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 ...

Lombardi’s & Totonno’s Pizza Manhattan New York

Lars Hindsley — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 05:00:00 -0400

Today I’d like to pay homage to good pizza. There is a lot of history behind pizza which I won’t bore you with but there is a type of pizza that is somewhat a dying breed. It is the brick oven or coal oven pizza, not to be confused with wood oven pizza. The lore of New Yorkers tells of a great pizza made in a small corner pizza shop in downtown Manhattan named Lombardi’s.

Lombardi’s is a nice story too. Located in Little Italy at 32nd and Spring Streets. I first visited it back in 2005 when my son and I dropped in on the recommendation of my ex-wife. She had eaten their prior and who knows how she came about the place. But in the end, she told me how great it was and I wanted to know if she was right. I mean, I had to know if a Ukrainian woman really knew pizza! LOL Turns out she did. What she didn’t know to tell me was that I was going to what is rumored to be the oldest Pizza parlor in New York, and more specifically that I would be dining on “coal oven” pizza.

Although Gennaro Lombardi wasn’t the actual maker (pizziolas) of the pizza at first (an employee at his grocery was selling it and it became popular) he did open Lombardi’s Pizza in 1905. His employee later opened his own pizzeria on Coney Island. Thus Anthoney Tontonno stepped out from under the shadow of Gennaro Lombardi to open his own Totonno’s. While the Totonno’s location is still the original location opened in 1924, the Lombardi’s of today is not at its original location (not that either matters). The original Lombardi’s was a block off of 32nd and Spring Street. Totonno’s now has multiple ...

Healthy goes far beyond reading the label

Lars Hindsley — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:07:39 -0400

Healthy goes far beyond reading the label

I eat smart. And while I do have a sweet tooth I make up for it by exercising anytime I eat foods high in calories. I do make sure to never overdue it and I have some rules for myself. The opinions in my article are my opinions and while I use facts to stand on, I'm not insisting I know all about the subject or that I am an authority. I'm just a guy taking care of himself with less than 2 percent body fat.

YOU must be acutely aware of the size ongoing. If it takes reinvesting in smaller dinner plates, do it. Here is one straight from my home, we have a creed, "We are Hindsley's not heathens." We don't eat out of the bag or box. This serves two purposes in my home. It indoctrinates a level of class with my children and it starts them on portion control. How many times have you eaten your way through a whole bag of chips or some other snack? What woman doesn't eat straight out of the ice-cream bucket? Oh!

Do not let someone serve you large portions, your human nature will overdrive your common sense. You will eat more. As an aside, eating slower will also give you a feeling of fullness faster. No one will listen to me on this, but in my day I've learned it to be true.

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 ...

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...

The At Home Food Critic - Fish en Papillote

Lars Hindsley — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 18:34:56 -0400

It’s easy to be a food critic when you eat out. Last evening I was privy to a meal at home that for a change I didn’t fully prepare. So I was not a food critic, but sleeping on it, I’ve decided, why not be a food critic today?

I’ve been at times thought of as a picky eater, which I know to be untrue holding pure disdain for that title. I am a particular eater in that I have some basic eating rules; I stay away from complex carbs when not fine dining. I’ll eat raw fish, mushrooms and snails, frog legs; I love the taste of onions but only minced. Outside of that I’m ready for most anything. Last night was:

Fresh Crab and Brie Bisque

Baby Spinach salad with toasted Pine Nuts and Warm Pancetta Vinaigrette

Orange Roughy en Papillote with Fresh Oranges over Orzo.

What was best here was the combination of light and heavy. The fish with cut asparagus, oranges and red pepper over orzo was light. It was lightly steamed in white wine. What was fascinating was how it was steamed. Each serving was prepped and wrapped in heart shaped parchment paper. How was it steamed? In the oven. While I didn’t participate in the food preparation I did admire the care of which the oranges were cut for presentation. Each bite was best enjoyed with fish, pepper and a slice of the orange. The tastes did not compete, they only mingled and enhanced… Nicely done.

Next was the Crab in a Brie Bisque. Brie is fascinating cheese. If you have not tried it, I must say just experience it ...