the basics

Comfort Food

Easy Meatloaf Recipe

A recipe for meatloaf to best all others

Apr 11, 2012 1:01 pm

Photo: Mark Shaw

Treat this formula as a blank canvas. Everyone has their favorite meatloaf add-in — some can't do without chopped carrots, others require parsley or other such vegetation. We recommend mixing in a caramelized onion or two before baking, because nothing loves ground beef like sweet, sticky onions.

Vegetarian

Easiest Mashed Potatoes Recipe. Period.

We stand behind this claim for the perfect mash

Apr 9, 2012 3:31 pm

Photo: Mark Shaw

Memorizing this basic formula for perfect mashed potatoes will make you want to practice your roast beef. And maybe perfect the crust on those delicious grilled lamb chops. And probably encourage you to roast a chicken, which actually takes slightly less effort than making mashed potatoes.

The Basics

How To Caramelize Onions

Because a caramelized onion is a happy onion

Mar 30, 2012 2:01 pm

Photo: Mark Shaw

You never know how much time goes into the sweet, sticky shreds atop your perfect patty melt or tarte flambée until you caramelize an onion for the first time. You also never know how little effort goes in until you learn this simple but very important technique.

Bragging Rights

Why Make Stock, Broth and Bouillon?

The secret ingredient to better cooking

Mar 21, 2012 9:01 am

The anonymous ritual of long hours, high flames and dripping sweat has made way for celebrity chefs, competitive cookoffs and secret ingredients. But live action and quickfire challenges does not a restaurant make. In fact, for several centuries one quality over any other has distinguished the best restaurants in the world. The original secret ingredient: stock, broth and bouillon.

How-Tos

What The Hell Is A Gastrique?

Sauce is the true definition of "dress to impress"

Feb 27, 2012 2:01 pm

The best thing about learning how to make a gastrique is that it's extremely easy for the clueless chef to do. It makes a simple dish look like it just came across the kitchen line of a four-star restaurant. Easy to pull off and automatically classy, this basic sauce is the true definition of "dress to impress."

Comfort Food

Simple Fried Chicken Recipe

A simple fried chicken recipe from a rising chef

Jul 13, 2011 11:16 am

Some of the best-tasting chicken we get in North Carolina comes via FedEx from Frank Reese in Kansas. Whenever I splurge and get some for Lantern, I make a big batch of fried chicken in a deep cast-iron skillet, slowly browning it in a few inches of rendered pork fat. Lard makes the best possible fried chicken and blissfully contains more of what is good for you and less of what is bad than most vegetable oils.

How-Tos

How To Cook A Juicy Chicken Breast

4 steps to cooking perfect juicy chicken breasts

Jul 7, 2011 8:31 am

Photo: Mark Shaw

There's a big difference between juicy chicken breasts and rubbery chicken breasts. Obviously, you want to avoid the latter at all costs. Follow these 4 steps and you're gold. You want to add protein to favorites like Caesar salad or fix up a quick ...

BBQ Nation