the roast you just end up with carrot mush. But if you have to have the carrots, feel free to add as much as you want. I will cook my carrots separately.

To begin, I recommend using a 4-5 quart cast iron dutch oven. The best part about the dutch oven is that you will be able to brown the meat in it, cook the meat in it, and prepare gravy in it. That will save you some time doing dishes afterward.

First, you will want to season your meat. Liberally season your meat with kosher salt and cumin on both sides. Second, place a small amount of oil in the bottom of the dutch oven, just enough to cover the surface. Third, set your burner to it’s highest setting. Once it has heated up, place the roast in the dutch oven and let it cook for 4-5 minutes. Then flip over and let that side cook 4-5 minutes. Take your roast out and set it aside. You should have some nice brown color on each side.

Now you will want to soften up your onion and garlic. Chop up your onion and garlic cloves and place them in the dutch oven (turn the burner down to medium) and cook them for a couple minutes, just to soften and bring out some flavor. Be very careful not to burn them as burning will only add bad flavors to your final dish. Remove them from the pot and set aside.

Set your oven to 200 degrees. Place the meat back in the dutch oven. Add enough water to come about half way up the pot roast and then add in your mushroom base (if you use an already made mushroom broth, then just pour that it until your half way up the roast). Add the garlic and onion on top of the roast.

Place the lid on your dutch oven and set it in the center of your oven. Let is cook for about 3 1/2 – 4 1/2 hours. You will know it’s done when it is fork tender.

Now if you wish to make a gravy, take your meat out of your dutch oven, set the dutch oven on a burner that is set to  high heat. In order to help the liquid thicken, you can use either corn starch, flour, or arrowroot. Just make sure you mix whatever you are using with some water first, so that you don’t end up with lumpy gravy. Cook your liquid until it thickens to your desire consistency.

For a side dish, mashed potatoes are the obvious choice (you have gravy ready to make for them). Read my post on how to make mashed potatoes.

Pizza can be done is so many ways. There is the standard pizza pie you order from the countless pizza joins across every American town. You can turn bagels into pizza (see my post on when I did this). You can eat pizza as a pocket pie or calzone. Now I am bringing you yet another way to have pizza – Pizza Wontons. And here is what you need to do to produce them:

Ingredients
wonton wrappers
tomato sauce
freshly shredded mozzarella cheese
oil for fying (such as canola or peanut)
pizza toppings (like pepperoni just into small pieces)

Grab a sheet pan and place on it as many wonton wrappers as you desire. In the center place a small mound of mozzarella. It’s best if you buy mozzarella in a chunk and shred it yourself as you will get a more moist cheese with a better flavor. On top of the cheese place any toppings that you like, just make them small and go light on them. Then place your finger in a bowl of water and wet the edges of the wonton wrapper. Then fold in up tightly anyway your heart desires, just make sure the inside is sealed well so nothing comes out during frying.

Heat your oil in a cast iron dutch oven or electric deep fryer to 375 degrees. Drop a few wontons in a time and fry them until golden brown (this shouldn’t take more than a 1 minute). Set them on a wire rack over a sheet pan lined with paper towel or newspaper so excess oil can be drained away. Continue frying until you finish the entire batch. Serve them with warm tomato sauce for dipping.

One of my favorite soups growing up was Campbell’s Bean with Bacon soup. So naturally when I began learning how to cook more things for myself, relying less on prepared food, this is one thing I wanted to replicate. It took a couple times to get it right but I believe this to be at least as good if not better (definitely not as salty).

Ingredients

1 bag (1 lb) of great northern beans
6 slices of uncooked center cut bacon (cut into small pieces)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cloves of garlic or 2 teaspoons of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of onion powder
4 oz tomato paste
3 drops of liquid smoke
3-4 quarts of filtered water

First you will need to soak the beans overnight. Fill a container that will still be half full after you empty the entire bag of beans. Then fill the entire container with cold water. The beans will expand so you need to be sure they stay underwater or when you cook them they won’t be all done at the same time.

After your beans have soaked, drain the water and set them aside. Fill a pot (I used a 5-quart dutch oven) with about 3-4 quarts of water. I prefer to use filtered water as the better the water the better the soup. Place all the ingredients except the liquid smoke (add that at the end) into the pot, stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Once you have  a boil, cover the pot and simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

To finish off the soup add about 3-4 drops of liquid smoke (a little goes a long way). You can now add additional salt or let each person add it themselves to their taste. You can freeze leftovers in quart sized plastic zip top bags and just re-heat in the microwave.

This is part of a series of posts on tools that have made my life in the kitchen easier and more productive.

Cast Iron cookware isn’t anything new, it’s been around for hundreds of years. The Lodge company, makes of cast iron cookware, have aren’t new either. They have been around since 1896, making them one of the oldest companies in the United States. If you are looking for classic, all-American cast iron cookware that is reliable and won’t empty your wallet, then Lodge is the way to go. But first, why would you even want some cast iron? It’s not easy to clean and if you don’t take care of it, it can rust up on you. Well my reasons are that cast iron is excellent at heat rention as well as diffusing that heat. I can grill a steak on cast iron and have it taste almost like one grilled on a grill. I can cook some soup and it will stay warm in the pot for a long time. I also like cast iron in that I can go from stovetop to oven without a second thought. One more advantage to cast iron is that it actually adds iron to your food which can be beneficial for those that are in need of more iron in their diet.

Below are the pieces of cast iron that I own from the Lodge company:

1. Dutch Oven

I use my dutch oven to make soups, salisbury steaks, and pot roast. I like that I can brown my meat in that same thing that I am going to use to cook it in (save time on washing dishes).

2. Grill Pan

I use my grill pan to grill anything from steaks to chicken, to even asparagus. I also have used my grill pan inside my oven with the broiler setting on to grill up some eye of round steaks (see my post on how to cook an eye of round steak).

3. Griddle

I use my griddle to cook hamburgers, make tortillas, and english muffins. The griddle has really short edges, making it easy to flip what I am cooking with a spatula.

These are only a few of the cast iron products from Lodge. They also make many other type of dutch ovens, different size and shaped grill pans and griddles, skillets of various sizes, and more!

Last time I bought an entire eye of round roast from the supermarket, I divided it into 1 roast (see my post on cooking an eye of round roast), and 6 steaks. I thought that I would need all six steak to perfect my recipe, but the first time was the charm. The problem I faced when cooking these steaks is that they are not the most tender steak on the cow. They come from the round section. It also a pretty lean steak. So overcooking the steak was my number one concern. I decided that I need to cook this thing as fast as possible with as much firepower as possible (at least possible in my kitchen). Here is what I did.

Instructions

First I took two eye of round steak and marinade them in some worchestershire sauce for about 2 hours. Then I remove the steaks from the marinade, patted them dry with a paper towel, added some a couple heavy pinches of kosher salt and let them reach room temperature. As that was going on, I set my oven to broil and placed inside my cast iron grill pan (see picture at the bottom). I felt this was the best way to cook the steak as quickly as I could.

Once the steak was at room temperature and the oven was ready, I placed the steaks on the cast iron grill pan, shut the door, waited for 2 1/2 minutes, flipped the steaks, waited another 2 1/2 minutes and let my meat rest. This resulted in a nice medium steak (anything beyond with this teak would be just too tough). Times will vary with the oven used and the size of the steak. Trial and error is the only real way to figure out what time works best for you (fortunately I didn’t have any error!). You can always use a instant read thermometer to test if your steak is done to your liking.

One last thing: Do your mouth a favor and don’t forget to cut against the grain!