A medium well done steak should be 140-145 degrees internal temperature. I like my steak medium which is around 130 degrees.

Leaving your dog in the car on a summer day can cook them just like a steak. So, unless you are into authentic Vietnamese dining, DON’T COOK YOUR DOG!

Let me prove my point …

The other day I posted a short PSA about leaving your pets in the car. I had a few comments and some professional advice. In one of my replies I compared the interior temperature of my light colored vehicle quickly became dangerous in just 10 minutes. I likened it to the recommended internal temperature of a steak. At 140 degrees we’re talking MEDIUM WELL DONE!

That got me thinking … you can imagine where this is headed.

I took a completely frozen steak from the chest freezer, opened the bag, sprinkled a little salt and pepper and closed the bag again.I placed it up on a cooking cooling rack and set it on the center armrest of my vehicle. At the time, the outside temperature was 84. The sun was now shining. At no time did the sun shine directly on the armrest.

Within an hour, the steak went from frozen solid to 87 degrees. Then my experiment went a bit wonky because it became very overcast for the rest of the day. Even still, after 3 hours of mostly overcast, I removed the steak from the bag and it had a very respectable internal temperature of 126 degrees !

The steak has no grill marks so it looks a little less "restaurant worthy" than my usual cooking but I can tell you it is delicious. I will run this test again on a sunny day and start with a thawed steak. My expectation is it will cook completely within 60-90 minutes.

Don’t let this happen to you family pets !

The craziness of this is eclipsed by the fact it works !

Put a baking sheet on the bottom of the oven then place all the eggs you need cooked directly on the oven rack, the baking sheet will catch any broken eggs for easy cleanup. I’ve never had an egg break yet but this is just in case.

Bake the eggs at 325°F. for half an hour (do not preheat).

Take the eggs out of the oven then put them directly into a big bowl of very cold water (with ice added). This will stop the eggs from cooking and make them easier to peel too.

Source: Tipnut

I just tried this for myself. The "event" looks as strange as you would imagine

The results are great !

I was recently asked for my recipe for Lobster Stew so here it is … but, since the recipe is so short, I am throwing in a couple family stories to make it interesting.

Let’s start with "why" we have lobster stew for Christmas dinner. IT all goes back to an unfortunate incident from my days in high school. Our hose was burglarized not once but twice (by the same guy) and one of the casualties was our small set of family silver ware. Between what the thief missed and what the police recovered, we were left with soup spoons, salad forks and one butter knife.

When it came time for planning the holiday dinner that year, my mother asked what I wanted to serve. I replied, "whatever we have, I want to use the family silver." Well, my mother, being creative, decided we could still have the traditional Waldorf Salad and we could have biscuits. The main course would be Lobster Stew. That was over twenty years ago and we still have the same holiday meal and we still use the family silver.

The recipe is also a family story. Many yeas ago, I took over cooking the holiday meals – from Thanksgiving thru Easter. Lobster Stew is not a difficult recipe. The challenge is that the recipe dates back to when you always got fresh whole lobsters and all the big and little bits you scavenged from the legs, claws, and carcass. I had settled on buying lobster meat from the local fish market because the holidays tended to get a bit crazy. I was getting rave reviews from my stew so I was reticent to let on to my secret. I was adding a pound of crabmeat. It added some flavor but mostly it added body and texture to the stew.

I thought I was so cleaver for adding the crab meat. It was many years later, when my grandmother passed and I claimed her prized cookbook with all of her notes and adjustments and iterations she had made to Marjorie’s recipes.

I opened up the cookbook to tuck my little secret recipe inside and found all of my grandmother’s notes for Lobster Stew. She had notes on different sized services, and bowls, and everything. And there, in her handwriting, right next to the original recipe was her little secret "CRABMEAT" !

In the photo, the post-it note shows my recipe stock in the upper right corner next to the original recipe in Marjorie Standish’s cookbook (the first edition that my grandmother had and was signed by her friend, the author) and all of my grandmother’s notes.

So, two generates apart. Two kitchens apart. The same secret

Well, since the secret is now out and it turns out it was not my secret to begin with, here is the recipe for Lobster Stew …

Ingredients:

• 1-3/4 lb lobster meat broken into small chucks and bits
• 1 lb crabmeat
• 1 lb butter (I use unsalted and control the salt as needed)
• 2 tbsp of "coral" (the cooked eggs of a female lobster)
• 2 cups light cream (you can use all whole milk if you prefer)
• 6 cups whole milk

Cooking:

• Melt the butter in a large pot (large enough to take all the ingredients)
• Mash the coral into the butter. Leave on low heat for 15 minutes. The goal here is to turn the butter pink and red. Turn off the heat.
• Add the lobster and the crabmeat. Stir and let stand for an hour. If you are making a lot of stew, you can freeze at this stage before adding the milk.
• Return the pot to low heat and add the milk and light cream. Simmer for 30 minutes but do not let it boil. Taste and season with kosher salt. Ground pepper is not recommended but that’s up to you. Remove from heat and move the pot to the refrigerator.
• Lobster Stew really needs to sit over night and can remain in the refrigerator for up to 3 days as long as you don’t double dip.
• An hour before service, reheat the stew, again simmer and do not let it boil.

Serve with fresh biscuits.

If you’re a serious Espresso, Americano, Latte, or Mocha drinker then you probably have an Espresso maker (and if you are headed down that dark path there are some suggestions at the end of this post). But what if you just want that little something special to relax with while you lounge with your Sunday paper? If you have a single serving French Press you can have your cake and eat it too!

You’ll need some Espresso (Pilon is easy and cheap), some chocolate syrup (I’ve tried some expensive stuff but Smuckers Chocolate or Caramel syrup from the ice cream section works great – just don’t get the ‘sugar free’ stuff as it congeals – yuck), some whole or canned milk, and your usual ground coffee.

Place half as much ground coffee as you typically use for a single serving into the French Press. Add double that amount of espresso grind. For a Mocha or Latte add half the usual amount of boiling water (for an Americano, use the full amount of water). Let it steep for about a minute then slowly press.

The science is that the regular coffee grounds float to the top in the press and act as an ultra fine filter which traps the Espresso grinds from passing through the press’s mesh filter.

You’re Americano is ready to enjoy. You’re Latte or Mocha needs a little more work. For the Mocha, now is the time to add the syrup.

The final step is the frothed milk. And here again you’ll use the French Press. Clean out the French Press and pour in about 3 ounces of milk. Pump the handle quickly for about 15-20 seconds. You’ll know to stop when the milk stops splashing inside the Press. (The sound will change too.). For a Latte just spoon off the top. For a Mocha, you may need to microwave it for a few seconds. (My little French Press is glass and plastic so I just remove the plunger and pop it in for 10-15 seconds.)

It may sound like too much work but it all takes less than 5 minutes. If you have the large French Press, you can do Lattes and Mochas for a brunch!

As for recommendations on Espresso makers, a few have been mentioned in the past. Here are those from me and from commenters …

• a moka pot – the Bialetti is commonly available
• an espresso press – these are gaining in popularity with the introduction of the AeroPress (which I broke down and ordered and will let you know how I like it)
• a semi automatic Espresso machine – I have an old Starbucks Barista that has served me well and the DeLonghi is popular and less expensive
• a high end manual espresso machine – I was lucky enough to receive a La Pavoni Europiccola which, while a bit more labor, makes a stunning and very authentic Espresso (when I want an Espresso and nothing else, this is my choice)
• a fully automatic espresso machine – I don’t have one but one of the small local coffee shop uses something similar to a Bosch Benventuto.

Having experimented with bagel recipes for a couple weeks, I’ve brought together the best suggestions, along with some hard learned lessons for making bagels. Separate from the recipe, I have also decided that the traditional shape is a legacy and not one I feel compelled to observe. Hence, I make "Bagel Flats".

My recipe and the directions below are more detailed than most I have authored. This is in part because I have found I need every step. After a few near misses, the keys are

1. the slow rise created by the small amount of yeast and high amount of flour
2. the generous use of oil on both the pan, brushed on the dough, and the parchment
3. applying the toppings and then flipping the dough "bottom side up" for the first 5 minutes of baking

So, without further ramblings, here is my recipe for Bagel Flats …

Base Ingredients

• 4 c bread flour (scoop and scrape measure method, not sifted)
• 10 oz water (warm)
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 Tbs honey
• 1 egg

Additional Ingredients

• 1/2 c wheat germ
• 1/4 c flax meal
• 1 c spent grain (completely optional)

Prep & Cooking Ingredients

• 1/2 c oil (prefer peanut but canola will work)
• 12 c boiling water
• 2 Tbs sugar

Finishing Ingredients

• sunflower seeds (dry roasted will add a savory flavor vs. plain)
  other options include poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried onion flakes, etc.
• 4 Tbs corn meal

Directions

• in a large mixer with a dough hook, combine 8 ounces of the warm water, with the honey and yeast. Briefly stir with a spoon or spatula to dissolve the honey and mix in the yeast
• let sit for approximately 5 minutes
• add the egg, salt and the "additional ingredients" and start the dough hook on low (first or second setting)
• start to add the flour (it will take longer and longer to incorporate each subsequent cup) – from time to time, it may help to briefly change the mixer speed to release the dough from the hook and/or scrape the bowl
• as needed, drizzle in the remaining 2 ounces of water, a teaspoon at a time
• once all of the flour is added, continue to mix for 5 more minutes, varying the speed to fling the dough off the hook – this period is to kneed the dough and develop the gluten
• place the dough in a lightly oiled a bowl and cover with plastic wrap; place in a warm area until dough doubles in size
• turn the dough out on a large lightly floured board; punch down and start to form a rectangle 3/4 inch thick
• cut dough into 12 equal parts; 6 to 7 inches long – this should yield bars between 2-1/2 and 3 inches wide
• oil two cooking sheets and place bars with at least 1 inch space between
• brush the tops with oil
• cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm area for 20 minutes
• prepare two baking sheets with parchment and brush oil on the parchment; preheat oven to 400 degrees
• in a large pot, bring 12 cups of water with 2 tablespoons of sugar to a boil
• boil the dough pieces, 3 at a time, for 2 minutes then turn them over and cook an addition 1 minute
• using a large slotted spatula or scoop, remove the dough and place on the oiled parchment
• sprinkle any "finishing ingredient" on one side, pat gently to seat, then flip the dough over and dust with corn meal
• place cooking sheets in oven for 5 minutes
• remove; flip dough over to reveal the topping; return to the over; bake and additional 20 minutes until golden in color
• when done baking, remove from pan and place on cooling racks and let sit until room temperature