Marinade 101

Marinade 101: How to Flavor Your Meat

Marinades don't often get the credit they deserve, but they're actually the key to flavorful grilled meats. Figuring out what to put in a marinade and how long to apply it can be tricky. Here's everything you ever wanted to know about marinades, plus some of our favorite recipes to help get you going and grilling.

What goes into a marinade?
You can think of the basic marinade formula as fat + acid + flavors. The fat, like olive or vegetable oil, is for flavoring and moisturizing the food. The acid, most commonly vinegar, is important for penetrating and tenderizing, especially tougher cuts of meat. The flavors are where it gets fun with condiments, herbs and spices. Yogurt and buttermilk are also common marinade ingredients since they provide both fat and acid.

How long should you marinate?
Tender items like fish don't need long at all -- 30 minutes should do it. Any longer and the acid could cause the flesh to break down and turn mushy. For lean meats, 30 minutes to 4 hours is enough time. Tougher cuts benefit from longer marinating times, anywhere from 4 to 12 hours for optimum flavor. Chicken cuts can go from 30 minutes to 6 hours, but whole chickens should marinate for 4 to 12 hours.

Things to note:
When marinating your meat, use a large plastic bag or a non-reactive dish, since aluminum and copper will react to the acid.

Don't use too much sugar in your marinade because can cause your meats to char quicker on the grill. If you do use sugar, grill at a lower heat.

Do NOT put used marinades on cooked food since they become contaminated from the raw meat.
Move your meat around while it's marinading. Flip it once or twice if in a dish or shake the plastic bag so the marinade hits every single part.

Give the foods a quick wipe before setting it on the grill. Bits of garlic and onion can char easily.
Some people prefer to salt their food right before or after it goes on the grill. The argument here is that the salt could dry out the meat. Other's like to include it. The choice is yours.

5 Healthy and Refreshing Iced Tea Recipes

5 Healthy and Refreshing Iced Tea Recipe

With Memorial Day in the rear-view mirror and temperatures starting to heat up, it's time to add some cool, refreshing drinks to your summertime arsenal. Loaded with fruit, garnished with herbs, and bursting with flavor, here are five easy brews to try out, straight from food bloggers. 

Orange and Mint Iced Tea
Toss in some tea and mint leaves along with a bit of sugar, lemon juice, and orange juice, and you've got this sweetly simple tea.
Get the recipe at Everyday Musing.

Peach Mango White Iced Tea
Load up on antioxidants with this cold peach-mango concoction. Drop a few pieces of fruit in your glass for a pretty presentation.
Get the recipe at The Scrumptious Pumpkin.

Freshly Brewed Iced Tea with Fresh Mint
Brew up this recipe with the tea of your choice. It'll taste like summer—at just three calories per serving.
Get the recipe at Skinnytaste.

Lemon Blueberry Pomegranate Iced Tea
If you're a berry fan, this iced tea is for you. It's teeming with the flavor of blueberries and pomegranate, with a kick of lemon for good measure.
Get the recipe at Setting for Four.

Fruited Iced Sun Tea
Fruits such as strawberries and peaches provide a punch of sweet in this tea, complemented by optional ginger, mint, or lemon.
Get the recipe at Craving Something Healthy.

11 Secret Herbs and Spices (KFC Copy Cat)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon onion salt
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon basil leaves, crushed
1 teaspoon marjoram leaves, crushed finely  

Directions

Combine all ingredients as listed in a small jar with a tight fitting lid (baby-food jars work good). Shake mixture to combine. Stores for months. Keep out of direct sunlight, heat and humidity.
(makes about 1/3 cup)
To Use:
Mix together 4 teaspoons mixture, 1 cup flour, 2 Tbls. packed light brown sugar and 1 teaspoons salt. Place in a doubled plastic food bag and add chicken to coat. Fry, drain on paper towels, serve! 

Homemade Biscuits

Homemade Biscuits: 6 Things You Need to Know

Few things in this world are as consistently satisfying as a light and pillowy, fresh-from-the-oven perfectly crusty buttermilk biscuit. That said, few things are as intimidating to the novice baker--or perhaps any baker born north of the Mason-Dixon Line, for that matter--as tackling the creation of said perfect Southern-style biscuit. Here are 5 key things to know before you start.


1) Your butter--or lard--should be really, really cold. And so should your buttermilk. As in icy cold. Most of you already know this, but it bears repeating: You want the fat you're using to be as cold as possible when you work with it, or it will melt into the flour, altering the texture of the biscuit--and not in a good way. (The cold butter bits are what give great biscuits their irresistible flakiness.) Epicurious senior editor Lauren cuts her butter into pieces when she begins her recipe, wraps it in plastic, and keeps it in the freezer until she's totally ready to use it.

2) Southern-style soft wheat flour is God's gift to biscuit makers. Southern bakers have long spread the gospel of White Lily, the silky low-protein flour made from extra finely ground soft wheat, resulting in a more ethereal texture for your biscuit. But there are other light, Southern-style flours you might try, such as Martha White.

3) A gentle hand is key. We like this description from the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion: "By just barely coaxing the fat and flour together, then patting the dough together as lovingly and gently as you'd towel-dry a baby, you're keeping the flour's gluten from toughening as you handle it." But since the gluten really doesn't get activated until a liquid is added, you also need to be careful when you incorporate the buttermilk. Says Lauren: "Being gentle is always a good rule of thumb for something like biscuits but it doesn't end with the butter and flour."

4) Don't underestimate the power of a sharp biscuit cutter. As Epicurious senior editor Kemp notes, "using something like a glass, especially if it has a thick lip, will just compress the edges and keep the biscuit from rising properly." So invest in a legit, sharp biscuit cutter, and make sure you dip your cutter in flour every time you cut!

5) Try to get your hands on some real honest-to-goodness buttermilk. We're talking about the real thing--the liquid that's left after the cream has been churned into butter. Real buttermilk: "It will make a huge difference in your biscuit." That said, the supermarket cultured skim milk product will do just fine, too.

6) Old baking powder equals flat biscuits. Again, many of you already know that baking powder loses its effectiveness over time, which means that your biscuits won't rise as they should. (It generally loses its potency three to six months after opening.) If you don't have any good baking powder around, buy new baking powder.

Ready to make some biscuits? Here's a great recipe to start with:

Common Mistakes People Make When Cooking Steak

 Common Misteaks Mistakes People Make When Cooking Steak

We love a juicy, well-cooked (though not well-done!) steak. When you've got a quality piece of meat, you don’t have to gussy it up with complicated cooking techniques and extravagant sauces—and that’s precisely why we love it. It’s simplicity at its best: just good, old fashioned, unfussy eatin’. So why is cooking a steak so darn difficult? From a tragically gray exterior to an overly-cooked inside, there are so many ways to go wrong.

But fear not! Our test kitchen is here to help. Senior food editor Dawn Perry walks us through the art of cooking the perfect steak, whether it’s a porterhouse, a hanger, or filet. Ready to cook some seriously awesome beef? This is your time to shine.

1. Head to the Supermarket
A steak is not a steak is not a steak—meaning a butcher can really help you navigate the tricky waters of what cuts to try and how to cook them. Shopping for meat at a grocery store will leave you with the usual suspects, but a butcher can introduce you to newer, less popular cuts that boast huge flavor, like hanger and flatiron steaks. Don’t be afraid to ask your butcher questions about how he or she would cook the steak—that’s exactly what they’re there for!

2. Out of the Fridge, into the Frying Pan
Whether you’re cooking a thin strip steak or a thick porterhouse, you’ve gotta plan ahead, and that means taking it out well in advance of actually cooking it. So how long is “well in advance”? For the thinner cuts, a half-hour on the counter will do. If your steak is over an inch thick, plan on at least an hour—and even up to two. Why does this matter? If you dive right from the fridge into the pan, you’re risking an undercooked steak with a gray exterior: decidedly not delicious and definitely unappealing.

3. A Sprinkle Will Do
When it comes to seasoning, this is not the time to be shy. Perry explains that in addition to aiding in the formation of a gorgeous crust, it’s necessary for big, bold flavor. “You can’t season the inside of the steak,” she says. “So you’ve got to aggressively season the exterior.” This is not, however, a pass to get crazy with spice rubs and other “creative” seasonings. When you’ve got a good steak, you’re going to want to taste the steak, says assistant food editor Claire Saffitz. So go for coarse kosher salt and black pepper, and season with wild abandon: You should be able to actually see the salt and pepper.

4. Fear the Smoke
Don’t be afraid of a ripping hot (heavy-bottomed, cast iron) pan—Perry even allows for a little smoke. To make sure your fat doesn’t burn, sear in an oil with a high smoke point, like vegetable oil or grapeseed oil (you can always finish with a knob of butter in the last few minutes and baste the steak in it). Now, that said, don’t get crazy on us: for a thick steak, you’re going to want to turn down the heat a little; if you don’t, you’ll risk a gorgeous crust and a raw interior.

5. Cook by Touch
Some chefs can tell when a steak is done just by feeling it. Great! For the rest of us, however, that’s a little trickier; it takes a ton of practice. Perry is a big proponent of the thermometer. “Just take the steak’s temperature,” she says. “And know for sure.” On that note, what happens if the steak’s got a gorgeous crust, but the temperature clocks in at 90 degrees? First off, don’t sweat it. Second, take it off the stovetop and pop it in an oven set to 400 degrees on a roasting rack set over a baking sheet. It’ll finish cooking without getting too dark.

6. It's Gonna Get Cold!
You’ve heard it before, and we’re gonna say it again: Don’t slice into that steak right away. It absolutely needs time to rest, and let the juices redistribute. For thin cuts, 5 to 10 minutes will do; for larger, thicker steaks, plan for 10 to 15. Repeat after us: Your steak will not get cold.

7. Hack into It
You’ve come so far! Don’t saw at your steak like a lumberjack with a dull blade. Perry explains: Make sure you cut perpendicular to the steak’s natural grain. It’ll slice easier, look prettier, and taste better. Win-win-win.

8. Leave It to the Pros
Hey, we get it: There’s a lot of anxiety about cooking the perfect steak. And when you spend a fair amount of cash on a piece of meat, you want to treat it right. But a juicy, awesome steak isn’t just something for restaurant chefs—it’s something worth learning and having in your cooking repertoire. Says Perry: “Take a deep breath. Relax. It’s going to be fine.” (It’s also, we’re sure, going to be delicious).

Texas Steak

Texas Steak

When it comes to the art of selecting and cooking a good steak, it seems as if you need an advanced degree from A&M in order to confidently ruminate on such complexities as marbling scores, grass-fed beef versus grain-fed, and dry aging versus wet. Your best bet? Consult your butcher, bring home the nicest piece of meat your wallet will allow, and introduce it to a little salt and pepper and an open flame. The merits of such an uncomplicated approach were readily apparent to no less a bovine authority than J. Frank Dobie, of whose technique his buddy Walter Prescott Webb wrote, “He wants a green stick with the steak speared on it. . . . If  he can drop it a time or two in the ashes, he considers the flavor improved.”

No need to hunker over a cowboy campfire in your backyard, but it would be worth your while to try this ribeye preparation from Jon Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine. There’s no doubt who’s the star of this show: a handsome bone-in beauty that comes off the fire with a crackly salt-and-pepper char, a lush texture, and full-on meaty flavor. As for the butter, you can take it or leave it, but once you taste it, you’ll take it (or at least load up your baked potato with an embarrassingly large dollop).

Texas Ribeye With Three-Pepper Compound Butter (Serves 1 easily)

1 pound unsalted butter (this butter freezes well, which is good, because you’ll have a lot left over)
¹/₄ teaspoon kosher salt
1 fresh jalapeño, finely diced 
¹/₂ teaspoon ground chipotle powder
¹/₈ teaspoon chile de árbol powder (you can substitute other chile powders if you can’t find chipotle or árbol)
¹/₄ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 18-ounce bone-in ribeye
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon canola oil

Allow the butter to soften almost to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Place in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, add the next five ingredients, and blend well. Transfer the butter onto a sheet of parchment paper and roll into a log. Refrigerate until ready to use. Season the steak with salt and pepper on both sides, then brush lightly with canola oil on both sides. Grill over a medium-high fire to desired temperature (130 degrees for medium-rare, about 6 to 8 minutes). Remove the steak and allow to rest for 2 to 3 minutes. While the steak is still hot, cut a slice of the butter and place on top of the steak, allowing the butter to melt all over the ribeye and plate, then serve.  

Diet Advice You Can Easily Follow

Diet Advice You Can Easily Follow

You see them all the time—infomercials, emails, and Facebook posts that claim to have the secret to dropping those stubborn winter pounds so you look better on the beach this summer. They pitch a “breakthrough” diet or a metabolism-boosting extract. Often, it doesn't live up to the promise.



That’s exactly what we’re here to save you from. “A hugely important thing to remember is that there are no weight-loss 'secrets,’ ” says Alan Aragon, M.S., and the Men’s Health weight-loss coach. “Time, patience, and determination are required, along with owning up to the fact that it's a difficult process.” There are no tricks that can transform you into Cristiano Ronaldo, and thinking they exist only leads to discouragement and failure. 



So what does work?

The Advice: Remember basic math.

The Expert: Alan Aragon, M.S., Men’s Health weight-loss coach
To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume, says Aragon. Common sense, right? As most of us know, that simple rule can be hard to follow if your diet doesn't allow for your favorite foods. Aragon's solution: Plan “cheat days” where you can eat what you want, but plan ahead so you still end up with a calorie deficit for the week.

And while you want to incorporate exercise, don't over-rely on it. or you'll burn yourself out with endless cardio or gym sessions, Aragon says. Instead, have a plan and follow it consistently. If your nutrition and fitness schedule concludes with two days of pushing yourself to the limit, says Aragon, you're doing something wrong.

The Advice: Eat real food.

The Expert: David Katz, M.D., founding director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center
At the request of scientific publisher Annual Reviews, Dr. Katz pursued the question: What mainstream diet works best? He scoured through the options, from Paleo to vegan and much more. After weighing the pros and cons of each strategy, Katz found no clear winner. He did discover a helpful common pattern: Consuming real foods—or minimally processed foods, including plants—promotes health and prevents disease. “Focus on these foods and the nutrients will sort themselves out,” says Katz.

Need help sorting through processed products? With the help of top nutritional experts, Katz developed Nuval, a guide that calculates a food's nutritional score. The higher the number, the greater the health value.

The Advice: Eat foods fill you up.

The Expert: Christopher Mohr, PH.D., RD, president of Mohr Results in Louisville, Kentucky
Refined carbohydrates are foods from which the grain—and most of the nutritional value—is extracted when processed. Think white bread, pretzels, and plain pasta. They spike your blood sugar which then drops like a roller-coaster, making you hungry for more. Replace refined carbs with a cup of fat-free cottage cheese with fruit or wild salmon, Mohr says. The protein-filled foods will keep you fuller and prevent overeating, as well as helping you build and maintain lean-muscle mass. Choosing foods with 20 to 30 grams of protein and/or more healthy fiber is crucial, says Mohr.

The Advice: Strive for average.

The Expert: Mike Roussell, PH.D., Men’s Health nutrition advisor  
 Reaching for the middle doesn’t seem like the right way to approach a goal, but in this case, average is good. Trying to do too much too soon—losing 20 pounds of fat or gaining 20 pounds of muscle in a month—is a recipe for disaster, Roussell says. These aggressive goals lead to extremes in calorie-cutting and binging, called hyperbolic dieting, and produces unsustainable, short-term results. “Ask yourself—is my diet today the average of what I’d like it to always be? If the answer is yes, then you are doing it right,” Roussell says.

The Advice: Eliminate mindless munching.

The Expert: David Sarwer, Ph.D., director of the Albert J. Stunkard Weight Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania

“In our overly scheduled daily lives, we rarely pay attention to what we eat and drink throughout the day,” Sarwer says. Instead of running to the vending machine every time your stomach rumbles, plan out healthy snack breaks throughout the day. Trade a low-calorie snack bar for that bagel in the break room, or a handful of almonds to replace your afternoon bag of chips. The simple act of thinking about and controlling what you consume will work wonders. 

5 Mistakes You're Making in the Produce Aisle

5 Mistakes You're Making in the Produce Aisle

You're actually visiting your produce aisle. Congrats! That's an awesome start. But as any person who has ever sorted through a bin of mushy tomatoes knows, taking a trip to the supermarket and walking out with the best-of-the-best produce is definitely not a given.


Buying Produce Just Once a Week
You aren't shopping for dried goods here. Produce goes bad fast! And every day it sits around in your refrigerator or on your countertop, it loses a bit more of its nutrients. So shop for your fruits and veggies as close to when you plan to eat them as possible. Sure, that might mean making a few more trips to the store, but your grub will taste so much better—and half won't end up rotten in the trashcan.

Shopping at the Start of the Season
It's tempting to load up on strawberries, tomatoes, and watermelon as soon as they show their rose-y little faces in the supermarket. But it's better to hold off. "The first produce—especially fruit—of the season isn't necessarily the best to buy,". It will often be very expensive and won't taste as good as later-in-the-season varieties. If you're not sure if your supermarket's produce is good yet, ask if you can try a sample.

Buying Internationally
Where are your veggies from? If they're from overseas, they might not be as fresh as you'd like. "Usually, you'll get the freshest and best-tasting produce if you buy domestically or locally because it's getting from the farm to you faster,". If you don't have direct access to local farmers (think: farmers markets), checking the stickers on your produce for countries of origin.

Picking Pre-Sliced
If it's between buying some already-sliced pieces of watermelon and grabbing a whole melon you'll end up avoiding until it rots and you're forced to throw it away, then sure: Pre-sliced is better. But buying whole helps guarantee your produce is as fresh from the farm as it can be. Plus, produce’s skin, rind, whatever, is there for a reason: It protects the plant from deteriorating.

Not Knowing What's Ripe
You can't judge every piece of produce the same way. With some, you know they're ready to go based on color. With others, texture is the indicator. With avocados, it's about whether or not their stem falls out easily. 

Grilled Chicken Wings

Grilled Chicken Wings

                                                   

INGREDIENTS

• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano t
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 2 pounds chicken wings

PREPARATION      

• Combine garlic, oregano, rosemary, and oil in a large resealable plastic bag; season with salt and pepper. Add chicken wings, seal bag, and turn to coat. Chill at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Prepare grill for medium heat. Remove wings from marinade and grill, covered and turning occasionally, until golden brown and crisp, 15–20 minutes.
• DO AHEAD: Chicken can be marinated 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.

8 ways to simplify your morning

8 ways to simplify your morning

 Between missing homework and breakfast battles, getting the kids to school on time can pose a serious challenge. But with a few simple tweaks to your morning routine, you can get out the door faster and reduce stress for everyone in the house.

Build a Breakfast Menu
Most families eat the same favorite meals over and over again. Why not make it official? Reduce your daily decision making and simplify your grocery shopping by creating a seven or 14-day breakfast schedule. For instance, serve scrambled eggs and toast on Monday or muffins and yogurt on Tuesday. You can do the same for lunch à la the school cafeteria. Create a calendar, post it in the kitchen, and follow it each day. Cook, eat, and repeat!

Pack Lunch Faster
Get a jumpstart on lunch-packing duty and set up a workstation stocked with the right tools. Make sure all of your frequently used items, such as sandwich bags and storage containers (stock up on multiples so a clean one is always available), are easily accessible and located near one another. Buy lunch boxes that are easy to clean and consider packing lunch the night before or storing sandwiches in the freezer a week in advance.

Create a "Destination Station"
Avoid hunting for objects at the last minute by dedicating a place to backpacks, school papers, mail, keys, purses, and chargers. If you don’t have a mudroom or laundry room, re-purpose a piece of furniture or install a row of sturdy hooks near an entryway. It doesn’t have to be perfect or fancy, as long as it's functional. Designate this place near the exit you frequent the most.

 Think Like a Child
Work with your children's habits and limitations. Any task kids need to do should be easy and obvious. Large hooks hung at an appropriate height are more likely to receive a jacket than a hanger in a tall closet. Stashing shoes by the back door instead of the upstairs closet could mean the difference between arriving at school before or after the bell rings. Make simple adjustments that cater to your child, and you'll save yourself time and frustration.

Start the Night Before
Establishing an evening routine can help you get out the door faster the next morning. Remember this: The more you do tonight, the less you'll have to take care of tomorrow. Run the dishwasher, bathe the kids, and straighten up the house. Tackle small tasks like choosing outfits for yourself and the kids, signing permission slips, and loading up backpacks. Before you hit the sack, imagine your future self in the morning and do her any favors you can.

 Go Low Maintenance
Simplifying your beauty regimen can add valuable minutes to your hectic morning. It could be time to bid farewell to a complicated haircut that requires multiple styling tools and expensive products. Maybe your closet is crying for a makeover that would reduce the time spent searching for an outfit. Or, perhaps all you need is to corral everyday cosmetics and toiletries into one go-to drawer.

Streamline the Paperwork
Each evening, make a habit of assessing what papers have come home from school and separate them into one of four categories. Action papers require a step like a signature or a payment. Save informational papers for future reference. Decide if you want to display, archive, or toss artwork. Create a tray for “I don’t know” (ambiguous papers you’re not sure about). Keep an “I don’t know” pile for each child. When the tray is full of graded assignments, scribbles, and other unknown papers, sort through the stack and decide what to do. Address the ”action” papers as soon as possible, preferably in the evening.

Get Up Earlier
Nobody likes hearing it, but if you're consistently running five or 10 minutes late, maybe you should set your alarm back 15 minutes. If the kids are the first ones up, then you and your partner could try getting up before they do. You may be in for a rude awakening at first but, over time, you will probably be glad that you did.