Braise me up Before you Go-go

Braising is a method of cooking that I've recently developed quite a penchant for. It is basically just slow-cooking meat in a liquid sometimes for 1 and a half to 3, or even, 4 hours. This makes the meat incredibly tender and since it is cooked in a liquid, incredibly moist as well. Therefore, braising is best suited for tough cuts of meat: chuck roasts, short ribs, lamb shanks, etc. This also makes braising relatively inexpensive since those really tough meats are the really cheap meats at the markets. Unfortunately, the amount of time required deters many from doing it, especially those with busy schedules -- which is a shame. An alternative is crock pots which are great for this purpose if you can afford them. However, if you've got some spare time during the weekend, I highly recommend this cooking method because it produces amazingly tender, juicy, and flavorful meat. I just made some braised lamb the other night and it far exceeded my expectations.

While recipes differ, the braising method is pretty much the same. In a nutshell: brown the meat, deglaze the pot, add the meat, and simmer until done.

1. Add some oil into your braising vessel, crank up the heat.
2. Season your meat with salt and pepper. Some recipes will call for flour as well.
3. Brown the meat on all sides, in batches, if necessary. Be careful not to burn them! This step is optional but it adds more flavor in the end.
4. Reserve all but a few tablespoons of the rendered fat in the vessel.
5. Deglaze: pour the braising liquid into the vessel and take your time to scrape the brown bits off the bottom. Do not omit this step! This results in a more flavorful stock.
6. Put the meat pieces back in, bring to a boil, and then let simmer for however long the recipe calls for.

Two of my favorite recipes are:
- Dave Lieberman's braised Hoisin beer short ribs
- Epicurious's braised lamb shanks with caramelized onions and shallots

Advanced Dungeness & Dragons

The dungeness crab got its name from the town of Dungeness, Washington where it was first commercially harvested. But pragmatically speaking, who the fuck cares?

Dungeness crab (live) is typically cooked in a stock pot with salted, boiling water. You could also throw in some seasonings like sliced lemon, garlic, whatever. Just throw the critter into the boiling water but quickly whisper a prayer of forgiveness lest ye be smited straight to hell for so savagely killing one of god's creatures. Let it cook for about 5 minutes.

Afterward, you have two main options: crack it and start eating or further cook it. Regardless, you will have to peel off the shell and rip off its legs. To get the legs off, just give them a twist-pull, kind of like a titty twister. To get the shell off, put the crab in one hand, belly down. Next, work the tip of your finger in between the shell and body where its hind legs used to be. Just slowly wiggle and the shell comes off very easily. Next remove the gills and cartilage. Optionally, rinse out the crab butter (its liver). It is high in cholestrol but if you like it, then keep it.

Now, if you're a crab purist (Coral), you'll probably go with the cook and eat method. The pieces go well with some melted butter and some sourdough bread. If you want some extra oomph, you can cook it further by oven roasting it or just pan frying it. I used a recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse that turned out to be delicious. You can download it here.

The best way to eat crab is usually with your hands. There's something primally satisfying about cracking the shell in between your teeth and sucking the meat out (don't be gross). Enjoy!

EVOO

Ok, so this entry really offers no culinary enrichment but Food Network viewers should appreciate this.

Rachael Ray has her own extra-virgin olive oil available for purchase on the Food Network website. Check it out here. The hilarity lies in the fact that it's marketed as Rachael Ray EVOO! Some excerpts from the description:

- Extra-virgin olive oil is a staple in Rachael's kitchen, in fact she uses it so much that she even invented her own name for it: EVOO.

- Now Rachael has found an EVOO so great that she decided to put her name on it!