Another Lousy Day In Paradise

Men's Advice - Broiling a Steak - Quick Manly Meal

Lars Hindsley — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:29:11 -0400

Assuming guys that you have a good steak to start with there are two major factors to consider aside from how rare or well done you like your steak.

1. How high your rack is to the fire.

2. Resting your steak

If you screw up everything else these two things can still produce a great tasting juicy steak.

I'll keep this simple. I'm not writing about grilling a steak, although some people will grill a steak then broil it for a finish. For a straight up broil understand that just like in grilling you flip once. If you flip it more than once you will lose out.

I use a glass broiling dish. Drizzle in some olive oil. Coat both sides if you like. Salt both sides, pepper both sides and that is all you reall ever need to bring out great taste from a great steak. If you have a sub-par steak then you may want to coat it with some Spanish paprika for some kick along with a dash of celery salt and onion salt. To produce a great taste throw in some chopped carrots, trust me it makes a difference.

Broil on the top rack. Remember to have the oven on broil guys. Not high bake. The broiler cooks from the top to sear your meat. You should only need broil your steak from two to four minutes on each side. Just keep an eye on it. You want it a slightly crispy texture on the surface not all the way through. The pink inside is NOT a bad thing and will not mean your steak is fatty or hard to cut. It is actually opposite. Also, having some pink in side means you have flavor!

To lock in flavor you must let your steak rest. This ...

Men's Advice - Open Faced Sandwiches

Lars Hindsley — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 07:00:00 -0500

Here is a tip to you men. Want to impress a lady with your cultured personality? Yes, this means you may need to develop a cultured personality. To do this it means you are open to new and different things. Sometimes it means subtle changes to the norm which show you are not like the average Joe.

Take the sandwich for instance. Do you really think something so simple can’t take on a bit of culture? And what is more, a subtle change to the sandwich may introduce you to a whole new world of taste.

Have you heard of open faced sandwiches? On a recent trip (not very recent) I learned of them. To sum them up succinctly, an open face sandwich has one, not two slices of bread, and they allow you to taste what is generally tucked inside. Your taste buds are prohibited from enjoying all they can!

Open faced sandwiches are common north western Europe in countries such as Norway and Holland. You can expect to find them in Paris to Vienna (Hot Antipasto, yum!). Some regional open faced sandwiches such as Mediterranean Open Faced Sandwich are hard to beat. There is also the one time Russian favorite, Butterbrot, featuring a grey rye bread.

Speaking of Rye bread, some are toasted and if you use a rye bread, but sure to heat it by toasting it a bit. This triggers the flavor of the seeded rye bread. Broiled open faced versions are delicious.

Another staple ingredient is the tomato. Gentlemen if you have not developed an appreciation for the tomato, you will come off as a “picky” eater to women. You DO NOT WANT this. Unless your ...

How to make Sangria - A great party drink

Lars Hindsley — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 11:40:10 -0500

Years ago I ate in Mexican restaruant in Atlanta that served Sangria. The drink was delicious with the Tex Mex style food they served. I later called them up and asked for the recipe. For years since I've served Sangria at festive parties in our home. From SuperBowl parties to birthday parties for the adults. I always get one or two friend asking for the recipe. This is a drink I make maybe once or twice a year. Here it is...

Buttermilk Baked Chicken

Lars Hindsley — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 20:32:15 -0400

http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=8eecb276b490f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_kw=breaded%20baked%20chicken&rsc=ns2006_r7#

So why isn’t it low carb? I made baked potatoes too. LOL Along with cut corn and biscuits, my boys loved it. I always know when great, Dalton gets down from his seat, comes over to me and gives me a big hug right during the meal and says, “I love you dad.” Now the first couple times he did this I was impressed. Now I’m simply amazed. But I assure you, I know when I’ve made a great meal by his standards! And frankly, I have to agree with him. Some nights the food is seasoned just right or the balance of what is mixed is just zesty enough... I wonder if he’ll be a cook.

Of course not to be outdone, Declan will then follow up with, “He’s right dad, this is great.” Or “He’s right dad, you did great tonight.” more...

Raspberry Cereal

Lars Hindsley — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 06:00:00 -0400

Don't ya just want a mouthful? There is more than just one secret ingredient to a good raspberry cereal. It's not just the raspberries, it’s not just the table sugar. We put a bit of vanilla extract, confectionary sugar and sprinkle some cinnamon on top. The glass of concord grape juice makes a nice side. If you are not on a diet, cream milk will really make it a winner.

You can also substitute your raspberries with cut strawberries or another favorite fruit. I've gone with pineapple and kiwi too. I don't think watermelon will work though, go with some common sense. ;)

The best authentic home made soft pretzel recipe - and pretzel dogs too!

Lars Hindsley — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 17:12:50 -0400

SOFT PRETZEL RECIPE - WELL SUITED FOR PRETZEL DOGS

I’m a full-time father. In our home you need to find new and interesting things to do all the time. One great activity is cooking together. With two young boys I found that baking is one of the better activities we enjoy as a group and they get to see what they’ve made ...and eat what they create. Take for instance soft pretzels. I’ve been working on this recipe and as I improve it, I’ll repost this article with better modified instructions.

LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES

Let me give you a bit of background. I’ve been at this recipe for weeks now. There were two problems I had immediately upon my first batch which took time to figure out the solution. One was color, my pretzels were white, they didn’t look like Auntie Anne’s or even the cheap ones in the mall! My second issue was taste and texture. They tasted bland and were dense in texture.

This recipe is bulletproof. The taste is honestly similar to an Auntie Anne style pretzel as is the texture. They are brown all the way around too. So take heart folks, if you’ve already bumped your nose on Internet recipes that don’t deliver, look no further.

I’ve found no matter what recipe I’ve started with over time, the ones that are outstanding or really delicious are the ones using the lye dipping solution, I’ll get to that. I do know I have some keys to making your pretzels come close to the type you taste from Auntie Anne’s and how you can have a great experience in baking. This recipe calls for Occidental ...