Sunday Strategist: A Week of Healthy Menus—June 1-5

Memorial Day fun has ended, and so has the shortened workweek (or extended vacation, depending on your plans). Time to get back into gear with a full week’s worth of recipes you’ll love—fit for summer, but also just plain delicious. Every Sunday, we publish a week of Cooking Light dinner plans filled with our favorite recipes—both from current issues and classics. Each meal is designed to be ready and on the table in 45 minutes or less, the perfect solution for when work and day camp schedules leave little time for cooking.

If you like having a healthy meal plan but want something customized to your dietary or caloric needs, check out The Cooking Light Diet. It’s a calorie-driven weekly meal plan—breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner—based on your dieting goals and food preferences.

The Game Plan:
Monday: Penne with Asparagus, Pistachios, and Mint with Spinach Salad with Berries and Goat Cheese
Tuesday: Mustard-Glazed Salmon with Buttery Lentils with Shallots with Olive-Almond Green Beans
Wednesday: Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Cherries and Shallots with Cabbage Slaw
Thursday: Chicken with Quick Chile Verde with Bell Pepper and Corn Sauté
Friday: Ginger-Scented Corn and Asparagus Stir-Fry
Dessert Bonus: Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate Fudge 

Monday: This 25-minute Penne with Asparagus, Pistachios, and Mint main has the kind of green on green (on green) we love—fresh asparagus, rich, nutty pistachios, and herbaceous mint. Whole-grain penne is an added healthy bonus. Serve with a quick, colorful  Spinach Salad with Berries and Goat Cheese.

Penne with Asparagus, Pistachios, and Mint

Spinach Salad with Berries and Goat Cheese

Tuesday: Lentils may just be the most underrated members of the legume family—they’re inexpensive, quick, and become a luscious side when sautéed with butter and shallots. Mustard-Glazed Salmon with Buttery Lentils with Shallots is weeknight fast, but impressive enough for company. Serve with crisp-tender Olive-Almond Green Beans.

Mustard-Glazed Salmon with Buttery Lentils with Shallots

Olive-Almond Green Beans

Wednesday: Use any remaining shallots from last night’s lentils for the simple, delicious Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Cherries and Shallots. Cherries and pork pair beautifully, and hit of balsamic vinegar really makes the dish sing. Pair with a simply dressed Cabbage Slaw.

Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Cherries and Shallots

 Cabbage Slaw

Thursday: You won’t believe how easy it is to make your own quick verde sauce from scratch in this Chicken with Quick Chile Verde—it’ll be ready right when the chicken finishes cooking. The salsa would also be great spooned over fish tacos or simply steamed rice. Serve with a Bell Pepper and Corn Sauté, ready in minutes.

Chicken with Quick Chile Verde

Bell Pepper and Corn Sauté

Friday: Time to use up all the produce remainders in your fridge. Ginger-Scented Corn and Asparagus Stir-Fry uses the asparagus, corn, and red bell pepper from during the week, though you could use any produce you like. Serve with simply steamed white or brown rice.

Ginger-Scented Corn and Asparagus Stir-Fry

Dessert Bonus: If a peanut butter cup and a piece of fudge fell in love, this would be the perfect result. Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate Fudge gets deep chocolate flavor from unsweetened dark cocoa and a little instant coffee. Chopped peanuts on top add crunch. Happy Friday indeed!

Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate Fudge

Ready to start shopping? View this week’s menu, which includes every dinner recipe you see mentioned here. From there, you can add all the ingredients to your shopping list in one click when you sign into your MyRecipes account.

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Is Grilling Healthy?

Grilling can be healthy, depending on what you’re grilling, says Rocky Stubblefield, of Stubbs Bar-B-Q in Austin, Texas. In this video he explains why grilling is healthy and reveals his favorite vegetable to grill.

 

See more:

Our Essential Grilling Guide

10 Grilling Tools You Need

Cooking Class: Grilling

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Celiac Disease Awareness with Jillian Lagasse

May is the launch of Seriously, Celiac Disease, a campaign that encourages the importance of getting tested for celiac disease and having conversations with family members about this hereditary condition. We talked with Jillian Lagasse, Celiac Disease Awareness Hero and daughter of celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse, about her experience and why getting educated about Celiac is so important.

Lagasse was ill for most of her life. But no one could figure out what was wrong. There was only misdiagnosis after misdiagnosis. One doctor even advised that she could be allergic to bananas and carrots.

After moving to London, the first doctor she saw suspected Celiac within her first meeting with him. Blood tests confirmed the diagnosis, and it all clicked. “I never thought what I was eating was what was essentially kind of killing me,” Lagasse says. “When you have digestive issues, a lot of times what you reach for is a piece of toast or saltines. My whole life, that’s what I was doing, and I was just hurting my body more and more.”

Within the two weeks following, her energy was back, the digestive issues went away, her rashes disappeared and her hair grew back. “It was, for me, a game changer,” she says. “It really saved my health and my life.”

She looked to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness as a fountain of information to answer questions like What exactly is Celiac? How do I handle it? What can I eat?

It’s a resource that encouraged Lagasse to talk with her family. Alice Bast, founder of the NFCA, explained that Celiac disease is a serious genetic autoimmune disease, meaning it’s hereditary and comes from someone in the family.

Lagasse’s goal this year is to have conversations with the NFCA’s Talk, Tell, Test approach with each of her family members. More so on her mom’s side, because Emeril has already been tested. “He was like, it’s probably not me,” she laughs. “That would have been a real problem for him.”

PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER

All the women on her mom’s side have had digestive issues and various symptoms. But the conversation would mean a drastic change. “My mom’s family is Portuguese,” she says. “[In their family,] you only go to the doctor if you’re bleeding from your limbs or like that Monty Python skit where your blood is just shooting out.”

Lagasse wants to change the mindset around health.

There’s a stubbornness of “Well, I don’t think I have it. I just think I have stomach aches every now and then.” But with this NFCA approach, she feels empowered to talk with others about their overall health and future.

Lagasse talks about how much easier it is to eat with Celiac now, mentioning that even frozen pizza comes in a gluten-free variety.  With the influx of conversations around gluten these days, she’s glad that people know what gluten even is, but it’s also difficult, when you can turn on the television without hearing jokes about eating gluten-free.

“I do think it has that stigma that it’s just a diet,” she says. “But the reality is that it is the only cure for a very serious illness.” There’s still a lot of work that Lagasse feels needs to be done to define the lines between what people know as living gluten-free by choice and having Celiac Disease.

 

Find out more here, and join the discussion.

 

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Why Homemade Salad Dressing Is Best

Nearly all store-bought dressings list water as the first ingredient. This may sound like a calorie-saver, but what it actually does is cause all that diluted dressing to drip off the leaves, leaving you with soggy greens and a bunch of flavor in the bottom of the bowl. And store-bought dressings aren’t cheap, either, considering you end up paying mostly for a bottle full of water, salt, and sugar.

Enter our quick vinaigrette: easy, cheap, and healthy. We like a sturdy base: three parts oil to one part acid (citrus juice or vinegar), seasoned with salt, herbs, and spices. It’s the perfect formula, allowing a thin coating of flavorful, heart-healthy oil to cling to the leaves. You’ll need less, too—about half as much—costing only about $0.20 per serving.

RED WINE VINAIGRETTE
Try this vinaigrette on our Peaches and Green Salad.
3 tablespoons olive oil + 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar + ¼ teaspoon salt + ¼ teaspoon black pepper + 2 teaspoons minced shallots

Combine all ingredients in a jar; shake well.

SERVES 4 (serving size: 1 tablespoon)
CALORIES 92; FAT 10.1g (sat 1.4g, mono 7.4g, poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 0g; CARB 0g; FIBER 0g; CHOL 0mg; IRON 0mg; SODIUM 146mg; CALC 2mg

See More:

• How to Make a Basic Vinaigrette
• Our Best Salad Dressing, Vinaigrette, and Topping Recipes

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Liked on YouTube: BBQ Grill Mat #2 Caring for your BBQ Accessories

BBQ Grill Mat #2 Caring for your BBQ Accessories
http://bit.ly/BBQGrillMat Granted, a BBQ grill mat doesn't look like much, but appearances can be deceiving. It's really like having an expensive non-stick pan that you can roll up. That's essentially what grill mats are, but you can use both sides. The BBQ Grill Mat requires the same care as any other high-end non-stick cooking utensil. A chef's non-stick cookware will still look new after years of use, and your mats will too, if you learn to use them and maintain them correctly. First of all, remove your grill mats from the box and wash them thoroughly in soap and water to remove any manufacturing and packaging residues. Never use abrasives of any kind when cleaning a barbecue grill mat: no scratch pads or powdered cleaners. Use only water, liquid soap and a soft cloth. Rinse them well, and wipe off the excess water with a dry cloth. Allow them to air-dry until all moisture is gone from the surface. You can use your dishwasher if you prefer -- grill mats are dishwasher-safe, but use the top rack only. Keep your BBQ grill mats rolled up and stored in the box they came in, to protect them from scratching. After washing and drying your new BBQ grill mat set, you're almost ready to put them to use. First though, you'll need some specific tools to use the mats effectively and not damage them. The techniques used with bbq grill mat are a bit different than those used when working directly on the grill. Never use metal tools on the mats. Whenever metal comes into contact with PTFE it leaves scratches which will break down the integrity of the cooking surface. The best tools to use are a set of silicone tipped pincers and a hard plastic spatula, so be sure to acquire those, before you start using the mats. You can find them at any store that offers kitchen implements. Have fun with your new Chef Caron BBQ Grill Mat. This is a four part instructional series and you are currently on Video #2, Caring for your Grill Mat: http://youtu.be/P97sqBIeY5s You can find the next video which is about getting ready to use your BBQ grill mat here: Video #3: http://youtu.be/-IqrvUXjsjw Just in case you missed it, Video #1 How to Choose a BBQ Grill Mat can be found here: http://youtu.be/_JxgHkY8og4 AMAZON: Available here: http://bit.ly/BBQGrillMat TWITTER: https://twitter.com/ChefCaron PINTEREST: http://ift.tt/1cnkgGB WEBSITE: http://bbqgrillmats.com GOOGLE + http://ift.tt/1E2NW17 #BBQGrillMat #MiracleGrillMat #BarbecueGrillMats
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Liked on YouTube: BBQ Grill Mat #1 - Choosing Your BBQ Tools

BBQ Grill Mat #1 - Choosing Your BBQ Tools
http://bit.ly/BBQGrillMat When it comes to the BBQ Grill Mat "As Seen on TV", the truth can get stretched quite a bit and we'll set the record straight for you in this video. The non-stick BBQ Grill mat has experienced a sizable growth in popularity, and that isn't surprising, considering that it does bring a number of actual conveniences and advantages to the procedure of barbecuing. In essence a BBQ grill mat is a fibreglass fabric, protected by using a non-stick, heat-resistant finish of poly-tetra-fluoro-ethylene, also called PTFE. They were made most famous by the now obsolete Miracle grill mat, which was probably the most popular of the as seen on TV grill mats Essential Fact: The FDA allows PTFE-coated grilling equipment to be used only at temps below 500 degrees Farenheit. So virtually any promotions you spot for "Extra High Temperature Mats" or "Military Grade High Heat Mats" or "Industrial Quality 600 degree Mats" are nothing more than advertising gimmicks. You at no time want to use any non-stick cooking equipment at temperatures higher than 500 degrees. So in theory, every barbecue grill mat is essentially alike -- since they're all produced out of the exact same materials. Practically though, there are definitely several crucial dissimilarities to become knowledgeable about when ordering mats. A BBQ Grill Mat can be found in a number of different densities. We have found the ideal thickness to be .20mm. The mats are still light enough to transmit heat promptly, but sufficiently heavy to be long wearing and durable. Yet another big difference is the amount of PTFE coating on the fiberglass material. This is the most reliable indication of mat quality because it affects the resilience of the mat, the slickness of the surface area and the simplicity of cleaning. Double-coated mats are commonly retailed as "Professional or Commercial Quality Mats," and are actually a more durable mat. http://ift.tt/1rSUQF4 You can recognize mat because the minute squares of fiberglass cloth are almost invisible to either sight or touch. You aren't able to detect them and you can't perceive them on the mat's material. On lesser quality mats you can both feel and see the texture of the underlying fiberglass. An additional factor to consider is the dimension of the BBQ grill mat you are purchasing. With a grill mat, bigger is superior because you can cut them to exactly the specifications you want. They normally are available in a 13 inch width, but the length varies from 13 inches up to about 17 inches, so look for the longest mats. And that's really it. To summarize: any time you are purchasing a BBQ Grill Mat, try to find a large size, double-coated mat at the very least .2 mm thick. And watch out for attention-grabbers that claim to offer extra-heat resistance. This is a four part video series. You can view Part 2, which is about how to are for your BBQ grill mat set once you purchase it, here: http://youtu.be/P97sqBIeY5s AMAZON: http://amzn.to/1D9m1ge FACEBOOK: http://ift.tt/1KijBkn TWITTER: https://twitter.com/ChefCaron PINTEREST: http://ift.tt/1cnkgGB WEBSITE: http://bbqgrillmats.com GOOGLE + http://ift.tt/1E2NW17 http://youtu.be/_JxgHkY8og4 #BBQGrillMat #GrillMatsAsSeenOnTV #ChefCaron
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5 on Friday: Great Wedding Registry Items for Soon-to-be-Married Couples

Each year, as my calendar nears May, June, and July, my mailbox fills up with beautiful wedding invitations—and with them, the need to buy great gifts to help the new couples start their first homes together. Because of my job as market editor for this magazine, I’m often asked what couples should include on their registry. I also have the habit (good or bad, you decide) of buying wedding gifts I know people will love if only they knew to register for them. Here, 5 of my favorite new pans, appliances, and gizmos I’d recommend to any young (or more mature) couple looking to start a great new home kitchen.

If the couple is starting their first home, they probably don’t have any great pots and pans yet. All-Clad is the quintessential favorite, but the price tag prevents a lot of people from contributing to the collection. I prefer to gift a high-quality, median-price set of pans, such as Anolon. A 12-piece set of the brand’s Authority Hard-Anodized Nonstick 12-Piece Cookware is only $400. You can also buy individual pieces, which start at $30.

We named Cuisinart’s Velocity Ultra our best blender for your buck, but it’s also a great gift. Couples need to whirr together margaritas, daiquiris, and lots of other concoctions for entertaining or nights at home. Also, you can help unsuspecting grooms avoid the blender blunder à la “Father of the Bride.” At just $100, you could even throw in a favorite cookbook or a smoothie manual.

Keurig’s newest brewing system, the K250, can brew one-cup or fill a four-cup carafe. This is a great perk for a small household–the quantity isn’t overwhelming or wasteful. Plus, the K250 comes in 5 very trendy colors, as well as black and white. It doesn’t claim a lot of countertop real estate either, so for $120, it makes a very thoughtful, practical gift.

I gave a 10-piece Simply Store Set from Pyrex ($30) to a friend a few years ago, and she later told me she was convinced it saved her marriage. We’ve all been there–you’ve cooked and eaten a delicious meal, and now you need to store it. But all you can find are mismatched carry-out containers of questionable age. Stock the couple’s cabinets with reusable, dependable Pyrex, and you’ll help ensure marital bliss for years to come.

Equally important to having good storage is having great serving pieces. Corningware is an iconic favorite. Their French White 7-piece Casserole Set is a great starter collection. This was actually one of my first house-warming gifts when I moved into my home, so I know how handy these can be. For that reason, I’ve been gifting it to friends for their big day. Of course, I’m sure to include a great cookbook along with it so they have dishes to prepare in their new serving pieces.

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A Round-Up for Your Inner Chocoholic

Raaka Chocolate Pastilles

There are some days when a Hershey’s Kiss just doesn’t cut it…you know what I’m talking about, chocolate lovers. Flavorful and rich is what you’re hankering for, and maybe something extra to make you wonder, too.

The Willy Wonkas of the artisan food industry are answering that call…a little too well. I don’t know about you, but the walls, shelves, and pyramid displays of sweets leave me in puddle of confusion and anxiety. What should I try first? What difference does sea salt even make? Is this worth a departure from my Hershey’s Dark or Dove chocolate hearts?

Luckily, we aren’t in short supply of chocoholics here at CL. We put a few buzz-worthy bars and bites through the gauntlet–for the sake of our readers, of course (though a chocolate break everyday wasn’t so difficult).

First, we have Raaka chocolates. Based in Brooklyn, Raaka explores unroasted cocoa beans and the complex quirks they bring to chocolate. Alongside partnerships with co-ops and farms in Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, and beyond, they produce unique fair-trade chocolates like Saffron Cranberry and Bourbon Aged Bars.

We love their Pastille Jars (shown above and to the right). For $15, you get 70 pastilles that are perfect little bites, just enough when you want a small dose of chocolate lovin’. The pastilles made with coconut milk are smooth and creamy with a subtle coconut finish, while the Dark with Sea Salt are deep in flavor with small salt granules that offer a slight briny crunch.

Next we have offerings from Xocolatl De David. Based in Portland, Or., Xocolatl sources from South and Central America while infusing their lineup with some novel flavors. At $9 a bar, they’re quite a splurge, ideal as a special gift or an experience to share among fellow chocoholic friends.

The bar shown above is the Jacobsen Salt Co. bar, and it’s intensely dark and creamy with bits of crunch from the salt flakes. A true favorite among salted chocolate fans.

The Sourdough & Olive Oil bar is just fun. The chocolate is creamy with subtle olive oil flavor with crunch from the crumbs of sourdough bread. Think puffed rice crunch but with crusty bread.

The Brown Butter bar was one of the overwhelming favorites. The chocolate almost tastes like caramel or butterscotch. It’s buttery, creamy, and salty. Perfect for any chocolate explorer looking for a elevated departure from something familiar.

For something with more texture, we loved the Brown Butter Crunch. Think creamy buttery with caramelized chucks throughout, ending with a subtle bitter finish.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy chocolate?

Everything you need to know about chocolate

100 Lightened Chocolate Desserts

More chocolate bars we love

 

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What You Need to Know About Cashew Milk

Stroll the dairy case in today’s supermarket, and you’ll find that it’s no longer just about dairy. The milk section is now crowded with an array of nondairy milks—including soy, rice, coconut, hemp, and all of the many nut varieties.  Ever wonder how all those nuts compare? Let’s take a look.

The good: They’re a great option both for vegans and the ~65% of the population who suffer from some form of lactose intolerance. Another bonus: They’re cholesterol and saturated fat free.

The not-so-good: Anyone with tree nut allergies, beware. Nut milks also have very little protein—far less than cow’s milk. Some varieties also have a lot of added sugars, salt, and thickeners, too.

How it’s made: Nuts are first shelled, often lightly toasted, soaked in filtered water, ground into a paste, and then blended with water. The “milk” is the liquid that is then strained from the nut solids, or pulp. Some manufacturers then add thickeners or gums, sugar, salt, and flavors. Most of the calories, fat, fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals are left in the pulp.

Credit: Westend61/Getty

About cashew milk: There are ups and downs. It’s a rough comparison when you look at whole cashews versus cashew milk, but here’s the rundown: On the upside, a cup of unsweetened cashew milk has just 25 calories (!!), 2g fat, and 0g sat fat (ha—about 615 calories less than a cup of whole cashews). On the downside, when the pulp is strained from the milk, you lose almost all of the fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals from the whole nut. A cup of the milk contains 0g fiber and only <1g protein, and if you choose the original variety, you’ll also tack on 7g added sugar and 160mg added salt.

Compared to cow’s milk (per 8 ounces):

Original Silk Cashew Milk	Unsweetened Silk Cashew Milk	Skim Milk	2% Milk
60 calories	25 calories	83 calories	122 calories
2.5g fat	2g fat	0g fat	5g fat
0g sat fat	0g sat fat	0g sat fat	3g sat fat
170mg sodium (added)	160mg sodium (added)	103mg sodium (naturally occurring)	115mg sodium (naturally occurring)
<1g protein	<1g protein	8g protein	8g protein
7g sugar (all added)	0g sugar	12g sugar (naturally occurring)	12g sugar (naturally occurring)
45% DV calcium (all added in processing)	45% DV calcium (all added in processing)	30% DV calcium	30% DV calcium

 

Other cashew milk bonuses:

• Unlike cow’s milk, cashew milk has no naturally occurring sugars, so it won’t send your blood sugar into a spike.
• A cup contains 50% of your daily Vitamin E needs (that’s even more than almond milk), which is good for your skin and helps protect against sun damage.
• Most of us get plenty of protein in a day, so the fact that the milk only has about 1 gram per cup isn’t something most of us should necessarily worry about. If your meal does need a protein boost, you’ve got plenty of room to add since 1 cup of the unsweetened has only 25 calories!
• How does it taste? We loved it! Creamy and rich with a nuttiness that was a bit more subtle than almond milk … our crew thought the flavor would be perfect in a smoothie, or a lovely complement to breakfast whole grains like shredded wheat, muesli, oatmeal, or quinoa.

How to buy: “Original” varieties typically have a bit of sugar added back into the nut milk, and the vanilla-flavored cashew milk has as much as 12g sugar per cup—that’s 1 tablespoon, folks! Choose the unsweetened variety if you’re looking for a no-sugar-added option.

Pricing? I went to my local Publix for a little price comparison, and here’s what I found:

Half gallon cashew milk: $2.79 on sale! (originally $3.45)

Half gallon organic cow’s milk: $5.39

Full gallon generic cow’s milk: $3.79

Bottom line: Cashew milk is a great lactose-free, vegan alternative to dairy milk. Just be sure to read labels and know what you’re putting your money into … if you want the added sugars, fine. If not, choose unsweetened. And be sure to include some protein on the plate to help round out the meal.

How does almond milk compare? Read about it here.

 

 

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How to Make the Perfect Hamburger in Three Steps

These three simple simple steps guarantee you’ll turn out a perfect hamburger each and every time. If you want to make the patties in advance, just form them, layer patties on a cookie pan, place a sheet of parchment paper between each layer of patties, and store covered with plastic wrap in the fridge until time to fire up the grill.

1) A perfect burger (like our Cheesesteak Burgers or one of our Healthy Burgers) starts with a patty that is handled as little as possible. Try this neat trick: Use a ½-pound deli container to form burgers. The mold prevents you from overworking the meat, which makes burgers dry and tough. The patties will also cook evenly when their shape is uniform.

2) Turn the patty out onto a work surface. Make a depression in the center to keep the burger from puffing up as it cooks. Use a tablespoon measure or your thumb to make a similar-sized depression in each.

3) Use a heavy grill pan or cast-iron skillet–even if cooking on the grill. The pan will get good and hot, which will make for a great sear. The rendered fat will also remain in the pan, helping to keep the burger moist and prevent fare-ups on the grill.

Tip: Salt will leach moisture from ground meat, so season burgers no more than 30 minutes prior to cooking.

See More:

• How much fat drips off your burger?
• The Secrets of a Healthy Burger
• Making Hamburger Patties

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Why You Should Try Sous Vide Cooking at Home

Long championed by the who’s who of today’s acclaimed chefs, sous vide is a cooking technique that has recently started to penetrate the home kitchen. Essentially this is a process by which ingredients are vacuum sealed in food-safe plastic bags and cooked at a very steady temperature that is generally lower than more traditional methods for longer periods of time. Basically, you have a large pot of water heated to the particular temperature to which you want your food cooked, and you place your bags in that water. The contents come up to that temperature gradually and never exceed that temperature (my unit MIGHT have fluctuated three-tenths of a degree in 12 hours of use), thereby making it next to impossible to overcook anything. Yes, it takes a bit longer in most cases, but it is all hands-off other than prepping stuff to throw in a bag.

Its proponents point to everything from a superior finished product (food cooks evenly in a moist environment that doesn’t dilute flavors) to ease of use (food never exceeds the target internal temperature so it’s harder to overcook) to nutritional benefits (nutrients hold up better to lower temperatures and they don’t dissipate into the cooking medium).

And sous vide technology, like many advancements, has descended from the lofty domain of specialists and economic elites to a relatively affordable price point these days. Recently, we’ve been playing with two entry-level models (PolyScience DISCOVERY SERIES and PROFESSIONAL CREATIVE SERIES) for home cooks.

But given that sous vide has long been confined to the kitchens of high-end restaurants, we have been pleasantly surprised to discover the practical, everyday uses that these devices can have for the home cook. We found that the ease of setup and use puts far less strain on kitchen resources than more traditional methods in many instances. I slow-cooked some pork belly for 12 hours with the water bath sitting on my dining room table and the unit imperceptibly humming away overnight. Since I have very limited kitchen space, it was nice to have that whole production out of the way and not have my oven, kitchen, and, quite frankly, my tiny apartment heated up for 4 or more hours. And when they were done, I just pulled the bags out of the water and stored them perfectly sealed on a shelf in my fridge for 2 days, taking up no more space than a large zip-top plastic bag. There wasn’t the usual 2- or 3-pan cleanup associated with braising (a heavy skillet, a large pot or roasting pan, saucepans to make the stock, etc.). Rather, just one nonstick pan to brown the meltingly tender meat that was easily wiped clean after dinner.

I suspected that the pork belly would be superior due to the long, low cook time, and it did not disappoint. But the real revelation was how handy it was for cooking vegetables. I recently played around with a cornucopia of vegetables, and in the course of a half hour’s prep time (and it only took that long because I trimmed some artichokes) on a Sunday and a couple more hours of unattended cooking (this time sitting up on the bar), I had enough for a week’s worth of side dishes perfectly cooked and sealed. And no dishes to clean up afterward. All I had to do was dump out the water and toss my cutting board in the dishwasher. Three kinds of beets, fennel, artichokes, cauliflower, and asparagus: all ready to just be warmed up in a splash of olive oil or pat of butter. It was enough to just pop a bag open as needed for the whole week. And not only was it a matter of convenience, but there were some real winners as far as final product quality. The more fibrous (fennel and especially the artichokes) were among the best I have had. Perfectly tender but toothsome due to the gentle, controlled heat.

 

Of course, this technology will never outright replace traditional cooking methods, but for the conscientious cook who likes to plan ahead, thermal circulators (like the PolyScience ones that we used) will be a very useful kitchen addition for their convenience and precision in producing perfectly cooked food.

 

Have you tried sous vide cooking?

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