Someone has made the best sandwich ever? at home, with step-by-step pictures and beer bottles as the weights to press the sandwich. Sandwich? That’s a manwich.

So simple it’s stupid.

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3 cups white flour OR bread flour
3/4 teaspoon yeast
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups slightly warm water
Large bowl
Plastic wrap
Spray oil OR olive oil
Oven-safe pot with lid OR Dutch oven (should be at least 4 quarts in size)

…

1. Gather your ingredients!

2. A note on the yeast: The original No-Knead Bread recipe specifies instant yeast. You can use pretty much any yeast you have on hand; I have used both Quick-Rise yeast and instant active yeast.

3. Add your flour to the bowl.

4. Add the yeast and salt and stir thoroughly.

5. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of barely warm (tepid) water.

6. Pour into the bowl and stir thoroughly.

7. The dough will look rough and shaggy.

8. Spray the top of the dough with cooking spray, or, if you do not have cooking spray, lightly oil the top of the dough with olive oil. Spread a thin layer over top with a paper towel, then turn the dough in the bowl so the whole ball of dough is coated with the oil.

9. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

10. Throw a towel over top of the bowl and set it in a warm corner. Leave it alone for 6 to 8 hours.

11. After at least 6 hours have passed the dough will have risen and will look rather bubbly and stretched out.

12. Lightly oil the countertop and turn the dough out onto it, folding it over on itself at least once.

13. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it sit for another hour.

14. About 20 minutes before the hour is up, turn on the oven to 450°F. Place an oven-safe Dutch oven or pot in the oven.

15. The dough will have risen and nearly doubled in size.

16. Quickly shape the dough into a round ball  and drop it into the pot. Even if you can’t get it into a good ball, that’s OK. Just try to roughly shape it.

17. Optional: Slash or cut the top of the dough with kitchen shears or a sharp knife.

18. Place the lid on the pot and put it in the oven.

19. Bake for 30 minutes.

20. Remove the lid from the pot.

21. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes.

22. You can be extra-sure that the bread is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted in the top or side reads 210°F.

23. Remove the bread from the oven. If you wish to keep it warm for serving, you can wrap it in a clean kitchen towel.

24. Slice and serve!

I just blacked out reading about Michel Richard’s tater tot recipe, the chef at Citronelle in Washington DC (best meal I’ve ever had, ps).

I decided to make my own by mixing things like cheese and truffles and diced vegetables with the grated potatoes, forming them into balls, and frying them in clarified butter.

Here’s his spuddies recipe.

File this under “something I will be doing”: aging cocktails. Jeffrey Morgenthaler has a great website full of recipes and tips for cocktails. I’ll be researching this further, but a barrel is ~$75 and I believe I’ve found a solid Manhattan recipe.

One of the best burgers I’ve ever had is at The Squeeze Inn. One of the more memorable aspects of that burger was its cheese skirt. I’ve yet to attempt to replicate it on one of my homemade burgers, but I will. Here’s the basic instructions for creating your own cheese skirt.

Once one side of the burger is cooked on the flat-top griddle, the cooks flip it and smothers it with shredded cheddar cheese. Then the cheese melts on top and all around the sides, forming an underbelly of crispy cheese, also known as the cheese skirt.

Here’s how to make your own sriracha. Love it; I have to give this a try.

Side note: I’ve been meaning to drip some in a bloody mary. It *has* to be good, right?

Having a 36 hour meal cooked in a cob oven is something that I must do. A cob, or earth, oven is a primitive, domed cooking device that can be made from layers of mud, clay, straw, stucco, even manure; the earthy mixture, the cob, can endure much higher heat, and hold it much longer, than an indoor oven can. Let’s make our own!

I want a Himalayan Salt Plate for cooking. Looks like they can be purchased here. Looks great to cook veg and seafood.

Himalayan Salt Plates are cut from ancient salt deposits and are considered the purest form of salt.  They are becoming very popular right now to cook on and for good reason – they impart a rich flavor to anything you cook on them and not just a salty flavor. The plates contain mineral deposits that add a richness that you can’t get with just salt.   There are a few ways you can use your salt plates.  You can either cook on them, chill them, or serve foods on them at room temperature.

Here’s another salad recipe from my Grandma Smalley. Again, word-for-word from her. I’ve tried making this before and it never tastes quite as good.

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I used to shred the carrots but it took so long. I started dumping chunks of them into the food processor and chopping them – not too fine, but it’s much quicker. If I do it that way, I try to remember to dump the peanuts in first and get them chopped up a little, then add the carrot chunks and process to the size you want it. Then add however many raisins you want.

Dress with mayo, with a little sugar and thinned with milk. (If you don’t use salted peanuts you’ll probably need to add some salt)

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Source: Grandma Smalley, 7-20-2010

The Awl is back again with How to Cook Bolognese Sauce. I really wish they’d start a cook book.

you are REQUIRED BY ME to be using a 28 ounce can (or cans) of whole, peeled San Marzano tomatoes. In this matter there can be no dispute. If you find yourself unable or unwilling to use San Marzano tomatoes I refuse to allow you to make my Bolognese. Seriously. Get out of the kitchen and go take a good, hard look at yourself in the mirror.