Suit & Apron

5 Tips for the perfect risotto - from a first (but not last) time risotto maker

5/4/2021

Hey, it's cheaper than a trip to Italy

Risotto is one of those dishes that conjures up images of fancy restaurants, dinner on a Venetian terrace overlooking the Grand Canal, or if you ever thought of making it yourself before, sweaty foreheads, sore arms from constant stirring, and angst. It has a reputation of being fussy and time consuming, and when people today are looking for good food fast, it oftens gets ignored or forgotten.

Is that reputation of “it's too hard to make at home” fair though? Well, having now made my first ever pot of risotto, I can confidently say that you should take time to slow down and invest time into making that perfect pot of rice. And as much as I like hyperbole, I'm not hyperbolizing when I say it was probably one of the most satisfying and comforting dishes I’ve made in quite a while. That said, there are definitely some tips I want to share if you too are considering making it yourself one day.

Here are my top five tips for a perfect risotto.

Let’s dive in.

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Sticky Oven Barbecue Ribs - How to make bbq ribs in your oven

1/18/2021

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Yeah, this is going to require more than just a few napkins

Few foods get people’s opinions fired up like barbecue. Whether you like beef and the sweet tomato-y sauces of Texas and Kansas City, vinegary sauce and pork heavy focus of the Carolinas, or mustard sauces of Georgia, everyone has their favorites. Same goes for people's favorite barbecue dish - pulled pork and brisket are big stars, but for me, my favorite dish is barbecue ribs.

If you have ever seen barbecue being made however, you probably know it is also a labor of love to do it well. Unfortunately, I don’t have somewhere I can set up a smoker, spend hours feeding wood into it, and constantly monitor it to make sure the temperature stays just right. No, I have an apartment in the city and not even a balcony at the moment.

This got me thinking however - how can I make delicious barbecue ribs at home in my apartment kitchen? Well, after much reading, experimenting, and asking actual pitmasters, I think I have found a way to make some darn good barbecue baby back ribs at home using just your oven. Yup, no barrel smoker, no Big Green Egg, no tending a fire for 8+ hours - just the magic fire box already in your kitchen. Sound intriguing?

Let’s dive in.

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5 Ways to Step Up Your Coffee Game

10/28/2020

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Politics and religion are two things that people generally say should be kept out of dinner conversation (unless you enjoy a nice argument and seeing people squirm). But if you want to, ahem, spice up your next gathering, ask your coffee loving friends how they like to prepare their coffee. Between bean varieties, grinders, brewing methods, and seemingly 5,000 other factors, coffee devotees can and do get into very heated discussions on how to make what they consider an ideal cup of coffee.

I consider myself very much an in betweener, where I have adopted some methods to improve my coffee skills (freshly grinding beans for example) but eschewing others because of cost, time, or let’s be perfectly honest here, laziness (no pour overs for me). Over the years, I think I’ve prioritized for me the most impactful ways to maximize coffee pleasure with the minimal amount of extra work. Work smarter, not harder, right? So for my fellow inbetweeners and aspiring inbetweeners, what can you do to up your coffee game with the minimal amount of extra effort or cost?

Let’s find out.

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Quick Bites: Ginger Scallion Sauce and Herb Nuoc Cham

7/12/2020

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Some of the best food I’ve ever eaten are also some of the simplest - a beautiful roast chicken, greens stir fried with garlic, and even toast with plenty of butter are some of my go-to simple pleasure foods. I also love simple dishes because they are the perfect pallets to build on with fun sauces and bold flavors.

Now that we’re also in the thick of summer, bright sauces featuring lots of fresh herbs and citrus and that can be served cold are my go-to. Today I'm going to focus on two sauces which I think are perfect to go with your next summer meal - ginger-scallion sauce and my herb-filled take on a Vietnamese nuoc cham (Nước chấm).

Let's dive in.

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Roasted Vegetables are Here to Stay

5/3/2020

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Needs some bread, but hey, it's the best stock photo I could find

COVID-19 and quarantine has really changed the way I shop and cook. Like you, I’m trying to minimize trips to the grocery store and I’m buying much more food at once than I usually do. Once home, I’m also trying to find ways to cook up big batches of food that I can easily pack up and have ready in my fridge to heat up during the week. With bulk buying and bulk cooking on my mind, my oven has become a bit of a star recently. These past few weeks, my favorite way to cook up big batches of vegetables with minimal cleanup has been roasting them on sheet trays.

Roasted vegetables you say? Groundbreaking.

I know I know. It looks and sounds like a simple method, but there are still a few tips that I like to follow to make sure the process is as easy and quick as possible and minimize cleanup. I mean, who wouldn't want that?

Let’s take a look

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5 Tips for the perfect risotto - from a first (but not last) time risotto maker

Sticky Oven Barbecue Ribs - How to make bbq ribs in your oven

5 Ways to Step Up Your Coffee Game

Quick Bites: Ginger Scallion Sauce and Herb Nuoc Cham

Roasted Vegetables are Here to Stay

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