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Are you in the process of moving into a new house? If so, it’s important to take some time to make sure your family is safe. Inspecting the locks of your home is usually the first thing that comes to mind. Keyless entry solutions are considered to be the best way to keep your home safe. You should also consider investing in a home security system that can detect burglars, fire, and water leaks.

A crucial aspect of home safety that is often overlooked is checking for potential fire hazards. Make sure your smoke alarms are in working order and keep flammable items like matches and lighters out of reach of children. It’s also important to have an evacuation plan in case of a fire emergency.

Additionally, be mindful of potential environmental hazards. Test your water for lead, check for mold growth in damp areas, and properly dispose of any chemicals or pesticides. Keeping these considerations in mind will help ensure the safety and well-being of you and your family in your new home.

Here is a list of things you can do to ensure your home is as safe as possible.

  1. Have your home inspected by a professional to identify any potential problems
  2. Have all door and window locks inspected and have the locksmith change the front door locks
  3. Check for lead paint and asbestos in the home before you buy it
  4. Install carbon monoxide detectors in each room of the house
  5. Make sure all of your fire extinguishers are up-to-date and properly functioning
  6. Get a security system installed to keep your family safe while you’re away
  7. Create a disaster preparedness plan in case of an emergency
  8. Check the age of the home and whether it has been updated with safety features
  9. Check the age of the home and whether it has been updated with safety features
  10. Look for potential fire hazards, such as faulty wiring or overloaded outlets
  11. Make sure there is a working smoke detector in every room
  12. Check that all windows and doors can be opened and closed easily
  13. Inspect the yard for any potential dangers, such as sharp edges or poisonous plants
  14. Ask about the neighborhood – is it safe to walk around at night, etc.?
  15. Check the crime rate in the neighborhood
  16. Make sure there is a fire station nearby
  17. See if there are any registered sex offenders living in the area
  18. Ask if the house has been updated with newer safety features, such as carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms
  19. Find out how long it would take for emergency services to respond to your address in case of an emergency
  20. Drive or walk around the neighborhood during different times of day to get a feel for what it’s like living there

 

We often don’t cook steaks at home because they are less juicy than in restaurants. In fact, making the perfect steak at home is a snap if you know the secrets and subtleties.

Mastering the art of making juicy and mouth-watering steaks is easy. The main thing is to strictly follow several rules and remember the difficulties that both beginners and regulars of the kitchen may encounter.

  1. The steak should only be prepared with fresh, chilled meat. The meat is usually brought to room temperature before frying. If the steak has been frozen, leave it in the refrigerator overnight. Wipe the meat dry before starting the cooking process.
  2. The width of the meat is also very important. Ideally, this is a piece of 2.5 to 4 centimeters.
  3. If you cut the meat yourself and at home, then it is worth remembering one simple rule: cut it strictly across the fibers.
  4. For steak, use a heavy skillet or grill pan. They make it easier for you to control the temperature and the frying process in general.
  5. It is important to preheat the pan correctly. It should be very hot, but not smoke. Otherwise, the meat will burn on the outside before it has time to cook on the inside. The steak should sizzle as it touches the surface of the pan.
  6. It is better to start frying meat at high temperatures, and then switch to lower ones. This will ensure even roasting and prevent the meat from losing its flavor and color.
  7. Typically, cook a medium-rare steak for 4 minutes on each side. Meat with the blood takes 1-3 minutes. A fully fried steak is fried for 3 minutes on each side over high heat and then cooked until fully cooked for 6-8 minutes. However, you should still carefully monitor the meat, because the cooking time can vary depending on several factors.
  8. The steak can be flipped frequently. This will ensure even frying, and the edges of the steak will not dry with this technique. If you decide to turn it over rarely, only 2-4 times during the cooking process, then the final result will be a beautiful lattice pattern. However, only if you are grilling the steak.
  9. You can check the readiness of the steak with your fingers. To do this, lightly press down on the steak with your fingertip. The bloody steak is soft and pliable to the touch; well done – hard; medium roast is a cross between the two previous options.
  10. After the meat is ready, you need to remove it with special cooking tongs and leave for 10-15 minutes. If you are afraid that the steak will cool, then use food foil. You should not neglect this rule, because this is the only way to get a really juicy, mouth-watering, and delicious dinner.
  11. The steak is best served on warm plates. Knives must be sharply sharpened.

It’s actually pretty easy to make a great steak. The main thing is to be attentive to the process. For a truly perfect steak, follow the six basic rules.

  1. Remove the steak from the refrigerator 15-20 minutes before cooking.
  2. Blot the meat with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.
  3. Season with salt and pepper and let sit at room temperature for 10-20 minutes.
  4. Prepare your grill for direct high heat (230-290 ° C).
  5. Cook the steak for 1 minute per centimeter of thickness on each side (that is, if the steak is 3 cm thick, then 3 minutes on each side). This will give you a medium-rare steak.
  6. Remove the steak from the grill and let it “rest” on the board as much as you grilled it (read our other article on why steaks need “rest”). Season it again with salt and pepper to taste, and then serve.

Filet mignon, ribeye, chateaubriand … Even if you are not a “meat-eater”, then from these words, for sure, you want to immediately eat a delicious and juicy steak. Where to buy the right meat, how to cook it, and what to serve with – we asked the chefs of fashionable Moscow restaurants.

  1. For the preparation of marbled steaks (Ribeye, Striploin, New York), you need to use a minimum amount of oil, giving preference to olive oil. The cooking technology is quite simple. Place the meat in a well-heated frying pan and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side, then reduce the heat to low, cover the steak with a lid and let it stand for another 1-2 minutes. Please note that the longer we leave the steak covered, the higher the degree of doneness will be. For marbled steaks, medium to medium-well roast is best. At the end of cooking, you can add garlic, rosemary, thyme, or chili pepper.
  2. Lean tenderloin steaks (Mignon, Chateaubriand) are prepared using the same technology, but with a lot of oil. After we fry the steak on both sides and it acquires a golden crust, add butter to the pan and reduce the temperature to medium. We continue to fry the meat in a mixture of butter and olive oil, constantly pouring it with the juice that comes out of the steak itself. This will give the steak the correct finish.
  3. The degree of readiness of meat is perceived differently by everyone. For some, meat with blood is ready, for others it is unacceptable. So rely on your taste here. You can also use a thermal needle (electronic probe) or, even easier, cut into the middle piece of meat. You can also determine with the help of your hand (this method is usually used by chefs since incised meat in a restaurant indicates the low skill of a brazier chef).
  4. And one more simple way: If you spread your palm, relax your hand and press with the index finger of your other hand on the soft area between the thumb and the base of the palm, then you will understand how raw meat feels to the touch. If you squeeze the tips of your index finger and thumb, the muscle on the thumb will tense a little – this is the feel of Medium Rare meat. If you lightly press the tip of your middle finger against the tip of your thumb, it will feel like Medium roast meat. Connecting the tip of your ring finger to your thumb will tighten the muscle even more. The same should be the meat prepared by Medium Well. Place your thumb on your little finger and touch a muscle to see how well-done meat will be.
  5. Depending on the type of meat, you can serve a different side dish to it. If we are talking about steaks, then vegetables are best suited here: baked, stewed, grilled, or in the form of various mashed potatoes from celery, potatoes, or pumpkin. Also, meat goes well with cereals: white rice, lentils, or buckwheat. Meat can also be served with new peeled potatoes, fried with onions and cherry tomatoes. Sweet and sour sauces made from wild berries are also perfect for meat.

Cooking the perfect juicy steak at home “like in a restaurant” is the cherished dream of many hostesses. However, after several unsuccessful experiments with making “rubber soles” instead of soft pink meat, it is so easy to despair and abandons this venture forever. But you just need to use the tips of the professionals and take into account all the subtleties.

Mastering the art of making juicy and mouth-watering steaks is not difficult. The main thing is to strictly follow several rules and remember the difficulties that both beginners and regulars of the kitchen may encounter.

  1. The steak should only be prepared with fresh, chilled meat. If the steak has been frozen, leave it in the refrigerator overnight.
  2. The meat is usually brought to room temperature before frying. Before frying, the meat should “warm-up” at room temperature for 1–2 hours. This way you will not only achieve even browning but will also be able to more easily control its degree.
  3. Control the dryness of the meat. In order not to smoke the entire kitchen and to fry the steak evenly, the surface of the meat should be perfectly dry. Wipe the meat dry before starting the cooking process.
  4. Use kitchen paper towels for this and never wash the meat before cooking.
  5. The width of the meat is also very important. Ideally, this is a piece of 2.5 to 4 centimeters.
  6. If you cut the meat yourself and at home, then it is worth remembering one simple rule: cut it strictly across the fibers.
  7. Don’t cook too many pieces at once. No more than 2 steaks should be laid out on 1 pan, otherwise, the surface temperature will drop sharply, and the meat, instead of golden brown, will begin to release juice.
  8. The result is a cooked steak, not a juicy one.
  9. Season the meat well. When it comes to spices, there is absolutely no need to be shy, because in many ways the very taste of a restaurant steak is due precisely to the generous amount of salt and pepper.
  10. Just before placing the cuts of meat in the preheated skillet, pepper them generously and salt on 2 sides, then proceed to fry.
  11. For steak, use a heavy skillet or grill pan. They make it easier for you to control the temperature and the frying process in general.
  12. For the perfect striped steak, use the cast iron ribbed grill pan. Dry and heat well until a slight haze appears. It is better to fry the steak itself without oil, otherwise, the whole kitchen will be covered with smoke.
  13. If the pan is not cast iron, then it is important to preheat the pan correctly. It should be very hot, but not smoke. Otherwise, the meat will burn on the outside before it has time to cook on the inside. The steak should sizzle when it comes into contact with the surface of the pan.
  14. It is better to start frying meat at high temperatures, and then switch to lower ones. This will ensure even roasting and prevent the meat from losing its flavor and color.
  15. When frying, the protein – primarily on the surface of the piece of meat – curls up and blocks the drainage of the liquid. Therefore, the meat is first quickly fried at a high temperature and then brought to a condition at a lower temperature.
  16. Typically, cook a medium-rare steak for 4 minutes on each side.
  17. Meat with the blood takes 1-3 minutes.
  18. Fully fried steak is fried for 3 minutes on each side over high heat and then cooked until fully cooked for 6-8 minutes.
  19. However, you should still carefully monitor the meat, because the cooking time can vary depending on several factors. When the steak reaches a temperature of 40 ° C, proteins begin to break down, then, after 50 ° C, collagen shrinks, at 70 ° C the meat ceases to retain oxygen and becomes gray. Cutting across the grain allows high-temperature streams to pass through the piece of meat. After the steak has been removed from the heat, it continues to heat up from the inside.
  20. The steak can be flipped frequently. This will ensure even frying, and the edges of the steak will not dry with this technique. If you decide to turn it over rarely, only 2-4 times during the cooking process, then the final result will be a beautiful lattice pattern. However, only if you are grilling the steak.
  21. And if you want to get a beautiful mesh on the surface of the steak, first fry the piece for 1.5 minutes, then turn it 90 degrees and hold it in the pan for another 30–45 seconds. Then follow the same procedure on the other side.
  22. Forget about forks. To prevent the juice from leaking out of our perfect steak, turn it over with culinary tongs, not with a fork.
  23. You can check the readiness of the steak with your fingers. To do this, lightly press down on the steak with your fingertip. The bloody steak is soft and pliable to the touch; well done – hard; medium roast is a cross between the two previous options.
  24. Bring the steak until tender. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees and after browning the steak on both sides, use the tongs to place the meat in a baking dish. Cover the tin with foil and bake for 10-12 minutes for filet mignon or 7-8 minutes for flat steaks.
  25. Remove the meat from the oven and, without removing the foil, hold for 10-15 minutes at room temperature, then serve.
  26. You should not neglect this rule, because this is the only way to get a really juicy, mouth-watering, and delicious dinner.
  27. The steak is best served on warm plates. Knives must be sharply sharpened.

For many, steak is chicken, pork, lamb, fried in a pan or charcoal. However, we need just beef – juicy, with a rich taste. Everything else is an attempt to replace marbled meat.

By the way, how do you get it? To do this, the bulls are fed their fill for 4-6 months. How long the animal will have a feast for the whole world depends on the category that is later assigned to the carcasses. For example, prime is a real benchmark from which great steaks are made. The most popular product is chosen, followed by select. Most restaurateurs use choice – this is the best option: it is moderately greasy, moderately tender.

  1. For cooking, you need to take only fresh meat. It should be chilled. Leave it to lie down just before grilling to warm it up to room temperature.
  2. We remind you: the dish in question can only be made from beef. Other options (lamb, pork, chicken, fish) can also be grilled, but this does not make them a steak.
  3. The ideal thickness for portions is 2.5 to 4 cm.
  4. If you have uncut marbled meat, it doesn’t matter. It must be cut strictly across the fibers.
  5. Tender pieces are prepared from the back muscles – the least loaded.

There are many quick desserts available. But we have selected some of the simplest and most popular for you. What can you quickly cook from delicious food?

  1. For example, a layered dessert made from fruits, pieces of cookies, cream, mascarpone. Just lay out all the ingredients in layers in a glass and serve. Such desserts are based on the trifle, beloved by the British. When preparing a puff dessert, you can safely experiment with the ingredients.
  2. A light and tasty dessert is also a smoothie, which can be prepared from a variety of berries and fruits. Curd and berry mousses can also be made in 10 minutes.
  3. One of the popular quick desserts is chocolate-covered fruits, or fruits with cream. The original dessert is stuffed strawberries. It is enough to prepare strawberry cups and invite the children to fill them with mascarpone cheese and sprinkle with almond crumbs.
  4. Instead of slicing fruit, you can surprise loved ones with an original dessert. To do this, take a pear and cut it into round thin slices. Mix curd with sour cream. Now coat all the pear slices, rebuilding it in the required sequence. As a result, you will get a pear tower, with layers of cottage cheese and sour cream.
  5. You can go even further and make a real berry soup! Children and adults will also appreciate it. Sweet berry soup can be made from fresh berries or frozen.

Delicious steaks are made only from the rib and lumbar parts of the carcass. So that the meat does not deform during frying, it must be on the bone, and layers of fat are needed for the taste. The ideal option is a piece of beef from the lumbar part of the carcass on a T-bone. It is called a short loin and contains a thin edge of the dorsal muscle with a soft notch. We advise you not to waste time looking for it in stores but order it from a butcher in the market. In this case, you will have to cut the meat into steaks yourself with a hacksaw, but we think that this is a slight inconvenience compared to the deliciousness that will turn out.

  1. You can cook steaks from fresh meat, but they will turn out to be harsh and not fragrant. In steak houses, cuts are exposed for a long time, up to 4 weeks, in refrigeration chambers at low humidity, good ventilation, and temperatures close to zero. This process is called “dry” maturation. During it, meat enzymes destroy connective tissue fibers and some proteins, it loses excess moisture. As a result, completely different meat is obtained: tender, rich in flavoring, and aromatic substances. Frying it is a real pleasure.
  2. Pickled and defrosted meat is not suitable for “dry” ripening: changes have taken place in it, due to which ripening becomes impossible.
  3. Before cooking, cut off the dried “crust” if you have meat after “dry” aging, and let it warm up to room temperature: a cold steak will take longer and unevenly to grill. Cut the meat across the grain into pieces at least 2.5 cm thick. One steak should weigh between 500 and 800 g. Before frying, brush the meat with vegetable oil – it will be juicier.
  4. The actual roasting: press the piece against the wire rack for a short time so that the “classic” stripes appear on it. Fry one side for 2-5 minutes, then use tongs or a spatula to turn the meat over to the other side. To check if the steak is ready, do not poke the steak with a knife or fork over and over again to prevent the juice from leaking out. Do this once in the fourth minute, and if the meat is not tender enough, hold the steak for another minute or one and a half.
  5. When the steaks are ready, cover them with foil and let them rest. Let them get to the condition due to the internal heat.

Cooking salads is not difficult. But this process can be made even easier and more convenient. There are many helpful hints and tips for cooking, cleaning, slicing and stacking food. Today we will introduce you to the most interesting life hacks.

  1. To arrange a salad “like in a restaurant”, you can use an ordinary plastic water bottle as an improvised means. It is cut off at both ends – a tube is obtained. The form is placed on a flat plate and the products are laid out in the desired sequence. Pick up the tube with a gentle scrolling motion.
  2. Before grating the cheese, grease the grater with vegetable oil. As a result, the pieces of cheese will not stick together, and the grater can be easily washed.
  3. If you need to coat a layer of cheese in a salad with mayonnaise or sour cream, but first, it is better to gently crush it with wet hands. In this case, the grated cheese will not stick to the spoon, and it will be convenient and easy to grease.
  4. If the greens had time to wither by the time the salad was prepared, then you can reanimate them by alternately lowering them into hot water and immediately into cold water.
  5. For salads, potatoes are often boiled in their skins. To prevent the peel of this vegetable from cracking, it is recommended to add vinegar to the water – just a few drops.
  6. Beets for salads are usually cooked for a very long time – about two hours. To shorten this time, boil the beets without vinegar for 50-60 minutes. After that, the hot broth is drained and the vegetable is poured with new cold water. Another 20 minutes and the beets are ready.
  7. Carrots and green peas will retain their beautiful vibrant color when boiled in sweetened water.
  8. So that in the morning after eating garlic salad you do not smell of its smell, you need to remove the green sprout from the garlic cloves during cooking.
  9. The onion will not slide on the cutting board when finely sliced if you leave a “tail” on it from which the green feathers grow. For it, you can hold the onion, and then discard the “tail”.
  10. Small onions and garlic are sometimes poorly peeled. To facilitate this matter, they are first immersed in water for a couple of minutes.
  11. It is preferable to cut raw vegetables on a plastic cutting board, as it does not absorb juices, unlike wooden ones.
  12. If mayonnaise is not at hand, then it can be made from sour cream. To do this, add the yolk of a boiled egg and a spoonful of mustard to it. The yolk is thoroughly ground, and the mustard is added to taste.
  13. To clean boiled eggs without any problems, you need to add salt to the water when boiling them. As a result, the shell will peel off easily.

It is not at all necessary to book a table in a steakhouse to taste a steak, because cooking it at home is not as difficult as many might think. You just need to remember a few rules for preparing this dish:

  1. The first and, perhaps, the main point is choosing the right meat. You cannot cook a medium-rare steak from pork or chicken. It is only beef. When choosing meat, you should pay attention to the breed and age of the animal. In most cases, the market sells the meat of an elderly cow that gave milk during its lifetime. Such meat is suitable only for stewing, as it is quite tough and does not have “marble” veins.
  2. For steaks, cuts of special breeds of gobies, for example, Black Angus, are suitable. These animals lead a sedentary lifestyle and are specially fed (grass or grain). The breed in combination with a special diet allows us to buy marbled beef – it is tender meat with thin layers of fat.
  3. The beefsteak must not be frozen. Ideally, this will damage the fibers of the meat during the freezing and thawing process, and as a result, it becomes less juicy. But if the beef steak has been frozen correctly (blast chilled at a very low temperature) and thawed just as correctly (in the refrigerator), then you can still make a decent meal.
  4. Don’t buy fresh meat. The cut must go through a wet or dry maturation stage, then the meat is fermented, softened and its taste will be much improved. For steaks, we recommend buying dry-aged beef.
  5. Do not cook all cuts in the same way. For example, the classic rib-eye steak does not require any preliminary intervention, while the alternative Flank steak should be softened with a marinade.
  6. Once you’ve selected and purchased the right meat, dry it off with paper towels. Before sending the cut to the pan, it must be dried so that the evaporating droplets of moisture do not transfer from the frying process to stewing.
  7. An important rule of thumb: Only cook aged beef steaks that have reached room temperature. So there will be no sharp drop and the meat will retain more juices. Salt should be immediately before cooking, or at least 40 minutes before, by including salt in the marinade. Make sure to pepper the marbled beef steak. Do not feel sorry for dry spices, as they crumble during cooking. If you are cooking a medium-rare steak in a skillet or grill pan, do not pour oil on the surface. Just brush on the cut with a cooking brush; that should be enough.
  8. The best way to cook a medium-rare steak for the first time is to get a cooking thermometer. The temperature inside the cut for medium-rare should be 55-60 ° C. The classic steak thickness is about 3 cm. It should be cooked in a hot skillet for 3 minutes on each side. If you don’t have a cooking thermometer, you can try to feel the roast by touch, just remember to wear rubber gloves to avoid getting burned. Connect the thumb and middle finger of your left hand, and with your right, feel the stiffness of the muscle on the thumb – this is how a medium-rare steak should feel to the touch.
  9. Well, after cooking the steak, he must be given time to rest, during which the juices are evenly distributed throughout the cut. Divide the cooking minutes in half and place the medium-rare steak under the foil during this time. You can put a small cube of butter on top for a delicate, creamy flavor.